Recaps

Zhou Wanwan expanded her businesses and learned that her spiritual energy made crops and medicinal plants grow rapidly. When Great Qi surrounded her cities and threatened anyone who left, she inspected the tunnels Old Scholar Tree had built as another way to get around the blockade.

• The crown prince of Great Qi hired two ninth-level experts from Zhichun, and Zhou Wanwan suspected someone was poisoning him but chose to stay out of the royal schemes.
• Zhou Wanwan arranged to provide more people for the increasingly busy escort agency and kept the price of wild mountain ginseng unchanged despite a surge in orders.
• Lingbao and Grandpa He Shou Wu explained that Zhou Wanwan's abundant spiritual energy made their plants, grain, and other crops grow unusually quickly.
• Cheng Chao reported that Great Qi had surrounded all eight cities and threatened to kill anyone who left, but Zhou Wanwan told him to trust their supplies and strength.
• Old Scholar Tree showed Zhou Wanwan the completed tunnel connecting her courtyard to the estate outside the city, and she marveled at its costly white marble steps.

Zhou Wanwan discovered that the Old Scholar Tree and his family had built an immense underground palace using the stolen contents of the Great Qi emperor’s tomb, including an underground farm. After deciding that food supplies were essential to building a country, she returned to court and learned that her cities were surrounded.

• The Old Scholar Tree showed Zhou Wanwan an enormous underground palace assembled from buildings and treasures taken from Great Qi, including the emperor’s tomb.
• The Great Qi emperor learned that his tomb had been stripped bare, went to inspect it, and collapsed in rage after finding even its doors missing.
• The Old Scholar Tree explained that spiritual power let ginseng and vegetables grow underground without sunlight, and that the palace also had a river and space for farming.
• Zhou Wanwan agreed that expanding the underground palace could help provide grain, since her eight cities already struggled to feed their people.
• Zhou Wanwan returned to court, where ministers reported that Yanmen Pass and the other cities were surrounded, and she asked how they had gotten out.

Zhou Wanwan reassured her ministers and planned new industries while they slowly built up their strength. She discovered that an underground palace lay beneath the tomb of Great Qi’s ruler and agreed to hold midday court there; afterward, Zhichun told her that Great Qi’s crown prince wanted to speak with her.

• Zhou Wanwan told Zhao Muyuan and the ministers to calm the people and described plans to raise livestock and expand silk production.
• Zhao Muyuan praised Zhou Wanwan’s potential to rule all under heaven, but she said she preferred to grow her small realm gradually and avoid war.
• Qin Yuan asked whether the cities had made any moves, and he decided to wait and see.
• The Old Scholar Tree opened a passage to an underground palace, which Zhou Wanwan showed the ministers; she revealed it was Xiao Heng’s tomb and found the palace furnished with real gold and treasures.
• Zhao Muyuan proposed holding midday court sessions in the underground palace, and Zhou Wanwan agreed.
• Zhichun told Zhou Wanwan that Great Qi’s crown prince had summoned her to discuss something.

Zhou Wanwan visited the crown prince, who tried to recruit her wealth and support by offering her a place as his secondary consort. When she refused, he had her locked in the woodshed, where she settled in comfortably and heard that her family was struggling in the capital.

• Zhou Wanwan entered the crown prince's bedchamber despite Eunuch Xu's objections, and Old Scholar Tree warned her that the tea was poisoned.
• The crown prince asked Zhou Wanwan to become his secondary consort in exchange for supporting her businesses, but she rejected his offer and demanded payment for any help.
• The crown prince threatened Zhou Wanwan and ordered his guards to seize her and lock her in the woodshed.
• Old Scholar Tree cleared and decorated the woodshed, while Zhou Wanwan decided she would stay there and return only for morning court.
• Old Scholar Tree told Zhou Wanwan that her family was mocked and unwelcome in the capital, and that her parents and brothers were having a difficult time.

Zhou Wanwan rejected the crown prince’s attempt to recruit her as his secondary consort and insisted on a partnership instead. After the crown prince ordered her killed, the attackers who entered the woodshed were stopped, while Old Ancestor’s cultivation advanced.

