Chapter Summaries

After returning to the capital, Zhou Ye witnessed Wei Mingxiu being bullied by Wei Chengye and intervened just as Wei Chengye tried to stab him in the eye. Wei Mingxiu recognized Zhou Ye as the young marshal of the Northern Frontier Army.

• Zhou Ye learned from his system that the quiet Sixth Prince, Wei Mingxiu, was the future villain he had been tasked with treating well.
• Wei Chengye insulted Wei Mingxiu's mother and snatched the silver hairpin she had left him.
• Wei Mingxiu attacked Wei Chengye to retrieve the hairpin, while their attendants beat Wei Mingxiu and knocked his young eunuch down, injuring his head.
• Wei Chengye thrust the hairpin toward Wei Mingxiu's eye, but Zhou Ye seized his wrist and warned him against harming an imperial heir in front of Emperor Chaoyang.
• Wei Mingxiu looked up at Zhou Ye in his silver armor and recognized him as General Zhou, the famed young marshal.

At the Imperial Academy, Wei Zhao sided with Wei Chengye after Wei Mingxiu was accused of attacking him, and ordered Xiao Wu executed for speaking up. Wei Mingxiu confronted his father and faced his sword, but Zhou Ye intervened and shielded him.

• Wei Chengye claimed Wei Mingxiu had attacked him over the hairpin, while Wei Mingxiu insisted he only wanted his mother's hairpin back.
• Wei Zhao accepted the palace attendants' account, and Li Dehai struck Xiao Wu before Wei Zhao ordered the guards to behead him.
• Wei Mingxiu begged Wei Zhao to spare Xiao Wu, but Wei Zhao blamed him for disgracing the imperial family and showed no concern for his plea.
• Wei Mingxiu lost hope in Wei Zhao, shielded Xiao Wu, and accused his father of trapping his mother in the palace until she died.
• Wei Zhao drew a guard's sword and thrust it at Wei Mingxiu, but Zhou Ye caught the blade with his bleeding hand and pleaded with the emperor to calm down.

Zhou Ye took the blame for the conflict at the Imperial Academy, persuading Wei Zhao to spare Wei Mingxiu and Xiao Wu. After receiving treatment for his wound, he went to the Southern Spring Courtyard to return Wei Mingxiu’s hairpin, leaving the prince and his servant startled by his arrival.

• Zhou Ye claimed his careless accusation had angered Wei Zhao and asked the emperor to pardon Wei Mingxiu and Xiao Wu.
• Wei Zhao lowered his sword and spared Wei Mingxiu, who thanked his father at Zhou Ye’s urging.
• Zhou Ye mentioned missing his sister Zhou Ya, and Wei Zhao allowed him to visit Consort Xian.
• After his wound was treated, Zhou Ye asked Li Dehai where Wei Mingxiu lived and said he wanted to return the prince’s hairpin.
• Zhou Ye arrived at the Southern Spring Courtyard and knocked as Wei Mingxiu tended Xiao Wu’s injury.

Zhou Ye pledged to support Wei Mingxiu's bid for the throne, then explained that he sought power for his own protection and ambition. Wei Mingxiu accepted the alliance and vowed to compete for the throne alongside him.

• Zhou Ye arrived at Wei Mingxiu's quarters after saving him and Xiao Wu, then asked for repayment of his favor.
• Wei Mingxiu promised to repay Zhou Ye, and Zhou Ye knelt and asked to become his man and help him ascend the throne.
• Wei Mingxiu questioned why Zhou Ye would risk supporting an unfavored prince, and Zhou Ye praised his caution.
• Zhou Ye claimed he needed Wei Mingxiu's support to protect the Marquis of Zhenbei's Household and eventually become prince regent, though he privately intended to deceive him.
• Wei Mingxiu accepted Zhou Ye's explanation and vowed to stand with him and compete for the throne.

Zhou Ye secured Wei Mingxiu’s trust and urged him to stay composed, then learned that Li Dehai served Noble Consort Shu. He reunited with Zhou Ya and explained that his victory at Tianxia Pass meant he could remain in the capital and look after his family and Wei Mingxiu.

