Chapter Summaries

At the grand princess’s banquet, Zhou Wanwan revealed the hardships her father suffered and the grand princess punished Old Madam Zhou for mistreating him. The grand princess welcomed Zhou Fusheng, Zhou Wanwan, and Liu Su'e as her family, while the Zhou family was left wondering why Old Madam Zhou had been beaten.

• Zhou Wanwan told the grand princess that Old Madam Zhou had neglected Zhou Fusheng and once tried to sell her, prompting the grand princess to confront Old Madam Zhou at the banquet.
• The grand princess declared that Zhou Wanwan was her granddaughter, ordered Old Madam Zhou beaten with twenty strokes of the paddle, and sent Princess Jianing back to the palace.
• Old Madam Zhou claimed that her youngest son was the grand princess’s real son, so the grand princess ordered officials to slap her and then threw her out of the residence.
• Zhou Wanwan told Liu Su'e that the grand princess was Zhou Fusheng’s mother, and the grand princess gave Liu Su'e a jade bangle and invited the family to live at the princess’s residence.
• Zhou Wanwan declined the invitation for the time being, and the grand princess dismissed the banquet guests so her family could spend time together.
• Old Madam Zhou returned to the family’s rented house battered, and Zhou Fu'an, Zhou Fukang, and Zhou Fuyu asked what had happened.

Old Madam Zhou revealed that Zhou Fusheng was the Grand Princess’s son, while the Grand Princess welcomed Zhou Wanwan and her family into her residence. Zhou Wanwan agreed to stay the night with her grandmother, who showered the family with gifts and promised to protect her.

• Old Madam Zhou told Qian Huihui and Zhou Fuyu that Zhou Fusheng was the Grand Princess’s son, and they decided to focus on making money in the capital.
• The Grand Princess learned Zhou Wanwan had three older brothers and sent officials to bring them and Gu Sinian from Five Luminaries Academy.
• Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, Zhou Qingchen, and Gu Sinian arrived at the Grand Princess’s residence, where Zhou Wanwan and her parents were dining with her.
• The Grand Princess welcomed the family, gave Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e many gifts, and asked them to visit often.
• The Grand Princess told Zhou Wanwan she was her granddaughter and vowed to fight anyone who harmed her; Zhou Wanwan then bathed and went to bed at the residence.

The grand princess took Zhou Wanwan to the palace to seek a commandery princess title for her, and Zhou Wanwan met the emperor, who agreed to grant it. Noble Consort Ning challenged Zhou Wanwan’s identity and accused her of being a dangerous bandit, leaving the grand princess angry and ready to take her home.

• The grand princess decided to take Zhou Wanwan to the palace and ask the emperor to grant her a commandery princess title.
• The grand princess brought Zhou Wanwan to the imperial study, where Zhou Wanwan admired its riches and read while they waited for the emperor.
• The emperor recognized Zhou Wanwan’s resemblance to his imperial mother, agreed to make her a commandery princess, and proposed the name Commandery Princess Returning Pearl.
• Noble Consort Ning arrived, questioned whether Zhou Wanwan was truly the grand princess’s granddaughter, and accused her of being a mountain bandit who might rebel.
• The grand princess defended Zhou Wanwan and, after the emperor hesitated over Noble Consort Ning’s accusations, declared that they would go home without the title.

Zhou Wanwan agreed to enter the palace despite the Grand Princess and Eunuch Hai’s warnings, then confronted Noble Consort Ning, who threatened to ruin her businesses. The chapter ended with Zhou Wanwan facing Noble Consort Ning’s warning that her profitable ventures would not last.

• The Grand Princess explained that Noble Consort Ning controlled court affairs and urged Zhou Wanwan to distrust Eunuch Hai, but Zhou Wanwan insisted he was on her side.
• Eunuch Hai warned Zhou Wanwan that Noble Consort Ning planned to summon her and offered to help her flee, while the Grand Princess also urged her to leave.
• Zhou Wanwan refused to run away and agreed to go to the palace the next morning, despite the Grand Princess’s fears.
• The Grand Princess saw Zhou Wanwan off and gave Eunuch Hai silver to protect her as Zhou Wanwan rode to the palace.
• Zhou Wanwan met Noble Consort Ning, Lu Yao, and Lu Zhiwei, and Noble Consort Ning threatened that Zhou Wanwan’s delivery business and capital shops would soon be shut down.

