Recaps

Meng Anzhi rejected Shiyan’s marriage proposal and ended Anzhi Hall’s business contract with the Shi Household, while Jin Shanyao supported her decision. A month later, Shiyan asked Meng Anci to persuade Meng Anzhi to forgive him, but he could not bring himself to reveal what he had said to her.

• Meng Anzhi told Shiyan that she could only be his friend, then explained to Ruan Xingmian that she had to reject him clearly so he would give up hope.
• Meng Anzhi told Jin Shanyao she would not renew Anzhi Hall’s contract with the Shi Household Escort Agency, and Jin Shanyao agreed to find other agencies.
• Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan visited Shiyan after he failed the provincial examination and found him gaunt and withdrawn.
• Shiyan asked Meng Anci to forgive him for bullying him as a child and to ask Meng Anzhi to forgive him too.
• Meng Anci challenged Shiyan about whether he had upset Meng Anzhi, but Shiyan denied saying anything wrong and was left distressed by the resemblance between the siblings.

Jin Shanyao entrusted Anzhi Hall in Qingzhou Prefecture to Shen Huaiyu and left for the capital with Qing He and the others. They arrived at the capital branch and settled in, where Qing He reassured the kitchen worker Auntie Zhang about her job.

• Jin Shanyao left Shen Huaiyu in charge of Anzhi Hall, with Zhou Xiaosi and Qing Yang staying to support her.
• Qing Yang told Qing He that she and Zhou Xiaosi would watch over the shop and guide Shen Huaiyu while Jin Shanyao was away.
• Jin Shanyao, Qing He, Meng Anzhi, and the others traveled by ox cart for three days and reached the capital at night.
• Qin Baitang welcomed them to Anzhi Hall and showed them the clean rear courtyard where they would stay.
• Madam Qin prepared a meal, and Meng Anzhi happily reunited with her ginger milk pudding.
• Auntie Zhang worried that she might lose her kitchen job, and Qing He assured her that Anzhi Hall gave dismissed workers an extra month's wages.

Meng Anzhi began seeing patients at Anzhi Hall while Fu Congxi visited Jin Shanyao and discussed the coming New Year and her pregnancy. At the Su Household, Su Wenqian reviewed Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan’s essays and offered to tutor Meng Anci for the metropolitan examination.

• Qin Baitang set up a table for Meng Anzhi to see patients, while Physician Su doubted that she was old enough or skilled enough to treat people.
• Meng Anzhi visited Fu Congxi, who declined to stay for the New Year because she might go into labor and did not want to disrupt Meng Anci’s studies.
• Fu Congxi invited Qing He to sit with them, and Qing He wondered why Lu Chi often mentioned other women to his wife.
• Su Wenqian told Meng Anci that his and Zhao Zhiyuan’s essays were comparable, though Zhao Zhiyuan’s policy essay was more polished.
• Su Wenqian offered to teach Meng Anci about official administration before the metropolitan examination, and Meng Anci accepted.
• Su Wenqian asked why Meng Anci’s aunt had not visited, then said she could come or not as she pleased.

Jin Shanyao brought Meng Anci to study with Su Wenqian and gave him a wild orange tree she had dug up outside the city. After Su Wenqian insisted she compensate the landowner, Jin Shanyao planted two of the Su family’s trees on the barren hill and left silver behind.

• Jin Shanyao decided to take Meng Anci to the Su residence and searched for a suitable tree to give Su Wenqian, eventually digging up a wild orange tree outside the city.
• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anci arrived at the Su residence as Lord Li was leaving, and Jin Shanyao introduced herself to Su Wenqian as his elder niece.
• Su Wenqian objected to Jin Shanyao’s gift because the tree came from someone else’s land, but she planted it in his courtyard anyway.
• Madam Su found two holes in the courtyard and learned that Meng Anci had begun studying; Su Wenqian concealed why Jin Shanyao had removed the trees.
• Jin Shanyao returned to the barren hill, left two taels of silver, and planted two poplars as compensation for the orange tree.