• Wei Mingxiu gave Zhou Ye his mother’s silver hairpin as a pledge and said Zhou Ye could use it to kill him if he broke his word.
• Zhou Ye advised Wei Mingxiu not to let provocation make him impulsive, and Wei Mingxiu resolved to act more cautiously with Zhou Ye’s support.
• Zhou Ye learned from his exchange with Li Dehai that Li Dehai was Noble Consort Shu’s man and recognized the need to establish a counterbalance for Wei Mingxiu.
• Zhou Ya welcomed Zhou Ye with his favorite pastries, and he promised to spend more time with his family now that he was back in the capital.
• Zhou Ye told Zhou Ya that his victory at Tianxia Pass had devastated the Hu People’s army and likely prevented further fighting for five or six years.

Zhou Ye enlisted Zhou Ya’s help in quietly gathering information on the imperial family and building ties with the empress, then returned home to reunite with his parents. He told Zhou Zhenghai he would surrender the military tally and seek a post teaching the princes at the Imperial Academy.

• Zhou Ye asked Zhou Ya to discreetly investigate the imperial consorts and princes and build a relationship with the empress, and she agreed to help cautiously.
• Zhou Ye left the palace with Zhou Da and Zhou Er, who told him that Noble Consort Shu’s brother Zhao Junze commanded the imperial guards.
• Wang Yulan and Zhou Zhenghai eagerly welcomed Zhou Ye home, and the family shared a joyful reunion.
• Zhou Zhenghai warned Zhou Ye that his battlefield victory had aroused Wei Zhao’s suspicion and asked what he planned to do next.
• Zhou Ye said he would hand over the military tally and ask Zhou Zhenghai to request a sinecure for him.
• Zhou Ye revealed that he wanted to assist Elder Liu at the Imperial Academy and teach the princes martial arts and military strategy.

Zhou Ye secured a post as the princes’ junior tutor, giving him access to the Imperial Academy while Wei Zhao kept him away from military authority. Wei Mingxiu anticipated seeing Zhou Ye again and met him at the academy, where Zhou Ye greeted him after he fell asleep beneath a tree.

• Zhou Zhenghai had Zhou Ye meet learned scholars, including Liu Mingzhi, before seeking a post for him at the Imperial Academy.
• Zhou Ye surrendered his military tally, and Wei Zhao appointed him junior tutor to the princes with permission to enter and leave the Imperial Academy freely.
• Zhao Junze mocked Zhou Ye’s new post, but Zhou Ye answered with a warning about teaching the princes to cut down treacherous men.
• Xiao Wu told Wei Mingxiu that Zhou Ye had become junior tutor, and Wei Mingxiu realized the appointment stripped Zhou Ye of power and worried about the Zhou family.
• Wei Mingxiu went to the Imperial Academy before dawn and found Zhou Ye asleep in a tree; he reviewed his lessons beneath it and fell asleep himself.
• Zhou Ye woke Wei Mingxiu with a greeting: “Good morning, Sixth Highness.”

Wei Mingxiu worried that Zhou Ye’s appointment as junior preceptor would leave him vulnerable, but Zhou Ye revealed that he had arranged it to lower the emperor’s guard and study the other princes. When Wei Chengye mocked them at the Imperial Academy, Wei Mingxiu answered with calm, pointed defiance.

• Wei Mingxiu apologized for falling asleep under the locust tree, and Zhou Ye reassured him that he had let him rest.
• Wei Mingxiu admitted he feared Zhou Ye would face trouble in the capital, and Zhou Ye explained that becoming junior preceptor was part of his plan.
• Zhou Ye told Wei Mingxiu to call him Junior Preceptor, and Wei Mingxiu thanked him for his guidance.
• Wei Chengye arrived at the Imperial Academy with Wei Yuanshi and mocked Zhou Ye and Wei Mingxiu.
• Zhou Ye watched to see how Wei Mingxiu would respond, and Wei Mingxiu countered Wei Chengye’s insults with poetic lines and a warning that the outcome remained uncertain.

