Chapter Summaries

Zhou Wanwan found four villages whose elders were preparing to die because taxes and famine had left their families without food, and she offered to save them in exchange for control of their land and labor. After distributing grain and making agreements, she treated a villager’s consumption and eased his coughing.

• Zhou Wanwan and Zheng Chunhe entered a poor home in Dao Family Village, where a woman described how locusts and relentless taxes had left the village without grain.
• Zhou Wanwan learned that elders from Dao Family Village and nearby villages were going up the mountain to die so their children would have more food.
• Zhou Wanwan offered to save the villages if they gave her control of their land, part of their produce, and deeds selling themselves into servitude, and the village chiefs agreed.
• Zhou Wanwan gave each of the four villages fifty sacks of grain and told them her people would arrange farming instruction and bring a jade pendant as proof.
• Zhou Wanwan diagnosed the woman’s husband with consumption and used herbs and silver needles to ease his coughing.

Zhou Wanwan sent quilts, charcoal, and farming help to Dao Family Village, while County Magistrate Cheng struggled with his unruly son Cheng Chao. Zhou Wanwan took her brothers and Gu Sinian to the Drunken Spring Pavilion to show them what a brothel was like, where they clashed with Cheng Chao’s group over the top courtesan.

• Zhou Wanwan gave a poor family quilts and clothes, then distributed charcoal, quilts, and grain to the villages.
• Old Master Xu taught the people of Dao Family Village to build greenhouses and plant sweet potatoes.
• Cheng Xiao’s tutor quit because Cheng Chao was unruly, and Cheng Xiao learned that his son had gone to the Drunken Spring Pavilion.
• Cheng Chao drank with wealthy young men and agreed to go to a gambling house with Zhou Qingzhou.
• Zhou Wanwan brought her brothers and Gu Sinian to the Drunken Spring Pavilion and paid to see its top courtesan, Meiniang.
• Cheng Chao’s companions demanded the same courtesan and threatened the madam when she asked them to pay.

Zhou Wanwan outbid Cheng Chao for the flower queen at a brothel, then revealed she was the chief of the Black Wind Stronghold and left everyone terrified. She enjoyed the entertainment before heading home, while Cheng Chao and the other young masters were left shaken.

• Cheng Chao and Zhou Wanwan competed for the flower queen, driving the price up to six hundred taels before Zhou Wanwan stopped bidding.
• Cheng Chao kicked open Zhou Wanwan's door, recognized her, and knelt as she scolded him for visiting a brothel.
• Zhou Wanwan had the flower queen perform and ordered Cheng Chao to pour her tea while his companions mocked him.
• Cheng Chao told the other young masters that Zhou Wanwan was the chief of the Black Wind Stronghold, and they fell to their knees in fear.
• Zhou Wanwan listened to the performance, then left and told the young masters to go home and stop causing trouble.

Cheng Xiao learned that his gold and grain had vanished and suspected Zhou Wanwan, while Cheng Chao reported seeing her at a brothel. Old Madam Zhou decided to visit Black Wind Stronghold and began planning how to reach it, leaving her family preparing to approach the people connected to the stronghold.

• Cheng Chao told others that Zhou Wanwan was a formidable girl who had forced the second prince of Khotan to pay a ransom.
• Cheng Xiao discovered that the gold and grain hidden at Long Live Mountain were gone and suspected Zhou Wanwan had taken them.
• Old Madam Zhou and Jiang Wu agreed that Zhou Wanwan was behind the theft, and Old Madam Zhou offered to find people who could investigate the stronghold.
• Cheng Chao told Cheng Xiao that he had encountered Zhou Wanwan at a brothel, where she had competed with him for the top courtesan.
• Old Madam Zhou decided to visit Black Wind Stronghold with gifts and asked her sons how to get in.
• Zhou Fuyu suggested asking Daniu and Erniu's family to contact the stronghold, and the family planned to approach them carefully.

