Recaps

Yang Tie sent Chen Qing toward a Tubo ambush to divert attention from the furnace room. In the palace, Gu Moli used a staged bedside conversation to provoke the paralyzed emperor, while Chu Tianxing's acupuncture revealed signs of poisoning through the tonics supplied by the empress's private pharmacy.

• Yang Tie watched Chen Qing leave with a genuine map whose marked sentry posts were deadly traps, hoping the Tubo soldiers would focus on him instead of the furnace room.
• Two beauties tending the emperor whispered about suspicious ginseng soup and past deaths, stirring his buried suspicions as he lay unable to move or speak.
• Gu Moli ordered Elder Shen and Chu Tianxing to treat the emperor when his breathing grew labored.
• Chu Tianxing's acupuncture revealed dark blood and signs that the emperor had been taking incompatible warming tonics.
• Elder Shen said the tonics came from the staff of the empress's private storeroom pharmacy.

The empress brought Gu Nian'an to the emperor’s bedside and pressed for him to be named crown prince while the emperor lay paralyzed. Chu Tianxing stopped the prince and revealed that his clothing carried a poisonous scent that could kill the emperor, leaving the empress’s scheme exposed.

• Gu Moli fed the emperor medicine as the empress arrived with Gu Nian'an.
• The empress argued that Gu Nian'an should be named crown prince to steady the realm, despite Gao Fu's objection that the adoption rites were incomplete.
• Gu Moli calmly welcomed the empress's proposal and invited Gu Nian'an to approach the emperor.
• Chu Tianxing seized Gu Nian'an and accused someone of bringing poison to the emperor.
• Chu Tianxing explained that the incense on Gu Nian'an's clothes became deadly when mixed with the purple-gold sandalwood in the emperor's medicine.

Chu Tianxing and Elder Shen exposed the empress’s use of poison against Noble Consort Chen and accused her of poisoning Gu Nian'an. The emperor believed the empress had tried to kill him and struck her with a jade cup, leaving her bleeding as the confrontation continued.

• Chu Tianxing identified the poison on Gu Nian'an's collar as South Sea dragon-scale agarwood and accused the empress of harming the harem.
• Elder Shen revealed that the same agarwood and Western Regions withered-blood vine had been used to poison Noble Consort Chen sixteen years earlier, and presented a ledger bearing the empress's seal.
• The empress accused Gu Moli of planting the poison, while Gu Moli pretended to fear her and sought the emperor's protection.
• Chu Tianxing challenged the empress's accusation, arguing that Gu Moli could not have obtained or prepared the poison in the hall.
• The emperor mistook the confrontation for an attempt to poison him, seized a jade medicine cup, and hurled it at the empress, cutting her forehead.

Gu Moli helped depose the empress and secure control of the palace while the emperor remained gravely weak. In Yi Prefecture, Lin Qingdai, Murong Xue, and Su Yao struggled to recover after an exhausting night with Prince Yi.

• The emperor ordered the empress deposed, and Gao Fu had the Imperial Guards take her and Gu Nian'an to the Palace Prison.
• The empress cursed Gu Chengshi and warned that Gu Mochen and Gu Moran would rebel, while Chu Tianxing dismissed her accusations and explained that the emperor was no longer in immediate danger.
• Gu Moli arranged for the sixth prince to be confined, reassured the emperor that the court and palace would be managed, and privately urged Gu Moran to work hard as she cleared his path in the capital.
• At Prince Yi's residence, Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue emerged exhausted from a warm chamber, trading barbs as they struggled down the steps.
• Su Yao remained in bed, complained about the light and Prince Yi's stamina, and said nobody should expect her to get up that day.

Meng Jiuning and Yun Shuyue spent the night enduring Gu Moran’s assigned tasks, with Meng auditing corrupt accounts and Yun peeling chestnuts, while the other women recovered in bed. After Meng uncovered embezzlement tied to missing warhorses, Gu Moran withheld the promised medicinal-herb permit and claimed Dali’s rebel lords had hired Mount Qingcheng disciples to assassinate her.

