Recaps

Zhou Wanwan had Lingbao and the treefolk steal the Shen Clan’s sixty-eight cartloads of betrothal gifts and the house Madam Shen had borrowed. After settling a dispute with the house’s owner, Madam Shen found that no one else would let her stay and went to Zhou Wanwan.

• Zhou Wanwan and Lingbao dismissed Shen Zhiyu as unworthy, then had Old Scholar Tree’s treefolk remove the betrothal gifts and everything else from the borrowed house.
• Madam Shen woke to find the gifts and house gone, while the house’s owner demanded compensation.
• Madam Shen and the owner took their dispute to court, where Cheng Xiao heard their accusations.
• Madam Shen settled with the owner for eight hundred taels of silver, but news of the vanished houses made her friends refuse to shelter her.
• Unable to find a place to stay in Dongshan Prefecture, Madam Shen went to Zhou Wanwan.

Zhou Wanwan warned Madam Shen to leave Dongshan Prefecture, then used gossip gathered by the trees to tell a salt merchant about his household and predict that salt and grain prices would fall. When the merchants and scholars challenged her, she called for Xing'an to fetch Dean Zhu of White Deer Academy as a witness.

• Madam Shen paid Zhou Wanwan to learn who had moved her house, and Zhou Wanwan warned her that she had angered someone powerful and should leave Dongshan Prefecture before her family faced calamity.
• Zhou Wanwan told a salt merchant that his household was troubled and his finances would suffer, drawing angry demands for a refund.
• Zhou Wanwan predicted that salt prices and grain prices in Dongshan Prefecture would fall, but the merchants and onlookers mocked her forecast.
• The salt merchant proposed that Dean Zhu of White Deer Academy witness a bet about prices, and Zhou Wanwan sent Xing'an to fetch him.
• As the crowd waited, scholars doubted that Dean Zhu would come and criticized Zhou Wanwan for boasting.

Zhou Wanwan revealed that Dean Zhu had taken her as his final disciple, then challenged salt and grain merchants to wager on her prediction that grain and salt prices would fall. She left with signed contracts granting her grain, cotton quilts, and medicinal herbs if the merchants lost.

• Luo Shuang mocked Zhou Wanwan for setting up a fortune-telling stall and insulted Luo Xue, who warned her about the Luo Family's declining business.
• Dean Zhu came out and confirmed that Zhou Wanwan was his final disciple, stunning Luo Shuang, the other onlookers, and the merchants.
• Zhou Wanwan accepted the merchants' offer to make a large bet and specified that she wanted grain, cotton quilts, and medicinal herbs rather than silver if they lost.
• Zhou Wanwan drafted clear contracts, and the merchants signed and sealed more than a hundred copies.

Zhou Wanwan refused to flee after wagering tens of millions of taels on salt and grain prices, confident that a newly opened waterway would soon end the drought. The river reached Yunxi County, and Lord Fang set out to see the enormous river and learn whether Zhou Wanwan had built it.

• Dean Zhu urged Zhou Wanwan to flee over her risky contracts, but Zhao Muyuan backed her confidence that grain and salt prices would fall within ten days.
• Zhou Wanwan checked the channel her tree people had spent a month digging and blasting open from a branch of the Yangtze River system.
• Zhou Wanwan’s people demolished the mountain barrier, and the river water flowed through the channel into a low-lying area, forming a lake.
• Zhou Wanwan said the new water source would let them irrigate fields and grow grain despite future droughts.
• Lord Fang’s steward told him Dongshan Prefecture had gained a river, and Lord Fang traveled to Yunxi County to see it and investigate Zhou Wanwan’s role.

Zhou Wanwan used the newly dug river to persuade Lord Fang to lower grain and salt prices and organize relief for the refugees in Dongshan Prefecture. As winter approached, she began building greenhouses and selling salt and sweet potatoes cheaply, leaving the grain market shaken.

• Lord Fang inspected Zhou Wanwan’s river and agreed that grain and salt prices should come down.
• Zhou Wanwan urged Lord Fang to control prices, feed refugees, and put able-bodied refugees to work farming.
• Lord Fang established refugee camps, distributed porridge, and sent young adults to farm Zhou Wanwan’s land.
• Zhou Wanwan built greenhouses and sold salt at less than half the merchants’ prices.
• Zhou Wanwan began selling sweet potatoes for two wen per jin, along with sweet potato flour, dried sweet potatoes, and sweet potato noodles.

