Recaps

Zhou Wanwan stopped one bandit gang from stealing the treasures at Nie Shi'an’s gathering, then discovered that many more gangs were coming because the event had been publicized across the city. She realized Nie Shi'an had knowingly hired her to guard the gathering despite the danger and had also invited elite soldiers and martial arts experts.

• At Nie Shi'an’s banquet, Zhou Wanwan heard Old Scholar Tree report that mountain bandits had entered the courtyard.
• Zhou Wanwan caught the first gang stealing treasures, restrained its leader with vines, and frightened the bandits into fleeing through a dog hole.
• A second gang arrived and attacked, but Zhou Wanwan’s vines bound them and took their weapons.
• The second gang’s leader explained that Nie Shi'an’s heavily publicized treasure-viewing gathering had drawn bandits from across the region.
• Zhou Wanwan realized Nie Shi'an had set her up to guard the gathering while relying on the elite soldiers and martial arts experts he had invited.

Nie Shi'an’s poorly publicized treasure-appreciation gathering drew tens of thousands of bandits and other opportunists, overwhelming his hired guards. Zhou Wanwan raised Black Wind Stronghold’s flag, then agreed to lead the greedy bandits there, while Nie Shi'an mistakenly believed she had been forced to go.

• Tens of thousands of people descended on the Nie Residence, and Nie Shi'an prepared to flee as the chaos overwhelmed his guards.
• Zhou Wanwan ordered the Black Wind Stronghold flag raised, prompting some bandits to recognize it and others to challenge the stronghold.
• Shen Congrong warned Zhou Wanwan about the crowd, but he and the gathered young masters were trapped inside the packed courtyard.
• The bandits demanded that Zhou Wanwan take them to Black Wind Stronghold so they could seize its treasures, and she calmly agreed.
• Zhou Wanwan led the bandits toward Black Wind Stronghold, and Nie Shi'an lamented that she had been forced into a dangerous fate.

Zhou Wanwan led tens of thousands of bandits up the treacherous mountain path to the Black Wind Stronghold, promising them its supposed treasures. At the summit, the bandits saw the stronghold’s disciplined, heavily armed guards and realized they had badly underestimated Zhou Wanwan.

• Nie Rou, Lu Lan, Wen Zhiyu, and Xie Cheng'en celebrated the bandits’ attack and hoped Zhou Wanwan would die.
• Zhou Wanwan led the bandits up the steep path, where many slipped, fell, and struggled to keep climbing.
• Zhou Wanwan claimed the Black Wind Stronghold held abundant treasure, renewing the bandits’ greed and determination to reach the summit.
• At the summit, Zhou Wanwan introduced the bandits as guests while several thousand armored guards greeted her and continued their drills.
• Another disciplined group of several thousand trainees marched past, terrifying the bandits and making them realize the Black Wind Stronghold had concealed its strength.

Zhou Wanwan showed captured bandit chiefs the prosperous Black Wind Stronghold and its abundant crops, then offered them a choice between surrendering treasure or submitting their strongholds to her. After a vine dragged away one defiant chief, ten chiefs agreed to submit.

• Zhou Wanwan led the bandits through the grand Black Wind Stronghold and showed them its thriving fields and sweet potato harvest.
• Zhou Wanwan had roasted and steamed sweet potatoes served to the frightened bandits, who ate and praised them.
• Zhou Wanwan ordered Zheng Xing'an to record the bandits' strongholds, identifying sixty-eight in total, then offered their chiefs a choice between sending treasure and joining her organization.
• One bandit chief rejected Zhou Wanwan's terms and demanded to leave, but vines dragged him out of the stronghold.
• Ten bandit chiefs knelt and agreed to let Zhou Wanwan take over their strongholds, pleading for mercy.

Zhou Wanwan offered poor strongholds a chance to farm under her rule, but rival bandits coveted Black Wind Stronghold’s riches and infiltrated it. After they tried to drug the well, Zhou Wanwan’s frightening forest traps captured them.

