Recaps

Zhang Lanhe discovered that Xie Huizhou had drawn an erotic album portraying him and exposing details of his life and identity. As he read the collection, Zhang Lanhe became convinced Xie Huizhou understood him better than anyone and recognized him as the youth who had mysteriously vanished that night.

• Li Xu tried to get the album back from Zhang Lanhe, but Zhang Lanhe kept it after recognizing himself in the illustrations.
• Zhang Lanhe bought the rest of the collection and read it, realizing that Xie Huizhou had captured his secret identity and many private experiences.
• Zhang Lanhe felt deeply understood by Xie Huizhou and became captivated by the album despite its slanderous plot and explicit scenes.
• Zhang Lanhe noticed that an illustration showed the exact location of a mole only the vanished youth could have known.
• Zhang Lanhe concluded that Xie Huizhou was the youth who had disappeared that night.

After Zhang Lanhe realized Xie Huizhou was the lover from their passionate night and the artist behind the paintings mocking him, he decided to keep his discovery secret and collect every new work. Xie Huizhou feared Zhang Lanhe had recognized himself but carried on drawing, and half a month later he was due to visit the National Preceptor's Residence.

• Zhang Lanhe pieced together Xie Huizhou's identity and resolved to protect him from the Eighth Prince without revealing that he knew the truth.
• Zhang Lanhe ordered his Shadow Guards to buy every painting by Spring Studio Hermit so he could understand Xie Huizhou's thoughts.
• Li Xu warned Xie Huizhou that Zhang Lanhe had seen his paintings, prompting Xie Huizhou to prepare to flee overseas before Li Xu persuaded him to stay.
• Xie Huizhou decided to keep drawing and mocking Zhang Lanhe, while Zhang Lanhe made no apparent move against him and intensified his retaliation against the Eighth Prince.
• Half a month later, Xie Huizhou was set to visit the National Preceptor's Residence.

Xie Huizhou traveled with Zhang Lanhe to the National Preceptor's Residence, where Zhang's attentive behavior left him uneasy and drowsy. Their carriage was forced to stop when an arrogant stranger with a tiger blocked the road.

• Eunuch Li woke Xie Huizhou early and hurried him out to join the procession sent by the National Preceptor's Residence.
• Zhang Lanhe personally invited Xie Huizhou into his luxurious carriage and watched him as they traveled together.
• Xie Huizhou questioned Zhang Lanhe's persistent gaze, then nearly fell asleep against him while Zhang discussed his studies.
• A frightened horse jolted the carriage, throwing Xie Huizhou into Zhang Lanhe's arms, where Zhang secretly confirmed his suspicions by touching him.
• The coachman reported that a tiger was blocking the road, and the tiger's arrogant owner demanded that the carriage occupants get down.

Xie Huizhou confronted Wei Hu after the spoiled bully blocked his carriage and tried to claim him. Zhang Lanhe stepped out to protect Xie Huizhou and demanded to know how Wei Hu wanted to die.

• Xie Huizhou left the carriage and lashed Wei Hu for blocking the road with his tiger.
• Wei Hu recognized Xie Huizhou as a beauty and tried to claim him, boasting that his sister Consort Wei and the Fourth Prince protected him.
• Xie Huizhou warned Wei Hu to stop and threatened to cut out his tongue, but Wei Hu reached for him anyway.
• Xie Huizhou drew a guard's sword, and Zhang Lanhe struck Wei Hu with his fly whisk, sending him crashing into a wall.
• Wei Hu threatened to have his sister punish them, and Zhang Lanhe emerged from the carriage to shield Xie Huizhou and confront him.

Zhang Lanhe intervened when Wei Hu threatened Xie Huizhou, then guided Xie Huizhou into shooting Wei Hu dead as he fled. With Wei Hu’s allies likely to retaliate, Zhang Lanhe promised to protect Xie Huizhou, who asked about the Imperial Preceptor’s past before they set off at dawn.

