Recaps

Xie Huizhou received treatment from Ye Changfeng, who discovered that Zhang Lanhe had been drawing poison from him at great cost to himself. Zhang Lanhe secretly helped detoxify Xie Huizhou overnight, and the chapter ended with Xie Huizhou feeling stronger and receiving an invitation from Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke.

• Zhang Lanhe brought the reluctant physician Ye Changfeng to the National Preceptor's Residence, where Ye agreed to treat Xie Huizhou after being threatened.
• Ye Changfeng diagnosed Xie Huizhou with severe poisoning and realized Zhang Lanhe had been drawing poison from him.
• Ye Changfeng warned Zhang Lanhe that his sacrifice could kill him, but agreed to write detoxifying prescriptions for both men in exchange for snake scales.
• Zhang Lanhe secretly entered Xie Huizhou's bedchamber as a giant phantom White Snake and drew out poison while coiling around him.
• Xie Huizhou slept while clinging to Zhang Lanhe's tail, woke feeling stronger, and received an invitation from Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke.

Xie Huizhou attended Zhou Yanqing’s banquet while Zhang Lanhe learned that the poison threatening Xie Huizhou’s life might still be cured. The emperor discovered Zhang Lanhe’s attachment to Xie Huizhou and planned to use the Ninth Prince as bait by sending him to plague-stricken Pingzhou.

• Xie Huizhou accepted Zhou Yanqing’s invitation to a banquet, and Zhang Lanhe reluctantly let him go while wanting to follow secretly.
• Zhang Lanhe pressed Ye Changfeng about curing Xie Huizhou’s poison, and Ye Changfeng explained that an antidote or enough time might save him.
• Zhang Lanhe vowed to find the antidote and secure Xie Huizhou’s survival, despite the danger of the emperor learning about their bond.
• The Imperial Guards commander reported Zhang Lanhe’s unusual closeness to Xie Huizhou to the emperor, who realized the Ninth Prince was the Imperial Preceptor’s weakness.
• The emperor planned to send Xie Huizhou and the newly appointed Third Place to plague-stricken Pingzhou, hoping to force Zhang Lanhe to beg him for mercy.

Xie Huizhou planned to take Zhang Lanhe with him when he left the capital, while the Little White Snake and Zhang Lanhe misunderstood his intentions as a promise to elope. After learning little about Fang Yuanke from his Shadow Guards, Xie visited the Young Marquis and found himself facing an ominous gift.

• Xie Huizhou added the doomed Imperial Preceptor Zhang Lanhe to his plans to leave the capital, and the Little White Snake happily relayed his words to Zhang.
• The Shadow Guards gave Xie a detailed dossier on Zhang Lanhe instead of information about Fang Yuanke, and Xie praised their work.
• Xie brought fruit to the Anping Marquis Residence, where the old steward mistook him for someone else before leading him inside.
• Xie found Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke playing chess together, and Zhou welcomed him with a feast prepared to suit his tastes.
• Fang Yuanke presented Xie with a lavish gift, leaving Xie worried that he had been lured into a deadly trap.

Xie Huizhou attended a meal with Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing, where Fang Yuanke warned him against Zhang Lanhe and tried to steer him away from the Imperial Preceptor. After Fang Yuanke gave Xie Huizhou a stack of Phoenix Illustrations and offered to introduce him to beauties, a messenger arrived from the palace just as they were about to collect Fang Yuanke’s grand gift.

• Xie Huizhou met Fang Yuanke and shared a meal with him and Zhou Yanqing while Little White Snake watched the guests warily.
• Fang Yuanke urged Xie Huizhou to get rid of the snake Zhang Lanhe had given him and warned that Zhang Lanhe had ill intentions, but Xie Huizhou defended the Imperial Preceptor.
• Fang Yuanke presented Xie Huizhou with Phoenix Illustrations, which Xie Huizhou recognized as his own paintings, and offered to introduce him to a beauty.
• Zhang Lanhe, possessing Little White Snake, grew furious at Fang Yuanke for speaking against him and trying to introduce Xie Huizhou to someone.
• Fang Yuanke prepared to take Xie Huizhou to collect his grand gift, but the old steward rushed in to announce that someone had come from the palace.

