Recaps

Zhou Wanwan was sent to the Laundry Bureau after the Empress Dowager erupted at her birthday banquet, but she remained comfortable with the attendants and a hot spring in the Cold Palace. After the Empress Dowager ordered shadow guards to kill her, Zhou Wanwan subdued them and raided the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility’s treasure storehouses.

• Grand Princess Mingzhao presented the Empress Dowager with Mr. Nanshan’s Pine and Crane Longevity Painting, while the guests praised her and Zhou Wanwan; the Empress Dowager smashed Zhou Wanwan’s pastries and ordered her sent to the Laundry Bureau.
• The Grand Princess left the palace with Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e, while Zhou Wanwan’s attendants welcomed her and Old Scholar Tree showed her the hot spring built in the Cold Palace.
• The Empress Dowager questioned Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan about their gifts, then ordered shadow guards to kill Zhou Wanwan after Old Madam Zhou blamed her for the day’s events.
• Old Scholar Tree reported that the shadow guards had been subdued, and Zhou Wanwan decided to visit the Empress Dowager’s palace.
• Zhou Wanwan entered the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility’s storehouses with a group of trees and began taking its vast collection of treasures.

Zhou Wanwan and Old Ancestor’s trees stripped the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, leaving Empress Dowager Zhao’s palace and storeroom empty. When Empress Dowager Zhao went to question Zhou Wanwan, Noble Consort Cui appeared and frightened her into fleeing.

• Zhou Wanwan admired the palace’s treasures as the trees carried away nearly everything in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.
• Empress Dowager Zhao woke on the floor, discovered her palace and storeroom had been emptied, and fainted.
• The emperor summoned officials to investigate, while the minister of the Court of Judicial Review suspected the empress dowager had offended someone.
• Empress Dowager Zhao visited Zhou Wanwan in the cold palace with Princess Jing'an and Princess Ningyuan, but Zhou Wanwan denied seeing anyone the previous night.
• Noble Consort Cui appeared and demanded that Empress Dowager Zhao return her son, sending the empress dowager and the two princesses running.

Zhou Wanwan visited the Weaving Bureau, where she exposed and punished its matron for murdering senior palace maids who threatened her position. She put the rescued women in charge and introduced improved machines to the bureau’s 1,320 workers, who began producing soft, high-quality cloth.

• Zhou Wanwan learned about the palace’s weaving and textile offices and went with the Laundry Bureau’s senior palace maid to inspect the Weaving Bureau.
• The Weaving Bureau’s matron insulted Zhou Wanwan and ordered her subordinates to beat her, but Zhou Wanwan bound the matron and had her beaten.
• Zhou Wanwan brought forward more than a dozen senior palace maids whom the matron had tried to poison, and they accused her of murdering their colleagues to secure her position.
• Old Scholar Tree revealed that the matron had hidden many victims beneath the trees, and Zhou Wanwan appointed the surviving senior palace maids to manage the Weaving Bureau.
• Zhou Wanwan replaced outdated equipment with a hundred improved spinning and weaving machines, and the workers praised the soft cloth they produced.

Zhou Wanwan recruited palace workers from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau to produce her clothing designs and offered them extra wages. Aunt Li refused to involve the Embroidery Bureau, but Zhou Wanwan revealed that she had found Aunt Li’s daughter, Zhao Nian'an, alive.

• Zhou Wanwan offered the Textile Bureau workers extra monthly allowances, then went with them to recruit workers from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau.
• The auntie from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau agreed that all 892 palace maids and eunuchs would work for Zhou Wanwan.
• Zhou Wanwan showed the auntie clothing designs and arranged for the bureau to make a sample garment.
• Zhou Wanwan visited the Embroidery Bureau, but Aunt Li refused to participate because she feared Zhou Wanwan’s plans were dangerous.
• Zhou Wanwan summoned Zhao Nian'an, and Aunt Li tearfully recognized her daughter, who said Zhou Wanwan had saved her.

