Chapter Summaries

Xue Huan forced the Gan Family’s thirty-five men to work at Ten-Li Slope after they sabotaged Prince Yi’s waterworks, while Yun Shuyue presented Gan Lingmu with a bill for the damage. Gan Lingmu paid the silver after learning the men had been assigned to the water affairs brigade and hearing Prince Yi’s warning against further interference.

• Xue Huan stopped a Gan Family man from refusing work and sent all thirty-five men to wash before they joined the construction crew.
• Yun Shuyue collected Xue Huan’s itemized bill for the damage at Ten-Li Slope and rode back to the city.
• Yun Shuyue presented the bill to Gan Lingmu and explained that his thirty-five men had sabotaged the waterworks.
• Yun Shuyue told Gan Lingmu that the thirty-five men had been assigned to the Yi Prefecture City Urban Management Water Affairs Brigade.
• Uncle Fu delivered Prince Yi’s warning to Gan Lingmu and said Prince Yi would remember any silver contributed to support the project.
• Gan Lingmu agreed to pay the twenty-three taels and six mace and ordered his steward to fetch the silver.

Yun Shuyue collected the exact payment from Gan Lingmu, while Gu Moran defused Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai's suspicions by explaining that he lent Yun Shuyue his robe. Chen Qing sent a report to Anyang, convinced that his new duties brought him closer to stripping Prince Yi of power, as Gu Mochen's soldiers failed to master a horse-stacking formation.

• Yun Shuyue counted the twenty-three taels and six mace from Gan Lingmu and left, prompting him to order his household to avoid Ten-Li Slope.
• Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai confronted Gu Moran about his missing outer robe, but he explained that he had lent it to Yun Shuyue while she kept watch at Ten-Li Slope.
• Chen Qing sent a detailed report to Anyang by carrier pigeon and assigned thirty-five Gan household servants to the Yi Prefecture City Urban Management Water Affairs Brigade.
• Gu Mochen watched his soldiers collapse while practicing the human-pyramid-on-a-horse formation and blamed their poor comprehension and lack of endurance.

Gu Mochen dismissed concerns about the Human Pyramid Formation and trusted Chen Qing’s report that Gu Moran was misusing laborers and governing poorly. As injured veterans continued practicing, Zhi Tianfeng obeyed the order but reminded them that they were soldiers, not acrobats.

• Gu Mochen ordered the injured Zhi Tianfeng to keep practicing the Human Pyramid Formation until the soldiers could stack eight men.
• Gu Mochen rejected his adviser’s doubts about Chen Qing’s assessment of Yi Prefecture and read a letter claiming Gu Moran forcibly conscripted laborers to build bathing pools for his six wives.
• Gu Mochen praised Chen Qing’s report and said the human pyramids would entertain the people and improve his standing in Anyang City.
• The adviser praised Gu Mochen despite fearing the plan would backfire, then left the platform.
• Zhi Tianfeng told the injured soldiers they had to obey the order, but reminded them that they were soldiers, not acrobats.

Gu Moli persuaded the emperor to delay choosing a husband for her, then told Noble Consort Chen she had arranged to use seven women resembling her mother to secretly weaken the emperor. She left the plan in motion as she returned to her palace.

• The emperor told Gu Moli that several ministers wanted their sons to seek her hand, but she wept and convinced him to postpone her marriage.
• Gu Moli went to Hanzhang Hall, where Noble Consort Chen was pretending to be ill to avoid suspicion while Gu Moli's elder brother was away in Yi Prefecture.
• Gu Moli revealed that she had trained seven women who resembled Noble Consort Chen to imitate her habits and serve among the emperor's attendants.
• Gu Moli said the women would quietly exhaust the emperor, and Noble Consort Chen remained silent rather than stop her.
• Gu Moli told Qingwu that the arrangements were complete and headed back to her palace.

