Chapter Summaries

After seeing Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing marry, Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe decided to wed and began preparing invitations. Their flirtation repeatedly disrupted the work, but they eventually finished and sent the invitations, bringing their guests hurrying to the wedding.

• Xie Huizhou saw Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing’s wedding and asked Zhang Lanhe to marry him, and Zhang Lanhe agreed.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe began preparing their wedding, with Zhang Lanhe writing most of the invitations because Xie Huizhou’s handwriting was poor.
• Zhang Lanhe chased Xie Huizhou and turned their painting lesson into flirtation, ruining the invitations and forcing them to start over.
• Zhang Lanhe taught Xie Huizhou calligraphy, and they eventually finished the invitations despite repeated distractions.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe sent out the invitations, and their guests hurried over for the wedding.

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe prepared to marry in Peach Blossom Village as friends and villagers gathered for the celebration. The village residents mistook Fang Yuanke and the other arriving guests for people intent on separating the couple, but Xie Huizhou recognized them and welcomed them inside.

• Zhang Lanhe dressed Xie Huizhou in his wedding robes, and the couple shared their excitement before Xie Huizhou slipped away to check on the guests.
• Fang Yuanke and their old friends arrived in Peach Blossom Village with guards and gifts after traveling through the night.
• The villagers suspected Fang Yuanke and the others had come to disrupt the wedding and confronted them with knives and clubs.
• Xie Huizhou came out, identified Fang Yuanke as his elder brother and the others as friends, and invited them in for wedding wine.
• Xie Huizhou brought the guests inside to take the elders' seats for the wedding ceremony.

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe celebrated their wedding in Peach Blossom Village with old friends, exchanged vows, and began their wedding night. Zhang Lanhe finally got Xie Huizhou to call him his Imperial Consort, and the newlyweds looked forward to a life together.

• Li Xu and Fang Yuanke reunited with Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe at the wedding feast, and Li Xu lamented that he was still unmarried.
• Xiao Chen and the others presented Xie Huizhou with wedding gifts, including birthday gifts they had prepared years earlier.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe completed the wedding ceremony as Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing watched from the elders' seats.
• After toasting the guests, Zhang Lanhe asked Xie Huizhou to call him his Imperial Consort, a title he had wanted for years.
• Xie Huizhou indulged Zhang Lanhe by calling him his Imperial Consort, and Zhang Lanhe kissed him on their wedding night.

Li Xu heard that Xie Huizhou had run away from the Detached Palace and decided to bring him home as a little brother. After the boys spent the day together at the Li Residence, the Minister of Rites recognized Xie Huizhou as the missing Ninth Prince.

• Li Xu overheard his parents discussing Xie Huizhou’s disappearance and decided to find him and make him his younger brother.
• Li Xu found Xie Huizhou sitting alone by the roadside, introduced himself, and persuaded him to play together.
• Li Xu brought Xie Huizhou to the Li Residence, where the steward fed them despite realizing Li Xu had brought home another child.
• The Minister of Rites rushed in with a rattan switch and demanded that Li Xu return the boy he had abducted.
• The Minister of Rites recognized Xie Huizhou as the missing Ninth Prince and cried out in surprise.

Li Xu defied his family to befriend Xie Huizhou, and the two grew up with a close circle of mischievous friends. Their carefree years ended when Li Xu made a decision that broke with his ancestors’ rules.

• The Minister of Rites tried to send Xie Huizhou away after Li Xu brought him home, and Li Xu was punished for refusing to let his new friend go.
• After Xie Huizhou returned to the Detached Palace, Li Xu climbed over the wall to visit him despite his injuries, and Xie Huizhou agreed to be his friend.
• Li Xu continued visiting Xie Huizhou, while the Minister of Rites decided not to interfere and the emperor showed no interest in their friendship.
• Li Xu introduced Xie Huizhou to his other friends, and the group spent years skipping lessons and getting into mischief around Capital City.
• When they were teenagers, Li Xu made a decision that went against his ancestors’ rules.

Xie Huizhou dreamed of his youthful friends and remembered how Li Xu had begun studying medicine to help him. After Zhang Lanhe reassured him that his friends were well and asked whether he was happy, Xie Huizhou fell asleep again, dreaming of his first meeting with Li Xu.