• The crown prince discussed Zhou Wanwan’s refusal with the second princess and said he needed her resources and connections to survive.
• The second princess visited Zhou Wanwan in the woodshed and tried to persuade her to become the crown prince’s secondary consort.
• Zhou Wanwan refused, saying she wanted a partnership, and challenged the crown prince to come at her.
• The crown prince ordered guards to kill Zhou Wanwan, despite the second princess warning him that they needed her.
• More than a dozen attackers crept into the woodshed, but they could not move and were dragged into the woods.
• Old Ancestor completed a transformation and said his strength had reached at least the level of the Earth Ranking’s top ten.

Old Scholar Tree and the other trees secretly moved the crown prince’s entire imperial estate and its valuables away overnight. The crown prince blamed Zhou Wanwan and took his party to the Home Inn, where she claimed a luxury suite for herself.

• Old Scholar Tree and the trees decided to take the imperial estate, leaving its fruit trees behind, and cleared it out overnight.
• The crown prince woke on a field ridge covered in cow dung and learned from Eunuch Xu that his estate, valuables, and subordinates had disappeared.
• The second, third, and seventh princesses mourned their missing possessions, while Zhou Wanwan emerged from the woodpile and denied knowing what happened.
• The crown prince accused Zhou Wanwan of stealing the estate and ordered his two remaining subordinates to watch her.
• The group went to the Home Inn, where the second princess pledged a gold hairpin for their rooms because the crown prince had no money.
• Zhou Wanwan ignored the crown prince’s complaints and went to stay in a luxury suite.

Zhou Wanwan warned her officials not to provoke rival countries, dismissed court for three days, and asked Zhao Muyuan to oversee the farms while she remained in Great Qi. Meanwhile, the crown prince of Great Qi searched for her and revealed that he wanted her as his secondary consort to gain control of her wealth and businesses.

• Zhou Wanwan rushed from her room to the underground palace and presided over a midday court session.
• When ministers proposed sending troops against the forces outside the city, Zhou Wanwan warned that other countries had hidden powers and said she had chosen the borderlands to build a kingdom gradually.
• Zhou Wanwan dismissed court for three days and told the ministers to tend their farms, then asked Zhao Muyuan to attend in her place if she did not return.
• Zhao Muyuan urged Zhou Wanwan to study her books and finish her assignments before she left.
• The crown prince of Great Qi complained that Zhou Wanwan had disappeared, while the second princess questioned his plan to make her his secondary consort.
• The crown prince explained that he wanted Zhou Wanwan's money, shops, estates, restaurants, and delivery business to strengthen his position amid political pressure.

Zhou Wanwan rejected the crown prince’s offer to make her his secondary consort and refused to feed him for free. After the crown prince and several princesses returned, they bought her palace dishes and learned they could not afford her luxurious suite.

• The crown prince asked Zhou Wanwan to become his secondary consort, but she refused and ordered him out when he demanded a free meal.
• Old Scholar Tree brought Zhou Wanwan dishes from the imperial kitchen and said Old Ancestor had fought the person in the palace to a draw.
• The crown prince and several princesses returned, and the third princess fell from a toppled stool and accused Zhou Wanwan of causing it.
• The crown prince paid Zhou Wanwan twenty taels for the dishes, and she let the royals take the food.
• The third princess learned that Zhou Wanwan’s suite cost five hundred taels a day, failed to get Zhou Wanwan to share it, and left in a rage.

The Third Princess and the crown prince accepted Zhao Mingzhu’s invitation to stay at the Zhao residence, while Zhou Wanwan was forced to follow their carriages on foot. Eunuch Xu ordered the carriage to speed up to torment her, but Zhou Wanwan kept pace, and the Old Scholar Tree prepared to show him what real speed was.

