Chapter Summaries

After Qi Jingshu was killed during an attack on the Jiang Residence, Jiang Xuefu escaped the city carrying a bundle meant for Xue'er. She discovered it contained valuable jewelry and chose to keep it, running in the opposite direction from where Xue'er was supposed to be.

• Qi Jingshu gave Fu'er a bundle and told her to find Xue'er and seek Lord Ling in the capital as men in black attacked the Jiang Residence.
• Jiang Xuefu recalled how Qi Jingshu had taken her in as a beggar and raised her alongside the Jiang Family's daughter, also named Jiang Xuefu.
• Jiang Xuefu evaded the men guarding the city gate by squeezing through a hidden dog hole in the wall.
• Jiang Xuefu opened the bundle and found letters and a collection of gold, jade, pearls, and other jewelry.
• Jiang Xuefu decided to keep the jewelry and ran in the opposite direction from where Xue'er was supposed to be.

Jiang Xuefu fainted while traveling south toward the capital and was rescued by Jimo Chi's carriage party. After she left for Jade City alone, Jimo Chi learned she had dropped an imperial jade pendant and sent Mo Yu to catch up with her.

• Jiang Xuefu ran out of strength and fainted beside the road while traveling toward the capital.
• Jimo Chi ordered Mo Yu to give Jiang Xuefu water and food, and she woke and thanked him.
• Jiang Xuefu told Mo Yu she had no home and was going to Jade City to find relatives, but Jimo Chi refused to give her a ride.
• Jiang Xuefu accepted pastries and continued toward Jade City on foot while Jimo Chi's carriage set off later.
• Mo Yi found a jade pendant Jiang Xuefu had dropped and identified it as belonging to the imperial family.
• Jimo Chi recognized the imperial surname Qi on the pendant and ordered Mo Yu to catch up with Jiang Xuefu.

Jiang Xuefu was taken in by the Jimo Family after Jimo Chi recognized the jade pendant in her bundle and learned her identity. Jimo Cheng welcomed her and recalled how her mother, Qi Jingshu, vanished while fleeing a forced marriage, leaving her fate unknown.

• Jimo Chi asked Jiang Xuefu about her name, parents, and a jade pendant, then invited her to stay with the Jimo Family.
• Jiang Xuefu arrived at the Jimo Residence, where servants attended to her with a luxurious bath and meal.
• Jimo Cheng invited Jiang Xuefu to breakfast and promised to protect her as he remembered her mother.
• Jimo Cheng recalled that he and Qi Yuan had tried to rescue Qi Jingshu from a forced marriage to the Xiongnu king.
• Qi Jingshu fled into the forest during the rescue and was never heard from again, while Qi Yuan later won the throne.

Jiang Xuefu kept her identity as Qi Jingshu’s daughter secret while Jimo Cheng brought the Jiang Family’s ashes back and buried Qi Jingshu on a mountain in Jade City. As the funeral ended, Jiang Xuefu resolved to live well in the dead girl’s place.

• Jimo Cheng told Jiang Xuefu that he had sent word to the emperor and asked Jimo Chi to show her around Jade City.
• Jiang Xuefu struggled with the danger of deceiving the emperor but chose to keep her lie hidden for the life of wealth it promised.
• Jimo Cheng returned from Wang City with the Jiang Family’s ashes and explained that the former crown prince had ordered the family’s massacre before killing himself.
• Jimo Cheng, Jimo Chi, and Jiang Xuefu buried Qi Jingshu on a mountain, where Jiang Xuefu kowtowed before the grave.
• Jiang Xuefu asked Jimo Cheng to carry the unwell Jimo Chi down the mountain, then accepted a ride on Jimo Cheng’s back and silently vowed to live well in Jiang Xuefu’s place.

After two months at the Jimo Residence, Jiang Xuefu left for the capital and was welcomed into the imperial palace as Princess Fu'an. Once settled in the Splendid Palace, she asked the emperor to change her name because she hated the character “Fu.”

• Jiang Xuefu endured Jimo Chi’s insistence on attending school and began behaving after the teacher struck her palm for unfinished work.
• Before Jiang Xuefu departed for the capital, Jimo Chi gave her a bracelet and asked her to visit his mother, Li Yarou, at the Li Residence.
• Jiang Xuefu said farewell to Jimo Chi and Jimo Cheng, then traveled with the imperial procession to the capital.
• The emperor housed Jiang Xuefu in the Splendid Palace, granted her the title Princess Fu'an, and showered her with gifts and rewards.
• Jiang Xuefu asked the emperor to change her name because she disliked the character “Fu” and wanted to leave her former identity behind.

