Chapter Summaries

Ye Qingyun escaped his cell in a violent qi backlash and attacked Chu Tianxing, accusing him of serving the crown prince. As Chu Tianxing tried to stabilize him, Ye Qingyun named the crown prince, the Su Clan, and Gu Moran as his enemies, and the needle Chu Tianxing used snapped.

• Ye Qingyun broke out of his cell, knocked down guards, and staggered into the courtyard with a short blade.
• Chu Tianxing interrupted his night and confronted Ye Qingyun while trying to retrieve his needle pouch.
• Ye Qingyun accused Chu Tianxing of being paid by the crown prince and threatened to take him with him.
• Chu Tianxing and two guards restrained Ye Qingyun as he continued to suffer a dangerous qi backlash.
• Ye Qingyun said the crown prince had ordered him crippled and blamed the crown prince, the Su Clan, and Gu Moran.
• Chu Tianxing drove in a thick needle to treat Ye Qingyun, but its end snapped off.

Chu Tianxing tried to save Ye Qingyun after he broke out of his cell and attacked him, but Ye Qingyun died after accusing the crown prince and Chu Tianxing of harming him. Cao Jin ordered an investigation, detained Chu Tianxing, and had the accusations included in the urgent report.

• Ye Qingyun’s qi deviation worsened after a needle broke, and Chu Tianxing struggled to keep him alive while urging him to hold on for revenge.
• Ye Qingyun named Su Yao and said the crown prince had harmed him as Cao Jin and Yuan Shen arrived with officials and guards.
• Ye Qingyun accused the crown prince and Chu Tianxing of buying his life, then whispered “Gu Mo” before dying.
• Cao Jin ordered Ye Qingyun’s body and the bamboo tube sealed, detained Chu Tianxing, and directed officials to record the witnesses and preserve evidence.
• Cao Jin instructed the clerk to report Ye Qingyun’s accusation against the crown prince and Chu Tianxing, warning that omitting anything could cost more lives.

Gu Moran chose the Destiny Monitoring Eye after Ye Qingyun’s death entangled the crown prince, Chu Tianxing, and the second prince in a politically dangerous case. He arranged protection for Chu Tianxing while Shen Ling'er agreed to study Ye Qingyun’s symptoms from a redacted report.

• Gu Moran selected the Destiny Monitoring Eye and learned that Uncle Fu was loyal but connected to an old case whose clues remained unavailable.
• Shen Ling'er and Su Yao read the urgent report and concluded that Ye Qingyun’s strange death and final accusations would fuel conflict between the princes.
• Su Yao warned that the emperor would focus on the princes turning a government trial site into a murder scene, while Shen Ling'er asked to examine the body and question Chu Tianxing.
• Gu Moran refused to let Shen Ling'er visit the crime scene but agreed to provide her with an anonymous account of Ye Qingyun’s symptoms for research.
• Su Yao recommended keeping Chu Tianxing in prison under close guard, and Gu Moran ordered Uncle Fu to tell Yuan Shen not to let anyone interrogate him alone.
• Shen Ling'er suspected Ye Qingyun’s cultivation technique was involved, and Gu Moran urged her to return to her courtyard and rest.

Gu Moran and his companions examined the evidence surrounding Ye Qingyun’s death and devised a way for Shen Ling'er to question the imprisoned physician, Chu Tianxing, without exposing her family. As the Hall of Supreme Ultimate and the Crown Prince's Residence took action, the Second Prince's Residence also began moving, leaving the case poised to widen.

