Chapter Summaries

After Crown Prince Lou Ze'an disappeared from the battlefield, Lou Yun agreed to impersonate her twin brother and take his place. She staged her own death at the Temple of No Delusion and reached the military camp, where General Su Changqing challenged her before she could explain herself.

• A mounted soldier brought word that Crown Prince Lou Ze'an had gone missing, and Empress Su Yun learned that his shadow guards had kept the news secret.
• Lou Yun told Su Yun she would replace her brother, and they agreed to stage her death to conceal her identity and protect the crown prince’s faction.
• Lou Yun went to the Temple of No Delusion, where a fire and substituted corpses led the court to declare Princess Jing'an dead.
• Lou Yun disguised herself as a young man and rode south with shadow guards toward the battlefield.
• Lou Yun entered General Su Changqing’s tent, dodged his attack, revealed herself, and presented Su Yun’s jade pendant and letter to prove who she was.

Lou Yun impersonated her missing brother, Crown Prince Lou Ze'an, and led his army back to the Capital while concealing his disappearance. After Pei Qing helped her survive an assassination attempt, Lou Yun returned to court and attended a victory banquet, where she watched the imperial preceptor keep apart from the other guests.

• Lou Yun told Su Changqing to keep searching discreetly for Lou Ze'an while she posed as the injured crown prince on the journey home.
• Lou Yun read Pei Qing's comforting letter to Lou Ze'an and recognized its fragrance during an assassin attack at the army's final stop.
• Pei Qing joined Lou Yun in fighting the assassins, lending her a longsword while he guarded her with his whip, and then departed before dawn.
• Lou Yun led the army toward the Capital, where Pei Qing and the assembled officials welcomed her as the returning Crown Prince.
• Lou Yun attended the palace victory banquet in Lou Ze'an's manner and noticed Pei Qing sitting alone in the hall.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing misunderstood each other’s concern for the missing Lou Qing, then were assigned to investigate Li An’s murder together. The chapter left them meeting at Li An’s residence, where Lou Yun teased Pei Qing about his appearance and the contents of his bag.

• Lou Yun spoke privately with Pei Qing at a banquet, and they each mistook the other’s condolences for grief about Lou Qing’s disappearance.
• Lou Qing announced that Li An had been murdered and his body burned, and Pei Qing volunteered to investigate with the crown prince.
• Lou Yun startled Pei Qing after court and teased him about wearing wooden clogs because he had gotten up late.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing met at the Li residence the next day, where she questioned him about his tousled hair and cat-embroidered bag.
• Pei Qing began rummaging through the bag after Lou Yun asked what Mo Chi had packed inside.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing investigated the Li residence fire, finding evidence that Li An was poisoned and murdered, and took a suspicious witness back to Lou Yun’s residence. They then went to the Rain Ripple Pavilion together, where Pei Qing eagerly watched Lou Yun choose their meal.

• Lou Yun and Pei Qing found oil in the courtyard water vat and discovered drugs on Li An’s burned corpse.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing found used bedroom implements and concluded that another person had been with Li An; Pei Qing’s tests revealed poison and an external injury.
• A young woman arrived to offer information, but Pei Qing detected a hidden follower, so Lou Yun proposed taking the witness to her residence.
• Lou Yun brought the young woman to her residence and told Shutang to question her and later send her to Pei Qing’s residence.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing went to the Rain Ripple Pavilion, where Lou Yun asked whether he preferred sweet-and-sour or spicy food.

Lou Yun watched Pei Qing struggle through spicy food, then arranged for a guarded woman to be sent to his residence while ordering an investigation into her identity. The next day, she found A Zi waiting at Pei Qing’s lavish residence and learned Pei Qing was ill after eating too much spicy food.

• Lou Yun ordered a mix of sweet and spicy dishes, and Pei Qing cautiously ate the spicy ones despite being unable to handle the heat.
• Pei Qing choked on spicy fish and hot tea, and Lou Yun coaxed him into spitting out the tea and limited him to one spicy dish.
• Lou Yun sent the guarded woman to the Imperial Preceptor’s residence and ordered a hidden guard to investigate her identity.
• The next day, Lou Yun went to the Imperial Preceptor’s residence when Pei Qing failed to appear at the investigation, and A Zi met her at the door.
• A Zi scolded Lou Yun for forgetting that Pei Qing could not eat much spicy food, then led her inside.

