Chapter Summaries

Lou Yun learned from Mo Chi that Pei Qing’s fear of being abandoned came from repeated childhood neglect, and promised not to leave him alone again. As Pei Qing oversaw a resit of the imperial examination, Lou Yun reunited with Bu’er, who arrived at the crown prince’s residence and criticized its furnishings.

• Lou Yun told Pei Qing that he had erred by hiding things and rushing into danger, then playfully made him call her “wife-mistress.”
• After changing Pei Qing’s dressing, Lou Yun heard Mo Chi explain that Pei Qing had been abandoned three times and had once been left waiting alone in the snow; Lou Yun promised to be more careful with him.
• The Ministry of Rites confirmed suspicious problems with the candidates’ papers and arranged a resit with new procedures to prevent cheating.
• Pei Qing prepared to serve as chief examiner, while Lou Yun continued tending to his injured shoulder.
• Bu’er arrived at the crown prince’s residence by climbing over the wall, and Lou Yun invited him inside.
• Bu’er looked around the residence and told Lou Yun that it did not suit her.

Lou Yun changed Pei Qing’s dressing while Bu’er grew jealous and tried to attack him with gu insects. After Pei Qing left, Lou Yun dropped her gentle manner and demanded that Bu’er explain why he had come or leave.

• Bu’er confronted Lou Yun about the ointment and gauze, grew angry at the thought they were for another man, and threatened her with a rattlesnake; Lou Yun kicked him away and warned him not to damage her room.
• Pei Qing arrived, and Lou Yun told him to enter while Bu’er refused to leave; Bu’er secretly sent his gu insects toward Pei Qing.
• Pei Qing calmly handled Bu’er’s rattlesnake and explained that he had learned how to control gu insects, leaving Bu’er furious when the snake would not bite him.
• Lou Yun finished changing Pei Qing’s dressing, reassured him that Bu’er would not hurt her, and sent him back to rest.
• After Pei Qing left, Lou Yun called for Ying Yi and demanded that Bu’er either explain why he had come or get out.

Bu'er told Lou Yun that her madness might be a curse tied to her soul and offered to help discover its trigger, so she let him stay. Pei Qing later learned that Bu'er claimed to be the only one who could save her, while Bu'er taunted him as useless.

• Bu'er explained that Lou Yun's episodes might come from a curse that could persist across lifetimes and be broken by finding its trigger.
• Lou Yun recalled her imprisonment in the Underworld and her journey into this world, then agreed to let Bu'er stay and help investigate the curse.
• Bu'er repeatedly provoked Pei Qing when he visited Lou Yun, knowing Pei Qing would not complain to her.
• Bu'er lured Pei Qing aside and boasted that he had found a way to save Lou Yun, then mocked him as trash.

Lou Yun learned that Fan Buluo had become the top scholar and listened as Pei Qing celebrated the imperial examination system’s progress, then spent the day with him. The next day, Bu’er tried to provoke Lou Yun’s curse with a seductive dance, but she rejected his idea and ordered Ying Yi to make him clean up.

• Pei Qing told Lou Yun that Fan Buluo had taken first place and explained how a commoner-born top scholar could weaken the aristocratic clans’ control of court.
• Lou Yun kissed and teased Pei Qing, who agreed to spend the day with her.
• Bu’er suspected that desire might trigger Lou Yun’s curse and left to prepare another plan.
• Lou Yun returned the next day to find her bedroom filled with smoke, gauze, and burning incense, where Bu’er appeared in revealing clothes and danced.
• Lou Yun rejected Bu’er’s attempt to trigger her curse and ordered Ying Yi to keep him there until he cleaned the room.

Bu'er drugged Lou Yun and gave her an antidote that triggered the curse she already carried. As Lou Yun lost control and attacked the hidden guards, Bu'er was left cornered in the study with her.

• Bu'er threatened Ying Yi, who exposed his situation and warned him after destroying one of his gu insects.
• Lou Yun realized Bu'er had drugged her and summoned Ying Liu to examine her.
• Ying Liu told Lou Yun the antidote would take four hours to prepare, so Lou Yun demanded the antidote from Bu'er.
• Bu'er handed over a porcelain bottle, and Lou Yun swallowed its contents before he revealed that he had used a drug to trigger her curse.
• Lou Yun's eyes turned blood-red, and she began beating back the hidden guards who tried to move her to her bedroom.
• Bu'er hid in a corner as Lou Yun approached, while Ying Yi accused him of ruining everything.