Princess Jianing tried to humiliate Zhou Wanwan, but Zhou Wanwan used mysterious powers to turn the tables and immobilize everyone in the palace. After Little Ginseng woke, Zhou Wanwan explored Jianing's lavish storerooms and discovered a room packed with precious medicinal herbs.

• Noble Consort Ning let Princess Jianing take Zhou Wanwan away, warning her to leave Zhou Wanwan alive.
• Nanny Qin ordered Zhou Wanwan to kneel with boiling water, but the water splashed onto Nanny Qin and blistered her face.
• Princess Jianing tried to throw boiling water at Zhou Wanwan, but the cup tipped and splashed her with water that had not yet boiled.
• Princess Jianing ordered her maids to force-feed Zhou Wanwan chamber-pot contents, but Zhou Wanwan's power immobilized Jianing, Nanny Qin, and the maids.
• Little Ginseng woke up, and Zhou Wanwan took him to explore Princess Jianing's palace and its treasure-filled storerooms, including one stocked with rare medicinal herbs.

Zhou Wanwan explored the Cold Palace with Old Scholar Tree, met Consort Zhen, who mistook her for her lost daughter, and accepted the dowry meant for Princess Jianning. Old Scholar Tree then brought Zhou Wanwan to a jade-sealed well, where a flood dragon emerged and challenged their presence.

• Lingbao ate more than twenty kinds of medicinal herbs in the imperial palace storeroom and asked Zhou Wanwan how she had ended up there.
• After a thousand-year-old flood dragon caused a disturbance, Old Scholar Tree took Zhou Wanwan to the Cold Palace to see it.
• Consort Zhen mistook Zhou Wanwan for her lost daughter, and a palace maid explained that Noble Consort Ning had caused the princess's death and Consort Zhen's madness.
• Consort Zhen gave Zhou Wanwan the jewelry she had prepared as a dowry for Princess Jianning, and Zhou Wanwan promised to visit again.
• Old Scholar Tree took Zhou Wanwan deeper into the Cold Palace, where a flood dragon crawled from a jade-sealed well and questioned why they had come.

Zhou Wanwan met a hungry flood dragon in the imperial palace and explored the cold palace before Noble Consort Ning accused her of harming Princess Jianing. After an unseen force punished Noble Consort Ning, she ordered Zhou Wanwan banished to the cold palace, where Jianing threatened to have her businesses ruined.

• Zhou Wanwan met the flood dragon, who explained that palace spiritual power was sealed, and she fed him imperial kitchen dishes and wine.
• The flood dragon gave Zhou Wanwan a golden hairpin in thanks, and she and Old Scholar Tree discussed how the cold palace land and its consorts were being neglected.
• Eunuch Hai warned Zhou Wanwan that Noble Consort Ning wanted her arrested, but Zhou Wanwan went to see what had happened.
• Princess Jianing accused Zhou Wanwan of forcing her to eat excrement, and Noble Consort Ning ordered the guards to beat Zhou Wanwan to death.
• An unseen force dragged Noble Consort Ning away and beat her until she begged the guards to spare Zhou Wanwan.
• Noble Consort Ning sent Zhou Wanwan to the cold palace, while Commandery Princess Jianing said she would never leave and threatened her takeout business and shops.

Zhou Wanwan began rebuilding life in the Cold Palace, organizing its consorts and palace maids to farm while the trees transformed the grounds and moved Princess Jianing's residence there. After settling into her new home, Zhou Wanwan was visited at night by Consort Zhen, who mistook her for Ajiu and asked to sleep beside her.

