Recaps

Zhou Wanwan defeated Yunheng Academy in an archery wager, donated her winnings to Yan Mountain Academy, and promised to help Xie Guangyuan’s wife. Old Scholar Tree diagnosed the wife with breast rock and said treatment was possible but would be costly.

• Zhou Wanwan hit the archery bullseye and won the wager, leaving Hu Qing and Yunheng Academy with 1.5 million taels to pay.
• Zhou Wanwan hosted a lavish feast and announced that she would donate all her winnings to Yan Mountain Academy.
• Hu Qing listed the requirements for becoming the number one academy under heaven, and Zhou Wanwan vowed Yan Mountain Academy would reach that goal.
• Xie Guangyuan asked to join Yan Mountain Academy and told Zhou Wanwan that physicians could not cure his wife’s illness.
• Zhou Wanwan went with Xie Guangyuan to see his wife, and Old Scholar Tree diagnosed breast rock and said it could be treated with costly medicinal ingredients.

Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree treated Madam Xie, and she recovered enough to wake up as Xie Guangyuan prepared to move his family to Yan Mountain Academy. Meanwhile, Zhao Lili learned that mountain spirits had emptied her mine, received two replacement mineral veins from the Great Qi emperor, and faced his proposal to make their child crown prince.

• Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree cleared most of the toxins from Madam Xie's body, and Xie Guangyuan learned she might live another ten or twenty years.
• Xie Guangyuan thanked Zhou Wanwan and agreed to move his family to Yan Mountain Academy.
• Zhao Lili learned the Jianghu Alliance would no longer investigate for her because she had become a consort, then paid the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion to identify who had emptied her mine.
• The Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion told Zhao Lili that mountain spirits had taken the mine's contents, but she dismissed the explanation and suspected the empress.
• Zhao Lili pinched the swaddled child and complained to the Great Qi emperor, who gave her two mineral veins and said he wanted their child to become crown prince.
• Zhao Lili objected that the empress's child should be crown prince, and the Great Qi emperor told her he wanted her to become empress.

Zhou Wanwan returned to the Cui residence as the family learned that Cui Wenyuan’s two half-brothers could not have children, leaving him as the Cui Family’s only hope of continuing its line. Cui Wenyuan then passed the tongsheng examination, while the young men from Old Madam Cui’s family failed.

• Zhao Lili coaxed the emperor of Great Qi into agreeing that the empress’s child should be crown prince, then arranged to seize two iron mines for Zhou Wanwan’s forces.
• Zhou Wanwan returned to the Cui residence to check the examination results and found Old Madam Cui arguing with Old Master Cui over Cui Wenyuan.
• Old Madam Cui’s relatives mocked Cui Wenyuan and boasted that one of their own would pass the examination.
• A household physician found that Eldest Master Cui and Second Master Cui would never have children, while Cui Wenyuan could have children, so Old Master Cui declared that the family would center on him.
• A messenger announced that Cui Wenyuan had passed as a tongsheng, while none of Old Madam Cui’s relatives had passed.

Zhou Wanwan came first in the tongsheng exam and claimed the Sun Family’s bank and escort agency under their wager. At the Cui Family celebration, she accused Wang Baochuan of being pregnant, and Shen Tao proposed summoning physicians to verify it.

• Shen Tao announced that Zhou Wanwan had placed first in the tongsheng exam, and she presented the contract requiring the Sun Family to hand over its bank and escort agency in Xin'an Prefecture.
• Old Master Cui celebrated Zhou Wanwan’s result while Wang Cuizhi and her sister-in-law discussed arranging a marriage between Cui Wenyuan and Wang Baochuan.
• Zhou Wanwan said Wang Baochuan was three months pregnant, prompting Cui Wenyuan to refuse the proposed marriage and Wang Baochuan to weep.
• Sun Tai accused Zhou Wanwan of slandering Wang Baochuan and cheating in the exam, but Shen Tao defended her and offered to summon physicians to check Wang Baochuan.

