Chapter Summaries

Princess Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an about the empress’s banishment and Noble Consort Chen’s hostility toward her and the fourth prince, while Xu Qi'an explained that he was delaying the Consort Fu investigation to pressure Emperor Yuanjing over his promised title. At home, Xu Pingzhi realized Xu Qi'an and Xu Erlang had conspired to expose his secret savings, then got revenge by tricking both brothers into drinking sour green tangerine soup.

• Princess Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an that Emperor Yuanjing banished the empress in the thirteenth year of his reign without giving a reason, and that Noble Consort Chen had encouraged Lin'an to provoke her.
• Xu Qi'an told Huaiqing that he was buying time on Consort Fu’s case until Emperor Yuanjing granted him the promised title of Viscount of Changle County.
• Emperor Yuanjing heard that Xu Qi'an had made a major breakthrough in Consort Fu’s case and ordered the Grand Secretariat to draft the title edict without waiting for an auspicious date.
• Auntie confronted Xu Pingzhi over the fifty taels Xu Qi'an had secretly given him, and Xu Pingzhi realized Xu Erlang had invented the story to warn him after finding green tangerines in Xu Lingyin’s room.
• Xu Pingzhi persuaded Auntie to make green tangerine soup for Xu Qi'an and Xu Erlang, then watched as both brothers drank large bowls of it.

Xu Qi'an learned how Emperor Yuanjing had once banished the empress, then went to collect Xu Lingyin from school. There, Xu Lingyin retaliated after a classmate stole her food and struck him with a bamboo ruler, just as the boy’s servants arrived.

• Xu Xinnian told Xu Qi'an that Emperor Yuanjing had tried to depose the empress, who was later pardoned after Wei Yuan’s military victory.
• Xu Qi'an agreed to pick up Xu Lingyin from school and offered to take Xu Lingyue shopping, while refusing to let his aunt join unless she gave up buying jewelry.
• At Azure Cloud Hall, Xu Lingyin failed to recite more than three lines of the Three Character Classic and looked forward to her lavish lunch.
• A chubby classmate demanded Xu Lingyin’s pastries, hit her, and took the food after she refused.
• Xu Lingyin struck the boy on the head with Mr. Li’s bamboo ruler, knocking him unconscious; a physician said his life was not in danger.
• Mr. Li confronted Xu Lingyin about hurting her classmate, and the boy’s servants rushed into the school demanding to know where their young master was.

Xu Qi'an came to Xu Lingyin’s school with Auntie and discovered that the Zhao family’s son had repeatedly bullied her and stolen her bracelet and food. After the Zhao family tried to extort and intimidate them, Xu Qi'an used his imperial gold token to have them arrested, then took his family to the Nightwatchers’ yamen.

• Two servants tried to take Xu Lingyin away, but Xu Qi'an arrived, struck one servant unconscious, and learned that the Zhao boy had hit her.
• Li Bingyi warned Xu Qi'an that the Zhao boy’s great-uncle held a powerful post, but Xu Qi'an refused to pay more than ten taels to settle the dispute.
• Zhao Shen and his wife arrived with servants, demanded five hundred taels, and attacked the Xu family; Xu Qi'an slapped the woman and stopped the servants with a kick.
• The prefectural constables arrived, and Xu Lingyin revealed that the Zhao boy had also stolen her jade bracelet before; Xu Qi'an accused the Zhao family of repeated bullying and theft.
• When the head constable moved to arrest Xu Qi'an, Xu Qi'an presented his imperial gold token, ordered Zhu Ying to remain kneeling, and had Zhao Shen and his wife taken into custody.
• Xu Qi'an left for the Nightwatchers’ yamen with Auntie and his sisters; Xu Lingyin ate happily, vomited on him, and asked whether she was his little sweetheart.

Xu Qi'an brought his family to the Nightwatchers' compound, punished Zhao Shen and his wife for bullying his sisters, and negotiated their release in exchange for Director Zhao keeping Xu Xinnian in the capital after the spring examination. He then demonstrated his Spirit Refining Realm strength to Wei Yuan with a Lion's Roar that alarmed the entire compound.