• Shen Ling'er, Xie Wanqing, and Liu Ruyan lay exhausted in bed after serving His Highness, while Meng Jiuning worked through corrupt ledgers and Yun Shuyue struggled to peel raw chestnuts.
• Meng Jiuning complained that Gu Moran had saddled her with twelve books of rotten accounts and evidence of embezzlement, while Yun Shuyue suspected he was tormenting them all.
• Gu Moran arrived refreshed, mocked Yun Shuyue’s mangled chestnuts, and caught her hiding sugar-roasted chestnuts.
• Meng Jiuning reported that officials had falsely claimed the loss of seven hundred warhorses and diverted the money to accounts at the Datong Money House in Yi Prefecture.
• Gu Moran pocketed Meng Jiuning’s calculations and claimed that Dali’s Duan and Gao families had enlisted Mount Qingcheng disciples to assassinate her, surprising her because she believed Pu Yunshan and his father supported her.

Gu Moran reassured Meng Jiuning that he had sent supplies to aid Dali, and she formally thanked him for saving her people. Her sincere trust earned him a sword-intent reward, advancing his cultivation to the Third Rank and granting him the technique Turn Finger into Sword.

• Gu Moran told Meng Jiuning that Pu Yunshan was escorting three hundred carts of medicinal herbs through Wild Wolf Valley to help Dali.
• Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue stumbled into the pavilion, tried to hide their weakness, and were sent with the others to breakfast before waiting in the front hall.
• Meng Jiuning inspected the convoy’s receipts and discovered that Gu Moran had paid for the supplies, route expenses, and death benefits from Prince Yi’s private treasury.
• Meng Jiuning bowed to Gu Moran and thanked him for saving Dali’s people.
• The system reported that Meng Jiuning’s sincere trust raised her favorability to 60, rewarded Gu Moran with Pure Yang Limitless Sword Intent, advanced him from the fourth-rank peak to the Third Rank lower stage, and gave him Turn Finger into Sword.

Gu Moran advanced his martial arts while Chen Qing carried Prince An's seal and military plans toward the Tubo camp, hoping to exploit the conflict between three sides. The Tubo patrol captured Chen Qing, but when he saw their commander Zhaxi Dawa, Chen Qing was captivated by him.

• Gu Moran advanced his internal energy and demonstrated his precision by snapping a twig from across the courtyard.
• Chen Qing traveled through a snowstorm with Prince An's bronze seal and the sheepskin defense plans, intending to stir up conflict among Anyang, Yi Prefecture, and Dali.
• Chen Qing fell into a hidden pit and was captured by Tubo outriders, who found the seal and plans on him.
• The Tubo outriders took Chen Qing to their camp and presented the documents to commander Zhaxi Dawa.
• Chen Qing met Zhaxi Dawa and became instantly fascinated by the imposing commander.

Chen Qing tried to win over Zhaxi Dawa by flirting and offering military intelligence, even as Zhaxi had him beaten. Zhaxi finally ordered his guards to lock Chen Qing in an ironwood cage behind the cookhouse, but Chen Qing kept calling affectionate warnings after him as he was dragged away.

• Zhaxi Dawa questioned Chen Qing about who sent him and where he got the defense plans, while Chen introduced himself as Prince An's chief military adviser and offered the plans as a gift.
• Chen Qing fussed over Zhaxi's cold mare's milk wine and praised his blade, prompting Zhaxi to threaten him and then pull back when Chen pressed his neck against the blade.
• Chen Qing wiped Zhaxi's muddy boots and offered to reveal Prince An's covert agents and help Zhaxi take Yi Prefecture and attack Anyang.
• Zhaxi ordered his guards to whip Chen until he told the truth, but Chen kept expressing concern for Zhaxi and flirting through the beating.
• Zhaxi stopped the beating and ordered Chen locked in an ironwood cage behind the cookhouse, while Chen shouted affectionate reminders as the guards dragged him out.