Zhao Nian'an told Aunt Li that Noble Consort Ning had destroyed the Zhao Family to obtain her embroidery skills, and Aunt Li and her apprentices agreed to serve Zhou Wanwan. Zhou Wanwan took control of the dyehouse, while Old Scholar Tree reported that several people who tried to betray her to Noble Consort Ning had been killed.

• Zhao Nian'an reunited with Aunt Li and revealed that Noble Consort Ning had framed the Zhao Family to get Aunt Li into the palace.
• Aunt Li accepted Zhao Nian'an's account, and she and her apprentices pledged to put Zhou Wanwan first.
• Zhou Wanwan confronted the dyehouse eunuch and forced him to agree to follow her.
• The dyehouse eunuch tried to report Zhou Wanwan to Noble Consort Ning, but trees killed him, and other palace workers who attempted the same also disappeared.
• Old Scholar Tree told Zhou Wanwan that three people from the Embroidery Bureau, three from the Dyeing Bureau, and seven from the Textile Bureau had died, while none from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau had.

Noble Consort Ning summoned Zhou Wanwan and tried to take control of her businesses, but Zhou Wanwan refused her offer. Afterward, Noble Consort Ning proposed to the crown prince that Zhou Wanwan be made a side consort.

• Princess Jianing accused Zhou Wanwan of causing her situation with Xie Cheng'en, and Zhou Wanwan mocked her before she fell to the ground.
• Noble Consort Ning told Zhou Wanwan that she had to remain in the cold palace because the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had declared her a disaster star.
• Noble Consort Ning offered to manage Zhou Wanwan's many businesses and take seventy percent of the profits, but Zhou Wanwan refused.
• Noble Consort Ning summoned the crown prince and proposed making Zhou Wanwan a side consort.

Noble Consort Ning and the crown prince schemed to bring six-year-old Zhou Wanwan into the Eastern Palace for her wealth, but the crown princess recognized the danger and sought her out. Zhou Wanwan exposed a spy among the crown princess’s servants and revealed that even her trusted wet nurse had been compromised.

• Noble Consort Ning persuaded the crown prince to take Zhou Wanwan as a secondary consort and use her to manage his estates and shops.
• The courtyard trees tripped the crown prince repeatedly as he left Noble Consort Ning’s palace, leaving him bruised and furious.
• The crown prince told the crown princess to choose new consorts and take Zhou Wanwan into the Eastern Palace, dismissing the crown princess’s objections.
• The crown princess decided to seek Zhou Wanwan’s help, but vines dragged her maid Yunshu into the woods before she could reach the shops.
• Zhou Wanwan confronted Yunshu, identified her as the crown prince’s spy, and revealed that she was carrying his child.
• The crown princess pledged herself to Zhou Wanwan, who said she had put the spies around her to sleep; the crown princess then questioned how her trusted wet nurse could have betrayed her.

Zhou Wanwan uncovered Noble Consort Ning’s influence and gained Bai Yue’s loyalty, while the crown prince reluctantly discussed taking Zhou Wanwan as a secondary consort. As trouble loomed in the capital and a possible snow disaster threatened Dongshan Prefecture, Zhou Wanwan ordered relief efforts and faced more than a hundred memorials, with her ambitious old subordinates arriving soon.

• Zhou Wanwan told Bai Yue that Noble Consort Ning had planted servants throughout the court and said the Xie Family would soon be sent to war and could be brought down.
• Bai Yue pledged loyalty to Zhou Wanwan and revealed that she controlled the Bai Family through its family token.
• Zhou Wanwan overheard the crown prince’s advisers disparage her as a possible secondary consort, while the crown prince acknowledged the value of her goods.
• Zhou Wanwan learned of a possible snow disaster in Dongshan Prefecture and ordered Uncle Scholar Tree to send people to help with relief.
• Zhou Wanwan reviewed more than a hundred memorials and learned that her old subordinates were arriving in the capital to push her toward seizing the throne.

The court struggled to find a commander to face Great Qi and its allies, so Old General Xie volunteered after Xie Cheng'en refused the assignment. As the old general marched out with over a hundred thousand troops, Shen Chaoge and Qin Shan discussed seizing the capital but decided Zhou Wanwan would not want the throne.

