Recaps

Zhou Wanwan traveled to the Northern Desert, rescued Han captives, and built up her estates and restaurant in Peerless City while using the tree people to strip corrupt households of their wealth. She helped Pei Shuang escape her abusive marriage and ended the stretch searching for Noble Consort Ning’s jade mine.

• Zhou Wanwan reached the Northern Desert, discovered Han captives forced to work in a gold mine, and sent the trees to seize the ore and rescue the prisoners.
• Zhou Wanwan bought estates near Peerless City, subdued bandits and horse bandits, and opened A Gallant’s Journey after the trees carried away Yuelai Inn.
• Zhou Wanwan treated Pei Shuang and helped her divorce Chu Liufeng, then the trees stripped the city lord’s manor and drove its household out.
• Zhou Wanwan found treasure and maps hidden by the former horse bandit chief, while Old Scholar Tree absorbed Chu Liufeng and grew stronger.
• Zhou Wanwan healed Iron Crutch Li, who pledged to help her manage Peerless City and take her to the Jianghu Alliance.
• Zhou Wanwan turned rodents into restaurant dishes and confronted the people stealing from Pei Shuang’s estate, helping Pei Shuang reclaim her property.
• Zhou Wanwan inspected Pei Shuang’s estate and began searching the mountains with her brothers and the tree people for Noble Consort Ning’s jade mine.

Zhou Wanwan emptied a jade mine, outwitted Yunxi’s powerful young families, and gathered wealth and allies through the Jianghu Alliance. As she took the scholar examination, she dealt with an attempted murder and left the Lu and Qian families’ homes stripped, while Shen Yu'an’s family prepared to flee the prefect’s demands for Black Wind Stronghold.

• Zhou Wanwan and the trees emptied Mount Beimang’s jade vein, then she brought her family to Yunxi County for the preliminary scholar examination and helped Shen Yu'an prepare for coming disasters by planting sweet potatoes and cassava.
• Xie Cheng'en tried to seize Zhou Wanwan’s spirit creatures, but she turned his threats into a sale of medicinal herbs and later won vast wealth from him and the other young masters at the casino.
• After Xie Cheng'en hired Black Widow to capture her, the Old Ancestor trapped the assassin, and Zhou Wanwan collected the treasures from her cave before visiting the Jianghu Alliance.
• Zhou Wanwan rescued Yun Duo and her mother from Yun Tianlong and his associates, hired Yun Duo, and took Zhao Lili’s mansion, rare plants, and storehouses back to Black Wind Stronghold.
• At the examination venue, Gu Sinian fought Gu Erdan, Zhou Wanwan passed the women’s inspection, and the Old Scholar Tree secretly protected her from an archer sent by Lu Xiao.
• Zhou Wanwan finished the first day’s exam and told the Old Scholar Tree she would deal with Lu Xiao herself, then reassured Zhou Fusheng that he should keep trying even if he failed.
• Zhou Wanwan and thousands of trees dismantled the Lu family’s residence and emptied Qian Jinbao’s home, while Zhao Muyuan assigned Shen Yu'an’s family rooms in the stronghold.
• After the prefect demanded tax silver and grain from Shen Yu'an, Shen warned his family to flee to Black Wind Stronghold, and an escort arrived to take them there.

Zhou Wanwan helped her family and Gu Sinian through the examinations while confronting the prefect, the Jianghu Alliance, and Lu Lan’s circle. At the Lu Family gathering, she exposed Shangguan Wan’er’s insults, intervened in the Marchioness of Loyalty and Valor’s household, and was challenged to a contest with a prize still to be decided.

• Madam Shen settled into the Black Wind Stronghold with her children, while Zhou Wanwan arranged grain for Shen Yu'an’s delivery and he avoided the prefect’s accusation of stealing top-grade rice.
• Zhou Wanwan and the stronghold’s candidates sat their examinations as Gu Sinian rejected Chen Dongmei and faced demands from Gu Chaoyang’s clan, and all thirty-eight stronghold candidates passed the county exam.
• Liu Su'e and her brothers rescued Liu Sufen from the Wu family, and Shen Yu'an granted her divorce from Wu Dazhi before she returned to a comfortable residence with her family.
• Zhou Wanwan’s trees trapped intruders at her restaurant and carried away the Earth Ranking Courtyard, while she cultivated herbs and completed the academy examination with her brothers and Gu Sinian.
• Twenty-six scholars from Zhou Wanwan’s household passed the academy examination, with Gu Sinian first, Zhou Wanwan second, and Zhou Qingyan third, and the prefect’s banquet ended in chaos after the trees warned her of poisoned food.
• At Lu Lan’s banquet, Zhou Wanwan resisted the noblewomen’s demands, escaped Xie Cheng'en’s attempt to throw her into the river, and won Shangguan Wan’er’s jewelry after proving her own pieces were genuine.
• The Marchioness of Loyalty and Valor asked Zhou Wanwan to examine her son and daughter-in-law, and Zhou learned that Yuan Xue was the marchioness’s birth daughter while Ji Yunzheng was adopted.
• After Ji Yunzheng threatened Zhou Wanwan and the marchioness, Old Scholar Tree drove off his guards, and Zhou Wanwan gave her won jewelry to Feng Yueyao before Shangguan Wan’er proposed a contest that Xie Cheng'en agreed to sponsor.

Zhou Wanwan wins the literary contest and secures Zhou Qingyan’s match with Su Zhixia before exposing and confronting the Lu Family. After discovering Long Aotian’s estate and its struggling businesses, she takes charge of his assets and begins investigating the managers.

• Zhou Wanwan won the poetry, guqin, archery, and riding contests, defending the Marchioness of Loyalty and Valor and outmaneuvering Shangguan Wan’er.
• Lu Lan accused Zhou Wanwan of leading Black Wind Stronghold, but Zhou Wanwan stayed at the Lu residence and resisted the Lu Family’s threats.
• Zhou Qingyan agreed to marry Su Zhixia, and Zhou Wanwan brought eighty-eight lavish betrothal gift stands to the Su residence, winning the family’s approval.
• Zhou Wanwan exposed Lu Xuening and Shen Zhiyu together, foiled Madam Lu’s attempt to kill her, and learned that the Countess of Yongning had ended Lu Xuening’s engagement.
• After Earth Ranking experts destroyed her shops, Zhou Wanwan tracked the attack to Long Aotian’s estate and discovered his vast household of rescued women and children.
• Long Aotian transferred his estates and assets to Zhou Wanwan, who found that ten of his eleven restaurants were losing money and took charge of managing them.
• Zhou Wanwan confronted the estate’s managers over the muddled accounts and warned them that she would investigate and punish anyone guilty of wrongdoing.