Chapter Summaries

Noble Consort Shu’s attempt to humiliate Empress Feng backfired when Wei Zhao witnessed her attendants being beaten in Kunning Palace and ordered her to reflect in seclusion. After hearing how Empress Feng had turned the tables, Zhou Ye resolved to ally with her, then learned that Zhao Junze’s eldest son had drowned an official’s son.

• Noble Consort Shu brought Wei Chengye and the attendants from the Imperial Academy to Kunning Palace, where she had them beaten bloody under the guise of apologizing to Empress Feng.
• Wei Zhao emerged with the pale Empress Feng, rebuked Noble Consort Shu for making a bloody disturbance, and demanded an explanation.
• Noble Consort Shu claimed that blood was a folk remedy for Empress Feng’s illness, and Wei Zhao ordered her to spend five days in the Buddhist hall reflecting and praying.
• Empress Feng excused Noble Consort Shu and offered Wei Zhao soup, while Noble Consort Shu left with Wei Chengye and later flew into a rage at Shuyue Palace.
• After Zhou Ya told Zhou Ye that Noble Consort Shu had been thwarted, Zhou Ye decided to make Empress Feng his ally.
• At the Jade Fragrance House, Yun Shen told Zhou Ye that Zhao Junze’s eldest son had sunk a fifth-rank official’s son in a lake.

After Zhao Hai killed Bai Qingyu, Zhou Ye realized Zhao Junze was using soldiers to suppress the case and planned to alert the Feng Family so they could make it a public scandal. He chose Feng Chenyi, whose character Yun Shen described as foolish.

• Yun Shen told Zhou Ye that Zhao Hai had drowned Bai Qingyu after the boy tried to stop him bullying a student.
• Zhou Ye learned that Zhao Junze had taken soldiers to the Bai residence and blocked news of Bai Qingyu's death.
• Zhou Ye reasoned that the Bai Family might be pressured into abandoning justice, so the Feng Family needed to learn of the killing and make an issue of it.
• Zhou Ye chose Feng Chenyi, commander of the Patrol Camp, as the person to inform.
• Yun Shen called Feng Chenyi a fool.

Zhou Ye sent Feng Chenyi a letter exposing Zhao Hai’s crime and asking him to intervene. Feng Chenyi led the Patrol Camp to the Bai Residence, where Zhao Hai faced arrest after Zhao Junze tried to pressure the Bai Family into accepting compensation.

• Yun Shen recalled his past with Feng Chenyi and agreed that Zhou Ye could seek the Feng Family’s help.
• Zhou Ye took a bow and arrows from Yun Shen’s hidden armory, while Yun Shen imitated Zhou Ye’s voice to give him an alibi.
• Zhou Ye shot a letter through Feng Chenyi’s office window, and Feng Chenyi read it before ordering several squads to the Bai Residence.
• Zhao Junze offered Lord Bai five thousand taels and threatened his family when Lord Bai demanded justice for his murdered son.
• Feng Chenyi arrived with the Patrol Camp and called for Zhao Hai to be arrested.

Feng Chenyi had Zhao Hai arrested, and Wei Zhao put the case in the Ministry of Justice under Bai Yanting’s supervision while fining Zhao Junze and Zhao Guofeng. At the Imperial Academy, Zhou Ye gave Wei Mingxiu books, poison-testing supplies, and a dagger to prepare him for trouble in the imperial harem.

• Feng Chenyi had Zhao Hai seized and sent to the Ministry of Justice’s prison, prompting Zhao Junze to skip court the next day.
• Bai Yanting appealed to Wei Zhao for justice, and Zhao Guofeng agreed to let Zhao Hai bear the consequences of his actions.
• Wei Zhao assigned the case to the Ministry of Justice under Bai Yanting’s supervision and ordered Zhao Junze and Zhao Guofeng to pay compensation to the Bai Family.
• After court, Feng Chenyi exchanged a troubled look with Zhou Ye before hurrying away, while Zhou Ye welcomed the chance for the Zhao Family to make another move.
• At the Imperial Academy, Zhou Ye watched Wei Mingxiu practice swordsmanship, then gave him manuals, poison-testing tools, medicines, and a dagger for protection.
• Wei Mingxiu thanked Zhou Ye and promised to learn from the books; later, he discovered Zhou Ye had tricked Yun Shen into giving him the items.