The Zhou family decided to approach Zhou Fusheng, hoping to visit the Black Wind Stronghold and reunite before the New Year. Zhou Fusheng hesitated because his grandparents had once cared for him, though he still needed Zhou Wanwan’s permission.

• Old Madam Zhou and the Zhou family discussed pretending to be poor and sending Zhou Fuyu to ask Daniu and Erniu about visiting the stronghold.
• Zhou Fuyu brought a chicken to Daniu and Erniu and asked them to pass a message to Zhou Fusheng.
• Zhou Fuyu joined Zhou Fusheng, Daniu, and Erniu at a restaurant and told Zhou Fusheng that he was no longer wanted and the family wanted to visit.
• Zhou Fusheng said Zhou Wanwan controlled the stronghold and he would need to ask her before allowing the Zhou family to come.
• Zhou Fuyu appealed to Zhou Fusheng’s affection for his grandparents, and Daniu said the elderly couple were struggling without enough food.

Zhou Fusheng visited his grandparents in Zhou Family Village after Zhou Wanwan refused to let them come to the mountain stronghold. Seeing their hardship, he offered to take them up the mountain, where they could be cared for.

• Zhou Wanwan agreed to let Zhou Fusheng visit his grandparents but said they should not be brought to the mountain stronghold.
• Zhou Fusheng visited Zhou Family Village, where Old Man Zhou showed him a courtyard and urged him to return with his family.
• Zhou Fusheng found his elderly grandparents living in a thatched hut, and his grandfather offered him a corn cake as he had when Zhou Fusheng was a child.
• Zhou Fusheng's grandmother initially refused the food and gifts he brought, while Old Man Zhou again urged him to return to the village.
• Zhou Fusheng told his grandparents he wanted to take them up the mountain so they could live comfortably and Zhou Wanwan could help care for their health.

Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e visited the Zhou family, where relatives and village women mocked their life at Black Wind Mountain Stronghold and urged them to return. Their concerns about the children’s future unsettled them, and they went back to the mountain without deciding whether Grandfather and Grandmother would join them.

• Liu Su'e invited Grandmother to live with them on the mountain, but Grandmother said she would not cause trouble for the couple.
• Old Madam Zhou welcomed Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e and urged them to move back, claiming Zhou Wanwan was no longer considered a calamity star.
• At a family feast, the third daughter-in-law suggested visiting the stronghold before deciding whether Grandfather and Grandmother should live there.
• The eldest and second daughters-in-law mocked Liu Su'e about the stronghold, and village women joined in with taunts about the couple’s reputation and poverty.
• Old Madam Zhou warned that the children’s lives and prospects for examinations and marriage could suffer if they remained associated with the stronghold.
• Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e exchanged a worried glance, gave no answer, and returned to the mountain.

Zhou Wanwan agreed to let the Zhou family visit the mountain stronghold, while planning to show them how well her family lived. The next day, Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e returned to Zhou Family Village in grand carriages, drawing attention and gossip as they went to visit Daniu and Erniu's families.

• Old Madam Zhou and her third daughter-in-law decided to ask to visit Zhou Wanwan's stronghold, hoping to inspect it for the county magistrate while pretending to reconcile.
• Zhou Wanwan, Zhou Fusheng, Liu Su'e, and Zhou Qingyan agreed to invite Grandfather and Grandmother up the mountain, and Zhou Wanwan planned to let the Zhou family see their fine houses.
• The next day, Zhou Wanwan sent more than twenty people with Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e to fetch Grandfather and Grandmother.
• The villagers of Zhou Family Village gaped at the luxurious carriages, white Ferghana horses, and Liu Su'e's gold hairpins, then accused the family of bringing them nothing.
• Liu Su'e said she had brought things to deliver and went to call on Daniu and Erniu, whose family came out to greet her.

