Chapter Summaries

Consort Xian fought the empress in the snow and accused her of several past crimes while the crown prince stood over the gravely injured Gu Nianli. The imperial physician declared the fifth prince dead, and the emperor arrived to confront the bloody scene before falling ill.

• Consort Xian and the empress wrestled in the snow, and Consort Xian accused the empress of harming several women and children in the palace.
• Gu Moyuan looked at the blood on his hands and told the empress that Fifth Brother could no longer take his place.
• The imperial physician treated Gu Nianli but declared that the fifth prince had died from his head injuries.
• The emperor arrived, saw Gu Nianli's body and Gu Moyuan's bloodied hands, and heard the crown prince admit that he had done it.
• The emperor's chest began to hurt, and Gao Fu moved to escort him back to the hall.

After Gu Nianli’s death, the emperor collapsed and the palace was sealed in chaos. Gu Moyuan was confined in the Lesser Yang Courtyard, while imperial physicians struggled to treat the unconscious emperor.

• The emperor ordered Gu Moyuan confined and the Plum Garden sealed, then spat blood and collapsed.
• Gao Fu mistakenly cried that the emperor had died before correcting himself and ordering physicians to the Hall of Supreme Ultimate.
• Consort Xian told Gu Moyuan he had ruined his own life, and imperial guards chained him and escorted him to the Lesser Yang Courtyard.
• Gu Moyuan refused food and medicine as he brooded over killing Gu Nianli, while Consort Xian visited outside his locked door and told him the emperor had not awakened.
• Elder Shen told Gao Fu that the emperor’s anger and exposure to cold had caused phlegm and blood stasis to obstruct his channels, leaving him unconscious.

After the emperor collapsed, ministers weighed Prince An’s accusations against Prince Yi’s petition for authority to defend Jiannan Circuit from a planned Tubo attack. They recognized the threat but debated how tightly to limit Prince Yi’s military command.

• Elder Shen began treating the collapsed emperor, while palace attendants kept the new favorites from attempting to leave.
• Su Wenyuan read Prince An’s letter accusing Prince Yi of refining gu poison and gathering bandits, and the ministers mocked its claims as unsupported.
• Su Wenyuan presented Yi Prefecture’s joint memorial, which included evidence of Tubo spies and a plan to raid Jiannan Circuit and seize an imperial prince.
• The ministers reviewed the region’s troop shortages and the danger that Tubo could sever supply routes carrying provisions to the northern army.
• The minister of war proposed strengthening defenses while limiting Prince Yi’s command by territory, duration, and purpose, with joint authorization required to deploy other prefectures’ troops.

With the emperor unconscious and the crown prince imprisoned, Su Wenyuan negotiated limited defense authority and funds for Prince Yi to protect Jiannan Circuit from a possible Tubo invasion. He then arranged to conceal the emperor’s condition and keep major decisions under strict controls while the court awaited his recovery.

• The ministers agreed to send Yi Prefecture ten thousand taels and supplies, while restricting Prince Yi’s command to defense and relief under a six-month term and strict accounting rules.
• Su Wenyuan ordered Prince An’s secret letter sent for investigation and instructed Prince An to stop spreading rumors or probing Yi Prefecture’s affairs.
• Su Wenyuan ordered the supplies and funds dispatched that night and the decree for Prince Yi’s command authority sent to await the emperor’s seal.
• Su Wenyuan and Gao Fu arranged to report that the emperor’s old illness had recurred, suspend grand court audiences for five days, and seal major matters until an imperial decree.
• The director of the Imperial Medical Bureau agreed to visit the emperor daily and announce that he was taking medicine and resting.

Gu Moran learned that the capital had fallen into turmoil after the crown prince killed the fifth prince and the emperor became unconscious. He received authority over Jiannan Circuit’s defenses and ten thousand taels of silver, then began allocating the funds as Tubo threatened the region.