• Xu Qi'an escorted Zhao Shen and his wife into the Nightwatchers' dungeon and ordered the jailers to beat them daily without seriously injuring them.
• Director Zhao offered Xu Qi'an six hundred taels to release his nephew and the nephew's wife, but Xu Qi'an demanded an additional favor involving Xu Xinnian's future posting.
• Xu Qi'an agreed to release Zhao Shen and his wife after the spring examination if Director Zhao kept Xu Xinnian in the capital and treated him like other jinshi.
• Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan he wanted Xu Xinnian to provide the Xu family with a separate path, rather than joining Xu Qi'an's camp under Wei Yuan.
• Wei Yuan asked Xu Qi'an to demonstrate his Spirit Refining Realm strength, and Xu Qi'an's Lion's Roar shook the Nightwatchers' compound and drew out its Gold Gongs.

Xu Qi'an returned to the capital, settled the Zhao family's compensation, reunited with Lü Qing, and visited Fuxiang and Mingyan at the Imperial Music Bureau. The next morning, a young eunuch told him that a woman's corpse had been pulled from a well.

• Gold Gongs arrived at the Righteous Qi Tower after Xu Qi'an's roar, and Xu admitted that he had produced it while testing his Primordial Spirit for Wei Yuan.
• Xu Qi'an gave his aunt the Zhao family's hundred-tael compensation and told his family he would not be coming home that night.
• Lü Qing returned Xu Qi'an's gold token and visited him at Spring Breeze Hall, where they talked until duty ended.
• Xu Qi'an visited the ill Fuxiang and then spent the night with Mingyan at the Imperial Music Bureau.
• The next morning, the young eunuch told Xu Qi'an that someone had pulled a woman's corpse from a well.

Xu Qi'an examined Huang Xiaorou’s corpse and found that she had been drowned elsewhere after being held underwater, then dumped in a palace well. His investigation uncovered an old chest wound that suggested she had once received rare medicine, and he went to the Crab Pavilion to question the people who knew her.

• Xu Qi'an dissected Huang Xiaorou’s body while Princess Huaiqing watched, and determined that she had been drowned outside the well and killed to silence her.
• Xu Qi'an found a deep scar over Huang Xiaorou’s heart and reasoned that she must once have received medicine available only with the empress’s or emperor’s permission.
• Xu Qi'an nearly exposed his matching lotus gifts to Huaiqing and Lin'an, but faked a sudden headache and distracted them.
• Xu Qi'an took Huaiqing and Lin'an to the Crab Pavilion, where Matron Rong explained how the palace maids had discovered the body in the well.
• Matron Rong recognized Huang Xiaorou, and Huaiqing realized Xu Qi'an had brought them to the Crab Pavilion because he had thought to ask who knew the dead maid.

Xu Qi'an and Huaiqing investigated Huang Xiaorou’s past, learning that a maid named He’er had saved her from a fatal wound, while Matron Rong warned Xu Qi'an not to delve too deeply into palace secrets. At the Imperial Pharmacy, Xu Qi'an found no record of the life-saving pill, and he began to suspect that someone had obtained it outside the usual imperial channels.

• Matron Rong said she had recommended Huang Xiaorou for palace service and recalled that Huang Xiaorou once stabbed herself in the chest, but survived after her roommate He’er summoned an imperial physician.
• Huaiqing recognized the name He’er, while Matron Rong privately warned Xu Qi'an that palace secrets could draw him into danger.
• Lin'an accompanied Xu Qi'an to the Imperial Pharmacy, where he searched the records and found no pill that could have saved Huang Xiaorou.
• Luo Yuheng told her senior brother, an orange cat, that she planned to wait for a new ruler to ascend before using the ruler’s Fate to suppress her Karmic Fire.
• The orange cat suggested using Xu Qi'an’s essence blood to make medicine for Luo Yuheng and said Li Miaozhen was coming to the capital.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that Huang Xiaorou’s pill must have come from the Directorate of Astronomy or Numinous Treasure Temple, and he began considering who could have bypassed the Imperial Pharmacy.

