Chapter Summaries

Jin Shanyao supplied epidemic medicine to the prefecture and entered Green Mountain Academy to help treat its patients, bringing Meng Anci out of the Licentiate Candidate Institute. At the medical compound, she found Shiyan recovering and Zhao Cheng realized her talisman had protected him from infection.

• Su Wenqian bought a small batch of Jin Shanyao's epidemic medicine at market price, and she announced free medicinal decoction for beggars.
• Jin Shanyao knocked Madam Shi unconscious when she insisted on entering the sealed academy, then offered her help to Zhao Cheng.
• Jin Shanyao spotted Meng Anci making Li Yuwen and Qian Bao deal with his soaked bedding, and Zhao Cheng learned the two students had poured water on it after taking Meng Anci's bedding.
• Jin Shanyao arranged for Meng Anci to stay at her lodgings and led him away from the Licentiate Candidate Institute.
• At the medical compound, Jin Shanyao saw Shiyan recovering and learned Zhao Yushan had refused to wear her protective talisman; Zhao Cheng realized the talisman had kept him safe.

Jin Shanyao examined the academy’s patients and reassured the teachers that Master Li was healthy, but her blunt advice convinced him he was dying and sparked a chaotic fight. The teachers struggled to separate them as Master Li learned he was not ill.

• Jin Shanyao examined the students, confirmed their conditions were under control, and told Zhao Cheng to buy more medicinal herbs.
• Meng Anzhi recorded the patients’ conditions while Meng Anci fell asleep beside her, and she covered him with a quilt.
• Master Cen bought plague-prevention talisman paper from Jin Shanyao after Zhao Cheng lent him money.
• Jin Shanyao found Master Li healthy but told him to eat whatever he wanted, causing him to think he was near death and ask for talismans.
• Jin Shanyao explained that Master Li was not sick, but their argument escalated into a scuffle as the teachers tried to pull them apart.

Jin Shanyao continued helping the academy’s recovering patients while Su Wenqian learned that his mother, Old Madam Su, had fallen ill. He brought Jin Shanyao to see her, where Old Madam Su shared her gratitude and said she wished Jin Shanyao had been her granddaughter.

• Master Li brought pastries for Jin Shanyao, who gave them to the sick children at the academy.
• Meng Anzhi coaxed Zhao Zhiyuan into drinking his medicine by promising him hawthorn candy.
• Xing'er told Su Wenqian that Old Madam Su had been ill for several days, and he went to see her.
• Old Madam Su asked Su Wenqian to bring Jin Shanyao to her, so he rode to Green Mountain Academy to fetch her.
• Jin Shanyao reached Old Madam Su and checked her pulse as they discussed the talismans and Old Madam Su’s wish that Jin Shanyao had been her granddaughter.

Old Madam Su died after giving Jin Shanyao a burial-site request and urging her son to stay close to Jin Shanyao. As the epidemic was brought under control and Green Mountain Academy’s lockdown ended, Jin Shanyao reunited with the returning students and teased Madam Shi.

• Old Madam Su gave Jin Shanyao a wooden box and asked her to choose a burial site, then died as the talisman paper at her neck turned to ash.
• Old Madam Su’s soul followed Jin Shanyao, who agreed to guide her if the Underworld’s gates remained closed after forty-nine days and told her to stay nearby for her Record of Admonishing Evil-Prefectural City Section.
• Jin Shanyao explained that Old Madam Su died from a burst brain blood vessel, then met Zhao Cheng waiting outside Green Mountain Academy.
• Su Wenqian resumed his duties with court approval and oversaw the effort that brought the epidemic in Qingzhou Prefecture under control, while news came that Jing'an Prefecture suffered many deaths.
• When Green Mountain Academy’s lockdown ended, Shiyan reunited with Shi Chang'an and Madam Shi, then revealed that Jin Shanyao had told him his mother was grateful to her.
• Jin Shanyao caught Madam Shi talking about her, teased her, and left with the children while Madam Shi pulled Shiyan back by the collar.