Jin Shanyao backed Meng Anzhi's diagnosis of Madam Ren's infertility but claimed a little ghost's Yin Qi was preventing her from conceiving, angering Madam Ren and the people at Anzhi Hall. Madam Ren returned home dismissing the claim, though she wondered privately whether her residence might really be haunted.

• Jin Shanyao learned that Anzhi Hall stayed open for the New Year and that patients avoided Meng Anzhi because she was new.
• Madam Ren visited Meng Anzhi about her long-standing infertility, and Meng Anzhi diagnosed a deficient, cold womb pulse.
• Jin Shanyao confirmed Meng Anzhi's diagnosis, then said excessive Yin Qi from a little ghost was keeping Madam Ren from conceiving.
• Madam Ren left angrily after Suyue paid the consultation fee, and Jin Shanyao insulted Suyue as she followed her mistress.
• Jin Shanyao reprimanded Su Mu for fawning over Madam Ren, while Madam Ren later confided her fears about her husband's pregnant concubine and wondered whether her residence was haunted.

Madam Ren spent a lonely, sleepless night worrying that a ghost might be behind her inability to have children, while remembering her husband’s former devotion. At Anzhi Hall, Jin Shanyao sent the staff home for the New Year and celebrated quietly with the remaining household, secretly hiding the copper coin she found in a dumpling.

• Madam Ren woke in her dark room, remembered her husband’s affection and the purple porcelain vase, and feared a ghost was responsible for her childlessness.
• Meng Anzhi rewarded the physicians at Anzhi Hall, and Jin Shanyao let the staff take time off for the New Year.
• Qin Baitang invited Jin Shanyao to celebrate with his family, but she declined so they could enjoy their reunion.
• Jin Shanyao stopped Meng Anci from studying and carried him to the kitchen to help Qing He prepare dumplings.
• Jin Shanyao found the copper coin in a dumpling and hid it under her bowl while Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi searched for it.

Jin Shanyao secretly ate the lucky dumpling’s copper coin rather than let Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci overeat, then tried to pass it off as her own good fortune. The next morning, Madam Ren returned to Anzhi Hall seeking help with the little ghost Jin Shanyao had claimed was affecting her fertility, and began recounting her marriage.

• Jin Shanyao ate the final dumpling containing the copper coin and claimed it as her prize, while Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci realized she had tricked them.
• Meng Anci went to the study to keep studying for the metropolitan examination so Zhao Zhiyuan could not catch up.
• Madam Ren arrived at Anzhi Hall after her husband abandoned her during the New Year’s vigil, hoping Jin Shanyao could offer her a chance to have a child.
• Madam Ren asked whether removing the little ghost would let her become pregnant, and Jin Shanyao warned that she could not promise the outcome.
• Madam Ren told Jin Shanyao that her husband had once vowed to treat her well, but his family brought him a concubine because Madam Ren had borne no children; the concubine soon became pregnant.

Madam Ren told Jin Shanyao about her husband’s mistress and sought help conceiving a child, while Jin Shanyao concluded a ghost haunted the Ren residence. Jin Shanyao followed Madam Ren there and found black mist pouring from a courtyard.

• Madam Ren confessed that her husband had brought his mistress and their child into the Ren household, and Jin Shanyao questioned her belief that the affair was her fault.
• Jin Shanyao found no physical problem with Madam Ren and offered to remove the ghost haunting her home for five hundred taels.
• Madam Ren agreed to take Jin Shanyao to the Ren residence after recalling her husband’s promise that they would have children together.
• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi traveled with Madam Ren to the Ren residence, where Jin Shanyao saw black mist thickening around a courtyard and pouring through its doors and windows.

Jin Shanyao found the former emperor’s youngest daughter, a ghost hidden in a purple bottle, in Madam Ren’s room. She explained that the little princess’s presence had harmed Madam Ren and left her fate in Madam Ren’s hands for five hundred taels.