Pei Qing arrived as Lou Yun’s curse-driven madness threatened Ying Yi, then calmed her enough to uncover that the curse was triggered by desires she had long suppressed. Lou Yun had him chain her to the bed and asked him to stir those desires so she could break free of the curse.

• Ying Yi rescued Bu’er from Lou Yun, but Lou Yun turned on Ying Yi until Pei Qing arrived and shielded him.
• Lou Yun mistook Pei Qing for a kitten and invited him to come with her, then retreated when his touch stirred her killing intent.
• Pei Qing embraced Lou Yun and asked what hurt, prompting her to recall how she had been taught to hide her emotions and suppress her desires.
• Lou Yun asked Pei Qing to chain her to the bed and explained that desire triggered her loss of reason.
• Pei Qing agreed to provoke Lou Yun’s desires, reassured her that she would not hurt him, and asked what she had thought when she first desired him.

Lou Yun and Pei Qing struggled over whether to give in to their desires, with Pei Qing urging her not to suppress herself and Lou Yun fearing she would hurt him. The chapter ended with Lou Yun giving in to his pleas as they began their first intimate encounter.

• Pei Qing admitted he had considered his desires and slapped himself, prompting Lou Yun to break free of the chains and demand an explanation.
• Pei Qing told Lou Yun what he wanted, and she revealed something about herself before he agreed to proceed.
• Lou Yun bit Pei Qing, then stopped when she feared she would hurt him, but Pei Qing reminded her that she had promised to let him help her.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing struggled beside the bed, and she briefly tried to restrain him with chains before throwing them aside.
• Pei Qing challenged Lou Yun to punish him, and their argument turned into forceful kisses as he urged her to give in.

Lou Yun teased Pei Qing until he was exhausted, then gave him space when he avoided her out of embarrassment. She later spotted him secretly buying an erotic book and imagined he was studying it for her, leaving her eager to see him again.

• Lou Yun tormented Pei Qing, then helped him wash after he pleaded for mercy.
• Pei Qing avoided Lou Yun afterward, so she accepted Su Ren's invitation to spar at the barracks.
• Lou Yun spotted Pei Qing in disguise buying a concealed book from a bookshop.
• Lou Yun bought a copy and discovered it contained erotic illustrations, while Su Ren guessed she liked men who would become husbands in her household.
• Lou Yun fantasized about Pei Qing studying the book for her, then beat Su Ren soundly when he interrupted her reverie.

Xu Lin maneuvered Fan Buluo into accepting the prefecture of Jiangling, while Pei Qing regretted being unable to keep his student in the capital. After Lou Yun and Pei Qing discovered that the reported Jiangnan drought was fictitious, Pei Qing prepared to leave the capital secretly to investigate.

• Xu Lin argued that Fan Buluo should become prefect of Jiangling, and Fan Buluo accepted the post despite Pei Qing's objections.
• Pei Qing apologized to Fan Buluo for failing to keep him in the capital, and Fan Buluo vowed to live up to his teacher's teachings and return after accomplishing something.
• Lou Yun comforted Pei Qing as he blamed himself, while Lou Qing watched them from a distance without interrupting.
• After Fan Buluo departed, news of a Jiangnan drought reached court, and Lou Yun and Pei Qing suspected something was wrong with Xu Lin's relief arrangements.
• Lou Yun and Pei Qing's men confirmed that no drought had occurred, and Pei Qing decided to travel south to investigate before the scheme could proceed.
• Lou Yun accompanied Pei Qing through the quiet streets as he left the capital secretly for Jiangnan.

Lou Yun learned that the Huang River had breached its dikes and set out for Jiangnan to lead flood relief, despite Xu Lin’s schemes and Pei Qing’s absence. Her journey was plagued by rain and assassination attempts, and she was left facing a mudslide blocking the road near Jiangnan.

• Lou Yun received Pei Qing’s message that the Huang River had breached its dikes and challenged Xu Lin over the false drought reports.
• Lou Yun volunteered to travel to Jiangnan for flood relief, and Lou Qing privately expressed concern and considered her as a possible heir to Great Yan.
• Lou Qing’s eunuch revealed a note warning that Xu Lin had embezzled disaster funds and that Jiangnan lacked supplies.
• Lou Yun departed with her guards, and Su Changqing and Su Ren came to see her off in the rain.
• Lou Yun’s journey was delayed by persistent rain and repeated assassination attempts, and her party discovered a mudslide blocking the road near Jiangnan.