Chu Tianxing praised Prince Yi’s imperial bearing while making dangerous claims about the emperor and crown prince, prompting Elder Shen to warn him to stay silent. At Yi Prefecture, Gu Moran repeatedly sneezed as he oversaw irrigation plans and heard about Chen Qing’s attention to Batuer.

• Chu Tianxing told Elder Shen that Prince Yi had the qualities of an emperor and suggested he be made crown prince, while also predicting the emperor and crown prince were in poor health.
• Elder Shen dragged Chu Tianxing into the Imperial Medical Bureau and warned him not to discuss the royal family’s health or succession.
• Gu Moran sneezed twice while discussing irrigation channels with Fang Bi outside Yi Prefecture City.
• Uncle Fu told Gu Moran that Mixue Ice City had opened another branch and that Chen Qing was bringing Batuer roast lamb every day.
• Gu Moran said Chen Qing was trying to impress Murong Xue and allowed him to continue, then sneezed again while reviewing affairs at Prince Yi’s Residence.

Gu Moran faced a month-long delay after the Ten-Li Slope canal crew found an unbreakable rock seam at Severed Dragon Ridge, and he considered making gunpowder despite his uncertainty about the formula and risks. His companions offered help with his health and the iron shortage, while Shen Ling'er asked to hear the formula so she could assist.

• Xue Huan delivered a report that the canal excavation had reached strange rock at Severed Dragon Ridge, where tools and ordinary methods had failed.
• Gu Moran considered using explosives but worried that his imperfect memory and lack of experience could endanger his workers.
• Uncle Fu mistook Gu Moran's coughing for a serious illness and alerted Prince Yi's Residence, bringing Shen Ling'er, Lin Qingdai, and Su Yao to his room.
• Gu Moran explained that the rock seam and a shortage of pig iron threatened the canal project, and Su Yao offered to source iron from Jiangnan within ten days.
• Gu Moran said he knew of a method more powerful than fire-setting and water-quenching but could not safely recall its formula, and Shen Ling'er offered to help with her pharmacology knowledge.

Gu Moli arranged for seven young women to enter the palace and attend to the emperor, intending to use them to end his life and avenge her mother. Meanwhile, Yun Shuyue worried about Gu Moran’s worsening health and realized she wanted to stay by his side, while Gu Moran told Su Yao he was still unsure about something.

• Gu Moli inspected seven young women at an estate outside the city and ordered them to enter the palace the next day, warning them to follow her instructions precisely.
• Gu Moli told Qingwu that the emperor’s health had improved and that the seven women’s attendance would bring his life to an end.
• Yun Shuyue washed Gu Moran’s robe and recalled how he had gently wiped mud from her face.
• Yun Shuyue worried that Gu Moran might not live more than a few years and decided she wanted to remain by his side, then fled to the kitchen to escape her thoughts.
• Gu Moran told Su Yao that he was still not confident about something.

After Yun Shuyue's feelings changed to romantic affection, Gu Moran received the Subduing Fire Thunder formula and prepared to test it as a way to blast through Severed Dragon Ridge. He mixed the ingredients with his trusted companions and planned a small test for the next day, but Shen Ling'er worried that it could injure someone.

• The system reported that Yun Shuyue had fallen in love with Gu Moran and rewarded him with steelmaking instructions and the Subduing Fire Thunder formula.
• Gu Moran ordered Shen Ling'er to gather saltpeter and sulfur, and sent Lin Qingdai to summon Xue Huan and Mu Lu for a meeting.
• Gu Moran told Su Yao that he could blast through the rock at Severed Dragon Ridge in less than seven days.
• Gu Moran explained the formula to Xue Huan and Mu Lu, then prepared a small jar of Subduing Fire Thunder for a test the next day.
• Shen Ling'er asked Gu Moran whether the explosive could hurt someone.

Gu Moran prepared to use the Hidden Fire Thunder to blast through Severed Dragon Ridge, while also studying a steelmaking method that could give Yi Prefecture its own forge. The blast shattered the ridge, astonishing the onlookers and leaving Chen Qing convinced Gu Moran had mastered witchcraft.