• The ministers refused to lead an attack against Great Qi, whose army was far better equipped than Great Xia's.
• Noble Consort Ning recommended Xie Cheng'en, but he went to the palace and pleaded to be excused from the battlefield.
• Old General Xie volunteered to lead the campaign, then scolded Xie Cheng'en for refusing the chance to earn military honors.
• Old General Xie departed with more than a hundred thousand troops, while Old Madam Xie urged him to stay safe.
• Shen Chaoge and Qin Shan considered taking the capital, but Qin Shan warned that Zhou Wanwan did not want to become empress.

Zhou Wanwan dismissed the Xie Family Army as unfit for war and arranged free lodging, meals, and clothing for scholars from Dongshan Prefecture. Xie Cheng'en bragged about earning 210,000 taels from his food delivery business, but the accounts showed only 2,000 taels remained after expenses.

• Zhou Wanwan compared her well-trained 200,000-strong army and other forces with the out-of-shape Xie Family Army, saying Great Qi would be defeated quickly if her troops fought.
• Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing mocked Zhou Wanwan and scholars from Dongshan Prefecture, so Zhou Wanwan ordered her restaurant to shelter and feed the scholars for free.
• Xie Cheng'en boasted that his food delivery business had earned over 200,000 taels that month, crediting Zhou Wanwan's trained team.
• The head steward told Xie Cheng'en that the business earned 210,000 taels but had only 2,000 taels left after costs.
• Xie Cheng'en reviewed the accounts and realized that expensive seafood, labor, and operating expenses left little profit.

Xie Cheng'en discovered that his takeout business barely made a profit and learned that Zhou Wanwan had many other, more lucrative businesses. He joined Princess Jianing in opening competing shops, while Zhou Wanwan remained confident they could not match her; the chapter ended as Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing prepared to sample a new snack supplier's goods.

• Xie Cheng'en complained that his takeout business earned only 2,000 taels a month and realized he could not easily cut staff or remove seafood from the menu.
• Xie Cheng'en questioned the kitchen steward, who showed that Zhou Wanwan's takeout ingredients cost far less than market prices and explained that she subsidized the business with profits from her other ventures.
• The steward listed Zhou Wanwan's many businesses, and Xie Cheng'en decided to compete with her by opening shops alongside Princess Jianing.
• Uncle Scholar Tree told Zhou Wanwan that Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing were opening rival shops, but Zhou Wanwan said their lack of real skill would not threaten her.
• Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en opened a snack shop and went to try snacks from Xie Cheng'en's new supplier.

Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en tasted Xiao Jiu's premium snacks and decided to open a shop to compete with Zhou Wanwan. Their new shop drew a crowd of wealthy customers, while Zhou Wanwan's shop across the street saw little business.

• Xiao Jiu introduced his snacks and drinks, which Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en sampled and enjoyed.
• Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en agreed to copy Zhou Wanwan's snack business and try to ruin her shops.
• Xiao Jiu helped them open a decorated snack shop and offered to connect them with other suppliers from Jiangnan.
• Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en recruited wealthy friends to support the shop and prepared for its opening.
• The shop quickly attracted high-ranking officials and noble young ladies, and Princess Jianing watched Zhou Wanwan's business struggle across the street.

Xiao Jiu introduced nine wealthy Jiangnan merchants to Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing, who approved their goods and made them suppliers. After opening ten shops, Princess Jianing presented Noble Consort Ning with goods from the new businesses, while planning to bring Zhou Wanwan back from the cold palace.

• Xiao Jiu brought nine merchants' sons to meet Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing and described their trades.
• Xie Cheng'en's stewards inspected the merchants' goods, and Princess Jianing praised their quality and accepted a gift of gold ornaments.
• Xie Cheng'en and Princess Jianing signed agreements with the merchants and bought more than ten shops, opening them after rapid renovations.
• Princess Jianing told Noble Consort Ning that she and Xie Cheng'en had opened ten shops and that her snack shop was earning money.
• Princess Jianing presented Noble Consort Ning with luxury goods, ginseng, and snacks from the shops, and Noble Consort Ning asked if everything came from them.