• Gu Moran received Gu Moli’s letter reporting the crown prince’s murder of the fifth prince and the emperor’s collapse.
• An imperial envoy delivered a decree granting Gu Moran command over Jiannan Circuit’s defenses and ten thousand taels for defense and relief.
• Gu Moran read a secret report that the chancellor had secured his military authority while the empress and Consort Xian were confined.
• Si Renyou and Zhen Daijin warned that Tubo might act quickly amid the capital’s chaos.
• Gu Moran allocated five thousand taels to defenses and supplies and five thousand to civilians along the routes and military households.

Gu Moran organized Jiannan Circuit’s defenses while insisting Yi Prefecture proceed with its festival to keep the people calm. In Anyang, Gu Mochen welcomed news of his consort’s pregnancy as a claim to the throne, though he began to doubt whether the child was his.

• Gu Moran assigned Zhen Daijin to muster troops, Si Renyou to gather supplies, and Yun Shuyue to monitor post stations with two experts accompanying her.
• Gu Moran ordered the lantern market and fireworks to go ahead while concealing the capital’s crisis from the people.
• Gu Mochen decided that Gu Moran’s forces would struggle against Tubo and hoped the border crisis would leave him positioned to claim power.
• A matron told Gu Mochen that his consort was more than a month pregnant, and he imagined presenting a legitimate son as proof of his right to inherit the throne.
• Gu Mochen recalled that he might not have visited his consort around the time she conceived, but suppressed his doubts because the pregnancy could strengthen his claim.

Gu Moran’s supporters in the palace quietly sent supplies and encouragement to Yi Prefecture while the emperor remained in a coma. In Yi Prefecture, Xue Huan, Zhen Daijin, and Yun Shuyue prepared the riverbank and fireworks for the New Year celebration as Gu Moran arrived.

• Gu Mochen told Zhou Huaili to report his consort’s pregnancy to the capital and arrange for a different physician to check her pulse, privately insisting the child had to be his.
• The empress dowager and Noble Consort Chen agreed to send practical supplies to Gu Moran in Yi Prefecture while also sending gifts to Prince An in Anyang, and ordered Gu Moli to remain behind closed doors for seven days.
• Chu Tianxing proposed treating the emperor with Yang-Restoring Acupuncture, but Elder Shen scolded him for risking the emperor’s life without certainty.
• Noble Consort Chen sent sealed carts of medicine, clothing, food, and other supplies to Yi Prefecture, along with an unsigned letter urging Gu Moran to take care at the border.
• Xue Huan and Zhen Daijin checked the riverbank cordon and fireworks equipment while Yun Shuyue kept children away from the launch area.
• Gu Moran arrived as Yun Shuyue promised a child that he would make a tiger’s head from the fireworks.

Gu Moran and his allies used Yi Prefecture’s fireworks display to attract merchants and send a hidden signal to the scattered former troops of the Liu Clan Army. After the final fireworks revealed an old military flag, a limping veteran arrived at Tailwind Express South City Station and gave the recognition phrase.

• Yun Shuyue promised to guard the fireworks launch area, while Su Yao reported the sponsorship income and raised suspicions about a grain merchant asking detailed questions.
• Gu Moran warned Su Yao to account for the costs of patrols, medicine, cleanup, and supplies as the lantern market opened.
• The fireworks advertised merchants’ businesses across the sky, making the Gan Family’s steward realize Prince Yi’s Residence was drawing local merchants into its orbit.
• Gu Moran signaled Xue Huan to launch the finale, which formed a tattered old flag and half a tiger’s head as a secret call to former Liu Clan Army troops.
• At Tailwind Express South City Station, an old man with a limp placed a rusted copper clasp on the counter and asked for the bowl of wine someone had owed him sixteen years earlier.

Xue Huan gathered former Liu Clan Army soldiers in Yi Prefecture and urged them to help defend the city, while Pu Yunshan drugged his father and sent spies to investigate the Liu loyalists. Gu Moran and Shen Ling'er tricked the captive Lalong into believing Prince Yi was making witch poison and Ghost Shadow Witch Soldiers, then left his cell unlocked.

