Chapter Summaries

Meng Anci became Su Wenqian’s student and received a jade pendant, while Jin Shanyao planned an extravagant return gift. She brought a live pig to the yamen, where Su Wenqian found her beating it and demanding it honor their supposed bargain.

• Meng Anci formally took Su Wenqian as his teacher, and Su Wenqian gave him a jade pendant and warned him to act honorably.
• Su Wenqian told Madam Su that he had accepted Meng Anci as a student, and they discussed Meng Anci’s temperament and a family visit.
• Meng Anci showed Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi his jade pendant, prompting Jin Shanyao to plan a gift in return.
• Jin Shanyao consulted books and wrote out a gift list, adding a live pig and larger quantities of other offerings.
• Jin Shanyao brought a live pig to the yamen and beat it as Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci watched.
• Su Wenqian came outside, saw Jin Shanyao striking the pig, and demanded to know whom she claimed to kill without blinking.

Jin Shanyao brought an ill-advised gift to Su Wenqian’s household, where Meng Anci formally became his student. Madam Su asked Jin Shanyao to escort her sons to Lu Chi’s wedding in the capital, while Su Wenqian warned her to be more careful because her behavior could harm Meng Anci’s prospects.

• Jin Shanyao arrived at Su Wenqian’s home with a live pig and four bundles each of several gifts, and Su Wenqian explained that the early visit, taboo number, and pig were inappropriate.
• Meng Anci served tea to Su Wenqian and Song Zhiwei and formally took Su Wenqian as his master, while Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci were invited to stay for a meal.
• Song Zhiwei told Jin Shanyao that Lu Chi had invited her to his wedding in the capital and asked her to take Song Zhiwei’s two sons along.
• Su Wenqian warned Jin Shanyao that her reckless words and actions could give people grounds to attack Meng Anci if he became an official.
• Jin Shanyao told Song Zhiwei to take Su Wenqian’s bun away, and Song Zhiwei complied before turning Su Wenqian’s question back on him.

Jin Shanyao clashed with Su Wenqian during a visit to the government compound, then returned to Anzhi Hall, where the household discussed Miao Dou’s suspicious meeting with Yu Manzi. She decided to let Meng Anzhi manage the estate’s affairs and resolved to study etiquette so she would not give others cause to criticize Meng Anci.

• Jin Shanyao teased Su Wenqian and urged Madam Su to whip him, but Su Wenqian chased Jin Shanyao around the courtyard and used Meng Anci to make her stop.
• Su Wenqian sent Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, and Meng Anci away with books, and Jin Shanyao wrote a sharp retort in her Record of Admonishing Evil.
• When Miao Dou hurried through the rain toward a gambling house, Zhou Xiaosi followed her and saw her chatting happily with Yu Manzi, who gave her a sugar cake.
• Meng Anci asked Meng Anzhi to have Wu Yong watch Miao Dou, while Jin Shanyao encouraged Meng Anzhi to handle the estate’s affairs herself.
• Meng Anci urged Jin Shanyao not to change who she was for etiquette, but she decided to read Su Wenqian’s books and be more careful about her conduct.

Miao Dou tried to steal Anzhi Hall’s medicinal formula under Yu Manzi’s pressure, but Fan Er caught her and brought her before Meng Anzhi. Though Miao Dou pleaded that she was returning to a hopeful family life, Meng Anzhi ordered Fan Er to take her to the authorities.

• While the estate workers harvested herbs, Miao Dou entered the ointment workshop and took medicinal ingredients, but Fan Er caught her leaving.
• Fan Er realized Miao Dou was after the formula and dragged her toward the mountain, where they encountered Meng Anzhi.
• Miao Dou confessed that Yu Manzi had threatened her and promised they could build a better life if she brought back the formula.
• Miao Dou begged Meng Anzhi to spare her, insisting that Yu Manzi would no longer beat her, but Meng Anzhi ordered Fan Er to take her to the authorities.
• Miao Dou fell and continued pleading, arguing that the estate could afford to overlook one bucket of herbs.