Lou Yun visited Pei Qing at the Imperial Tutor’s residence and found him suffering after overeating, then stayed to help him take his medicine. The chapter left Lou Yun sitting beside him after he recovered somewhat, admitting that this was her first time caring for someone this way.

• A Zi guided Lou Yun through the residence using the Eerie Pacing Steps and showed her the unusual garden where the young master’s animals lived.
• Lou Yun found Pei Qing in bed as Ying Yi scolded him for overeating, while Mo Chi cared for him and mistook Lou Yun for the princess.
• Pei Qing apologized to Lou Yun, and she told him to control his appetite next time; A Zi, Mo Chi, and Ying Yi then left them alone.
• Pei Qing’s pain worsened, so Lou Yun tried to help him lie down and, after he asked her not to summon anyone, offered him his medicine.
• Lou Yun stopped herself from feeding Pei Qing and let him drink the medicine; outside, A Zi and Ying Yi discussed the pair and Ying Yi abandoned the unfinished game.
• After Pei Qing’s color returned, Lou Yun sat beside his bed, relieved, and said this was the first time she had cared for someone.

Lou Yun visited the sick Pei Qing, whose tenderness and vulnerability unsettled her, while A Zi and Ying Yi recalled his history and worried about the succession if Lou Ze'an did not return. Pei Qing insisted Lou Yun would not contend for the throne, then asked A Zi whether he would stay after the former imperial preceptor left; A Zi promised to remain a little longer.

• Lou Yun stopped herself from touching Pei Qing’s tearful-looking face, then tucked him in and left him asleep with a pillow in his arms.
• Lou Yun spoke with A Zi and Ying Yi, who reminisced about Lou Ze'an’s visits and noted that she seemed to have more imperial aura than the crown prince.
• After Lou Yun left, A Zi and Ying Yi worried that Lou Yun’s strength could lead to a struggle within the imperial family if Lou Ze'an did not return, but Pei Qing argued that she would not seek the throne.
• A Zi helped Pei Qing back to bed and reflected on how he had been raised in isolation, how his teachers had cared for him, and how Lou Ze'an had become his first friend.
• A Zi told Pei Qing that the former imperial preceptor would leave in a few days, and Pei Qing asked whether A Zi would stay; A Zi said he would remain a little longer.

Lou Yun accompanied Pei Qing to question Rouniang, who confessed that she had poisoned Li An to kill him during sex after years of abuse. The confession left Lou Yun guarding Pei Qing from Rouniang while still trying to keep her own feelings for him at a distance.

• Lou Yun learned that Pei Qing had waited at the crown prince's residence and teased him about rising early to invite her in person.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing went to the imperial preceptor's residence, where Rouniang unexpectedly confessed to killing Li An.
• Rouniang explained that Li An had abused her and other women, and that she had mixed medicines into a lethal poison and put it in his tea.
• Rouniang celebrated Li An's death and moved toward Pei Qing, but drew back after seeing his compassionate expression.
• Lou Yun watched Rouniang closely and prepared to stop her from touching Pei Qing.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing questioned Rouniang about Li An’s death, and she recounted the abuse she suffered after he bought her. Pei Qing comforted her when her memories overwhelmed her, leaving him awkwardly trapped as she clung to his robe while Lou Yun watched with amusement.

• Rouniang said she had stabbed Li An and set the residence alight, while Pei Qing questioned her about the locked courtyards and the oil around Li An’s courtyard.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing noticed that Rouniang’s account of stabbing Li An did not match the direction of his wound, but they let her continue without exposing the lie.
• Rouniang explained that Li An had saved her after her family’s deaths, then subjected her to training and abuse; she showed her injuries as she described what she endured.
• Pei Qing gently comforted Rouniang when she became distraught, and she broke down crying and clung to his robe.
• Pei Qing froze and looked to Lou Yun for help, but Lou Yun sipped her tea and let him handle the situation.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing questioned Rouniang about Li An’s murder, but she refused to reveal who had helped her. After she was taken into custody, Pei Qing grew distressed over Lou Yun’s distance and feared she would reject him, while Lou Yun comforted him by teasing him about his tears.

• Rouniang admitted killing Li An but let slip that someone else had been present in his room before refusing to identify that person.
• Rouniang begged Lou Yun and Pei Qing to treat her as the sole culprit, but Pei Qing insisted that the law could not bend to pity.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing ordered Rouniang held at Pei Qing’s residence and agreed to investigate whom she was protecting.
• As Lou Yun prepared to leave, Pei Qing clutched her sleeve and struggled with his fear that she disliked him and would leave him.
• Lou Yun brushed away Pei Qing’s tears and joked that he might be a monster whose tears turned into pearls.