Zhou Wanwan exposed Wang Baochuan’s pregnancy, ending the Wang Family’s attempt to marry her to Second Master Cui and prompting the Second Princess to break their engagement. She demanded half the Cui Family’s fortune in exchange for curing the Cui brothers, and the chapter ended after a physician confirmed that they had been cured.

• Zhou Wanwan called in female doctors, who confirmed that Wang Baochuan was three months pregnant, and the Cui household threw her and the eldest sister-in-law out.
• The Second Princess ended her engagement to Second Master Cui and reclaimed her betrothal gifts.
• Zhou Wanwan refused to treat the Cui brothers without payment and demanded half the Cui Family’s fortune; Cui Wenyuan delivered her detailed list of requested property.
• Old Master Cui and Old Madam Cui agreed to transfer the requested estates, wooded mountains, and shops to Zhou Wanwan, who then treated the two brothers.
• The residence physician examined the Cui brothers and confirmed that they had been cured.

Zhou Wanwan visited the Sun Family to claim its banks and escort agencies, but Old Master Sun had her locked up at an estate and demanded she surrender her own properties. She and Old Scholar Tree escaped her room and inspected nearby estates, where Sun Family managers discovered Zhou Wanwan’s unusually productive crops and asked to buy her seeds.

• Zhou Wanwan arrived at the Sun Family to take over its banks and escort agencies, but Old Master Sun ordered her imprisoned and demanded she hand over all her property.
• Zhou Wanwan was taken to a Sun Family manor outside the city, where she and Old Scholar Tree planned to assess the family’s assets and redecorated her room with items from its storeroom.
• Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree escaped through a window and inspected a nearby estate, finding its soil too barren to grow grain.
• Managers from neighboring estates visited Zhou Wanwan’s estate and saw rice and wheat growing in winter, along with abundant vegetables, ginseng, and watermelons.
• The estate manager told the visitors that the seeds had been specially bred and went to ask Zhou Wanwan whether they could buy them.

Zhou Wanwan’s estate manager sold costly, high-yield grain and fruit seeds to neighboring estate managers, while Zhou Wanwan gathered produce and returned to the Sun Family’s estate. She and Old Scholar Tree emptied the Sun Family’s storehouse and mined its gold overnight, leaving Zhou Wanwan satisfied with the haul.

• Zhou Wanwan’s estate manager sold seed lots, promising crops that matured quickly and offering compensation if his claims were false.
• The estate managers bought grain, watermelon, and other seeds after tasting Zhou Wanwan’s seedless watermelon.
• Zhou Wanwan collected melons, fruit, vegetables, chickens, and fish before returning to the Sun Family’s estate.
• Old Scholar Tree told Zhou Wanwan that the Sun Family was moving out and that Zhao Lili’s iron mine was already being worked; Zhou Wanwan urged caution despite their powerful trees.
• Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree took the Sun Family’s treasures and spent the night mining its gold, then Zhou Wanwan wondered whether the Sun Family regretted inviting her as a guest.

Zhou Wanwan was threatened by the Sun Family but forced them to surrender their bank and escort agency, then faced Madam Shen’s accusations at her estate. The chapter ended as Shen Tao arrived while Madam Shen was ordering Zhou Wanwan seized.

• Old Master Sun accused Zhou Wanwan of taking the Sun Family’s property and ordered her tortured, but the Old Scholar Tree and Old Ancestor turned the punishments on the Sun Family.
• Old Master Sun agreed to sign over the bank and escort agency, and Zhou Wanwan left the torture chamber.
• Madams from prominent families visited Zhou Wanwan’s estate after hearing about her seed grain, and Madam Shen accused her of having an improper relationship with Shen Tao.
• Zhou Wanwan taunted Madam Shen with an accusation about her cousin, and Madam Shen ordered her men to drag Zhou Wanwan away and beat her.
• Shen Tao arrived at the estate with a group of people, intending to discuss the price of Zhou Wanwan’s seed grain.

Zhou Wanwan exposed Qin Shuang’s affair with her cousin, prompting Shen Tao to demand a divorce, while letters brought the dispute before Old General Qin. As the guests enjoyed Zhou Wanwan’s estate, she revealed that she knew more about the Qin family and enraged the general.

