Chapter Summaries

Jin Shanyao waited outside her shop for trouble after reading that widows attracted it, while Lu Chi confided that his father had declared him dead and that his family had poisoned and sold him. Lu Chi walked away when Jin Shanyao answered his distress with awkward jokes, and she ended the chapter still waiting for a spectacle that never came.

• Jin Shanyao wished Lu Chi and his family well, then told him to wait outside the shop with her for trouble at a widow’s door.
• Meng Anzhi fed Jin Shanyao dumplings and worried that she was showing off the wooden hairpin he had given her.
• Jin Shanyao and Lu Chi squatted outside in the snow, where he told her his father had faked his death and everyone believed he was dead.
• Lu Chi said his mother had died giving birth to him, his father disliked him, and he had been poisoned repeatedly before being sold and renamed Gouya.
• Jin Shanyao tried to comfort Lu Chi with jokes, so he got up and left; she continued waiting outside, but no trouble appeared.

Jin Shanyao and the children celebrated the New Year together before Anzhi Hall reopened after the Lantern Festival. The chapter ended with Jin Shanyao confidently prescribing medicine to a young man whose embarrassing account of being bitten by his betrothed led her to mistake the incident for rabies.

• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci to visit their parents' graves, then arranged care for the Meng Household and rented out its farmland.
• Jin Shanyao and the household celebrated New Year's Eve together, and Lu Chi revealed that his name was Qin Luchi.
• Jin Shanyao and the children welcomed the New Year while using cucumber slices as face masks, and Meng Anci kept eating them.
• After the Lantern Festival, Anzhi Hall opened, and Meng Anci returned to school while Lu Chi helped him prepare for the child scholar examination.
• A young man returned to Jin Shanyao for treatment and awkwardly explained that his betrothed had bitten him before he fainted.
• Jin Shanyao mistook the bite for a dog bite and prescribed a decoction, confident that she could treat rabies.

Meng Anci completed the first session of his county examination while Jin Shanyao waited outside, then returned home with her and Meng Anzhi. After a man accused Jin Shanyao of prescribing rabies medicine, she bought a bundle of romance books involving illness to learn about matters of the heart and shut herself away to read.

• Meng Anci left for his county examination after Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, and the others cheered him on and Meng Anzhi poured her medicine onto his robe.
• Meng Anci finished the first exam session, met Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi outside the yamen, and said Master Qin had taught him everything on the paper.
• A man confronted Jin Shanyao about the rabies medicine she had prescribed, and his embarrassed explanation that he had fainted on his wedding night made the watching crowd laugh.
• Qin Baitang examined the man and explained that excitement during intimacy had caused him to faint, while Jin Shanyao grew angry at being called a quack and inexperienced.
• Jin Shanyao bought seventy-three books about love and illness, returned to Anzhi Hall, and shut herself away as Meng Anci prepared for the next exam session.

Jin Shanyao gave a distressed young wife reckless advice after mistaking her troubles for storybook plots, then urged a suspicious woman to divorce her husband. Word spread that Jin Shanyao disrupted marriages, and her reputation in the county collapsed.

• Jin Shanyao questioned Meng Anzhi about how she would respond to a cruel husband, then assigned her extra reading.
• A young woman told Jin Shanyao that her mother-in-law pressured her to have a third child, and Jin advised her to become troublesome enough to keep the family busy.
• The frightened young woman fled, while Magistrate Yang joked about his own mother pressuring him to have a third child.
• A woman paid Jin Shanyao fifty taels to locate her possibly unfaithful husband, and Jin found him and advised her to divorce him.
• People condemned Jin Shanyao's marital advice, and rumors that she caused household turmoil ruined her reputation across the county.

Jin Shanyao agreed to help Prefect Su Wenqian find two missing tribute chests in exchange for thirty favors, then set out for Qingzhou with the children and her animals. The search began without Lu Chi, whom the children hoped to see before leaving.

• Su Wenqian asked Jin Shanyao to find the missing tribute and offered five hundred taels, but she rejected his manner and negotiated thirty favors instead.
• Meng Anci told Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi about seeing a tiger on the mountain, and Jin Shanyao suspected it had fled from Dahuang.
• Jin Shanyao told her family she would travel to the prefectural city and decided to take Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi with her.
• The next morning, Su Wenqian and Magistrate Yang arrived to escort Jin Shanyao, who chose to travel by ox cart with the children, cat, and dog.
• Jin Shanyao departed for Qingzhou while the children looked toward Lu Chi's room and left without seeing him.