Chen Qing’s incessant cooking advice drove Zhaxi Dawa to move his cage into the freezing wind and ban talk of romance. In Yi Prefecture, Zhen Meili infiltrated Prince Yi’s residence to investigate the young prince, but a faint report sounded as she swung toward his chamber.

• Chen Qing shouted cooking advice at the Tubo cooks from his cage, aggravating Zhaxi Dawa.
• Zhaxi Dawa ordered the guards to drag Chen Qing’s cage to the wind-exposed horse pens and threatened to cut out anyone’s tongue for mentioning women or love.
• Zhen Meili arrived in Yi Prefecture and learned that her father, Zhen Daijin, had gone south under orders from Prince Yi’s Residence while her second uncle, Zhen Shizhong, had fled to Shu.
• Zhen Meili entered Prince Yi’s residence at night and used a Mohist mechanism to swing toward the heated chamber where a young figure was reading.
• A faint report sounded from behind the chamber’s closed paper window as Zhen Meili neared the corridor railing.

Zhen Meili broke into Prince Yi’s residence to confront Gu Moran, but he destroyed her trap and exposed his knowledge of her mechanical weapon. Their exchange ended with Gu Moran explaining why her father was holding Bronze Gorge, leaving Zhen Meili’s anger softened by his remark about her uncle.

• Gu Moran used sword qi to shatter Zhen Meili’s mechanical box, dropping her onto the courtyard stones.
• Gu Moran saw Zhen Meili’s fate screen and learned that her original destiny involved a forced marriage, betrayal, and decades of revenge.
• Zhen Meili accused Gu Moran of attacking her mechanism and challenged him over his comfortable life while her father risked himself at Bronze Gorge.
• Zhen Meili noticed someone hiding inside and raised her hand crossbow, but Gu Moran warned her that its spring could jam and injure her.
• Gu Moran explained Bronze Gorge’s strategic importance and said Zhen Daijin was the right commander to defend it; his remark about Zhen Shizhong made Zhen Meili laugh.

Zhen Meili learned that Gu Moran had secretly sent medicinal herbs and swordsmen to Dali, then tried to steal his token and fell into his arms. Their encounter was interrupted when Lin Qingdai, Murong Xue, Su Yao, Meng Jiuning, and Yun Shuyue entered the room.

• Gu Moran revealed that he had sent three hundred carts of medicinal herbs and three hundred Green City swordsmen through a secret route to Dali.
• Gu Moran explained that he was prolonging the conflict to draw the emperor and the second prince into a political trap and push his second brother toward the southwest.
• Zhen Meili realized Gu Moran had hidden his abilities, and he warned her to keep their conversation secret.
• Zhen Meili tried to take Gu Moran's black iron token, but his true qi jolted her wrist and sent her tumbling into his arms.
• Lin Qingdai, Murong Xue, Su Yao, Meng Jiuning, and Yun Shuyue entered and found Zhen Meili hanging against Gu Moran.

After Zhen Meili was fined and ordered to revise heavy-crossbow designs, she worked through the night and brought a rapid-firing prototype to Gu Moran’s training ground. The chapter ended as she demonstrated its fourteen-bolt magazine and claimed it could pierce two layers of armor at close range.

• Su Yao and Meng Jiuning confronted Zhen Meili over entering Gu Moran’s residence and charged her five hundred taels for the damage and disturbance.
• Gu Moran ordered Zhen Meili to finish three dual-track heavy-crossbow designs before dawn, and a system report announced Lin Yichen’s victory over the Uyghurs.
• Zhen Meili worked overnight on the designs while Yun Shuyue ate her Luoyang sweets, and the two chased each other around the workshop.
• Zhen Meili completed the plans and assembled a mechanical heavy crossbow, then brought it to the training ground for Gu Moran to inspect.
• Zhen Meili loaded fourteen bolts into the crossbow and demonstrated its twin-wheel mechanism, claiming it could pierce two layers of armor within thirty paces.

