Chapter Summaries

Li Mei and Liu Dashan dug up Jin Shanyao to sell her for a ghost marriage, unaware that Constable Wang and his men were tracking them. As Jin Shanyao was placed in Young Master Qiu’s coffin, the ghosts attacked his soul.

• Li Mei learned that a young woman had been buried in the paupers' graveyard and told Liu Dashan to check the grave so they could sell the body to Master Qiu.
• Constable Wang sent someone to follow Liu Dashan, who identified the newly disturbed grave before returning home.
• At night, Li Mei, Liu Dashan, and two accomplices dug up Jin Shanyao, who kept pretending to be dead while the ghosts watched.
• The grave robbers carried Jin Shanyao to Master Qiu’s house as Constable Wang and Zhu Huaizhang followed them.
• Li Mei dressed Jin Shanyao in wedding clothes and placed her in Young Master Qiu’s coffin, while Ghost One and Ghost Two confronted and attacked Young Master Qiu’s soul.

Jin Shanyao frightened Master Qiu, Li Mei, and the others by pretending to be a risen corpse, allowing Zhu Huaizhang’s men to arrest them. As they headed to the prefectural yamen, Jin Shanyao offered Zhu Huaizhang two Truth Talismans to help with questioning the prisoners.

• After the coffin was sealed, Jin Shanyao burst out of it and chased Master Qiu around the courtyard while dragging Young Master Qiu’s corpse.
• Jin Shanyao caught Li Mei, kicked Liu Dashan aside, and frightened Master Qiu before throwing Li Mei and Young Master Qiu’s corpse into the coffin and nailing it shut.
• Zhu Huaizhang ordered the yamen runners and constables to enter the courtyard, subdue the suspects, and take the prisoners to the dungeon.
• Ghost One held Young Master Qiu’s soul while Zhu Huaizhang led his men toward the prefectural yamen with Jin Shanyao following in her wedding outfit.
• Jin Shanyao argued that Zhu Huaizhang should not send her away and offered to sell him two Truth Talismans for questioning the prisoners.

Zhu Huaizhang used Jin Shanyao’s Truth Talismans to expose the grave robbers’ crimes, while Jin Shanyao sent three ghosts through the Ghost Gate and prepared to leave Qingzhou Prefecture. She arranged for Anzhi Hall’s estate and shop to keep running, then Meng Anzhi spoke privately with Lin Mo and Lin Yue.

• Zhu Huaizhang borrowed money from Constable Wang to buy two Truth Talismans, and Li Mei confessed to her crimes under questioning.
• Zhu Huaizhang ordered the case details posted publicly, then evaded Constable Wang’s request to repay the loan.
• Jin Shanyao opened the Ghost Gate and sent Ghost One, Ghost Two, and Ghost Three to the Underworld; Ghost One brought Tang Qiao with her.
• Jin Shanyao told the remaining mass-grave ghosts to earn Merit through good deeds so ghost officials would eventually come for them.
• Jin Shanyao told the estate staff that Anci was taking a post in the capital and assigned Wu Yong, Qing Yang, and the stewards to oversee Anzhi Hall’s business.
• Jin Shanyao arranged for two girls to help at the shop, and Meng Anzhi spoke privately with Lin Mo and Lin Yue.

After moving to the capital, Zhou Xiaosi impressed the physicians at Anzhi Hall by filling prescriptions accurately and quickly, then learned from Meng Anci that the capital’s zhuangyuan held no special protection or status. A flower-viewing invitation from the left prime minister’s household arrived, and Jin Shanyao ended the chapter wondering whether her praise of the children counted as “killing with praise.”

• Zhou Xiaosi worried that Qing Yang had been left alone in Qingzhou, and Qing He told him to ask whether she wanted to come to the capital.
• Zhou Xiaosi joined the capital shop and surprised Su Mu by accurately filling three prescriptions after studying the herb drawers once.
• A maid from the left prime minister’s household delivered an invitation for Meng Anci and his family to attend a flower-viewing banquet.
• Meng Anci explained to Zhou Xiaosi that only three of the past ten zhuangyuan still served at court, and Zhou Xiaosi admitted he had judged the maid unfairly.
• Jin Shanyao overheard Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi call her teaching “killing with praise” and resolved to find out what the phrase meant.