Jin Shanyao returned home and tried using her medical book’s advice to be considerate, but her blunt offers to reunite Su Wenqian with his dead mother and her unexpected affection for Fu Congzhao unsettled her visitors. The chapter ended with Fu Congzhao blushing at Jin Shanyao while Fu Congheng wondered why his younger brother had received her attention.

• Jin Shanyao returned to Anzhi Hall, where Qing He and Nanny Zhao welcomed her and the children home with mugwort, warm water, and a meal.
• Jin Shanyao studied Medical Consultation Quotations and went to meet Su Wenqian and his cousins, Fu Congheng and Fu Congzhao.
• Su Wenqian explained that his mother's talisman papers had saved Fu Congheng's life and asked Jin Shanyao to convey his farewell message to his deceased mother.
• Jin Shanyao offered to let the visitors see Old Madam Su, but Su Wenqian declined so his mother could leave for the Underworld unburdened.
• Fu Congheng bought six talisman papers for three hundred taels, and Jin Shanyao told Fu Congzhao she was fond of him.
• Fu Congzhao blushed under Jin Shanyao's gaze, while Fu Congheng wondered why she had confessed affection to his younger brother.

Jin Shanyao received a letter from Lu Chi and spent time with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci before Old Madam Su continued teaching her how to handle social traps. Old Madam Su’s time in the mortal world ended after she taught Jin Shanyao 341 lessons, though Jin Shanyao believed she would remain in the underworld queue long enough not to forget her.

• Fu Congheng delivered a letter from Lu Chi, who had become the Capital prefect and offered to back Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci if anyone bullied them.
• Jin Shanyao showed Meng Anzhi how to keep chestnuts from bursting by cutting openings in their shells, and Meng Anci read Lu Chi’s letter aloud.
• Old Madam Su visited Jin Shanyao and reassured her that her grandnephews were well after hearing they had bought talisman papers.
• Old Madam Su taught Jin Shanyao how to respond to false accusations, suspicious invitations, damaged property, and unwanted gifts, making her record each lesson.
• After reaching the 341st lesson, Old Madam Su’s allotted time in the mortal world ended, and she said goodbye to Jin Shanyao.

While Jin Shanyao and the children reviewed the estate’s accounts, Lu Chi learned in the capital that she had not written to him and that her household had grown wealthy. After rewarding Qin Baitang and Wu Yong, Jin Shanyao explained how public rewards helped preserve the estate’s loyalty to its owners.

• At the Lu Residence, Lu Chi learned that Jin Shanyao and the Meng Household had sent him no messages, then heard that Anzhi Hall had bought two mountains and two shops and become Qingzhou Prefecture’s richest household.
• Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi, Meng Anci, and the bookkeepers checked the estate’s account books while Qin Baitang and Wu Yong waited nearby.
• After the review, Jin Shanyao gave Qin Baitang five hundred taels and reassured him that no one could replace him, then gave Wu Yong a separate reward and praised his work.
• Over dinner, Meng Anzhi asked why Wu Yong had received his red envelope separately, and Jin Shanyao explained that she wanted the workers to recognize the owners’ generosity.
• Meng Anci reasoned that letting Wu Yong distribute everyone’s rewards could make the estate workers loyal to him instead of Jin Shanyao, and she praised his insight.

Meng Anzhi and Qing He were ambushed by bandits hired by rival medicine halls to punish Anzhi Hall. Meng Anzhi learned who had arranged the attack, but Qing He was sent home to fetch 250 taels while the bandits realized they had let her go alone.

• Meng Anzhi and Qing He were stopped on their way home by two bandits demanding their valuables.
• The bandit chief demanded Meng Anzhi's mink coat and revealed that someone had hired him because Anzhi Hall was blocking other businesses.
• Meng Anzhi bargained with the chief until he admitted that Benevolent Heart Hall, Hundred Herbs Hall, Spring Restoration Hall, Vast Virtue Hall, Longevity Preservation Hall, Spring Harmony Hall, and Distant Apricot Hall had pooled money to hire him.
• The chief said he had been ordered to hold Meng Anzhi for five nights and starve her for fifteen meals, then demanded 250 taels from her.
• Meng Anzhi said she had no money with her and persuaded the chief to send Qing He home to fetch it.
• The underling warned that they had let the tiger return to the mountain, and the bandits hurried after Qing He.