• Zhao Mingzhu brought the Third Princess twenty thousand taels and invited her and the crown prince to stay at the Zhao residence.
• The crown prince told Zhou Wanwan to pack and come along, and the Old Scholar Tree explained the Zhao Family’s wealth and influence.
• The Third Princess and Zhao Mingzhu mocked Zhou Wanwan and left her out of the carriages heading to the Zhao residence.
• Eunuch Xu had Zhou Wanwan’s hands tied and ordered her to follow the speeding carriage.
• Zhou Wanwan kept pace with the carriage and taunted Eunuch Xu as the Old Scholar Tree promised to make it go faster.

Zhou Wanwan’s speeding carriage caused a crash that injured the crown prince and several princesses, and she refused to treat them without payment. Meanwhile, Old Ancestor and Old Scholar Tree blocked both ends of the road with rocks, and the county magistrate learned the royal party was trapped in the wreckage.

• Zhou Wanwan’s carriage sped past the royal party, then crashed into the crown prince’s carriage and injured the crown prince, the second and third princesses, and Zhao Mingzhu.
• Zhou Wanwan demanded payment before treating the injured, and the crown prince threatened her before promising to repay her later.
• Zhou Wanwan explained that a supposed rockfall had blocked both ends of the road, leaving everyone trapped for days.
• Old Ancestor, Old Scholar Tree, and the trees piled huge rocks across the road while arguing over who had carried more.
• Travelers who found the blocked road questioned whether the rocks had come from a rockfall and went to report it to Xin'an County’s magistrate.
• The magistrate learned that the crown prince and the second, third, and seventh princesses were trapped in the carriage wreckage among the rocks.

Zhou Wanwan demanded fifty thousand taels to heal Zhao Mingzhu’s injured back, then successfully treated her while the royal party remained trapped by the rockfall. As she ate lunch, Old Ancestor explained that Xin'an's corrupt magistrate kept the county prosperous and had the emperor's protection because he was the emperor's brother-in-law.

• The Xin'an county magistrate learned that the crown prince and three princesses were trapped beneath the rockfall and ordered people to clear it, but Zhou Wanwan said it would take several days.
• Zhou Wanwan demanded payment to treat Zhao Mingzhu, and Zhao Yuzhu was struck by a falling stone after insulting her.
• Zhao Mingzhu paid Zhou Wanwan fifty thousand taels, and Zhou Wanwan healed her injured lower back with medicinal herbs and spiritual energy.
• The crown prince asked Zhou Wanwan to treat him, but she refused his offer of payment and said she did not want to treat him.
• Old Scholar Tree brought Zhou Wanwan a feast from the county yamen, and Old Ancestor explained that the greedy Xin'an county magistrate governed well and was the emperor of Great Qi's brother-in-law.

Shen Tao investigated the strange rocks blocking the road to the crown prince, while Zhou Wanwan fed the seventh princess and made the third princess sign an IOU to get the horse off her. The third princess's hands and feet remained broken, and she begged Zhou Wanwan to treat her.

• Shen Tao found the road blocked by enormous rocks and ordered his people to start moving them so the crown prince would not die in Xin'an County.
• Zhou Wanwan offered the seventh princess food, and the seventh princess ate pork knuckle beside her.
• The third princess demanded that Zhou Wanwan move the horse off her, and Zhou Wanwan asked her for a hundred thousand taels or an IOU.
• Zhou Wanwan wrote the IOU, and the third princess signed and thumbprinted it, revealing that her seal hung around her neck.
• The horse was pulled away, but the third princess still could not feel her hands and feet, and Zhou Wanwan said they were broken and asked for payment to treat her.

Zhou Wanwan healed the third princess in exchange for her estates, and the princess and seventh princess decided to serve her instead of remaining in the palace. Meanwhile, the injured crown prince refused Zhao Mingzhu’s offer of support in exchange for becoming crown princess, explaining that the empress had already chosen his bride.

