Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingtang waited for the criminals’ planned assault while Prince Wu’s forces prepared to draw the court’s defenders away from the Imperial City. A detailed tip exposed their positions, and Dongfang Liren ordered the western defenses mobilized as the threat shifted into action.

• Ye Jingtang met Dongfang Liren at the Corner Tower, where she told him the tunnel excavation had stalled and the court was watching for attacks across the city.
• At a renovation site, Cao Aning and Liu Qiansheng’s group raised a toast to their fallen allies before Nangong Shaofeng led experts toward the tunnel and Cao Aning left separately with a letter.
• A constable summoned Ye Jingtang to the Corner Tower after an informant delivered a list of Prince Wu’s fighters and a map of their hiding places, attack routes, and traps.
• Shang Jianli confirmed experts were concealed at several marked locations, and Dongfang Liren ordered the Imperial Guards, Six Fan Gate, and Fire Master Bureau to reinforce the west of the city.
• Dongfang Liren said the Empress Dowager and His Majesty had moved to the Western Palace and ordered the forces to eliminate the western threat while remaining ready to defend Palace City.

Ye Jingtang exposed Nangong Shaofeng and Liu Qiansheng’s plot to rescue the Deposed Emperor, arrested them, and then hurried with Shang Jianli to stop Prince Wu’s allies. The fighting at Jade Resonance Tower continued while Cao Gonggong remained in danger at the Black Bureau.

• Nangong Shaofeng explained to Liu Qiansheng that their plan depended on Cao Aning freeing Lord Cao and drawing the city’s experts away from the Marquis of Yunning’s Residence.
• Ye Jingtang arrived at Nangong Shaofeng’s school, kept the pupils safe, and revealed that he knew about the plot and Liu Qiansheng’s presence.
• Liu Qiansheng tried to escape after Ye Jingtang and the Black Bureau chief constables surrounded the school, but Shang Jianli’s hidden needle disabled him.
• Ye Jingtang severed Nangong Shaofeng’s arm as he tried to take poison, and the constables arrested both men.
• Shang Jianli told Ye Jingtang that Lord Meng had returned to the Black Bureau and that protecting the Deposed Emperor and Palace City took priority over the prison fight.
• Ye Jingtang and Shang Jianli followed Niao Niao toward the fighting to stop Xiao Yuan, Hao Yuanzhou, and the others.

Cao Aning broke into the Black Bureau dungeon to free Cao Gonggong, but Cao Gonggong refused to flee or support Prince Yan and sent him away. As the jailbreak triggered the prison’s lethal defenses, Meng Jiao prepared to confront Cao Gonggong, and Qiu Tianhe offered to help in exchange for a chance to regain his freedom.

• A tremor shook the Black Bureau dungeon, activating Sealing Stones and poison defenses that trapped the prisoners on the first and second levels.
• Wang Chengjing recognized the poisonous gas as Poison Dragon Miasma and warned Wang Er to stay low, while both brothers pleaded with the jailers for help.
• Cao Aning broke through the floor of the third level and urged Cao Gonggong to escape, explaining that Yan Bugui and the Green Bandits had arranged the rescue.
• Cao Gonggong rejected Cao Aning’s plan to take him to Prince Yan, explained that he would not interfere in the imperial succession, and chose to remain imprisoned.
• Qiu Tianhe learned that the Two Wangs of Yanzhou might die in the dungeon’s defenses and asked Meng Jiao to remove his golden needles so he could help stop Cao Gonggong.
• Meng Jiao agreed to petition Her Majesty for Qiu Tianhe’s release or a comfortable status if he helped, and Qiu Tianhe accepted while asking the Imperial Court to arrange treatment if he was badly injured.

Ye Jingtang rushed to Jade Resonance Tower after spotting Qiu Tianhe’s formidable presence, only to find Qiu battered after fighting Cao Qiansui. When Qiu revealed Cao had gone to kill the emperor, Ye Jingtang raced toward the Imperial City.

• Ye Jingtang and Shang Jianli continued searching the western city for two missing Lightness Skill Grandmasters.
• Niao Niao warned Ye Jingtang of a powerful presence in the east, and he spotted Qiu Tianhe standing atop Jade Resonance Tower.
• Ye Jingtang galloped toward the disturbance and found Qiu Tianhe sprawled in the street after being thrown there during his fight with Cao Qiansui.
• Qiu Tianhe explained that he had made a deal with the White-Haired Truth-Listener to help stop Cao Qiansui in exchange for a petition for his freedom.
• Qiu Tianhe said Cao Qiansui had gone to kill the emperor, and Ye Jingtang immediately raced toward the Imperial City.