Meng Anci, Meng Anzhi, and Jin Shanyao attended the chancellor’s flower-viewing banquet, where Chancellor Cai drew Anci into a meeting with court officials and Madam Cai tested the family’s manners. Jin Shanyao refused to bow, defended her view of status, and unexpectedly impressed Madam Cai, who then asked Madam Su to escort her to the reception hall.

• Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao moved their books into a separate study, while Meng Anci realized the flower-viewing banquet would test his political loyalties.
• Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, and Meng Anci arrived at the banquet in their ox cart, drawing attention from the assembled guests.
• Chancellor Cai invited Meng Anci to tea and introduced him to Zhao Zhiyuan and Cheng Yuchuan.
• Madam Cai mistook Jin Shanyao for Meng Anci’s older sister and privately judged the family’s lack of status and manners.
• Jin Shanyao refused to bow to Madam Cai and told Madam Su that men should earn their own standing rather than rely on women to preserve their reputation.
• Madam Cai overheard Jin Shanyao praise Chancellor Cai’s ability to elevate his wife and then asked Madam Su to take Jin Shanyao to the reception hall.

Jin Shanyao attended Madam Cai’s flower banquet with Meng Anzhi, met the guests, and heard the story of qin master Feng Qixian. Later, Cai Wenyan rescued Zhao Zhiyuan from a pitch-pot challenge and stayed with him at the pavilion after her brother called her back.

• Madam Cai introduced Jin Shanyao, Zhuang Buyan, and Madam Cheng to the women at the banquet.
• Jin Shanyao learned from Wan Ning that Feng Qixian had spent years searching for his missing daughter while pursuing beautiful qin music.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi behind a rockery to eat pastries, then wrapped some up to bring back for Qing He.
• A group of young masters pressured Zhao Zhiyuan to play pitch-pot, and Meng Anci prepared to intervene.
• Cai Wenyan tossed an arrow into the pot on Zhao Zhiyuan’s behalf and warned the others not to trouble him.
• Cai Wuyi called Cai Wenyan back and brought her to the pavilion to watch the game with Zhao Zhiyuan.

Zhao Zhiyuan and Meng Anci attended a banquet at the chancellor’s residence, then began work at the Hanlin Academy. Meanwhile, Meng Anzhi accepted a medical visit to a brothel, leaving the chapter with her arriving there without judgment.

• Cai Wenyan teased Cai Wuyi and ran off with her maid, while Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi went to admire the flowers.
• Meng Anci recalled that Zhao Zhiyuan had first seen him outside the Zhao Household, and Zhao Zhiyuan hinted that he feared Meng Anci would be angry about his feelings.
• Zhao Zhiyuan’s mother told him that families had asked whether he was betrothed, and he insisted that he would decide his own marriage.
• Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan attended court, then impressed Yan Shuan by reading blurred passages in an ancient text at the Hanlin Academy.
• Zhen Shiqing showed Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan their desks and gave them old books to restore.
• Meng Anzhi followed a brothel madam to the Pure Joy Pavilion after being invited to make a medical visit.

Meng Anzhi treated the badly beaten Yu Jiaonu at Pure Joy Pavilion, where the young woman asked her for poison and left Meng Anzhi shaken. More than a month later, Meng Anci took Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao to Vermilion Bird Street, where they stopped to watch two men playing zithers at Pure Joy Pavilion.

• The madam brought Meng Anzhi to examine Yu Jiaonu, who was covered in bruises and refused to let go of her quilt.
• Meng Anzhi set Yu Jiaonu’s dislocated ankle, treated her injuries, and offered to see her for free at Anzhi Hall.
• Yu Jiaonu asked Meng Anzhi for poison, and Meng Anzhi left her medicine and a prescription before departing.
• The madam applied the ointment to Yu Jiaonu and urged her to endure Zither Master Wu’s abuse.
• Back at Anzhi Hall, Meng Anzhi told Jin Shanyao about Yu Jiaonu’s request and recalled that Meng Hongde had once tried to sell her.
• More than a month later, Meng Anci took Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi to Vermilion Bird Street, where they watched two men playing zithers at Pure Joy Pavilion.