Zhen Meili demonstrated a repeating heavy crossbow that impressed Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai, and Gu Moran ordered thirty built for Bronze Gorge while reducing her debt. At the Tubo camp, Chen Qing continued tormenting the soldiers until Zhaxi Dawa came to confront him, whereupon Chen Qing clung to him and offered intelligence and help attacking Yi Prefecture.

• Zhen Meili fired fourteen heavy bolts from her repeating crossbow, destroying five wooden dummies and silencing Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai.
• Gu Moran ordered Uncle Fu to have the workshop build thirty crossbows for Bronze Gorge and deducted fifty taels from Zhen Meili's IOU.
• Chen Qing harassed the Tubo guards and criticized the cook while imprisoned in a cage at the central army camp.
• Zhaxi Dawa ordered Chen Qing's cage opened and threatened to silence him for good.
• Chen Qing clung to Zhaxi Dawa's boots and offered secret passages, five hundred death warriors, and his help in attacking Yi Prefecture.

Gu Moran learned that the empress had been deposed and the sixth prince imprisoned, while his sister Gu Moli remained safe in the capital. At his manor, Liu Ruyan and Xie Wanqing pressed him to father an heir, arguing that the succession mattered to the people considering whether to rely on him.

• Zhaxi Dawa kicked Chen Qing into a snowbank and ordered his guards to stuff Chen Qing's mouth with hay after Chen Qing's shameless taunts drove him away.
• Gu Moran's convoy of three hundred carts of raw medicinal herbs passed through Wild Wolf Valley's hidden passage and headed for Dali's Northern Territory.
• Liu Ruyan told Gu Moran that the empress had been deposed and the sixth prince imprisoned, and he confirmed that Gu Moli was safe.
• Xie Wanqing and Liu Ruyan urged Gu Moran to stop avoiding fatherhood and get Su Yao pregnant, while he tried to deflect them with manor business and outstanding debts.
• Liu Ruyan reported that Prince An's people had stirred trouble at the camp gates and that southwest allies needed reassurance; Xie Wanqing argued that Gu Moran needed an heir to secure their confidence and become crown prince.

Gu Moran’s household debated what would happen to his future children, but Zhen Meili barged in and bluntly challenged them to judge whether he was capable of fathering one. She examined his build, leaving the women scandalized and Gu Moran caught in the spectacle.

• Xie Wanqing, Liu Ruyan, and Su Yao pressed Gu Moran to explain how his children would be provided for and who would inherit the principal-consort’s status.
• Zhen Meili entered with her mechanical drawings and mocked the household’s drawn-out discussion about having children.
• Zhen Meili said childbirth depended on fertile soil and a strong plow ox, making Yun Shuyue cough and the other women blush.
• Shen Ling'er arrived with medicine and asked what they meant by a plow ox, so Zhen Meili pointed to Gu Moran and questioned his ability to father a child.
• Zhen Meili patted Gu Moran’s shoulders and chest to assess his build, while Su Yao objected to her treating him like timber.

Zhen Meili inspected Gu Moran and the women in his household, making blunt judgments that prompted Shen Ling'er and Su Yao to challenge her. The chapter left Zhen Meili beginning to assess Xie Wanqing.

• Zhen Meili inspected Gu Moran's build and couch, and Gu Moran stopped her from touching him further.
• Zhen Meili declared that the women each had problems, while Su Yao warned her she would have to account for the workshop's extra copper if her claims lacked reasoning.
• Zhen Meili told Shen Ling'er that her small frame might make childbirth difficult, and Shen Ling'er challenged her lack of medical knowledge.
• Shen Ling'er corrected Zhen Meili's claims about childbirth and made her wipe the marks she had left on Gu Moran's clothes.
• Zhen Meili turned to Xie Wanqing and said her fine-boned frame needed building up because she was liable to jam.

