Chapter Summaries

Zhou Yi pressured Jiangnan officials to investigate allegations against Xie Chenglin, forcing the provincial leadership to decide whether to act. At a hastily convened Standing Committee meeting, the members backed an investigation, leaving Yan Huafeng satisfied that responsibility was collective.

• Zhou Yi told Xu Jianxun and Gao Lian that he had reported the tip-off letter to Team Leaders Xiang and Lu and expected Jiangnan to respond.
• Xu Jianxun took the materials to Yan Huafeng, who convened a Standing Committee meeting to discuss investigating Xie Chenglin.
• Zhu Changlei recommended sending an Investigation Team to Danqing, while Kong Chunshan suggested speaking with Xie Chenglin before opening an investigation.
• Xu Jianxun reminded the committee to follow the same approach used in the investigation of Zhou Yi, prompting Kong Chunshan to fall silent.
• Shen Tongyu and Liu Libin supported an investigation, and the other Standing Committee members joined them in approving verification of the allegations against Xie Chenglin.

After the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission prepared to investigate Xie Chenglin, Dai Yinxiang ordered him to deal with Qiu Jingru’s pregnancy. Zhuang Yuqian confronted Qiu Jingru first, while Zhou Yi remained confident the investigation could still cause trouble for Xie Chenglin.

• Xie Chenglin learned that an Investigation Team would visit Danqing and went home to consult Dai Yinxiang.
• Dai Yinxiang told Xie Chenglin to resolve his affairs with his lovers before the Investigation Team arrived, and he revealed that Qiu Jingru was pregnant.
• Dai Yinxiang ordered Xie Chenglin to make Qiu Jingru abort the child, and he agreed to go to her immediately.
• Zhuang Yuqian reached Qiu Jingru before Xie Chenglin and confronted her about their affair and pregnancy.
• Qiu Jingru calmly challenged Zhuang Yuqian, saying she could divorce and take her place.
• Xiang Chang'an warned Zhou Yi that the Investigation Team might only go through the motions, but Zhou Yi said an investigation was better than none.

Zhuang Yuqian confronted Qiu Jingru over her pregnancy and threatened to make her abort the child, then had her guards seize and drug Qiu. Xie Chenglin tried to reach Qiu to warn her about the upcoming investigation and urge her to end the pregnancy, but her phone had been switched off.

• Zhuang Yuqian told Qiu Jingru to back away from Xie Chenglin and abort the child, while Qiu refused and said she would divorce her husband.
• Zhuang Yuqian let two guards into Qiu's home, and they restrained her and stuffed a rag into her mouth.
• Zhuang Yuqian said Xie Chenglin wanted Qiu to end the pregnancy and ordered her guards to take Qiu away.
• A female guard carried the drugged Qiu to a sedan, and a neighbor photographed the car and its license plate.
• Xie Chenglin called Qiu repeatedly to warn her about the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission's investigation and persuade her to abort the child, but her phone was switched off.

Xie Chenglin learned that Zhuang Yuqian had arranged to force Qiu Jingru to abort her pregnancy, but Qiu escaped before the procedure. When the Investigation Team arrived and Qiu remained missing, evidence of her abduction surfaced, leaving Public Security Director Guo Maosheng to decide how to proceed.

• Xie Chenglin returned home, where Zhuang Yuqian admitted she had taken Qiu Jingru to a private clinic for an abortion.
• Zhuang Yuqian received word that Qiu Jingru had escaped during the trip and ordered her people to pursue her.
• After a day and a night, Xie Chenglin, Zhuang Yuqian, and Dai Yinxiang learned that Qiu had not contacted the police but was still missing.
• The Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission's Investigation Team arrived in Danqing City but could not question the missing Qiu Jingru.
• Qiu Jingru's neighbor reported seeing her carried unconscious into a car, and the police discovered the car had a fake plate.
• The police found surveillance footage of Zhuang Yuqian's visit and Qiu Jingru's abduction, and Guo Maosheng decided to act despite the political risks.