Xie Huizhou learned that the emperor had ordered him, Zhou Yanqing, and Fang Yuanke to travel to Pingzhou and deal with a deadly plague. As the group realized the Divine Physician Ye Changfeng was at the National Preceptor's Residence, Xie Huizhou went with Fang Yuanke to see a thank-you gift and was stunned by what he found.

• Palace eunuchs delivered imperial decrees ordering Xie Huizhou, Zhou Yanqing, and Fang Yuanke to resolve the Pingzhou Plague.
• Zhou Yanqing objected that Xie Huizhou was too frail for the mission, but the chief eunuch warned that refusing the decree was a capital offense.
• Zhou Yanqing said he knew an exceptional physician, and Xie Huizhou revealed that Ye Changfeng was staying at the National Preceptor's Residence.
• Xie Huizhou left to discuss the plague mission with the Imperial Preceptor, while privately considering killing the eunuchs to avoid the assignment.
• Fang Yuanke asked Xie Huizhou to accept a prepared thank-you gift, and Xie Huizhou was shocked when he saw it.

Fang Yuanke revealed that he and Xie Huizhou were brothers by the same mother, then warned Xie Huizhou about the emperor and urged him to stay by his side. After fleeing to collect his thoughts, Xie Huizhou stopped to buy mung bean cakes for Zhang Lanhe and encountered a flamboyant stranger who mistook him for a beautiful maiden.

• Fang Yuanke led Xie Huizhou into a secret chamber, where Xie Huizhou recognized their mother, Shen Yuxiang, in a portrait beside her spirit tablet.
• Fang Yuanke revealed that he was Xie Huizhou's eldest brother and said he had never blamed him for their mother's death.
• Fang Yuanke warned Xie Huizhou that the emperor might kill him and urged him to stay with his big brother, while Xie Huizhou defended Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou left in turmoil and headed toward the National Preceptor's Residence, then stopped to buy mung bean cakes that Zhang Lanhe liked.
• As Xie Huizhou returned to his carriage, a flamboyant, handsome stranger asked to marry him and make him his princess consort.

Xie Huizhou was mistaken for a woman by Wuzi, a prince from the Northern Border Kingdom, who declared that he still wanted to marry him after learning he was a man. When Xie Huizhou returned to his carriage, he found Little White Snake missing and was confronted by the snake demon who had abducted him before.

• Wuzi approached Xie Huizhou at the market, mistook him for a woman, and asked him to become his consort.
• After learning Xie Huizhou was a man, Wuzi said he still loved him and introduced himself as the third prince of the Northern Border Kingdom.
• Xie Huizhou rejected Wuzi and falsely claimed to be Xie Wangqiu, the Fourth Prince, before leaving for his carriage.
• Zhang Lanhe woke to find Xie Huizhou gone and saw him speaking with Wuzi, which stirred his jealousy and possessiveness.
• Xie Huizhou returned to the carriage, could not find Little White Snake, and was seized by the snake demon, who asked who he had met that day.

Zhang Lanhe confronted Xie Huizhou in a carriage, jealous of his attention to another man and insisting they belonged together. Xie Huizhou questioned Zhang Lanhe about demons and his hidden identity, then tried to end the pursuit by claiming he loved someone else.

• Zhang Lanhe covered Xie Huizhou's eyes and confessed that he had been watching him and sending him gifts and letters.
• Xie Huizhou called Zhang Lanhe a pervert and told him they were not close, while Zhang Lanhe insisted they were already partners.
• Zhang Lanhe said he was the only snake spirit and claimed that no one was better suited to Xie Huizhou than he was.
• Xie Huizhou asked to see Zhang Lanhe's true face, but refused when Zhang Lanhe said that seeing it meant he had to marry him.
• Xie Huizhou questioned Zhang Lanhe about the absence of demons and rumors about his true body, but Zhang Lanhe demanded marriage before revealing his secrets.
• Xie Huizhou told Zhang Lanhe he already loved someone and asked him to stop pestering him.