Wei Mingxiu outmaneuvered Wei Chengye during their confrontation, while Zhou Ye began the princes’ martial arts lessons and covertly passed Wei Mingxiu a message. The chapter ended with Zhou Ye leaving the next move—and whether to carry it out—to Wei Mingxiu.

• Wei Chengye nearly struck Wei Mingxiu, but his eunuch reminded him of Her Noble Consort’s warning, and Wei Chengye lowered his hand and threatened him instead.
• Zhou Ye asked the princes to begin their lesson, and Wei Chengye’s suspicion of him eased when he believed Zhou Ye would no longer favor Wei Mingxiu.
• Zhou Ye took over the princes’ morning lessons from Grand Tutor Liu and had the princes run ten laps around the Imperial Academy.
• Maids serving Her Consort Xian delivered pastries and tea to Zhou Ye, who found a hidden note, destroyed it, and wrote a brief message of his own.
• After examining the princes and noticing Wei Mingxiu’s poor health and likely internal injuries, Zhou Ye secretly slipped him the message and told him the decision was his to make.

Wei Mingxiu received a less demanding training plan from Zhou Ye, while Zhou Ya answered Noble Consort Shu’s mocking gift with a carefully hidden insult of her own. Back at the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Household, Zhou Ye avoided his mother’s matchmaking and went to Jade Fragrance House, revealing that he only liked men.

• Wei Chengye took Wei Mingxiu’s training plan, mocked him, and told Noble Consort Shu that Zhou Ye was trying to curry favor with him.
• Noble Consort Shu sent Zhou Ya a box of leftover eastern pearls, and Zhou Ya recognized the gift as a slight against Zhou Ye.
• Zhou Ya slashed the lining of imperial brocade and sent it back to Shuyue Palace as a return gift, knowing Noble Consort Shu would have to accept the insult in silence.
• Zhou Ye slipped into the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Household through the back gate to avoid Wang Yulan’s matchmaking and changed into civilian clothes.
• Zhou Ye headed to Jade Fragrance House, telling Zhou Da that he welcomed a ruined reputation because he did not want to marry a woman and only liked men.

Zhou Ye gained Yun Shen’s attention by exposing his identities and offering to help clear the Zhang Family’s name in exchange for Chongming House’s intelligence and support for Wei Mingxiu. The chapter ended with Wei Mingxiu burning a cryptic note advising him to use the second prince as a weapon and seek the empress’s protection.

• Zhou Ye waited at the Jade Fragrance House for Yun Shen, defended his right to refuse a meeting, and earned Yun Shen’s interest.
• Yun Shen climbed through Zhou Ye’s window to tease him, but Zhou Ye caught him and revealed that he knew Yun Shen was the master of Chongming House and Lord Zhang’s son.
• Zhou Ye offered to help Yun Shen overturn the Zhang Family’s case in exchange for Chongming House’s cooperation and explained that he planned to support Wei Mingxiu for the throne.
• Zhou Ye told Yun Shen that he would kill Wei Mingxiu himself if the prince became another Emperor Chaoyang, moving Yun Shen with his answer.
• Wei Mingxiu read a note telling him to use the second prince as a borrowed knife and seek shelter with the empress, then burned it.

Zhou Ye persuaded Yun Shen to join his effort to support Wei Mingxiu, and Yun Shen agreed in exchange for a future request. After morning court, Zhou Ye found Wei Mingxiu overtraining and gave him medicine while warning him to recover before pushing himself further.

• Zhou Ye explained Wei Mingxiu's character and his plans to Yun Shen, who agreed to cooperate and reserved the right to make a request later.
• Zhou Ye and Yun Shen arranged for their apparent intimacy at the Jade Fragrance House to become public gossip, and Zhou Ye left before morning court.
• Zhou Ye went to the Imperial Academy after court and found Wei Mingxiu had run twenty laps despite being told to train less.
• Zhou Ye checked Wei Mingxiu's injuries, warned him that overtraining could harm his body, and gave him medicinal wine and pills to aid his recovery.