Zhen Meili teased the women in Gu Moran’s household about their physiques and habits, then praised Murong Xue as strong enough to bear triplets. Murong Xue began imagining how having the firstborn sons might let her claim the empress’s seat or even make Gu Moran her prince consort.

• Xie Wanqing challenged Zhen Meili to draw where she thought Xie Wanqing would jam, and Zhen Meili backed down from her crude joke.
• Zhen Meili called Su Yao and Liu Ruyan overworked gears, while Gu Moran suggested Su Yao attend to him after dinner and Su Yao rebuked him over his waived debts.
• Zhen Meili appraised Lin Qingdai and Murong Xue, then praised Murong Xue’s sturdy build and slapped her thigh.
• Zhen Meili claimed Murong Xue could bear triplets, and Murong Xue privately imagined that sons born first could help her become empress or grant Gu Moran the title of prince consort.

Murong Xue took Zhen Meili’s comments about her strong constitution and future children to heart, resolving to prove she could be a capable principal consort by caring for Gu Moran. She carefully fed him his medicine and made plans for their future children, while the others amused themselves at her sudden change in manner.

• Shen Ling'er and Su Yao challenged Zhen Meili’s claims about predicting multiple births, while Murong Xue privately imagined raising children with Gu Moran.
• Liu Ruyan teased Murong Xue about having a child with Gu Moran, and Murong Xue became flustered before sitting beside him.
• Murong Xue adjusted Gu Moran’s blanket and took over feeding him medicine, determined to show she could look after him.
• Gu Moran joked about her careful spoonfuls, and Murong Xue offered him candied fruit while saying she was not afraid of the work of raising children.
• Su Yao, Xie Wanqing, Liu Ruyan, and Lin Qingdai reacted with amusement as Murong Xue wiped the dish and made plans for her future role as principal consort.

Murong Xue was teased into managing Gu Moran’s medicine and schedule, then fled when asked to choose whose room he would sleep in. That night, she prepared her room and tried to make herself look pregnant, hoping to conceive before Lin Qingdai.

• Murong Xue fed Gu Moran his medicine while Su Yao and the others added household tasks to her list.
• Gu Moran asked Murong Xue to choose where he would spend the night, and she dodged the decision by claiming she needed to check the rain and the courtyard blades.
• Murong Xue continued checking the doors while the others joked that she was still thinking about Gu Moran’s sleeping arrangements.
• At night, Murong Xue secured her window and waited in her room, wondering whether Gu Moran would come.
• Murong Xue stuffed pillows under her clothes to imitate a pregnant belly, but decided the bump was too small.

Murong Xue practiced pretending to be pregnant with pillows, imagining how she would raise a son with Gu Moran. Yun Shuyue caught her at the window and mistook the pillows for a real pregnancy, leaving Murong Xue mortified.

• Murong Xue strapped pillows beneath her robe and practiced walking and sitting like a pregnant woman.
• Murong Xue imagined raising a son with Gu Moran and decided what lessons he would learn from their friends.
• Murong Xue heard chewing at the window and discovered Yun Shuyue watching her.
• Murong Xue rushed toward the window, struck her knee on a stool, and startled Yun Shuyue into dropping her pastry.
• Yun Shuyue fell from the windowsill and exclaimed that Murong Xue had a little prince in her belly.

Yun Shuyue mistook the pillows Murong Xue had strapped to her belly for a pregnancy and spread the news through the residence, prompting Murong Xue to chase her with a saber. The rumor reached Gu Moran and Su Yao’s chamber and stirred fears of a succession contest just as the other women arrived.

