Chapter Summaries

The eldest princess and Dean Zhao Shou witnessed Zhang Shen, Li Mubai, and Chen Tai brawl at Cloud Deer Academy over a poem written by Xu Qi'an. The eldest princess learned that Xu Qi'an was the author and began considering bringing him to her residence as an adviser, but he was away sightseeing on the mountain.

• An elderly gentleman told Zhao Shou and the eldest princess that Zhang Shen, Li Mubai, and Chen Tai were fighting, and they hurried to the academy grounds.
• Zhang Shen and Li Mubai traded written spells while Chen Tai intervened with a Golden Core, until the academy's rules forced the scholars back to the ground.
• Zhao Shou saw the poem on the low wall and realized the scholars had quarrelled over credit for Xu Qi'an's work.
• The eldest princess asked who had written the poem, and Zhang Shen and Li Mubai identified their student Xu Qi'an, a runner at the Changle County Yamen.
• The eldest princess considered recruiting Xu Qi'an as an adviser and asked where he was, and Chen Tai said he had gone sightseeing on the mountain.

Xu Qi'an toured Cloud Deer Academy with Xu Xinnian, learning about its history, the Confucian ranks, and the Lesser Sage’s marriage to a transformed white deer. Xu Xinnian thanked him for saving the Xu family, then began explaining the academy’s old feud with the Directorate of Education through a long-ago dispute over the crown prince.

• Xu Xinnian showed Xu Qi'an the stele of Qian Zhong, a Great Confucian who had helped bring down Great Zhou and establish Great Feng.
• Xu Xinnian explained that Cloud Deer Academy’s great scholars were in the fourth-rank Gentleman Realm, while the dean had reached the third-rank Establishing Destiny Realm.
• Xu Xinnian thanked Xu Qi'an for saving their father, protecting Xu Lingyue, and preventing the Xu family from being destroyed.
• Xu Xinnian told Xu Qi'an that the Lesser Sage had married a white deer demon who had taken human form and had approved their union despite society’s disapproval.
• Xu Xinnian began describing the feud between Cloud Deer Academy and the Directorate of Education, which began with Emperor Renzong’s attempt to name his concubine-born son crown prince.

Xu Qi'an explained the power struggle behind the succession dispute and learned how Subsage Cheng’s school of thought had constrained Cloud Deer Academy. He wrote a counter-inscription on the blank stele, triggering a supernatural upheaval that left him and Xu Xinnian fleeing the academy.

• Xu Qi'an described the succession dispute as a struggle for power, and Xu Xinnian asked whether scholars had any way to escape factional conflict.
• Xu Xinnian explained that Subsage Cheng’s teachings had surpassed Cloud Deer Academy and that generations of scholars had failed to refute the inscription on the stele.
• Xu Qi'an challenged Xu Xinnian to consider whether loyalty to the sovereign mattered more than the people, then asked him to grind the ink.
• Xu Qi'an wrote, “To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of past sages, to usher in peace for all generations!” on the blank stele.
• Xu Xinnian felt the shackles on his soul break as the neighboring stele cracked, the academy shook, and clear Qi surged from the subsage’s statue.
• Xu Xinnian fled the Sub-Sage's Academy, and Xu Qi'an ran after him, fearing they had caused trouble.

Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian fled the Sub-Sage's Academy after Xu Qi'an's inscription cracked Sub-Sage Cheng's stele and released Cloud Deer Academy's righteous Qi. Dean Zhao Shou recognized the inscription's profound principles, while the eldest princess ordered an investigation into Xu Qi'an.

• Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian escaped through the mountain woods, and Xu Xinnian explained that staying could draw hostility from the Directorate of Education.
• Clear Qi burst from the Sub-Sage's Academy, scattering the clouds, and Zhao Shou and the three great scholars hurried to the hall.
• Zhao Shou realized the inscription had shaken the seal on Cloud Deer Academy's fortune and became absorbed in its words.
• Zhang Shen, Chen Tai, and Li Mubai praised the inscription, while Zhao Shou bowed to it as a disciple and asked them to leave.
• The eldest princess ordered the Nightwatchers to report the event to Duke Wei and investigate Xu Qi'an.

The Supervisor teased Chu Caiwei while watching the northwest, and Dean Zhao Shou and the great scholars investigated the inscription at the Sub-Sage's Academy, where Li Mubai neared a breakthrough. On their ride back to the capital, Xu Qi'an explained his unconventional view of Confucian thought to Xu Xinnian, who was impressed until his brother insulted him.

• The Supervisor spoiled Chu Caiwei's food with an irreversible alchemical transformation after she kept talking, and she left in tears.
• Zhao Shou sealed off the pavilion as Li Mubai, Zhang Shen, and Chen Tai discussed the inscription and suspected Xu Cijiu and Xu Ningyan had been present.
• Li Mubai realized he was close to Establishing Destiny, and Zhao Shou ordered the academy's students kept out and used Establishing Speech to silence the scholars.
• Xu Xinnian asked Xu Qi'an to explain his earth-shaking maxim, and Xu Qi'an described how scholars were constrained by the shackles of thought.
• Xu Xinnian praised Xu Qi'an's insight, but Xu Qi'an mocked him for inheriting the Li Household's genes, ending their conversation.

