Chapter Summaries

After four days of bed rest, Qi Yu persuaded Qi Xiao to let him visit the Eastern Palace for dinner. He enjoyed a meal with Qi Ling and returned to Xuanzheng Hall before the deadline his father set.

• Qi Yu hobbled to the West Warm Pavilion on a crutch and pleaded with Qi Xiao to let him leave the palace for a meal.
• Qi Xiao allowed Qi Yu to visit only the Eastern Palace and ordered him to return before the shen hour.
• Qi Yu arrived at the Eastern Palace and told Qi Ling about his frustrations during four days of recovery.
• Qi Yu ate his favorite dishes with Qi Ling, who had more rice than usual while his brother was there.
• Qi Ling invited Qi Yu to stay overnight, but Qi Yu kept his promise to Qi Xiao and returned by sedan chair.

Qi Yu joined his father and brothers for dinner after eating at the Eastern Palace, and his appetite amused the family. He ended the night uncomfortably full, and Qi Xiao rubbed his belly until he fell asleep.

• Qi Yu returned to Xuanzheng Hall and found Qi Ling, Qi Ming, and Qi Zhao with Qi Xiao.
• Qi Xiao led his sons to dinner, where Qi Yu ate a second meal and praised dishes from both the Eastern Palace and his father's table.
• Qi Ling, Qi Ming, and Qi Zhao left after dinner, while Qi Yu returned to his bedchamber feeling bloated.
• Qi Xiao noticed Qi Yu's rounded belly and rubbed it as Qi Yu admitted what he had eaten at the Eastern Palace.
• Qi Yu fell asleep, and Qi Xiao decided to ask the Imperial Kitchen to prepare one fewer dish the next day.

Qi Yu presented Emperor Chengwu with a turtle named Divine Turtle for his birthday, hoping it would bring him ten thousand years of life. Qi Xiao kept the turtle beside his desk and quietly echoed Qi Yu’s wish, while De'an recalled that Qi Xiao had once given his own father a crooked wooden sword.

• Qi Yu prepared a turtle in a rosewood case as his birthday gift for Qi Xiao.
• At the birthday banquet, Qi Ling, Qi Ming, and Qi Zhao each presented their gifts before Qi Yu offered the turtle.
• Qi Xiao opened the case, and Qi Yu explained that the turtle was called Divine Turtle and that he wished his father ten thousand years of life.
• Qi Xiao kept the turtle and its case beside his desk in the West Warm Pavilion.
• Qi Xiao wished the turtle ten thousand times ten thousand years of life, and De'an recalled Qi Xiao's childhood birthday gift to the Late Emperor.

After Qi Xiao’s birthday banquet, the palace consorts hoped to use his drinking as a chance to draw his attention, but Xiao Luo knew he would not summon them. Qi Yu, tipsy from secretly drinking wine, joined Qi Xiao in the West Warm Pavilion and joked with him about his unusual birthday gifts.

• Qi Xiao drank several extra cups of wine at his birthday banquet while the consorts tried to attract his notice with performances and gifts.
• Xiao Luo recognized that the consorts were hoping to attend Qi Xiao after the banquet, but believed their efforts would fail.
• Qi Yu secretly drank three sips of Osmanthus Wine, and the wine left him flushed and excited.
• Qi Yu hobbled into the West Warm Pavilion, where Qi Xiao asked him to come closer.
• Qi Yu laughed and promised not to give Qi Xiao a turtle next year, and they recalled his earlier gifts of a stone and a foxtail-grass bracelet.

After the birthday banquet, Qi Yu told Qi Xiao he would stay by his side and keep him company, and Qi Xiao let him spend the evening reading while he finished one memorial. Once Qi Yu fell asleep, Qi Xiao returned to work and ordered Osmanthus Cake made for him the next morning.

• Qi Yu drank wine at the banquet and, back in the West Warm Pavilion, promised Qi Xiao he would always be there for him.
• Qi Yu urged Qi Xiao to stop reviewing memorials after one and stayed beside him reading until he finished it.
• Qi Xiao helped the unsteady Qi Yu prepare for bed and watched him fall asleep.
• Qi Xiao returned to the imperial desk to review memorials and ordered De'an to prepare Osmanthus Cake with half the usual sugar.
• Qi Xiao instructed De'an to bring him the Ministry of Revenue's winter-clothing memorial before the Ministry of War's troop-rotation memorial.

Qi Yu tried increasingly potent tonics to grow taller and ate nearly an entire century-old ginseng root, causing a severe nosebleed. Qi Xiao scolded and comforted him, then told him to grow through proper food and rest instead.