• The third princess gave Zhou Wanwan her two estates, and Zhou Wanwan healed her hands, feet, and face.
• The third princess offered to become Zhou Wanwan’s maid, then struck and kicked the injured Eunuch Xu when he insulted her mistress.
• Zhou Wanwan refused to heal Eunuch Xu without payment, and he refused to give up his property.
• The third princess and seventh princess chose to leave palace life behind and sleep beside Zhou Wanwan.
• The crown prince and second princess discussed their predicament, and Zhao Mingzhu offered financial help in exchange for becoming crown princess.
• The crown prince rejected Zhao Mingzhu’s condition, saying the empress had already selected his future bride.

Zhou Wanwan made Zhao Mingzhu trade her ten estates for treating the crown prince and second princess, then charged everyone to take them out of the strange place. She led them to the outskirts and prepared to collect the promised silver and estates.

• Zhao Mingzhu offered the crown prince her family’s support in exchange for becoming crown princess, while Old Scholar Tree and Old Ancestor stopped her and Zhao Yuzhu from waking Zhou Wanwan and left them shivering through the night.
• Zhou Wanwan shared breakfast with the third and seventh princesses and demanded Zhao Mingzhu’s ten estates in exchange for treating the crown prince and second princess.
• Zhou Wanwan treated the crown prince and second princess, and the crown prince later threatened her when he learned she could leave their confinement.
• The crown prince’s sword and dagger broke when he tried to attack Zhou Wanwan, who said she had not touched him.
• Zhou Wanwan charged each person ten thousand taels to take them out, led them to the outskirts, and said she would collect the silver and estates from Zhao Mingzhu.

Zhao Mingzhu broke her contract and had Zhou Wanwan imprisoned in the Zhao Family dungeon, while the crown prince offered to release her if she became his side consort. Zhou Wanwan settled comfortably into her transformed stone chamber and sent meals to the third and seventh princesses, who were imprisoned for visiting her and remained devoted to her as their master.

• Zhao Mingzhu ordered Zhou Wanwan seized and locked in the dungeon, and the crown prince offered to free her if she became his side consort.
• The third and seventh princesses defended Zhou Wanwan, visited her with food, and were imprisoned for it.
• The Old Scholar Tree improved Zhou Wanwan's stone chamber, and he and the Old Ancestor brought her lavish food and fruit.
• The third princess told her maid she intended to follow Zhou Wanwan, then received a meal and note from her.
• The seventh princess refused to eat until Zhou Wanwan's meal arrived, then insisted her maid respect Zhou Wanwan as her master.

Zhao Mingzhu arranged to marry the crown prince and planned to make Zhou Wanwan his secondary consort, but Zhou Wanwan refused. While exploring the Zhao Family’s ancestral hall, Zhou Wanwan found its hidden treasure trove and had the trees carry the riches to the underground palace at Yanmen Pass.

• Zhao Mingzhu and the crown prince agreed to marry, with Zhao Mingzhu seeking the Zhao Family’s support for his political ambitions.
• Zhao Mingzhu told Zhou Wanwan she would become the crown prince’s secondary consort, but Zhou Wanwan refused and criticized the crown prince’s poverty.
• Zhou Wanwan explored the Zhao Family’s storerooms and marveled at their vast wealth.
• Old Scholar Tree led Zhou Wanwan into the ancestral hall’s secret chamber, where she found an even greater collection of treasures.
• The trees began removing the ancestral hall’s treasures, and Zhou Wanwan directed them to store everything in the underground palace at Yanmen Pass.

Zhou Wanwan and the trees decided to turn the dismantled Zhao Family residence into Yan Mountain Academy, while the Zhao Family woke to find its buildings and treasures gone. The princesses helped Zhou Wanwan choose an outfit as Zhao Mingzhu and the Second Princess questioned her, and the Crown Prince accused her of being behind the disappearance.

• The trees dismantled the Zhao Family houses and carried away their timber, while Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree planned to make the residence Yan Mountain Academy.
• Old Ancestor agreed to write an inscription for the academy, and Zhou Wanwan went home to sleep.
• The Zhao Family woke among the rubble and discovered that their houses, storerooms, and ancestral hall had vanished; Old Master Zhao fainted.
• The Third Princess and Seventh Princess woke Zhou Wanwan and helped her choose an outfit while discussing the missing Zhao residence.
• Zhao Mingzhu and the Second Princess challenged Zhou Wanwan about her untouched stone room, and the Crown Prince accused her of causing the disappearance.

