Chapter Summaries

Baozhu was rescued from Fenglong Temple, where she had clung to Wei Xun’s body, by Yuan Shaobo and Lady Yu’s party. She refused to leave for Youzhou until she found a way to kill Wang Chengwu during the seven days of mourning she demanded for Wei Xun.

• Yuan Shaobo and his men attacked Fenglong Temple, freed Baozhu, and confirmed that Wei Xun had died.
• Baozhu ordered the captured prisoners given a choice to join them or die, then left the temple carrying Wei Xun’s body.
• Lady Yu explained that Li Yuanying had sent the rescue party from Youzhou after receiving news that Baozhu had been abducted, and that silver fireworks had led them to Fenglong Temple.
• Baozhu reunited with the surviving Yang Xingjian and Thirteenth Son, who prepared Wei Xun’s body for burial; Baozhu insisted that he remain on her bed for seven days and that Wang Chengwu be buried with him.
• Lady Yu and Yuan Shaobo warned Baozhu that Chengde’s forces were too strong for a reckless attack, but Baozhu sent word to Li Yuanying and vowed to find a way to bring down Wang Chengwu within seven days.

Baozhu devised a plan to bring down Wang Chengwu by coordinating an uprising within Chengde with a military feint from Zhaoyi, but both Liang Shiji and Han Yun refused to act without outside support. After returning to Wei Xun's body, Baozhu resolved to continue her campaign rather than accept defeat.

• Baozhu surveyed the terrain around Jingxing Pass and formed a plan to draw Wang Chengwu's cavalry away while Liang Shiji seized control of Chengde from within.
• Baozhu comforted the delirious Yang Xingjian, then sent Yu Ninghua to recruit Liang Shiji and rode to Zhaoyi to ask Han Yun for a troop feint.
• Han Yun refused to deploy his garrison without Lu Jiedushi's authorization, and Baozhu left after denouncing his hesitation.
• Yu Ninghua reported that Liang Shiji would act only after troops arrived from Zhaoyi or Youzhou, leaving Baozhu without either ally's support.
• Baozhu mourned beside Wei Xun and, after speaking with Thirteenth Son, declared that her story was far from over.

Baozhu recovered Lord Lushan and used the donkey to lead a daring raid that scattered Chengde’s warhorses and captured Jingxing Pass. As Baozhu’s forces held the pass, Liang Shiji killed Wang Chengwu, and Han Yun’s intervention helped bring down the Chengde Army.

• Baozhu learned that Lord Lushan had survived and found the donkey in the woods, then organized a plan to steal the warhorses.
• Baozhu used mares’ scents and four firecrackers to stampede thousands of warhorses west, then led them toward the Taihang Mountains with a torch and Khitan commands.
• Yuan Shaobo’s disguised soldiers seized Jingxing Pass, while Baozhu led the herd across the Mian River and destroyed the bridge, scattering the horses.
• Baozhu and her archers defended Jingxing Pass through hours of attacks, while Yuan Shaobo lit the beacon fire.
• Liang Shiji returned to Wang Chengwu’s headquarters and murdered him and his clan as Han Yun sent three thousand cavalry into Chengde.
• Han Yun’s forces routed the leaderless Chengde Army, and the Wang clan was destroyed while five thousand elite cavalry were annihilated.

After destroying Chengde’s cavalry, Li Baozhu secured Liang Shiji’s submission and rejected Han Yun’s late offer to serve her. She returned to Wei Xun’s body and, exhausted by the cost of vengeance, finally told Lady Yu to prepare him for burial.

• Liang Shiji presented Wang Chengwu’s head to Li Baozhu, pledged Chengde’s allegiance to Chang’an, and gave his son Liang Ningning as a hostage.
• Li Baozhu claimed the rumored divine artifact, ordered Liang Shiji to bury the dead and dismantle the Jingguan, and dismissed him.
• Han Yun credited Li Baozhu for the victory and offered to join her, but she rejected him and condemned his choice to wait until the battle was won.
• Li Baozhu left the aftermath to Yuan Shaobo and returned to the Taoist temple with Wang Chengwu’s head.
• Li Baozhu placed the head before Wei Xun’s funeral bed and, after Lady Yu urged her to let go, asked for him to be laid in his coffin.