Zhou Ye helped Wei Mingxiu recover and commit to a plan to win the empress’s support, then returned home and told Wang Yulan and Zhou Zhenghai that he liked men. Wang Yulan responded by asking whether Zhou Ye or Yun Shen was on top.

• Zhou Ye gave Wei Mingxiu medicine and discussed his plan to seek adoption by the empress and use her influence against Wei Chengye.
• Zhou Ye rested with his head on Wei Mingxiu’s lap, and Wei Mingxiu massaged his temples and kept watch while he slept.
• After waking, Zhou Ye told Wei Mingxiu to send Xiao Wu along the back paths to the Elegant Music Palace that night to receive a letter.
• Zhou Da warned Zhou Ye that rumors about his night with Yun Shen had enraged Wang Yulan, but Zhou Ye went home and said he would tell the truth.
• Zhou Ye admitted to Wang Yulan and Zhou Zhenghai that he liked men, and Wang Yulan asked which of him and Yun Shen was on top.

Zhou Ye found that Wang Yulan accepted his relationship with Young Master Yunshen and promised to protect him from rumors. He then told Zhou Zhenghai that Yunshen was Zhang Jingming’s orphaned son and explained their plan to clear the Zhang family’s name, while promising not to treat Yunshen as a pawn.

• Wang Yulan reassured Zhou Ye that she accepted his preference for men and wanted him to live a healthy, happy life.
• Zhou Ye went to the study with Zhou Zhenghai, who asked why he had publicly spread the news of his relationship with Young Master Yunshen.
• Zhou Ye revealed that Yunshen was the orphaned son of former minister Zhang Jingming and that their public act gave them a reason to meet.
• Zhou Ye told Zhou Zhenghai that he would help clear the Zhang family’s name in exchange for Yunshen’s information, and said Yunshen wanted justice for his family.
• Zhou Ye assured Zhou Zhenghai that he would never use Yunshen as a shield or discard him as a pawn.

Zhou Zhenghai advised Zhou Ye to help the empress regain the phoenix seal so the Feng Family would ally with the Marquis of Zhenbei's Household. Meanwhile, Wei Mingxiu grew jealous after hearing rumors about Zhou Ye and Yun Shen, and Zhou Ye traded barbs with Zhao Junze at court.

• Zhou Zhenghai explained that the emperor was using Noble Consort Shu’s control of the phoenix seal to weaken the Feng Family, and advised Zhou Ye to help the empress reclaim it.
• Xiao Wu brought Wei Mingxiu a message from Miss Xiao Tao and told him rumors that Zhou Ye had spent the night with Yun Shen; Wei Mingxiu acknowledged the possibility and burned the note.
• Wei Mingxiu privately wondered what kind of person Zhou Ye could like and felt envious of Yun Shen.
• At morning court, Zhao Junze mocked Zhou Ye over the rumors, and Zhou Ye retorted by criticizing Zhao Junze’s troublesome sons before walking away with Zhou Zhenghai.

Zhou Ya watched Empress Feng and Noble Consort Shu trade veiled barbs over the Qingming sacrifice, while Empress Feng quietly tested her allegiance. Later, Wei Mingxiu staged a chance meeting with the distressed second prince, Wei Zeyu, and asked why he was crying.

• Zhou Ya praised Empress Feng’s improved health, and the empress considered recruiting her despite the risk to her family.
• Noble Consort Shu arrived late and cited His Majesty’s favor and her duties overseeing the Qingming sacrifice, provoking Empress Feng’s restrained warning.
• After the consorts left, Empress Feng asked Zhou Ya whether the palace’s melon seeds were good, and Zhou Ya answered that they were good because they came from the empress’s palace.
• Wei Mingxiu finished exercising, used a scent on his clothes, and pretended to search for Xiao Wu in the imperial garden.
• Wei Mingxiu found Wei Zeyu anxiously trying to rescue his cat, Xuexue, from a tree and asked why his second brother was crying.

