Chapter Summaries

The eldest princess and Zhao Shou discovered that Zhang Shen, Li Mubai, and Chen Tai were fighting over a poem written by Xu Qi'an. The eldest princess learned Xu Qi'an’s identity and asked where he was, while he remained out sightseeing in the mountains.

• Zhao Shou and the eldest princess rushed to the Sage’s Hall after hearing that three great scholars were fighting.
• Zhang Shen and Li Mubai attacked each other with spells recorded in their scrolls, while Chen Tai intervened with a Golden Core.
• The academy’s rules stopped the fight, and Chen Tai revealed that the quarrel concerned a poem written on a low wall.
• Zhang Shen and Li Mubai identified Xu Qi'an as the poem’s author and said he was their disciple.
• The eldest princess praised the poem, considered bringing Xu Qi'an to her residence as an adviser, and asked where he was.
• Chen Tai said Xu Qi'an had gone sightseeing in the mountains, and the students realized he had written the poem.

Xu Qi'an toured Cloud Deer Academy with Xu Xinnian, learned about its Confucian realms and the Sub-Sage’s marriage to a yao, and heard the start of the academy’s historic feud with the Imperial Academy. Xu Xinnian began explaining how a dispute over the crown prince divided the court for six years.

• Xu Xinnian showed Xu Qi'an the waterfall and told him how Qian Zhong shattered Great Zhou’s remaining national fortune before Great Feng was founded.
• Xu Xinnian explained that Cloud Deer Academy’s highest-ranking cultivator was its headmaster, a third-rank Establishing Destiny cultivator, and that Layman Ziyang was close to that realm.
• Xu Xinnian thanked Xu Qi'an for saving their father, Sister Lingyue, and the Xu Household from danger.
• Xu Qi'an learned that the Sub-Sage’s white deer wife had been a yao who listened to the classics, and that the Sage had approved their marriage.
• Xu Xinnian began recounting the two-hundred-year-old dispute over the nation’s foundation, when Renzong’s preferred crown prince faced opposition from Cloud Deer Academy and the officials.

Xu Qi'an challenged the Imperial Academy’s doctrines and wrote a new inscription on the blank stele, declaring that scholars should serve the people and seek peace for future generations. His words shattered Xu Xinnian’s mental shackles and cracked Sage Cheng’s stele, triggering a supernatural disturbance at the Sub-Sage Academy.

• Xu Qi'an explained to Xu Xinnian that the dispute over the state’s foundation was a struggle for power and discussed how scholars could stand equal to imperial authority.
• Xu Xinnian described Sage Cheng’s teachings and the stele that generations of Cloud Deer Academy scholars had failed to refute.
• Xu Qi'an asked Xu Xinnian whether the ruler or the people mattered more, then decided to write on the blank stele.
• Xu Qi'an inscribed, “To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish destiny for the people, to preserve the lost teachings of the sages of the past, and to bring peace to all generations to come!”
• Xu Xinnian felt his mental shackles break as the inscribed stele cracked and the Sub-Sage Academy shook; he fled, and Xu Qi'an ran after him.

After Xu Qi'an’s words cracked the Cheng Sub-Sage’s inscription and released Cloud Deer Academy’s Clear Qi, he and Xu Xinnian fled to avoid becoming entangled in the academy’s political struggle. Dean Zhao Shou and the scholars discovered the inscription’s message, while the Eldest Princess ordered an investigation into Xu Qi'an.

• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian decided to leave Cloud Deer Academy quietly, fearing that accepting its gratitude would earn the Imperial Academy’s hostility.
• Zhao Shou and the three great scholars saw Clear Qi surge into the sky and hurried to the Sub-Sage's Hall of Learning.
• Zhao Shou realized the Cheng Sub-Sage’s inscription had cracked and read the words Xu Qi'an had written on the stele.
• Zhang Shen and Chen Tai praised the inscription’s principles, while Zhao Shou bowed to it and told the scholars to leave him alone.
• The Eldest Princess learned that the hall had been sealed and ordered the Nightwatchers to report the incident to Duke Wei and investigate Xu Qi'an.