Li Baozhu built the Jade Comb Army, recovered most of the warhorses at Jingxing Pass, and set out for Youzhou with the boy’s coffin. At the Yingzhou border, she reunited in the snow with her ailing brother, Prince Shao.

• Ma Zaiyuan joined Lady Yu with his clan, and other followers flocked to Baozhu until her forces grew beyond ten thousand.
• Yuan Shaobo proposed naming Baozhu’s growing army the Jade Comb Army, and Baozhu promised its recruits mounts for their march north.
• Baozhu lured the scattered warhorses back to Jingxing Pass with the mares’ calls, recovering most of them without sending soldiers into the mountains.
• Baozhu prepared the boy’s body for burial and ordered his coffin carried to Youzhou, then led the Jade Comb Army northeast while riding Lord Lushan.
• Prince Shao traveled from Youzhou to the Yingzhou border to meet Baozhu despite his illness.
• Baozhu and Prince Shao ran to each other and embraced in the falling snow.

Li Baozhu reunited with Li Yuanying in Youzhou, but discovered that Wei Xun’s body had vanished and realized he had concealed his impending death from her. As she grieved, Li Yuanying revealed his poisoning and urged her to take charge of his forces, leaving Baozhu to begin preparing for the responsibilities ahead.

• Huo Qilang brought Li Yuanying and Baozhu together, and the siblings comforted each other after their ordeals.
• Baozhu learned that Wei Xun had died and told Li Yuanying she had killed their eldest uncle and his family.
• At Minzhong Temple, Baozhu found Wei Xun’s coffin empty and realized he had arranged for his body to be taken away after seeing her reach Youzhou.
• After ten days of mourning, Baozhu learned that Li Yuanying had been poisoned by Cui Lingrong and was too ill to manage Youzhou alone.
• Li Yuanying assigned Baozhu responsibility for his forces, and she sent scouts to search the Taihang Mountains for Daoist Qingyang.

Baozhu learned to manage Youzhou’s military and civil affairs while Li Yuanying kept her occupied, then joined him in uncovering how their mother died and why Baozhu had been buried alive. The siblings ended the chapter grieving together and affirming that they were each other’s closest family.

• Baozhu struggled to raise military funds and spent New Year handling duties while Li Yuanying arranged for handsome young men as possible suitors for her.
• Huo Qilang joked about serving as a suitor, prompting Li Yuanying to threaten her and reveal that he had secretly trained crossbowmen to protect Baozhu from Wei Da.
• After visiting Minzhong Temple, Li Yuanying showed Baozhu the medicinal dregs, flower mud, and their mother’s Pomegranate Skirt and explained what he had learned about her death.
• Baozhu and Li Yuanying pieced together how the emperor had caused their mother to bleed to death, feared her vengeful spirit, and ordered Baozhu buried alive as a substitute.
• Li Yuanying told Baozhu that the emperor had genuinely loved her but ultimately loved himself and the throne most; Baozhu wept in her brother’s arms as he affirmed their bond.

Li Yuanying showed Baozhu a shrine to An Lushan and Shi Siming, prompting them to confront how the people’s loyalty depended on their rulers’ results. They agreed to return to Chang'an and pursue a dangerous coup rather than plunge the realm into another war, and Li Yuanying promised they would share the realm.

• Ruan Ziming backed Li Yuanying as secret messengers carried news between Youzhou and Chang'an, while the threat of war grew.
• After the spring ceremony, Li Yuanying took Baozhu to the Two Sages Shrine and explained why local people revered An Lushan and Shi Siming.
• Li Yuanying warned Baozhu that their position resembled the rebels’ and proposed settling the contest at Xuanwu Gate to limit casualties.
• Baozhu agreed to return to Chang'an to avenge their mother and seek justice, but demanded a promise that her achievements would not be credited to a man.
• Li Yuanying gave Baozhu her repaired jade comb and promised they would share the realm and stand together in history.

Li Yuanying and Baozhu prepared to secretly fight for the throne, but five assassins were found dead in their Bedchamber after the siblings drank together. Baozhu recognized a red plum blossom left by the mysterious killer and realized Xu Two had been secretly protecting them, leaving Li Yuanying to restrain her furious outburst.