• Gu Moran confirmed that his illness had cleared and told everyone to keep a safe distance during the test.
• After the others left, Gu Moran reviewed the Hidden Fire Thunder formula and the steelmaking diagrams Yun Shuyue had provided, then ordered Uncle Fu to check the saltpeter and sulfur supplies.
• Gu Moran wrote a memorial of self-reproach in preparation for the commotion his plan would cause.
• At Ten-Li Slope, Gu Moran filled two jars, lit their fuses, and blasted a breach through Severed Dragon Ridge.
• Lin Qingdai, Murong Xue, Master Gan, and the gathered craftsmen and magnates stared in shock as Gu Moran called the method blasting.
• Chen Qing decided to report that Gu Moran had used something like heavenly thunder to shatter a mountain and suspected witchcraft.

Gu Moran blasted open Severed Dragon Ridge and used a new furnace to produce iron harder than ordinary pig iron, while persuading Si Renyou to conceal his ambitions as failed alchemy. The chapter ended with Zhen Daijin inspecting the first forged implements and finding iron pots and thick kitchen knives instead of weapons.

• Shen Ling'er confirmed that the blasting had injured no one, and Gu Moran ordered the workers to clear the breach while Gan Lingmu watched him before leaving.
• Gu Moran completed a blast furnace at Ten-Li Slope, where Mu Lu tested iron more than twice as hard as their usual pig iron; the new iron picks sped up the work at Severed Dragon Ridge.
• Gu Moran showed Si Renyou an alchemical classic and a self-incriminating memorial, explaining the blast and the hard iron as accidental results of his attempts to make pills and save his life.
• Si Renyou accepted Gu Moran's cover story and arranged for the memorial to be delivered to the court.
• Zhen Daijin inspected the first forged implements at the smithy and found iron pots and thick kitchen knives, prompting him to ask Gu Moran whether he planned to open a restaurant in the army camp.

Gu Moran secretly repurposed iron pots and cleavers as military equipment and ordered Zhen Daijin to outfit trusted soldiers. Meanwhile, the emperor dismissed Gu Moran as a harmless failure, while Gu Mochen profited from turning his soldiers’ drills into a circus and ordered a more dangerous stunt.

• Gu Moran demonstrated that an iron pot could withstand a saber strike, then told Zhen Daijin to use the pots as helmets and refit cleavers into armor-breaking mo sabers for trusted soldiers.
• Zhen Daijin agreed to quietly replace the equipment of the Garrison Command’s core soldiers.
• In the capital, the emperor read Gu Moran’s memorial about blowing up a mountain while refining pills and dismissed him as useless, though he wondered whether to summon him back.
• In Anyang, Gu Mochen laughed at a secret report accusing Gu Moran of witchcraft and took satisfaction in believing it could lead to his death.
• Gu Mochen watched soldiers perform a paid circus act for commoners and calculated the profits, while his adviser warned that it degraded veterans and hurt military morale.
• Gu Mochen ordered the soldiers to attempt a four-tier human tower the next day despite the adviser’s concerns.

Gu Moran learned that Prince An was humiliating veteran soldiers in Anyang by forcing them to perform for paying crowds, and he promised Zhen Daijin he would avenge the insult while quietly recruiting those who hated their treatment. Five days later, Zhen Shizhong urged Zhi Tianfeng to leave the army as they suffered another degrading performance.

• At the canal, Yun Shuyue told Gu Moran that Zhao Wuxu was exploiting Lady Wang’s name to take benefits from merchants, and Gu Moran said he would let Zhao keep going until he fell.
• A messenger summoned Gu Moran to the old princely residence, where Zhen Daijin presented a letter describing Prince An’s exploitation and humiliation of Anyang’s veterans.
• Gu Moran promised to avenge the soldiers and told Zhen Daijin to let disgruntled veterans leave Anyang for Yi Prefecture; Zhen Daijin swore loyalty and drew his saber.
• Five days later, Zhi Tianfeng and Zhen Shizhong fell during a staged human-pyramid performance as spectators jeered and the herald announced their pay would be halved.
• Zhen Shizhong crawled to Zhi Tianfeng and urged him to trust him and stop being a soldier.