Jin Shanyao used her spiritual power to locate the missing tribute, but the chief constable found nothing at the burial ground and accused her of swindling. She realized someone in the prefectural yamen had moved the tribute and agreed to go with Su Wenqian to find it.

• Su Wenqian brought Jin Shanyao and the children to Qingzhou Prefecture after another chest of tribute went missing.
• Jin Shanyao traced the tribute through the memories of pine trees and identified a grave in the burial ground as its location.
• The chief constable searched the burial ground, found no tribute, and called Jin Shanyao a swindler.
• Jin Shanyao sent Dahuang and Xiaoli to follow her spiritual power and discovered that someone had moved the tribute.
• Jin Shanyao told Su Wenqian there was a thief in the prefectural yamen and agreed to accompany him to find the tribute.

Jin Shanyao recovered the stolen tribute for Su Wenqian and accepted his promise of three conditions before taking Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi to explore Qingzhou Prefecture. The chapter left them inside a large medical clinic that inspired Meng Anzhi to dream of opening one herself.

• Jin Shanyao led Su Wenqian and the constables to a hidden mountain god temple, where they found the tribute guarded by Dahuang and Xiaoli.
• Su Wenqian thanked Jin Shanyao and promised to grant her three conditions, which she said she would choose later.
• Jin Shanyao booked the inn's most expensive room for three nights and paid the waiter extra to accommodate her cat and dog.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi sightseeing through Qingzhou Prefecture, where the children watched street performers and admired the city.
• Jin Shanyao and the children entered a spacious medical clinic, and Meng Anzhi imagined opening a clinic like it one day.

Jin Shanyao and the Meng children explored the prefectural city, discovering that medicine and food cost far more than in their county. After accidentally entering a brothel, they left and spotted another brightly lit establishment where a young gentleman played the xiao, leaving Jin Shanyao puzzled about what kind of place it was.

• Jin Shanyao asked a medicine shop about herb prices and learned its apprentice would not buy medicinal herbs from them.
• Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci worried about the cost of the prefectural city’s food and a future house in the capital, while Jin Shanyao planned to save herbs to sell there.
• Jin Shanyao took the children into Hidden Fragrance Tower, mistaking the brothel for an opera venue.
• A drunk man accosted Jin Shanyao and threatened Meng Anci, but the madam took the man away and Jin Shanyao struck him with Spiritual Power as they left.
• Jin Shanyao saw a young gentleman playing a jade xiao at Jade Terrace House and wondered what kind of establishment it was.

Jin Shanyao discovered that Lu Chi’s relatives were searching for him and planned to kill him, then faced a madam who tried to drug and detain her party at Jade Terrace House. The chapter ended as the madam demanded fifty taels and eyed Meng Anci, provoking Jin Shanyao’s anger.

• Meng Anzhi recognized Lu Chi in a portrait held by a man, and Jin Shanyao took the portrait before the man entered Jade Terrace House.
• Jin Shanyao brought Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci into the pleasure house and learned through her Spiritual Power that Lu Mingzhe was searching for Lu Chi and had ordered his men to kill him.
• The madam offered the children fruit laced with knockout powder, but Meng Anci refused it and Meng Anzhi snatched the pear away.
• When Jin Shanyao tried to leave, the madam blocked her and demanded fifty taels, then eyed Meng Anci while Jin Shanyao grew angry.

Jin Shanyao rescued Meng Anci from the madam of Jade Terrace House, whose threats and claim of ties to the subprefect ended when Jin Shanyao defeated her men. Afterward, Lu Mingche resolved to prevent Lu Chi from returning to the capital, while the children spent the night writing phrases about brothels.

• The madam offered to keep Meng Anci in exchange for money, then threatened Jin Shanyao when he cited the law and she revealed Jade Terrace House belonged to the subprefect’s family.
• Meng Anci questioned whether the law could protect them, and Jin Shanyao threw the madam onto a table.
• Jin Shanyao defeated the madam’s men, destroyed their clubs with a tablecloth, and demanded that they fetch the subprefect and Su Wenqian.
• The madam backed down when Jin Shanyao mentioned Su Wenqian, and Jin Shanyao left Jade Terrace House with the children.
• Lu Mingche considered the court’s struggle over Lu Chi and vowed to stop him from returning to the capital alive.
• Back at their lodging, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci spent half the night writing phrases about brothels.

Jin Shanyao and the children returned from Qingzhou Prefecture to Anzhi Hall, where their gifts and stories brought the household together and gave Jin Shanyao a sense of home. The next day, an old woman came to the reopened shop seeking a fortune reading, and Jin Shanyao went to meet her.