• Jin Shanyao revealed the black mist and pulled a little girl’s ghost from the purple bottle while Meng Anzhi and Madam Ren watched.
• Madam Ren recognized the ghost as the little princess, her childhood friend who had died in the palace fire.
• The little princess told Madam Ren how she had hidden inside the bottle after escaping from beneath a bed during the fire.
• Jin Shanyao explained that the bottle had been fired with Ghost One as a sacrifice, and that the little princess had avoided detection by hiding there.
• Jin Shanyao told the little princess that her Yin Qi had kept Madam Ren childless and demanded five hundred taels, leaving Madam Ren to decide whether the ghost stayed or reincarnated.

Madam Ren sent the little princess to reincarnate instead of letting Jin Shanyao scatter her soul, then paid Jin Shanyao five hundred taels. She later learned from Ren Hanzhong's private conversation with his mistress that he despised her and had kept the sinister vase to prevent her from conceiving.

• Madam Ren ordered Jin Shanyao to scatter the little princess's soul, but Jin Shanyao sent the princess to the Underworld to reincarnate.
• Madam Ren paid Jin Shanyao five hundred taels after learning the little princess's soul had not been destroyed.
• Madam Ren told Ren Hanzhong about the ghost and the vase, but he scolded her and took the vase away.
• Madam Ren followed Ren Hanzhong to his mistress's residence and overheard him call her stupid and say she was unworthy of bearing his child.
• Ren Hanzhong's mistress revealed that the vase had been used to prevent consorts from conceiving, and Ren Hanzhong admitted he had brought it back for that reason.

After overhearing Ren Hanzhong admit that he had deceived her and married her to spite his cousin, Wan Ning withdrew from him and went to Anzhi Hall. Jin Shanyao brought her to a guest room to talk, but their conversation had not yet begun.

• Ren Hanzhong told his mistress that his cousin had saved Wan Ning, while he stole the credit and married her to spite his cousin.
• Madam Ren overheard his confession, spent the night alone grieving, and realized that his past devotion had been a lie.
• The next morning, Wan Ning refused to fetch Ren Hanzhong for breakfast and ignored him as she left for Anzhi Hall.
• At Anzhi Hall, Wan Ning asked for Jin Shanyao and told Meng Anzhi to call her Lady Wan.
• Jin Shanyao offered Wan Ning walnuts, then led her to a guest room when Wan Ning suspected she was mocking her.

Wan Ning sought Jin Shanyao’s advice after learning that her younger brother-in-law, not her husband, had saved her life, and left with a plan for handling the household. More than a month later, Meng Anci entered the nine-day metropolitan examination, where a heavenly light stripped away the warmth from his protective Spiritual Power.

• Wan Ning told Jin Shanyao that she had mistaken her younger brother-in-law for her benefactor and asked what she should do; Jin Shanyao lent her a household-intrigue guide and explained its five methods.
• Wan Ning thanked Jin Shanyao and left, while Jin Shanyao wondered whether she had understood the advice.
• On the ninth day of the second month, Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi accompanied Meng Anci to the examination compound, where he entered after reassuring them.
• An official verified Meng Anci’s information and encouraged him to do his best; Meng Anci recognized him as Zhen Shiqing, a former top scholar from Qingzhou Prefecture.
• As the cold examination began, Spiritual Power from Meng Anci’s wooden hairpin shielded him, but a pillar of light descended and shattered the protection; he continued writing despite the cold.

Jin Shanyao encountered Taishang Laojun after sensing two streams of destiny Qi clash above the examination compound, and he warned her not to use Spiritual Power while Lord Wenchang was observing the examinations. Taishang Laojun went with Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi to Anzhi Hall, where Meng Anzhi learned that Jin Shanyao had a master and a home.

