Chapter Summaries

Huo Qilang discovered that Li Yuanying’s private residence housed his intelligence network, led by Lady Yu, rather than a mistress. Disguised as a woman, Li Yuanying left the city with Huo Qilang in a concealed ox cart to meet people outside and answer Ugu Khan.

• Huo Qilang entered Li Yuanying’s private residence and mistook his wet nurse, Lady Yu, for a noblewoman connected to his supposed mistress, Lady Jing.
• Lady Yu briefed Li Yuanying and his advisers on intelligence from Youzhou, including a plot to rebel by the commander of Liu Kun’s right division.
• Huo Qilang learned from Kang Simo that Ugu Khan had sent one of his sons to Li Yuanying as an adopted son.
• Li Yuanying revealed that Lady Jing was a bronze mirror, then changed into women’s clothing while explaining that his disguise plan predated Huo Qilang’s arrival.
• Lady Yu disguised Huo Qilang as well and led them through a concealed passage to a padded ox cart bound for the road out of the city.

Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang how his mother, Lady Xue, survived the Jingyuan Mutiny and how rumors about her and his birth undermined the emperor’s trust in him. He revealed that the emperor’s suspicions and a prophecy led to his exile in Youzhou, then began explaining the deeper reason they became enemies.

• Li Yuanying disguised himself as a woman to pass through the East Gate, then changed back into men’s clothing after leaving the city.
• Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang that if anything happened to him, she must tell Baozhu the secrets he was about to reveal.
• Li Yuanying recounted how Prince Liang abandoned Lady Xue during the Jingyuan Mutiny, then found her in a cave after a white fox led him there.
• Li Yuanying explained that rumors questioning Lady Xue’s character and his legitimacy angered the emperor, who had the suspected source executed.
• Li Yuanying said the emperor’s doubts deepened after Lady Xue died, and a prophecy comparing him to Lü Buwei’s alleged son prompted his exile to Youzhou.
• Li Yuanying drew out a bamboo-green Floating-Light Brocade pouch and said it held the true reason he and the emperor became enemies.

Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang how his mother died in childbirth and described the suspicious evidence he uncovered afterward. He and Huo Qilang arrived at their destination, where she helped him prepare to meet others as Lady Jing.

• Li Yuanying explained that after his mother died, he found medicinal-smelling soil in a flowerpot beside her room and learned that palace attendants had changed their accounts and disappeared.
• Li Yuanying and Huo Qilang concluded that someone had poured away a blood-staunching decoction while his mother was hemorrhaging, then concealed the evidence and silenced witnesses.
• Li Yuanying asked Huo Qilang to intercept Baozhu if danger befell him and explained that he wanted Baozhu to understand his actions, not seek revenge.
• The cart reached its destination, and Huo Qilang kissed Li Yuanying's forehead, removed his floral ornament, and put it on herself.
• Huo Qilang asked whether it was her turn to be Lady Jing, and Li Yuanying agreed.

Li Yuanying revealed that he had fabricated the External Appointment Subsidy to restore his standing, then used Youzhou Terrace to recruit allies for a plan to replace Liu Kun. After securing support and explaining his peaceful trade arrangement with Ugu Khan, he returned to the city and continued preparations in a separate house.

• Huo Qilang recognized Zhao Yuanbao, and Li Yuanying revealed that the eunuch and subsidy had been part of his scheme to make the emperor treat him as an imperial heir.
• Li Yuanying explained that Zhao Yuanbao funded him in hopes of winning his sons the right to study and take the imperial examinations.
• At Youzhou Terrace, Li Yuanying met with generals and foreign envoys, who agreed to act when Liu Kun's Yab soldiers rebelled.
• Yuan Shaobo led troops into the city to prepare an ambush, while Song Yinghui took charge of guarding Li Yuanying.
• Huo Qilang asked what Ugu Khan expected in return, and Li Yuanying explained that he sought a tea-and-horse trade rather than land or permission to raid.
• Li Yuanying stayed at a separate house as his guards took up positions, and Huo Qilang admitted to Xu Xing that she had once disguised herself as a woman.

Liu Mian surrounded Prince Shao’s villa under the pretext of searching for Khitan spies, trapping Li Yuanying and his guards inside. Huo Qilang’s defense killed the first attackers, and Liu Mian ordered his archers onto the walls and declared the prince a traitor.

• Lady Yu discovered that the streets were deserted, the carriage had been sabotaged, and Cailu had not returned, then warned Li Yuanying that danger was coming.
• Huo Qilang found that several hundred Yab soldiers had surrounded the villa and learned that Kang Simo had vanished while the Khitan boy remained inside.
• Liu Mian demanded to search the villa for Khitan spies, and Lady Yu refused to open the gate as Li Yuanying’s guards prepared to defend the central courtyard.
• Liu Mian threw Cailu’s severed head into the courtyard, then ordered his soldiers to break down the gate when no one surrendered.
• Huo Qilang killed seven Yab soldiers who charged through the entrance, forcing Liu Mian to declare Li Yuanying a traitor and order archers onto the walls.