Guo Maosheng ordered Zhuang Yuqian brought in for questioning after surveillance linked her to Qiu Jingru’s abduction, despite pressure from Ren Baoping to release her. He challenged Ren over shielding Vice Mayor Xie Chenglin, leaving Ren silent as the investigation team’s evidence against Xie became harder to ignore.

• Guo Maosheng ordered Yan Weitong to summon Zhuang Yuqian for questioning before reporting to Ren Baoping.
• Ren Baoping summoned Guo Maosheng and urged him to call off the questioning because Zhuang Yuqian was Xie Chenglin’s wife.
• Zhang Jishuai and other officers escorted Zhuang Yuqian from Zhuangfa Real Estate Company to a police car.
• Ren Baoping ordered Guo Maosheng to release Zhuang Yuqian, but Guo argued that questioning her was necessary to protect Qiu Jingru’s life.
• Guo Maosheng questioned Ren Baoping about concealing evidence of Xie Chenglin’s violations, leaving Ren silent.

Guo Maosheng’s attempt to expose Xie Chenglin’s crimes prompted Huang Zhongyi and Ren Baoping to detain him and suppress the evidence. When Zhou Yi arrived in Danqing City, he immediately asked about Guo Maosheng and the surveillance footage, leaving Ren Baoping trapped between conflicting answers.

• Guo Maosheng told Ren Baoping he had handed evidence against Xie Chenglin to the Investigation Team and would not involve Ren.
• Huang Zhongyi ordered Guo Maosheng suspended and directed Ren Baoping and Yang Hai to investigate and confine him while trying to destroy the footage.
• Ren Baoping and Yang Hai had Guo Maosheng confined at the Case Investigation Center under the pretext of a disciplinary investigation.
• Two days later, Zhou Yi arrived in Danqing City with Zeng Siming and Lin Zhixuan and demanded to see Guo Maosheng at the welcome meeting.
• Yang Hai explained that Guo Maosheng was under investigation, while Huang Zhongyi claimed Xie Chenglin was absent on sick leave.
• Zhou Yi asked whether the police had found surveillance footage at Qiu Jingru’s home, and Ren Baoping struggled to answer after Zhou revealed Guo had reported it to him.

Zhou Yi exposed that Guo Maosheng had sent surveillance footage to both the Inspection Team and the Investigation Team, forcing Liu Zongjun to investigate Xie Chenglin and Zhuang Yuqian impartially. Guo, held at the Case Handling Center, was visited by Danqing City's top officials, who apologized and sought to make amends, but he considered their repentance too late.

• Ren Baoping denied that Guo Maosheng had reported the matter, and Liu Zongjun claimed he knew nothing about the footage.
• Zhou Yi revealed the USB Drive containing surveillance footage from Qiu Jingru's home and handed it to Liu Zongjun for the investigation.
• Liu Zongjun recognized that the footage implicated Xie Chenglin in illicit sexual relationships and Zhuang Yuqian in Qiu Jingru's kidnapping, and resolved to follow proper procedures.
• Guo Maosheng ate calmly while Wu Zhidan questioned why he had risked opposing the Xie Family.
• Huang Zhongyi, Jiang Zhentao, and Ren Baoping arrived with Yang Hai to apologize to Guo and offer to address his requests.
• Guo Maosheng rejected their belated repentance as too late.

Zhou Yi questioned Liu Zongjun about the investigation into Xie Chenglin as the surveillance footage resurfaced and undermined the efforts to protect him. Xie Chenglin and his allies realized their influence might no longer save him, leaving his fate in Zhou Yi’s hands.

• Huang Zhongyi urged Guo Maosheng to consider Danqing City's stability when speaking with the Investigation Team.
• Liu Zongjun admitted that Guo Maosheng had submitted a corrupted video and said he had recommended filing a case review of Xie Chenglin.
• Zhou Yi suspected Liu Zongjun was shifting sides and believed Xie Chenglin would not escape accountability.
• Xie Chenglin learned that Zhou Yi had arrived with a USB drive containing the surveillance footage, wiping out his hopes that the evidence had been deleted.
• Xie Chenglin and Qiu Jingru realized her husband might have installed cameras in their home, while Xie Zheng berated Xie Chenglin over the phone.
• Dai Yinxiang, Zhuang Yuqian, and Xie Chenglin faced the possibility that their connections could no longer protect him from Zhou Yi.