• Jin Shanyao sensed her Spiritual Power link to Meng Anci had been severed and saw purple and azure destiny Qi merge above the examination compound.
• Taishang Laojun grabbed Jin Shanyao and took her aside, then warned her that Lord Wenchang might discover her if she used Spiritual Power during the examinations.
• Taishang Laojun recalled raising Jin Shanyao and agreed to stay with her for a few days to keep her from using Spiritual Power.
• Meng Anzhi worried about Jin Shanyao's sudden disappearance, but Jin Shanyao returned safely with Taishang Laojun.
• Taishang Laojun introduced himself to Meng Anzhi as Jin Shanyao's master, and Jin Shanyao invited them to go home.

Meng Anci completed the nine-day metropolitan examination, enduring the cold and sickness before reuniting with Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi. He met Taishang Laojun, Jin Shanyao’s master, and watched Zhao Zhiyuan eagerly greet Meng Anzhi.

• Taishang Laojun scolded Dahuang and Xiaoli until Jin Shanyao threatened him from inside the room.
• Qin Baitang met Taishang Laojun, admired him, and spent the next few days playing chess and discussing medicine with him.
• Meng Anci answered the metropolitan examination’s frontier-defense question by proposing military farms, capable generals, gradual fortification, and funding that would not burden the people.
• Meng Anci endured the examination’s nine days of cold, slept through a fellow examinee’s breakdown, and finished as the gong announced the end.
• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi met Meng Anci outside the examination compound and introduced Taishang Laojun as their grandmaster.
• Zhao Zhiyuan greeted Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi before returning to his waiting family, while Taishang Laojun watched him closely.

While Meng Anci worried over his metropolitan examination answers, Taishang Laojun reassured him and offered to prepare for the palace examination with him. Taishang Laojun then accompanied Meng Anzhi to a free clinic, where he knocked out a man who harassed her, and the man's fingertips began turning black after they left.

• Taishang Laojun saw Zhao Zhiyuan's family confidently assess Zhao Zhiyuan and Zhao Yushan's examination papers, then went to encourage Meng Anci.
• Taishang Laojun told Meng Anci that his answers were good and suggested they prepare for the palace examination together, but Meng Anci went to ask his teacher at the Su Household for an assessment.
• Taishang Laojun accompanied Meng Anzhi to hold a free clinic near the pleasure houses and brought her a table and chair.
• A man harassed Meng Anzhi and tried to grab her, so Taishang Laojun slapped him unconscious.
• Taishang Laojun and Meng Anzhi left the clinic, and the unconscious man's fingertips gradually turned black.

After learning that Meng Anzhi had poisoned Xu Zhuo, Taishang Laojun confronted Jin Shanyao about her contradictory nature. Xu Dingshan then surrounded Anzhi Hall and demanded that Meng Anzhi come with him, but she challenged him to explain his reason.

• Meng Anzhi told Jin Shanyao she had poisoned Taishang Laojun with Half-Month Disablement after he insulted her aunt.
• Xu Zhuo’s hand remained black and bloodless despite physicians’ efforts, and Xu Dingshan offered a reward for a cure.
• At Anzhi Hall, Meng Anzhi admitted to Taishang Laojun that she had poisoned Xu Zhuo when she took his pulse because he touched her palm.
• Xu Dingshan learned Xu Zhuo had met a physician from Anzhi Hall and brought soldiers to surround the shop.
• Jin Shanyao confronted Xu Dingshan, who singled out Meng Anzhi and ordered her to come with him.
• Meng Anzhi calmly asked Xu Dingshan to state his reason, warning that otherwise he could be accused of abusing his authority.

Meng Anzhi went with Xu Dingshan to treat Xu Zhuo’s poisoned hand after Xu Dingshan apologized and offered a thousand taels. After the family left the Xu residence, Jin Shanyao warned that she should avoid using Spiritual Power until the examination results were posted in five days.