Wei Zeyu joined Wei Mingxiu and Zhou Ye at the Imperial Academy, while Empress Feng agreed to ally with the Zhou Family. Zhou Ya warned that Noble Consort Shu might exploit the Qingming ceremony to smuggle Zhao Hai out of the city.

• Wei Zeyu brought Zhou Ye two sunflower seeds from Empress Feng, and Wei Mingxiu let his chance to question Zhou Ye pass.
• Wei Zeyu practiced swordsmanship with Wei Mingxiu, saying he wanted to protect his mother, Xuexue, Eunuch Qin, and Sixth Brother.
• Zhou Ye asked the little system whether his changes to Wei Mingxiu and Wei Zeyu's fates threatened the mission, and it assured him they did not.
• Empress Feng told Zhou Ya that she had recognized Zhou Ye's role in the letter about the Bai Family and agreed to ally with the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Ya urged Empress Feng to watch Noble Consort Shu around Qingming, warning that she might switch Zhao Hai with a condemned prisoner and smuggle him out of the city.

Wei Mingxiu identified Kou Yuan as the Zhao Family’s planted official, while feeling insecure about how much more Zhou Ye’s friend Yun Shen could help him. Meanwhile, the Zhao Family began planning to rescue Zhao Hai by exploiting Kou Yuan and Noble Consort Shu, unaware that their supposed opening was a trap.

• Wei Mingxiu named Kou Yuan as the opening the Zhao Family would use, and Zhou Ye praised the choice as part of their plan to lure them into a trap.
• Zhou Ye told Wei Mingxiu that Yun Shen was his knowledgeable informant, leaving Wei Mingxiu envious and worried that he could not yet share Zhou Ye’s burdens; Zhou Ye reassured him and said he believed in his future.
• Empress Feng ordered Noble Lady Lian watched and arranged for Feng Chenyi’s men to monitor the Zhao Family in disguise.
• Lady Shen visited Zhao Hai in prison, then begged Noble Consort Shu to help save him.
• Lady Shen told Noble Consort Shu that the Zhao Family planned to have Kou Yuan swap Zhao Hai with a condemned prisoner and smuggle him out during the Qingming procession, using pressure on Noble Lady Lian and the empress’s seal to make it possible.

Zhou Ye and Yun Shen discussed the Zhao Family’s plan to smuggle Zhao Hai out during the Qingming ceremonial procession and agreed that Yun Shen would pose as an assassin to create grounds for a search. Wei Mingxiu’s respectful note moved Yun Shen, while Wei Mingxiu privately struggled with jealousy and concern for Zhou Ye.

• Zhou Ye brought Wei Mingxiu’s questions about medicine and poison to Yun Shen, who praised the prince’s insight and annotated them.
• Zhou Ye told Yun Shen that Zhao Junze had secretly met Kou Yuan and that Madam Kou had visited Noble Lady Lian, suggesting the Zhao Family’s plan was about to unfold.
• Yun Shen proposed disguising himself as an assassin to prompt Feng Chenyi’s men to call for a search of the procession, and Zhou Ye agreed to cover him.
• Zhou Ye found Wei Mingxiu’s note thanking Yun Shen and asking to call him teacher; Yun Shen had replied that he could simply call him Yun Shen.
• The chapter revealed that Wei Mingxiu had torn up several jealous, protective messages before writing his respectful note, and Yun Shen never learned what he had first wanted to say.

Noble Consort Shu and the Zhao Family arranged to smuggle Zhao Hai out of prison during the Qingming rites, while Wei Zhao tried to provoke Empress Feng into appearing jealous. As the procession left the palace, Feng Chenyi encountered the disguised Yun Shen.