Huo Qilang and Prince Shao’s guards fought Liu Mian’s overwhelming Yab forces in the courtyard as they tried to protect Li Yuanying. Huo Qilang was badly wounded but continued fighting to defend him, ending the chapter with her fate uncertain.

• Huo Qilang held the courtyard against the Yab soldiers, first with her Horizontal Saber and then with Li Yuanying’s Jade Dragon Sword, which she eventually ruined.
• Song Yinghui gave Huo Qilang his Mo Dao, and she used it to cut through the advancing soldiers as the guards were driven back toward the building.
• Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang to escape, but she refused and recalled how, ten years earlier, she had sworn never again to pledge her loyalty to anyone.
• A wounded Yab soldier stabbed Huo Qilang in the thigh, causing severe blood loss, but she continued fighting to protect Li Yuanying and shouted, “Huo Qi-duty fulfilled!!!!!”

Li Yuanying and Huo Qilang survived the attack on the outlying residence after reinforcements arrived, though the defenders suffered heavy losses and Yuwen Rang died. As Huo Qilang lay gravely wounded on the ride back, Li Yuanying kissed her.

• Li Yuanying crawled to Huo Qilang and stopped the bleeding from her thigh wound with his hands and his forehead band.
• Huo Qilang collapsed a covered walkway onto the Yab soldiers, then helped hold the north gate until the defenders rallied.
• Liu Mian ordered the residence burned, but Yuan Shaobo and the cavalry arrived, killed Liu Mian, and drove off his troops after learning the Inner City was under attack.
• Yuan Shaobo found Li Yuanying and the wounded survivors; Huo Qilang discovered Yuwen Rang had died and was carried back for treatment.
• Huo Qilang asked Li Yuanying to help her sew her wound and joked with him in the carriage, and Li Yuanying leaned down and kissed her.

Li Yuanying consolidated his rule over Youzhou and uncovered that Physician Zhu Minhe was a spy from Chang’an, winning his loyalty by avenging his family. Zhu Minhe then revealed that Li Yuanying’s prolonged arsenic poisoning had irreparably damaged his health and urged him to choose an heir, leaving Li Yuanying to make further arrangements.

• Zhang Jifang seized Youzhou’s Inner City after Liu Kun’s defeat, then surrendered the Military Governor’s seal to Li Yuanying when troops from other prefectures surrounded the city.
• Li Yuanying took control of Youzhou, honored the battle dead at their funeral, exempted the people from land tax for a year, and restored Minzhong Temple.
• Li Yuanying summoned Zhu Minhe and exposed him as a spy who had been secretly monitoring his health for Chang’an.
• Li Yuanying presented Zhu Minhe with the preserved head of the man who had murdered his parents, and Zhu pledged his loyalty in return.
• Zhu Minhe agreed to report that Li Yuanying had a hereditary illness, then warned him that prolonged arsenic poisoning had severely damaged his health and advised him to choose an heir.
• Li Yuanying dismissed Zhu Minhe and told his trusted attendants that he had arrangements to make.

Gravely ill, Li Yuanying left Youzhou City and gave Huo Qilang instructions to take his identity and authority after his death. As he waited for Baozhu, Huo Qilang chose to use her inner power to try to save him rather than inherit his position.

• Li Yuanying ordered those around him to conceal his grave illness and traveled with Huo Qilang to Youzhou Terrace.
• Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang to bury him under Lady Jing's identity and become the true Prince Shao Ying and Regional Governor of Youzhou.
• Li Yuanying gave Huo Qilang Flower Mud and the Bronze Official Seal, explaining that Baozhu would know how to carry on.
• As Li Yuanying waited for his younger sister, Huo Qilang weighed accepting his authority against the loss of her freedom to travel.
• Huo Qilang carried Li Yuanying indoors, pressed his back to her chest, and used her inner power in an attempt to keep him alive.

Li Yuanying explained that he needed Huo Qilang’s insight to pursue his plan to become Chang'an Military Governor, and asked her to stay until Baozhu arrived. Huo Qilang named her price: she wanted him to dress as Lady Jing, prompting a furious fight that ended with Li Yuanying collapsing after spitting blood.

• Li Yuanying worried that Baozhu’s elusive escort was hiding her and explained that he needed to meet her before deciding his next move.
• Li Yuanying told Huo Qilang he intended to become Chang'an Military Governor and asked her to remain by his side for her insight.
• Huo Qilang said she wanted Li Yuanying to wear Lady Jing’s outfit so they could enjoy themselves, and he angrily protested her request.
• Li Yuanying grabbed an Ivory Tea Knife and attacked Huo Qilang, who disarmed and restrained him in the carriage.
• Li Yuanying spat blood and passed out, and Huo Qilang promised to wear the skirt in a panic.