• Yun Shuyue shouted that Murong Xue was pregnant and ran toward Su Yao’s courtyard.
• Murong Xue chased Yun Shuyue, insisting that the bulge beneath her clothes came from pillows.
• Yun Shuyue cried for help and announced that Murong Xue was coming to hack people down with her big belly.
• Gu Moran and Su Yao heard the pregnancy rumor, and Su Yao worried Murong Xue might gain influence by bearing his eldest son.
• The women hurried to Gu Moran’s chamber, and the door burst open.

Lin Qingdai, Shen Ling'er, and Xie Wanqing each found excuses to stay with Gu Moran for the night after hearing about the disturbance. Their rivalry over his attention left Gu Moran surrounded in bed, and he pulled Lin Qingdai into his arms as she tried to retreat.

• Lin Qingdai entered Gu Moran's chamber, claiming she had come to guard him from an intruder.
• Shen Ling'er arrived with a medicine chest and said she needed to monitor Gu Moran's health.
• Xie Wanqing brought ginseng soup and announced she would stay because the flooded passage prevented her from returning to her quarters.
• Su Yao invited the other women into bed and took Gu Moran's hand, while Shen Ling'er nestled against his leg.
• Gu Moran pulled Lin Qingdai onto the bed after she hesitated, and she lost her resistance against his chest.

Gu Moran spent the night with Xie Wanqing and Su Yao while Zhen Meili secretly documented the bed’s strain. After recognizing Gu Moran’s household as his weakness, Meng Jiuning decided to win his favor to protect Dali; far away, Gu Mochen suffered the effects of the Bliss Pills and begged for more medicine.

• Gu Moran embraced Xie Wanqing and Su Yao, while Murong Xue dragged Yun Shuyue away to run five hundred laps.
• Zhen Meili eavesdropped outside Su Yao’s room and recorded that the canopy bed needed reinforcement.
• Meng Jiuning concluded that Gu Moran’s wives were his weakness and resolved to compete for his favor to secure Dali’s protection.
• Gu Moran overheard Meng Jiuning’s plan and smiled, intending to let her proceed.
• In Anyang City, Gu Mochen writhed on the floor from the Bliss Pills’ effects and begged for the divine medicine.

Gu Mochen rejected Inukami Jusaburo and Park Roejang’s attempt to buy his betrayal with Bliss Pills and foreign troops, swallowing their treasonous agreement instead of signing it. Zhou Huaili and three veteran soldiers arrived and ordered the envoys to leave.

• Inukami Jusaburo and Park Roejang offered Gu Mochen Bliss Pills and military aid in exchange for Prince An’s seal and access to Laizhou and Dengzhou’s naval ports.
• Gu Mochen grabbed the agreement and ate most of it, refusing to sign away Great Yan’s territory.
• Inukami Jusaburo kicked Gu Mochen, who struck his head against a stone pillar to resist his drug craving.
• Gu Mochen denounced the envoys and declared that he would never surrender Great Yan’s maritime territory.
• Zhou Huaili and three veteran soldiers confronted Inukami Jusaburo and told him to leave.

After refusing to sign a coercive treaty, Gu Mochen endured painful treatment for his wounds and faced the growing dependence caused by Bliss Pills. He ordered himself chained to a pillar and sent a secret appeal to Gu Moran in Yi Prefecture, leaving the capital uninformed.

• Gu Mochen swallowed the treaty document, and Zhou Huaili ordered Inukami Jusaburo and Park Roejang escorted from the residence.
• The physician treated Gu Mochen’s wounds without anesthetic, while Gu Mochen resolved that the Bliss Pills could not be allowed to remain.
• Gu Mochen refused to send word to the capital because the court might strip him of his title, and the physician suggested seeking help from Gu Moran and Madam Shen in Yi Prefecture.
• As the drug’s craving returned, Gu Mochen ordered Zhou Huaili to chain him to a pillar and record his condition every hour.
• Gu Mochen ordered a swift runner sent to Yi Prefecture with his jade pendant, a letter written in blood, and the treaty fragments, warning Gu Moran about the addictive pills.