Ye Jingtang intervened when Cao Gonggong confronted the Empress of Great Wei, and the Empress helped him defeat the old eunuch before suffering a cultivation mishap. Ye Jingtang carried her deeper into the palace for treatment, while Cao Aning learned what had happened and led the Secret Guards toward Yanzhou.

• The Empress of Great Wei told Cao Gonggong she wanted him to live until he accepted her rule, but he refused to abandon his loyalty to the Dongfang Family and prepared to fight her.
• Ye Jingtang burst into the plaza and pinned Cao Gonggong against Taihua Hall with the Black Qilin Spear, exhausting himself in the struggle.
• The Empress of Great Wei joined Ye Jingtang and drove the spear into the masonry, knocking Cao Gonggong unconscious, but her effort disrupted her circulation.
• Ye Jingtang carried the ailing Empress toward Cheng'an Hall as she told him to avoid the palace attendants and said her secret method could regulate her condition.
• Cao Aning watched the confrontation from outside the palace, learned the Empress had defeated Cao Gonggong ten years earlier, and ordered the Secret Guards to head to Yanzhou while avoiding Ye Jingtang.

Ye Jingtang brought the injured Empress of Great Wei to her private bathing pool and helped her prepare a medicinal bath while blindfolded. As she treated her internal injury, the Empress considered how to secure his loyalty for a secret mission, but her attempt to tempt him only annoyed him.

• Ye Jingtang carried the Empress of Great Wei through Cheng'an Hall and into her hidden bathing room.
• The Empress directed Ye Jingtang to prepare medicinal water and ordered him to cover his eyes while she undressed.
• Ye Jingtang helped remove the Empress's clothes without touching her skin, prompting her to ask how he was so practiced at it.
• Ye Jingtang carried the Empress into the pool, then stayed nearby with his back turned as she began regulating her body.
• The Empress weighed how to make Ye Jingtang loyal to her secret mission and tested his reaction by splashing water over herself.
• Ye Jingtang rebuked the Empress for playing games and told her to focus on healing, so she resumed treating her injury.

Dongfang Liren celebrated the success of the West City arrests and promoted Ye Jingtang in his absence, then went to the Palace of Eternal Joy to report to her elder sister. Ye Jingtang was caught in the Empress of Great Wei’s bathing chamber when Dongfang Liren arrived, and the chapter ended with him going out to send her away after accidentally seeing the Empress exposed.

• Dongfang Liren learned that Ye Jingtang had gone to Jade Resonance Tower and proposed making him deputy commander of the Black Bureau.
• She Long, Shang Jianli, and Yang Lan suggested the nickname Jade-Faced Judge for Ye Jingtang, and Dongfang Liren ordered rumors of it spread.
• Dongfang Liren went to the Palace of Eternal Joy to report her work and ask about Cao Gonggong and Ye Jingtang’s reward.
• The Empress of Great Wei ordered Ye Jingtang to send Dongfang Liren away so she could hide her injuries, but he accidentally saw her in the bath when he turned back.
• Ye Jingtang opened the chamber door and went outside to deal with Dongfang Liren.

Ye Jingtang secretly left the Empress’s bedchamber with Dongfang Liren and turned his unexpected visit into a rainy-night outing above Yun'an. He brought her back to Jade Resonance Tower, then left, while Dongfang Liren realized she had forgotten to check on the Empress Dowager.

• Ye Jingtang surprised Dongfang Liren in the Empress’s bedchamber and explained that he had fought Cao Gonggong while helping protect the palace.
• Ye Jingtang stopped Dongfang Liren from checking the bathroom, drew her close, and asked how she would reward him for his service; she offered him the position of Deputy Commander of the Black Bureau.
• Ye Jingtang carried Dongfang Liren across Dragon-Mingling Pool and took her to Vermilion Bird Gate, where they admired Yun'an’s rainy nightscape and hummed a tune together.
• Ye Jingtang returned Dongfang Liren to Jade Resonance Tower but declined her offer to come upstairs, then left beneath the umbrella.
• Dongfang Liren remembered that she had left the Empress Dowager alone in the Imperial Garden, but decided the Empress Dowager would return to Cheng'an Hall herself.