Dou Jing was forced by a gray-robed woman to take part in a crime against the true dragon bloodline. After she showed him a golden hair and named the Yellow Lion, she declared that her command was the mandate of heaven.

• Dou Jing trembled in a secret chamber as a gray-robed woman ordered him to act.
• Dou Jing protested that the deed was one of the ten unpardonable crimes and feared the true dragon's guardians.
• The woman revealed a golden hair and named the Yellow Lion.
• The woman declared that her command was the mandate of heaven.

Baozhu spent the party’s days in Luoyang shopping and ordered Shangdang ginseng from a pharmacy, unaware that the physician Qiu Ren planned to use the purchase to deceive her. She left pleased with her bargain and hopeful that the ginseng might help Wei Xun, while he worried about their dwindling travel funds.

• Yang Xingjian arranged for the party’s travel permits and left Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son to accompany Baozhu shopping in Luoyang.
• Baozhu bought many supplies and cosmetics, tiring Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son as they carried her parcels.
• Baozhu visited Rongqing Pharmacy to ask about Shangdang ginseng and discovered that Qiu Ren was secretly listening from the rear room.
• Qiu Ren persuaded the shopkeeper to obtain a genuine ginseng root and charge Baozhu a high price, while claiming the physician could not see Wei Xun.
• Baozhu paid a deposit for the ginseng, and Qiu Ren fled through the rear of the pharmacy as the shopkeeper announced that the Great Bliss Powder was sold out.
• Baozhu told Wei Xun she had ordered something to nourish his health, and Wei Xun protested that their travel funds were running short.

Baozhu struggled with the loss of her former rank after an official’s procession frightened her in Luoyang, while Wei Xun tried to comfort and protect her. After she went alone to the riverbank, an old woman asked her to help her daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth.

• Baozhu gave Wei Xun ten gold coins to buy him back and jokingly called them his betrothal gift.
• When an official’s attendants ordered Baozhu aside and one brushed her skirt with a whip, Wei Xun seized the whip and drove the procession into confusion.
• Yang Xingjian explained that Baozhu’s distress came from the humiliation of being treated as an ordinary person, and Wei Xun found signs of an internal injury in her pulse.
• Baozhu accepted that her former privileges were gone, while Wei Xun returned the osmanthus blossom to her hair and promised to defend it.
• Baozhu and Wei Xun went to the Luo River, where she wept over Luoyang’s ruined palaces before he left to tend to the donkey.
• As Baozhu returned across Xinzhong Bridge, an old woman asked her to help her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was close to giving birth.

Baozhu was nearly abducted by traffickers, but Wei Xun rescued her and killed the gang. Afterward, Baozhu comforted the shaken Wei Xun, and her affectionate teasing drew him back toward her.

• Baozhu followed a supposed pregnant woman to a courtyard, where the woman and an old woman trapped her and Wei Xun killed them.
• Wei Xun killed four traffickers who emerged from the house and exposed the fake pregnancy, explaining that the gang had planned to abduct Baozhu.
• Wei Xun carried Baozhu back to Cihui Ward, where Yang Xingjian and Thirteenth Son welcomed her and Wei Xun explained the traffickers' underworld slang.
• Baozhu drank alone and invited Wei Xun to join her, reassuring him that she had only been frightened and praising the hands that had protected her.
• Wei Xun fled in embarrassment after Baozhu held his hand, then stumbled from the eaves as she teased him and called him her Guanyin.

After Baozhu drunkenly reached for Wei Xun, he struck her pressure points and spent the night wrestling with his feelings before returning her to bed. The next day, Yang Xingjian arranged a lavish outing to cheer Baozhu, and the three set off for the Golden Wave Pavilion.

• Baozhu leaned toward Wei Xun while drunk, and he struck the pressure points on her neck, leaving her unconscious.
• Wei Xun carried Baozhu to bed, drank the wine from her cup, and worried over his feelings and the gold coins she had given him.
• Baozhu woke with no memory of being knocked out, and Thirteenth Son confronted Wei Xun after recognizing the pressure-point technique.
• Wei Xun admitted that Baozhu had made the first move, but Thirteenth Son blamed him and warned him not to strike her again.
• Yang Xingjian reserved a private table and performances at the Golden Wave Pavilion to lift Baozhu's spirits.
• Baozhu dressed for the outing, and she, Wei Xun, Yang Xingjian, and Thirteenth Son went to the Golden Wave Pavilion.

Baozhu, Wei Xun, Yang Xingjian, and Thirteenth Son watched performances at the Golden Wave Pavilion, where Shen Dexian invited Baozhu to compete to become the Guanyin Attendant in Luoyang’s City Procession. Baozhu refused to enter the selection but decided they could visit Changqiu Temple and watch the procession before leaving Luoyang.