Princess Jianing opened larger shops opposite Zhou Wanwan’s, and Noble Consort Ning ordered Zhou Wanwan to leave the Cold Palace. Zhou Wanwan reluctantly departed after arranging for the people and work she managed to be taken care of, then arrived at the market to find Princess Jianing boasting about her crowded shops.

• Princess Jianing and Noble Consort Ning agreed that Zhou Wanwan was no longer useful and decided she should leave the palace.
• Eunuch Hai told Zhou Wanwan that Noble Consort Ning had ordered her to leave the Cold Palace.
• Zhou Wanwan comforted the Cold Palace residents and arranged for their food, produce, books, and work to continue after her departure.
• Zhou Wanwan reassured the Imperial Household Department workers that she would protect them and collect their finished goods.
• Princess Jianing greeted Zhou Wanwan outside the Cold Palace and revealed that she had opened shops opposite Zhou Wanwan’s.
• Zhou Wanwan arrived at the market, where Princess Jianing showed off her larger, crowded shops and taunted her.

Zhou Wanwan discovered that Princess Jianing’s successful snack shop was secretly selling her own goods, then met with ministers who agreed it was too risky to rebel against Noble Consort Ning’s forces. The ministers departed, and the next morning the eldest princess urged Zhou Wanwan to eat more after noticing she had lost weight.

• Zhou Wanwan told her shopkeeper to attract ordinary customers with cheaper snacks while Princess Jianing pursued wealthy buyers.
• Xiao Jiu revealed that he and the mountain stronghold’s people were running Princess Jianing’s shop and selling Zhou Wanwan’s goods through Noble Consort Ning’s connections.
• Grand Tutor Zhao Muyuan and other ministers visited Zhou Wanwan, and they agreed that rebellion was premature because Noble Consort Ning commanded several million troops.
• Zhou Wanwan suspected Noble Consort Ning had summoned General Qin Shan and other officials to use them as cannon fodder, and she considered taking the imperial examination.
• The ministers returned to their homes, and the next morning the eldest princess urged Zhou Wanwan to eat more because she had lost weight.

Zhou Wanwan refused Old Madam Zhou’s demand to trade her three-courtyard residence for Zhou Wanwan’s six-courtyard one, then moved her family out after the empress dowager ordered them to surrender the house. Old Madam Zhou’s family arrived expecting to claim it, unaware the residence had been emptied, and she told visiting noble ladies that the empress dowager had given it to her.

• Zhou Wanwan mocked Old Madam Zhou’s proposal to exchange residences and told her to seek help from the empress dowager.
• Old Madam Zhou complained to the empress dowager, who ordered Zhou Wanwan’s family to move out and give Old Madam Zhou the residence.
• Zhou Wanwan moved her family and all the house’s contents to another residence, leaving the original house bare.
• Old Madam Zhou’s family celebrated their expected move and planned to occupy the six-courtyard house immediately.
• Noble ladies arrived with housewarming gifts, and Old Madam Zhou claimed the empress dowager had given her a bigger residence.

Zhou Wanwan left Old Madam Zhou and the others to discover that both the Zhou Residence and their old home had been stripped bare and overrun with unnaturally fast-growing weeds. The authorities could not explain the strange damage, while Zhou Wanwan disappeared with Old Scholar Tree after reclaiming the Zhou Family’s valuables.

• Old Madam Zhou accepted gifts from visiting noblewomen and went with Song Qingfeng and Zhou Fuyu to inspect the Zhou Residence.
• Song Qingfeng mocked the grand princess’s residence, but the group found it reduced to empty thatched huts surrounded by waist-high weeds.
• Old Madam Zhou blamed Zhou Wanwan, and Zhou Fuyu abandoned his hopes of moving into the residence.
• Zhou Wanwan told Old Scholar Tree that she had reclaimed the Zhou Family’s rewards because they had continued to target her, then disappeared with him.
• Old Madam Zhou found her valuables missing from the family’s old home and called the authorities, but the minister of the Court of Judicial Review could not explain the rapidly grown weeds and fled with Chen Ankang.