After the Zhao Family’s 180 rooms and ancestral hall vanished overnight, Magistrate Shen Tao arrived to investigate and met Zhou Wanwan, who offered him greenhouse services and described her businesses. The chapter ended with Shen Tao recognizing Zhou Wanwan as the delivery merchant he had heard about.

• Magistrate Shen Tao visited the Zhao Family’s property and laughed at the sight of its vanished houses.
• Zhao Botong told Shen Tao that all 180 rooms and the ancestral hall had been carried off, and demanded that he find the culprit.
• Shen Tao inspected the only remaining building, a stone prison with an expensive glass roof, and asked Zhou Wanwan where the glass came from.
• Zhou Wanwan offered to build Shen Tao a greenhouse and explained that she supplied flowers and plants to order.
• Shen Tao learned Zhou Wanwan had come from Great Xia with valid travel papers, and Zhou Wanwan said her business covered clothing, food, housing, transportation, and deliveries.
• Shen Tao recognized Zhou Wanwan as the merchant rumored to deliver food to people’s homes.

Zhou Wanwan arranged a lavish seafood delivery to prove her service was genuine, while Zhao Botong and Zhao Mingzhu challenged her and Zhao Mingzhu again tried to force her into becoming the crown prince’s side consort. The crown prince said he would not force her, but then insulted her and insisted she should appreciate the offer, and Zhou Wanwan rejected him.

• Shen Tao ordered seafood dishes from Zhou Wanwan’s delivery service, and Zhao Botong added many more while questioning how fresh and inexpensive the food could be.
• Zhou Wanwan explained how people could order from her shops, and the crown prince of Great Qi confirmed that her delivered food was good.
• The delivery arrived within an hour with a table, chairs, and uniformed waitresses, impressing the assembled guests.
• Zhao Mingzhu tried to claim Zhou Wanwan’s seat and said she would be betrothed as the crown prince’s side consort, but Zhou Wanwan refused.
• Shen Tao objected to forcing a respectable woman into a concubine’s position, and the crown prince said Zhou Wanwan did not have to become his side consort.
• Zhou Wanwan asked everyone to witness the crown prince’s statement, then rejected his claim that becoming his side consort would be a blessing.

Zhou Wanwan treated the princesses and Shen Tao to seafood and showed Shen Tao her business offerings, securing an order for rare flowers and a glass greenhouse. She then offered Zhao Botong help rebuilding the Zhao Family house, but warned that his preferred woods would exceed his budget.

• Shen Tao praised Zhou Wanwan's seafood, while Zhou Wanwan invited the third and seventh princesses to share her elaborate meal.
• Shen Tao and Zhao Botong argued over a lobster before Shen Tao examined Zhou Wanwan's product flyers and flower list.
• Shen Tao ordered one of each listed flower and a large glass greenhouse, paying 160,000 taels of silver.
• Zhao Botong remembered that Shen Tao was supposed to investigate the disappearance of his house, and Shen Tao set off to investigate.
• Zhou Wanwan showed Zhao Botong house designs and offered to build a replacement, explaining that premium timber would cost more than 120,000 taels of silver.

Zhou Wanwan sold house-building contracts to wealthy residents of Xin'an County, while Zhao Botong doubted she could fulfill the orders. When the crown prince of Great Qi tried to stop her from leaving by linking her to recent events, Shen Tao defended her.

• Zhou Wanwan explained her house prices, warranties, and contracts after Zhao Mingzhu accused her of changing a quote.
• Despite doubts about Zhou Wanwan’s age and business, several residents placed orders and paid one-third deposits for houses to be built within three months.
• Zhou Wanwan accepted more than a dozen contracts and explained that her treant team and reclaimed materials let her build houses cheaply.
• Zhao Botong challenged Zhou Wanwan’s ability to complete the work, but she said the contracts would ensure it was done.
• The crown prince of Great Qi tried to prevent Zhou Wanwan from leaving by suggesting she was behind recent events, and Shen Tao rebuked him and told her she could go.