Meng Anci and Jin Shanyao visited the Pure Joy Pavilion, where they discussed Zither Master Feng and Zither Master Wu before leaving for food. Later, Yu Jiaonu dressed modestly to play for Feng Qixian, but the crowd’s lewd remarks drove him away, and she was punished by the madam after refusing to perform for Zither Master Wu.

• Jin Shanyao inferred from their posture that Zither Master Wu disliked Zither Master Feng, while Meng Anci said he had been copying rare books for Lord Yan at the Hanlin Academy.
• Zither Master Wu persuaded Feng Qixian to stay at the Pure Joy Pavilion to hear Yu Jiaonu play the pipa.
• Yu Jiaonu chose a pink ruqun and covered her face with a handkerchief, but the madam removed the veil before she went onstage.
• The crowd made lewd remarks about Yu Jiaonu, and Feng Qixian angrily left the hall.
• Zither Master Wu grabbed Yu Jiaonu when she tried to leave without playing, but the madam diverted him and took Yu Jiaonu back to her room.
• The madam slapped Yu Jiaonu, and Yu Jiaonu silently put away her pipa and folded the pink ruqun into the bottom of the wardrobe.

Feng Qixian sought Jin Shanyao’s help in finding his missing daughter, Feng Miaoyin, and her divination led him to the Pure Joy Pavilion. There, he recognized the arrested Yu Jiaonu as his daughter, even as he learned that his friend Zither Master Wu had died.

• Feng Qixian told Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, and Meng Anci how his daughter disappeared when he was twenty-three and identified her as Feng Miaoyin, who had a small mole on her jawbone.
• Jin Shanyao said she intended to stop telling fortunes, but Feng Qixian later returned and asked her to divine his daughter’s whereabouts.
• After taking Feng Miaoyin’s birth chart, Jin Shanyao said she was in the capital and directed Feng Qixian to ask at the Pure Joy Pavilion.
• Feng Qixian hurried to the Pure Joy Pavilion and saw constables escorting Yu Jiaonu away in chains.
• Feng Qixian learned that Zither Master Wu was dead, then caught Yu Jiaonu when she stumbled and called her Feng Miaoyin as she walked away.

Jin Shanyao visited Lu Chi and heard that the investigation into Zither Master Wu's death had stalled, then returned to Anzhi Hall and learned that Meng Anci had been arrested over imperial books found in Yu Jiaonu's room. The chapter left Meng Anci facing execution for allegedly copying and reselling the books.

• Jin Shanyao visited Lu Chi, Fu Congxi, and their baby while Lu Chi explained that Yu Jiaonu's account of Zither Master Wu's death did not match the evidence.
• Lu Chi said Yu Jiaonu had a strong motive to kill Zither Master Wu because he had abused her, and Jin Shanyao advised him to search Yu Jiaonu's room for clues.
• Jin Shanyao returned to Anzhi Hall and asked Meng Anzhi whether Meng Anci had come back from his work copying books for the Hanlin Academy.
• Fu Congheng's servant told Jin Shanyao that the Court of Judicial Review had taken Meng Anci into custody after finding ancient-text copies in Yu Jiaonu's room with his handwriting.
• The servant warned Jin Shanyao that stealing and reselling imperial edition books could bring Meng Anci a death sentence.

Meng Anci tried to clear himself by urging the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the stolen manuscripts and Yu Jiaonu, while Jin Shanyao and Lu Chi discovered that Zither Master Wu had been strangled before his throat was cut. Meng Anci recognized Yu Jiaonu as Feng Miaoyin, prompting Pang Yougong to order Feng Qixian brought in.

• Jin Shanyao failed to get past the gatekeeper at the Court of Judicial Review, while Meng Anci remained in prison considering who had stolen the manuscripts.
• Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, and Lu Chi examined Zither Master Wu's body and found signs that he had been strangled before his throat was cut.
• Meng Anci asked to see Pang Yougong and demanded that investigators find the manuscript thief and examine his property to clear him.
• Pang Yougong questioned Yu Jiaonu, who denied knowing about the manuscripts and insisted she had killed Zither Master Wu alone.
• Meng Anci recognized Yu Jiaonu as Feng Miaoyin and said Feng Qixian had been searching for her.
• Pang Yougong ordered guards to arrest Feng Qixian, and Meng Anci suggested Feng Qixian had killed Zither Master Wu while Yu Jiaonu took the blame.