• Zhang Lanhe struck Wei Hu down for nearly touching Xie Huizhou, and Wei Hu recognized the Ninth Prince and begged for his life.
• When Wei Hu drew his sword and attacked, Zhang Lanhe defeated him and severed his arm, but Wei Hu escaped with his guards.
• Xie Huizhou warned that Wei Hu would seek revenge, so Zhang Lanhe asked whether he could shoot a bow and guided him in aiming at the fleeing man.
• Xie Huizhou’s arrow pierced Wei Hu’s heart, and Zhang Lanhe declared him a traitor executed for attacking the Ninth Prince.
• Zhang Lanhe promised to protect Xie Huizhou from retaliation, told him he had become Imperial Preceptor after leaving the mountain, and offered to cast a divination.
• Xie Huizhou refused the divination, saying he would face difficulties himself, and the two prepared to set off at dawn.

Xie Huizhou fell asleep in the carriage while Zhang Lanhe used a mystical call to draw him into an embrace. The carriage reached the National Preceptor's Residence with Xie Huizhou still clinging to Zhang Lanhe, and he woke up dazed in his arms.

• Xie Huizhou decided Zhang Lanhe was considerate and fell asleep beneath the carriage blanket.
• Zhang Lanhe admired the sleeping Xie Huizhou and used the Person of Destiny's call to summon him.
• Xie Huizhou woke in a sleep-induced haze, embraced Zhang Lanhe, and murmured that he was all his.
• Zhang Lanhe accepted Xie Huizhou's embrace and resolved to win his heart rather than keep him confined.
• The guards and Shadow Guards pretended not to notice the pair sleeping in each other's arms as the carriage reached the National Preceptor's Residence.
• Xie Huizhou woke to find himself clinging to Zhang Lanhe.

Xie Huizhou began studying at the National Preceptor's Residence and discovered that Zhang Lanhe had collected his drawings. A book about a legendary white snake led Xie Huizhou to pity the trapped creature, while Zhang Lanhe tested his thoughts and appeared with an imperial edict.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe entered the National Preceptor's Residence and began their lessons, which Zhang Lanhe taught seriously.
• While exploring Zhang Lanhe's study, Xie Huizhou found his own drawings collected in multiple copies, along with a book about a white snake trapped in the capital.
• Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe whether the white snake existed and said he pitied it for being trapped and lonely.
• Zhang Lanhe asked whether Xie Huizhou would still pity the snake if its absence threatened the dynasty, and Xie Huizhou said he cared more about the common people than the throne.
• Xie Huizhou noticed an imperial edict in Zhang Lanhe's hand and asked why he was holding it.

Xie Huizhou received the order to preside over the Imperial Examination, a dangerous assignment tied to a major cheating scandal, and planned to outwit those trying to manipulate it. After Wei Hu’s death, Consort Wei demanded revenge, but Xie Wangqiu chose to wait and see how Xie Huizhou handled the coming turmoil.

• Zhang Lanhe delivered the imperial edict appointing Xie Huizhou to preside over the Imperial Examination, and Xie Huizhou recalled the cheating scandal that had ruined the original Eighth Prince.
• Xie Huizhou decided to set unexpected examination questions so that those stealing papers and arranging cheating could not predict them.
• Zhang Lanhe warned Xie Huizhou that Consort Wei and Xie Wangqiu might retaliate for Wei Hu’s death, and Xie Huizhou assured him he would survive.
• Consort Wei learned Wei Hu had been killed and urged Xie Wangqiu to avenge him, while Xie Wangqiu felt relieved that his troublesome uncle was dead.
• Xie Wangqiu questioned Consort Wei about why the emperor had hated Xie Huizhou, but she refused to reveal what she knew and warned him not to investigate.
• Xie Wangqiu told Consort Wei to wait while he watched how Xie Huizhou handled the Imperial Examination turmoil.