• As a young man, Xie Huizhou and his friends talked about wanting comfortable, carefree lives, while Li Xu announced he would study medicine.
• Li Xu showed Xie Huizhou his thick acupuncture needles and offered to treat him, prompting Xie Huizhou to retreat and claim he was healthy.
• Li Xu explained that he had learned from a medical book by Ye Changfeng, and over the years he learned to take pulses and treat minor illnesses while running a Bookshop.
• Xie Huizhou woke from his dream while sick and remembered Li Xu risking the old emperor's anger to examine and treat him.
• Zhang Lanhe told Xie Huizhou that his friends had married and were living happily, then transformed into a white snake to comfort him and asked whether he was happy.
• Xie Huizhou said he was happy, rested against Zhang Lanhe, and dreamed of the day Li Xu first found him by the roadside.

Xie Huizhou grew tired of painting erotic art and worried that his relationship with Zhang Lanhe had grown stale, so he proposed traveling to Clear Spring Town to gather material. The two set off together and discovered new pleasures, leaving Xie Huizhou’s paintings more popular than ever.

• Xie Huizhou heard people praising and discussing the Spring Studio Hermit's erotic paintings and complained that his retirement had not stopped the attention.
• Xie Huizhou continued painting and sending his works to Li Xu, while the paintings spread through bookshops and he worried future generations would uncover them.
• After losing interest in painting and repeatedly rejecting Zhang Lanhe, Xie Huizhou feared their relationship had grown cold and woke Zhang Lanhe to propose a trip.
• Xie Huizhou suggested traveling to Clear Spring Town to gather material for a romance between a human and a ghost, with Zhang Lanhe dressed as a ghost.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe traveled together, found new pleasures, and continued visiting different places to gather material as Xie Huizhou's paintings became bestsellers.

Thousands of years after Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe faked their deaths, archaeologists excavated their joint tomb, but found the coffins empty. A second tomb was then unearthed, promising new clues about what happened to the pair.

• A construction excavator uncovered a tomb, and authorities livestreamed the archaeological excavation.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe watched the excavation of the grave they had used to fake their deaths, joking about their secret being revealed.
• Archaeologists identified the tomb as belonging to Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe, whose historical reputations sparked heated online debate.
• The archaeologists opened both coffins and found them empty, prompting competing theories about the pair’s fate.
• A second tomb was unearthed nearby, bringing new discoveries to the investigation into Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe.

Archaeologists confirmed that the newly unearthed imperial tomb belonged to Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing, uncovering evidence of their relationship and of Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe’s survival. Letters preserved in Fang Yuanke’s coffin pointed to a beloved younger brother, leaving archaeologists eager to identify the person behind them.

• Engineer Wang’s discovery halted a property project, and archaeologists confirmed the tomb belonged to Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing, buried together as emperor and empress.
• The excavation revealed that Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing had received advanced technologies from an unnamed correspondent, prompting archaeologists to suspend and then resume the livestream amid public outcry.
• Archaeologists found protective scale amulets presented by Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe as husbands, showing that the two men had survived their supposed deaths and attended the couple’s wedding.
• Experts opened a sealed box from Fang Yuanke’s coffin and found a stack of treasured letters, most of them affectionate family correspondence.
• Ancient-literature scholars discovered an unsent letter addressed, “To be opened by my younger brother Zhouzhou,” renewing interest in the identity of Fang Yuanke’s correspondent.

Xie Huizhou heard Fang Yuanke’s final, unsent letter and grieved with Zhang Lanhe, while the tomb’s discoveries overturned history’s account of the brothers and their relationships. Further excavations revealed Xie Huizhou’s identity as the famed painter Spring Studio Hermit, sending the revelation onto trending searches.

• Xie Huizhou listened to Fang Yuanke’s last letter, answered his brother, and mourned in Zhang Lanhe’s arms.
• Zhang Lanhe comforted Xie Huizhou and reassured him that fate would reunite them.
• As archaeologists deciphered more letters, they uncovered that Xie Huizhou and Fang Yuanke were biological brothers who had secretly worked together, and that Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe were lovers.
• The excavation revealed further details about Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe, while Xie Huizhou complained that people might find his tomb.
• Experts compared Xie Huizhou’s artwork with that of Spring Studio Hermit and suspected they were the same person.
• The tomb of Li Xu revealed his friendship with Xie Huizhou, confirming Xie Huizhou’s identity as Spring Studio Hermit and making it a trending topic.

Later generations discovered that Xie Huizhou had been the Spring Studio Hermit, revealing his secret identity as an erotic artist and stirring up online discussion. Embarrassed by the exposure, Xie Huizhou worried about being recognized, but Zhang Lanhe reassured him before distracting him with a night together ahead of his book signing.