Xie Huizhou realized he might love the mysterious snake demon, who kissed him while secretly curing his poison. After teasing and touching Xie Huizhou, the demon vanished, leaving him wondering whether the snake was Zhang Lanhe.

• Xie Huizhou blurted out that he loved someone, then privately realized his feelings might be for the Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe.
• Zhang Lanhe pressed Xie Huizhou to name the person he loved and threatened to kill his romantic rivals, prompting Xie Huizhou to accuse him of being obsessive.
• Zhang Lanhe kissed Xie Huizhou as punishment for biting him, and Xie Huizhou noticed that the kiss was also drawing poison from his body.
• Xie Huizhou felt Zhang Lanhe's body to search for clues, arousing the snake demon, who warned him before turning into mist and disappearing.
• Xie Huizhou removed his blindfold and wondered why the snake demon reminded him so much of the Imperial Preceptor.

Xie Huizhou grew convinced that Zhang Lanhe was the Snake Demon and hurried to the National Preceptor's Residence to find proof. He learned Zhang Lanhe was soaking in the rear courtyard's cold spring and headed there before the steward could warn him away.

• Xie Huizhou connected the Snake Demon's reactions to Zhang Lanhe's presence and resolved to tease Zhang Lanhe after confirming his suspicion.
• Xie Huizhou fed mung bean cakes to Little White Snake and noticed the snake's likeness to Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou entered the National Preceptor's Residence without announcing himself and searched for Zhang Lanhe.
• The steward told Xie Huizhou that Zhang Lanhe had gone to the cold spring in the rear courtyard.
• Xie Huizhou hurried toward the cold spring, while the steward privately urged Zhang Lanhe to act before someone else won the prince's affection.

Xie Huizhou found Zhang Lanhe soaking in the Cold Spring and was dragged into the water when he tried to leave. As they spoke, Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe what he should do about a snake demon that had latched onto him.

• Xie Huizhou climbed through the National Preceptor's mountain garden to find Zhang Lanhe at the Cold Spring.
• Zhang Lanhe sensed Xie Huizhou approaching and concealed his snake features and the bite marks on his body.
• Xie Huizhou tried to leave after finding Zhang Lanhe bathing, but Zhang Lanhe seized his ankle and pulled him into the Cold Spring.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou that soaking in the Cold Spring could strengthen his health and teased him about looking at his body.
• Xie Huizhou admired Zhang Lanhe's silver hair and asked what he should do about a snake demon that had latched onto him.

Xie Huizhou tested Zhang Lanhe about the snake demon, while Zhang Lanhe teased him to reveal what he knew. Xie Huizhou became certain the Imperial Preceptor was the demon but decided to keep pretending otherwise until Zhang Lanhe confessed.

• Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe to explain what kind of snake demon had pestered him, and Zhang Lanhe recognized the question as a probe about his identity.
• Zhang Lanhe pressed Xie Huizhou to describe the demon’s behavior, teasing him about their private encounters.
• Xie Huizhou looked beneath the water to check whether Zhang Lanhe had intimate ailments, prompting Zhang Lanhe to pull his hand underwater and threaten him with a dangerous gaze.
• Xie Huizhou backed away and dropped the subject, deciding that Zhang Lanhe was the snake demon but still refused to confess.
• Xie Huizhou resolved to act as though he knew nothing and wait to see who would admit the truth first.