At the Star-Gazing Tower, the Sitianjian supervisor watched the northwest while Chu Caiwei’s chatter ended with her food being irreversibly spoiled. Meanwhile, Xu Qi'an explained his unconventional ideas about thought and learning to Xu Xinnian as they rode toward the capital, leaving Xinnian newly enlightened and irritated by his brother’s teasing.

• The Sitianjian supervisor told Chu Caiwei that alchemical transformations were usually irreversible, after she asked about alchemy, fake silver, and Xu Qi'an.
• Zhao Shou and three great scholars discussed the inscription at the Sub-Sage Academy and concluded that Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian may have been there when it appeared.
• Li Mubai realized he was close to the Establishing Destiny Realm, while Zhao Shou forbade students from entering the Sub-Sage Academy and used Establishing Words to keep the matter secret.
• As the Xu brothers rode toward the capital, Xu Xinnian demanded that Xu Qi'an explain how he had composed a world-shaking maxim.
• Xu Qi'an explained that scholars were constrained by the ideas of their era and suggested that an outsider could help the Confucian School break free of those intellectual shackles.
• Xu Xinnian became convinced by Xu Qi'an’s explanation, then fell silent when his brother mocked him for inheriting the Li family’s genes.

Xu Qi'an visited the Treasure Artifact Pavilion and used his skill at solving character riddles to help two customers buy jewelry at half price, earning silver for himself. He left the shop with the women pleased by their purchases and the shopkeeper stunned by Xu Qi'an’s answers.

• Xu Qi'an returned his rented horse, parted from Xu Xinnian, and went to the Treasure Artifact Pavilion to buy jewelry despite having little silver.
• Xu Qi'an picked up a hard object from the shop floor and put it in his pocket, then learned he could get jewelry for half price by solving character riddles.
• After overhearing two young women struggle with the riddles, Xu Qi'an offered to solve them in exchange for half of the money they saved.
• Xu Qi'an solved the riddle “Clouds part, the moon appears, and flowers play with shadows” with “Neng,” allowing Lian'er to buy a gold hairpin.
• Xu Qi'an solved Lian'er's second riddle, “Peacocks fly southeast,” with “Sun,” and the two women bought jewelry and left satisfied.

Xu Qi'an used his riddle-solving skills to get two gold hairpins, then realized someone hostile was following him and prepared for danger at home. The Xu family arranged to send the women to Cloud Deer Academy, while Xu Qi'an’s gift to Xu Lingyue provoked Auntie.

• Xu Qi'an convinced the Treasure Artifact Pavilion shopkeeper to give him two gold hairpins despite having enough silver for only one.
• Xu Qi'an sensed he was being followed and suspected the Zhou Residence, so he armed himself with a military crossbow and heart-guard mirror.
• Xu Qi'an learned that Xu Lingyin had been chasing the family's new geese and laughed when a goose clamped onto her leg.
• Xu Cijiu told Second Uncle Xu that the family’s women would be sent to Cloud Deer Academy the next day, and Xu Qi'an revealed that he had been followed.
• Xu Qi'an gave a gold hairpin to Xu Lingyue instead of Auntie, making Auntie demand that Second Uncle Xu choose between them.

Xu Qi'an's family traveled to Cloud Deer Academy while fearing retaliation from Vice Minister Zhou, and Xu Qi'an secretly gave Auntie a gold hairpin to soothe her anger. Two days after arriving, Xu Qi'an, Xu Cijiu, and Second Uncle Xu gathered to combine what they had learned and plan how to deal with Zhou Li.