Meng Anci exposed Yu Jiaonu’s identity and learned she had mutilated Zither Master Wu’s corpse after finding him dead, but the murderer remained unknown. Zhao Zhiyuan brought records to Pang Yougong to clear Meng Anci of leaking the rubbing, choosing to risk his own position to help his friend.

• Meng Anci deduced that Yu Jiaonu was Feng Qixian’s lost daughter, Feng Miaoyin, and that Zither Master Wu had abducted and sold her.
• Yu Jiaonu confessed that she found Zither Master Wu already strangled and slashed his neck afterward, leaving the killer’s identity unresolved.
• Pang Yougong ordered Meng Anci and Yu Jiaonu taken away, and Meng Anci urged her to tell Feng Qixian who she was.
• Zhao Zhiyuan persuaded Pang Yougong to hear him by claiming he had evidence that Meng Anci had not leaked the rubbing.
• Zhao Zhiyuan gave Pang Yougong detailed records of the Hanlin Academy library’s book arrangements, and Pang ordered them checked along with the entry and exit registers.
• Zhao Zhiyuan admitted to himself that he had risked helping Meng Anci because he could not watch his innocent friend be framed.

Meng Anci returned home after being released from the Court of Judicial Review and told his family how Zhao Zhiyuan had helped him. Back at the Hanlin Academy, Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan were shunned by their colleagues, but Meng Anci’s aunt and sister brought them food.

• Meng Anzhi worried that her aunt had not acted to help Meng Anci, while Jin Shanyao secretly monitored him and planned to intervene if necessary.
• Meng Anci returned home and explained that he had been released after investigators found he had been falsely accused; he told his family Zhao Zhiyuan had helped him.
• Meng Anci vowed to make those who framed him pay, then returned to the Hanlin Academy, where Zhen Shiqing warned him that the case had stirred trouble.
• The academy’s colleagues ostracized Zhao Zhiyuan and mocked his notebook, while Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan were left without meals at lunchtime.
• A young eunuch told Meng Anci that his family had brought food, and Meng Anci rewarded him for passing on the message.
• Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan reached the palace gate and saw Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao unloading a long row of food boxes.

Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan faced continued harassment at the Hanlin Academy, while Lord Yan questioned Meng Anci about his time at the Court of Judicial Review and warned him to avoid attracting gossip. Afterward, Meng Anci resolved to find leverage against the officials bullying them, and Zhao Zhiyuan agreed with his approach.

• Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi brought banquet food to the Hanlin Academy to thank Zhao Zhiyuan for standing up for Meng Anci, and Zhao Zhiyuan delighted in the candied lotus root prepared especially for him.
• Meng Anci saw that someone had dumped academy food into the latrine, while Liu Wenbin gave Zhao Zhiyuan old paper and a clerk assigned him a huge stack of records to copy by the next morning.
• Meng Anci threatened to ask the crown prince whether the records deadline was reasonable, prompting the clerk to snatch the books back.
• Zhen Shiqing summoned Meng Anci to meet Yan Shuan, who asked about Lord Pang and advised him to eat academy meals instead of bringing his own food.
• After court, Meng Anci told Zhao Zhiyuan they needed leverage against the officials who were mistreating them, and Zhao Zhiyuan agreed.

Pang Yougong arrested Liu Wenbin for stealing and reselling ancient texts, while Meng Anci suspected the case held more than it seemed. Yu Jiaonu revealed what she knew about Zither Master Wu and reunited with her father, Feng Qixian, before leaving the capital with him.