• Zhou Wanwan offered sweet potato vines and support to ten strongholds in exchange for sixty percent of their harvests, and their leaders agreed to obey her rather than rob people.
• Other bandit leaders mocked the ten strongholds, then grew envious after spotting Black Wind Stronghold’s wealth and decades-old ginseng.
• The bandits summoned Canglang Stronghold, Liehu Stronghold, Jinglei Stronghold, and Xueying Stronghold to help them seize Black Wind Stronghold.
• Zhou Wanwan let the rival bandits investigate while ordering her people to wipe out their dens and teach them a lesson.
• The bandits explored Black Wind Stronghold, and Liehu proposed drugging its well; as they approached it, laughter sounded and vines dragged them into the woods.
• Zhou Wanwan’s horror-themed forest traps terrified the captured bandits with eerie sounds, icy wind, and slamming coffins.

Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree used terrifying forest tricks to drive Canglang, Liehu, Jinglei, Xueying, and their bandits away from Black Wind Stronghold. The bandits returned to find their homes, food, livestock, and hidden treasures gone, while Zhou Wanwan’s ten allied strongholds received new houses and supplies along with people sent to teach useful skills.

• Canglang, Liehu, Jinglei, and Xueying were terrorized by the forest’s ghosts and traps until they fainted at daybreak and decided to leave Black Wind Stronghold.
• Zhou Wanwan praised the night’s frightening scenes, and Old Scholar Tree said the bandits would remember them and stay away.
• Canglang and the other chiefs returned to their strongholds and discovered that their houses, provisions, livestock, and private savings had vanished.
• Liehu, Jinglei, Xueying, and Canglang wondered who had emptied their strongholds, while Canglang vowed to kill whoever was responsible.
• The ten strongholds allied with Zhou Wanwan woke to find new houses in place of their shacks and learned that Black Wind Stronghold had sent grain, tools, supplies, and instructors.

Zhou Wanwan arranged practical training and education for the mountain strongholds under her command while Nie Shi'an faced mounting demands from the great families for the treasures entrusted to her. Nie Shi'an continued to believe Zhou Wanwan would return with the treasures, but the families pressed him to pay compensation.

• Zhou Wanwan's stewards assigned practical skills to each stronghold and promised teachers and martial instructors for its children, including a chance to take the imperial examinations.
• Madam Nie blamed Zhou Wanwan for Nie Rou's fate and suspected her of stealing the treasures, but Nie Shi'an defended her and said she had done good work for him.
• The great families demanded their treasures from Nie Shi'an, who admitted he had promised Zhou Wanwan five thousand taels for each item she protected.
• Prefect Fang and Cheng Xiao warned Nie Shi'an that trusting Zhou Wanwan had caused trouble, but he insisted she was capable and had handled cases well.
• The great families confronted Nie Shi'an again and demanded to know how he would settle their losses, while he asked them to wait longer for Zhou Wanwan.

Zhou Wanwan returned the treasures she had recovered and faced accusations that she had switched the noble families’ antiques for fakes. When several families demanded compensation, she said they should question the mountain bandits who had possessed the items, while Xie Cheng'an insisted she provide replacements.

• Zhou Wanwan returned the treasures in more than a dozen carriages and reminded Nie Shi'an of the promised reward.
• The noble families offered to pay Zhou Wanwan’s reward themselves, sparing Nie Shi'an the expense.
• Xie Linzhou accused Zhou Wanwan of replacing his three antiques with fakes, but she took them back and showed a register of the treasures originally brought in.
• Members of six noble families claimed their returned antiques had also been switched and demanded compensation from Zhou Wanwan.
• Zhou Wanwan said she had only recovered the items and that the families should ask the mountain bandits about the alleged switches.
• Xie Cheng'an demanded rare treasures and other valuables as compensation for the families’ losses.

Zhou Wanwan faced accusations from the great families and offered rare treasures as compensation, while privately revealing that the antiques were counterfeits accepted by bribed appraisers. Nie Shi'an offered to compensate her from his storeroom, alarming Madam Nie.