Zhou Wanwan flooded Dongshan Prefecture's markets with cheap grain and sweet potatoes, defeating the merchants' attempt to buy up supplies and forcing them to honor their bet. She then showed Master Zhu her plans to grow crops through winter in heated greenhouses.

• Zhou Wanwan's low prices alarmed the grain and salt merchants, who feared their stored grain would lose value and urged one another to buy up the market supply.
• Zhou Wanwan told Dean Zhu to let the merchants buy grain, while Old Scholar Tree explained that supplies would keep returning to market.
• The merchants found that grain mysteriously vanished from their storehouses even as they purchased more, while market prices continued to fall.
• On the tenth day, the merchants knelt before Zhou Wanwan, paid half their debt in silver, and promised to provide the rest in grain.
• Zhou Wanwan told Dean Zhu that the prefect was on her side, then showed Master Zhu plans for winter greenhouses heated with coal and charcoal.

Zhou Wanwan proposed using greenhouses and settling disaster victims to expand farming in Dongshan Prefecture while Lord Fang and Cheng Xiao dealt with Eunuch Hai’s arrival. Eunuch Hai pressured Cheng Xiao to help sell military supplies and demanded to meet Zhou Wanwan, who agreed to see him.

• Zhou Wanwan told Master Zhu that greenhouses could supply her growing delivery business and give disaster victims work.
• Lord Fang arranged for disaster victims to settle in Dongshan Prefecture and planned to have them clear wasteland and farm.
• Eunuch Hai arrived and offered Cheng Xiao a promotion in exchange for helping sell weapons, horses, salt, gunpowder, and other supplies.
• Eunuch Hai ordered Cheng Xiao to bring Zhou Wanwan to meet him, and Cheng Xiao refused to assist with the military sale because it would betray the country.
• Lord Fang and Cheng Xiao went to Zhou Wanwan, who agreed to meet Eunuch Hai; Cheng Chao then entered and questioned why his father had come.

Zhou Wanwan discovered Eunuch Hai’s hidden stores of military supplies and had them moved to the Black Wind Stronghold before he could send them to Great Qi. The next morning, Eunuch Hai ordered her to enter the palace and disband her stronghold, then learned the supplies had vanished and demanded that Lord Fang investigate.

• Cheng Chao warned Cheng Xiao that Eunuch Hai was selling military supplies at the Noble Consort’s bidding, and Zhou Wanwan reassured them that she would handle the matter.
• Zhou Wanwan learned that Eunuch Hai’s shipment was stored at estates outside the city, where soldiers discussed delivering the goods to an unknown destination.
• Zhou Wanwan found warehouses full of provisions, clothing, armor, weapons, and other supplies, then ordered them taken to the Black Wind Stronghold.
• Zhou Wanwan moved all the supplies from the estates overnight.
• Eunuch Hai summoned Zhou Wanwan, ordered her to enter the palace to serve Princess Jianing, and demanded that she disband the Black Wind Mountain Stronghold.
• After learning the supplies were missing, Eunuch Hai ordered Lord Fang to investigate and revealed that they were winter military supplies for an impending war with Great Qi.

Eunuch Hai ordered six-year-old Zhou Wanwan to enter the palace, while Lord Fang learned she had sent the missing military supplies to the front lines. Zhou Wanwan went to Eunuch Hai’s residence, where the palace matrons tried to force her to learn servant etiquette, but she used her power to turn their punishments against them.

• Eunuch Hai told Lord Fang that Zhou Wanwan would stay at his residence and enter the palace under the noble consort’s command.
• Zhou Wanwan told Lord Fang she had sent the missing military supplies to the army camp instead of letting Eunuch Hai send them to Great Qi Kingdom.
• Liu Su'e objected to Zhou Wanwan going to the palace, and Zhou Fusheng, Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, Feng Yueyao, and Feng Jiao discussed traveling to the capital with her.
• Zhou Wanwan arrived at Eunuch Hai’s residence, where palace matrons began harshly teaching her the rules for serving the princess.
• Zhou Wanwan immobilized the matrons and forced them to run and strike themselves after they tried to punish her.