• Su Yao warned that Ye Qingyun’s unfinished words would make people suspect Prince Yi's Residence, though Gu Moran said the accusation would hurt the crown prince more.
• Uncle Fu delivered a report saying Chu Tianxing believed Ye Qingyun’s cultivation art was inhuman, and the group connected that claim to the bamboo slips sent for examination.
• Gu Moran read Yuan Shen’s testimony, which implicated the crown prince, Chu Tianxing, and an unnamed Gu Mo, while Su Yao explained that Yuan Shen was protecting himself by recording the facts.
• Shen Ling'er agreed to stay behind and wrote a medical questionnaire for Chu Tianxing, with Uncle Fu arranging to pass it off as a routine request from a south-city clinic.
• The Hall of Supreme Ultimate summoned Yuan Shen and Cao Jin, Cui Yan entered the Crown Prince's Residence, and the Second Prince's Residence sent one group to the prison and another to an elixir workshop.

After Ye Qingyun’s dying words implicated the crown prince and a “Gu Mo,” Gu Moran was summoned to the palace to observe the Shun'an Lane case hearing. The emperor questioned the crown prince about the Eastern Palace’s inquiries, then ordered Gu Moran to speak, leaving the accusation unresolved.

• Gu Moran’s household learned that the emperor had summoned him to the palace to observe the Shun'an Lane hearing, and Shen Ling'er gave him medicine while Su Yao advised him to play dumb.
• At the palace, Gu Moran discovered that the crown prince was present but Gu Mochen had not been summoned.
• The emperor ordered Chen Dehai to read the report, which said Ye Qingyun had accused the crown prince and Chu Tianxing before dying and had uttered “Gu Mo.”
• Gu Moyuan denied knowing Ye Qingyun or ordering harm, but admitted that the Eastern Palace had sent people to retrieve Chang'an County’s registers.
• When the crown prince suggested someone had framed him and glanced at Gu Moran, the emperor demanded that Gu Moran speak; Gu Moran said he dared not, and the emperor insisted.

Gu Moran helped expose the danger surrounding Ye Qingyun’s last words, and the emperor confined the crown prince to his residence for three months while ordering an impartial investigation. Gu Moran returned home wary of the court’s response as Gu Mochen celebrated the crown prince’s setback and prepared another batch of pills for their father.

• Gu Moran argued that Ye Qingyun’s dying accusation either exposed collusion in the case or meant the crown prince had given Ye Qingyun reason to believe he had been harmed.
• Yuan Shen proposed an investigation led by Jingzhao Prefecture, with Chang'an County assisting and the Ministry of Punishments observing, while Cao Jin vowed to preserve every word of testimony.
• The emperor confined Gu Moyuan to the Eastern Palace for three months and barred its men from entering the south of the city.
• Gu Moran told the emperor that Ye Qingyun’s unfinished words could refer to any of the brothers, then exchanged a veiled threat with the crown prince as they left the hall.
• Gu Moran warned Uncle Fu that the emperor’s decree did not mean he believed anyone, while a palace attendant hurried to the Second Prince's Residence with the news.
• Gu Mochen celebrated the crown prince’s confinement and offered his adviser three pills, saying their father’s fear of death was his path forward.

Gu Mochen planned to win the emperor’s favor by presenting pills while searching for a missing medicine slave tied to their preparation. At Prince Yi’s Residence, Su Yao gathered Gu Moran’s wives to discuss the danger surrounding him, and Murong Xue’s suggestion to pack for a possible escape was mistaken for wanting to break up the household.

• Gu Mochen decided to send the emperor pills as a display of filial devotion and ordered his men to find the missing medicine slave, Tao, alive if possible.
• Su Yao told the gathered wives that the Shun'an Lane case had implicated Gu Moran and said she would prove her sisters’ innocence if they feared being drawn in.
• Shen Ling'er and Lin Qingdai rejected the idea of returning to their families, with Lin Qingdai saying she feared only that Gu Moran would die pitifully.
• Murong Xue urged everyone to hurry home and pack, prompting Lin Qingdai to accuse her of wanting to break up the household.
• Murong Xue asked why packing to leave meant breaking up the household.

Murong Xue laid out plans to break Gu Moran out of prison and take the women with her, then revealed she had also considered impersonating the emperor to protect him. The others reacted to her increasingly drastic schemes, leaving her simplest plan hanging in the silent hall.