Wei Mingxiu rescued Wei Zeyu’s cat, Xuexue, as part of a plan with Consort Xian to bring Wei Zeyu to the Imperial Academy. Wei Zeyu insisted on attending class with them, while Wei Mingxiu noticed Zhou Ye had not spent the previous night at the Jade Fragrance House.

• Wei Mingxiu found Wei Zeyu distressed because Xuexue was stuck in a tree, and Wei Zeyu offered him candy to help.
• Wei Mingxiu used catnip to coax Xuexue into his arms and safely brought her down from the tree.
• Wei Mingxiu prepared to leave for Junior Preceptor Zhou’s class, but Wei Zeyu asked to go to the Imperial Academy with him and Xuexue.
• Wei Zeyu arrived at the Imperial Academy with eight palace servants and asked Zhou Ye to let him attend class; Zhou Ye agreed if the empress approved.
• Wei Mingxiu passed Zhou Ye and noticed he smelled neither of alcohol nor perfume, realizing he had not returned to the Jade Fragrance House that night.

Wei Zeyu defended Wei Mingxiu when Wei Chengye mocked him, and Eunuch Qin punished Wei Chengye’s attendant while dressing the reprimand as concern for the third prince. Wei Chengye realized Wei Mingxiu had turned the encounter against him, and Wei Zeyu promised to ask the empress to protect his sixth brother.

• Wei Chengye mocked Wei Zeyu, who hid behind Wei Mingxiu and called him a bad person.
• Wei Zeyu defended Wei Mingxiu and said he wanted to leave Wei Chengye behind.
• Eunuch Qin ordered Wei Chengye’s maid slapped for insulting Wei Zeyu, then claimed he was protecting Wei Chengye from greater trouble.
• Wei Chengye understood Eunuch Qin’s rebuke and realized his own low standing compared with Wei Zeyu’s.
• Wei Chengye accused Wei Mingxiu of provoking him, but Wei Mingxiu denied it and portrayed himself as a habitual target of blame.
• Wei Zeyu comforted Wei Mingxiu and promised to ask the empress to stand up for him.

Wei Mingxiu turned Wei Chengye’s failed scheme against him at the Imperial Academy, then sparred with Zhou Ye, who hinted that Wei Mingxiu would one day stand on his own. Wei Chengye returned to Shuyue Palace furious and complained to Noble Consort Shu.

• Wei Mingxiu refused to involve the empress, while Wei Chengye kicked the beaten palace maid and stormed out of the Imperial Academy.
• Eunuch Qin thanked Zhou Ye for remaining neutral, told Wei Mingxiu he would report the incident to the empress, and asked Wei Zeyu whether he wanted to stay at the academy.
• Wei Zeyu said he feared Wei Chengye but wanted to stay and play with Wei Mingxiu, so Eunuch Qin left him in Zhou Ye’s care.
• Zhou Ye sparred with Wei Mingxiu, praised his strategy, and said he would one day stand on his own without Zhou Ye’s plans.
• Wei Chengye raged in Shuyue Palace and told Noble Consort Shu that Wei Mingxiu had made him lose face.

Noble Consort Shu warned Wei Chengye that provoking Wei Zeyu could expose the emperor’s secret, then turned her attention to Wei Mingxiu. She prepared to visit the empress and apologize, leaving her true intentions unclear.

• Noble Consort Shu sent the kneeling servants away and urged Wei Chengye to control his temper and avoid provoking Wei Zeyu.
• Noble Consort Shu recalled that Wei Zhao had caused Wei Zeyu to become a fool to prevent him from becoming crown prince, and kept the secret from Wei Chengye.
• Wei Chengye accused Wei Mingxiu of using Wei Zeyu to provoke him, and Noble Consort Shu resolved to deal with Wei Mingxiu.
• Noble Consort Shu reddened her eyes with incense and told Wei Chengye they would go apologize to the empress.