Zhou Wanwan forced the palace matrons to stop their etiquette lessons, while Eunuch Hai discovered that someone had already delivered the military supplies and pay, ruining his chance to profit. When Eunuch Hai ordered a young eunuch to strike Zhou Wanwan, the eunuch’s hand broke before he could hit her.

• Zhou Wanwan made the palace matrons run for a full shichen until they collapsed, and they admitted she had learned etiquette well enough.
• Lord Fang told Eunuch Hai that a kind person had delivered the military pay and supplies to the troops and gave him the military camp’s signed list.
• Eunuch Hai threatened to investigate Dongshan Prefecture’s treatment of the disaster victims and insisted on going out to inspect conditions in disguise.
• Eunuch Hai demanded that Zhou Wanwan accompany him, then ordered a young eunuch to slap her when she refused.
• The young eunuch swung at Zhou Wanwan, but his hand bent backward and broke, leaving him screaming before he fainted.

Zhou Wanwan took Eunuch Hai to the Mandarin Duck Tower, where he became absorbed in its storytelling and performances instead of inspecting Dongshan Prefecture. Meanwhile, Zhou Qingzhou told Shen Zhiyu and their companions that Zhou Wanwan’s grandmother was a renowned spirit medium who could answer their questions.

• Eunuch Hai angrily demanded to know who had struck him, then slapped himself ten times while Zhou Wanwan tried to stop him.
• Zhou Wanwan brought Eunuch Hai to the Mandarin Duck Tower, where he listened to Journey to the West for hours and paid the storyteller to continue.
• Eunuch Hai stayed to watch the Mandarin Duck Tower’s new adaptation of The Romance of the Western Chamber and ordered dinner so he could keep watching.
• Zhou Wanwan spotted Xie Cheng'en, Cui Hongyuan, Ji Huai, Shen Zhiyu, and Zhou Qingzhou among the tower’s visitors.
• Cui Hongyuan and Zhou Qingzhou blamed Zhou Wanwan for bringing misfortune to their family, and Zhou Qingzhou claimed her grandmother was a famous spirit medium with accurate fortune-telling.

Zhou Wanwan confronted Zhou Qingzhou for claiming his grandmother taught her fortune-telling, then learned Xie Cheng'en found it amusing that she was going to serve as Princess Jianing's study companion. As Zhou Wanwan prepared to enter the palace, she reassured herself that Old Ancestor and Old Scholar Tree could protect her and offered to help Eunuch Hai find his lost childhood love.

• Shen Zhiyu suggested visiting Zhou Qingzhou's grandmother, whom Zhou Qingzhou claimed was a renowned spirit medium who had taught Zhou Wanwan.
• Zhou Wanwan confronted Zhou Qingzhou and denied that his grandmother had taught her, while Xie Cheng'en criticized her for disrespecting an elder.
• Eunuch Hai revealed that Zhou Wanwan was going into the palace as Princess Jianing's study companion, and Xie Cheng'en and Shen Zhiyu reacted with amusement.
• Zhou Wanwan privately discussed palace protection with Old Scholar Tree and Old Ancestor, who said they had grown powerful after eating Jianghu Alliance experts.
• Eunuch Hai cried over the love story in The Romance of the Western Chamber and told Zhou Wanwan about his childhood sweetheart, so she offered to help him find her.
• Eunuch Hai warned Zhou Wanwan not to insult Noble Consort Ning, since people in the capital might punish her for it.

Zhou Wanwan discussed Noble Consort Ning and Princess Jianing with Eunuch Hai, then astonished him by naming the ingredients and preparation methods of several imperial dishes. They went to the newly opened Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion for dinner, where Eunuch Hai admired its unusual decor and furnishings.