• Li Yuanying and Baozhu spent the night drinking and reminiscing while Huo Qilang stayed away from the Bedchamber.
• At sunrise, Li Yuanying and Baozhu woke to find five assassins dead inside their Bedchamber, though both siblings were unharmed.
• Huo Qilang examined the bodies and found a broom that suggested the killer came from the Setting Sun Courtyard.
• Baozhu found a tiny red plum blossom on the Beauty Couch and recognized it as a clue to the killer's identity.
• Baozhu raced outside and cursed Xu Two and his accomplice for deceiving her, until Li Yuanying ordered Huo Qilang to bring her inside.

During Wei Xun’s seven-day wake, Thirteenth Son discovered that he was alive and helped him recover through Prajna Repentance and Zhou Qingyang’s treatment. Two months later, Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son left the mountain for Youzhou, while Wei Xun struggled with the desire to take Baozhu away again.

• Thirteenth Son noticed that Wei Xun’s body showed signs of life on the fourth day of the wake and revived him from suspended animation.
• Wei Xun asked Thirteenth Son to keep his survival from Baozhu and taught himself Prajna Repentance to heal his injuries.
• Thirteenth Son secretly cared for Wei Xun through the rest of the wake, then carried him from Youzhou to Zhou Qingyang in the Taihang Mountains.
• Zhou Qingyang treated Wei Xun and found that his fatal cold illness had vanished, while his martial arts began to return.
• After two months of recovery, Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son bade farewell to Zhou Qingyang and set out toward Youzhou.
• Wei Xun remembered that Baozhu had returned to her own world and concealed his growing desire to take her away again.

After an assassination attempt, Li Yuanying prepared to return to Chang'an and contest the succession, leaving Huo Qilang to impersonate him in Youzhou. As the dying emperor stamped an edict naming Li Yuanying crown prince and a final edict, the spirit of his daughter confronted him about burying her while she was still alive.

• Huo Qilang and Li Yuanying concluded that their enemies had sent assassins because the emperor was gravely ill and the succession was at stake.
• Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang to impersonate him as governor of Youzhou and gave her the Jade-Bridle Steed in case he failed or succeeded.
• Huo Qilang kissed Li Yuanying before he departed, and Li Yuanying and Baozhu set out for Chang'an with Lady Yu and their party.
• After a month of travel, Li Yuanying's party approached Chang'an while the dying emperor remained in Daming Palace without naming an heir.
• A woman in red guided the emperor's hand to seal an edict appointing Li Yuanying crown prince and a final edict.
• A masked woman addressed the emperor as his daughter and asked why he had buried her while she was still alive, and he died without answering.

Baozhu and Li Yuanying began a palace coup, taking control of the emperor and securing the imperial seal before moving against rival claimants. After Baozhu killed Li Yuanchai and Xiahou Jin, the Divine Strategy Army surrounded Xuanwu Gate, leaving the succession in doubt.

• Baozhu and Li Yuanying disguised themselves to enter the palace, subdued the emperor, and had Li Yuanying proclaim himself Crown Prince.
• Li Yuanying summoned Li Yuanchai and Li Chengyuan, while Baozhu prepared to confront the rival princes and retrieve a Sacred Ritual Vessel.
• Li Yuanchai arrived at the palace with Xiahou Jin and more than a hundred Imperial Guards, but Baozhu shot and killed both men.
• Lady Yu rode to persuade the Imperial Guards to surrender as Baozhu returned to Li Yuanying, who worried that Li Chengyuan's summons had gone unanswered.
• Liu Shouqian deployed the Divine Strategy Army outside Xuanwu Gate, and Baozhu rode there to face the troops surrounding the palace.

Baozhu appeared alive atop Xuanwu Gate and used her identity, archery, and promise of burial treasure to make Liu Shouqian abandon his challenge and recognize Li Yuanying as crown prince. She then led the Forbidden Army to open her intact tomb, where its contents appeared to confirm her account of returning from the dead.