Lou Yun realized she had fallen for Pei Qing and decided she would either pursue him or leave if he loved Lou Ze'an. She coaxed Pei Qing into explaining why her distance had made him cry, but he could only call them friends, siblings, or sovereign and subject.

• Lou Yun recognized her feelings for Pei Qing but remained troubled by his relationship with Lou Ze'an.
• Lou Yun teased Pei Qing about crying and asked why he had been upset.
• Pei Qing admitted that Lou Yun had deliberately kept her distance from him all morning.
• Lou Yun worried that she had frightened Pei Qing, but he told her he was not afraid of her.
• Lou Yun pressed Pei Qing to name their relationship, and he suggested they were friends, brother and sister, or sovereign and subject.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing discussed the suspected trafficking behind Li An’s case, then Lou Yun learned from A Zi that Pei Qing had been hurt by people he trusted and asked about his romantic history. The chapter ended with A Zi questioning how Lou Yun had found Rouniang’s hiding place.

• Lou Yun teased Pei Qing about their closeness, promised not to distance herself from him, and asked what he thought of the case.
• Pei Qing proposed investigating the secret passage in Li An’s room, while Lou Yun pointed out that Rouniang’s account suggested someone might have been supplying victims from elsewhere.
• Lou Yun arranged to meet Pei Qing at the Imperial Academy gates, then encountered A Zi in the courtyard.
• A Zi explained that Pei Qing had suffered at the hands of servants and learned to please people he considered his own, and asked Lou Yun to look after him.
• Lou Yun asked whether Pei Qing was interested in men, then dismissed the question and said she was worried he might have romantic debts.
• Lou Yun found the place where Rouniang was being held, and A Zi demanded to know how she had located it.

Lou Yun questioned Rouniang and uncovered how officials had orchestrated her family’s ruin to force girls into being sold as thin horses. She persuaded Rouniang to help expose the wider scheme and ended by asking how she knew the Imperial Preceptor.

• A Zi challenged Lou Yun with hidden weapons and Eerie Pacing Steps, but she disarmed him and he let her enter Rouniang’s room.
• Lou Yun confronted Rouniang with records of her life, revealed that her real name was Cui Rou, and told her Li An had not acted alone in destroying her family.
• Rouniang explained that Li An held her contract of sale and had complained about money when a girl sent to him was returned, which had led her to believe he was the mastermind.
• Lou Yun warned that Li An’s death could prompt his associates to destroy evidence and endanger the other girls, so Rouniang begged her to save them.
• Lou Yun ordered Rouniang to write down every detail she remembered about how she had entered the capital, then asked how she had recognized the Imperial Preceptor.

Lou Yun learned that Pei Qing had knowingly saved Cui Rou from a deadly aphrodisiac two years earlier, then rushed off to seek answers. A Zi arranged a graduation test for Pei Qing, whose growing impatience for class to end recalled an old memory of waiting with Lou Ze'an for a runaway cat.

• Cui Rou recounted how Pei Qing treated her after she inhaled Hundred Flowers Dew and helped her escape Li An's residence.
• Lou Yun reasoned that Pei Qing had known Cui Rou's background and urged her to consider why he had kept their past meeting secret before leaving to find him.
• A Zi reflected on his failure to understand Pei Qing and decided to make Lou Yun the young master's graduation test.
• Pei Qing watched birds during class and impatiently awaited its end, remembering when young Lou Ze'an had begged him to bring Tuantuan to the Imperial Academy.
• The young Lou Ze'an and Pei Qing waited for class to end after Tuantuan slipped away from the Imperial Academy.

After Tuantuan escaped into the rear palace, Pei Qing and Lou Ze'an searched for him and found him with Lou Yun, who later reunited with Pei Qing and brought him hibiscus cakes. As Lou Yun and Pei Qing traveled toward Li An's residence, they noticed they were being followed and decided to explore the lively streets in disguise.

• Pei Qing blamed Lou Ze'an for losing Tuantuan, and Lou Ze'an promised to help search for him.
• Lou Ze'an disguised Pei Qing in a eunuch's uniform and led him into the rear palace, where they found Tuantuan in Lou Yun's arms.
• Pei Qing took Tuantuan from Lou Yun, thanked her, and promised to repay her kindness without giving his name.
• Lou Yun met Pei Qing outside the Imperial Academy, gave him hibiscus cakes, and rode with him toward Li An's residence.
• Pei Qing noticed they were being followed, so Lou Yun suggested they stroll through the night market and offered him one of two masks.