• Murong Xue told the women to gather supplies and travel permits so they could return to the Northern Territory together.
• She assigned Su Yao, Lin Qingdai, Xie Wanqing, and Shen Ling'er roles in a prison break if Gu Moran was detained.
• Murong Xue explained that she would storm whichever prison held Gu Moran and escape with him and the women, with help from her trading caravan if needed.
• Su Yao realized Murong Xue had asked about portrait painting because she planned to disguise people and get them out of the city.
• Murong Xue revealed that her original plan was to paint the emperor's portrait, send two people disguised as him to order Gu Moran's enemies killed, and resort to killing them herself if that failed.

Su Yao stopped Murong Xue from attempting a prison break and tested whether the women in Prince Yi's Residence would stand by Gu Moran. The wives began planning careful ways to defend him, with Xie Wanqing proposing scholarly support and Liu Ruyan offering to use the Flower-Between Pavilion.

• Su Yao warned Murong Xue that impersonating the emperor or breaking Gu Moran out would turn the case into treason and endanger everyone in Prince Yi's Residence.
• Su Yao revealed that she had tested the women to see whether they planned to abandon Gu Moran, and they agreed to stay and work together.
• Su Yao asked the women to study the case files and prepare to help Gu Moran without acting on their own.
• Xie Wanqing proposed asking scholars and officials to argue that the South City Martial Workshop and relief shelters were legitimate, and that Ye Qingyun's death was not Gu Moran's fault.
• Xie Wanqing agreed to contact her father for measured scholarly support, while Liu Ruyan offered to use the Flower-Between Pavilion to spread officials' scandals if Gu Moran was targeted.

Su Yao and the women at Prince Yi's Residence prepared for Gu Moran's possible detention and planned how to save him. Their midnight strategy meeting was interrupted when Gu Moran returned safely from the palace and discovered they had considered breaking him out of prison.

• Su Yao told Liu Ruyan to keep the Flower-Between Pavilion hidden unless they had no other choice, and assigned Shen Ling'er and Lin Qingdai cautious roles in the preparations.
• Su Yao ordered the women to gather outside news, protect the case records, contact Noble Consort Chen, and consider forcing their way out of the city only as a last resort.
• Su Yao vowed that if Gu Moran did not return, they would save him first and settle the score afterward, then warned everyone to keep the meeting secret.
• Uncle Fu announced that Gu Moran had returned, and he entered the hall to find the women armed and surrounded by plans and case files.
• Murong Xue revealed that the women had considered breaking Gu Moran out of prison, while Shen Ling'er admitted she had volunteered to poison the guards.

Gu Moran learned that his six wives had formed the Husband-Protecting Alliance, dividing up ways to protect him and their household from the political fallout of Ye Qingyun’s death. Their resolve moved him, and the system reported a surge in their affection as it began distributing a milestone reward.

• Su Yao explained that the women had prepared plans to preserve the princely residence and save Gu Moran if he was imprisoned.
• Murong Xue and Shen Ling'er joked about escape plans, including breaking Gu Moran out of the Ministry of Punishments and disguising someone as the emperor.
• Lin Qingdai outlined the alliance's roles: the Xie Clan would guide scholarly opinion, the Shen Family would investigate Ye Qingyun's death, and the others would provide intelligence, resources, and military oversight.
• Gu Moran heard the women affirm that they would face the danger together and saw Xie Wanqing's written name for their group: the Husband-Protecting Alliance.
• The system announced that all six women's affection had soared, total beauty affection had surpassed three hundred, and a milestone reward was being distributed.

Gu Moran activated a skill that revealed his six wives’ true thoughts and learned why each was willing to stand by him. Their hidden affection and loyalty moved him, and the chapter ended with them urging him to focus on the plans before them.