• Eunuch Hai explained Noble Consort Ning’s power and Princess Jianing’s favor, and said Jianing had not summoned Zhou Wanwan merely to be her study companion.
• Eunuch Hai challenged Zhou Wanwan to identify the ingredients in four imperial dishes, betting he would pay for dinner if she guessed three correctly.
• Zhou Wanwan described the ingredients and preparation of five elaborate imperial dishes, leaving Eunuch Hai amazed by her knowledge.
• Zhou Wanwan invited Eunuch Hai to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and they arrived at its private room.
• Eunuch Hai praised the restaurant’s distinctive decor, soft sofas, and glass-topped low tables.

Zhou Wanwan hosted Eunuch Hai at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, where its food, drinks, and books drew crowds and impressed him. When Zhou Wanwan suggested he leave the palace and questioned his grudge against the Feng Clan, Eunuch Hai ordered his guards to seize her.

• Eunuch Hai criticized the restaurant, but became engrossed in Journey to the West while Zhou Wanwan teased him.
• The dishes arrived, and Eunuch Hai questioned whether Dongshan Prefecture's refugees were hungry and where they had been settled.
• Zhou Wanwan invited Prefect Fang and the accompanying magistrates to eat, while rumors about the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion attracted crowds of wealthy and prominent people.
• Eunuch Hai enjoyed watermelon juice and milk tea, and Zhou Wanwan urged him to leave the palace and follow her to Dongshan Prefecture.
• Eunuch Hai insisted he had a great grudge against the Feng Clan, and when Zhou Wanwan suggested he might be mistaken, he ordered his guards to seize her.

Zhou Wanwan revealed that the Ning Clan had framed the Zheng and Hai families, ending Eunuch Hai’s decades-long pursuit of revenge. After reconciling with Old Master Zheng and meeting Zhao Qingxi, Eunuch Hai thanked Zhou Wanwan, while she remained eager to visit the imperial palace.

• Zhou Wanwan brought the Feng Clan before Eunuch Hai, and Old Master Feng denied betraying Hai’s family, showing him their letters.
• Zhou Wanwan explained that the Ning Clan had driven a wedge between the Hai and Zheng families, and a former Ning Clan servant provided evidence of the plot.
• Eunuch Hai realized the Ning Clan had used him for decades, then sat with Old Master Zheng to discuss their shared past.
• Eunuch Hai warned Zhou Wanwan about going to the imperial palace, but she insisted she wanted to go.
• Zhou Wanwan introduced Eunuch Hai to Zhao Qingxi, who explained that she had been mistreated by her merchant husband before Zhou Wanwan rescued her.
• Eunuch Hai thanked Zhou Wanwan, and she told him she knew he had secretly helped young eunuchs and palace maids.

Zhou Wanwan persuaded Eunuch Hai to abandon Noble Consort Ning’s order and join her, while Zhao Qingxi agreed to return to the capital with him. Zhou Wanwan’s family decided to move to the capital too and left that night without Eunuch Hai, who wondered whether Zhou Wanwan could be trusted.

• Zhou Wanwan told Eunuch Hai the truth about the Ning Clan and urged him to stay in Dongshan Prefecture, but he worried about the danger to his followers if he failed to return.
• Eunuch Hai invited Zhao Qingxi to accompany him, and she accepted; Zhou Wanwan gave Zhao Qingxi a hundred taels of silver for her work at the embroidery workshop.
• Zhou Wanwan told Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng she planned to go to the capital, and they decided the whole family would travel together.
• Old Madam Zhou and Old Man Zhou asked to travel with them, and Zhou Fusheng agreed to pick them up when the family left.
• Zhou Wanwan had Old Scholar Tree carry her family to the capital that night, leaving Eunuch Hai behind; the next morning, Eunuch Hai asked Zhao Qingxi whether Zhou Wanwan was reliable.

Zhou Wanwan and her companions traveled toward the capital by sea aboard Old Scholar Tree, while Gu Sinian offered her his savings and she explained that her family already had houses and money there. The group caught fish for dinner, and Zheng Xing'an described the four skilled maids accompanying them.