The Empress Dowager read a scandalous palace tale while waiting in the Empress’s bedchamber, and Ye Jingtang unexpectedly returned and found her there. He subdued her to keep her from raising an alarm, then discovered Yu Hu unconscious and dangerously weakened; Yu Hu woke as he questioned her condition.

• The Empress Dowager told Hongyu to keep the tunnel to Prince Jing’s Manor open so she could use it for nighttime outings.
• While staying in Cheng'an Hall, the Empress Dowager read the Secret History of the Seductress and considered whether to share the Flame-Rebirth Diagram with Ye Jingtang.
• Ye Jingtang returned to the Palace of Eternal Joy and found the Empress Dowager in the imperial bed, mistaking her for the Empress.
• Ye Jingtang covered the Empress Dowager’s mouth and knocked her unconscious to prevent her from alerting the palace maids.
• Ye Jingtang found Yu Hu motionless in the bathing pool with a faint pulse and an icy-cold body, then saw her wake and asked what was wrong.

Ye Jingtang discovered that Yu Hu had collapsed after healing her injuries and helped her hide her condition from the Empress Dowager. After staying by Yu Hu until she fell asleep, he slipped out of the bedchamber into the night.

• Ye Jingtang returned to the bathroom, found Yu Hu weak but recovering, and learned she had fallen asleep after healing her injuries.
• Ye Jingtang told Yu Hu he had knocked the Empress Dowager unconscious, and Yu Hu planned to explain his presence as part of a secret mission.
• Ye Jingtang helped Yu Hu dress and carried her to the imperial bed when her weakness made her stumble.
• Yu Hu asked Ye Jingtang to stay beside her because his warmth eased her coldness and weakness.
• Ye Jingtang waited by the bed as Yu Hu fell asleep, then covered her with a quilt and quietly left.

After returning to the Pei residence, Ye Jingtang reflected on his adoptive father's unfinished revenge mission and secretly listened as Luo Ning urged Pei Xiangjun to admit her feelings for him. He accidentally opened the hidden tunnel beneath the bed while the women were changing, and the chapter ended with Luo Ning considering staying in the capital to help him pursue her mission.

• Ye Jingtang returned to the Pei residence, reassured Zhe Yunli about Qiu Tianhe, and went to Azure Dragon Hall to pay respects to Pei Yuanfeng.
• Ye Jingtang reviewed the three tasks in Pei Yuanfeng's will and recognized that Xuanyuan Chao and Junshan Terrace remained urgent concerns.
• Luo Ning told Pei Xiangjun that she might have to leave the capital and urged her to admit her feelings for Ye Jingtang and help treat him.
• Ye Jingtang secretly listened beneath the bedroom and opened the tunnel entrance, causing Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun to fall onto him.
• Ye Jingtang explained the accident to Luo Ning, then offered to help her investigate beneath Cheng'an Hall so she could stay in the capital longer.
• Luo Ning agreed to tell Xue Baijin that she had found an opening in her mission, while Ye Jingtang asked her to reward him for helping Qiu Tianhe.

Ye Jingtang wore his new Black Bureau deputy commander’s robe and taught Dongfang Liren the Overlord Spear, with Meng Jiao interrupting their lesson to report on Liu Qiansheng’s demands. The chapter ended with Ye Jingtang heading to speak with the imprisoned martial artist about a possible deal with the Imperial Court.

• Ye Jingtang arrived at the Black Bureau in his new official robe, while Niao Niao wore its own specially tailored insignia.
• Dongfang Liren asked Ye Jingtang to demonstrate the Overlord Spear, then practiced its moves under his close instruction.
• Meng Jiao arrived and taught Ye Jingtang a touch-based method for sensing another person’s circulation and bodily movements.
• Meng Jiao reported that Liu Qiansheng would negotiate with the Imperial Court if given Snow Lake Flower, an official post, and a title.
• Dongfang Liren refused to surrender the palace’s Snow Lake Flower but said Liu Qiansheng could live in the Capital City if he taught them his martial arts.
• Ye Jingtang agreed to speak with Liu Qiansheng and left Jade Resonance Tower.