Xie Huizhou prepared to enter the palace and thank the emperor for his new post, while Zhang Lanhe offered to protect him and eagerly tried to attend to him. After Zhang Lanhe’s silver snake avatar wrapped around Xie Huizhou’s wrists, he gave the snake to him and helped him dress before accompanying him to the palace.

• Xie Huizhou worried about meeting the emperor, and Zhang Lanhe reassured him that he would keep him safe.
• Xie Huizhou sent Zhang Lanhe outside while he tried to put on his complicated ceremonial robes.
• Xie Huizhou found a little silver snake and began petting it, unaware that Zhang Lanhe had possessed his avatar.
• Zhang Lanhe controlled the snake to coil around Xie Huizhou’s wrists, then claimed it was his pet, Little White.
• Zhang Lanhe offered Little White to Xie Huizhou and helped him finish dressing after Xie Huizhou asked for help.
• Zhang Lanhe took a sword and accompanied Xie Huizhou to the palace.

Xie Huizhou entered the imperial palace with Zhang Lanhe, where the Fourth Prince tested him with poison and the emperor received him with suspicion. After refusing the emperor’s offer to arrange Zhang Lanhe’s marriage, the emperor turned to Xie Huizhou and told him it was time to take a consort.

• On the way to the palace, Zhang Lanhe warned Xie Huizhou to be careful of the Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu.
• Xie Wangqiu tried to grab Xie Huizhou and plant poison on him, but Xie Huizhou’s silver snake bit him instead, and Xie Wangqiu took an antidote.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe met the emperor, who noted that Xie Huizhou resembled his mother and then focused his attention on Zhang Lanhe.
• The emperor offered to arrange a marriage for Zhang Lanhe, but Zhang Lanhe refused and said he would handle his love life himself.
• The emperor told Xie Huizhou that it was time for him to take a consort.

Xie Huizhou refused the emperor’s attempt to arrange a marriage for him, and Zhang Lanhe helped him reject every candidate. The emperor postponed the matter, then gave Xie Huizhou authority to make changes to the upcoming Imperial Examination, leaving Xie Huizhou eager to set a trap for cheaters and his enemies.

• The emperor presented Xie Huizhou with portraits of eligible women and pressed him to choose a bride, while Zhang Lanhe watched anxiously.
• Xie Huizhou refused to consider marriage, and the emperor grew hostile when he compared him to his deceased eldest brother.
• Zhang Lanhe criticized every candidate and invoked Xie Huizhou’s health to stop the emperor from arranging a match.
• The emperor put the marriage discussion aside after Zhang Lanhe blocked his plans.
• Xie Huizhou asked for authority over the Imperial Examination and permission to change its questions, and the emperor granted it by verbal decree.
• Xie Huizhou welcomed the approval and planned to use the exam changes to catch cheaters and those plotting against him.

Xie Huizhou prepared to set the Imperial Examination questions while officials allied with Xie Wangqiu plotted to frame him for examination fraud. As a secret admirer continued sending him gifts and exposing his hidden identity, Xie Huizhou learned that examination questions were being sold, putting him in danger.

• Xie Huizhou visited the Ministry of Personnel, collected examination materials, and dismissed officials' gossip about Zhang Lanhe's rumored beauty.
• After Xie Huizhou left, the minister of personnel and his deputy discussed Xie Wangqiu's plan to frame him for examination fraud and their scheme to leak the questions.
• Xie Huizhou recalled examination questions from his past life and worked on creating new questions for the upcoming Imperial Examination.
• Xie Huizhou received another chest from a secret admirer who knew he was Spring Studio Hermit, and he ordered the Shadow Guards to find the sender.
• A friend warned Xie Huizhou that someone was secretly selling Imperial Examination questions, creating suspicion of examination fraud and possible trouble for him.

Ning Shan warned Xie Huizhou that rumors of leaked Imperial Examination questions were being spread to frame him, so Xie Huizhou enlisted Ning Shan and Li Xu to sell misleading study papers and draw out the plotters. Zhang Lanhe supported the plan and acted on Xie Huizhou’s behalf, while Li Xu grew suspicious of his possessive gaze; the chapter ended with the Minister of Ministry of Personnel reacting furiously to the Bookshop’s competing papers.