Miao Dou learned that Yu Manzi had deceived her and planned to flee with a young widow, while Meng Anzhi enforced the estate’s rules and discovered her aunt had been testing her. After the autumn herb harvest sold out, Jin Shanyao rewarded Qin Baitang and began preparing him to build a major business in the capital.

• Yu Mancang told Miao Dou that Yu Manzi had spent her earnings on a young widow, sold their home and land, and planned to abandon her after sending her to steal Anzhi Hall’s recipe.
• Meng Anzhi warned the workers that pity did not excuse breaking the rules, then learned Jin Shanyao had arranged the theft incident to test her judgment.
• Miao Dou received eighty strokes for her attempted theft, and Yu Manzi ran away with the young widow the next day.
• The estate workers harvested and processed the medicinal herbs from Lush Mountain and Hat Mountain, and nearby apothecaries bought the entire crop.
• Jin Shanyao gave Qin Baitang eight hundred taels as his share of the profits and asked him to train trustworthy workers ahead of a possible move to the capital.

Jin Shanyao explained to Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci why she rewarded Wu Yong and Qin Baitang differently, then the household prepared for the New Year. Meng Anci secretly made lanterns and revealed them as a birthday surprise for Jin Shanyao on New Year's Eve.

• Jin Shanyao explained that Wu Yong should receive steady rewards to build loyalty, while Qin Baitang deserved generous pay for his achievements and example to other staff.
• Meng Anci shut himself in his room during the twelfth month, secretly crafting wooden lanterns while the household prepared for the New Year.
• Jin Shanyao told Meng Anzhi to give her master walnuts as a wedding gift and used Spiritual Power to dry Meng Anzhi's hair.
• Meng Anci hid a cut on his hand and left breakfast early, prompting Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi to wonder what he was making.
• During the hour of the tiger on the twenty-ninth, Meng Anci hung and lit lanterns around the courtyard, and Jin Shanyao watched unseen.
• At dawn, Jin Shanyao admired the lanterns, and Meng Anci emerged to wish her a happy birthday; the siblings had chosen New Year's Eve because they did not know her actual birthday.

Jin Shanyao prepared to travel with the Su brothers to the capital for Lu Chi’s wedding, bringing gifts and setting out with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci. The journey began at a supernatural speed, and Jin Shanyao was left considering how her youthful appearance might seem suspicious as the children grew older.

• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anci surprised Jin Shanyao with a courtyard full of lanterns, while Meng Anzhi resolved to remain the most important child in her aunt’s heart.
• Madam Su brought Su Jingzhi and Su Shenzhi to meet Jin Shanyao and arranged for them to travel with her to the capital for Lu Chi’s wedding.
• Jin Shanyao and the children prepared gifts for Lu Chi and the Fu family, then left Qingzhou Prefecture with the Su brothers on the sixteenth day of the first month.
• The old ox and Black Grand Marshal raced without drivers, terrifying the Su brothers while Jin Shanyao protected the carriage with Spiritual Power.
• At a midday stop, Su Shenzhi refused to call Jin Shanyao Great-Aunt, prompting her to worry that her youthful appearance would become suspicious as the children grew up.

Jin Shanyao brought the Su brothers to the capital, where they encountered Fifth Master Dong, a scammer who accused Su Shenzhi of breaking an expensive vase. He demanded three hundred taels, while Jin Shanyao and the brothers recognized the vase as cheap pottery.

• Jin Shanyao fed the Su brothers so much hot pot that they could barely move, then took them for a walk where she caught a pheasant and claimed it was hibernating.
• Jin Shanyao and the Su brothers stayed overnight at Ma Dani’s newly opened inn and continued their journey the next day.
• At the capital gates, the group saw guards searching for Xuanjizi, and Su Jingzhi offered Jin Shanyao lodging at the Song residence.
• Su Shenzhi accidentally collided with a man outside an antique shop and shattered his vase.
• Fifth Master Dong demanded three hundred taels for the vase, but Su Jingzhi identified it as cheap coarse porcelain worth only thirty wen.