• Xie Cheng'en refused to hand over the suspected fakes, so Zhou Wanwan ordered her subordinate to fetch treasures and calmly ate pastries while she waited.
• Madam Nie accused Zhou Wanwan of causing trouble and having sticky fingers, and Zhou Wanwan mocked her by asking whether she had moved her own house away.
• Zhou Wanwan presented more than a dozen valuable-looking antiques, and appraisers brought by Xie Cheng'en declared them genuine.
• Xie Cheng'en proposed dividing the antiques among the great families, but Zhou Wanwan told Old Scholar Tree that the appraisers had been bribed and that the families would not escape punishment.
• Nie Shi'an offered Zhou Wanwan items from his storeroom to compensate her, and Madam Nie angrily challenged him.

Nie Shi'an defended Zhou Wanwan and offered to adopt her, but she declined and asked him to promote her instead. After Zhou Wanwan joined him to inspect Yunxi County’s sweet potato harvest, the remarkable yield moved Nie Shi'an, who took her somewhere to show her something.

• Nie Shi'an rejected Madam Nie's accusations against Zhou Wanwan and praised her character, while Prefect Fang and Cheng Xiao complained that their sons were following Zhou Wanwan and Gu Sinian.
• Nie Shi'an let Zhou Wanwan choose three treasures from the Nie Family vault, then argued with Madam Nie about giving gifts to Zhou Wanwan instead of adding to Nie Rou's dowry.
• Nie Shi'an asked Zhou Wanwan to become his adopted daughter, but she refused and asked him to promote her; he said she could keep hearing cases despite lacking scholarly rank.
• Nie Shi'an and Zhou Wanwan went to Yunxi County, where Shen Yu'an oversaw the digging of sweet potatoes that yielded over four thousand jin per mu despite the drought.
• Moved by the harvest's potential to prevent famine, Nie Shi'an thanked Zhou Wanwan and took her somewhere, saying she would understand when they arrived.

Nie Shi'an brought Zhou Wanwan to his countryside estate, where she collected foreign crops and fruit trees to grow for profit. She asked him to credit Tang Jingyuan and Su Yan for the sweet potato report and help them return to office, leaving her with a way to build connections at court.

• Nie Shi'an showed Zhou Wanwan the foreign crops and seeds he had gathered and offered her whatever she wanted.
• Zhou Wanwan selected five strong seedlings of each unfamiliar crop and took two trees of each fruit variety.
• Nie Shi'an promised to include Zhou Wanwan's name in the sweet potato report, but she asked him to credit Tang Jingyuan and Su Yan instead.
• Zhou Wanwan explained that Tang Jingyuan and Su Yan had been framed and had evidence that could help restore them to office.
• Nie Shi'an agreed to help submit their evidence, and Zhou Wanwan planned to use their return to court to establish connections there.

Zhou Wanwan confronted Old Madam Zhou about the mountain bandits’ complaints and ordered the three named strongholds to pay double tribute. The Zhou Family then tried to claim her house and insisted on staying, and Zhou Wanwan let them in despite the steward’s concerns.

• Zhou Wanwan returned home and found the Zhou Family waiting for her in the main hall.
• Old Madam Zhou warned Zhou Wanwan that collecting protection fees was against imperial law and named Jumbled Stone Stronghold, Tiger Claw Stronghold, and Yellow Earth Slope as the complainants.
• Zhou Wanwan told Old Madam Zhou to inform the three strongholds that they would have to pay double tribute.
• The Zhou Family demanded money and tried to move into Zhou Wanwan’s house, while Zhou Fusheng clarified that the house belonged to Zhou Wanwan.
• Qian Huihui and the others agreed to stay in the side courtyard, and the steward warned Zhou Wanwan that they had already started making demands.

Old Man Zhou, Old Madam Zhou, Qian Huihui, and Zhou Qingzhou moved into the side courtyard and tried to make Zhou Wanwan feed them and hand over her food delivery business. When their schemes failed, Zhou Qingzhou went to a brothel and charged 3,560 taels to the Zhou Residence, expecting Zhou Wanwan to pay.