Ye Jingtang and Qiu Tianhe persuaded Liu Qiansheng to confess and serve the Imperial Court in exchange for a natural death and proper burial, while agreeing to investigate Jiang Zhawu. Liu Qiansheng revealed information about Prince Wu’s secret drug and demonstrated his Wind-Listening Palm, which Ye Jingtang and Qiu Tianhe began to learn.

• Ye Jingtang found Niao Niao relaxing in the Black Bureau’s tea room and asked Qiu Tianhe to help question Liu Qiansheng.
• Ye Jingtang and Qiu Tianhe met Liu Qiansheng, who recounted how Jiang Zhawu had avenged his father and taken over the Hongshan Gang.
• Liu Qiansheng agreed to confess and teach the Imperial Court in exchange for a natural death and proper burial, asking it to pursue Jiang Zhawu.
• Liu Qiansheng told Ye Jingtang that Prince Wu employed Zhang Jinglin, whose unstable secret drug could temporarily multiply a person’s strength.
• Liu Qiansheng demonstrated the Wind-Listening Palm, and Ye Jingtang and Qiu Tianhe practiced its close-range technique together.

Ye Jingtang freed Qiu Tianhe from the dungeon and returned to teach Dongfang Liren the Wind-Listening Palm. Liren quickly grasped the technique, but her experiments sensing Ye Jingtang’s qi turned into teasing him, and he left her to practice alone.

• Ye Jingtang released Qiu Tianhe, who promised to keep his distance from the Sky-Pacifying Sect and travel elsewhere.
• Ye Jingtang returned to the Jade Resonance Tower and watched Dongfang Liren practice with the Black Qilin Spear.
• Ye Jingtang taught Dongfang Liren the Wind-Listening Palm by sensing and correcting the flow of her qi.
• Dongfang Liren used the technique to examine Ye Jingtang’s qi and discovered how her touch affected his body.
• Ye Jingtang stopped Dongfang Liren’s teasing and explained that the Wind-Listening Palm should be used quickly in combat before leaving her to practice.

The Empress weighed how to enlist Ye Jingtang in finding the missing Dragon-Mingling Diagrams while soothing the Empress Dowager’s anger over his visit. Ye Jingtang moved his belongings into the new residence, where Pei Xiangjun considered moving in to manage the household.

• The Empress worried that she needed to build a bond with Ye Jingtang to entrust him with finding the Dragon-Mingling Diagrams, but feared her image had suffered after he saw her vulnerable side.
• The Empress Dowager complained that Ye Jingtang had knocked her unconscious, but agreed not to punish him after the Empress explained the secret assignment and promised to warn him.
• The Empress promised the Empress Dowager that Perfected Person Xuanji would soon visit and accompany her on an outing.
• Ye Jingtang visited the old courtyard on Dyeing Street, collected his belongings, and went to the new residence near the Pei Family home.
• Pei Xiangjun and Xiuhe discussed managing the new residence, and Pei Xiangjun said she would ask Eldest Aunt whether she could move in.

Luo Ning and Ye Jingtang returned to Dyeing Street, where his massage turned into an intimate encounter before they went back to their new residence. Meanwhile, the Empress learned that Zhang Jinglin had been researching a substitute for Snow Lake Flower, then secretly followed Ye Jingtang after finding him with a drained-looking woman.

• Luo Ning discussed the rooms at their new home with Ye Jingtang, who joked about taking several wives and concubines.
• Ye Jingtang stopped Luo Ning from fetching his medicine and massaged her with the Wind-Listening Palm until they lowered the bed curtains.
• Imperial Physician Wang told the Empress that Zhang Jinglin may have been developing a substitute for Snow Lake Flower, whose rare bloom was due at Tianlang Lake this year or next.
• The Empress left the Imperial City, asked the White-Haired Truth-Listener about Ye Jingtang, and waited near the Pei Family residence.
• The Empress saw Ye Jingtang arrive with a woman in blue who struck him before entering the residence, then followed him toward a courtyard.

Ye Jingtang received an imperial mission from the Empress of Great Wei to find Zhang Jinglin, who may have developed a substitute for Snow Lake Flower, and set out for Wu Prefecture ahead of Prince Jing’s delegation. Meanwhile, Yang Guan returned to Three-Perfection Valley and urged Guang Hanlin to use his connection to Ye Jingtang as Prince Wu’s troubles threatened to engulf the region.