• Gu Moran activated I Know My Beloved's Heart while asking whether his wives were truly willing to risk their lives and clans for him.
• Su Yao revealed that she believed Gu Moran was changing for her and refused to let him shoulder the danger alone.
• Shen Ling'er, Murong Xue, Lin Qingdai, and Xie Wanqing each offered practical excuses while privately admitting their affection, trust, or gratitude toward Gu Moran.
• Liu Ruyan said she had decided to follow Gu Moran, even if the road ahead was a dead end.
• Gu Moran was moved by the thoughts he had read, and his wives pressed him to address the plans; he smiled and agreed.

Gu Moran set rules for the women investigating the Shun'an Lane case, then learned that the emperor would interrogate Chu Tianxing and the second prince would present a pill the next day. After he collapsed from exhaustion, Lin Qingdai carried him to Iron Plum Courtyard and cared for him, leaving the two of them in bed together as rain fell outside.

• Gu Moran told Shen Ling'er, Liu Ruyan, Lin Qingdai, and the others to coordinate their investigations and avoid acting without approval.
• A palace letter revealed that the emperor would interrogate Chu Tianxing and the second prince would present a pill the next day.
• Gu Moran announced he would go to the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, then fainted from exhaustion against Lin Qingdai.
• At Su Yao and Liu Ruyan's urging, Lin Qingdai carried Gu Moran to Iron Plum Courtyard and took him back to her room.
• Lin Qingdai wiped Gu Moran down, covered him with a blanket, and went to bed beside him, unable to fall asleep.

After waking in Lin Qingdai’s room, Gu Moran teased her about carrying him there and admitted he had married her because he valued her as she was. Lin Qingdai returned his kiss, and they remained together in Iron Plum Courtyard.

• Gu Moran woke in Lin Qingdai’s bed and realized she had brought him back after he passed out the previous night.
• Lin Qingdai tried to send Gu Moran away, but he held her wrist and teased her about caring for him.
• Gu Moran kissed Lin Qingdai and asked what she had thought while carrying him over her shoulder.
• Gu Moran told Lin Qingdai he liked her as she was and did not want her to change for him.
• Lin Qingdai cried, called Gu Moran a bastard, and kissed him; Gu Moran drew her into his embrace.

Gu Moran left for the palace after Lin Qingdai warned him to return safely, while Chu Tianxing was summoned from jail to appear before the emperor. The chapter ended with Chu Tianxing heading to the palace with Yuan Shen and Cao Jin, still worrying about whether lunch would be provided.

• Lin Qingdai urged Gu Moran to be careful in the palace and told him to come back alive, and Gu Moran promised to bring her soy-braised duck.
• Gu Moran asked Uncle Fu to send soy-braised duck to Iron Plum Courtyard before boarding his carriage.
• Chu Tianxing complained about his jail porridge and refused to change his clothes before the imperial audience.
• Cao Jin warned Chu Tianxing to watch his words, and Chu Tianxing asked him to stop him if he spoke recklessly.
• Yuan Shen brought Chu Tianxing’s case materials and medical evidence to the courtyard, and Chu Tianxing asked whether the palace would provide lunch.

Chu Tianxing, Yuan Shen, and Cao Jin arrived at the palace for the case hearing, while Gu Mochen prepared to present pills to the emperor and worried that Chu Tianxing might expose them. Gu Moran learned of clues linking Gu Mochen to a missing medicine slave, then met Chu Tianxing, who began examining his health.

• Gu Mochen replaced the pills in his presentation box, learned Tao Wujiu was still missing, and decided to proceed with his offering to the emperor.
• On the way into the palace, Chu Tianxing smelled medicinal residues on a eunuch’s cuff and identified sulfur, cinnabar, and burning lead.
• Gu Moran’s Destiny Monitoring Eye revealed Gu Mochen’s anxiety and clues involving a pill shop, Tao Wujiu, and old wax.
• Gu Moran and Gu Mochen exchanged accusations about their ties to Ye Qingyun and the emergency relief shelter.
• Yuan Shen, Cao Jin, and Chu Tianxing arrived at the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, where Chu Tianxing began telling Gu Moran to watch his health.