• Zhou Wanwan chose Princess Jianing's palace and encouraged the Cold Palace's consorts to list their talents and begin farming.
• Zheng Xing'an distributed farming tools and seeds, and Zhou Wanwan selected more than fifty residents to teach the others how to farm.
• Zhou Wanwan had grain brought in so the consorts and palace maids could cook and eat together after a day of work.
• The large trees placed Princess Jianing's ten-hall residence in the Cold Palace, while Old Scholar Tree brought Noble Consort Ning's estate and the trees dug a pond.
• The little flood dragon saw the transformed Cold Palace and realized Zhou Wanwan was someone he should not provoke.
• Consort Zhen entered Zhou Wanwan's room at night, called her Ajiu, and asked whether she could sleep with her.

Zhou Wanwan and Consort Zhen slept together in the Cold Palace while food vanished from the imperial kitchens and Princess Jianing’s palace disappeared overnight. As the emperor and Noble Consort Ning feared the culprit and barred the eldest princess from visiting Zhou Wanwan, Princess Jianing ordered the Cold Palace kitchen to starve her, and the eldest princess summoned Zhou Wanwan’s parents to demand an explanation.

• Zhou Wanwan shared her bed with Consort Zhen, and the little flood dragon watched helplessly as she ate breakfast stolen from the imperial kitchens.
• The emperor and Noble Consort Ning discovered that most of their breakfast had vanished, while Princess Jianing reported that her palace and treasures were gone.
• The minister of the Court of Judicial Review found no clues and warned that the thief was a powerful woman who knew the palace, then told Chen Ankang the investigation would end.
• The eldest princess confronted the emperor over sending Zhou Wanwan to the Cold Palace, but he and Noble Consort Ning defended the punishment and refused her permission to visit.
• Princess Jianing ordered the kitchen to withhold food from Zhou Wanwan, and the eldest princess summoned Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng to question their apparent lack of concern.

Zhou Wanwan visited the Grand Princess, who worried that she was suffering in the cold palace, while Zhou Wanwan reassured her with a lavish meal from the imperial kitchen. After returning to the cold palace, Zhou Wanwan woke the consorts early to lead them in yoga and work.

• Liu Su'e and Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qingchen, and Zhou Qinghe tried to reassure the Grand Princess that Zhou Wanwan was doing well, but the Grand Princess accused them of neglecting her.
• Zhou Wanwan arrived and told the Grand Princess she was living well in the cold palace, then brought out a feast prepared by imperial kitchen chefs she planned to hire.
• The Grand Princess tasted the dishes and offered Zhou Wanwan clothes, charcoal, and a brazier, while Zhou Wanwan insisted she did not need them.
• After Zhou Wanwan left, the Grand Princess worried about Noble Consort Ning's influence in the palace and said she would choose the very best match for Zhou Wanwan.
• Zhou Wanwan returned to the cold palace, where trees had been planted and water directed into the vegetable plots, then woke the consorts to do yoga and begin work.

Zhou Wanwan taught the consorts yoga and farming in the Cold Palace, while helping Consort Zhen accept Ajiu’s death and move on. After Eunuch Hai brought in servants beaten by Noble Consort Ning, Zhou Wanwan treated their grave injuries and gave them a place to stay.

• Zhou Wanwan woke the consorts, gave them comfortable yoga clothes, and taught them basic exercises before breakfast.
• Consort Zhen remembered Ajiu and admitted she was ready to face the truth and stop letting Noble Consort Ning intimidate her.
• Zhou Wanwan led the consorts out to plant corn and discussed how the Cold Palace’s hundred mu of land could feed many people.
• Eunuch Hai brought in palace maids and eunuchs beaten by Noble Consort Ning, and Zhou Wanwan treated their life-threatening wounds with medicinal herbs.
• The servants woke after Zhou Wanwan treated them, and she told them they could stay in the Cold Palace and work.

Zhou Wanwan improved the Cold Palace’s fields and livestock with spiritual power, then learned that Noble Consort Ning’s Xie Family had shut down her shops to take over her takeaway business. She overheard Xie Cheng’en boasting about the family’s plans and entered his storeroom to take its valuable goods.