Liu Su'e invited Daniu's and Erniu's families and the Zhou family to visit Black Wind Stronghold, while telling them to bring their own food. The villagers loaded their carriages with supplies from the Zhou household, and the third daughter-in-law warned Old Madam Zhou to stay cautious once they reached the mountain.

• Liu Su'e thanked Daniu's and Erniu's wives for helping her in the past and gave their families grain, meat, chickens, and fish.
• Liu Su'e invited Daniu's and Erniu's families to Black Wind Stronghold, and several curious villagers decided to come along with their own food.
• Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng went to the Zhou Family, where Old Madam Zhou agreed to visit the stronghold after Liu Su'e said they had to bring their own supplies.
• The third daughter-in-law arranged for the Zhou family to bring food and livestock, and the villagers filled more than a dozen carriages with provisions.
• Old Madam Zhou accused Zhou Wanwan of robbing them, but the third daughter-in-law urged her to stay calm and gather information at the stronghold.

The Zhou family arrived at Zhou Wanwan’s mountain stronghold and discovered that it was wealthy, orderly, and equipped with a school. Zhou Wanwan reminded them that their families had severed ties and warned them against provoking her, leaving them intimidated by the stronghold’s armed guards and fighters.

• The Zhou family discussed persuading Zhou Wanwan’s family to leave the mountain, while the younger girls complained about visiting bandits.
• The Zhou family fell asleep on the carriage ride and woke inside the stronghold, where Zhou Wanwan welcomed them and praised the food they had brought.
• The visitors marveled at the stronghold’s fine residence, fish ponds, and school, where dozens of children were studying at new desks.
• Zhou Wanwan shared abundant fruit with the stronghold’s children while Zhang Guilan demanded respect, and Zhou Wanwan reminded her that their families had severed ties.
• Zhou Wanwan warned the Zhou family not to provoke her as the guards drew their blades, then the visitors watched armed men practicing martial arts.

Zhou Wanwan’s relatives visited the stronghold and complained about the food, only to be astonished by its wealth and hospitality. Zhou Fusheng’s brothers and the villagers mocked his ambition to pass the xiucai exam.

• Zhou Wanwan teased Eldest aunt about bringing provisions, while the imperial chefs complained that the guests had brought too little food.
• After the meal was served, Eldest aunt and the villagers complained that their pig and sheep had disappeared and that they had no rice.
• Zhao Feiyan gave Zhou Wanwan a gold lock, then Zheng Chunhe and Zheng Xing'an arrived with bird’s nest for the stronghold’s household and children.
• Old Madam Zhou and Zhao Feiyan envied the stronghold’s wealth as they noticed its gold jewelry, bird’s nest, and magnificent home.
• Zhou Fukang, Zhou Fu'an, and Zhou Fuyu mocked Zhou Fusheng for wanting to take the xiucai exam, and nearby villagers joined in.

Zhou Wanwan took the village girls to the stronghold’s amusement park, then was summoned back to her relentless lessons by Grand Tutor Zhao Muyuan. During an arithmetic lesson, she reorganized a messy ledger into tables and quickly calculated its total, leaving Zhao Muyuan to check her result.

• Zhou Fuyu boasted to the villagers about passing the scholar examination and his family’s rise, while Old Madam Zhou belittled Zhou Fusheng and Huihui tried to claim Zhou Qingzhou’s house belonged to the family.
• Zhou Wanwan invited Niuniu and the other girls to play, rejected Huihui’s suggestion that she take her sisters too, and brought the girls to the amusement park built by children from Luban Village.
• Niuniu asked whether she could stay and learn to read and write, and Zhou Wanwan told her about the stronghold’s girls’ school.
• Grand Tutor Zhao Muyuan interrupted Zhou Wanwan’s playtime and insisted she return to studying, despite her protests that she was not suited to becoming emperor.
• Zhao Muyuan taught Zhou Wanwan arithmetic for understanding state finances, but she instead organized his messy ledger into tables and calculated its result for him to verify.