• Archaeological discoveries revealed that Xie Huizhou was the Spring Studio Hermit, and the revelation sent his name trending again.
• Netizens praised Xie Huizhou's paintings and joked about his erotic art, while speculating that Zhang Lanhe had taken the blame for his lover.
• Xie Huizhou hid from the comments in embarrassment and worried that people would uncover his immortality and secluded life with Zhang Lanhe.
• Zhang Lanhe, in his white snake form, reassured Xie Huizhou that people would dismiss anything supernatural as fake.
• Zhang Lanhe turned human and persuaded Xie Huizhou to spend the night with him, promising not to leave visible marks before Xie Huizhou's book signing.

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe attended Xie Huizhou’s first public book signing, where fans discovered the mysterious erotic artist Zhouzhou’s appearance. Their affectionate interactions were captured on camera, and videos of them quickly spread online.

• Xie Huizhou woke beside Zhang Lanhe, scolded him for leaving visible marks, and hurried to find clothes for the signing.
• Zhang Lanhe helped Xie Huizhou get ready and offered to carry him through the earth veins, but Xie Huizhou refused because their past antics had fueled a White Snake urban legend.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe arrived at the crowded comic convention, where fans and haters waited to see Zhouzhou and his sharp-tongued moderator.
• Xie Huizhou introduced himself at the signing table, revealing that he was the black-haired beauty, while Zhang Lanhe was the silver-haired livestream moderator beside him.
• Xie Huizhou signed books as Zhang Lanhe kept order and cared for him, and a camera captured their loving exchange.
• Videos of Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe’s affectionate behavior spread rapidly online.

At a convention, Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe’s video went viral, and old friends from their past lives felt drawn to them. When the group reached Xie Huizhou’s signing table, he recognized their reunion and greeted them warmly.

• A video of Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe drew attention online, and Zhang Lanhe proudly showed Xie Huizhou the well-wishes and comments.
• Zhang Lanhe recognized several familiar faces from their past lives and told Xie Huizhou that old friends had returned.
• Fang Yuanke, Zhou Yanqing, Fang Yuanhe, and Li Xu felt inexplicably familiar with Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe, and they decided to join the signing queue.
• As the group approached Xie Huizhou, their memories and feelings of familiarity grew stronger.
• Xie Huizhou paused while signing, then looked up, recognized the smiling newcomers, and greeted them with, “Long time no see.”

After waking in a peaceful parallel world as the youngest son of the Anping Marquis Residence, Xie Huizhou reunited with his loving family and searched for Zhang Lanhe. Zhang Lanhe found him too and hurried to the Spring Hunt, intending to bring his wife home, while those around him feared he planned to abduct the marquis’s young master.

• Xie Huizhou woke from a near-fatal fever in the Anping Marquis Residence, mistook his unfamiliar family for strangers, and reassured Shen Yuxiang and the Marquis of Anping that he had not lost his mind.
• The imperial physician confirmed that Xie Huizhou had recovered, and his parents celebrated while keeping him at home to rest.
• Fang Yuanke returned from the army camp, warned Xie Huizhou to avoid Imperial Preceptor Zhang Lanhe, and mistakenly assumed Zhang Lanhe would prey on his younger brother.
• Zhang Lanhe sent nourishing medicine to Xie Huizhou, then learned that Xie Huizhou would attend the Spring Hunt.
• Zhang Lanhe hurried to the Spring Hunt to bring his wife home, leaving his colleagues convinced that he meant to abduct Xie Huizhou.

Xie Huizhou willingly left the Spring Hunt with Zhang Lanhe, but rumors that the Imperial Preceptor had abducted him sparked a court crisis. After Xie Huizhou cleared up the misunderstanding and defended Zhang Lanhe, the emperor granted them a marriage, leaving the Marquis of Anping stunned.

• The Marchioness of Anping loaded Xie Huizhou's carriage with supplies, and he went to the Spring Hunt, where he won first place by killing a tiger.
• Zhang Lanhe arrived at the hunt and rode away with Xie Huizhou, while onlookers assumed he had abducted him.
• Rumors reached the Marquis of Anping that Zhang Lanhe had seized Xie Huizhou, so the Marquis tried to retrieve his son and joined officials in impeaching the Imperial Preceptor.
• Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe met the chief eunuch on their way to the Anping Marquis Residence, and Xie learned of the rumors and his father's protest at court.
• At the Golden Chime Hall, Xie Huizhou told his father he had gone willingly and stopped him from striking Zhang Lanhe.
• The emperor granted Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe a marriage, leaving the Marquis of Anping pleading with him to reconsider.

Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe married despite the Marquis of Anping’s doubts, and Zhang Lanhe gradually won the family over with his devotion. Years later, the family celebrated New Year’s Eve together, where Zhang Lanhe revealed he had gathered rare pigments for Xie Huizhou’s planned family portrait.

• The emperor approved Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou’s marriage, and Zhang Lanhe promised to cherish him despite the Marquis of Anping’s objections.
• Xie Huizhou convinced his family that he truly loved Zhang Lanhe, and Zhang Lanhe agreed to marry into the Anping household before moving into the residence after their wedding.
• Zhang Lanhe and Xie Huizhou remained devoted to each other for decades, while their admirers continued hoping they would separate.
• On New Year’s Eve, Zhang Lanhe went ice fishing for fresh fish and brought home a huge catch for the family reunion dinner.
• Zhang Lanhe gave Xie Huizhou rare pigments he had gathered for his family portrait, and the family watched the couple admire the snow before joining in a snowball fight.

Zhou Yanqing and Fang Yuanke met when Fang rescued him from the Eighth Prince’s men, and their friendship grew into love as they pursued shared ambitions. After years of hiding their feelings, Zhou Yanqing tied Fang Yuanke up and demanded to know what he felt for him.

• Zhou Yanqing fled the Eighth Prince’s men at a restaurant, and Fang Yuanke pulled him into a room and hid him.
• Zhou Yanqing suspected Fang Yuanke of stalking Xie Huizhou, but the two soon bonded over poetry, literature, and their ambitions.
• Fang Yuanke invited Zhou Yanqing to stay at the Anping Marquis Residence, where their friendship deepened and the Eighth Prince abandoned his designs on Zhou Yanqing.
• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing developed mutual feelings but kept them unspoken because of their doubts, secrets, and Fang Yuanke’s plans for rebellion.
• During official business, Zhou Yanqing finally confronted Fang Yuanke, tying him up in the night and demanding that he reveal his feelings.

Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing confessed their love and chose to pursue their dangerous ambitions together. Years later, they built a prosperous dynasty, married, and spent their lives together.

• Fang Yuanke told Zhou Yanqing he loved him and explained that he had held back because his rebellion put Zhou Yanqing in danger.
• Fang Yuanke clarified that he regarded Xie Huizhou as a younger brother, while Zhou Yanqing was the person he loved.
• Zhou Yanqing agreed to become Fang Yuanke's strategist and help him pursue their shared dream of a peaceful age.
• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing weathered many crises together, and Fang Yuanke eventually ascended the throne with Zhou Yanqing's aid.
• Fang Yuanke and Zhou Yanqing married, adopted a son, and later stepped down together to travel.

Xie Huizhou’s Shadow Guards protected his secret identity as the painter Spring Studio Hermit, then found themselves competing with Zhang Lanhe’s guards after the two men became lovers. As the couple grew inseparable, both groups of Shadow Guards became familiar colleagues and reluctant messengers in their romance.

• Xie Huizhou’s Shadow Guards repeatedly hid his identity as Spring Studio Hermit from obsessive fans investigating the painter.
• After Xie Huizhou and Zhang Lanhe became involved, their Shadow Guards tried to outwit each other’s investigations to keep Xie from being taken away.
• Once their masters became a couple, the two groups of Shadow Guards met often, worked together, and watched their relationship deepen.
• While Xie Huizhou was away, Zhang Lanhe sent him a love letter and homemade pastries through his Shadow Guards, and Xie returned local specialties through them.
• When Xie Huizhou returned, the Shadow Guards stayed outside as the reunited couple acted out a scene that sounded like a call for help.
• During a rare shared break, the Shadow Guards drank together and agreed to treat their masters’ romantic affairs as ordinary assignments.

After rumors about a snake demon made Zhang Lanhe unhappy, Xie Huizhou took him to their mountain villa, where they enjoyed a private summer together. The chapter ended with Zhang Lanhe writing in Xie Huizhou’s diary that he was living happily with his lover.

• Zhang Lanhe worried that people would mistake him for a monster and imprison him, while Xie Huizhou reassured him that he might only be sent to a zoo.
• Xie Huizhou suggested they leave the city for their mountain home, where Zhang Lanhe could relax and model for his paintings.
• Zhang Lanhe carried Xie Huizhou and their luggage through the mountain forest in his giant snake form.
• Xie Huizhou painted Zhang Lanhe and recorded their life together in an increasingly intimate snake-keeping diary.
• Zhang Lanhe found the diary, then wrote that he and Xie Huizhou continued to live happily together.