• Xu Dingshan accused Meng Anzhi of poisoning Xu Zhuo, but she challenged his account and refused to hand over an antidote without confronting his son’s harassment.
• Xu Dingshan apologized and offered a thousand taels for Meng Anzhi to cure Xu Zhuo, and Meng Anci accompanied her as a provincial graduate.
• Meng Anzhi cut Xu Zhuo’s palm and squeezed out the black blood until it turned red, saving his hand, though she said his lost memories would return only as he recovered.
• Xu Dingshan paid Meng Anzhi a thousand taels and let her group leave, while Meng Anci resolved to gain power to protect his family.
• Taishang Laojun warned Jin Shanyao not to use Spiritual Power before the examination results were posted in five days.

Meng Anci placed third in the metropolitan examination, and he and Zhao Zhiyuan entered the palace examination with Jin Shanyao watching over them. After reading the top essays, the Sheng emperor summoned Zhao Zhiyuan, Meng Anci, and Cheng Yuchuan and began announcing a decree, but their final ranks were not yet revealed.

• Meng Anci discovered that he had placed third in the metropolitan examination, while Zhao Zhiyuan had placed fourth.
• Taishang Laojun stopped Jin Shanyao from giving Meng Anci further help, and she reflected that her connection to the Meng Household had been set in motion by fate.
• Jin Shanyao sent Meng Anci into the palace examination, where he wrote an essay in the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
• The Sheng emperor read the top ten essays and selected Zhao Zhiyuan, Meng Anci, and Cheng Yuchuan to meet him.
• The Sheng emperor praised the three young candidates and began issuing a decree as they knelt before him.

The emperor named Meng Anci the top scholar, Zhao Zhiyuan second, and Cheng Yuchuan third, then assigned Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan to serve under Zhen Shiqing. During the parade, Meng Anci shared his achievement with his family’s memorial tablets, while Cai Wenyan became interested in Zhao Zhiyuan; the chapter ended with Anzhi Hall preparing a celebratory banquet.

• The emperor awarded Meng Anci first place, Zhao Zhiyuan second, and Cheng Yuchuan third in the palace examination.
• The emperor ordered Zhen Shiqing to train Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan after they returned from visiting home, and Zhen Shiqing agreed.
• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi watched the scholars’ parade while holding memorial tablets, and Meng Anci proudly announced to his late parents that he was the top scholar.
• Cai Wenyan noticed Zhao Zhiyuan during the parade and told her maid to investigate the young woman at Anzhi Hall and her relationship with him.
• Meng Anzhi offered incense for her parents, and Meng Anci returned to Anzhi Hall, where Jin Shanyao congratulated him and Meng Anzhi arranged a banquet.

Meng Anci thanked Su Wenqian for his guidance before setting out with Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao for Qingzhou Prefecture. When they arrived, Jin Shanyao found two burly men blocking Anzhi Hall and struck one of them.

• Meng Anci visited Su Wenqian, who advised him to gain experience at the Hanlin Academy and avoid rushing into court affairs.
• Jin Shanyao left Qin Baitang in charge of Anzhi Hall's shops while she traveled with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci.
• Madam Qin packed food and quilts for the travelers and warned them to stay safe on the road.
• Meng Anci teased Meng Anzhi on the journey, and she beat him on the ox cart for acting important as the top scholar.
• The ox cart reached Qingzhou Prefecture on the third morning, where two burly men ordered them away from Anzhi Hall.
• Jin Shanyao slapped one of the men, knocking him to the ground.

Jin Shanyao returned to Anzhi Hall and confronted the men harassing Shen Huaiyu, who explained how Abundant Celebration Hall’s owner had tried to make her his concubine. Meng Anzhi defended Shen Huaiyu as an Anzhi Hall employee and accused the men of starting the conflict.

• Jin Shanyao returned to Anzhi Hall and learned that Abundant Celebration Hall’s men had been intimidating customers for five days to force Shen Huaiyu’s dismissal.
• Shen Huaiyu arrived and told Jin Shanyao that she had risen from servant to head shopkeeper at Abundant Celebration Hall before its owner pressured her to become his concubine.
• A burly man accused Shen Huaiyu of trying to seduce the owner, and Jin Shanyao struck him when he interrupted and threatened them.
• Jin Shanyao asked Meng Anzhi how he would handle the harassment, and he said Anzhi Hall had to protect its workers.
• Meng Anzhi told the burly man that Abundant Celebration Hall had provoked the dispute by blocking the shop and threatening its staff.