Zhou Wanwan’s lessons were interrupted when Pei Yong arrived with Great Xia’s army to surround Black Wind Stronghold. As the stronghold prepared its weapons, Pei Yong ordered its defenders to put away their crossbows.

• Zhou Wanwan taught Zhao Muyuan to organize calculations in a table, then agreed to take archery lessons from Qin Shan and Shen Chaoge.
• Zhou Wanwan hit the bull’s-eye with her first arrow before a messenger reported that a large force from the capital had surrounded the mountain.
• Zhou Wanwan, Qin Shan, and Shen Chaoge used a telescope to identify Pei Yong and other former subordinates among the approaching soldiers.
• The stronghold’s defenders set up cannons, bed crossbows, and Song divine arm crossbows that Zhou Wanwan had designed with help from Luban Village.
• Pei Yong’s troops reached Black Wind Stronghold and called for its chief to surrender, but Pei Yong ordered the defenders to put away their crossbows.

Zhou Wanwan confronted Pei Yong’s army, but Pei Yong chose to join Black Wind Stronghold after recognizing Qin Shan, while veterans of the Shen Clan Army reunited with Shen Chaoge. The commanders entered the stronghold and saw its formidable crossbow arsenal, and Pei Yong revealed that an imperial edict had ordered him to attack.

• Zhou Wanwan threatened Pei Yong as he prepared to attack Black Wind Stronghold, but Pei Yong recognized Qin Shan and declared that he wanted to become a mountain bandit.
• Pei Yong offered his sixty thousand soldiers to Zhou Wanwan, who questioned whether his surrender was a trick.
• Veterans identified Shen Chaoge and revealed that 2,652 members of the Shen Clan Army had survived and come to him.
• Zhou Wanwan worried she could not feed so many soldiers, while Pei Yong promised they could provide for themselves by robbing people.
• Zhou Wanwan let Pei Yong and eleven commanders into the stronghold, where they saw its extensive arsenal of bed crossbows and other weapons.
• Pei Yong explained that an imperial edict had ordered him to leave the frontier and attack Black Wind Stronghold.

Pei Yong described how Noble Consort Ning Yunshu had sabotaged his army and ruined his career, while Zhou Wanwan showed him Black Wind Stronghold’s school and self-sufficient community. Hoping to join the stronghold, Pei Yong offered to reveal a guarded gold mine, and his soldiers raised the possibility of targeting the powerful Northern Desert Kingdom.

• Pei Yong and his soldiers told Qin Shan that court corruption had left frontier troops without timely pay, food, medical care, or proper equipment.
• Shen Chaoge revealed that Ning Yunshu had been his fiancée and accused her of leaking military intelligence, withholding supplies, and framing him until he lost his army, rank, and home.
• Zhou Wanwan showed Pei Yong’s group Black Wind Stronghold’s free school and explained that its members used their skills to support themselves and the community.
• Pei Yong asked to join the stronghold and offered to guide Zhou Wanwan to a gold mine guarded by Ning Yunshu’s people.
• A soldier described the Northern Desert Kingdom’s wealth and its raids across the border, while another questioned whether they could challenge such a powerful enemy.

Zhou Wanwan learned about the Northern Desert Kingdom’s raids and poison tactics, then punished Zhou Family Village villagers who fished in her pond. That evening, the villagers refused to leave the stronghold and pressured Zhou Fusheng to let them stay.

• Pei Yong and a soldier explained the Northern Desert Kingdom’s mobile raids, cunning traps, and deadly poison attacks to Zhou Wanwan.
• After Liu Su'e reported that Zhou Family Village villagers were fishing in the pond, Zhou Wanwan watched them get pushed into the water, where crocodiles and piranhas attacked them.
• Zhou Wanwan stroked the crocodiles and warned the injured villagers not to cause trouble in her stronghold.
• The Zhou Family Village villagers refused to leave and appealed to Old Madam Zhou and Zhou Fusheng to let them live in the stronghold.