• Xue Huan verified veterans’ old military tokens and told them to register at the old warehouse and help Yi Prefecture; Tuoba Mang shared his flatbread with a lame veteran.
• At Mount Qingcheng, the old temple master recognized the fireworks as the Liu Clan Army’s rallying signal and told Pu Yunshan that surviving soldiers would answer it.
• Pu Yunshan drugged the old temple master, summoned eight black-clad men, and ordered them to investigate the fireworks, the gathering Liu followers, and Prince Yi.
• Gu Moran and Shen Ling'er discussed fabricated witch poison and Ghost Shadow Witch Soldiers outside Lalong’s cell, convincing him that the strange activity he had witnessed was real.
• After Gu Moran and Shen Ling'er left, Lalong remained in the cellar while the guards discussed going out after the lantern market; the cell’s locking bolt was only halfway engaged.

Lalong escaped Prince Yi's Residence but was wounded by Pu Yunshan's men, whom he mistook for ghost-shadow witch soldiers. Gu Moran learned that Pu Yunshan, a young master from Mount Qingcheng tied to the Liu Clan's former faction, had entered Yi Prefecture to investigate the residence, and the chapter left Murong Xue awaiting orders on how to deal with his covert network.

• Lalong broke out of his cellar and fled Prince Yi's Residence, but Pu Yunshan's men intercepted him in the back alley and wounded him.
• Pu Yunshan ordered his men not to press Lalong and sent others to contact the old followers and investigate Yi Prefecture with Zhao Wuxu.
• Lin Qingdai let Lalong pass through the city gate so he could carry Yi Prefecture's story back to Tubo.
• Gu Moran considered the dangers of pursuing Tubo's forces into high-altitude terrain as Murong Xue reported the suspicious men and showed him a bloodstained scrap of black cloth.
• Gu Moran's alert identified Pu Yunshan as a son of destiny with ties to the Liu Clan's former faction and revealed his plans to contact Zhao Wuxu and probe Prince Yi's Residence.
• Murong Xue asked Gu Moran whether to capture Pu Yunshan's men or drive them away, while Lin Qingdai reorganized the residence's defenses.

Gu Moran heard that someone might approach Xie Wanqing through a childhood connection and went to the accounts room, where he kissed her. The next morning, Zhao Wuxu fed Pu Yunshan accusations against Gu Moran and mentioned Xie Wanqing, prompting Pu Yunshan to recognize her name.

• Gu Moran told Murong Xue to have Lin Qingdai watch the suspicious people, then claimed he was going to check the accounts.
• Gu Moran found Xie Wanqing in the accounts room, said someone had designs on her, and kissed her.
• At Spring Breeze Teahouse, Zhao Wuxu told Pu Yunshan that Gu Moran was abusing his authority and keeping Yun Shuyue in his residence.
• Zhao Wuxu described Xie Wanqing as one of Gu Moran's consorts and explained that an imperial decree had forced her into marriage with him.
• Pu Yunshan reacted to Xie Wanqing's name, and Zhao Wuxu asked whether he knew her.

Pu Yunshan agreed to infiltrate the Brocade Literature Bookshop and investigate Gu Moran, using his childhood connection to Xie Wanqing. He entered the South Market disguised as a poor scholar and began looking for a way to attract attention near the bookshop.

• Zhao Wuxu urged Pu Yunshan to approach Xie Wanqing and challenge Gu Moran's growing influence in Jiannan Circuit.
• Pu Yunshan planned to pose as a traveling scholar, use a childhood keepsake to gain Xie Wanqing's trust, and investigate Prince Yi's Residence before deciding how to act against Gu Moran.
• Zhao Wuxu gave Pu Yunshan information about the Brocade Literature Bookshop and promised help from the provincial surveillance commissioner's residence.
• Pu Yunshan changed into a worn-looking robe, and Zhao Wuxu disguised himself before they entered the South Market.
• Pu Yunshan saw the clean streets and women in red armbands, but accepted Zhao Wuxu's claim that they were informants for Prince Yi's Residence.
• Pu Yunshan found a public spot near the bookshop and decided to leave an essay there to make his name known.