Chu Tianxing defended himself before the emperor, explaining that Ye Qingyun died from forcing his qi and blood upward, not from Chu’s acupuncture. He exposed the ailments and medical mistakes of the imperial physicians, leaving the emperor to weigh his claims and his uncanny diagnostic skill.

• Yuan Shen read the Shun'an Lane case report, including Ye Qingyun’s dying accusations against the crown prince and his unfinished words, “Gu Mo.”
• Chu Tianxing told the emperor that Ye Qingyun’s unorthodox cultivation caused his death and that his needle had only attempted to release the rising qi.
• When imperial physicians challenged him, Chu Tianxing identified their injuries, illnesses, and a dangerously altered prescription.
• The imperial physicians admitted Chu Tianxing had correctly diagnosed them, and the emperor’s view of the physician changed.

Chu Tianxing linked Ye Qingyun’s dangerous cultivation method to blocked meridians and identified signs that the emperor’s pills had been altered and could worsen his insomnia and health. The emperor ordered an investigation into the pills and their suppliers, then kept Gu Moran behind to ask how he avoided being caught in political turmoil.

• Chu Tianxing examined Ye Qingyun’s cultivation method and explained how forcing qi through blocked meridians had tangled his circulation and caused his symptoms.
• Chu Tianxing noticed that Gu Mochen’s pill box had been resealed and found signs of cinnabar, sulfur, lead fumes, and an underlying odor suggesting the pills had been swapped.
• Chu Tianxing warned that long-term use could worsen the emperor’s headaches, insomnia, and internal fire, potentially leading to a rapid death.
• The emperor ordered the Imperial Medical Bureau and Chu Tianxing to examine the pills and sent the alchemists, pill shops, and intermediaries connected to Gu Mochen’s household for investigation.
• The emperor ordered Chu Tianxing fed and kept under guard, then stopped Gu Moran and asked how he managed to avoid being swept into trouble.

Gu Moran deflected the emperor’s questions with flattery and foolishness, then learned that the second prince was searching for a missing medicine slave connected to old court cases. Back at Prince Yi’s Residence, Shen Ling'er confronted him about whether Chu Tianxing had found a problem with the emperor’s elixirs.

• Gu Moran played the fool before the emperor, recited a poem praising him, and escaped further questioning when the emperor laughed and dismissed him.
• Eunuch Zhang warned Gu Moran that the palace wind was strong and discreetly signaled him to be cautious.
• Gu Moran learned that the second prince’s people had split up and suspected the prince was seeking Tao Wujiu; Uncle Fu recalled Tao as a branded medicine slave once employed in Grand Tutor Liu’s medicine storehouse.
• Gu Moran returned to Prince Yi’s Residence, where Shen Ling'er stopped him and noticed traces of cinnabar, sulfur, and lead on his sleeve.
• Shen Ling'er asked Gu Moran what Chu Tianxing had discovered about the elixirs and whether the emperor had taken them.

Gu Moran and Shen Ling'er traced the suspicious pill's old wax while the palace investigated pill shops and searched for Tao Wujiu. At Flower-Between Pavilion, Madam Chun reported that Tao Wujiu had been found dead in an old storehouse beside a pill bearing the pavilion's hidden marking, and that one of the pavilion's girls had been at the scene.

• Shen Ling'er explained that old sealing wax could conceal a pill's smell and origins, and Gu Moran stopped her from going to the Imperial Medical Bureau herself.
• Uncle Fu delivered a report that the Imperial City Bureau was investigating eastern pill shops and the Second Prince's Residence was searching for Tao Wujiu.
• Gu Moran visited Liu Ruyan to ask whether Flower-Between Pavilion had heard anything, but Madam Chun arrived with news of an emergency at the pavilion.
• Madam Chun said Tao Wujiu's body had been found in the pavilion's old storehouse with a broken pill bearing its old hidden marking.
• Madam Chun revealed that a pavilion girl had been beside the body, and Gu Moran asked who she was.