• Noble Consort Shu prepared to help Zhao Hai escape by joining the Qingming procession, despite Wei Chengye's concern for her.
• Kou Yuan replaced Zhao Hai with a lookalike beggar, hid Zhao Hai in a grain chest, and had it carried toward the palace as Feng Chenyi and Yun Shen's men watched.
• Wei Zhao invited Noble Consort Shu into his carriage to placate her and provoke Empress Feng, but Empress Feng calmly made room for her.
• Zhou Ye told Feng Chenyi to protect someone during the coming chaos, and Feng Chenyi agreed to help that person escape.
• Feng Chenyi told Nan Yu to let Kou Yuan's chest reach the procession, then accidentally knocked the hood from Yun Shen's disguise and met his eyes.

Yun Shen recognized Feng Chenyi during the imperial procession but kept his identity secret, then attacked Wei Zhao in a bid for revenge. Feng Chenyi helped him escape, recognizing the crescent birthmark and suspecting he was Zhang Yunqian.

• Yun Shen saw Feng Chenyi, resisted revealing himself, and left after Feng Chenyi called him Zhang Yunqian.
• Feng Chenyi recognized the crescent birthmark behind Yun Shen’s ear but dismissed it as a coincidence because he believed Zhang Yunqian had died fifteen years earlier.
• As Wei Zhao rode through the streets, Yun Shen remembered his family’s execution and attacked the emperor’s carriage, cutting through the guards and wounding his shoulder.
• Zhou Ye intervened and gave Yun Shen a chance to retreat, while Zhao Junze pursued him and the crowd scattered.
• Feng Chenyi’s Patrol Camp soldiers clashed with Zhao Junze’s forces as Yun Shen removed his disguise and Feng Chenyi hid him, then ordered him to flee.

Yun Shen escaped after planting commoners in the crowd, while Feng Chenyi maneuvered Wei Zhao into ordering a search of the sacrificial procession. Feng Chenyi then ensured Zhao Junze would search the chests arranged by Noble Consort Shu, leaving the Zhao Family exposed.

• Yun Shen slipped away from the street after planting commoners in the shoving crowd.
• Feng Chenyi persuaded Wei Zhao to order a thorough search of the sacrificial procession, despite Zhao Junze's warning that the assassin had entered the crowd.
• Feng Chenyi and Zhao Junze argued over who would search the chest holding Zhao Hai and the attendants and offerings from the inner palace.
• Zhao Junze realized Feng Chenyi had set a trap and suspected the Feng and Zhou Families had joined forces, but he had no evidence.
• Feng Chenyi ordered Nan Yu to open the chests and search them.

After an assassination attempt, Wei Zhao refused to leave before the attacker was found, and the investigation uncovered a secret involving Noble Consort Shu. Wei Chengye rushed to confront the crisis while Wei Mingxiu decided to go watch what happened.

• Empress Feng offered Wei Zhao tea, but Noble Consort Shu urged him to return to the palace before the investigation was complete.
• Wei Zhao refused, saying he would wait until the assassin was caught.
• Wei Mingxiu reassured Wei Zeyu that Noble Consort Shu would be safe, while Wei Chengye watched the soldiers outside with growing unease.
• An Imperial Guard told Wei Chengye that Commander Feng had found the Zhao family's eldest young master hidden in a chest of sacrificial offerings prepared by Noble Consort Shu, and that Wei Zhao was holding her accountable.
• Wei Chengye ran toward the front, and Wei Yuanshi followed him.
• Wei Mingxiu told Wei Zeyu they would go watch the show, then left the carriage.

Feng Minghe and Bai Yanting called for the Zhao Family to be punished after Zhao Hai was caught hiding in the procession, and Wei Zhao suspected the Feng Family had engineered the affair. When Wei Zhao asked Zhou Ye for his judgment, Zhou Ye urged him to apply state law to public crimes and family rules to family matters.

• Feng Chenyi dragged Zhao Hai from a chest, and Bai Yanting demanded justice from Wei Zhao for the Zhao Family's deception.
• Feng Minghe and several officials backed Bai Yanting's request, prompting Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Junze to suspect the Feng Family had set a trap.
• Wei Zhao pieced together the events and angrily accused the Zhao Family of growing brazen.
• Noble Consort Shu claimed she alone had arranged Zhao Hai's escape, while Empress Feng argued that her actions challenged the court and the emperor's judgment.
• Wei Zhao asked Zhou Ye for his opinion, and Zhou Ye said state matters should follow state law while family matters should follow family rules.