Xu Qi'an investigated missing Imperial Dispensary records and learned that He'er served the empress, while Lin'an rashly concluded the empress had framed the crown prince. He later met Luo Yuheng, gave her blood to help relieve her cultivation affliction, and received the Heart Sword manual; the investigation remained unresolved as Lin'an learned a troubling secret about the empress’s past.

• Xu Qi'an used the Qi-Observing Technique to question the elderly eunuch, found that two entries were missing from the old ledger, and ordered the recent records and visitor lists checked.
• The young eunuch reported that He'er served the empress, prompting Lin'an to suspect the empress had plotted against the crown prince; Xu Qi'an stopped her from confronting the emperor before they had enough evidence.
• Luo Yuheng invited Xu Qi'an to dine and asked for his blood essence, and Daoist Jinlian explained that the Rebirth Pill’s properties could temporarily ease her karmic-fire affliction.
• Lin'an told Noble Consort Chen that the empress had framed the crown prince, and Noble Consort Chen revealed that the empress had once been unfaithful, a secret Lin'an had never known.
• Luo Yuheng offered Xu Qi'an three sword techniques, and he chose Heart Sword to gain an attack against the Primordial Spirit before giving her blood for pill refinement.
• Xu Qi'an asked Daoist Jinlian to help him contact Li Miaozhen, but Jinlian said she would likely arrive in the capital after the Yunzhou bandit suppression.

Xu Qi'an investigated the palace maids linked to Consort Fu's case and came to suspect the empress of framing the crown prince, but lacked evidence to confront her. After a masked ambush sprang on him in the street, Emperor Yuanjing learned that Xu Qi'an had uncovered the case's key facts and ordered a reexamination that confirmed them.

• Xu Qi'an questioned the empress about He'er and Huang Xiaorou, but the empress denied the connection and dismissed him.
• Xu Qi'an began investigating a list of palace servants, then left the palace at dusk and reasoned that the empress had arranged the plot against the crown prince.
• Xu Qi'an sensed two hidden attackers on rooftops and a saber-wielding figure blocking the alley, then heard a shrill whistle.
• Noble Consort Chen told Emperor Yuanjing that Xu Qi'an had discovered the truth and pleaded for justice for the crown prince.
• The young eunuch reported Xu Qi'an's findings, and Emperor Yuanjing ordered a coroner to examine Huang Xiaorou's body.
• The coroner confirmed Xu Qi'an's conclusions, and Noble Consort Chen begged Emperor Yuanjing to investigate the empress himself.

Xu Qi'an survived an ambush by three assassins and killed them with one devastating saber strike. As Wei Yuan began investigating the attack, Emperor Yuanjing abruptly summoned the court after visiting the Phoenix Resting Palace in anger.

• Three black-clad assassins ambushed Xu Qi'an on his way back from the imperial palace, and he fought them while retreating into an alley.
• Xu Qi'an stunned the assassins with the Lion's Roar and killed all three with Heaven and Earth One-Saber Slash, then collapsed from exhaustion after Nightwatchers arrived.
• At the constabulary, Silver Gongs identified the attackers as two Spirit Refining martial artists and one Bronze Skin Iron Bone martial artist, but found no clear lead to their sponsors.
• Zhang Kaitai reported the attack to Wei Yuan, who decided to inform Emperor Yuanjing and resume investigating palace affairs.
• Emperor Yuanjing called a sudden court assembly, and the Censorate's Right Censor-in-Chief told Wei Yuan that the emperor had left the Phoenix Resting Palace in a towering rage.

At court, Emperor Yuanjing announced that Empress Shangguan had confessed to framing the crown prince and ordered her deposed, while also stripping Wei Yuan of his post. Xu Qi'an joined Huaiqing and the fourth prince to reopen Consort Fu’s case, and ended by pointing to Huang Xiaorou’s yellow silk as the key to why she had tried to kill herself.