• Meng Anci reflected on how officials’ rank and power shaped who could bully others during the journey home.
• Lu Chi and Qing He and Qing Yang welcomed Jin Shanyao and the children back, and the children gave them gifts from the prefectural city.
• The household shared dinner, where Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci excitedly described their trip and Lu Chi grew concerned when he heard they had visited brothels and courtesan houses.
• Jin Shanyao and the children settled into bed at home, and she felt for the first time that she was home.
• The next day, an old woman came to Anzhi Hall for a fortune reading, and Jin Shanyao entered the shop to see her.

Jin Shanyao used her powers to find an old woman’s missing piglets and discussed with Lu Chi whether people needed to be taught through feelings and relationships. After Jin Shanyao agreed to consider his point, Lu Chi secretly prepared to leave but treasured a ring from one of the children; meanwhile, Meng Anzhi faced angry customers who refused to pay her new consultation fee.

• Jin Shanyao charged an old woman one copper coin and used her Spiritual Power to find her nine missing piglets in her son’s cellar.
• Jin Shanyao told Lu Chi how she had taken the children to a brothel after seeing his portrait, and Lu Chi worried about the danger and influence on them.
• Lu Chi argued that people had feelings and needed to learn to weigh advantages and maintain relationships, while Jin Shanyao defended her choices through her understanding of trees and survival.
• Lu Chi left the argument and packed to depart, then cleaned and admired the thumb ring a child had given him.
• Jin Shanyao approved Meng Anzhi’s diagnosis and prescription for a woman with a cold.
• The woman and other longtime customers rebuked Meng Anzhi for charging a five-copper consultation fee after she had previously treated them for free.

Jin Shanyao defended Meng Anzhi after a patient insulted her, while Lu Chi spent the day caring for Meng Anci and offering him guidance. The chapter ended with Lu Chi watching the household at dinner, quietly savoring the time he had with them.

• Jin Shanyao confronted a woman who disparaged Meng Anzhi, demanded five copper coins for the treatment, and barred her from Anzhi Hall.
• Meng Anzhi asked Jin Shanyao why people cursed at her, and Jin Shanyao warned her that excessive kindness could encourage others to take advantage.
• Lu Chi chopped extra firewood, requested red-braised pork, and went to ask Meng Anci what he wanted for dinner.
• Meng Anci said he had lost faith in the laws, and Lu Chi urged him to study hard and use authority to uphold justice.
• Lu Chi taught Meng Anci how to ride Black Grand Marshal and carefully reminded him how to handle a horse.
• At dinner, Lu Chi served chicken legs to Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, then ate slowly as he watched everyone at the table.

Lu Chi's first escape attempt failed when Jin Shanyao and the household caught him, but he later slipped away while doing chores. After Meng Anzhi found him missing, Jin Shanyao located him with her Spiritual Power and rode out to bring him back.

• Qing He and the others caught Lu Chi trying to leave at night, and Jin Shanyao refused to let him go because she had paid seventy taels to buy him and cured his poison.
• Lu Chi returned to his chores the next morning with his face covered, while Jin Shanyao assured him that no one would dare harm him under her protection.
• Qing He and Qing Yang realized Lu Chi had disappeared after he took the slop bucket outside, and they found the latrine empty.
• Meng Anzhi found Lu Chi's bundle left behind, took out the household's indentures and banknotes, and broke down in tears when she learned he had run away.
• Jin Shanyao comforted Meng Anzhi, used her Spiritual Power to locate Lu Chi, assigned Xiaoli to guard Meng Anzhi, and rode after him.

Jin Shanyao stopped Lu Chi from fleeing after he revealed that he was the heir of the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s residence and that his stepmother posed a danger to the household. Half a month later, Meng Anci passed the county examination in second place, and Jin Shanyao urged him to prepare for the prefectural examination.

• Jin Shanyao caught Lu Chi as he tried to escape, carried him back to Anzhi Hall, and beat him for running away.
• Lu Chi revealed his identity and explained that Lady Wei might kill him and anyone who sheltered him.
• Jin Shanyao refused to let Lu Chi go, insisting that keeping him gave her a bargaining chip against their enemies.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi to see the county examination results, where Meng Anci placed second behind Zhao Zhiyuan.
• Jin Shanyao comforted Meng Anci and took him home to keep preparing for the prefectural examination.