Wei Zhao judged the Zhao Family and Noble Consort Shu after Zhou Ye advised him to follow the laws of the imperial harem and the land. Zhao Hai was executed, Zhao Junze and Zhao Guofeng were demoted, and Noble Consort Shu was stripped of her title and confined to the cold palace for life.

• Zhou Ye advised Wei Zhao to punish Noble Consort Shu and the Zhao Family according to the appropriate laws, giving him a path to appear impartial.
• Wei Zhao confronted Zhao Junze over shielding Zhao Hai and ordered him to execute his son as a chance to answer for the crime.
• Zhao Junze killed Zhao Hai, and Bai Yanting finally felt that his son had been avenged.
• Wei Zhao demoted Zhao Junze and Zhao Guofeng, sending Zhao Junze to serve in Yu Town and lowering Zhao Guofeng to assistant minister.
• Noble Consort Shu admitted her crimes, but Wei Zhao stripped her of her phoenix seal and rank and sentenced her to lifelong confinement in the cold palace.

After the assassination attempt, Wei Zhao continued the Qingming procession and confronted Empress Feng, who accepted her break with him and the Feng Family’s opposition. Noble Consort Shu was sent to the cold palace, while Wei Mingxiu challenged Wei Chengye to try to kill him at the imperial hunt in May.

• Wei Zhao ordered Feng Chenyi to reorganize the procession and continue to the imperial ancestral temple, then told Empress Feng that no one would contest her claim to the phoenix seal.
• Empress Feng recalled how she had once loved Wei Zhao, but resolved to protect the Feng Family and Yu'er after he turned against them.
• Noble Consort Shu was sent back to the palace under lifelong confinement, and she warned Wei Chengye to stay calm and wait for her brother to return from Yu Town.
• Wei Chengye insulted Wei Yuanshi, threatened Wei Mingxiu, and kicked a table toward him, but Wei Mingxiu caught it and returned it to its place.
• Wei Mingxiu told Wei Chengye that he would give him a chance to kill him at the imperial hunt in May, and warned that otherwise he would take Wei Chengye's life one day.

After Kou Yuan revealed the truth about the Zhang Family’s downfall in a letter to Feng Minghe, the Feng family resolved to overturn the case despite the danger of exposing Wei Zhao’s collusion with Chu. Feng Chenyi, overwhelmed by grief for Zhang Jingming, met Zhou Ye and asked him to take him drinking.

• Noble Lady Lian appealed to Wei Zhao, who spared Kou Yuan’s life and stripped him of his official position.
• Before leaving the capital, Kou Yuan sent Feng Minghe a letter revealing that Wei Zhao had colluded with the State of Chu and framed the Zhang Family.
• Feng Minghe showed the letter to Feng Chengbai and Feng Chenyi, and the brothers agreed to pursue justice for the Zhang Family despite the risk.
• Feng Chengbai urged Feng Chenyi to find someone he trusted and drink, and Feng Chenyi ran into Zhou Ye on the street.
• Feng Chenyi tearfully asked Zhou Ye to take him drinking, so Zhou Ye brought him to the Jade Fragrance House and left him with Yun Shen.

Zhou Ye brought Feng Chenyi to meet Yun Shen, who chose to welcome him despite refusing to reveal their past connection. After returning home drunk, Zhou Ye felt the warmth of Wang Yulan’s care and found himself no longer wanting to die.

• Zhou Ye brought Feng Chenyi through the window to see Yun Shen, who teased Feng Chenyi before recognizing his grief over a lost friend.
• Yun Shen invited Feng Chenyi to drink with him and Zhou Ye, then admitted he could not yet acknowledge their former relationship but would cooperate if needed for an alliance.
• Zhou Ye told Yun Shen he would not force him to see Feng Chenyi again and let him decide how their relationship would proceed.
• Zhou Ye returned to the Marquis of Zhenbei's Household late at night and knocked at the gate instead of sneaking into his courtyard.
• Wang Yulan took Zhou Ye by the hand and cared for him, while Zhou Zhenghai scolded him for waking her.
• Feeling Wang Yulan’s warmth, Zhou Ye realized his heart felt full and that he no longer wanted to die.