Meng Anzhi brought two hired bandits to Anzhi Hall, where Jin Shanyao paid them and Meng Anzhi won their money in a series of tricks. The bandits left with the promised silver and advice to start over, while Jin Shanyao accepted their criticism of her conduct.

• Meng Anzhi persuaded the bandit chief and his underling to go to Anzhi Hall, and they revealed their employer had told them about the family and accused Anzhi Hall of profiteering during the plague.
• The bandits entered Anzhi Hall, where Meng Anzhi told Jin Shanyao she had promised them two hundred and fifty taels; Jin Shanyao handed over the silver without protest.
• As the bandits prepared to leave, Meng Anzhi challenged them to games involving taking banknotes without moving paper, books, or a hat, and she repeatedly outsmarted them.
• Jin Shanyao returned the promised two hundred and fifty taels, urged the bandits to use it to live well, and told them she would keep learning to be a decent person after the bandit chief criticized her.

After bandits kidnapped Meng Anzhi, Jin Shanyao invited Qingzhou’s apothecary shopkeepers to a banquet and confronted them with their hidden crimes. The shopkeepers panicked as Jin Shanyao began exposing their secrets, and she left them waiting to learn what she would do next.

• The bandit chief and his underling suffered through five days of poison after returning to their hideout, then were relieved that Anzhi Hall had spared their lives as promised.
• Meng Anzhi explained that keeping her word would protect Anzhi Hall’s reputation, while Jin Shanyao praised her and promised to deal with those who had bullied her.
• Jin Shanyao sent Zhou Xiaosi to deliver banquet invitations to the apothecary shopkeepers, using Shopkeeper Hao’s secret mistress to ensure he accepted.
• Jin Shanyao arrived at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion with Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, then began naming shopkeepers and revealing their illegal dealings.
• Shopkeeper Yan admitted that the kidnapping had been the other shopkeepers’ idea, sparking an argument that Jin Shanyao silenced before warning that she had more secrets to expose.

Jin Shanyao watched Old Medicine Zhou reassure his patients to learn how he communicated, while Meng Anzhi forgave the shopkeepers involved in her kidnapping. After observing several consultations, Jin Shanyao concluded that Old Medicine Zhou blended comforting falsehoods with the truth and recorded his approach.

• Jin Shanyao challenged the shopkeepers’ accusations, and Shopkeeper Xun confessed to arranging Meng Anzhi’s kidnapping and begged for mercy.
• Meng Anzhi forgave Shopkeeper Xun and the other shopkeepers after they promised to behave honestly, then Jin Shanyao took the children away.
• Jin Shanyao followed Old Medicine Zhou to his pharmacy and recorded how he reassured a patient about her recovery.
• Jin Shanyao examined the patient and accused Old Medicine Zhou of lying, but he explained that reassurance helped patients keep taking their medicine.
• Jin Shanyao watched Old Medicine Zhou reassure another patient and concluded that he mixed lies with truth to gain patients’ trust.

After Meng Anzhi poisoned the shopkeepers who had threatened Anzhi Hall, they recovered and left the hall in peace. During a New Year outing, a pair of fugitives fled when they recognized Meng Anzhi, then rescued a freezing woman and her child.

• The shopkeepers blamed Meng Anzhi for their blackened hands, which took half a month to return to normal, and no one dared trouble Anzhi Hall afterward.
• Jin Shanyao took Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci out for New Year, but the children wandered over to a gambling stall run by the bandit chief and his underling.
• The bandit chief and his underling recognized Meng Anzhi and fled, then discussed why they could not return to Jing'an Prefecture.
• The underling found a freezing woman and child, and the bandit chief urged him to help carry them to safety.
• Jin Shanyao told Meng Anzhi not to blame herself for the gambling trick, then took the children to buy rice cakes.

Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi rescued Zhang Su'e and her son after they were abandoned outside Anzhi Hall, and Zhang Su'e explained that she was searching for her husband, who was presumed buried in a landslide. When the bandit chief and his underling brought another unconscious person to the hall, Jin Shanyao sent three ghosts to frighten them into stopping.