On Jiang Xuefu’s birthday, the emperor’s favored princess went to the capital’s lantern festival with Qi Mujing and Ling Chengfeng, then fled after hearing the real Jiang Xuefu call for her. The real Jiang Xuefu, who had survived her parents’ murder and spent two years studying medicine, remained determined to find her and learn the truth.

• The emperor arranged a public holiday and lantern festival for Jiang Xuefu’s birthday, and she set out with Qi Mujing and Ling Chengfeng.
• Ling Chengfeng gave Jiang Xuefu a birthday present and went to buy her candied hawthorn while she waited with Qi Mujing.
• Jiang Xuefu heard the real Jiang Xuefu calling in the crowd and hurried away with Qi Mujing toward the Li Family Restaurant.
• The real Jiang Xuefu’s senior brother Wang Xiaolu accused the other girl of stealing her identity, but Jiang Xuefu said she still believed in her and wanted to speak with her.
• Jiang Xuefu recalled finding her parents murdered, escaping with Wang Xiaolu’s help, and spending two years studying medicine before traveling to the capital.

Jiang Xuefu abducted Jiang Xuefu and Wang Xiaolu, poisoned and mutilated them, then ordered Bai Zhou to kill them, but Jiang Xuefu escaped by jumping off a cliff. After returning to the palace, Jiang Xuefu punished Bai Zhou for letting her escape and ordered him to find her.

• Jiang Xuefu had Bai Zhou seize Jiang Xuefu and Wang Xiaolu and take them to an abandoned house.
• Jiang Xuefu threatened Jiang Xuefu, poisoned both captives, and cut Jiang Xuefu's face while explaining that the poison would leave them helpless.
• Jiang Xuefu ordered Bai Zhou to kill the captives and dispose of their bodies, but Wang Xiaolu woke and shouted for Jiang Xuefu to jump, and she escaped over the cliff.
• Jiang Xuefu returned to the restaurant, shared candied hawthorn with Ling Chengfeng, and later went back to the palace.
• Jiang Xuefu ordered Bai Zhou to accept punishment and search for Jiang Xuefu, demanding that he bring back her body or capture her alive.

On her coming-of-age day, Jiang Xuefu was preparing to leave the palace, while Wang Xue—her former self, now a masked medical disciple—returned to the capital seeking revenge. The chapter ended with Ling Chengfeng asking Jiang Xuefu to consider marrying him.

• The empress presided over Jiang Xuefu's coming-of-age ceremony in Qinghe Hall.
• Wang Xue descended from Kunlun Mountain after nine years and set out to find her senior brother, Xu Jingwu, before pursuing revenge on Jiang Xuefu.
• Wang Xue failed to find Xu Jingwu at Prince Kang's Residence, unaware he was passing by in a carriage as Princess Fu'an's male favorite.
• Jiang Xuefu left the palace for her princess's residence, and Ling Chengfeng joined her carriage after returning from the military camp.
• Ling Chengfeng told Jiang Xuefu that he had missed her and asked her to consider him when the emperor arranged her marriage.

Jiang Xuefu rejected marriage, but Ling Chengfeng insisted he would be her husband and kissed her before she returned to her residence. There, she reunited with Jimo Chi, who had come to give her a coming-of-age gift, and he left after they arranged to meet again.

• Jiang Xuefu told Ling Chengfeng she would never marry, and he insisted she should consider him first.
• Ling Chengfeng pulled Jiang Xuefu into his arms, and their first kiss left her flustered and her lips swollen.
• Ling Chengfeng promised to become Princess Fu'an's husband if she would not become Madam Ling.
• Jiang Xuefu reached her residence and recognized Jimo Chi, whom she had not seen since they parted in Jade City eleven years earlier.
• Jimo Chi gave Jiang Xuefu a coming-of-age gift and declined her invitation to come inside.
• Jiang Xuefu offered to visit Jimo Chi at the Duke of Zhen's residence another day, and he departed.

Wang Xue built a reputation as a low-cost healer and entered the palace to help the noble consort conceive a son. At a Dragon Boat Festival banquet, Jiang Xuefu forced Wang Xue to reveal her scarred face before the emperor, who reacted with disgust, leaving Wang Xue devastated.

• Wang Xue opened a clinic in the capital and attracted patients by charging low prices, earning a reputation as a miracle doctor.
• The noble consort asked Wang Xue to help her bear a son, and Wang Xue warned her about the dangers before moving into Zhongcui Palace to care for her.
• Wang Xue prepared medicine for the noble consort, who became pregnant and secured Wang Xue's place at her side.
• At the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, Wang Xue saw Jiang Xuefu again, and Jiang questioned why the noble consort's veiled relative concealed her face.
• The emperor and the noble consort pressured Wang Xue to remove her veil, and she revealed her scarred face to the horrified guests.
• The emperor dismissed Wang Xue with visible displeasure, and she returned to her quarters and wept.