• Old Madam Zhou and Qian Huihui agreed to endure the shabby side courtyard until they could bring the rest of the Zhou family over.
• Old Madam Zhou and Zhou Qingzhou demanded dinner and tried to take control of Zhou Wanwan's food delivery business, but Zhou Wanwan refused them.
• Old Madam Zhou told Zhou Qingzhou that Zhou Wanwan's food delivery and errand services earned a fortune, and Qian Huihui said their family should claim a share.
• Zhou Wanwan explained that she kept the Zhou family at the residence so they would have to watch her family live well, while trees around the home kept watch on them.
• Zhou Qingzhou told his friends at a brothel that Zhou Wanwan was the boss of the Black Wind Stronghold, but they did not believe him.
• Zhou Qingzhou ran up a 3,560-tael bill at the brothel and told the madam to send it to the Zhou Residence for Zhou Fusheng to pay.

Zhou Qingzhou’s brothel debt brought creditors to the Zhou residence, where Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e refused to pay for him. His parents and Old Madam Zhou were left to deal with the bill while Zhou Wanwan observed her parents’ growing confidence.

• Zhou Qingzhou signed and thumbprinted a bill, and the brothel sent it to the Zhou residence demanding payment.
• Zhou Fusheng questioned his sons and Gu Sinian, then learned that Zhou Qingzhou owed 3,650 taels.
• Qian Huihui and Old Madam Zhou urged Zhou Fusheng to pay, but he told Zhou Fuyu that Qingzhou’s parents should handle the debt.
• Zhou Wanwan asked the Old Scholar Tree whether her father would give in, and it noted that both her parents had been improving.
• Zhou Qingchen challenged Old Madam Zhou’s praise of Zhou Qingzhou, while the creditors demanded to know who would pay.
• Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e left the side courtyard, leaving Qian Huihui and Old Madam Zhou to face the creditors.

Zhou Wanwan confiscated the hidden money of Old Madam Zhou and Qian Huihui, leaving them unable to pay Zhou Qingzhou’s brothel debt. After Fang Ting refused to help her husband, Zhou Wanwan arranged for the brothel’s men to seize him at the gambling table.

• The Old Scholar Tree found Old Madam Zhou and Qian Huihui’s hidden money, and Zhou Wanwan confiscated it as rent and compensation.
• The brothel’s enforcers demanded payment for Zhou Qingzhou’s 3,650-tael debt, but Old Madam Zhou and Qian Huihui had no money left.
• Qian Huihui asked Fang Ting to save Zhou Qingzhou, but Fang Ting refused to pay and challenged the enforcers to report her to the authorities.
• The brothel’s madam decided not to pursue the debt against Fang Ting because her father was Prefect Fang.
• Zhou Wanwan went to the brothel and offered to help seize Zhou Qingzhou, then the enforcers dragged him away from a gambling table.

Zhou Wanwan refused to help Zhou Qingzhou pay his gambling and other debts, and Prefect Fang was summoned to the yamen. Zhou Qingzhou’s relatives and Fang Ting were brought in as creditors demanded repayment.

• Zhou Wanwan told Zhou Qingzhou she had no obligation to support him after he asked her to pay his debts.
• Cheng Chao said Zhou Qingzhou owed the gambling house eleven thousand taels, and Zhou Wanwan insisted he repay all his creditors.
• The adviser woke Prefect Fang and told him Zhou Qingzhou had been brought to the yamen; Prefect Fang arrived and learned the debt exceeded fourteen thousand taels.
• Zhou Qingzhou asked Zhou Wanwan to pay, but she refused and reminded Prefect Fang that Zhou Qingzhou was his son-in-law.
• Cheng Chao and a madam demanded payment from Prefect Fang, then summoned Old Madam Zhou, Old Man Zhou, Qian Huihui, Zhou Fuyu, and Fang Ting to the courtroom.
• Cheng Chao told Fang Ting she would have to repay Zhou Qingzhou’s debt and said he would take what he was owed from her dowry.

Fang Ting left Zhou Qingzhou and returned to the Fang residence, where Prefect Fang and Madam Fang argued over whether she should stay. Zhou Wanwan treated Madam Fang after she fainted, but the family dispute remained unresolved.