• Ning Shan told Xie Huizhou that people were selling supposed leaked exam questions attributed to him and warned that the rumors could implicate him in Examination Fraud.
• Xie Huizhou proposed selling false study papers to confuse buyers and lure the people behind the scheme into the open, and Ning Shan and Li Xu agreed to help.
• Zhang Lanhe visited Xie Huizhou after attending wedding banquets, and Li Xu noticed that the Imperial Preceptor watched Xie Huizhou with a possessive, rival-like gaze.
• After hearing Xie Huizhou’s plan, Zhang Lanhe said his methods were too merciful and promised to stand by him.
• The Bookshop began selling its own secret papers and claimed the other circulating papers were fake, shifting public opinion toward the idea that the whole affair was a scam.
• The Minister of Ministry of Personnel, who had instigated the Examination Fraud plot, grew furious when he learned the Bookshop was disrupting his plans.

Xie Huizhou exposed the Ministry of Personnel’s examination fraud, earning public praise, but was abducted after drinking with his friends. Bound and blindfolded in a carriage, he heard his captor identify him as the artist Spring Studio Hermit and complain about being ignored.

• Xie Huizhou’s interrogation of the Ministry of Personnel’s agents led to the minister’s involvement in examination fraud and the sale of offices being exposed.
• The emperor ordered a thorough investigation, and the Minister of Ministry of Personnel was sentenced to beheading while other participants were punished.
• Xie Huizhou celebrated with his friends at a tavern, despite Zhang Lanhe’s warnings and Li Xu’s suspicions about the Imperial Preceptor.
• A masked abductor seized Xie Huizhou outside the tavern and escaped before the Shadow Guards could stop him.
• Xie Huizhou’s captor called him his favorite artist, Spring Studio Hermit, and demanded that he guess the captor’s identity.

Zhang Lanhe abducted Xie Huizhou, but discovered that Xie Huizhou had been poisoned for years and transferred some of the poison into himself by kissing him. He left Xie Huizhou at the Detached Palace with a warning to trust no one, as Eunuch Li arrived.

• Zhang Lanhe teased Xie Huizhou in the carriage, while Xie Huizhou accused him of being the anonymous pervert who had been stalking him.
• Xie Huizhou coughed up blood, and Zhang Lanhe checked his pulse and discovered that he had been severely poisoned for years.
• Zhang Lanhe kissed Xie Huizhou and used his snake demon powers to draw some of the poison into himself, giving Xie Huizhou temporary relief.
• Zhang Lanhe returned Xie Huizhou to the Detached Palace and warned him not to trust anyone around him.
• Eunuch Li arrived and welcomed Xie Huizhou back.

Xie Huizhou endured the snake demon’s unwanted nighttime visits while preparing to invigilate the Imperial Examination, and the plot began moving again when Zhou Yanqing placed third. As the emperor arranged the Qionglin Banquet, Xie Huizhou looked forward to seeing the story unfold.

• Xie Huizhou hid the snake demon’s existence from Eunuch Li, then continued receiving gifts and unwanted visits from the disguised demon while his health improved.
• Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe for a protective talisman, and Zhang Lanhe concealed his own worsening poison while delivering Xie Huizhou’s official robes.
• Xie Huizhou invigilated the Imperial Examination in red robes, while candidates struggled with the difficult questions he had written.
• Zhou Yanqing praised Xie Huizhou to Fang Yuanke, who admitted he would rather not see the Ninth Prince and suggested inviting him to their residence if Zhou placed in the top three.
• Zhou Yanqing placed third in the Imperial Examination, and the emperor arranged a Qionglin Banquet attended by Xie Huizhou, who eagerly anticipated the plot’s next events.