• Xu Qi'an gave Xu Lingyue a gold hairpin and Auntie proposed marrying him to Lü'e, but Second Uncle Xu said he would not marry until reaching the Qi Refining Realm.
• Second Uncle Xu gave Auntie a finer gold hairpin from Xu Qi'an, and she was pleased that he had remembered her.
• Second Uncle Xu, Xu Qi'an, and the rest of the Xu Household traveled to Cloud Deer Academy, where Xu Qi'an teased Xu Lingyin by telling her she would have to study there.
• Li Mubai received Xu Qi'an and Xu Cijiu while Zhang Shen was in seclusion, and he agreed to let Xu Lingyin study at the academy.
• Two days later, Xu Qi'an, Xu Cijiu, and Second Uncle Xu met in the study to pool their information and devise a plan against Zhou Li.

Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian discussed how to turn Zhou Li against a powerful rival, while Xu Qi'an revealed that Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemy was the Minister of Revenue. They decided they needed more information from Fuxiang at the Imperial Academy of Music, but none of the three men wanted to go.

• Second Uncle Xu reported that Zhou Li had been behaving cautiously, visiting a private residence and spending his time drinking and gambling with officials’ sons.
• Xu Xinnian explained that Zhou Li had few serious conflicts among his classmates but was devoted to Fuxiang, a courtesan at the Imperial Academy of Music.
• Xu Qi'an urged them to keep their plan simple and suggested disguising themselves to beat up an official’s son, prompting him to suspect Zhou Li and escalate their conflict.
• Xu Qi'an told Xu Xinnian and Second Uncle Xu that Miss Caiwei had identified the Minister of Revenue as Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemy.
• Xu Xinnian suggested asking Fuxiang for information, but Xu Qi'an, Xu Xinnian, and Second Uncle Xu each avoided volunteering to visit the Imperial Academy of Music.

Xu Qi'an entered the inner city in disguise and encountered a Daoist priest’s pitch-pot game, where he won all three throws and drew the attention of a carriage’s hidden occupant. The chapter ended as the occupant ordered the carriage to stop.

• Xu Qi'an persuaded Xu Pingzhi and Xu Erlang to postpone visiting the Imperial Academy of Music while he planned to go himself the next night.
• Xu Qi'an borrowed Xu Erlang’s robe, traveled into the inner city, and explored Yongkang Street.
• Xu Qi'an watched soldiers fail to win the Daoist priest’s pitch-pot game, even after their master offered sixty taels of gold for the stall’s prizes.
• Xu Qi'an paid one mace of silver to play and landed all three arrows in the pot while blindfolded.
• The luxurious carriage began to leave, but its occupant called out, "Stop the carriage!"

Xu Qi'an won sixty taels of gold by throwing arrows blindfolded, exchanged it for silver notes, and went to the Imperial Music Bureau to visit Fuxiang. He entered Shadowed Plum Pavilion as its tea gathering was underway.

• Xu Qi'an won the jade mirror after landing an arrow in the pot, then agreed to sell the bodhi beads to a soldier for sixty taels of gold.
• Xu Qi'an threw three more arrows into the pot blindfolded, received the gold, and took the jade mirror after the old Daoist vanished with his stall.
• Xu Qi'an exchanged the gold for four hundred and eighty taels of silver notes and headed to the Imperial Music Bureau at dusk.
• Xu Qi'an introduced himself as Yang Ling, paid ten taels to enter Shadowed Plum Pavilion, and found that Fuxiang's tea gathering was accepting individual guests.

Xu Qi'an, Xu Xinnian, and Xu Pingzhi unexpectedly met at a courtesan's tea gathering, where their awkward reunion was compounded by their failure to impress Fuxiang. When Fuxiang invited the talented Young Master Zhao to her room, the three Xu men could no longer sit still.

• Xu Qi'an attended Fuxiang's tea gathering under the false name Yang Ling and impressed the guests with a matching couplet.
• Xu Xinnian arrived disguised as Xu Ping'an, recognized Xu Qi'an, and joined him at the gathering.
• Xu Pingzhi arrived, and the three Xu men silently endured the embarrassment of discovering one another there.
• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian struggled to attract Fuxiang's attention as Young Master Zhao won praise with a clever couplet.
• Fuxiang invited Young Master Zhao to her room, prompting the three Xu men to react.

