Chapter Summaries

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.

Li Yuanying was visited in secret by Huo Qilang, who overpowered him and spent the night with him. Alarmed by the thought that Huo Qilang’s senior fellow disciple might be doing the same to Baozhu, he rushed to question her, then left after she discovered the marks on his body.

• Li Yuanying prepared to sleep alone in the Bedchamber, but Huo Qilang disguised as a palace guard sneaked in and pinned him down.
• Huo Qilang and Li Yuanying wrestled on the bed, and afterward she ate mandarins and stayed beside him while he slept.
• Li Yuanying woke in alarm and asked whether Huo Qilang’s senior fellow disciple treated Baozhu as Huo Qilang treated him.
• Li Yuanying hurried to the Supreme Immortal Temple and woke Baozhu to question her; she insisted no one had forced her.
• Baozhu spotted the marks on Li Yuanying’s wrist and body, and he told her to pretend she had been dreaming before hastily leaving.

Wei Xun brought the wanted disciples of Setting Sun Courtyard to meet Baozhu, who revealed she was the Eldest Princess and offered them gold to settle his debts. The disciples took their rewards and left, while Wei Xun shouted that he could write both war-god and domineering-CEO stories.

• Xu Baozhen, Tuoba Sanniang, Huo Qilang, Qiu Ren, and Luo Toutuo gathered at the noticeboard and discussed their wanted notices and Wei Xun’s unusually small bounty.
• The disciples followed Huo Qilang to a curtained military camp, where Wei Xun invited them inside to collect money from a wealthy benefactor.
• Baozhu entered in imperial attire and revealed that her surname was Li and that she was the Eldest Princess.
• Baozhu offered each disciple a thousand taels of gold to settle Wei Xun’s debts and told them they could return to Chang’an without worrying about the wanted notices.
• Huo Qilang began collecting gold and pastries, and the other disciples took their shares and departed.
• Baozhu explained that she had arranged for her people to take over Chang’an’s gambling houses so Huo Qilang’s losses would return to her; Wei Xun then chased after the departing disciples, shouting that he could write both war gods and domineering CEOs.

Pengshan survived an attempted murder and a night fighting off wild dogs, then Chen Shigu took her as his fifth disciple. As he carried her away, she accepted the chance to change trades and vowed she might someday kill him.

• Pengshan awoke wounded in a blanket as two gravediggers prepared to bury her, and she remembered how a banquet host had beaten and tortured her before ordering her death.
• A mysterious old man killed the gravediggers, restored a small grave, and left Pengshan beside their corpses as wild dogs approached.
• Pengshan used the gravestone, blanket, and pottery to survive the dogs through the night, and Chen Shigu returned to find her barely alive.
• Chen Shigu offered to make Pengshan his disciple, and she said she wanted to live and take revenge.
• Pengshan chose the surname Tuoba from the gravestone, and Chen Shigu carried her away while promising to train her as a martial artist.