• Liu Shouqian learned that Li Chengyuan had been beheaded, then found Wang Jinliang outside Xuanwu Gate with troops, where both realized someone else had taken control of the palace.
• Baozhu appeared on the gate tower as Princess Wanshou and stunned the soldiers by striking the Divine Strategy Army's command banner with the Giant-Que Sky Bow.
• Baozhu proclaimed Li Yuanying the rightful crown prince and promised the army the treasures in her tomb if Liu Shouqian recovered the forty-two sacrificed bodies and completed the tomb murals.
• Liu Shouqian bowed to Baozhu and ordered his soldiers to carry out her requests, while Wang Jinliang's challenge failed to rally the troops.
• At dawn, Baozhu led more than ten thousand soldiers to open her tomb and invited officials and nobles to inspect it.
• The visitors found the forty-two bodies, unfinished murals, and intact burial goods inside the sealed tomb, but Baozhu's coffin was open and her body was missing.

Li Yuanying and Li Baozhu seized control of the court, and Li Yuanying became emperor after his father died. He elevated Li Baozhu to the highest offices and placed her beside him as his successor, while Wei Xun watched her ceremony and decided to leave.

• Yuan Shaobo and Lü Qiao led five thousand cavalry into Chang'an, where they killed Wang Jinliang and purged the eunuch faction from the Divine Strategy Army.
• Li Yuanying tended his ill father, cut flesh from his thigh to make medicine, and the emperor died that night; Cui Lingrong celebrated the filial act as her revenge.
• Li Yuanying ascended the throne, proclaimed an amnesty, and appointed Lü Qiao commandant of the Divine Strategy Army's Right Army.
• Li Yuanying bestowed new titles and military offices on Li Baozhu, including commandant of the Left Army, then had her receive the ministers' obeisance beside him on the throne.
• Wei Xun watched Li Baozhu's investiture from the Moonlight Gate, reflected on her new role, and left without telling her his pun about a bright pearl.

Li Yuanying and Baozhu learned that their mother had died from an unavoidable childbirth hemorrhage, not from the late emperor withholding medicine, though his guilt and fear had shaped the palace’s ghost rumors. Li Yuanying confessed that he had been the Blood-Smeared Ghost and begged Baozhu not to risk dying in childbirth; the siblings ended the chapter weeping together in Penglai Hall.

• Li Yuanying rewarded Yang Xingjian with a dukedom and appointed Yuan Shaobo Military Governor of Youzhou as the new regime consolidated control.
• Baozhu entered Daoist religious life, declared that she would not marry, and joined Li Yuanying in reducing the palace household and its expenses.
• Li Yuanying brought Baozhu to Penglai Hall and told her he had found Chang Lanfang, a midwife who had attended their mother’s final childbirth.
• Li Yuanying explained that their mother had suffered fatal hemorrhaging because the afterbirth remained inside, and that the medicine the late emperor discarded could not have saved her.
• Baozhu forbade anyone from disturbing their mother’s remains, while Li Yuanying explained that the late emperor had withheld the medicine out of suspicion and a desire to free himself from her influence.
• Li Yuanying confessed that he had caused the Blood-Smeared Ghost rumors by wearing their mother’s Pomegranate Skirt, then begged Baozhu not to risk childbirth.

Baozhu discovered that Li Yuanying had lied about their mother's death to push her into rebellion and secure the throne, then fought him in Penglai Hall. She left him alive and walked away, while Li Yuanying instructed Yuan Shaobo to remain loyal to her after his death.

• Baozhu deduced that Li Yuanying had learned the truth about their mother's death in Youzhou and had deceived her to win her support in taking the throne.
• Li Yuanying admitted that he had manipulated Baozhu, and she attacked him, pinning him down and punching him until he could no longer resist.
• Baozhu spotted spear shadows outside the hall and accused Li Yuanying of preparing an ambush, but he said their agreement to share power still stood.
• Baozhu released Li Yuanying and left Penglai Hall; Yuan Shaobo, Huang Xiaoning, and Gongsun Ming revealed that they had created the spear shadows as a bluff.
• Li Yuanying told Yuan Shaobo that Baozhu should move the Jade Comb Army to Chang'an and said he had provoked her suspicion so she would become more cautious.
• After Li Yuanying temporarily lost his sight, he asked Yuan Shaobo to serve Baozhu after his death, then lost consciousness.