Xu Qi'an used a famous plum-blossom poem to attract Fuxiang’s attention, and she urgently summoned him after reading it. As he followed her maid to the bedchamber, the other guests questioned Xu Xinnian and Xu Pingzhi about the poem and why he had been invited in.

• Xu Qi'an had Xu Xinnian write a famous poem about plum blossoms and sent it to Fuxiang under the name Yang.
• Fuxiang read the poem, recognized its lines, and tearfully demanded to know who had sent it.
• Fuxiang rushed to stop Xu Qi'an from leaving and told her maid to bring him back.
• After the tea gathering, Xu Qi'an doubted why Fuxiang had initially seemed unmoved, while Xu Xinnian praised the poem.
• Fuxiang's senior maid found Xu Qi'an, confirmed he had composed the poem, and invited him to see her.
• Xu Qi'an followed the maid toward Fuxiang's bedchamber as the guests questioned Xu Xinnian and Xu Pingzhi about the invitation.

Xu Qi'an won Fuxiang’s favor with a poem about plum blossoms, while Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian left the Shadowed Plum Pavilion to avoid revealing their connection. The guests spread out to share the poem and astonish the other tea gatherings.

• Xu Pingzhi deflected questions about the doggerel and left the Shadowed Plum Pavilion with Xu Xinnian to avoid exposing their connection.
• Xu Pingzhi offered Xu Xinnian five taels of silver, but another five-tael ingot fell from Xu Xinnian’s robes, leaving both of them silent.
• Xu Qi'an entered Fuxiang’s bedroom, praised her beauty, and was welcomed by the courtesan.
• Young Master Zhao learned that Fuxiang had chosen someone else, read Xu Qi'an’s poem, and admitted defeat.
• Young Master Zhao recited the plum-blossom poem as he left, and the guests hurried off to spread it at other tea gatherings.

Xu Qi'an drew Fuxiang into sharing what she knew about Zhou Li and learned that Zhou had molested the Marquis of Martial Might's concubine-born daughter before being warned not to offend again. The story gave Xu Qi'an an idea for framing Zhou Li, which he planned to discuss with Erlang.

• Xu Qi'an listened to Fuxiang play the qin and asked about buying her freedom, then heard her recount the Consort of the Prince Who Guards the North's rise and Duke Wei's role in the victory at Shanhai Pass.
• Xu Qi'an guided the conversation toward Zhou Li, and Fuxiang said she disliked him for his lecherous behavior.
• Fuxiang told Xu Qi'an that Zhou Li had molested the Marquis of Martial Might's concubine-born daughter at last year's Lantern Festival and injured her attendants.
• Fuxiang explained that the emperor had docked Vice Minister Zhou a year's salary, ordered him to pay five thousand taels, and confined Zhou Li for three months, warning that another offense would bring severe punishment.
• Xu Qi'an connected the warning and Zhou Li's recent troubles to a plan to frame him for abducting the marquis's daughter, and decided to work out the details with Erlang.

Xu Qi'an discovered that the jade mirror could store and release his banknotes, then returned home and described his plan to abduct the Marquis of Martial Might’s concubine-born daughter. The chapter ended with Xu Qi'an visiting the Directorate of Astronomy to see Song Qing.

• Xu Qi'an pretended to fall asleep to avoid intimacy with Fuxiang, then found his banknotes inside the jade mirror the next morning and released them by shaking it.
• Xu Qi'an left the Imperial Music Bureau before Fuxiang woke and returned to the Xu Residence, where he explained what he had learned and presented his plan.
• Xu Xinnian questioned how they would abduct the Marquis of Martial Might’s concubine-born daughter, and Second Uncle Xu suggested watching her and creating a disturbance to seize an opportunity.
• Xu Qi'an hinted that he could solve the problem of getting close to the woman without attracting the Imperial Saber Guard or breaking into the marquis’s residence.
• Old Zhang found a servant unconscious in the Xu Residence’s garden; the servant remembered being called into Xu Qi'an’s room while Xu Qi'an bathed but nothing afterward.
• Song Qing wrote excitedly about grafting humans and horses when a white-robed disciple announced that Xu Qi'an had come to see him.