Zhi Tianfeng and eighty veterans escaped military service by taking a dangerous medicine that got them discharged for grave illness. In Yi Prefecture, Chisang planned to kidnap Gu Moran, while Gu Moran confronted Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai over their jealousy of Yun Shuyue.

• Zhi Tianfeng persuaded eighty soldiers to drink a medicinal brew that made them appear gravely ill, despite the risk of dying.
• Physicians diagnosed the soldiers with severe injuries, and the garrison commandant discharged all eighty; Zhi Tianfeng led them away in disguise.
• Chisang learned that Gu Moran was an invalid prince living in Yi Prefecture and ordered scouts to investigate the city's defenses and his residence.
• Murong Xue and Lin Qingdai questioned Gu Moran about Yun Shuyue, and Gu Moran briefly pulled both women close before telling them to stop wasting their abilities by watching her.
• Lin Qingdai asked whether Gu Moran thought she and Murong Xue were annoying him.

Gu Moran recruited eighty veterans from Anyang to expand Tailwind Express across Chuan-Shu, but the men arrived expecting weapons and a military mission. The chapter ended with Lin Qingdai explaining their delivery assignments and pay.

• Gu Moran ordered Murong Xue to manage Tailwind Express across Chuan-Shu and told Lin Qingdai to prepare a farm tool assembly plant at Ten-Li Slope.
• Eighty veterans from Anyang arrived at Prince Yi's Residence, hoping to serve Gu Moran as soldiers.
• Gu Moran welcomed the veterans and pointed them toward piles of Tailwind uniforms instead of weapons and armor.
• Murong Xue announced that the veterans were now employees of the Tailwind Express Brigade and explained their delivery work.
• Gu Moran promised performance-based earnings, and Lin Qingdai began outlining delivery rates based on distance and speed.

Gu Moran and Lin Qingdai put veterans to work as couriers, turning their military skills into fast deliveries for extra pay. After Zhi Tianfeng’s team raced across the countryside on mules, Gu Moran began testing infantrymen with heavy loads on a steep slope.

• Lin Qingdai offered veterans courier work with bonuses for speed and good reviews, and Zhi Tianfeng and Zhen Shizhong accepted an old man as a passenger delivery.
• Zhi Tianfeng assigned Chen Mo and the other riders urgent east-route orders, including hot cured pork for wealthy Master Zhang’s household.
• Zhen Shizhong, Chen Mo, and the veterans raced their mules along the roads and used coordinated maneuvers to pass a blocked mountain path without slowing down.
• Murong Xue paid Zhi Tianfeng’s team two and a half taels of silver for their deliveries and warned them not to exhaust the mules.
• Gu Moran gave infantrymen eighty-jin cage packs and ordered them to make three daily round trips up and down a steep slope for the Tongda Large and Heavy Goods Transport Factory.

Gu Moran entered the prefectural governor’s court as Gan Lingmu and Zhao Wuxu accused Tailwind Express of poisoning a customer and demanded arrests. He inspected the corpse and signaled Shen Ling’er to examine it, leaving the accusation unresolved.

• Erzhuzi and the veterans carried iron cages up the mountain, while Gu Moran considered the route useful for transporting heavy equipment.
• A woman accused Tailwind Express of poisoning her husband, and Zhao Wuxu demanded that its workers be arrested to prevent an epidemic.
• Gan Lingmu had bribed the coroner to avoid a close examination, while Si Renyou hesitated to act on the accusation.
• Gu Moran arrived with Shen Ling’er and challenged Si Renyou to open court.
• Zhao Wuxu confronted Gu Moran, but fell silent under his stare.
• Gu Moran examined the corpse’s exposed ankles and gestured for Shen Ling’er to investigate.