Xie Huizhou resumed drawing Phoenix Painting for Li Xu while wondering whether the white snake haunting him was real. After hearing a legend that the snake had been sealed beneath the imperial palace, he decided to investigate during the Qionglin Banquet, as his new drawings stirred excitement across the Capital City.

• Li Xu urged Xie Huizhou to draw another volume of Phoenix Painting, and Xie Huizhou agreed for the money despite his embarrassment about Zhang Lanhe seeing the earlier drawings.
• Xie Huizhou asked Li Xu whether demons existed and recalled the white snake that had been bothering him.
• Li Xu dismissed the idea of demons but told Xie Huizhou a legend that the founding emperor had sealed a giant white snake beneath the imperial palace.
• Xie Huizhou decided to explore the palace during the Qionglin Banquet, and Li Xu left with his new drawings.
• Xie Huizhou's drawings caused a stir throughout the Capital City, and even the confined Eighth Prince heard about them.

Xie Huizhou’s paintings became popular across Capital City, but the Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, discovered that they revealed his secret ambitions and ordered his advisers to find the artist. After hearing the emperor had lifted his confinement, he prepared to attend the Qionglin Banquet and confront Ninth Brother.

• Xie Huizhou’s later paintings portrayed Zhang Lanhe as noble and tragic, prompting rumors that the artist was dead or in love with the Imperial Preceptor.
• Newly freed Xie Tingchun seized a guard’s copy of the Phoenix Painting and laughed at its erotic depiction of Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Tingchun found that the paintings also exposed his affair with an imperial consort, rebellion plans, and network of spies, and he feared the emperor would discover them.
• Xie Tingchun ordered an investigation and wanted Spring Studio Hermit killed, but his adviser urged him to avoid drawing attention and try buying off the artist.
• Xie Tingchun agreed to send subordinates to handle the matter and decided to attend the Qionglin Banquet to deliver a gift to Ninth Brother.

At the Qionglin Banquet, Zhang Lanhe protected the ailing Xie Huizhou from being pressured to drink, while their mutual attraction and jealousy stirred trouble. Xie Huizhou left to sort out his feelings, and the Eighth Prince followed him intending to kill him and frame Zhou Yanqing.

• Zhang Lanhe watched Xie Huizhou at the banquet and worried over his renewed illness and coughing.
• Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke invited Xie Huizhou to visit their residence, and Xie Huizhou accepted so he could observe them together.
• When guests pressed Xie Huizhou to drink, Zhang Lanhe took the cup and drank for him, saying Xie Huizhou was his student.
• Zhang Lanhe and Zhou Yanqing glared at each other, while Xie Huizhou grew troubled by his feelings for the Imperial Preceptor and went to get some air.
• The Eighth Prince decided to kill Xie Huizhou and frame Zhou Yanqing, then followed him despite his advisers' warnings.
• Xie Huizhou noticed someone trailing him and thought a little rat was following him.

Xie Huizhou lured the Eighth Prince into a trap after discovering him following with murderous intent, then let him struggle in the lotus pond. Zhang Lanhe arrived and took over, revealing his snake-demon nature to the Eighth Prince, who taunted him that Xie Huizhou would reject him once he knew the truth.

• Xie Huizhou realized the Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, was following him and lured him to the abandoned lotus pond.
• Xie Tingchun tried to shove Xie Huizhou into the pond but fell in himself, then begged Xie Huizhou to save him.
• Zhang Lanhe arrived and urged Xie Huizhou not to show mercy to an enemy, offering to handle Xie Tingchun while Xie Huizhou changed his wet clothes.
• After Xie Huizhou left, Zhang Lanhe revealed his serpentine form as something beneath the water pulled Xie Tingchun under.
• Xie Tingchun called Zhang Lanhe a demon and warned that Xie Huizhou would leave him; Zhang Lanhe dismissed him and sent him to his death.

The Eighth Prince drowned at the Qionglin Banquet after going to the Lotus Pond, and Consort Shu accused Xie Huizhou of killing him. Zhang Lanhe protected Xie Huizhou and helped the emperor close the case as an accidental drowning, while Xie Shiqing wondered where the Fourth Prince had gone.