Zhou Wanwan left the crown prince and traveled to the War God's Tomb, where her growing influence became clear. After Princess Jianing accused her of treason, the guards meant to protect the princess revealed they served Zhou Wanwan instead.

• Zhou Wanwan defied the crown prince’s threat and went to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, then decided to visit the War God's Tomb with the third and seventh princesses.
• At the crowded tomb, Shen Chaoge and more than a thousand soldiers greeted Zhou Wanwan as their master and reported that the nearby Crushed Stone Fort was packed with visitors.
• Princess Jianing arrived with noblewomen, accused Zhou Wanwan of betraying Great Xia, and ordered her seized.
• Two guards raised swords over Princess Jianing and Shangguan Wan'er before abandoning the princess’s party and joining Zhou Wanwan.
• Old Scholar Tree revealed that most of the palace staff and guards were already Zhou Wanwan’s subordinates.

Zhou Wanwan confronted the Great Qi Crown Prince and his sisters, while the Third and Seventh Princesses refused to return to the palace. At lunch, her seafood feast and rapid delivery service astonished the visitors at the War God's Tomb and drew in their orders.

• Shangguan Wan'er questioned Zhou Wanwan about winning over palace experts, and Zhou Wanwan told her to leave her alone.
• The Great Qi Crown Prince ordered the Third and Seventh Princesses to return, but both refused and defended their choice to stay with Zhou Wanwan.
• The Second Princess mocked the Third and Seventh Princesses, who criticized her and explained why they preferred their current freedom.
• Zheng Xing'an served Zhou Wanwan a lavish outdoor lunch, and Zhou Wanwan explained the cost of bringing seafood to the frontier.
• Visitors ordered dishes from Zhou Wanwan's delivery stall, and the food arrived within half an hour along with complimentary drinks and fruit.

Diners flocked to Zhou Wanwan’s border takeout stall after praising its seafood, wine, and jasmine milk tea. Princess Jianing broke off her engagement to Xie Cheng'en, while the other young women discussed Zhou Wanwan’s wealth and influence, ending with Zhou Min’s claim that she had changed Dongshan Prefecture’s fate.

• Diners praised the stall’s seafood and drinks, and more customers ordered meals and paid for extra pots of jasmine milk tea.
• Princess Jianing accused Xie Cheng'en of being unable to compete with Zhou Wanwan, and they agreed to break off their engagement.
• Shangguan Wan'er, Lu Lan, Zhou Lan, and Zhou Min speculated that Zhou Wanwan had bewitched Xie Cheng'en and controlled many businesses.
• Zhou Min said Zhou Wanwan likely owned numerous capital businesses and the Treasure-Gathering Bank at the border.
• Zhou Min described how Dongshan Prefecture had changed from a poor region into a prosperous one, and said her grandmother believed Zhou Wanwan had prevented many deaths.

Zhou Wanwan and Princess Jianing competed over starting a takeout business at Yanmen Pass, and Zhou Wanwan steered Jianing toward renting shops. Jianing toured available properties with a broker and asked how much the shops cost.

• Zhou Min pointed out Zhou Wanwan’s busy stalls, and Princess Jianing decided to compete with her by opening a takeout business using imperial chefs.
• Princess Jianing set up a lavish stall claiming it was prepared by imperial chefs, but Zhou Wanwan challenged her to offer something special.
• Shangguan Wan'er listed Zhou Wanwan’s many businesses, and Xie Cheng'en realized the snack shops Princess Jianing had boasted about were also Zhou Wanwan’s.
• Zhou Wanwan told Princess Jianing that shops at the border were expensive to rent, so Jianing went to the city lord’s residence to rent them.
• Old General Xie explained that the shops were only available for rent and that their proceeds supported the border and the soldiers.
• A broker showed Princess Jianing shops near the busy district, and she asked how much they would cost altogether.