Pu Yunshan tried to use a public wall to provoke Prince Yi’s Residence, but Auntie Zhao fined him for defacing it and made him scrub it clean. As Gu Moran arrived with Big Savage Ox and the Waterworks Team, Pu Yunshan recognized the chance to resume his plan.

• Pu Yunshan began writing a poem criticizing Prince Yi’s Residence on a public toilet wall, but Auntie Zhao and the red-armband women stopped him.
• Auntie Zhao showed Pu Yunshan the posted no-defacing rule, fined him twenty wen, and ordered him to scrub off his writing.
• Townspeople mocked Pu Yunshan for breaking a rule and trying to use his status as a scholar to avoid the fine.
• Zhao Wuxu recognized Auntie Zhao and slipped into the crowd to avoid being noticed.
• Pu Yunshan paid the fine and prepared to scrub the wall, while trying to preserve his disguise and provoke Gu Moran.
• Gu Moran arrived with Big Savage Ox and Waterworks Team workers, and Pu Yunshan decided to wait for an opportunity to turn the confrontation to his advantage.

Gu Moran thwarted Pu Yunshan’s plan to provoke Prince Yi by treating him as an ordinary violator of the street rules. Pu Yunshan was left isolated as the crowd backed the inspection team.

• Gu Moran read Pu Yunshan’s scheme to provoke him and build a reputation as a persecuted scholar.
• Auntie Zhao explained that Pu Yunshan had been fined twenty coins for writing on a public wall, and Gu Moran praised the inspection team’s work.
• Pu Yunshan presented himself as Pu Hua and argued that his essay was meant to educate the people, but Gu Moran pointed out the nearby public notice rack and mocked his excuse.
• Gu Moran confirmed the wall was undamaged and told Pu Yunshan that the fine and scrubbing were his chance to correct his mistake.
• Pu Yunshan accused Gu Moran of humiliating scholars and tried to rally local students, but they did not support him, and Auntie Zhao rebuked him.

Gu Moran punished Pu Yunshan for writing on a public latrine wall by assigning him to haul night soil, ruining his plan to build a literary reputation. The system rewarded Gu Moran for derailing Pu Yunshan’s destiny, while Zhao Wuxu fled to report back and wait for news.

• Gu Moran and Tuoba Mang branded Pu Yunshan an incorrigible vagrant and ordered him to haul night soil from twelve public latrines.
• Pu Yunshan accepted the red armband rather than expose his identity, but Gu Moran ordered him to clear four latrines that afternoon and the other eight after nightfall.
• The system reported that Pu Yunshan’s fortune had fallen by 20 percent and rewarded Gu Moran with a formula for an altitude-sickness remedy.
• Gu Moran gave two abandoned cups of milk tea to Sister-in-law Wang and Auntie Zhao, then continued on his way.
• Zhao Wuxu watched Pu Yunshan being taken to the latrine courtyard and slipped into an alley to return to the provincial surveillance commissioner’s residence.

Pu Yunshan was forced to work at Public Toilet No. 12, where the neighborhood aunties mistook his use of internal energy for epilepsy and made him swallow a foul folk remedy. Zhao Wuxu came to check on him but knocked over a bucket of manure, and Xue Huan's patrol dragged him away as a suspected thief.

• Tuoba Mang mistook Pu Yunshan's internal-energy circulation for an epileptic fit and called the neighborhood aunties for help.
• Sister-in-law Sun forced Pu Yunshan to drink her garlic, grass-root, and vinegar remedy while Tuoba Mang stopped him from using internal energy.
• Auntie Zhao ordered Pu Yunshan back to hauling night soil after he recovered, and he silently vowed revenge.
• Zhao Wuxu sneaked into the toilet's backyard to check on Pu Yunshan but stumbled and spilled a bucket of manure onto himself.
• Auntie Zhao, Sister-in-law Wang, and Sister-in-law Sun chased and beat Zhao Wuxu, and Xue Huan's patrol captured him and took him to the Waterworks Team's quarters.