• Fang Ting demanded her dowry back and asked Prefect Fang to let her divorce Zhou Qingzhou.
• Prefect Fang agreed to take Fang Ting home temporarily, and she moved back to the Fang residence that night.
• Madam Fang objected to Fang Ting's return, while Prefect Fang blamed her for Fang Ting's unhappy marriage.
• Concubine Mei pleaded with Prefect Fang to spare Fang Ting, and Madam Fang fainted from anger.
• Madam Fang's head maid fetched Zhou Wanwan, who treated her and suggested Fang Ting establish her own household.
• Prefect Fang and Madam Fang argued over who was responsible for Fang Ting's situation and whether she could remain in the family home.

After Concubine Mei and Fang Ting sabotaged Madam Fang’s daughters’ engagements, Zhou Wanwan helped Madam Fang uncover their scheme and arrange for Fang Ting to reunite with Xunhuan. The chapter left Madam Fang learning that her daughters’ former fiancés might have been poor matches after all.

• Prefect Fang blamed Madam Fang for causing turmoil in the household and stormed out, and Zhou Wanwan suggested that Madam Fang consider divorce.
• Madam Fang told Zhou Wanwan that both Fang Shu and Fang Yu’s engagements had been broken off and suspected Fang Ting was behind it.
• Zheng Xing'an reported that Concubine Mei and Fang Ting had spread rumors to ruin the two girls’ prospects.
• Madam Fang arranged a reunion between Fang Ting and Xunhuan, and Fang Ting said she would set up her own household to be with him.
• Zhou Wanwan warned Madam Fang that both former fiancés had serious flaws and advised her to investigate their families again.

After learning Zhou Wanwan had helped Fang Shu and Fang Yu avoid disastrous engagements, Madam Fang proposed a business partnership with her and decided to leave Lord Fang. Lord Fang blamed Zhou Wanwan for the family conflict and went to confront her at the surveillance commissioner's office, where he learned she was asleep.

• Madam Fang investigated Fang Shu and Fang Yu's prospective families and found both engagements were fraught with serious problems.
• Zhou Wanwan proposed partnering with Madam Fang to expand their shops in the capital, and Madam Fang agreed to an equal division of profits and promised her brother's support.
• Madam Fang told Lord Fang she wanted a divorce because his actions had jeopardized their daughters' marriages, but he refused and blamed Zhou Wanwan for influencing her.
• Lord Fang went to the surveillance commissioner's office to confront Zhou Wanwan, and Nie Shi'an told him she was taking a nap.
• Lord Fang demanded that Zhou Wanwan be woken, furious that she was sleeping after supposedly tearing his family apart.

After Prefect Fang blamed Zhou Wanwan for his wife demanding a divorce, a group of prominent families accused her of robbing their homes. The officials debated who should investigate, and Zhou Wanwan declined to take the case.

• Prefect Fang woke Zhou Wanwan and accused her of turning his wife against him, but she pointed out that his own favoritism had caused the trouble.
• A yamen runner reported that seven or eight prominent families had been robbed, and their heads arrived to demand justice.
• Family Head Xie accused Zhou Wanwan of stealing the families’ wealth, but she said she had spent the night at the prefectural yamen and denounced their earlier mistreatment of her.
• Zhou Wanwan argued that her sweet potato crops had helped Dongshan Prefecture endure the drought, while Prefect Fang denied that she deserved credit.
• Nie Shi'an suggested that Zhou Wanwan investigate the robberies, but Prefect Fang objected because he suspected her, and Zhou Wanwan agreed to stay out of the case.

Zhou Wanwan challenged Chen Ankang to solve two long-unsolved cases and secured a written wager promising her five thousand taels and his service if she solved them. Chen Ankang then investigated a prominent family’s vanished treasures but found no sign of entry or footprints.

• Nie Shi'an put Chen Ankang in charge of the case, and Chen Ankang introduced the stolen golden Buddha and the murders of more than twenty women as two unsolved cases.
• Zhou Wanwan mocked Chen Ankang and challenged him to promise a reward if she solved both cases.
• Chen Ankang wagered five thousand taels and his service against Zhou Wanwan’s promise to kowtow and apologize if she failed; they signed three copies of a contract.
• The Xie family head accused Zhou Wanwan of replacing the family’s treasures with fakes, but Chen Ankang questioned his story and inspected the empty storeroom.
• Chen Ankang found no footprints, damage to the windows, or signs of entry through the roof, and he could not explain how the treasures had disappeared.