Xu Qi'an visited the Treasure Artifact Pavilion to buy jewelry despite having little money, then used his knowledge of riddles to help two young wives earn discounts. He left them pleased with their purchases and the shopkeeper stunned by his answers.

• Xu Qi'an parted from Xu Xinnian and went to the Treasure Artifact Pavilion, thinking about how Xu Xinnian might rise to high office.
• Xu Qi'an realized he could not afford fine jewelry and picked up a hard object he had stepped on, slipping it into his pocket.
• Xu Qi'an offered to solve character riddles for two young wives in exchange for half of the silver they saved.
• Xu Qi'an solved the riddle “Clouds part, the moon emerges, flowers play with shadows” as “neng,” and Lian'er bought a gold hairpin at half price.
• Xu Qi'an solved Lian'er's second riddle, “The peacock flies southeast,” as “sun,” leaving the shopkeeper stupefied.
• Lian'er praised Xu Qi'an's talent and appearance as she left with Sister Yu and their jewelry.

Xu Qi'an acquired two gold dangling hairpins through word-riddle schemes, then sensed someone from the Zhou Residence was following him and prepared for danger. His family arranged to move the women to Cloud Deer Academy, but dinner ended with Auntie furious when he gave a hairpin to Xu Lingyue instead of her.

• Xu Qi'an tricked the Treasure Artifact Pavilion shopkeeper into giving him two gold dangling hairpins after earning silver by solving riddles.
• Xu Qi'an sensed a hostile person following him and suspected the Zhou Residence, so he equipped himself with a military crossbow and heart-protecting mirror.
• Xu Qi'an returned home and watched Xu Lingyin get chased by a goose she had tried to herd.
• Xu Cijiu told Second Uncle Xu that the family could send Mother and the girls to Cloud Deer Academy the next day.
• Xu Qi'an warned Second Uncle Xu that someone had followed him, and Second Uncle Xu planned to notify the Imperial Saber Guard and keep the family close.
• At dinner, Xu Qi'an gave a gold dangling hairpin to Xu Lingyue, enraging Auntie and prompting her to demand that Second Uncle Xu choose between them.

Xu Qi'an’s family prepared to leave the capital for Cloud Deer Academy while fearing Vice Minister Zhou’s retaliation. After settling at the academy and gathering information, Xu Qi'an, Second Uncle Xu, and Xu Cijiu began planning how to deal with Zhou Li.

• Xu Qi'an gave Xu Lingyue a gold hairpin, and Auntie proposed marrying him to Lü'e before Second Uncle Xu postponed the matter until he reached the Qi Refining Realm.
• Second Uncle Xu gave Auntie the finer hairpin Xu Qi'an had bought for her, and the family passed the night without incident.
• Second Uncle Xu gathered Imperial Saber Guards, Xu Qi'an rented carriages, and the Xu family left the city for Cloud Deer Academy.
• Xu Qi'an teased Xu Lingyin by telling her she would have to study at the academy, and Li Mubai agreed to let her begin lessons there.
• After two days at the academy, Xu Qi'an, Second Uncle Xu, and Xu Cijiu pooled their intelligence and began planning how to deal with Zhou Li.

Xu Qi'an and his family discussed how to provoke Zhou Li into a conflict without using an elaborate plan, and learned that Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemy was the Minister of Revenue. They decided they needed information from Fuxiang at the Imperial Music Bureau, but all three men feared the social embarrassment of going there.

• Second Uncle Xu reported that Zhou Li had been behaving himself but frequently visited a private residence where he kept a mistress.
• Xu Xinnian explained Zhou Li’s strained relations with his classmates and suggested using Fuxiang to gather information.
• Xu Qi'an proposed disguising themselves and beating a powerful official’s son so the victim would suspect Zhou Li and escalate their feud.
• Xu Qi'an revealed that the Minister of Revenue was Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemy, information he had received from Miss Caiwei.
• Xu Xinnian, Xu Qi'an, and Second Uncle Xu each refused to visit the Imperial Music Bureau, leaving them silent over who would approach Fuxiang.

Xu Qi'an traveled to the inner city intending to investigate the Imperial Music Bureau, then entered a pitch-pot game and landed all three arrows while blindfolded. His feat caught the attention of a woman in a luxurious carriage, who ordered it to stop.

• Xu Qi'an persuaded Xu Erlang and Second Uncle Xu to postpone visiting the Imperial Music Bureau, while secretly deciding to go himself.
• Xu Qi'an borrowed Xu Erlang's finest robe and traveled by carriage into the inner city.
• Xu Qi'an explored Yongkang Street and noticed an old Daoist running a pitch-pot game beside a luxurious carriage.
• Xu Qi'an paid one mace of silver, turned his back to the pot, covered his eyes, and threw all three arrows into it.
• A woman inside the carriage heard the crowd's amazement and ordered the carriage to stop.

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.