• Qi Yu rejected the imperial physician’s and Grand Tutor Sun’s advice and tried deer antler velvet tea and reishi soup to grow faster.
• Qi Yu took a century-old ginseng root from the Imperial Treasury and ate almost all of it.
• Qi Yu developed a heavy nosebleed, and A Ping summoned De'an, who alerted Qi Xiao.
• Imperial Physician Zhou diagnosed Qi Yu with a surge of blood and vital energy from consuming too much ginseng.
• Qi Yu admitted he wanted to grow taller, and Qi Xiao lightly spanked him and warned him not to repeat it.
• Qi Xiao wiped Qi Yu’s face and held him, telling him to eat and sleep properly as the bleeding began to stop.

After Qi Yu ate a hundred-year-old ginseng root to grow taller, Qi Xiao and Imperial Physician Zhou treated him for severe nosebleeds and weakness, forbidding strong tonics and prescribing bland food and medicine. Qi Yu sought help from Qi Ling to reduce his regimen, but his brother sided with Qi Xiao, and the chapter ended with Qi Yu still trying to bargain for less medicine.

• Qi Xiao scolded Qi Yu for eating an entire hundred-year-old ginseng root and learned from Imperial Physician Zhou that it had caused severe bleeding and weakness.
• Imperial Physician Zhou prescribed gentle nourishment and banned ginseng, deer antler velvet, and reishi mushrooms for half a month; Chun He and A Ping made sure Qi Yu followed the regimen.
• Qi Yu complained to the rabbits about his bitter medicine and bland medicinal meals.
• Qi Yu visited Qi Ling and asked him to persuade their father to reduce the tonic regimen, but Qi Ling rebuked him for eating something he knew he should not.
• Qi Yu complained to Qi Xiao that Qi Ling had insulted him, but Qi Xiao agreed with his brother and refused to let Qi Yu skip a bowl of medicine.

Qi Yu refused to drink ginseng soup, and Qi Ling told him that their father had saved the best ginseng for him while drinking inferior rootlets himself. Qi Yu stopped wasting the soup and quietly shared pastries with his brother, leaving their quarrel behind.

• Qi Yu ordered Chun He and A Ping to remove all ginseng from his meals and hide the supply in Yuning Hall.
• Qi Ling visited Qi Yu with Longjing pastries and teased him about fleeing from ginseng soup.
• Qi Yu and Qi Ling bickered over pastries and words until Qi Yu asked his brother to stop picking on him because he was ill.
• Qi Ling revealed that their father had reserved the best ginseng for Qi Yu while drinking inferior rootlets himself, and warned him not to pour soup into the clivia again.
• Qi Yu inspected the yellowing clivia, returned to the table, and shared his pastry with Qi Ling as they finished the plate together.

Qi Yu went to Xuanzheng Hall to apologize to Qi Xiao for wasting the last ginseng root and for not understanding his father’s sacrifices. Qi Xiao comforted him, and Qi Yu left after drinking his father’s cold ginseng-rootlet tea.

• Qi Yu watered the clivia and walked from Yuning Hall to Xuanzheng Hall without his crutch.
• Qi Yu tearfully confessed that he had wasted the ginseng soup and promised not to be willful again.
• Qi Xiao wiped Qi Yu’s tears and told him that his health mattered more than the ginseng.
• Qi Xiao embraced Qi Yu and explained that he gave him the best things because he was his son.
• Before leaving with De'an, Qi Yu drank the cold ginseng-rootlet tea from Qi Xiao’s desk.

Qi Yu begged Qi Ling for forbidden meat after a week on the imperial physician’s strict diet, imposed because he had eaten a hundred-year-old ginseng root. Qi Ling refused braised pork but gave him permitted Osmanthus Cake and minced lean meat, and Qi Yu promised not to eat things recklessly again.

• Qi Yu complained to Qi Ling that he had gone seven days without braised pork and pleaded for a bite.
• Qi Ling refused Qi Yu’s requests for braised pork, pork hock, ribs, and other meat, explaining that he needed another half month to recover.
• Qi Ling reminded Qi Yu that his reckless ginseng-eating had caused the restrictions, and Qi Yu admitted he had no argument.
• Qi Ling offered Qi Yu permitted Osmanthus Cake, milk, vegetables, and minced lean meat in the Eastern Palace.
• Qi Yu slowly ate the minced meat and promised Qi Ling he would never eat things recklessly again.

Qi Yu secretly ate braised pork at the Eastern Palace while still restricted to congee, and Qi Xiao learned of it but chose not to punish him. As Qi Yu anticipated his birthday feast, Qi Xiao kept his dietary restrictions in place until the prescribed half-month ended.