• Zhao Qingxi explained to Eunuch Hai how Zhou Wanwan had helped the Black Wind Mountain Stronghold and settled Dongshan Prefecture's refugees, then Eunuch Hai agreed to set off.
• Old Scholar Tree and Old Ancestor carried Zhou Wanwan and her family across the sea at great speed, while Zhou Wanwan and Gu Sinian discussed where they would live in the capital and Gu Sinian offered her his savings.
• Zhou Wanwan told Gu Sinian that she had her own money and that her family owned several houses in the capital, then joked that she would prepare his betrothal gifts when he married.
• Old Scholar Tree used his roots to catch a net full of fish, and Zhou Wanwan chose a few for dinner and ordered the rest returned to the sea.
• Wanshuang prepared dinner as Zheng Xing'an introduced Tingfeng, Xunying, Yingyue, and Wanshuang's skills and palace etiquette training, and Zhou Wanwan praised them.

Zhou Wanwan and the tree spirits fought off dozens of great white sharks during their journey to the capital, absorbing their energy and making salt along the way. She reached the capital and woke in a huanghuali bed, unsure where she was.

• Zhou Wanwan and her family were surrounded by dozens of great white sharks, and Old Scholar Tree proposed controlling them by driving roots into their bodies.
• Old Scholar Tree and Old Ancestor absorbed energy from the sharks while Zhou Wanwan replenished their energy for two days and one night.
• Old Ancestor and Old Scholar Tree defeated the sharks, and the tree spirits gained strength from the energy they absorbed.
• Old Ancestor and Old Scholar Tree made more than a dozen sacks of salt as they continued toward the capital.
• Zhou Wanwan planned to enter their courtyard at night to avoid attracting attention, then woke in a huanghuali bed and wondered where she was.

Zhou Wanwan settled into her capital residence, where her takeout business had expanded into a citywide delivery network and restaurant. After hearing gossip about Shangguan Wan'er’s unhappy engagement and cruel stepmother, Zhou Wanwan decided to visit her, while her trusted aides returned to the capital.

• Zheng Xing'an escorted Zhou Wanwan to the dining room, where the household waited for her before eating.
• Zhou Wanwan learned that her capital business now included the Moon-Gathering Tower, ten takeout locations, banquet services, and deliveries of household goods.
• The trees told Zhou Wanwan that Shangguan Wan'er’s fiancé was cold toward her and that her stepmother mistreated her while the General of Agile Cavalry favored the stepmother’s daughter.
• Zhou Wanwan said she would visit Shangguan Wan'er the next day to see what was happening for herself.
• Cheng Chao, Shen Wanjun, and Chen Ankang returned to the capital, and Chen Ankang argued with his parents about his loyalty to Zhou Wanwan.

Chen Ankang returned to Upper Capital to reclaim the Chen Family residence, but Huo Lingchuan challenged him to find lodging despite the Huo Family’s threats. After Chen Ankang’s former friends refused to shelter him, the chapter ended with Huo Lingchuan’s companions spotting Miss Lin, who had once been engaged to Chen Ankang.

• Chen Ankang went to the Chen Family’s old residence, where Huo Lingchuan mocked him for becoming a servant and claimed the house had been sold.
• Huo Lingchuan bet that Chen Ankang could not find a suitable place to stay, while Chen Ankang wagered his gold, silver, and jewels against the return of the residence.
• Madam Huo taunted Mother Chen about the family’s misfortune and Chen Ankang’s young master, and Madam Chen defended her son.
• Chen Ankang visited his former friends, but they shut their doors, while Huo Lingchuan and his companions ridiculed him.
• Huo Lingchuan’s companions spotted Miss Lin and remarked that she had once been engaged to Chen Ankang.

Zhou Wanwan intervened when Lin Xi pressured Chen Ankang to sign a guarantee, insisting they both sign and challenging Lin Xi's insults about Dongshan Prefecture. Lin Yue then offered to marry Chen Ankang, but Lord Lin objected, and Zhou Wanwan claimed she approved the match.

• Lin Xi denied her betrothal to Chen Ankang and demanded that he sign a letter promising not to bother her, while Chen Ankang was hurt by her public rejection.
• Zhou Wanwan arrived and said Lin Xi should sign a guarantee too, then presented terms requiring both parties to leave each other in peace and protect each other's reputations.
• Lin Xi signed the guarantee and insulted Chen Ankang and Dongshan Prefecture, while Zhou Wanwan challenged her to help the prefecture's people if she looked down on their poverty.
• Lin Yue offered to marry Chen Ankang in her younger sister's place, saying the Lin Family should honor its agreement with the Chen Family.
• Lord Lin rejected Lin Yue's offer and questioned Zhou Wanwan's authority to decide his daughter's marriage, but Zhou Wanwan said she approved it.