Xie Huizhou learned that the Pingzhou Plague was being engineered by the Fifth Prince’s allies and devised ways to stop it without traveling there himself. While he painted warnings and planned preventive measures with Ye Changfeng, Zhang Lanhe went to confront the emperor.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe discussed the emperor’s order for Xie Huizhou to go to Pingzhou, and Zhang Lanhe warned that the Fifth Prince might be behind the plague.
• Zhang Lanhe proposed making the emperor gravely ill so the princes would be forced to stay in the capital, but Xie Huizhou still intended to help the people of Pingzhou.
• Ye Changfeng devised an inexpensive prescription that could cure the plague with one dose.
• Xie Huizhou recalled that the Fifth Prince’s men had infected Pingzhou’s water supply with plague victims’ bodies to profit from selling medicine, and he planned public warnings and hygiene measures.
• Xie Huizhou painted late into the night as Zhang Lanhe appeared before the emperor in the Golden Dragon Hall, taking on a serpentine form.

Zhang Lanhe confronted the emperor over the poison in Xie Huizhou’s body, then struck him down and left him paralyzed. As the succession struggle began again in Capital City, Xie Huizhou prepared to pursue his own plan and was stopped by someone who looked like the Fourth Prince.

• Zhang Lanhe demanded the antidote from the emperor, who revealed that he had destroyed it and wanted Xie Huizhou dead.
• Zhang Lanhe attacked the emperor, but the Son of Heaven’s Qi prevented him from killing him, so he injured and cursed him instead.
• The emperor collapsed and was found gravely ill the next morning, prompting princes, nobles, and imperial relatives to prepare for another succession struggle.
• Xie Huizhou heard that the emperor was paralyzed and suspected Zhang Lanhe had acted immediately after their conversation.
• Xie Huizhou gathered his drawings to discuss his plan with Li Xu, but someone resembling the Fourth Prince stopped him and asked if he was the ninth prince.

Xie Huizhou provoked the Fifth Prince, Xie Shiqing, into making a bid for the throne by exposing his rivalry with the Fourth Prince. He then visited Li Xu at the Bookshop to ask about Zhang Lanhe’s family, but their conversation ended with Li Xu discovering that Xie Huizhou’s latest drawings were even more outrageous.

• Xie Shiqing confronted Xie Huizhou and asked why the Fourth Prince had become obsessed with him.
• Xie Huizhou suggested that Xie Shiqing should compete with the Fourth Prince for the throne, and Xie Shiqing left to pursue power.
• Xie Huizhou went to the Bookshop, where Li Xu explained that the Imperial Preceptor’s relatives were chosen through a family tradition of claiming kinship with each Imperial Preceptor.
• Xie Huizhou concealed his feelings about Zhang Lanhe and asked Li Xu about the Imperial Preceptor’s past.
• Li Xu opened Xie Huizhou’s drawings and was shocked that the story of the Snake Demon Azure Lord had become even more outrageous.

Xie Huizhou spread scandalous stories through his paintings while planning illustrated epidemic guidance, relying on Zhang Lanhe to take the blame if the court investigated. A rainstorm left him alone with Li Xu and the little snake, whose closeness to him made Li Xu suspect Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe were more than friends, just as an unexpected visitor arrived.

• Xie Huizhou's paintings mixed erotic stories with rumors about the princes and emperor, while people in the Capital City increasingly suspected the Spring Studio Hermit knew the imperial family's secrets.
• Li Xu worried that Xie Huizhou would offend powerful royals, but Xie Huizhou explained that Zhang Lanhe had volunteered to take responsibility for the Bookshop and its publications.
• Xie Huizhou showed Li Xu illustrated epidemic-prevention pamphlets under the pen name Miraculous Brush and planned to distribute them with supplies and medicine.
• Li Xu offered to fund half the work and asked to join the workshops, so Xie Huizhou said they would consult Young Marquis Fang and Ye Divine Physician.
• A sudden downpour trapped Xie Huizhou at Li Xu's place, where the little snake appeared and nuzzled him; Li Xu recognized it as Zhang Lanhe's snake and teased Xie Huizhou about becoming his cousin's wife.
• An unexpected visitor arrived before Xie Huizhou could answer Li Xu.

Zhang Lanhe arrived at Xie Huizhou’s Bookshop with an umbrella and took him back through the rain, while Li Xu watched and misunderstood their closeness. On the way, Fang Yuanke caught Zhang Lanhe holding Xie Huizhou and confronted him.