• Shen Tao confronted Qin Shuang after Zhou Wanwan accused her of having an affair with her cousin, and he declared he would divorce her.
• Qin Shuang summoned Old General Qin, but Zhou Wanwan presented letters from Qin Shuang’s room that appeared to document the affair.
• Zhou Wanwan invited the ladies to explore her estate, where they saw rice, rice paddy fish, and strawberries while she and the others continued the family dispute.
• Qin Shuang denied the accusations and called the letters forged, while Shen Tao pointed out that their sons resembled her cousin.
• Zhou Wanwan told Old General Qin that he had raised another man’s children, and he ordered his men to seize her.

Zhou Wanwan exposed Madam Qin’s affair and revealed that Qin Shuang and her brothers were not General Qin’s biological children, prompting General Qin to divorce Madam Qin. After Shen Tao and Qin Shuang completed their divorce formalities, Qin Changkong arrived with troops.

• Zhou Wanwan challenged Old General Qin to sign an indenture, betting that she could prove Qin Shuang and his sons were not his biological children.
• Zhou Wanwan took Old General Qin to an estate, where he overheard Madam Qin confess that her three children were fathered by her lover and that she hoped their son would gain a title through the crown prince.
• General Qin confronted Madam Qin and beat her and her lover, while Zhou Wanwan revealed that Qin Shuang and her brothers had helped conceal the affair.
• Shen Tao rejected Qin Shuang’s excuses and completed their divorce formalities, while General Qin decided to divorce Madam Qin.
• Qin Changkong arrived with a troop of men just after the divorces were completed.

Qin Changkong imprisoned General Qin, Old Madam Qin, and Zhou Wanwan in the Qin Clan’s side courtyard while Zhao Lili discovered that her iron mines had been stripped bare. The emperor of Great Qi learned that powerful wood-element spirits were behind the strange losses and sent Perfected Baoyi to investigate, but Baoyi discovered their master was a young child.

• Qin Changkong took General Qin and Zhou Wanwan to the Qin Residence and had them confined with Old Madam Qin in its side courtyard.
• Old Scholar Tree reported that Zhao Lili’s people found the iron mines empty, and Zhao Lili confronted the emperor of Great Qi about the missing ore.
• The emperor of Great Qi summoned ten officials from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, who divined that powerful wood-element spirits with a master in Great Qi were responsible.
• The emperor assigned Perfected Baoyi to investigate the spirits and gave him a carriage, guards, and a thousand taels of silver.
• Perfected Baoyi returned to his Daoist temple, complained that the payment was too small, and divined that the spirits’ master was a child only a few years old.

Zhou Wanwan took Qin Shuo out of the courtyard and showed him Madam Qin’s wedding preparations, where he learned that she planned to marry Darling Duan and that his children intended to drug him. After Old Ancestor revealed that Darling Duan was at a brothel, Zhou Wanwan went there to investigate.

• General Qin lamented his situation, and Zhou Wanwan reminded him that he was now her servant but could leave the courtyard if he wished.
• Zhou Wanwan had Old Scholar Tree carry her and Qin Shuo to the Qin residence, where she revealed that she was a former mountain king.
• Zhou Wanwan told Qin Shuo that Madam Qin would marry Darling Duan the next day, and he saw the residence decorated for the wedding.
• Qin Changfeng and Qin Changkong discussed secretly drugging their father, while Madam Qin celebrated her coming marriage and disparaged Qin Shuo.
• Old Ancestor said Madam Qin had paid for the wedding gifts with Qin Shuo’s rewards and claimed Darling Duan kept other women and was at a brothel.
• Zhou Wanwan asked Old Ancestor to take her to the brothel, and they arrived there with Qin Shuo.

Zhou Wanwan exposed Young Master Duan’s plans to marry Shen Yumei for her wealth, then helped Qin Shuo reclaim the Qin Clan’s property. The next morning, Shen Yumei found her household stripped bare and scrambled to prepare for the wedding.