Xie Zheng decided to try to save Xie Chenglin from the consequences of his latest scandal, despite the risk to the Xie Family and Yan Huafeng's reluctance to intervene. He sent Xie Fangfei to Qingning to appeal to Jian Shuyue and planned other approaches to Zhou Yi, leaving escalation to the family elder as a last resort.

• Xie Fangfei pleaded with Xie Zheng to help her brother, while Xie Qingtong blamed Xie Chenglin for repeatedly bringing disgrace on the family.
• Xie Zheng weighed the danger of abandoning Xie Chenglin against the damage the scandal could cause the Xie Family and called Yan Huafeng for help.
• Yan Huafeng said he could only ask the Discipline Inspection Commission to consider a suitable sanction and warned that interfering with a serviceman's marriage carried criminal liability.
• Xie Zheng told Xie Fangfei to go to Qingning with a gift for Zhou Yi's newborn son and ask Jian Shuyue to persuade her husband.
• Xie Zheng planned to approach Jian Wanyan and use an intermediary to negotiate with Zhou Yi, with involving the family elder as a last resort.

Zhou Yi gained Guo Maosheng’s support as the provincial leadership moved to formally investigate Xie Chenglin. As the review team arrived to take Xie Chenglin in, a man stabbed him and surrendered, leaving Xie Chenglin bleeding on the ground.

• Guo Maosheng admitted that Danqing City’s leaders had mishandled Xie Chenglin’s case and pledged his sincerity to Zhou Yi.
• Zheng Qisheng ordered a formal investigation into Xie Chenglin, while Tao Beifang informed him that the investigation into Zhou Yi was ending without a case filing review.
• Xu Jianxun arranged for the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission to open a case filing review of Xie Chenglin.
• On May 20, Gao Lian and three staff members arrived in Danqing City to take Xie Chenglin into custody for the review.
• A lean, dark-skinned man recognized Xie Chenglin, stabbed him five times, and surrendered as the review team rushed to restrain him.

Xie Chenglin was stabbed while under investigation and remained in critical condition, alarming Jiangnan officials and Zhou Yi. Meanwhile, Xie Fangfei and Chen Yurong visited Jian Shuyue with gifts, and Xie Fangfei asked her to persuade Zhou Yi to spare her brother.

• Gao Lian called for an ambulance as staff called the police, and Xie Chenglin was rushed to the hospital after being stabbed five times.
• Yan Huafeng and Xu Jianxun worried that Xie Chenglin's death would bring grave consequences, while Danqing officials waited anxiously outside the operating room.
• Guo Maosheng told Zhou Yi about the attack, and Zhou Yi hoped Xie Chenglin would survive so there would be room to decide how to handle Qiu Jingru's Husband.
• Xie Fangfei and Chen Yurong visited Jian Shuyue and gave her two-month-old baby gifts, including a Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant.
• Xie Fangfei asked Jian Shuyue to put in a word with Zhou Yi and request that he spare Xie Chenglin again.

Xie Fangfei and Chen Yurong asked Jian Shuyue to help Xie Chenglin, but learned he had been stabbed and rushed into emergency treatment. As Xie Nanzheng demanded severe punishment for Qin Chuan, Xie Zheng revealed that Zhou Yi had proposed settling the matter.

• Xie Fangfei and Chen Yurong pleaded with Jian Shuyue to speak to Zhou Yi on Xie Chenglin's behalf, and Jian Shuyue agreed to try.
• Xie Fangfei learned that Xie Chenglin had been stabbed five times and was undergoing emergency treatment at Danqing City Hospital.
• Guo Maosheng signed the paperwork transferring Qin Chuan to the Military Security Department, and Xie Chenglin survived two hours of emergency treatment.
• Xie Nanzheng summoned Xie Zheng and Xie Ce, then demanded that Qin Chuan receive life imprisonment.
• Xie Zheng told Xie Nanzheng that Zhou Yi, not Yan Huafeng, had proposed reaching a settlement with Qin Chuan.