• Emperor Yuanjing fined Wei Yuan and removed him as Left Censor-in-Chief after Wei Yuan accepted blame for failing to detect the northern barbarians’ invasion.
• Emperor Yuanjing ordered Empress Shangguan deposed after announcing that she had confessed to murdering Consort Fu and framing the crown prince, but Wei Yuan and other officials demanded a review by the Three Offices.
• Xu Xinnian learned that Xu Lingyin had been kicked out after spitting out and re-eating buns, a trick Xu Qi'an had taught her.
• Xu Qi'an met Wei Yuan, Huaiqing, and the fourth prince, who asked him to investigate the empress’s confession and clear her name.
• Xu Qi'an reconsidered the clues and realized Huang Xiaorou’s body had been deliberately placed where it would implicate the empress; he then examined the yellow silk found on her and questioned why the empress had saved her and why she had attempted suicide.

Xu Qi'an investigated the clues surrounding Huang Xiaorou and learned that the Three Offices had delayed Consort Fu’s case for political reasons, while the mastermind had tried to kill him to stop his inquiry. His examination suggested Huang Xiaorou had been pregnant, and Huaiqing ended the chapter by saying she had someone in mind.

• Xu Qi'an examined the yellow silk dated to the thirty-first year of Yuanjing, but Wei Yuan and Huaiqing knew of no major palace events from that year.
• Wei Yuan explained that the Three Offices had delayed investigating the crown prince to gain time, and Huaiqing concluded that the mastermind had sent assassins after Xu Qi'an because his return had disrupted the plan.
• Xu Qi'an entered the ice cellar with Huaiqing and the fourth prince, then had Huang Xiaorou’s corpse examined and found that she had not been a virgin.
• Xu Qi'an identified faint stretch marks and other signs suggesting Huang Xiaorou had given birth, then reasoned that the man involved must have had access to the harem and little protection from Emperor Yuanjing.
• After dismissing the fourth prince and the young eunuch, Huaiqing told Xu Qi'an that Huang Xiaorou’s suicide and the empress’s confession likely involved the same man, and said she had someone in mind.

Xu Qi'an and Princess Huaiqing uncovered the imperial uncle’s role in the Consort Fu Case and confronted him at the Shangguan residence. His confession explained Huang Xiaorou’s past, but Xu Qi'an concluded that someone else still held a secret that forced the empress to take the blame.

• Huaiqing identified the imperial uncle as her mother’s brother, and she and Xu Qi'an pieced together how he had abused Huang Xiaorou and how the empress had intervened.
• Huaiqing and Xu Qi'an left the palace to question the imperial uncle after discovering he had moved to the Shangguan old residence that morning.
• Xu Qi'an and Huaiqing interrupted the imperial uncle’s revelry, and Huaiqing announced that she had come to arrest him over Huang Xiaorou.
• Confronted with the yellow silk, the imperial uncle admitted he had impersonated Emperor Yuanjing and slept with Huang Xiaorou, who believed she had served the emperor.
• Xu Qi'an explained how Huang Xiaorou’s pregnancy and forced abortion led to her resentment, then accused the imperial uncle of hiding another secret that made the empress take the blame.

Xu Qi'an took the imperial uncle into custody and discussed the empress’s fate and the case with Princess Huaiqing, while avoiding the secrets he nearly revealed about Wei Yuan. He resumed investigating the suspects but was blocked from questioning a palace maid at Splendid Scenery Palace, so he left to ask Her Highness Lin'an to reimburse his bribe.