• Zhou Wanwan and General Qin overheard Young Master Duan boast that he would marry Shen Yumei for her fortune, bring three freed courtesans into his household, and divorce Shen Yumei if she objected.
• Zhou Wanwan and Qin Shuo visited a former Qin residence now occupied by Young Master Duan, where Qin Shuo recognized his war spoils in the storerooms and Zhou Wanwan declared that she would take everything belonging to the Qin Clan.
• The Old Scholar Tree prepared an elaborate seafood breakfast for Zhou Wanwan and Qin Shuo, while Old Madam Qin lamented their situation.
• Shen Yumei discovered that her betrothal gifts, wedding clothes, jewelry, and household storerooms had vanished, and Qin Shuang found her own belongings gone as well.
• Shen Yumei ordered the steward to summon the authorities, then arranged an urgent delivery of replacement wedding items from Zhou Wanwan’s store.

Madam Qin prepared for her wedding to Duan Beishan while Zhou Wanwan and Qin Shuo watched the chaotic ceremony and its aftermath. Zhou Wanwan bet that the newlyweds would turn against each other within a month.

• Madam Qin ordered the wedding supplies delivered quickly, while Duan Beishan woke to find his home and wedding clothes missing and several women beside him.
• Duan Beishan rode to the Qin Clan home in his old clothes, where Shen Yumei questioned him about the women and he claimed someone had taken his house and sent them to him.
• Duan Beishan and Shen Yumei held their wedding at the Qin Clan home, despite the guests gossiping and Old Madam Duan criticizing Shen Yumei's age.
• Qin Changkong's wife and Qin Changfeng's wife urged Shen Yumei to live elsewhere, and Shen Yumei said she owned plenty of houses.
• After Shen Yumei and Duan Beishan spent time together, Qin Shuo called them adulterers, and Zhou Wanwan bet they would quarrel within a month.

Shen Yumei discovered that her home and all the goods in her shops had vanished overnight, while Shen Tao refused Qin Shuang’s demand for money. Qin Shuang’s children rejected her, and Shen Tao agreed to take Shen Miaomiao in after her fiancé broke off their engagement.

• Shen Yumei’s managers reported that everything in her shops, including the valuable jewelry, had disappeared, and she called for the county magistrate.
• Shen Tao arrived to investigate, urged Shen Yumei to let Zhou Wanwan go, and mocked her nephew when she defended him.
• Qin Shuang demanded ten thousand taels from Shen Tao, but he refused and reminded her that she had betrayed him.
• Qin Shuang’s sons announced they would live independently, and Shen Miaomiao blamed Qin Shuang for ruining her reputation and engagement.
• Shen Miaomiao told Shen Tao that the Ye Family had ended her engagement, and he agreed to take her home and buy her a residence.

Shen Miaomiao proposed marrying Shen Tao after learning he was not her real father, while Zhou Wanwan showed Qin Shuo an astonishing collection of military command tokens. At the Shen family gathering, Shen Zhao asked Shen Yumei to give him Zhou Wanwan so he could train her as his attendant.

• Shen Miaomiao chased Shen Tao and said she wanted to marry him as compensation for her ruined marriage, but he rejected her proposal.
• Zhou Wanwan showed Qin Shuo several tokens and staffs that could authorize someone to command troops, leaving him stunned.
• Qin Shuo and Zhou Wanwan went to the front hall at Old Madam Qin's request, where Shen Yumei revealed she had married Duan Beishan.
• Qin Shuo traded insults with Shen Yumei and Duan Beishan, while Shen Yumei threatened to make him and Zhou Wanwan cultivate land and eat wild greens.
• Old Master Shen and Shen Zhao arrived, and Shen Zhao asked Shen Yumei to give Zhou Wanwan to him so he could train her as his attendant.

Zhou Wanwan went with Shen Zhao to the Shen Clan after a teacup exploded in his face, leaving him scarred but unharmed. There, she learned Shen Yumei had lost her property and supplies, and settled in to enjoy the Shen Clan’s hospitality while waiting for the trouble to unfold.