Zhou Wanwan used evidence of Lord Lin’s corruption to make him agree that Lin Yue could leave the family with her mother’s dowry if Madam Lin mistreated her. Hiding with Lord Lin, Zhou Wanwan witnessed Madam Lin abuse Lin Yue and reveal that she planned to give Lin Xi Lin Yue’s dowry.

• Zhou Wanwan showed Lord Lin an account book documenting his years of embezzlement and confronted him over his neglect of Lin Yue.
• Zhou Wanwan and Lord Lin agreed that Lin Yue would have nothing more to do with the Lin Family if he witnessed Madam Lin mistreating her, while Lin Yue’s mother’s dowry would go to Lin Yue.
• Zhou Wanwan took Lord Lin to the Lin residence, where they secretly watched Madam Lin slap Lin Yue and order her to kneel in the courtyard.
• Madam Lin told Lin Xi that she had arranged for her to marry Huo Lingchuan and planned to send Lin Yue to Chen Ankang.
• Madam Lin promised Lin Xi that she would take Lin Yue’s dowry, claiming she could excuse its disappearance by blaming thieves.

Zhou Wanwan forced Lord Lin to provide Lin Yue with her late mother’s dowry after exposing Madam Lin’s mistreatment of her and the theft of most of the estate. As Lin Yue prepared to marry Chen Ankang in three days, Zhou Wanwan revealed that he had loved Lin Yue all along.

• Lord Lin agreed to arrange Lin Yue’s dowry after Zhou Wanwan threatened to report him to the censor and pointed out that Lin Xi should receive no more than Lin Yue.
• Lin Yue told Lord Lin she had lived in a woodshed, eaten scraps, and worked as a delivery worker because Madam Lin had neglected her.
• Lord Lin ordered Madam Lin to return Lin Yue’s mother’s dowry, but Zhou Wanwan revealed that most of it was gone.
• Lord Lin found the storerooms nearly empty, and Zhou Wanwan used an account book to accuse Madam Lin of sending large sums and valuables to her natal family.
• Zhou Wanwan told Lin Yue to wait for Chen Ankang to fetch her in three days and revealed that he had gone to Dongshan Prefecture because he loved Lin Yue, not Lin Xi.

Lin Yue refused Madam Lin’s demand to abandon her dowry claim, so Madam Lin plotted to ruin her reputation. She lured prominent families to Lin Yue’s courtyard, where suspicious sounds from the room led the guests to prepare to expose whoever was inside.

• Lin Yue rejected Madam Lin’s pleas to drop the dowry dispute and said the Chen Family should focus on returning what was owed.
• Madam Lin told Lin Xi she had kept some of the dowry goods and then plotted to ruin Lin Yue’s reputation; Lin Xi agreed to help draw guests to the scheme.
• Madam Lin invited more than thirty madams and young ladies to admire the lotuses and claimed Lin Yue was too spoiled to come greet them.
• Madam Lin led the guests to Lin Yue’s courtyard, where they heard suggestive sounds coming from her room.
• Madam Chen protested that the person inside might not be Lin Yue, while Madam Huo mocked her and the guests proposed entering to see for themselves.

Lin Yue exposed a plot to ruin her reputation after the guests discovered Lin Xi in the bed instead. The minister arrested the men and Jin Changshun, while Madam Lin continued blaming Lin Yue and Lord Lin confronted her.

• The madams found Lin Xi in Lin Yue’s room, and Lin Yue arrived and denied being involved.
• Madam Lin accused Lin Yue of arranging the incident, but Lin Yue said she had summoned the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate.
• The minister questioned the six ruffians, who named Jin Changshun as the man who paid them to carry out the plot, and ordered them taken to the death cells.
• The minister had Jin Changshun arrested, and Lin Yue revealed that her chastity was intact as the madams criticized the Jin Family.
• Lord Lin returned and slapped Madam Lin, while Lin Yue accused her of mistreating her and stealing her dowry.