• The Empress of Great Wei visited Ye Jingtang’s room, gave him the imperial plaque bearing “As if I were there in person,” and ordered him to locate Zhang Jinglin and bring him back alive if he had a Snow Lake Flower substitute.
• Ye Jingtang examined the Empress’s pulse and shoulder, detected unusual qi and blood but no clear hidden injury, and agreed to depart for Wu Prefecture immediately.
• Pei Xiangjun and Luo Ning collected medicines for Ye Jingtang at Madam Wang’s clinic, where Madam Wang privately shared intimate advice with Luo Ning.
• Ye Jingtang said goodbye to Dongfang Liren, accepted two books from her, and rode off toward Wu Prefecture with Niao Niao.
• Yang Guan returned to Three-Perfection Valley and told Guang Hanlin that he knew Ye Jingtang, while Guang Hanlin explained that Prince Wu’s crisis could implicate Iron River Manor and disrupt Wu Prefecture.

Ye Jingtang offered Pei Xiangjun the forbidden Dragon-Elephant Diagram so she could break through her martial arts bottleneck, while Luo Ning helped him decide whether to share it. Pei Xiangjun accepted the treasure and called herself Ye Jingtang’s fiancée, then began studying the diagram alone as he left her to figure it out.

• Ye Jingtang reflected on his adoptive father and the dangers of the martial world while traveling by ship with Niao Niao, Luo Ning, and Pei Xiangjun.
• Ye Jingtang entered the women’s cabin and began retrieving the Dragon-Elephant Diagram, but Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun pinned him down, mistaking his intentions.
• Ye Jingtang explained the diagram to Luo Ning, who approved of sharing it with Pei Xiangjun and left them alone.
• Ye Jingtang gave Pei Xiangjun the Dragon-Elephant Diagram and explained that it could help her overcome her bottleneck.
• Pei Xiangjun said she would teach Ye Jingtang the final two moves of the Overlord Spear and declared herself his fiancée.
• Pei Xiangjun insisted she could study the diagram without help, so Ye Jingtang left her alone with it.

Ye Jingtang intervened when Second Master Xu was about to maim a youth searching for his missing father, then uncovered the connection to Prince Wu's Manor and ordered Xu taken to the prefectural office. After recording the missing man's details, Ye Jingtang left Wanshui Town, while the woman in white had already disappeared in pursuit of someone.

• A woman in white watched from an inn as a youth with an oxtail saber fought Second Master Xu and his hired fighters over his missing father.
• Ye Jingtang stopped Second Master Xu from striking the pinned youth, bent his saber, and showed his constable token.
• The youth told Ye Jingtang that his father had gone into the mountains on a herb-gathering job arranged by Second Master Xu and never returned.
• Ye Jingtang learned that Prince Wu's Manor had paid compensation for the missing father's disappearance, while Second Master Xu had kept the money.
• Ye Jingtang ordered the hired fighters to take Second Master Xu to the prefectural office, spared the youth, and recorded his father's name and description before leaving town.
• The woman in white paid for her meal and vanished from the inn after noticing someone departing along the edge of town.

Ye Jingtang learned that Moon-Bearing Pavilion had likely helped Prince Wu stockpile medicinal ingredients, then planned to approach the sect under the Sky-Pacifying Sect’s name. Meanwhile, Prince Wu hid in Crouching Dragon Cave and weighed offers of refuge from Yanzhou and the Sky-Pacifying Sect, unaware that both sides wanted his resources and secret medicine.

• Ye Jingtang met Guan Shengxing, learned Prince Wu had fled into the Wu Mountains, and heard that Moon-Bearing Pavilion might have secretly stockpiled medicinal ingredients for him.
• Ye Jingtang and Luo Ning discussed approaching Moon-Bearing Pavilion, with Ye Jingtang claiming he would represent the Sky-Pacifying Sect to seek cooperation.
• Prince Wu met Lu Fang of Cloud-Cutting Palace, who sought the Snow Lake Powder formula in exchange for arranging his escape to Yanzhou.
• Zhang Jinglin showed Lu Fang Snow Lake Powder and his failed imitation of the Heavenly Lang Pearl, which had killed or driven mad most test subjects.
• Bai Siming revealed that the Sky-Pacifying Sect had offered Prince Wu refuge in exchange for his wealth and connections, prompting Prince Wu to tell Bai Siming to receive their envoy.