The Xie family debated Zhou Yi’s proposal to settle the conflict between them and Qin Chuan, who had stabbed Xie Chenglin. Xie Nanzheng recognized that Zhou Yi was trying to contain the scandal for the greater good, and regretted that his own grandsons lacked Zhou Yi’s judgment.

• Xie Wenyu denounced Zhou Yi for interfering, while Xie Zheng and Xie Ce questioned Yan Huafeng and Zheng Qisheng’s refusal to fully support the Xie family.
• Xie Wenyu demanded that Qin Chuan pay, and Xie Zheng said he would ask the military to insist on a lawful trial.
• Xie Zheng revealed that Yan Huafeng had repeated Zhou Yi’s warning that Xie Chenglin could also face criminal charges for breaking up a military marriage.
• Xie Zheng argued that pursuing Qin Chuan could bring charges against Chenglin and damage the family’s reputation, while Zhou Yi’s settlement proposal could limit the fallout.
• Xie Nanzheng praised Zhou Yi for prioritizing the broader consequences over personal revenge and silently compared him unfavorably with his grandsons.

Zhou Yi’s proposal pressured the Xie Family to forgive Qin Chuan, while improving Yan Huafeng’s relationship with Jian Wanyan’s circle. After the Xie Family agreed, Jian Wanyan decided to reassign Zhou Yi himself.

• Yan Huafeng and Xiang Chang'an praised Zhou Yi for proposing a solution that protected social stability while forcing the Xie Family to face consequences either way.
• Xiang Chang'an understood that Zhou Yi had acted partly out of sympathy for Qin Chuan, a soldier who had guarded the borders.
• Jian Wanyan told Wei Siqi that Xie Zheng had called Qin Chuan’s unit and agreed to forgive him for intentionally injuring Xie Chenglin.
• Jian Wanyan explained that Yan Huafeng had backed Zhou Yi and warned the Xie Family, prompting Xie Zheng to agree.
• After discussing how Zhou Yi had helped bring Yan Huafeng closer to their circle, Jian Wanyan resolved to reassign his son-in-law once the inspection ended.

Jian Wanyan explained why Zhou Yi could be reassigned once Fu Xueqian left Qingning, while Yan Huafeng and Zheng Qisheng moved to restart the delayed Misty Rain Jiangnan gala. The chapter ended with Zhou Yi reading Wen Mosheng’s new online pieces, which tried to defend his affair and protest the banning of his work.

• Jian Wanyan told Wei Siqi that Fu Xueqian might soon become Dongyuan Province’s Provincial Party Committee Deputy Secretary, making Zhou Yi’s reassignment from Qingning sensible.
• Xiang Yang called Jian Wanyan and said he would visit that afternoon, asking him to invite Old Xiao to join them.
• Yan Huafeng and Zheng Qisheng agreed to set a date for the Misty Rain Jiangnan gala and have Xu Ruogu lead preparations, including inviting the Inspection Team.
• Liu Jin showed Xu Ruogu Wen Mosheng’s two newly published online pieces, and Xu Ruogu grew angry that Wen was stirring up trouble again.
• Zhou Yi read Wen Mosheng’s pieces and recognized how they recast his affair with a married woman as a tragic love story and his banned work as a cause for protest.

Zhou Yi attended a provincial literary and artistic symposium in place of the ill Xiang Chang'an and argued that virtue must come before artistic talent. The meeting ended with a participant asking him to address the online defense of Wen Mosheng, leaving Zhou Yi poised to respond.

• Zhou Yi watched Lin Fang debate Sun Yuan over whether an author's moral flaws diminished the greatness of their work, and recognized Sun Yuan as Lin Fang's formidable equal.
• Xiang Chang'an called Zhou Yi and asked him to attend a provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles symposium in his place because he was ill.
• Yao Caizhi learned Zhou Yi would attend and worried that the inspection commissioner might expose misconduct among literary and artistic workers.
• Zhou Yi attended the May 30 symposium, where Xu Ruogu and Yao Caizhi delivered speeches about virtue and art.
• After repeated invitations, Zhou Yi spoke and said moral character must come before artistic talent.
• A middle-aged man asked Zhou Yi what he thought of the online claim that an author's moral flaws did not diminish the greatness of their work.