Zhou Wanwan reassured her family that supplying goods to Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en earned her more than running shops herself, then learned how badly students from Dongshan Prefecture were being treated in the capital. The chapter ended as Zhou Wanwan arrived at her restaurant and overheard Jiangnan and capital students mocking her and the students relying on her.

• Chen Ankang told the minister of the Court of Judicial Review to stay out of the matter, while Zhou Wanwan joked that the empress dowager's gifts could cover Old Madam Zhou's rent.
• Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qingchen, Zhou Qinghe, and Gu Sinian visited Zhou Wanwan and worried that rival shops had taken much of their family's business.
• Zhou Wanwan explained that she supplied goods to Princess Jianing and Xie Cheng'en, earning profits without managing their shops herself.
• Zhou Wanwan asked about the imperial examination and learned that students from Dongshan Prefecture faced hostility and were refused even basic supplies.
• The next morning, Zhou Wanwan went to her restaurant and overheard Jiangnan and capital students ridicule Dongshan Prefecture's students for depending on her.

Zhou Wanwan met with Shen Wanjun, Cheng Chao, and Chen Ankang, then faced Jiangnan scholars and Cheng relatives who condemned her companions for serving her. The chapter left Cheng Chao refusing to return to the Cheng Lineage Clan as his family pressured him with expulsion and public shame.

• Zhou Wanwan asked Shen Wanjun and Cheng Chao about their work, and learned Shen Wanjun had revamped brothels while Cheng Chao was resisting the Cheng Family’s demands to return.
• Chen Ankang warned Zhou Wanwan that the Brocade Guard was investigating her, and Shen Wanjun said the new hotpot restaurant would open the next day.
• Jiangnan scholars confronted Shen Wanjun and accused him of disgracing them by serving Zhou Wanwan, but he rejected their criticism.
• Cheng Huaiyu threatened to remove Cheng Chao from the Cheng Lineage genealogy unless he returned to help the family with business.
• Feng Caigu and Cheng Xiao urged Cheng Chao to go back, but Cheng Chao refused and said he could start a separate page in the genealogy.

Cheng Chao refused Cheng Xiao and the Cheng Lineage’s demand that he return, exposing the lineage’s financial troubles and defending his choice to follow Zhou Wanwan. Meanwhile, Zhou Wanwan faced criticism from Dongshan Prefecture scholars over her support for impoverished fellow townspeople and offered to cover the reasonable needs of those staying at her restaurant.

• Cheng Chao told Cheng Xiao he would not return to the Cheng Lineage and said his current income far exceeded what the lineage could offer.
• Cheng Huaiyu threatened to remove Cheng Chao from the lineage rolls, and Cheng Chao accused the lineage of wanting him back to manage its failing businesses.
• Scholars from Dongshan Prefecture argued over Zhou Wanwan’s aid, while some complained that their fellow townspeople were being mocked and denied supplies.
• Zhou Wanwan challenged the wealthier scholars to help their fellow townspeople instead of ridiculing them, and they blamed her for making life harder for Dongshan Prefecture people.
• Zhou Wanwan told the scholars staying at her restaurant to charge their reasonable needs to her account, prompting Jiangnan scholars to doubt she could afford it.

Zhou Wanwan visited her brothel and found it packed with prominent guests watching unusual performances. Shen Wanjun explained that the venue was earning heavily from entertainment and drinks, while the story left Zhou Wanwan marveling at its profits.

• Zhou Wanwan arrived at her brothel and saw Zhou Fuyu, Zhou Qingzhou, Song Qingfeng, and other prominent scions drinking there.
• Shen Wanjun showed Zhou Wanwan the Flying Apsaras Dance, which he had brought from a palace performance and used to draw a packed crowd.
• The brothel staged a circus with tigers, lions, panthers, and bears, and Shen Wanjun told Zhou Wanwan that he had brought dozens of tigers and lions, ten bears, and more than a hundred wolves from their zoo.
• The lions and tigers appeared to fight during a dramatic performance, and the host reassured the frightened guests that it was staged.
• The brothel continued with a disappearing-person trick that Zhou Wanwan had taught the stronghold, and Shen Wanjun revealed that drinks alone brought in more than ten thousand taels a day.