• Zhang Lanhe arrived at the Bookshop with an umbrella and cloak, then ignored Li Xu to take Xie Huizhou home.
• Zhang Lanhe left Li Xu behind at the Bookshop and walked beneath one umbrella with Xie Huizhou.
• Xie Huizhou edged closer to Zhang Lanhe to avoid the rain, and Zhang Lanhe pulled him into his arms.
• Fang Yuanke saw Zhang Lanhe holding Xie Huizhou, pulled Xie Huizhou under his own umbrella, and demanded that Zhang Lanhe explain his behavior.

Fang Yuanke confronted Zhang Lanhe over his treatment of Xie Huizhou, while Xie Huizhou tried to keep the two men from fighting. Later, the Spring Studio Hermit's illustrated books spread across Great Xia and stirred scandal, including outrage from the Fourth Prince.

• Fang Yuanke challenged Zhang Lanhe for treating Xie Huizhou as his possession and threatened to kill him if he forced himself on him again.
• Fang Yuanke recalled how his family had been destroyed, leaving him unable to protect his mother or acknowledge his younger brother, Xie Huizhou.
• Zhang Lanhe hypnotized Xie Huizhou into coming to him, then released him after Xie Huizhou glared at him.
• Xie Huizhou took a separate umbrella and reminded Fang Yuanke to attend to his business with Ah Xu; Fang Yuanke eventually left him with Zhang Lanhe.
• Xie Huizhou later visited the Medical Equipment Factory and talked with Ye Divine Physician while the Spring Studio Hermit's illustrated books became popular across Great Xia.
• The Fourth Prince saw the books and angrily denounced their claims as fabricated slander.

The Fourth and Fifth Princes discovered that erotic illustrations by Spring Studio Hermit had exposed their ambitions and stirred suspicion between them, but they agreed to find the artist. As the peace-talk banquet approached, Northern Border Prince Wuzi mistook the Fourth Prince for the beautiful youth he admired and hoped to see him again.

• The Fourth Prince learned that the erotic illustrations portrayed him as a woman and revealed the Fifth Prince's schemes, and he angrily rejected them.
• The Fifth Prince arrived, found himself depicted in the illustrations, and claimed that the artist was trying to drive a wedge between the brothers.
• The Fourth Prince questioned whether the Fifth Prince secretly wanted the throne, but the brothers agreed to hunt down Spring Studio Hermit.
• The Fifth Prince asked whether their paralyzed father could attend the coming peace-talk banquet, and the Fourth Prince said the emperor would manage a few sentences after treatment.
• Wuzi read the erotic illustrations, recognized the Fourth Prince as the beauty he had met at the mung bean cake stall, and hoped to see him at the banquet.

With Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke away in Pingzhou, Xie Huizhou prepared for peace negotiations with the Northern Border Kingdom and worried Prince Wuzi would recognize him and demand to marry him. Zhang Lanhe disguised Xie Huizhou’s face with an illusion, and they entered the banquet together to watch what happened.

• Ye Divine Physician examined Xie Huizhou, left him antidotes, and departed for Pingzhou with Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke to deal with the plague.
• Xie Huizhou learned he and Zhang Lanhe had been invited to the peace negotiation banquet and feared Prince Wuzi would recognize him and seek to marry him.
• Xie Huizhou told Zhang Lanhe that the Mung Bean Cake meant for him had been crushed, and Zhang Lanhe accepted a promise of a replacement portion.
• Zhang Lanhe agreed to disguise Xie Huizhou at the banquet and told him to stay close so the illusion would remain intact.
• Xie Huizhou used a rash as an excuse for the marks on his face, then entered the banquet with Zhang Lanhe and settled in an inconspicuous corner.

At the banquet, Prince Wuzi rejected the emperor’s proposed marriage alliance and declared he loved the Fourth Prince, only to realize he had mistaken him for another man. After the negotiations ended, Xie Huizhou searched the palace for Zhang Lanhe to admit the truth, and Wuzi finally recognized Xie as the beauty he had met before.