• Qing He told Jin Shanyao that an unconscious woman and her child had been left outside Anzhi Hall, and Jin Shanyao had Meng Anzhi treat the woman for frostbite.
• The woman woke and told Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi that she was Zhang Su'e, searching for her husband Shi Dun after hearing he had been buried in a mountain flood.
• Zhang Su'e recovered at Anzhi Hall, and Meng Anzhi and Qing He gave her and her son clothes, money, and frostbite ointment before they left.
• The bandit chief and his underling brought another unconscious person to Anzhi Hall, angering Jin Shanyao.
• Jin Shanyao assigned Ghost One, Ghost Two, and Ghost Three to warn the bandit chief and his underling not to leave anyone at Anzhi Hall again.
• The ghosts frightened the bandit chief and his underling, who stopped bringing unconscious people to Anzhi Hall.

Qiao Qingran visited Anzhi Hall and asked Jin Shanyao to investigate why her twin sons reacted badly around their grandfather, suspecting something supernatural at the Fu Household. Jin Shanyao agreed to travel to the capital with her, leaving the chapter with a new exorcism job arranged.

• During a snowy lull at Anzhi Hall, Qiao Qingran arrived with Nanny Qi, and Jin Shanyao eventually recognized her as the woman she had helped deliver over a year earlier.
• Qiao Qingran explained that her twin sons cried and fell ill around their grandfather, but her younger son once stayed calm while carrying Fu Congxi's protection talisman.
• After the talisman was found among the younger son's clothes, the children returned to crying around their grandfather, and Qiao Qingran tried temple talismans without resolving the problem.
• Qiao Qingran asked Jin Shanyao to visit the Fu Household and examine her elderly father-in-law, offering to take Jin Shanyao and her children to the capital.
• Jin Shanyao agreed to take the case for extra travel fees, while Qiao Qingran kept the request secret from the rest of the Fu Household in case she could not persuade her.

Jin Shanyao prepared to travel to the capital with Meng Anzhi, Meng Anci, and their pets to catch ghosts, leaving Xie Chao to watch the house. Before they departed, Madam Su gave Jin Shanyao clothes to deliver to her mother, and Meng Anci guessed she was trying to introduce Jin Shanyao to her family.

• Jin Shanyao told Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci they would leave for the capital the next morning, and she asked Xie Chao to watch the house while they were away.
• Qiao Qingran watched Jin Shanyao load the ox cart with supplies, the two children, a cat, and a dog, then traveled ahead in her carriage.
• Jin Shanyao overheard Nanny Qi disparage her and decided to add five hundred taels to her fee.
• Madam Su stopped the caravan and asked Jin Shanyao to deliver winter clothes to her mother; Jin Shanyao inspected the garments for hidden evidence but found nothing.
• Meng Anci concluded that Madam Su wanted to introduce Jin Shanyao to her family, and Jin Shanyao joked that her brilliance attracted admirers.

On the road to the capital, Qiao Qingran and Jin Shanyao reached a courier station, where their different treatment exposed the station staff’s contempt for people without official status. That night, Jin Shanyao met Shi Dun, a soldier delivering grain who eagerly asked after his wife and son.

• Qiao Qingran discovered Jin Shanyao and the children comfortably roasting meat on the moving ox cart while she endured frozen pastries in the carriage.
• At the courier station, Qiao Qingran identified herself as a member of the Ji Household and accepted a middle-grade room, while the attendant ignored Jin Shanyao and looked down on the children.
• Jin Shanyao made noodles for Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci, and Meng Anci resolved to gain power so he could protect his aunt and sister.
• Late that night, Jin Shanyao confronted twenty-eight soldiers making noise while loading grain for road workers, and one soldier apologized and explained their urgent delivery.
• Jin Shanyao recognized the soldier as Shi Dun and told him she had met his wife and son, prompting him to eagerly ask how they were doing.