• Huaiqing ordered Xu Qi'an to take the imperial uncle to the Nightwatchers' office after he accused Wei Yuan of plotting against him.
• Xu Qi'an interrupted the imperial uncle before he could reveal what Wei Yuan had done, then handed him over to the guards.
• In a carriage, Huaiqing said she intended to hand the imperial uncle over and claimed the empress had taken the blame only to protect her brother; she told Xu Qi'an to find the mastermind.
• Wei Yuan refused to see the imperial uncle and ordered Gold Gong Nangong to deal with him.
• Xu Qi'an went to question Sister Lang'er at Splendid Scenery Palace, but the eunuch at the entrance took his bribe and left him waiting outside.
• Xu Qi'an abandoned the attempt to enter the consort’s chambers and said he would ask Her Highness Lin'an to reimburse him.

Xu Qi'an used Lin'an’s support to question Lang'er about the missing Imperial Pharmacy records while investigating Consort Fu’s case. Lang'er truthfully denied tearing out the records, leaving Xu Qi'an to suspect an earlier theft or an insider at the pharmacy.

• Lin'an welcomed Xu Qi'an and took him to Splendid Scenery Palace after he claimed its gatekeeper had extorted him, where she made the eunuch return the silver and accept a reprimand.
• Xu Qi'an used the Qi-Observing Technique in the palace privy, then asked Lin'an about Lang'er and learned that she liked mung bean cakes.
• Lin'an summoned Lang'er to meet Xu Qi'an while she spoke with Noble Consort Chen, who had earlier urged Emperor Yuanjing to question the empress about the crown prince’s case.
• Xu Qi'an asked a young eunuch whether Emperor Yuanjing had gone to question the empress on his own, and learned Noble Consort Chen’s tearful accusation had prompted the visit.
• Lang'er admitted visiting the Imperial Pharmacy for medicine but denied tearing out its inventory records, and Xu Qi'an’s Qi-Observing Technique confirmed she was telling the truth.
• Xu Qi'an realized the thief had either entered the pharmacy more than five days earlier or had been an insider, and Lang'er’s truthful denial that she liked mung bean cakes surprised him.

Xu Qi'an uncovered Noble Consort Chen as the mastermind behind the plot against the empress and learned she had tried to kill him. After explaining her motives and hinting at a faction targeting Wei Yuan, Noble Consort Chen offered him Lin'an’s hand in marriage to win his support, and Xu Qi'an responded by proposing they consummate the match before the wedding.

• Xu Qi'an concluded that Lang'er was hiding the truth and suspected Noble Consort Chen was behind Consort Fu’s case, but he hesitated to report his discovery because he worried about Lin'an.
• Lang'er brought Xu Qi'an to meet Noble Consort Chen, who dismissed the others and confronted him about lying.
• Xu Qi'an admitted he had discovered Lang'er’s deception and explained how the clues in Consort Fu’s case pointed to Noble Consort Chen framing the empress.
• Noble Consort Chen revealed that she had plotted to secure the fourth prince’s succession, blamed Wei Yuan’s influence for the crown prince’s insecurity, and acknowledged that someone had helped her target the empress.
• Xu Qi'an inferred that Noble Consort Chen’s unseen ally was targeting Wei Yuan, and she offered to advance his rank and give him Lin'an in marriage if he joined her side.
• Noble Consort Chen warned Xu Qi'an that Lang'er could be made to die of illness, while Xu Qi'an joked that he wanted to consummate the marriage before its wedding.

Xu Qi'an confronted Noble Consort Chen over Lang'er, then reported what he had learned to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan explained how a Heavenly Secrets Master could erase traces of himself and discussed his plan to save the empress, while Xu Qi'an hinted that he had made a move of his own.

• Xu Qi'an resisted Noble Consort Chen's efforts to recruit him, kept the young eunuch as a witness, and left Splendid Scenery Palace with Lin'an.
• Xu Qi'an bribed the young eunuch to report a misleading account of his private conversation with Noble Consort Chen to Emperor Yuanjing.
• Xu Qi'an returned to the Nightwatchers' office, told Wei Yuan that Noble Consort Chen was behind the plot, and recounted how Lang'er had torn up the Imperial Pharmacy's register.
• Wei Yuan said the culprit was not the Directorate of Astronomy and explained that a third-rank Heavenly Secrets Master could erase his own existence and alter people's memories.
• Wei Yuan said he planned to push the empress's brother forward as a scapegoat and make Emperor Yuanjing suspect Noble Consort Chen; Xu Qi'an then admitted he had acted on his own, leaving Wei Yuan to ask what he had done.

Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan how he had planted doubts about Noble Consort Chen in the emperor’s mind, then learned about the Primordial Unity Art and a safer body-tempering method associated with Buddhist martial monks. Emperor Yuanjing’s hopes of dual cultivating with Luo Yuheng were disappointed, and he summoned the eunuch who had supervised Xu Qi'an to question him about the palace investigation.

• Xu Qi'an recounted his plan to Wei Yuan, who approved of it and explained that it could make Emperor Yuanjing reconsider Consort Fu’s case and Noble Consort Chen’s role.
• Wei Yuan taught Xu Qi'an about the Primordial Unity Art and explained that Buddhist martial monks had a body-tempering method that avoided boiling and beatings.
• A Daoist from Numinous Treasure Temple invited Emperor Yuanjing to visit Luo Yuheng, and he hurried there hoping she would agree to dual cultivate with him.
• Luo Yuheng instead invited Emperor Yuanjing to meditate and practice breathing exercises, and she told him there was no need to refine the Four Seasons Divine Pills.
• After returning to the palace, Emperor Yuanjing ordered the Three Offices to conclude Consort Fu’s case within two days and said Xu Qi'an’s gold token should be retrieved.
• Emperor Yuanjing summoned the young eunuch who had supervised Xu Qi'an and asked what Xu Qi'an had investigated in the palace.

Emperor Yuanjing grew suspicious of Noble Consort Chen after Xu Qi'an’s encounter with Lang'er, and Wei Yuan used the imperial uncle’s confession to reshape the court’s judgment of Consort Fu’s case. The chapter ended with the Xu family preparing for Xu Xinnian’s spring examination while Xu Qi'an declared that the household would bring glory to its ancestors that day.

• The young eunuch told Emperor Yuanjing that Lang'er had detained Xu Qi'an for a private meeting with Noble Consort Chen, after which Xu Qi'an left looking troubled.
• The old eunuch found Lang'er dead at Splendid Scenery Palace and reported her death to Emperor Yuanjing.
• At court, Wei Yuan said Huang Xiaorou had framed the crown prince after the imperial uncle, Shangguan Ming, violated her and made her pregnant.
• Emperor Yuanjing sentenced Shangguan Ming to immediate execution, confined the empress for three months, confined the crown prince for six months, and demoted Noble Consort Chen.
• Noble Consort Chen concluded that Xu Qi'an had made Emperor Yuanjing suspect her and angrily blamed both Xu Qi'an and Wei Yuan.
• Xu Qi'an recovered his little mare, then joined his family at breakfast as they discussed Xu Xinnian’s coming examination and he announced that the household would bring glory to its ancestors.

Xu Qi'an received an imperial title as Viscount of Changle County, and the Xu household celebrated while Xu Erlang left to prepare for the spring examinations. Zhong Li emerged from seclusion at the Star Observation Tower, and Monk Shenshu urged Xu Qi'an to leave the capital.

• Xu Qi'an's family learned that an imperial edict had arrived, and he received the title of Third Class Viscount of Changle County, along with gold and farmland.
• Xu Pingzhi celebrated the family's new noble status, while Xu Qi'an gave the farmland deeds to Xu Lingyue to manage and Xu Erlang returned to the old residence to study.
• Zhong Li emerged from five years of seclusion beneath the Star Observation Tower, alarming the white-robed arcanists and meeting her teacher, the Supervisor.
• Xu Pingzhi took Xu Qi'an to honor their ancestors and arranged a feast, while Xu Erlang moved out so he could study for the spring examinations.
• Monk Shenshu appeared to Xu Qi'an and told him to leave the capital.