Feng Chenyi drunkenly revealed to Yun Shen that Yun Shen’s father had been framed, giving Yun Shen evidence to pursue his exoneration. At court, Zhou Ye deflected Wei Zhao’s questions, then confiscated Wei Mingxiu’s books about relationships between men; Wei Mingxiu said he had a plan to secure adoption by the Empress.

• Feng Chenyi told Yun Shen that Wei Zhao had framed Lord Zhang, who was innocent of embezzlement and treason.
• Yun Shen thanked Feng Chenyi, realizing the Feng Family had likely obtained evidence that could clear his father’s name.
• At morning court, Zhou Ye gave Wei Zhao a deliberately unhelpful answer about choosing a new Imperial Guard commander.
• Zhou Ye confiscated Wei Mingxiu’s books about relationships between men and told him he was too young to read them.
• Wei Mingxiu asked why Zhou Ye chose Yun Shen despite social criticism, and Zhou Ye said Yun Shen was the only person he liked and was worth it.
• When Zhou Ye raised the need for Wei Mingxiu to be adopted by the Empress, Wei Mingxiu said he already had a plan but did not reveal it.

Wei Mingxiu planned to act on his own, while Zhou Ye struggled to understand why he had become distant. After Yun Shen explained why Wei Mingxiu resented being called young, Wei Mingxiu realized he disliked the formal distance between himself and Zhou Ye as ruler and subject.

• Wei Mingxiu refused to tell Zhou Ye his dangerous plan, insisting he was not young and wanted to accomplish something by himself.
• Zhou Ye told Yun Shen about their disagreement, and Yun Shen explained that repeatedly calling Wei Mingxiu young made him feel his judgment and abilities were being dismissed.
• Zhou Ye and Yun Shen joked together before discussing Kou Yuan as the remaining lead in the old case and Feng Chenyi's long years without marrying.
• Wei Mingxiu practiced archery in the palace courtyard and told Xiao Wu he disliked both Zhou Ye calling him young and Zhou Ye becoming overly respectful.
• Xiao Wu suggested that their mutual regard had blurred the ruler-subject relationship, and Wei Mingxiu realized he disliked being limited to that formal bond with Zhou Ye.

Wei Mingxiu concealed his strength while preparing for his promised deadly fight with Wei Chengye at the May royal hunt. At the hunting ground, both princes disappeared, and Empress Feng learned that Wei Chengye had pulled Mingxiu in a particular direction.

• Wei Mingxiu let Wei Chengye win their Imperial Academy sparring matches, reassuring him that he would not back out of their fight to the death at the May hunt.
• Zhou Ye read Zhou Ya's letter saying Empress Feng understood his plans and that the Feng Family would support him.
• Zhou Ye asked Feng Chenyi why he had never married, and Feng Chenyi said the person he wanted to marry was no longer there.
• At the hunting ground, Wei Zhao ordered the Imperial Guards to search for Wei Chengye after both princes went missing.
• Empress Feng told Wei Zhao that Wei Zeyu had seen Wei Chengye pull Wei Mingxiu in a certain direction.

Wei Mingxiu lured Wei Chengye into the woods, where Wei Chengye revealed his ambush and hunted him with hired deathsworn. Wei Mingxiu followed his hidden markers toward drifting smoke and pretended to beg for mercy as Wei Chengye closed in.

• Wei Zhao rode to North Mountain with Qian Zhong after Wei Zeyu said he had seen Wei Chengye, while Empress Feng followed with Wei Zeyu.
• Zhou Ye rode north, fearing Wei Mingxiu planned to kill Wei Chengye and incur Wei Zhao's wrath.
• Wei Chengye slashed Wei Mingxiu's horse, then revealed five hired deathsworn and ordered them to kill him.
• Wei Mingxiu fled on foot, dodging Wei Chengye's arrows while secretly following marks he had left on the trees.
• Near drifting white smoke, Wei Mingxiu pretended to fall and begged Wei Chengye to spare his life.