• Pang Yougong searched the Hanlin Academy, found ancient texts in Meng Anci's handwriting, and arrested Liu Wenbin, while Yan Shuan protested.
• The Court of Judicial Review convicted Liu Wenbin, and the emperor rebuked Yan Shuan for poor oversight; Meng Anci remained suspicious.
• Lord Pang freed Yu Jiaonu from the Pure Joy Pavilion after determining she had been abducted as a child and that her information had helped the investigation.
• Yu Jiaonu recalled how Zither Master Wu had abused her and how she had secretly gathered evidence before telling Lord Pang everything she had witnessed about Wu and Liu Wenbin.
• Feng Qixian begged Yu Jiaonu to forgive him and come home, and she finally embraced him in tears, asking why he had taken so long.
• Feng Qixian stopped appearing at zither competitions, and people occasionally saw him leaving the city with a young woman.

Jin Shanyao met a mischievous boy in the imperial hunting grounds and took him into the city for food. After bringing him to Anzhi Hall, she recognized something about him and sent Zhou Xiaosi away with his jade pendant, leaving the boy unaware of what she had planned.

• Jin Shanyao encountered a boy who claimed hidden guards were chasing him and helped him escape the imperial hunting grounds.
• The boy admitted he had fooled Jin Shanyao to sneak out, and offered her his jade pendant as an apology.
• Jin Shanyao took the hungry boy to a breakfast stall, then left before he could eat the flaky pastries.
• The boy followed Jin Shanyao to Anzhi Hall and offered his pendant to help with her living expenses.
• Zhou Xiaosi recognized the boy, and Jin Shanyao gave him the jade pendant and sent him away.

Jin Shanyao's captured Xiao Changchuan was returned to the Eastern Palace, where Xiao Yuan scolded him for trusting a stranger. Meanwhile, Meng Anzhi operated on a badly wounded man at the Second Estate, and Fan Er and Du Hongdou both became sick at the sight.

• Jin Shanyao drew fake injuries on the sleeping Xiao Changchuan, and Lu Chi took him back to the Eastern Palace with a box of flaky pastries.
• Xiao Yuan confronted Xiao Changchuan about trusting Jin Shanyao and warned him not to reveal his identity or threaten his captors.
• Xiao Changchuan saw the ink drawings on his face in a mirror, then ate the pastries resentfully and vowed to remember Jin Shanyao.
• At the Second Estate in Qingzhou Prefecture, Meng Anzhi prepared to treat a badly wounded man whom Fan Er had found on Crescent Moon Mountain.
• Meng Anzhi stitched the man's abdominal wound and cut into his chest to remove an arrow fragment, while Du Hongdou and Fan Er both went outside to vomit.

Meng Anzhi treated the wounded Shi Chong and learned he had been searching for Su Wenqian, so she sent word to her aunt, Jin Shanyao. Su Wenqian identified Shi Chong as an undercover agent whose cover was likely exposed, while Meng Anzhi continued caring for him in Qingzhou Prefecture.

• Meng Anzhi removed Shi Chong’s poisoned arrow, treated his wound, and returned to reviewing the family ledgers.
• Shi Chong told Meng Anzhi he was a fur merchant looking for Su Wenqian, and she sent a note about him to Jin Shanyao by Yasheng.
• Jin Shanyao delivered Meng Anzhi’s note to Su Wenqian, who explained that Shi Chong had been sent to Northern Rong as an undercover agent posing as a fur merchant.
• Su Wenqian suspected Shi Chong’s cover had been exposed and said he would inform His Majesty; Jin Shanyao sent the information back to Meng Anzhi.
• Meng Anzhi burned the message, gave Shi Chong his medicine, and told him his wound should mostly heal in about half a month.

As Shi Chong recovered at Meng Anzhi’s estate, he grew curious about her and asked to accompany her to the capital. During the slow journey, he watched her kind, unusual ways with her servants and found himself increasingly drawn to her.

• Shi Chong learned that Meng Anzhi had lost her parents and heard Fan Er celebrate that Du Hongdou was pregnant.
• After recovering enough to walk, Shi Chong learned Meng Anzhi was heading to the capital and asked to travel with her; she agreed and arranged a comfortable carriage for him.
• Shi Chong discovered Meng Anzhi rode in an ox cart with Qing He, a cat, and a dog, while he traveled separately in a carriage.
• During the long journey, Shi Chong offered to help with the campfire, shared hot pot with Meng Anzhi and Qing He, and cleaned the dishes.
• Shi Chong admired Meng Anzhi’s considerate manner and exchanged a faint smile with her when their eyes met across the carts.