Chapter Summaries

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.

After confessing their love, Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe to elope with him and escape the political danger surrounding them. Zhang Lanhe admitted he wanted to go but refused, fearing he might never escape Capital City and could die there.

• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe confessed their love and became intimate in the Secret Chamber.
• Xie Huizhou stopped their intimacy to discuss their future, and Zhang Lanhe proposed a grand wedding.
• Xie Huizhou asked Zhang Lanhe to elope, revealing that he had prepared properties, hidden wealth, and overseas assets for their escape.
• Xie Huizhou confessed he had even planned to have the Shadow Guards kidnap Zhang Lanhe if he refused to leave.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou to leave once his poison was cured, but explained that he might be trapped in Capital City for life or die there.

Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou how he was betrayed, imprisoned, and forced to bear the dynasty’s karmic burden, and Xie resolved to search for clues at Qingfeng Temple. After three days in the secret chamber, they returned to the National Preceptor’s Residence, where a subordinate hurried over with an urgent warning.

• Zhang Lanhe explained that refugees named him a snake demon, and he left Guanjun Mountain after growing curious about the mortal world.
• Zhang Lanhe recounted how a villain and the Taoist Wu Xianzhi imprisoned him to help the Xie Clan’s ancestor ascend the throne, leaving him to carry the dynasty’s karmic burden.
• Xie Huizhou asked about the book claiming demons did not exist, and Zhang Lanhe said it had belonged to Wu Xianzhi’s grand-disciple.
• Zhang Lanhe named Wu Xianzhi and Qingfeng Temple as possible leads, and Xie Huizhou decided to investigate the temple.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe left the secret chamber after three days, ate together, and headed back toward the National Preceptor’s Residence.
• A subordinate spotted Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe on their return and rushed over, saying there was not enough time.

Zhang Lanhe learned that the Northern Border delegation had made a deal with the Fifth Prince, while Xie Huizhou worried about the danger to the border cities and considered how to investigate. Before they could depart to see off the envoys, Zhang Lanhe treated Xie Huizhou’s poison in the bath, and their attendants waited outside as they ran late.

• Zhang Lanhe’s subordinate reported that the Fifth Prince was behind the Ninth Prince’s assignment to see off the Northern Border envoys and that the delegation had been colluding with the Fifth Prince.
• Xie Huizhou recalled the Fifth Prince’s future betrayal of the Great Xia Dynasty and considered going to Guanjun Mountain to avert the danger, though princes could not leave the capital without permission.
• Zhang Lanhe sent his subordinate to carry out orders, then took the exhausted Xie Huizhou to bathe and rest.
• Zhang Lanhe insisted on treating Xie Huizhou’s poison and pulled him into his arms, while Xie Huizhou protested and worried that they would be late.
• The attendants and Shadow Guards heard the commotion outside; Shadow Guard A told the others to leave the pair alone, and the bathwater eventually settled.

Xie Huizhou attended the Northern Border envoys’ departure with Zhang Lanhe, whose closeness to him drew the minister of rites’ concern and Prince Wuzi’s jealousy. The envoys left for the north, and Wuzi rode away after silently saying something to Xie Huizhou that changed Zhang Lanhe’s expression.

• Xie Huizhou insisted on attending the send-off to spare Li Ran trouble, and Zhang Lanhe explained that Li Ran’s family were his juniors because a man who once helped him had joined the Li Family.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe arrived at the city gates, where Li Ran noticed them holding hands and feared Zhang Lanhe had coerced the frail Ninth Prince.
• Prince Wuzi recognized Xie Huizhou as the red-robed beauty he had admired and regretted not learning his identity sooner.
• Zhang Lanhe hid Xie Huizhou from Wuzi’s covetous gaze and urged the ceremony to conclude so the envoys could depart.
• The Northern Border delegation left for the north, and Wuzi rode after them on a Heavenly Steed after silently speaking to Xie Huizhou; Zhang Lanhe read his lips and reacted.

Wuzi departed after threatening to take Xie Huizhou as his consort, while Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou faced questions about their relationship and Xie Huizhou suffered a poison attack. Zhang Lanhe saved him, and the chapter ended with the Fourth Prince seeing them together and remarking on their closeness.

• Wuzi told Xie Huizhou he would take him to the grasslands as his consort, and Zhang Lanhe angrily warned Xie Huizhou against Northern Border people.
• The Minister of Rites noticed Xie Huizhou's love bites and feared Zhang Lanhe had forced him, but Xie Huizhou insisted their love was mutual.
• The Minister of Rites warned Xie Huizhou that unrest might erupt in Capital City and advised him to flee if another struggle for the throne began.
• Xie Huizhou's poison flared during their game of Go, so Zhang Lanhe carried him away and used acupuncture and qi to suppress it.
• Xie Huizhou woke after dreaming of a silvery-white snake amid mountains and rivers, and Zhang Lanhe resolved to consult Ye Changfeng about his condition.
• Xie Wangqiu encountered Zhang Lanhe carrying Xie Huizhou and remarked that Xie Huizhou was close to the Imperial Preceptor.