Zhou Wanwan went to the State-Pacifying Temple to investigate the golden Buddha statue, but encountered the Lu sisters and rejected Lu Zhiwei’s proposed business partnership. She left planning to let Lu Zhiwei and Lu Yao proceed with their plans before revealing the truth and making her move.

• Zhou Wanwan told Nie Shi'an she would investigate the theft of the golden Buddha statue at the State-Pacifying Temple.
• Zhou Wanwan encountered Lu Lan, Lu Zhiwei, and Lu Yao at the temple, and Lu Yao boasted that Lu Zhiwei would enter the palace as a consort.
• Lu Zhiwei invited Zhou Wanwan to discuss supplying goods to her shops and proposed a profit split that Zhou Wanwan rejected.
• Lu Zhiwei threatened Zhou Wanwan after she refused the deal, but Zhou Wanwan left without backing down.
• Zheng Xing'an asked why Zhou Wanwan did not expose Lu Zhiwei, and Zhou Wanwan said she wanted to wait until Lu Zhiwei and Lu Yao were further along with their plans.

Zhou Wanwan uncovered the State-Pacifying Temple abbot’s crimes and captured him after revealing her stronger allies. She found his hidden treasure cellar and began inspecting its priceless artifacts.

• Zhou Wanwan followed the monks to a locked meditation room, where the abbot revealed he had been a bandit who built the State-Pacifying Temple to amass wealth.
• Zhou Wanwan guessed that the abbot had stripped gold from the giant Buddha to pave his luxurious room, and he admitted he cared only about himself.
• The abbot threatened Zhou Wanwan with his Earth Ranking strength, but Old Scholar Tree restrained him and Zhou Wanwan showed him tokens belonging to experts ranked in the top 100.
• Zhou Wanwan asked the potted plants where the bandits hid their treasures, and a peony revealed they were beneath a bluestone slab.
• Zhou Wanwan and her companions entered the hidden cellar, where Old Ancestor identified several valuable antiques, including a rare celadon vase.

Zhou Wanwan uncovered the abbot’s hidden treasures and learned that he had arranged her kidnapping for the Lu Family. She brought him to the judicial commissioner’s yamen, where she gathered officials as witnesses to resolve the State-Pacifying Temple case and celebrate with barbecue.

• Zhou Wanwan used the temple trees’ clues to find the abbot’s jewelry cache in a mountain cave and his hidden chamber beneath the pagoda, where a golden Buddha and bodhisattva remained intact.
• Zhou Wanwan questioned the abbot, who admitted that he had paid Lu Family patrons to kidnap and possibly kill her, and she ordered him to reform while keeping the golden Buddha as the charge against him.
• Zhou Wanwan took the abbot to the judicial commissioner’s yamen that night and woke Nie Shi’an, Prefect Fang, Chen Ankang, Shen Congrong, and other officials.
• Zhou Wanwan said the State-Pacifying Temple case had been solved and that she had called the officials to witness it before treating them to barbecue.
• Shen Congrong praised the barbecue and suggested adding it to Zhou Wanwan’s delivery menu, while Nie Shi’an asked what had happened at the temple.

Zhou Wanwan recovered the golden Buddha and exposed the abbot, but the governor intervened and threatened her Black Wind Stronghold. After the abbot and governor tried to intimidate her, Zhou Wanwan invited the officials to barbecue while they complained about her subordinates.

• Zhou Wanwan brought the abbot and his subordinates back, and the abbot confessed to taking the golden Buddha.
• Zhou Wanwan showed Chen Ankang and the other officials the enormous golden Buddha in her courtyard.
• The governor arrived, revealed the Buddha had been beneath the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, and defended the abbot.
• The abbot privately threatened Zhou Wanwan and demanded his treasures and everything in Black Wind Stronghold.
• The governor threatened to kill everyone in the stronghold, and Nie Shi'an explained the governor's powerful family and ties to the abbot.
• Zhou Wanwan offered the officials barbecue, while they complained about being hauled to the investigation by her subordinates.