• Zhou Wanwan arranged for chicks, ducklings, piglets, lambs, and fish fry to be brought to the Cold Palace, then used spiritual power to nourish the seeds, crops, soil, and big trees.
• The Cold Palace’s residents found that the plants had sprouted and the livestock looked healthier, and they set to work tending their assigned fields and animals.
• The big trees told Zhou Wanwan that several takeaway shops had been shut down and that the Xie Family was behind the effort to crush her business and run it themselves.
• Zhou Wanwan visited the Xie residence and overheard Xie Cheng’en mocking her while taking orders for the family’s planned takeaway business.
• Zhou Wanwan entered Xie Cheng’en’s storeroom and decided to take its valuable jade, jewelry, weapons, and other goods.

Zhou Wanwan moved Xie Cheng'en's entire courtyard to the Cold Palace, then was summoned to a palace banquet for foreign envoys where Xie Cheng'en served his takeout. The guests found his food ordinary and praised Zhou Wanwan's takeout instead.

• Zhou Wanwan took the flowers, plants, and trees from Xie Cheng'en's courtyard and moved them to the Cold Palace, leaving him and his servants to discover their home missing.
• Eunuch Hai told Zhou Wanwan that Noble Consort Ning had summoned her to meet visiting foreign envoys, and Zhou Wanwan eagerly went to the main hall.
• The Grand Princess brought Zhou Wanwan to the seats of honor, where Noble Consort Ning announced that the palace would serve takeout from the Xie Family.
• Xie Cheng'en arrived and bragged to Zhou Wanwan about his takeout before the envoys from several countries entered the hall.
• The Khotan second prince recognized Zhou Wanwan and tried to avoid her, while Xie Cheng'en's lavish dishes were served.
• The guests judged Xie Cheng'en's takeout ordinary and said they preferred Zhou Wanwan's food.

At the palace banquet, Zhou Wanwan discovered that the fruit served came from her family’s farm, while foreign envoys praised Great Xia’s produce and performances. The Flying Apsaras Dance and Journey to the West captivated the guests, and Zhou Wanwan expected her Rainbow Robe Pavilion’s clothes to sell well after the dance.

• Zhou Wanwan recognized the banquet fruit as produce from her family’s farm, and Xie Cheng'en offered to supply more to the foreign envoys.
• The second prince of Khotan admired Princess Jianing, while she rejected the idea of marrying any of the visiting envoys.
• Zhou Wanwan greeted Gu Sinian and her brothers as they arrived for the palace performances.
• The dancers performed the Flying Apsaras Dance, impressing the guests and prompting foreign visitors to discuss buying the costumes from Rainbow Robe Pavilion.
• Eunuch Hai arranged for the dishes to be replaced with pastries so he could listen to Journey to the West, and guests praised the story and other books from Wenchang Book Pavilion.

Zhou Wanwan challenged the foreign envoys’ terms and secured a larger prize for the martial contest. Her brothers and Gu Sinian volunteered to compete, while Xie Cheng'en mocked them for doing it for money.

• Amur insulted Great Xia’s younger generation and demanded a contest, but no one initially volunteered to fight.
• Zhou Wanwan urged the emperor to offer a more generous reward, then challenged Amur to make the foreign countries contribute prizes as well.
• The emperor announced rewards for Great Xia’s competitors, and the countries agreed to put up a total of one hundred thousand taels of silver and a treasured saber.
• Zhou Wanwan signaled her brothers, and Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qingchen, Zhou Qinghe, and Gu Sinian stood up to compete.
• Xie Cheng'en laughed at the four volunteers and accused them of stepping forward only for money.

Gu Sinian chose Zhou Wanwan to complete their five-person team in a martial arts contest, despite protests from Noble Consort Ning and everyone who feared for the six-year-old. Zhou Wanwan faced Khotan in the first round, but sat behind her teammates and began snacking as the match began.