Jin Shanyao delivered the Su brothers to Song Henian, then went with Lu Chi to his residence, where she offered to investigate his mother’s death. When she asked whether Lu Chi had found Xuanjizi, his smile disappeared.

• Jin Shanyao forced Fifth Master Dong to pay thirty wen for the broken vase and warned him that his jade thumb ring carried dangerous Yin Qi.
• Jin Shanyao escorted Su Jingzhi and Su Shenzhi to the Song residence, where Song Henian eagerly welcomed her and largely ignored his grandsons.
• Lu Chi arrived, greeted Jin Shanyao and Meng Anci, and invited Jin Shanyao to his home for his wedding; she accepted and gave the Su brothers directions to find her if they needed help.
• At the Lu residence, Lu Chi showed Jin Shanyao the separate courtyard he had prepared for her and mentioned that he had found a few leads about his mother’s death.
• Jin Shanyao offered to investigate Lu Chi’s mother’s death for ten thousand taels of gold, then asked whether he had found Xuanjizi, causing his smile to vanish.

Jin Shanyao used her Spiritual Power and Dahuang and Xiaoli to capture Xuanjizi in an ancient tomb on Mount Fengxi. After hearing Lu Chi would be away, she took Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci to visit the Fu Household with gifts.

• Jin Shanyao found Xuanjizi's hiding place by following the plants with her Spiritual Power.
• Xuanjizi tried to escape the ancient tomb, but Dahuang and Xiaoli blocked his way and defeated him.
• Dahuang peed on Xuanjizi's face before he and Xiaoli returned to the Lu Household and told Jin Shanyao what happened.
• Jin Shanyao learned Lord Lu would not return for supper and decided to go out with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci.
• Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci packed supplies for the visit, and Jin Shanyao clarified they were going to deliver gifts to the Fu Household.

Jin Shanyao visited the Fu Household, gave out precious medicinal gifts, and discovered how warmly Fu Congzhao’s family treated him—or how readily they would hand him over to her. As Fu Congzhao prepared to leave for the frontier, she gave him a safety talisman and offered to sell talismans to the rest of the family.

• Jin Shanyao presented Old General Fu and Fu Congxi with rare lingzhi, sanghuang mushrooms, and deer antlers, then gave Fu Congzhao mushrooms and admired the clothes he wore.
• Fu Congzhao gave Jin Shanyao a banknote and admitted that he had thought about her every day, while his parents realized how close the two were.
• General Fu asked Jin Shanyao to help deliver the souls of soldiers who died on the battlefield, and she agreed to go when she could.
• Jin Shanyao urged the Fu family to care for Fu Congzhao and offered to take him in, but Old General Fu readily agreed to give him to her.
• Fu Congzhao explained that he was going to the frontier to gain military experience, so Jin Shanyao drew him a Talisman of Safety and offered talismans to the other family members for one hundred taels each.

Jin Shanyao discovered that Xuanjizi had only feigned death to escape, and she forced his soul back into his body. Lu Chi arranged to hand Xuanjizi over to the three judicial offices for interrogation while Jin Shanyao took the children for a stroll.

• Jin Shanyao gave the Fu Household talismans and accepted silver for the herbs after Old General Fu warned her that substantial gifts to officials were illegal.
• Lu Chi returned to the Lu residence after interrogating Xuanjizi all night and bought three Truth Talismans from Jin Shanyao.
• Fu Congheng told Lu Chi that Xuanjizi had died in prison, so Lu Chi asked Jin Shanyao to examine him.
• Jin Shanyao saw that Xuanjizi's soul had left his body and explained that he was feigning death to escape.
• When Xuanjizi's spirit attacked Lu Chi, Jin Shanyao caught it and forced it back into Xuanjizi's body.
• Lu Chi ordered Xuanjizi transferred to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate, while Jin Shanyao took the children for a stroll.

At court, the emperor ordered the Crown prince to investigate Xiao Rong’s crimes and punish the Wei clan and Noble Consort Wei. At Lu Chi’s wedding, a dispute over his birth mother’s memorial tablet and Lady Wei’s place in the wedding hall escalated just as the empress arrived.