Jin Shanyao had Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci advise Lu Chi on how to deal with his family’s attempt to seize his inheritance, but he struggled with their ruthless tactics. When Lu Chi appealed to their affection, Jin Shanyao instead quoted prices for helping him, leaving him convinced that his bond with the family was worth nothing.

• Jin Shanyao summoned Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci to advise Lu Chi about his family’s dispute over land and property.
• Meng Anci told Lu Chi to cry to the yamen, make his case known throughout the city, and threaten to hang himself outside the marquis’s residence at dusk.
• Meng Anzhi suspected someone besides Lu Chi’s stepmother had arranged his troubles, and she pointed out that his supposed death gave him leverage over his family.
• Lu Chi worried that the children and Jin Shanyao might be dragged into danger, while Jin Shanyao insisted that staying alive mattered more than acting like a gentleman.
• Jin Shanyao quoted Lu Chi separate fees for divination and safe passage back to the capital, and Lu Chi lamented that their affection was not worth a penny.
• Jin Shanyao warned the children that anyone who talked about affection without money was trying to take advantage of them, and they agreed affection could not buy food or medicine.

Jin Shanyao turned a river-jump threat into a lesson for Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, then several days later watched as Dahuang knocked an intruder unconscious. The chapter left the household facing an unexplained nighttime attack, with the would-be assailant down and the family unharmed.

• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci to the night market, where they found a woman threatening to jump from a bridge over her husband's plan to take another wife.
• Jin Shanyao urged the woman to jump, then punched her husband, prompting the woman to climb back over the railing and rush to his side.
• Jin Shanyao told the children she had acted to teach them to look beyond appearances, and they hurried her home as the crowd reached for stones.
• Several days later, black-clad intruders slipped into the household, and one entered the room where Jin Shanyao and the children were gathered.
• The intruder repeatedly failed to hit Meng Anci, then charged forward when Jin Shanyao told the child to let Dahuang try.
• Dahuang roared and knocked the intruder into the wall, leaving him unconscious.

Lu Chi brought five bound assassins to the county yamen and pleaded with Magistrate Yang to punish them. The assassins concealed who had sent them, and Magistrate Yang sentenced them to fifty strokes before dismissing the case.

• After the assassins attacked Anzhi Hall, Lu Chi tied up all five and took them to the county yamen with Jin Shanyao and the others.
• Jin Shanyao altered the assassins’ memories so they would not recognize Lu Chi.
• Lu Chi clung to Magistrate Yang’s leg and demanded justice, while Magistrate Yang ordered him pulled off and began questioning the bound men.
• The assassins claimed they were thieves, but Meng Anci brought their five broadswords into the hall, undermining their story.
• After the men refused to reveal who had sent them, Magistrate Yang sentenced them to fifty strokes for breaking into a home armed and attacking its residents.
• The injured assassins passed out after their punishment, and the yamen runners left them in the street.

After Lu Chi’s attackers disappeared, Jin Shanyao decided to build wealth and influence by controlling medicinal herbs so she could protect Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci. She bought a barren mountain near home for eight hundred taels and registered it in Meng Anzhi’s name.

• Lu Mingche ordered Jiang Zhu to keep searching for Lu Chi and report any news to the capital.
• Lu Chi joked with Meng Anci at Anzhi Hall, then asked whether the attackers would return; Meng Anci expected them to lie low.
• After half a month of calm, Jin Shanyao told Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci she wanted to buy a mountain to grow medicinal herbs and build wealth.
• Magistrate Yang warned Jin Shanyao that White Head Mountain could not be sold and that private mountain owners would not lease their land.
• Jin Shanyao chose a nearby barren mountain, paid eight hundred taels, and had Meng Anzhi sign the contract in her name.

Jin Shanyao brought her family and servants to inspect the barren mountain she had bought and discovered its plants were close to dying. She promised to nourish those that stayed, arranged to move a few elder trees, and named the mountain Lush Mountain, whose plants were transformed by Spiritual Power.

• Jin Shanyao gathered the household and took them by ox cart to see the mountain she had bought.
• Jin Shanyao spread her Spiritual Power across the mountain and sensed the plants' desperate struggle to survive.
• Jin Shanyao offered to nourish plants that stayed and find new homes for those that wished to leave; a few elder trees chose to move to White Head Mountain.
• Jin Shanyao agreed to Meng Anci's suggestion to name the mountain Lush Mountain, and Spiritual Power transformed its plants.
• Dahuang and Xiaoli patrolled Lush Mountain and warned its animals to keep humans from harming the vegetation.