Zhou Fusheng and Zhou Wanwan rebuffed the Zhou Family Village visitors’ complaints and reminded Old Man Zhou and Old Madam Zhou how they had mistreated the family. The visitors settled into the thatched huts, while Huihui decided to investigate Black Wind Stronghold’s rear courtyard and discover how it made money.

• Zhou Fusheng accused the villagers and Old Man Zhou’s family of exploiting and mistreating him, rejecting their claims that they wanted what was best for him.
• Tie Niu challenged Zhou Fusheng’s accusation that the villagers came to take advantage of him, and Zhou Wanwan offered them the thatched huts instead of the main house.
• Old Madam Zhou complained about the huts, but Zhou Wanwan reminded her that she had forced the family to live in a roofless, wall-less ancestral house.
• Zhou Fusheng confronted Old Madam Zhou about making him work like an ox and a horse, and Zhou Wanwan urged his grandparents to keep teaching their older grandchildren independence.
• Huihui persuaded the visitors to stay in the huts and proposed exploring the rear courtyard to find out what Black Wind Stronghold was hiding and how it made money.

Huihui and the Zhou Family Village residents planned to sneak into Black Wind Stronghold’s greenhouses, while Zhou Wanwan’s family discussed their growing confidence and plans. Zhou Wanwan admired Gu Sinian’s handmade scarf, which he had made from wool he processed himself.

• Huihui convinced Old Madam Zhou and the Zhou Family Village residents that the sheds held valuable winter crops and fruit, and they agreed to investigate after everyone fell asleep.
• Liu Su'er and Zhou Fusheng worried that the visitors might steal the stronghold’s crops and medicinal herbs, but Zhou Wanwan reassured them.
• Zhou Fusheng showed Zhou Wanwan his improved calligraphy and said he planned to take the child scholar examination next year.
• Zhou Wanwan praised Zhou Fusheng’s studies and encouraged him to prove his parents wrong by passing the examination.
• Zhou Wanwan discovered that Gu Sinian had knitted her a scarf, and he explained that he had processed the wool and yarn himself and learned the stitches in half a month.

Zhou Wanwan and the trees frightened the people from Zhou Family Village after they entered Black Wind Stronghold’s forbidden graveyard. The villagers remained determined to seize the stronghold and its grain, and the chapter ended as coffin lids began banging.

• Zhou Wanwan decided to take her brothers and Gu Sinian to the forbidden area after Old Scholar Tree told her that people from Zhou Family Village had entered it.
• The little trees made a skeleton float and opened cracks in the ground, terrifying and burying several villagers.
• Qian Huihui insisted the villagers investigate Black Wind Stronghold, while Zhou Fuyu and others feared the place was haunted.
• Old Madam Zhou and Qian Huihui blamed Zhou Wanwan for the family’s changed fortunes and planned to take the stronghold’s grain and move in.
• The trees hung the villagers upside down, and coffin lids began banging as the terrified crowd cried out about ghosts.

Zhou Wanwan’s trees terrified the Zhou family and their companions overnight, and the next morning she charged them for food, hot water, and clothes. Qian Huihui and Old Madam Zhou decided to keep investigating the stronghold so they could report back to the county magistrate.

• The trees frightened the group with animated corpses until Zhou Qingyuan and the others fainted, and Zhou Wanwan called the trees back.
• The shaken group confronted Zhou Wanwan the next morning, while Zhou Qingzhou gawked at her lavish breakfast.
• Qian Huihui paid five taels for plain porridge and steamed buns, and Zhou Wanwan joked that robbing people was her job.
• Qian Huihui paid more for hot water and clothes, and the group changed into ordinary cotton garments.
• Qian Huihui persuaded Old Madam Zhou to keep exploring the stronghold so they could report what they learned to the county magistrate.