Zhou Wanwan watched a spectacular performance at a brothel before confronting Zhou Fuyu, Zhou Qingzhou, and Song Qingfeng over their unpaid bill and attempts to make her pay. Song Qingfeng claimed the Grand Princess should return to him, while he and Zhou Fuyu were left arguing over who would cover the 1,200-tael charge.

• A performer made a woman vanish from a sealed chest and reappear, then entertained the brothel guests with more acts.
• The madam demanded that Zhou Fuyu's party pay 1,200 taels, and Zhou Fuyu tried to make Zhou Wanwan cover the bill.
• Zhou Qingzhou threatened that his grandmother would report Zhou Wanwan, while nearby guests discussed Song Qingfeng's divorce from the Grand Princess.
• Song Qingfeng tried to claim Zhou Wanwan as his granddaughter and insulted the Grand Princess, but Zhou Wanwan mocked his demands for her to return and apologize.
• Song Qingfeng admitted he had brought no money, and Zhou Fuyu said he had expected Song Qingfeng to pay for the drinks.

Song Qingfeng was forced to pay his brothel bill after people mocked him and spread rumors about Grand Princess Mingzhao. Zhou Wanwan accepted Xie Cheng'en's challenge to gamble against him and a group of wealthy merchants at his new gambling house.

• The brothel madam publicly shamed Song Qingfeng for owing 1,200 taels, and he paid after hearing that Grand Princess Mingzhao had fallen on hard times.
• Cheng Chao suggested visiting their gambling house, where Zhou Wanwan learned that Xie Cheng'en had opened a rival establishment across the street.
• Xie Cheng'en taunted Zhou Wanwan about her finances and invited her to gamble against him and wealthy merchants from several regions.
• Zhou Wanwan accepted the challenge, and the group arrived at Xie Cheng'en's gambling house, angering Cheng Chao because it stood across from theirs.

Zhou Wanwan entered Xie Cheng'en's grand gambling house with Cheng Chao and the wealthy merchants, intending to win their fortunes. After the merchants wagered their properties, Xie Cheng'en chose pai gow, hoping the game would prevent Zhou Wanwan from cheating.

• Zhou Wanwan said she planned to fleece the wealthy merchants, while Xie Cheng'en and Cheng Chao reassured them that she had ample money and powerful allies.
• The merchants mocked Shen Wanjun and Cheng Chao, and Zhou Wanwan promised to avenge them; Old Ancestor and Old Scholar Tree followed, confident she would win.
• Cheng Chao led the group through Xie Cheng'en's lavish gambling house, where Zhou Wanwan recognized that its fruit and milk tea came from her own businesses.
• Xie Cheng'en said he already knew Zhou Wanwan's assets, and both sides brought forward shops, farmland, ships, trade goods, and other property to wager.
• Xie Cheng'en rejected dice and proposed pai gow, expecting the game's dealers and watching thousand hands to catch any cheating.

Zhou Wanwan played pai gow against Xie Cheng'en and wealthy merchants, losing early hands before winning a ten-million-tael pot with Supreme Treasure. Xie Cheng'en and the merchants refused to let her leave and demanded another game.

• Old Ancestor used his fine roots to inspect Zhou Wanwan's tiles and urged her to fold her weak hands.
• Xie Cheng'en sat down to play after Zhou Wanwan mocked him for being too timid to bet.
• Zhou Wanwan raised the stakes to the gambling house's ten-million-tael limit while the Jiangnan merchant and Xie Cheng'en kept calling.
• The Jiangnan merchant revealed two sixes, and Xie Cheng'en revealed a two and a nine, but Zhou Wanwan's three and six formed Supreme Treasure and swept the table.
• Zhou Wanwan told Cheng Chao, Shen Wanjun, and Chen Ankang to collect her winnings, while Xie Cheng'en accused her of cheating and insisted on continuing.