• The emperor proposed marrying Anyang Princess to Prince Wuzi, angering her mother, Dowager Consort Cui.
• Prince Wuzi refused the match and announced that he loved the Fourth Prince, shocking the court.
• The Fourth Prince confronted Wuzi, who realized he had mistaken him for the better-looking man he had met in the Capital City.
• The emperor’s Shadow Guard ended the awkward scene, and the marriage alliance was dropped as the envoys prepared to leave in three days.
• Xie Huizhou searched the palace for someone who refused to admit the truth, while Zhang Lanhe grew jealous and followed him.
• Xie Huizhou rubbed the cinnabar from his face, and Wuzi recognized him as the beauty who had bought mung bean cakes.

Xie Huizhou used Prince Wuzi’s advances to provoke Zhang Lanhe, who grew jealous as Wuzi tried to discover Xie Huizhou’s identity. Zhang Lanhe had Wuzi removed from the palace and then took Xie Huizhou by the wrist.

• Wuzi approached Xie Huizhou and declared that he wanted to marry him.
• Zhang Lanhe warned Wuzi away from Xie Huizhou, and the two men argued over their relationship and Zhang Lanhe’s rumored private ailment.
• Xie Huizhou called himself Niu Dazhuang and kept deflecting Wuzi’s attempts to learn his real identity while discussing painting with him.
• Zhang Lanhe recognized that Xie Huizhou was trying to provoke him and grew increasingly jealous.
• Zhang Lanhe ordered his loyal agents to take the protesting Wuzi away under the claim that he was drunk, then seized Xie Huizhou’s wrist and told him to come along.

Zhang Lanhe took Xie Huizhou through a secret passage to a hidden chamber, where he confessed his feelings and revealed his inhuman appearance. He asked Xie Huizhou to settle some old scores with him, leaving the meaning of his proposal to be answered.

• Xie Huizhou teased Zhang Lanhe about their closeness, and Zhang Lanhe pulled him into the Artificial Mountain Rock and bound him with a white-snake clone.
• Zhang Lanhe led Xie Huizhou through an old secret passage beneath the Imperial Palace to a hidden chamber.
• Zhang Lanhe explained that he had no intention of imprisoning Xie Huizhou and reflected on how their hopes of seeing the wider world together aligned.
• Zhang Lanhe confessed that Xie Huizhou had succeeded in making him confess, then revealed his silver scales and inhuman nature.
• Zhang Lanhe leaned close to Xie Huizhou and asked him to settle some old scores.

In the secret chamber, Zhang Lanhe confronted Xie Huizhou over his past deceptions while trying to explain his feelings. He restrained himself and finally confessed, “Huizhou, I love you.”

• Xie Huizhou teased Zhang Lanhe about settling accounts, while Zhang Lanhe touched the heart-protecting scale on his chest.
• Zhang Lanhe demanded compensation for the rumors about his private ailment and reminded Xie Huizhou of his other deceptions.
• Xie Huizhou tried to flee, but Zhang Lanhe used his silver snake tail to pull him back.
• Zhang Lanhe restrained himself, moved his true body away, and told Xie Huizhou, “Huizhou, I love you.”

Zhang Lanhe confessed his love to Xie Huizhou and asked him to answer. After confirming Zhang Lanhe’s feelings were sincere, Xie Huizhou embraced him and said he had made up his mind, leaving Zhang Lanhe waiting for his response.

• Zhang Lanhe confessed that he loved Xie Huizhou and asked him to give an answer.
• Xie Huizhou hesitated, weighing his feelings and wondering whether Zhang Lanhe’s love was genuine.
• Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe if his feelings were sincere, and Zhang Lanhe promised he truly loved him and wanted to spend his life with him.
• Xie Huizhou embraced Zhang Lanhe and told him he had made up his mind.
• Zhang Lanhe eagerly asked Xie Huizhou what his answer was.