Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin recounted his childhood in the Cold Palace, his rise to crown prince, and his struggle against the late emperor and Xiao Xu. After defeating Xiao Xu’s coup and refusing the late emperor’s final request, Xiao Lin ascended the throne and began the Jianxi era.

• Xiao Lin’s mother died when he was six, and the late emperor brought him out of the Cold Palace the following year and named him crown prince.
• Zhou Rucheng taught Xiao Lin for ten years and persuaded him to fight for what he had been given.
• Xiao Lin survived the late emperor’s attempt to kill him on the northern border and returned victorious, winning public support.
• Xiao Xu plotted against Xiao Lin, who trapped his forces at the North Mountain Hunting Grounds and had him stripped of his status and confined.
• Xiao Lin rejected the dying late emperor’s plea to release Xiao Xu, and the late emperor died that night.
• Xiao Lin ascended the throne at twenty-two and changed the era name to Jianxi the following year.

On the Double Seventh Festival, Xiao Huaijin and Xiao Yu sneaked out of the palace to explore the East Market, but Xiao Lin knew about their excursion and confronted them when they returned. He punished them with extra lessons and a policy essay, then promised to arrange a guarded visit outside the palace next time.

• Xiao Huaijin told Xiao Yu about his plan to slip out through the south corner gate, and Xiao Yu agreed to go with him.
• Xiao Huaijin and Xiao Yu passed through the gate during the guard shift change and explored the East Market, watching a sword-swallowing act and buying treats.
• Finding the gate guarded when they returned, Xiao Yu climbed a scholar tree and crossed the wall, tearing his robe, while Xiao Huaijin landed in mud.
• Xiao Lin revealed that Kong Wu's men had followed the boys, then assigned them extra lessons and ordered Xiao Huaijin to write an essay about the night market.
• Xiao Lin told Xiao Huaijin to ask next time and promised to arrange a guarded outing through the West Glorious Gate.

Xiao Lin taught Xiao Huaijin about the Northern Di threat and discussed strengthening Great Liang’s northern defenses through military farming and cavalry. After studying Shuofang City’s report, Xiao Huaijin revised his policy essay with proposals for beacon towers and scouts, and Xiao Lin agreed to pursue the feasible measures.

• Xiao Lin explained Shuofang City’s exposed position and proposed using military farming to save provisions and fund cavalry.
• Xiao Huaijin drafted a military-farming policy essay, and Xiao Lin encouraged him to revise it using Shuofang City’s military report.
• Kong Wu delivered a report that Northern Di scouts had raided near Shuofang and warned that a larger force might follow.
• Xiao Huaijin revised his essay to propose beacon towers between Shuofang and Yunzhong and spies to locate the Northern Di main camp.
• Xiao Lin approved discussing the beacon towers at court, explained that Kong Wu’s scouts were already gathering intelligence, and deferred military farming until after the autumn defenses.

After waking from a nightmare about the deaths in his previous life, Xiao Lin found comfort in Xiao Huaijin, who reassured him and stayed by his side. The two fell asleep together, with Xiao Lin beginning to share how unfamiliar affection was to him.

• A storm woke Xiao Huaijin, who found Xiao Lin shaken and sweating after knocking over his medicine bowl.
• Xiao Lin pulled Xiao Huaijin into his arms, relieved that his son was alive, and told him he had dreamed of war and many deaths.
• Xiao Huaijin shared how he had grieved for Nanny and asked whether Xiao Lin blamed himself for failing to protect someone.
• Xiao Huaijin reminded Xiao Lin of the people he protected and offered to protect him, then promised to keep him company whenever he was unhappy.
• Xiao Lin admitted that his lonely childhood had left him unsure how to be affectionate, and Xiao Huaijin encouraged him to hold him more.
• Xiao Lin and Xiao Huaijin fell asleep side by side, and Liu An quietly closed the door after seeing them together.

Xiao Huaijin woke beside Xiao Lin and learned that he could sleep in his father’s quarters from now on. The two spent the day together, and Xiao Huaijin fell asleep beside Xiao Lin again that night.

• Liu An saw Xiao Lin and Xiao Huaijin sleeping peacefully together and chose not to wake Xiao Lin for morning court.
• Xiao Lin let Xiao Huaijin sleep longer, then gave him permission to bring his pillow and sleep in his quarters from then on.
• At breakfast, Xiao Huaijin promised to hug Xiao Lin every day, and Xiao Lin responded by peeling an egg for him.
• Xiao Huaijin told Zhou Rucheng that he would sleep in Xiao Lin’s quarters from now on, then showed Xiao Lin his policy essay on autumn defenses.
• Xiao Huaijin drank his milk and went to bed beside Xiao Lin, falling asleep while reciting a lesson from the Book of Rites.