Jin Shanyao learned more about the dead soldiers trapped at the post station and overheard a clue about the official road’s repairs before traveling to the capital. There, several powerful families fought over who would take her in, until she stood up and shouted at them to be quiet.

• Shi Dun told Jin Shanyao that he hoped his wife and child were eating well, while she knew he and the other soldiers had died in a sacrifice and could not pass on.
• Jin Shanyao overheard a post-station attendant describe two escaped laborers fleeing as soldiers pursued them after a grain transport squad was lost in a mountain flood.
• Jin Shanyao traveled with Qiao Qingran and the children, reaching the capital half a month later.
• Old General Fu, Song Henian, Lu Chi, and members of the Fu family crowded around Jin Shanyao’s ox cart and argued over who would take her home.
• Jin Shanyao rose above the crowd and shouted for everyone to shut up.

Jin Shanyao handed Song Henian the clothes his daughter had made and set off with Qiao Qingran to inspect her residence, refusing Lu Chi’s offer to stay with him. Old General Fu then learned that Jin Shanyao was fond of Fu Congzhao and decided his grandson could help persuade her to stay with the Fu Household.

• Jin Shanyao gave Song Henian the clothes intended for Madam Su and took Qiao Qingran with her to look at the Ji Household residence.
• Jin Shanyao told Lu Chi not to call her his master, and he warned her that the Ji Household was dangerous.
• Old General Fu separated Lu Chi and Fu Congxi, then insisted Fu Congxi avoid Lu Chi until the Fus brought Jin Shanyao home.
• Fu Congheng told Old General Fu that Jin Shanyao was fond of Fu Congzhao, and Fu Congzhao admitted she had mentioned it.
• Old General Fu encouraged Fu Congzhao to pursue Jin Shanyao and decided to get him new clothes, while Song Henian followed along and formed a plan.

Jin Shanyao arrived at the Ji Residence with her companions and told Qiao Qingran that the residence had a serious problem requiring three thousand taels to resolve. After demonstrating her abilities to Second Madam Ji, Jin Shanyao gained the household’s attention, while Qiao Qingran concealed that she had invited her to catch ghosts by claiming it was for feng shui and Old Master Ji’s birthday.

• The old ox was terrified by the Ji Residence’s black mist and refused to leave Jin Shanyao, so Qiao Qingran let him stay with her.
• Qiao Qingran settled Jin Shanyao and the children in a quiet courtyard, where Jin Shanyao demanded three thousand taels to address the residence’s serious problem.
• Second Madam Ji mocked Jin Shanyao as a swindler, but Jin Shanyao revealed details about her nightmares and a recent accident, prompting her to flee.
• Qiao Qingran promised Jin Shanyao the full fee if she found the problem’s source and arranged for maids to look after her.
• Second Madam Ji told Old Madam Ji about Jin Shanyao’s uncanny knowledge and suggested that Qiao Qingran should pay the fee.
• Qiao Qingran told Old Madam Ji she had hired a fortune-teller to inspect the courtyards’ feng shui for Old Master Ji’s birthday, and Second Madam Ji again argued that the third branch should pay.

Qiao Qingran persuaded the Ji family to let Jin Shanyao stay after revealing her reputation as a feng shui master and physician, while Master Ji began considering how to use or eliminate her. At the residence, Jin Shanyao heard Meng Anzhi explain how she had inferred Second Madam Ji’s nightmares and admit that the place made her uneasy.

• Master Ji initially worried that hiring Jin Shanyao to alter the courtyard would violate the emperor’s call for frugality, but Qiao Qingran offered to pay herself.
• Qiao Qingran described how Jin Shanyao’s talismans had reportedly saved General Fu and revealed that she was also a physician connected to Anzhi Hall.
• Second Madam Ji panicked after realizing she had offended Jin Shanyao, and Master Ji agreed to let Jin Shanyao stay while secretly weighing whether to recruit or kill her.
• Master Ji connected Jin Shanyao to events and businesses in Qingzhou Prefecture and resolved to investigate her background.
• At the residence, Meng Anzhi explained that Second Madam Ji’s dark under-eyes and injured foot suggested she had woken from a nightmare, then said the residence made her uncomfortable.