At a symposium on morality and art, Gu Qitan challenged Zhou Yi over whether an author's moral failings diminished the value of his work. Zhou Yi questioned both the severity of Wen Mosheng’s conduct and the literary merit of the works being defended, leaving Gu Qitan to argue that My Hometown was unjustly banned.

• Yao Caizhi organized a guided symposium to address the fallout from the Wen Mosheng scandal and prepare revisions to the provincial code of ethics.
• Gu Qitan questioned Zhou Yi about the claim that moral flaws did not diminish a work’s greatness, alarming Yao Caizhi and Zhuo Cheng.
• Xue Chuqing admired Gu Qitan for challenging Zhou Yi, while Zheng Hua and Dong Qing supported discussing the issue openly.
• Dong Qing stated that morality and art were inseparable and that an immoral person could not create a work of genuine literary value.
• Zhou Yi asked whether Wen Mosheng’s seven-year affair and child could be dismissed as a moral flaw, and what made the works in question great.
• Gu Qitan argued that My Hometown exposed human darkness and satirized reality, then questioned why such an outstanding work had been banned.

At a symposium, Zhou Yi rejected Gu Qitan’s defense of Wen Mosheng’s literary merit and argued that Wen’s works were different from other accounts of the same era because they portrayed only darkness and disparaged their homeland. The chapter ended with Zhou Yi insisting that literature should expose social problems without becoming a means to denigrate one’s country for personal gain.

• Gu Qitan defended Wen Mosheng’s works and called for discussion, while Zhou Yi said the decision about the books belonged to the relevant authorities in Jiangnan Province.
• Gu Qitan argued that Zhou Yi’s personal values could not determine a work’s literary merit, and Zhou Yi accepted his challenge to reason out the issue.
• Zhou Yi praised Dong Qing, Ping Fan, and Zheng Hua’s works for honestly portraying the hardships of their era.
• Zhou Yi accused Wen Mosheng of depicting only despair and ugliness while praising foreign countries and using criticism of his homeland to win honors.
• Zhou Yi said isolated injustices could not condemn all human nature or an entire society, and argued that literature should expose problems without pandering to foreign audiences by denigrating one’s country.

Zhou Yi rebutted Gu Qitan’s claim that he was prejudiced against a controversial book, distinguishing criticism of an individual’s conduct from sweeping claims about society and questioning the book’s intentions. His argument drew more sincere applause, while the chapter ended with his thoughts on people who praised foreign countries while disparaging their own.

• Xue Chuqing realized that her earlier conversation with Gu Qitan had helped prompt his question to Zhou Yi.
• Gu Qitan argued that the book’s factual depictions should be respected and that Zhou Yi’s judgment of the author’s motives was personal.
• Zhou Yi asked whether Wen Mosheng’s misconduct justified generalizing about people in the arts, then challenged the book’s portrayal of the past and its implied criticism of society.
• Zhou Yi said that a work’s intentions showed through its writing and rejected calling morally depraved people’s work great.
• Yao Caizhi, Dong Qing, and others led the conference room in more sincere applause as Zhou Yi reflected on patriotism and public intellectuals who disparaged their own country.

At a literary symposium, Gu Qitan challenged Zhou Yi over the limits of creative freedom, but Zhou argued that creators had responsibilities to their own people. Back at the Provincial Guesthouse, Zhou learned that Lin Fang had won her online battle with Sun Yuan, who she called to tell him to give up.

• Yao Caizhi and Ping Fan supported Zhou Yi's remarks about balancing criticism with positive portrayals of society.
• Gu Qitan asked Zhou Yi who set the boundaries of literary freedom, and Zhou answered that law, morality, and conscience restrained it and that art should serve the people of its own country.
• Zhuo Cheng stopped Gu Qitan from following Zhou Yi and told him to come answer his own questions.
• Zhou Yi reported to Xiang Chang'an and found that Lin Fang and the Zhou Yi and Li Yi Bar communities had overwhelmed Sun Yuan's online supporters.
• Lin Fang thanked Too Much Sugar and One-Leaf Boat, then called Sun Yuan and told him he could not beat her.