• The court officials unanimously demanded justice for the border soldiers, and the emperor assigned the case to the Crown prince, approving the proposed punishments for the Wei clan and Noble Consort Wei.
• Jin Shanyao wondered why Jin Shanyao’s Merit had not appeared after Xuanjizi’s execution, then went with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci to watch Lu Chi’s wedding.
• Feng Zhi placed Lu Chi’s birth mother’s memorial tablet in Lady Wei’s seat, prompting Marquis Lu to sweep it to the floor and force Lady Wei back into the chair.
• Jin Shanyao explained to Meng Anci that Lady Wei’s tears were meant to make others see her as wronged, while Lady Wei’s performance pleased her and turned the guests against Lu Chi.
• A herald announced that the empress had arrived at the wedding hall.

At Lu Chi’s wedding, he forced Madam Wei to confess to murdering his birth mother, Qin Yan, and repeatedly poisoning him. The empress ordered Wei Tingwan’s arrest, Marquis Lu left in disgrace, and the wedding ceremony continued before Jin Shanyao took the children away.

• The empress arrived at the wedding, and Lu Chi accused Wei Tingwan of murdering Qin Yan and poisoning him.
• When Lu Chi asked Wei Tingwan if she had killed his mother, she confessed and revealed how she had drugged Qin Yan, bribed the midwife, and eliminated witnesses.
• Wei Tingwan admitted she had poisoned Lu Chi to secure the marquis’s estate for her son and had drugged Marquis Lu to prevent him from having more children.
• Wei Tingwan attacked Lu Chi, but he kicked her away, and the empress ordered guards to take her to the imperial prison and hand her over to the Court of Judicial Review.
• Marquis Lu left the wedding in disgrace, and the ceremony continued with Qin Yan’s memorial tablet present.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci and left the Lu Residence.

Jin Shanyao bought a large shop on Vermilion Bird Street and planned to have Qin Baitang manage it. After seeing Fifth Master Dong act strangely, she realized that someone else was wearing his body and bearing his soul.

• Jin Shanyao discussed the Lu Household's troubles with Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi as they went to look for a shop.
• Jin Shanyao inspected a two-story shop with a courtyard on Vermilion Bird Street and agreed to buy it for seven thousand taels.
• Broker Hu took Jin Shanyao to Kaifeng Prefecture, where they completed the deed for the shop.
• Jin Shanyao told Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci that Qin Baitang would manage the shop and that they would decide later whether to move to the capital.
• Jin Shanyao saw Fifth Master Dong ignore a man who tried to negotiate over a bronze mirror and noticed black mist around his thumb ring.
• Jin Shanyao concluded that an impostor had slipped past the living and the dead, wearing Fifth Master Dong's body and bearing his soul.

Jin Shanyao helped Fu Congxi clean a cursed shop on Vermilion Bird Street and prepared to leave for Qingzhou Prefecture the next morning. When Fu Congxi impulsively asked to go with her, Jin Shanyao mistook it for an attempt to flee her marriage and plotted an escape before Fu Congxi clarified she was joking.

• Fu Congxi learned that Jin Shanyao had bought a shop on Vermilion Bird Street and gathered the Lu residence staff to help clean it.
• Jin Shanyao explained that a Curse Technique was making the shop lose money, and Xiaoli uncovered broken bowls hidden in its beams.
• Jin Shanyao gave Fu Congxi the shop key and asked her to watch over the property until a shopkeeper arrived.
• The Su brothers asked when they would return home, and Jin Shanyao agreed to leave for Qingzhou Prefecture the next morning.
• Fu Congxi asked to go with Jin Shanyao, who mistook her words for a plan to flee her marriage and offered to help her escape with Lu Chi's token and horse.
• Fu Congxi said she had only been joking, while the Su brothers stood stunned after overhearing Jin Shanyao's escape plans.

Jin Shanyao returned to Qingzhou Prefecture after telling Lu Chi to investigate Fifth Master Dong and keep Xuanjizi trapped in his body. When classes began at Green Mountain Academy, Meng Anci met Zhao Boyong, a new student who had returned from the capital to take the examinations and recover from an illness.