• Shen Zhao tried to throw boiling tea at Zhou Wanwan, but the cup exploded in his face and left scars.
• Shen Yumei suspected Zhou Wanwan had caused the accident, but Zhou Wanwan denied doing anything.
• Shen Yumei told Old Master Shen that her houses, shops, and storeroom goods had vanished, and he advised her to find whoever was responsible and make amends.
• Shen Zhao took Zhou Wanwan to the Shen Clan and declared her his personal maid, then gave her a gold ingot when she said the kitchen lacked food and supplies.
• Zhou Wanwan’s tree companions cooked a lavish meal, and she asked them to send some to Old Madam Qin and Qin Shuo.

Zhou Wanwan cooked for Shen Zhao, but when he tried to strangle her, his fingers broke under mysterious circumstances. After the Shen family tried to punish her, their own dogs and rebounding stones injured them, while Zhou Wanwan remained unharmed.

• Zhou Wanwan served Shen Zhao a meal and offered to cook for him again in exchange for silver.
• Shen Zhao threatened Zhou Wanwan and grabbed her by the neck, but his fingers suddenly broke one by one.
• Old Master Shen ordered Zhou Wanwan locked in the dog cage, but the dogs attacked Madam Shen when she entered the courtyard.
• Shen Zhao accused Zhou Wanwan of letting the dogs loose and ordered servants to throw stones at her.
• The stones bounced back and struck the servants in the heads, killing them as Zhou Wanwan sat safely on the wall.

Zhou Wanwan escaped Shen Zhao’s attempt to imprison her, while Perfected Baoyi arrived to investigate the strange events at the Shen household. That night, the trees stripped the Shen Clan’s storeroom of its treasures, and the next morning the Shen family found themselves locked in a dog cage.

• Shen Zhao ordered his guards to seize Zhou Wanwan, but they repeatedly fell before they could reach her.
• Old Master Shen had Zhou Wanwan locked in the woodshed and invited Perfected Baoyi, a Daoist from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, to investigate the household’s strange misfortunes.
• Perfected Baoyi accepted a thousand-tael deposit and planned to search for the spirits the next day, while Zhou Wanwan and Old Scholar Tree inspected the Shen Clan’s storeroom.
• Zhou Wanwan admired the storeroom’s riches, and several thousand trees stripped it bare overnight.
• Old Master Shen, Shen Zhao, and Old Madam Shen woke up trapped together in Shen Zhao’s dog cage.

Perfected Baoyi and his disciples found the Shen Clan locked in dog cages after the mountain god’s visit, and Baoyi told Old Master Shen to stop cutting trees and sell the mountain estates. As guards inexplicably turned on one another, Zhou Wanwan charged Baoyi for breakfast and refused to share with Shen Zhao, leaving the Shen Clan to face the consequences of its hunger and mountain dealings.

• Perfected Baoyi woke at the Shen residence, discovered his belongings were missing, and found the Shen Clan members locked in dog cages.
• Baoyi freed the Shen Clan and told Old Master Shen that the mountain god wanted them to stop cutting trees and sell their mountain estates.
• Shen Zhao ordered guards to seize Zhou Wanwan, but the guards suddenly attacked one another while Zhou sat nearby.
• Zhou Wanwan charged Baoyi two taels for a lavish delivered breakfast, and he paid before enjoying the food.
• Shen Zhao asked Zhou Wanwan to give him her breakfast, but she refused unless he paid her.

Zhou Wanwan ate a lavish seafood feast with the trees while the Shen Clan struggled with missing food, fleeing cooks, and its dwindling wealth. The chapter left the Shen family waiting for a meal and Shen Zhao asking what Zhou Wanwan had cooked.

• Zhou Wanwan refused to share her breakfast with Shen Zhao, and Perfected Baoyi persuaded Old Master Shen to exchange thirty thousand taels in banknotes for gold to appease the mountain god.
• Perfected Baoyi secretly stashed the gold in a cave, then accepted another five thousand taels from Old Master Shen after the Shen estates sold for a steep loss.
• Old Madam Shen planned a large birthday celebration, but her steward reported that food had gone missing and several cooks had quit.
• Old Madam Shen drove Zhou Wanwan away after she suggested ordering food, and Shen Zhao then asked her to cook for him despite having no money.
• Zhou Wanwan had Old Ancestor and the trees prepare an elaborate seafood feast, which she enjoyed while the Shen Clan waited for its elderly cook to make lunch.