Meng Anci used his first-place scholar status to drive off Abundant Celebration Hall’s men, and Anzhi Hall kept Shen Huaiyu on despite the danger. As the household prepared to return to Little River Village, Meng Anci asked to move his parents’ graves and rebuild their old courtyard on Jin Shanyao’s mountain; the chapter ended with Shiyan visiting Meng Anzhi.

• Meng Anci revealed his first-place scholar scroll, forcing Abundant Celebration Hall’s men to retreat and report back to their proprietor.
• Meng Anzhi assured Shen Huaiyu that Anzhi Hall would keep her, and she returned to work managing the medicine drawers.
• Shopkeeper Wang announced Meng Anci’s palace examination result, drawing excited neighbors around Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi.
• Jin Shanyao told Meng Anci they would return to Little River Village the day after tomorrow, and offered to move his parents’ graves and rebuild his old courtyard on their mountain.
• Shiyan rushed into the back courtyard to see Meng Anzhi, while Zhou Xiaosi wondered why Zhao Zhiyuan had not returned with them.

After becoming the top scholar, Meng Anci gave Shiyan his examination books and traveled with Jin Shanyao and the siblings back to Qingzhou Prefecture. As they prepared to return to Little River Village, Meng Anzhi admitted she feared their old home might be gone and could no longer remember what her parents looked like.

• Shiyan visited Meng Anci, who encouraged him to keep studying and gave him stacks of examination books.
• Meng Anci sent the books below the xiucai level to Xiao Huzi and packed with his family for their journey.
• The family traveled to Qingzhou Prefecture, where Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao recalled their early days working together.
• Jin Shanyao and the siblings arrived at Anzhi Hall, where Tao Yunshan welcomed them and congratulated Meng Anci on becoming the top scholar.
• That night, Meng Anzhi confessed she was afraid to return to Little River Village and told Jin Shanyao she could not remember what her father and mother looked like.

Jin Shanyao returned to Little River Village with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, where villagers crowded around to greet the siblings and Old Woman Li ushered them into their carefully maintained home. The siblings found their childhood belongings unchanged, and Jin Shanyao silently wondered how they had survived the years without Spiritual Power protecting them.

• Jin Shanyao arrived in Little River Village with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, and the villagers recognized the siblings and remarked on Meng Anci becoming a juren.
• Matchmaker Gao tried to greet them, but the villagers crowded her out as they gathered around the Meng family's courtyard gate.
• Old Woman Li opened the gate, brought Jin Shanyao and the siblings inside, and chased the curious villagers away.
• Old Woman Li offered to prepare lunch and tried to send her frightened big black dog to mate with Dahuang, but the dog repeatedly fled back into its kennel.
• Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci found their childhood belongings still in place, and Jin Shanyao suspected Spiritual Power had kept them from weathering.

Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci paid their respects to their parents and decided to move the graves and rebuild their childhood home on Lush Mountain. Jin Shanyao arranged to sell the siblings’ village land and house plot to Old Woman Li, while the siblings began recording the house’s layout.

• Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci burned joss paper, honored their parents, and told them they planned to move their graves to Lush Mountain.
• Old Woman Li welcomed the group back with a meal, and Jin Shanyao told her that Meng Anci had placed first in the imperial examination.
• Jin Shanyao explained that the siblings planned to move their house to Lush Mountain and offered to sell Old Woman Li their farmland and house plot for fifteen taels.
• Old Woman Li accepted the siblings’ plans and recalled how Meng Anzhi had suffered after her father died, prompting Meng Anzhi to leave the room in tears.
• Meng Anzhi remembered cooling sweet melons in the well with her father, then asked Meng Anci to help draw the house’s layout so they could rebuild it.