After two Sons of Destiny suffered setbacks, Gu Moran gained Vigorous Primal Yang and visited Shen Ling'er, where they discussed a medicine for high-altitude sickness and flirted. Meanwhile, Pu Yunshan's men tried to rescue him from the princely residence but fell into its traps and were captured.

• Gu Moran received Vigorous Primal Yang after two Sons of Destiny suffered successive setbacks.
• Gu Moran brought Shen Ling'er a formula for Rhodiola Blood-Activating and Qi-Boosting Pills, and she agreed to try making it.
• Murong Xue brought Gu Moran a late-night meal, while Lin Qingdai interrupted their gathering to report that the patrol had found nothing unusual.
• Gu Moran stayed with Shen Ling'er for another hour before leaving the dispensary.
• Eight of Pu Yunshan's death warriors entered the princely residence to rescue him, but its sewage channel and traps caught them.
• Xue Huan and Song Wan's group bound the intruders, and Xue Huan demanded to know who they were.

Gu Moran captured eight of Pu Yunshan’s retainers after they broke into the prince’s residence and sent them to West Mountain quarry under heavy guard, while Pu Yunshan waited anxiously for their news. In Tubo, Chisang heard Lalong’s report about Yi Prefecture’s weapons and forces and weighed the threat to Tubo’s plans.

• Song Wan searched the eight intruders, and Xue Huan had them bound and brought before Gu Moran.
• Gu Moran identified the prisoners as Qingcheng Hall disciples and Pu Yunshan’s retainers, then ordered them sent to West Mountain quarry under surveillance and given Essence-Locking Powder.
• Pu Yunshan received no message from his eight retainers and continued working in Yi Prefecture while watching for signs of their fate.
• The eight retainers began breaking stone at the quarry, and their leader resolved to study the guards’ routines before searching for the young master.
• Lalong reported what he had seen in Yi Prefecture to Chisang, who separated his observations from his speculation and recognized the danger posed by Prince Yi’s weapons and military preparations.

Chisang ordered light cavalry to probe North Post while Gu Moran anticipated the move and prepared the pass without alerting Tubo’s scouts. Meanwhile, Zhao Wuxu was confronted by Yun Zhengze about the night-soil incident and admitted that he had gone to meet Pu Yunshan.

• Chisang ordered three thousand light cavalry to investigate North Post, seize the pass if its defenses were weak, and avoid becoming trapped in battle.
• Gu Moran assessed the snowy routes and ordered scouts to check the pass, while preparing supplies and disguising veteran soldiers as civilian grain porters.
• Gu Moran told Uncle Fu to keep Pu Yunshan under surveillance and watch the eight Qingcheng men working at the quarry for signs of contact with their covert network.
• Zhao Wuxu went to Yun Zhengze’s study, where Yun Zhengze presented the Waterworks Team’s penalty notice and challenged his account of the night’s events.
• Zhao Wuxu admitted that he had gone to meet Pu Yunshan and claimed he wanted to warn him against targeting Prince Yi.

Yun Zhengze questioned Zhao Wuxu about Pu Yunshan’s plans and secretly passed the information to the old princely residence. Meanwhile, Shen Ling'er prepared a cautious trial of a new medicine, and Gu Moran went to Murong Xue’s room, where his newfound strength overwhelmed her.

• Yun Zhengze learned that Pu Yunshan was posing as Pu Hua and planned to approach Xie Wanqing using a childhood keepsake, then ordered Zhao Wuxu to keep reporting on him without acting independently.
• Yun Zhengze sent an unsigned letter and the Waterworks Team’s penalty notice to the old princely residence, telling His Highness that Pu Yunshan’s eight guards could still provide a line of contact and asking him to treat Yue'er better.
• Shen Ling'er planned to make twenty trial pills and track healthy scouts’ reactions before giving the medicine to Commandant Zhen for wider use, while Gu Moran agreed to help record the contraindications.
• Gu Moran left Shen Ling'er and went to Murong Xue’s room, where he bolted the door and challenged her to test her whip technique.
• Gu Moran caught Murong Xue’s whip, pulled her into his arms, and pinned her wrist; Murong Xue accused him of taking dubious pills after noticing his increased strength.