• Gu Sinian rejected Xie Cheng'en from the team and nominated Zhou Wanwan, and the emperor approved the arrangement that she would provide the prize if they lost.
• Eunuch Hai, the eldest princess, Liu Su'e, and Feng Jiao warned Zhou Wanwan that the contest was dangerous, while Princess Jianing, Shangguan Wan'er, and Lu Lan mocked her.
• The emperor lamented that Great Xia had no suitable contenders as the elimination tournament got underway.
• Zhou Wanwan's team drew Khotan, whose second prince warned his fighters not to hurt her, but Khotan Jialuo ignored him.
• Zhou Wanwan's teammates shielded her as she took a chair onto the stage, sat down, and began eating snacks.

Zhou Wanwan shared snacks at the palace while her brothers and Gu Sinian defeated the Khotan fighters. After Princess Wanning and Shangguan Wan'er plotted to kill her, Zhou Wanwan arranged a banquet with Khotan's second prince.

• Zhou Wanwan gave the young ladies snacks, which quickly became popular, and promoted the Capital Snack Shop.
• Zhou Qingyan, Gu Sinian, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen beat the five Khotan fighters despite being outnumbered.
• Princess Wanning and Shangguan Wan'er agreed that they wanted Zhou Wanwan dead and discussed using the palace to trap her.
• Jialuo warned the Khotan delegation that the young fighters seemed to be masters of internal martial arts, and the second prince cautioned his companions not to provoke them.
• Zhou Wanwan approached Khotan's second prince and invited him to a banquet at the guesthouse the following evening.

Zhou Wanwan fought the Snow Khanate’s elite warriors and turned a losing battle around with her overwhelming skill. After her side won and claimed the reward, the banquet resumed with milk tea served to the emperor.

• The Snow Khanate fighters targeted Zhou Wanwan, but she quickly defeated the men who attacked her.
• Amur questioned Zhou Wanwan’s background after hearing her speak Mobei Language, then led his elite warriors into battle against her group.
• As Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen struggled against the fighters, Zhou Wanwan joined the fight and swiftly defeated the encircling warriors.
• Zhou Wanwan used Amur’s force against him, leaving him unable to fight and reversing the battle.
• The emperor ordered Zhou Wanwan’s reward brought over, and she handed it to Zhou Qingyan as the banquet resumed.
• The emperor tasted milk tea, and Eunuch Hai explained what it was.

At the palace banquet, the emperor and nobles became engrossed in Zhou Wanwan’s storytellers and sampled her milk tea and fruit, giving her businesses major publicity. Meanwhile, Xie Cheng'en struggled to prepare six banquets and secretly tried to order delivery from Zhou Wanwan’s shops, only to learn that delivery had been stopped by orders from above.

• Eunuch Hai served the emperor Zhou Wanwan’s milk tea and fruit, and the emperor praised them before asking the storytellers to continue.
• The Grand Princess, the second prince, Jialuo, and the other guests stayed up listening to stories until dawn, keeping the storytellers working through the night.
• Zhou Wanwan learned the palace had ordered snacks overnight and paid her business a thousand taels, and she planned to expand her salt sales overseas.
• Xie Cheng'en discovered that his staff could not prepare suitable ingredients for six banquets and reluctantly told his steward to order delivery discreetly.
• The steward found a delivery shop, but its shopkeeper said delivery had stopped under orders from above.

Xie Cheng'en paid an exorbitant fee to get enough dishes prepared for his wedding banquet, but the guests disliked most of his takeout and praised Zhou Wanwan's old service. After hearing that her business was still operating, he decided to poach her team.

• The shopkeeper demanded five thousand taels to fulfill Xie Cheng'en's rushed order, and Xie Cheng'en agreed to pay.
• The shopkeeper's people prepared hundreds of banquet tables in an hour using seafood they had stored in treehouses.
• Guests praised a few dishes but complained that most of Xie Cheng'en's food was poor, while recalling how much they liked Zhou Wanwan's takeout and deliveries.
• Xie Cheng'en tasted the leftovers, found them awful, and blamed his cooks for failing to prepare the dishes properly.
• Xie Cheng'en's butler suggested poaching Zhou Wanwan's workers, and Xie Cheng'en approved the idea.