Xiao Lin took Xiao Huaijin out of the palace to harvest the grain they had planted in spring, then explored the East Market with him. Xiao Huaijin fell asleep back at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, while Xiao Lin kept the dough figurine his son had made for him.

• Xiao Lin changed into plain clothes and took Xiao Huaijin through the West Glorious Gate to harvest his grain at the ritual farmland.
• Xiao Huaijin harvested the rice with Xiao Lin's help and gathered a small bag of grain to take back to the palace.
• Xiao Lin took Xiao Huaijin to the East Market, where they ate wontons, bought figurines, and listened to a storyteller recount Taizu's battle at Wild Goose Return Valley.
• Xiao Huaijin gave Xiao Lin a crowned dough figurine and fell asleep after they returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
• Xiao Lin carried Xiao Huaijin to the couch, then set the dough figurine on his desk and resumed reading memorials.

Xiao Lin appointed Lu Ming to command a new cavalry camp in Shuofang, while Xiao Huaijin watched him leave with a sense that he would matter to Great Liang. On Shen Mingzhu’s birthday, Noble Consort Jing comforted Xiao Yu as he grieved for his mother and feared forgetting her face.

• Xiao Lin selected Lu Ming to command a new Shuofang cavalry camp after hearing his plans for fighting the Northern Di.
• The Ministry of War appointed Lu Ming commander of the camp, assigned eight hundred elite cavalrymen to it, and arranged funds and canal surveys.
• Lu Ming left the capital, and Xiao Huaijin watched him depart, telling Kong Wu that he felt Lu Ming would become important to Great Liang.
• Xiao Yu spent Shen Mingzhu’s birthday holding her gold bracelet and grieving that he could no longer remember her face clearly.
• Noble Consort Jing comforted Xiao Yu, promised to remember Shen Mingzhu with him each year, and assured him she would stay by his side.

When Xiao Huaijin developed a high fever, Xiao Lin stayed by his side through the night and cared for him. By morning, the fever had eased, but Xiao Lin ordered him to keep taking medicine until he recovered.

• Xiao Lin discovered that Xiao Huaijin had a high fever and summoned the director of the Imperial Medical Academy.
• The director diagnosed Xiao Huaijin with a wind-cold that had entered his lungs and prescribed medicine, which Xiao Lin coaxed him into drinking.
• Xiao Lin stayed awake beside Xiao Huaijin, changed his sweat-soaked sleeping robe, and comforted him when he murmured for his nanny.
• Xiao Lin recalled staying with Xiao Huaijin during a fever in their previous life and realized he had cared deeply for him even then.
• Xiao Huaijin's fever eased by morning, and Xiao Lin ordered him to continue his medicine and drink ginger soup until he recovered.

While Xiao Huaijin recovered from his fever, Xiao Yu, Xiao Lan, Xiao Yue, and Xiao Rui visited with treats and gifts, and Xiao Lin allowed him to return to lessons the next day. After Xiao Huaijin fell asleep, Xiao Lin read a secret memorial reporting that Lu Ming had begun training in Shuofang City.

• Xiao Lin tested Xiao Huaijin’s strength and continued making him rest after his fever broke.
• Xiao Yu and Xiao Lan visited Xiao Huaijin with sugar-frosted hawthorns, tea, and food, and Xiao Yue brought him a pinwheel he had drawn.
• Xiao Rui gave Xiao Huaijin a painting of him riding a dragon, and the children gathered around him to chat.
• Xiao Lin praised Xiao Yu’s progress in riding and archery and promised him a larger horse after two more months of practice.
• Xiao Lin let Xiao Huaijin return to the imperial schoolroom the next day but kept him from riding and archery until he fully recovered.
• Xiao Lin read a secret memorial saying Lu Ming had begun training in Shuofang City.

After recovering from his fever, Xiao Huaijin returned to the Imperial Study for a half-day of lessons, then fell asleep back at the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Xiao Lin received Lu Ming’s report exposing discrepancies in Shuofang’s military supplies and ordered Sun Jingtang summoned for an investigation.

• Xiao Lin allowed Xiao Huaijin to attend class for half a day after the Imperial Medical Academy director confirmed his fever had subsided but warned that he remained weak.
• Xiao Huaijin returned to the Imperial Study, where Xiao Yu, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Rui welcomed him, and he recited and discussed a passage from Commentary on the Water Classic for Zhou Rucheng.
• When Xiao Huaijin’s wrist began to ache during calligraphy, Zhou Rucheng ended the lesson early, and Xiao Huaijin returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation before noon and fell asleep.
• Liu An brought Xiao Lin a secret memorial from Lu Ming describing mismatched Shuofang cavalry supplies and records at three relay stations.
• Xiao Lin ordered Sun Jingtang summoned to the palace the next day while Xiao Huaijin slept nearby.