Zhou Wanwan’s strange luck frightened the Shen family into treating her generously, while Shen Zhao grew angrier at her. As Zhou Wanwan tried to rest, Old Scholar Tree warned that Shen Zhao planned to throw firecrackers into her room.

• Shen Zhao confronted Zhou Wanwan about the burnt vegetables, and she claimed people who treated her well received good luck.
• When Shen Zhao ordered servants to force Zhou Wanwan to kneel, they fell down instead, and several later slapped Perfected Baoyi.
• Perfected Baoyi warned Old Master Shen that Zhou Wanwan brought good fortune to those who treated her well and bad luck to those who mistreated her.
• Old Master Shen offered Zhou Wanwan servants and silver, while Shen Zhao and his brothers argued over her and the vanished Shen house.
• Old Scholar Tree told Zhou Wanwan that Shen Zhao had bought firecrackers and planned to throw them into her room while she slept.

Shen Zhao and his companions were injured by exploding firecrackers, and Zhou Wanwan escaped Old Madam Shen’s attempt to attack her before letting her drown briefly in the river. After Old Madam Shen reneged on her promise to hand over her money, the Old Scholar Tree sent her and Shen Zhao adrift at sea, where sharks approached them as Zhou Wanwan relaxed nearby.

• Shen Zhao and his companions were hurt when the firecrackers they brought to Zhou Wanwan’s room exploded, and Old Madam Shen blamed Zhou Wanwan.
• Zhou Wanwan evaded Old Madam Shen and let her fall into the river, then had the Old Scholar Tree pull her ashore after she promised to give Zhou Wanwan all her money.
• Perfected Baoyi discovered that the thirty thousand taels of silver had vanished, and Old Madam Shen denied promising Zhou Wanwan her money.
• The Old Scholar Tree tied Old Madam Shen and Shen Zhao to a door panel and sent them out to sea.
• Old Madam Shen and Shen Zhao woke adrift at sea and panicked when several enormous sharks approached, while Zhou Wanwan rested on the Old Scholar Tree and watched.

Shen Zhao and Old Madam Shen were rescued from the sea by pirates, but had to sell themselves to survive and were threatened into handing over their property. Back at the Shen residence, Old Master Shen gave Zhou Wanwan an estate to persuade her to leave, and she accepted it as the Shen family fled.

• Shen Zhao and Old Madam Shen drifted at sea for a day and a night before pirates offered to rescue them in exchange for a contract.
• Shen Zhao agreed to sell himself, and Old Madam Shen followed; the pirates fed them, dropped them near port, and ordered them to prepare their assets for collection.
• Back at the Shen residence, Old Madam Shen blamed Zhou Wanwan for their ordeal, while Zhou Wanwan denied responsibility and said she could not bear to leave the family.
• Old Master Shen offered Zhou Wanwan an estate and took her to see it, hoping to get her away from the Shen residence.
• Zhou Wanwan accepted the estate deed, the three members of the Shen Clan ran off, and Perfected Baoyi asked how she had managed it.

Zhou Wanwan accepted Perfected Baoyi and his two disciples into her service, then sent him to the Great Qi palace with Zhao Lili’s daughter, Yinyin, as a false spirit-controller. Consort Li ordered the girl beaten, only to discover Yinyin was her own daughter.

• Perfected Baoyi admitted he wanted to join Zhou Wanwan, and he and his two disciples signed contracts of servitude.
• Zhou Wanwan gave the group thirty thousand taels of silver and told Perfected Baoyi to present Zhao Lili’s daughter as the person behind the spirits.
• Perfected Baoyi brought Yinyin to the emperor of Great Qi, who questioned her about controlling spirits.
• Consort Li ordered Yinyin beaten, then recognized her daughter when the girl collapsed and called for an imperial physician.
• Yinyin woke up and cried out to Consort Li that she was hurt, while Perfected Baoyi had already fled.