• Qi Yu returned from the Eastern Palace after secretly eating meat, then cleaned his hands and hid the evidence from Chun He.
• De'an told Qi Xiao that Qi Yu had come back with braised pork sauce on his cuff, and Qi Xiao decided not to pursue the matter.
• Qi Xiao ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare Qi Yu’s favorite dishes, including braised pork, sweet-and-sour ribs, and extra Osmanthus Cake, for his birthday.
• Qi Yu asked Qi Xiao for an early birthday present and listed a light but powerful bow, riding boots, and a new travelogue among his wishes.
• Qi Yu asked to have his dietary restrictions lifted early, but Qi Xiao refused and promised no change before the imperial physician’s half-month period ended.
• Qi Yu reminded Qi Xiao that he had overheard the birthday feast order and looked forward to eating his fill.

As Qi Yu’s birthday approached, he received many valuable gifts from prominent households and Qi Ming, but found that he already owned things like them. He asked Qi Xiao for his birthday present, and Qi Xiao promised to give it to him at dinner, leaving Qi Yu eager to return to Yuning Hall and change.

• The Jinghai Marquis Residence sent Qi Yu tribute-quality writing supplies, and Xie Ning added a dagger for protection; Qi Yu laughed about his earlier tiger hunt.
• Wang Yuan delivered the Duke of Min’s gift, a well-preserved painting of hunters in the mountains, and Qi Yu thanked the Duke.
• Other officials’ families and Qi Ming sent gifts, including jade paperweights, books, a screen, and a rare poetry collection.
• On his birthday, Qi Yu examined the gifts but found that he already had similar things, while A Ping and Chun He recorded who had sent each one.
• Qi Yu went to Xuanzheng Hall, told Qi Xiao about the gifts, and said he was still waiting for his father’s present.
• Qi Xiao promised to give Qi Yu his gift at dinner, and Qi Yu hurried back to Yuning Hall to change.

Qi Xiao treated Qi Yu to his favorite foods and gave him a custom-made bow. Qi Yu thanked his father and promised to hunt only in safe places, then went to sleep with the bow beside his pillow.

• Qi Yu eagerly ate his favorite dishes with Qi Xiao and learned that Qi Xiao knew he had also eaten at the Crown Prince's residence.
• After dinner, Qi Xiao had De'an present Qi Yu with a finely crafted bow engraved with a wish for his safety.
• Qi Yu hugged Qi Xiao, thanked him for the bow, and promised to hunt only rabbits and pheasants at the West Mountain Hunting Grounds.
• Qi Yu placed the bow beside his pillow and fell asleep after gazing at it.

After learning that the Emperor had given Qi Yu a personally inscribed bow, Qi Ming struggled with jealousy and lashed out at a eunuch. Qi Yu sensed that Qi Ming’s behavior had changed and began to recognize that he had to face danger himself as he grew up.

• Zhou Wenhan told Qi Ming about the Emperor’s birthday gift to Qi Yu, and Qi Ming ruined his calligraphy as he remembered the casual closeness between his father and Fourth Brother.
• Qi Ming ordered Zhou Wenhan not to bring him such talk again, then nearly smashed the inkstone his father had given him before kicking a young eunuch who was picking up his crumpled paper.
• Qi Yu quietly fed the rabbits and did not react when Qin Wei mentioned that Qi Ming had looked grim.
• Qi Yu told Qin Wei that Qi Ming’s unexpected smiles unsettled him more than his former sour looks, but said he would do nothing unless Qi Ming acted.
• As Qi Yu and Qin Wei headed to lessons, Qin Wei realized that Qi Yu had begun to understand he could not rely on his father to shield him from everything.

Qi Ming questioned Consort Jing about her years in the palace and learned how she had given up hope of winning the Emperor’s favor. He left convinced that, unlike affection, the Crown Prince’s power could be contested, and began to imagine taking the path to the throne himself.

• Qi Ming visited Consort Jing and asked whether she had ever regretted her life with the Emperor.
• Consort Jing recounted how the Emperor raised the Fourth Prince at Xuanzheng Hall and gradually gave up hope of winning his attention.
• Qi Ming asked whether someone else might have become Crown Prince if the Late Empress had not been there, then left without pressing Consort Jing for an answer.
• Qi Ming reflected on Crown Prince Qi Ling’s secure position and considered that the heir could be appointed or deposed.
• Qi Ming watched Qi Ling review documents in the Eastern Palace but did not enter or speak to him.
• Qi Ming realized he might seek power by challenging the Crown Prince and turned toward the palace path ahead.

After the New Year banquet, Qi Yu gave Qi Xiao a crooked qilin pendant he had carved from a piece of his father’s jade hairpin. Worried that growing up would mean being sent away from Qi Xiao’s bed, Qi Yu received his father’s promise that he could stay, and went to sleep reassured beside him.