After months of estrangement, Baozhu vanished from a palace banquet and was carried away by Wei Xun, who had returned after recovering from his illness. Their reunion ended with Baozhu refusing to let him leave and the two of them returning to Great Horn Abbey together.

• Baozhu distanced herself from Li Yuanying after their confrontation, while he withdrew from court and she took on the burdens of ruling amid threats and political unrest.
• At a banquet for Nanzhao envoys, the fragrance of Auspicious Dragon-Brain reminded Baozhu of her journey, and she vanished from her escort, leaving her Lotus Crown and Silk Scarf behind.
• Li Yuanying ordered a search for Baozhu, while Wei Xun carried her to Great Horn Abbey and revealed that he had mostly recovered from his illness.
• Wei Xun apologized for leaving without saying goodbye and told Baozhu that Thirteenth Son missed her; Baozhu offered to provide for him and watched Wei Xun start to leave.
• Baozhu followed Wei Xun and embraced him from behind, asking him to stay with her until dawn; he carried her back into the abbey, and they kissed.

Wei Xun fled Chang'an after spending the night with Baozhu, while Huo Qilang tried to recruit him as her martial arts teacher. Baozhu arranged to return to court and plotted to draw Wei Xun back, as he felt an unseen tether pulling him toward the city.

• Wei Xun recalled how Baozhu had saved his life with her blood and tears, then sat in a daze on a rooftop after fleeing her abbey.
• Huo Qilang found Wei Xun and asked him to teach her Mirage Step, but he kicked her off the roof when she teased him about Baozhu.
• Baozhu woke late, learned that Wei Xun had run away with her sash, and returned to the palace with Lady Yu Ninghua.
• Baozhu ordered Buddhist regalia prepared and planned to draw Wei Xun back by sending a Cat Betrothal Letter to Green Micro Temple.
• Wei Xun stole a horse and escaped Chang'an, but as he looked back at the city, he felt an invisible rope tethering him to it.

Baozhu elevated Thirteenth Son at Baotai Temple, then recognized Gao Tuan'er as the maid whose actions had set the events leading to Baozhu’s burial in motion. She spared Gao Tuan'er, ordered Eunuch Lu Yuan questioned and palace gambling investigated, and left the old case closed.

• Baozhu visited Baotai Temple and gave Thirteenth Son a Brocade Kasaya, a Purple-Gold Alms Bowl, and a Nine-Ring Tin Staff, while hinting that Abbot Huaiqian would soon lead an imperial temple.
• Returning to the palace, Baozhu recognized Gao Tuan'er among the departing servants and ordered the guards to bring her in alive.
• Gao Tuan'er revealed that Xia Fangchun had beaten her after she mistakenly brought Baozhu the Pomegranate Skirt, and Baozhu deduced that Gao had put dirty ice in Baozhu’s food to take revenge on Xia.
• Baozhu realized that the contaminated food had caused her apparent poisoning and that the ensuing panic had led to the deaths of palace servants and her premature burial.
• Baozhu forgave Gao Tuan'er, ordered Eunuch Lu Yuan taken into custody and questioned, and directed Lady Yu to investigate illicit gambling in the palace.

Baozhu uncovered how Chen Shigu had used a statue hidden in the imperial family’s water source to create the Phoenix Embryo effect and cure Wei Xun’s illness. After resolving the mystery, Baozhu and Wei Xun returned toward Chang’an, growing closer on the way.

• Tian Yanzhang’s attempts to preserve the Tian family’s control of Weibo through a visit to Chang’an and a proposed marriage were rejected by Li Yuanying and Li Baozhu, who demanded that Tian Yunzhi be sent as a hostage.
• Li Baozhu spent winter holidays meeting Wei Xun at Huaqing Pool, then told him she had found a possible explanation for the Phoenix Embryo mystery.
• Li Baozhu proposed that Chen Shigu had placed an antidote inside a Kṣitigarbha statue at Sweet Spring, whose water the Li imperial family had used for generations.
• Wei Xun examined the statue and questioned Baozhu’s theory, but accepted it after she explained that poisoning the spring would also have killed nearby villagers.
• Li Baozhu and Wei Xun left Linyou County, exchanged kisses among the apricot blossoms, and continued toward Chang’an.