• Jin Shanyao told Lu Chi that Xuanjizi had driven Fifth Master Dong's soul out and used a Shared Life Incantation, then instructed Lu Chi to investigate Fifth Master Dong's contacts, travels, and possessions.
• Jin Shanyao returned to Anzhi Hall with the Su brothers, reunited with Qing He and the others, and shared food and stories from the capital.
• Jin Shanyao reflected that she would trap Xuanjizi rather than kill him, since she had no second jade thumb ring.
• On the fourth day of the third month, Meng Anci began classes at Green Mountain Academy's Licentiate Institute and met Zhao Boyong, who introduced himself as a student raised in the capital.
• Zhao Zhiyuan, Zhao Yushan, and Shiyan arrived; Zhao Boyong recognized Zhao Zhiyuan, and Master Li began the lesson.

Meng Anzhi visited poor families on West Street to provide medical care, then Fifth Master Dong confronted her with claims that her aunt Jin Shanyao was a monster responsible for her mother’s death. He urged Meng Anzhi to help him kill Jin Shanyao by giving her talisman water to drink.

• Meng Anzhi reassured Shopkeeper Wang after he nearly splashed her with water, then went to West Street to treat families in need.
• Meng Anzhi visited Niu Dadan’s home, examined bedridden Zhuangzhuang, and admitted that his illness was difficult to treat.
• Fifth Master Dong stopped Meng Anzhi and claimed her mother had not died of illness but had been drained of her Yang Qi by Jin Shanyao.
• Meng Anzhi broke down in tears as Fifth Master Dong told her Jin Shanyao was a monster who planned to prey on her and her brother.
• Fifth Master Dong offered to help Meng Anzhi avenge her mother and told her to give Jin Shanyao talisman water.

Meng Anzhi ambushed Fifth Master Dong after he tried to make her kill Jin Shanyao, but Niu Dadan intervened and Fifth Master Dong died. Xuanjizi’s soul emerged from the corpse, only for Jin Shanyao to destroy it, while Fifth Master Dong’s soul was sent to the Underworld; the authorities then investigated the death.

• Fifth Master Dong told Meng Anzhi to kill Jin Shanyao with him, but she cut his neck and poisoned him when he looked away.
• Fifth Master Dong strangled Meng Anzhi until Niu Dadan kicked him away, and Fifth Master Dong died from the poison.
• Meng Anzhi persuaded Niu Dadan to accompany her to report the death to the prefectural yamen.
• Xuanjizi emerged from Fifth Master Dong’s body and tried to escape by taking over his jade thumb ring, but Jin Shanyao bound and crushed his soul.
• Xiaoli released Fifth Master Dong’s soul from the ring, and Black and White Impermanence took him to the Underworld.
• Su Wenqian arrived with the yamen runners, identified Fifth Master Dong as a wanted criminal, and questioned Niu Dadan about what he had seen.

Meng Anzhi survived Fifth Master Dong’s attempt to strangle her after Niu Dadan intervened and killed him, but the attack badly injured her throat. Jin Shanyao brought her home, where the family cared for her and Jin Shanyao secretly healed her as she slept.

• Niu Dadan told Su Wenqian that he had struck the man choking Meng Anzhi, and Su Wenqian reassured him that the wanted man had died of heart failure.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi home, where Qing He and the others learned she had been attacked and condemned the dead assailant.
• Jin Shanyao examined Meng Anzhi and found her throat cartilage fractured, while Meng Anzhi reflected that she had acted to protect her aunt from Xuanjizi.
• Meng Anci returned from school, saw Meng Anzhi’s injuries, and learned from Qing He that Fifth Master Dong had been Xuanjizi; Jin Shanyao assured him Xuanjizi’s soul was gone.
• After Meng Anzhi drank porridge and went to sleep beside Jin Shanyao, Meng Anci went to study, and Jin Shanyao used her Spiritual Power to heal Meng Anzhi’s throat.