• At the New Year banquet, Qi Ling replaced Qi Yu’s wine with tea and teased him about saving chestnut money for him and Xie Ning.
• After reviewing the many gifts he had received, Qi Yu realized he had not yet given Qi Xiao his present and went to Xuanzheng Hall.
• Qi Yu gave Qi Xiao a crooked qilin pendant carved from jade, and Qi Xiao said he would wear it and placed it beside his memorials.
• Qi Yu asked whether growing up meant he could no longer sleep with Qi Xiao, and Qi Xiao promised he would never send him away.
• Qi Yu slept beside Qi Xiao that night, comforted by his father’s promise as snow fell outside.

Qi Ming arranged to poison Qi Ling at the spring banquet, but Qi Yu drank the tainted wine instead. Qi Yu survived after treatment, while Qi Xiao exposed Qi Ming’s plot and had him taken away.

• Qi Ming told Zhou Wenhan that a newly transferred eunuch would serve the poisoned wine at the banquet.
• Qi Yu took Qi Ling’s wine and drank it, then collapsed from Gelsemium poisoning.
• Qi Xiao ordered the palace sealed and an investigation launched, and the wine-serving eunuch was found dead by suicide.
• Investigators traced the eunuch to an estate connected to Zhou Wenhan, and Qi Ming admitted he had intended to kill Qi Ling.
• Qi Xiao issued an imperial edict against Qi Ming, who asked whether Qi Yu would die before the guards led him away.
• The imperial physicians treated Qi Yu with an antidote, and he briefly woke to tell Qi Ling that the wine tasted awful.

Qi Ling traced the poisoning plot to Consort Jing’s maternal family, and Qi Xiao ordered the Sun Family’s arrest. As Zhou Wenhan was imprisoned, Consort Jing knelt outside the palace, while Qi Yu briefly woke and asked after his father.

• Qi Ling learned that the estate funding the suicide operative was connected to the Tongbao Money Shop and Consort Jing’s maternal family, then ordered the man with the goatee brought in.
• Qi Xiao read Qi Ling’s report implicating the Sun clan, shattered his teacup, and told De'an to keep the noise from reaching the inner chamber.
• Consort Jing remained kneeling after Qi Xiao refused to see her, then learned that the Sun Family’s residence had been surrounded and remembered Qi Ming as a child.
• The Imperial Guards found correspondence and account books linking the Sun Family to Gelsemium from the Southern Borderlands, and the Old Madam of the Sun Family went with them.
• Zhou Wenhan was taken to the Ministry of Justice’s prison and regretted failing to consider whose cup the poison would reach.
• Qi Yu woke briefly, asked whether he had slept long and where his father was, then fell asleep again after Qi Ling answered.

After Qi Yu recovered from poisoning, Qi Ling ordered the arrest of the Sun and Zhou families, while Qi Xiao punished Qi Ming with lifelong confinement. Qi Yu mourned the loss of his brother as he and Qi Xiao comforted each other.

• Qi Ling ordered Xie Chen, Gu Hengsheng, and Sun Qiwen to arrest everyone on the list of Sun and Zhou family members.
• Imperial guards searched the Sun estate, found ledgers recording trade in heartbreak grass, and the old matriarch asked to see the empress.
• Consort Jing was stripped of her title and left Yongning Palace, leaving behind the unfinished robe she had been sewing for Qi Ming.
• Qi Xiao confronted Qi Ming over poisoning Qi Yu and plotting against the Crown Prince, then sentenced him to lifelong confinement at the Imperial Clan Court.
• Qi Yu woke and learned from Qi Xiao that Qi Ming would never leave confinement; he remembered their childhood and cried over their broken relationship.
• Qi Xiao told Qi Yu that Qi Ming had wanted something he could not give him, and father and son comforted each other.

Qi Xiao personally cared for Qi Yu as he recovered, while Qi Ling and his allies dismantled the Second Prince’s faction and rejected attempts to buy leniency. The crackdown continued as those seeking favors found every route to the Crown Prince blocked.

• Qi Xiao carried Qi Yu to the washroom and fed him medicinal dishes while he recuperated in the imperial bed.
• Qi Xiao left Qi Ling in charge of court affairs as Xie Chen and the Eastern Palace’s officials pursued the Second Prince’s remaining supporters.
• An elderly Sun Family relative begged Xie Chen for mercy, but Xie Chen said the Court of Justice would decide the family’s fate.
• Director Zhou sent Xie Chen a bribe to plead for Zhou Wenhan, but Xie Chen returned it and said the case had already been handled according to law.
• A Tongbao Money Shop owner tried to enlist Xie Chen’s acquaintance, but Xie Chen refused to discuss the Sun Family’s case.
• People seeking favors also failed to sway Gu Hengsheng, Sun Qiwen, and Fu Shun, and Fu Shun reported their approaches to Xie Chen.