• Baozhu enjoyed a foreign dancer’s performance, asked his name, and gave Mi Falan copper coins instead of the gold coin she had first taken out.
• Baozhu told Wei Xun about her mother’s dancing and how she had practiced wrestling, riding, and archery as a child.
• Shen Dexian invited Baozhu to enter the selection for the Guanyin Attendant in the City Procession, and Wei Xun challenged his claims about the healing power of sacred dew.
• Baozhu declined Shen Dexian’s invitation and explained that Changqiu Temple housed a Guanyin statue said to bear Empress Wu’s features.
• Baozhu agreed with Yang Xingjian and Thirteenth Son that they could visit Changqiu Temple and watch the City Procession before leaving Luoyang.

Baozhu investigated Luoyang’s Guanyin Attendant procession and resolved to secure its healing sweet dew for Wei Xun, despite his skepticism. At Changqiu Temple, she recognized that the Guanyin statue resembled her late mother and noticed Abbess Duanchen arguing with Shen Dexian.

• Baozhu questioned local people and confirmed the procession’s reputation for healing sweet dew and its selection of a Guanyin Attendant.
• Yang Xingjian reasoned that Shen Dexian profited from the procession, and Baozhu decided money might secure Wei Xun a chance to receive the sweet dew.
• Baozhu, Wei Xun, Yang Xingjian, and Thirteenth Son visited Changqiu Temple, where crowds had gathered for the candidates’ final selection.
• Baozhu saw that the Guanyin statue resembled her late mother and learned that seven pottery figures represented former Guanyin Attendants.
• An old woman began to mention a past year when the statue had been carried through the city, then fell silent.
• Baozhu noticed Abbess Duanchen arguing with Shen Dexian near the edge of the main hall.

At Changqiu Temple, Wei Xun confronted Cao Hong after Baozhu recognized him as the man who had questioned her before her attempted abduction. Baozhu explained the misunderstanding, and the group parted without fighting, leaving to find food and rest before the Guanyin Attendant selection.

• Baozhu recognized Cao Hong from Xinzhong Bridge and told Wei Xun he had spoken to her before she was nearly abducted.
• Wei Xun accused Cao Hong of helping the traffickers, and Cao Hong, Abbess Duanchen, and their followers prepared to fight him and Baozhu.
• Abbess Duanchen intervened, and Wei Xun introduced himself as the Green-Robed Wanderer, startling the martial artists present.
• Baozhu described the traffickers’ ruse, and Abbess Duanchen and Cao Hong denied that Cao Hong was involved, easing the confrontation.
• Yao Jiangzhen and Mi Falan arrived at the temple, and Wei Xun left with Baozhu after the misunderstanding was settled.
• Yang Xingjian called out for Fang Xie, Thirteenth Son rejoined the group, and the four decided to find food and rest before returning for the selection.

Baozhu learned that Changqiu Temple’s Guanyin statue had once been modeled after Empress Zetian Dasheng and had been damaged shortly before her mother died. At the stalled selection of the Guanyin Attendant, Baozhu wiped the statue’s apparent tears, and two coins from her purse landed as a sacred oracle.

• Baozhu, Yang Xingjian, and Wei Xun heard from a waiter that Changqiu Temple’s Guanyin statue had broken before the Noble Consort died and had later been restored.
• Baozhu recalled her family’s elaborate Mid-Autumn soup, while Wei Xun awkwardly avoided her gaze after her drunken night.
• Wei Xun carried the group through the crowd at Changqiu Temple to watch nine candidates cast coins for the Guanyin Attendant.
• After repeated casts produced no sacred oracle, the crowd saw liquid on the statue’s face and cried that Guanyin was weeping.
• Duanchen announced that there would be no selection, but Baozhu climbed onto the pedestal and wiped the statue’s face.
• Baozhu’s purse caught on the statue’s willow branch, spilling two gold coins that landed one face up and one reverse up.

Baozhu was chosen as the Guanyin Attendant after her spilled gold coins formed a divination sign at Changqiu Temple, and she agreed to join the City Procession. On Mid-Autumn evening, she disguised herself, prepared the vase and willow branch, and told Wei Xun to stay beside her carriage.

• Baozhu's spilled gold coins formed a sacred sign, and Shen Dexian declared that Guanyin had chosen her as the attendant.
• Baozhu accepted the ceremonial costume and ornaments but arranged to stay in Cihui Ward until the procession.
• Baozhu tried on the Guanyin costume, and Wei Xun fitted the copper armlet onto her arm and praised her beauty.
• On Mid-Autumn evening, Baozhu prepared for the procession by disguising her face, filling the vase, and taking a willow branch.
• Baozhu reminded Wei Xun to walk beside the carriage shaft where she could see him.