Lou Yun took Pei Qing out to explore the market, where their closeness grew as they shared small encounters and talked about the animals he cared for. The outing ended with Pei Qing promising to introduce her to his golden eagle when it returned.

• Lou Yun chose the ornate white porcelain mask for Pei Qing and wore a matching Feather Pavilion mask as they left the carriage.
• Lou Yun guided Pei Qing through the market, where he gave copper coins to an acrobat and she was struck by his otherworldly appearance.
• Pei Qing bought a bamboo basket to make a sturdier bed for Youyou, and the elderly stallholder mistook him and Lou Yun for sweethearts.
• Pei Qing told Lou Yun how he had brought the animals in his courtyard to live together and mentioned that his golden eagle had flown off to play.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing discovered a hidden passage in Li An's burned room and followed it to a hut outside the city, where they found evidence that captives had been held. Lou Yun questioned Pei Qing about Rouniang, and he admitted he had taken her pulse while pretending to cover her mouth.

• Lou Yun and Pei Qing found a concealed stone stairway behind a fire-resistant wall in Li An's room.
• Pei Qing triggered a trapped floor brick, and Lou Yun pulled him to safety before tying their wrists together with his hair ribbon.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing navigated the passage's paired floor traps and emerged through a stone door into a hut in the woods.
• Lou Yun found fresh bloodstains, chains, and ropes in the hut and concluded it had been a stopping point for recently moved captives.
• Lou Yun asked whether Pei Qing had taken Rouniang's pulse while covering her mouth, and Pei Qing admitted that he had.

Lou Yun confronted Pei Qing for hiding the human-trafficking investigation, then revealed her martial prowess and knowledge of A Zi, making Pei Qing suspect she was secretly building power to contend for the throne. When Pei Qing responded by treating her formally as a subject, Lou Yun lost her temper, restrained him, and left after her violent madness resurfaced.

• Lou Yun questioned Pei Qing about concealing the Imperial Preceptor's investigation, and he admitted he had feared the case would distress her.
• Pei Qing explained that he had wanted to protect Lou Yun from learning about human trafficking, and she apologized for not understanding his motive.
• Lou Yun told Pei Qing she was skilled in martial arts and knew A Zi was the Jade-Faced Fox, the Life-Taking Scholar, prompting Pei Qing to suspect she had secretly amassed power and might be suited to rule Great Yan.
• Pei Qing became deferential and addressed Lou Yun as a subject, promising to share news but asking her not to tease him that way again.
• Lou Yun tied Pei Qing's hands and pressed him against a wall as she demanded whether he knew how she felt, then stopped when she saw his fear.
• Lou Yun struck the wall and left, struggling to control the violent madness that had resurfaced.

Lou Yun defeated Pei Qing in a fierce fight, confessed that she liked him, and carried him back to a cabin. As Pei Qing slept, he dreamed of the long-hidden love that had drawn him to her; after waking, he watched Lou Yun care for him and privately delighted in being wrapped in her robe.

• Lou Yun fled to a bamboo grove, where Pei Qing challenged her and lost after they fought for half a day.
• Lou Yun held Pei Qing by the throat until she told him, “I like you,” then caught him as he collapsed and carried him toward a cabin.
• Pei Qing dreamed of his first meeting with Lou Yun, his secret longing for her, and the ways he had tried to bring them closer.
• Lou Yun settled Pei Qing at the cabin and lit a signal flare to summon Ying Yi and the others.
• Lou Yun built a fire and felt pleased to see Pei Qing wrapped in her outer robe.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing agreed to wait until Great Yan was stable before becoming devoted to each other, and Lou Yun began investigating Li An’s case. At the Court of Judicial Review, she found officials trying to obstruct her and confronted its minister.

• Lou Yun cared for Pei Qing overnight, and he agreed that they would be together once Great Yan was stable.
• Lou Yun asked Pei Qing for clues about Li An, and he agreed to provide them.
• Lou Yun received information about Li An and ordered Ying Yi to investigate.
• Lou Yun went to the Court of Judicial Review, where bailiffs repeatedly tried to stop her from entering.
• The minister of the Court of Judicial Review feigned ignorance and apologized, but Lou Yun challenged his act.