Shen Ling'er used a wine-and-vinegar mash to reveal a fatal injury on the corpse, and Gu Moran showed that the man had been murdered rather than killed by plague. The woman collapsed and asked how Gu Moran knew the truth.

• Shen Ling'er boiled liquor, vinegar, scallion whites, and magnolia flowers into a mash to mask the corpse's stench.
• Gu Moran ordered the corpse uncovered, and Xue Huan threw Zhao Wuxu out of the way and removed the cloth despite the woman's protests.
• Shen Ling'er coated the corpse's left ribs with the mash, waited an incense stick, and wiped it away to reveal a purple-black bruise and broken rib.
• Gu Moran identified a blunt-force break in the man's fifth left rib that had punctured his lung, ruling out plague as the cause of death.
• Gu Moran said the man had died in a brawl three days earlier and questioned how he had signed for a Tailwind Express package, leaving the woman to collapse and ask how he knew.

Gu Moran exposed a false epidemic accusation and forced Yi Prefecture’s merchants to fund repairs to the city’s drainage and roads. After Shen Ling'er warned him that filthy streets could cause a real outbreak in warmer weather, he decided to make Tuoba Mang lead a sanitation team.

• Gu Moran used the woman’s confession and the law to expose the plot, while Gan Lingmu and Zhao Wuxu realized they had been deceived.
• The woman revealed that an outsider had paid her to blame her husband’s death on the yellow vests, and Gu Moran used the accusation to pressure Gan Lingmu and Zhao Wuxu.
• Si Renyou questioned the merchants’ private association, and Gan Lingmu agreed to collect donations of ten thousand taels from each merchant for public works.
• Fang Bi received the gathered banknotes, and Gu Moran left the governor’s residence as onlookers praised his judgment.
• Shen Ling'er treated Gu Moran’s chilled back and warned that Yi Prefecture’s filthy streets and gutters could cause an epidemic in summer.
• Gu Moran decided to improve the city’s sanitation and chose Tuoba Mang and the women in his circle for the inspection team.

Gu Moran ordered public toilets built in Yi Prefecture and arranged for veterans to maintain them and sell the waste as fertilizer. When residents ignored the new sanitation rules, Tuoba Mang organized women to patrol the streets, and they caught a hoodlum trying to dump night soil.

• Gu Moran explained to Si Renyou that the toilets would help prevent epidemics and provide work and wages for veterans.
• Gu Moran assigned Tuoba Mang to enforce the sanitation rules, and Tuoba Mang recruited widows and young wives to report offenders.
• Three days later, women marched through the south market with gongs and placards, calling out the new rules.
• Widow Wang spotted Scabby Head preparing to pour night soil into a gutter and alerted the others.
• Tuoba Mang seized Scabby Head by the collar, causing him to drop his bucket and spill its contents on his trousers.

Tuoba Mang enforced sanitation fines across the markets, while Gu Moran and Su Yao discussed how to ease public resentment with reward tickets for using public toilets and sorting rubbish. Gu Moran proposed a prize draw funded by money taken from local magnates, and explained how its odds would be controlled.

• Tuoba Mang fined offenders in the South Market and gave Widow Wang two copper coins as her share, helping bring the street under control.
• Three days later, Su Yao told Gu Moran that 160 fines across the markets and main roads had raised 1,600 copper coins, but residents were angry and plotting against Tuoba Mang.
• Gu Moran gave Su Yao tickets made by Wanqing and Ruyan and ordered Tuoba Mang to reward people who used public toilets or sorted their household rubbish.
• Gu Moran said residents who collected three tickets could enter a prize draw for eggs, green salt, flour, or a piglet.
• Su Yao warned that the prizes would create a huge deficit, but Gu Moran said the residence would use thirty thousand taels from the Gan Family's canal-repair and epidemic-prevention fund.
• Gu Moran explained that most prize balls would be white, with fewer red and yellow balls and only three black balls added each month.