• The Eighth Prince's advisers and Consort Shu secretly searched for him, then a palace maid found his drowned body in the Lotus Pond.
• Consort Shu accused Xie Huizhou of murdering the Eighth Prince, but Zhang Lanhe said Xie Huizhou had been with him and blamed an evil spirit.
• The emperor ordered an investigation, and a eunuch said the Eighth Prince had entered the water himself to retrieve something.
• The emperor learned the Eighth Prince had been clutching a silk handkerchief belonging to one of his consorts and ended the investigation by calling the death an accidental drowning.
• Consort Shu swallowed her anger, and the emperor left after ordering a dignified funeral for the Eighth Prince.
• Xie Shiqing remarked that the Eighth Prince had failed to kill Xie Huizhou and wondered where the Fourth Prince was.

Xie Huizhou broke into Suowu Palace while searching for White Snake and found a portrait of a woman who looked just like him. Xie Wangqiu revealed that the woman was Xie Huizhou’s mother and offered to tell him about her past.

• After overhearing eunuchs warn about Suowu Palace, Xie Huizhou decided to investigate it.
• Xie Huizhou slipped past the imperial guards and searched the palace, mistaking it for a possible place where White Snake was held.
• Xie Huizhou discovered a portrait of a woman who resembled him and felt an inexplicable connection to her.
• When Xie Huizhou heard someone watching him, he shot an arrow beside the hidden person to force them out.
• Xie Wangqiu emerged and told Xie Huizhou that the woman in the painting was his mother, offering to reveal her past.

The Fourth Prince, Xie Wangqiu, told Xie Huizhou that Consort Yu had been taken from her first husband by the emperor and had another child before entering the palace. He then revealed that palace rumors claimed Xie Huizhou was not the emperor’s biological son.

• Xie Wangqiu followed Xie Huizhou into the room and confronted him about what he had discovered.
• Xie Wangqiu described how the emperor killed Consort Yu’s husband and forced her into the palace.
• Xie Huizhou wondered who his mother’s first child was and felt guilty that his birth had cost that child their mother.
• Xie Wangqiu said Consort Yu gave birth to Xie Huizhou prematurely after entering the palace and revealed rumors that the emperor was not his father.

After the Fourth Prince’s taunts triggered Xie Huizhou’s poison, Little White Snake protected him until Zhang Lanhe arrived and relieved his pain. Xie Huizhou worried Zhang Lanhe would abandon him if he stopped being a prince, but Zhang Lanhe promised he never would.

• The Fourth Prince told Xie Huizhou that the emperor suspected he was not his biological son, and Xie Huizhou’s distress triggered his poison.
• The Fourth Prince moved closer to torment Xie Huizhou, but Little White Snake bit his wrist to protect him.
• A phantom silver serpent appeared behind Xie Huizhou, frightening the Fourth Prince into fleeing.
• Zhang Lanhe arrived, eased Xie Huizhou’s pain, and said he had handled the Eighth Prince’s situation so no one would investigate.
• Xie Huizhou asked whether Zhang Lanhe would still care for him if he were no longer a prince, and Zhang Lanhe promised never to abandon him.

Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou that he had followed him because of who he was, but Xie Huizhou avoided guessing what that meant. After Xie Huizhou nearly collapsed, Zhang Lanhe took him to the National Preceptor's Residence to recover, where he arranged an unexpected doctor for him.

• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou that he had followed him because of who he was, and urged him to guess why.
• Xie Huizhou pretended not to understand Zhang Lanhe's feelings and decided to think about them later.
• Xie Huizhou nearly fell, and Zhang Lanhe caught him and offered to take him away because he was still weak from the poison.
• Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou left the imperial palace without being stopped by the guards, and Xie Huizhou wondered whether his identity had been exposed.
• Zhang Lanhe brought Xie Huizhou to the National Preceptor's Residence to recuperate and arranged an unexpected doctor for him.