Xu Qi'an persuaded Song Qing to accept his alchemy theory, then used a staged kidnapping to make Zhang Yuying accuse Zhou Li of abducting her. He left the story waiting on the Imperial Saber Guards’ response as curfew began.

• Xu Qi'an offered Song Qing a theoretical foundation for alchemy, telling him that alchemy followed the principle of Equivalent Exchange.
• Zhou Li’s men kidnapped Zhang Yuying from her sedan and discussed their plan to abuse and kill her.
• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian watched from across the courtyard as Zhang Yuying escaped by climbing over a wall.
• Zhang Yuying reached an Imperial Saber Guard patrol and accused Zhou Li of kidnapping her.
• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian left to find an inn and planned to return home the next day to await news.

After Zhang Yuying accused Zhou Li of abducting her, Xu Qi'an used the Directorate of Astronomy to ensure the politically charged case ended with Zhou Li exiled and Vice Minister Zhou dismissed. As the Xu family rode onward, Xu Qi'an explained the scheme to Xu Xinnian and urged him to navigate official life through practical self-interest.

• Zhang Yuying told the Marquis of Martial Might that Zhou Li had abducted her and tried to kill her, prompting the Marquis to denounce Vice Minister Zhou at court.
• Emperor Yuanjing ordered the three judicial offices to investigate, and their conflicting verdicts left Zhou Li's case unresolved until a white-robed member of the Directorate of Astronomy declared that Zhou Li was lying.
• Three days later, Vice Minister Zhou was dismissed and sent to serve in the military, while Zhou Li was exiled to the Southern Frontier.
• As the Xu family rode along the official road, Xu Xinnian asked Xu Qi'an how the frame-up had succeeded, and Xu Qi'an explained that he had enlisted the Directorate of Astronomy's arcanists.
• Xu Qi'an advised Xu Xinnian to be a capable official who understood self-interest, and the brothers jokingly vowed to stop each other if either became a threat to the family.

The eldest princess visited Clear Cloud Mountain, recognized that Xu Qi'an had sent his family there in response to the tax silver case, and found Headmaster Zhao Shou transformed. At the academy, the great scholars praised a celebrated plum-blossom poem, only for Xu Xinnian to reveal that Xu Qi'an had written it.

• The eldest princess visited Cloud Deer Academy and saw Xu Lingyue and Xu Lingyin staying there for refuge.
• The eldest princess connected the family's arrival to Xu Qi'an's conflict with Vice Minister Zhou and wondered what he was planning.
• The eldest princess found Zhao Shou looking healthier, and he hinted that someone young might have become his teacher.
• Zhang Shen, Li Mubai, and Chen Tai read the popular poem dedicated to Fuxiang and agreed that its author, Yang Ling, should be recruited to the academy.
• Xu Xinnian visited his teachers with Xu Ningyan, and the great scholars discussed the poem's brilliance and warned Xu Ningyan not to grow conceited.
• Xu Xinnian revealed that his eldest brother had also written the poem.

Xu Qi'an reunited with his family after leaving the academy, then was summoned by two Nightwatchers. On the journey to their office, he bribed the smiling Nightwatcher for information, but the reason for his summons remained unknown.

• Li Mubai and Zhang Shen learned that Xu Qi'an had written the poem under the alias Yang Ling and scolded him for dedicating it to Fuxiang.
• Xu Xinnian asked about Xu Lingyin's lessons, and the scholars said she had driven four teachers to quit in ten days.
• The Xu family reunited, and Xu Qi'an rode home with Xu Lingyue while Xu Xinnian carried Xu Lingyin.
• Three days later, two Nightwatchers arrived at the Xu residence and ordered Xu Qi'an to come with them.
• Xu Qi'an accepted the summons and gave the smiling Nightwatcher thirty taels to learn what was happening, but the Nightwatcher did not explain the reason.