Recaps

Tang Zhuyun learned how the Prince of Jin had enlisted Wu Zhenhai to deceive Northern Yi spies while letting him approach Mingzhu. As the Prince of Jin cracked down on spies and prepared for war, Mingzhu and Wu Zhenhai grew closer, while Tang Zhuyun adjusted the emperor’s medicine and rejected Ren Yingying’s suggestion to kill him.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that he had given Wu Zhenhai a chance to gain the Northern Yi spies’ trust, and Tang Zhuyun warned him not to let Mingzhu get hurt.
• Ren Yingying announced she planned to earn a bounty by helping catch spies, while Tang Zhuyun suspected the Prince of Jin was clearing out spies before leading troops against Northern Yi.
• Mingzhu brought peach blossom pastries and admitted she had stayed up cooking after Wu Zhenhai visited, talked until he fell asleep, and then helped finish the pastries before leaving.
• Tang Zhuyun sorted medicinal herbs to adjust the emperor’s prescription and told Ren Yingying she did not plan to use the medicine to harm him.

Wuxian’s first words delighted the household, while the Prince of Jin prepared for war and was summoned after Wu Guang accused Wu Zhenhai of spying for Northern Yi. Wu Zhenhai was detained when he could not explain where he had been, and Mingzhu told Tang Zhuyun that he had been with her that night.

• Wuxian said “chicken” twice after seeing a chick, and the household celebrated his first words.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun he planned to lead troops to war around the Dragon Boat Festival and gave her instructions for his absence.
• A trusted aide reported that Wu Guang had publicly accused Wu Zhenhai of being a spy and meeting a Northern Yi agent on the fifteenth.
• Wu Zhenhai could not explain his whereabouts because he had been with Mingzhu, so the Prince of Jin had him detained for the time being.
• Mingzhu told Tang Zhuyun that Wu Zhenhai had been with her that night.

Mingzhu found comfort in Tang Zhuyun’s assurance that the Prince of Jin’s family would stand by her, while Wu Zhenhai uncovered Wu Guang’s betrayal. As the Prince of Jin departed to fight the Northern Yi with fifty thousand soldiers, Tang Zhuyun hid her tears and prayed for his safe return.

• Tang Zhuyun reassured Mingzhu that the prince’s residence would support her, and Mingzhu said she no longer wanted a future with Wu Zhenhai but did not want him falsely accused.
• Wu Zhenhai uncovered evidence that Wu Guang had colluded with the enemy and exposed a veteran Northern Yi spy, then secretly saw that Mingzhu was feeling better.
• Ren Yingying asked Tang Zhuyun and Qu Nian for weapons to help the Prince of Jin, and Qu Nian agreed after confessing that Ren Yingying was what he cared for.
• On the Dragon Boat Festival, the Prince of Jin left with fifty thousand soldiers without waking Tang Zhuyun to say goodbye.
• Tang Zhuyun watched him leave, then wept and prayed that he would return safely.

The Prince of Jin visited his children before leaving for the troop assembly grounds, while Tang Zhuyun struggled with missing him. Later, Qu Hua arrived and slapped Qu Nian, and Ren Yingying was summoned to help him.

• The Prince of Jin tucked Yanran in, checked on Wuji and Wuxian, and gave a wet nurse a jade thumb ring for Guagua.
• The Prince of Jin donned his armor and rode to the troop assembly grounds with his guards.
• Tang Zhuyun fried dough sticks while Ren Yingying tried to cheer her up by talking about Qu Nian.
• Qu Hua arrived at the residence and slapped Qu Nian when she saw him.
• Jinjin asked Ren Yingying to help Qu Nian, and Ren Yingying went out to watch as Qu Nian caught Qu Hua's wrist when she tried to strike him again.

Qu Hua confronted Qu Nian for failing to visit her after she spent months trying to save him, then revealed that Mu Ziyu had asked their parents for her hand in marriage. After Qu Hua left the prince’s residence, an imperial decree summoned Tang Zhuyun to the capital.

• Qu Hua restrained by Qu Nian accused him of abandoning her after she had searched for a way to save him.
• Qu Hua told Qu Nian that Mu Ziyu, the Mu Family’s young master, wanted to marry her, and demanded that Qu Nian help her deal with him.
• Qu Nian brought Ren Yingying into the room to introduce her to Qu Hua, but the two women traded barbs and Ren Yingying tried to leave.
• Qu Hua left the prince’s residence two days later after Qu Nian paid her off.
• Tang Zhuyun heard that Qu Hua had left, then received an imperial decree summoning her to the capital.

Tang Zhuyun received a suspicious imperial edict summoning her to the capital and decided she could not go without investigating. Ren Yingying asked Qu Nian to help keep Tang Zhuyun away, but fled after he demanded she cook him a meal and kissed her.

• Tang Zhuyun and Xiu'er suspected the imperial summons was a trap, and Tang Zhuyun resolved to delay traveling to the capital.
• Ren Yingying, worried for Tang Zhuyun, visited Qu Nian with swollen lips after an allergic reaction to crab.
• Ren Yingying offered to help Qu Nian deal with Qu Hua in exchange for a plan to stop Tang Zhuyun from going to the capital.
• Qu Nian said he had a plan but refused to share it until Ren Yingying agreed to cook him a meal.
• Qu Nian kissed Ren Yingying, who stomped on his foot and ran away before remembering she had not learned his plan.

Qu Nian tried to advise Ren Yingying to tell Tang Zhuyun to stall before returning, but a misunderstanding made Ren Yingying attack him with a broom. Ren Yingying joined Tang Zhuyun and Mingzhu, who planned to claim Tang Zhuyun was pregnant, and Tang Zhuyun said she would rebel rather than go back if forced.

• Qu Nian told Ren Yingying to have Tang Zhuyun stall, but Ren Yingying mistook his words for an order to strip and chased him with a broom.
• Qu Nian clarified that he meant delaying Tang Zhuyun's return, and Ren Yingying thanked him while pretending she had only tried to brush off a bug.
• Ren Yingying overheard Mingzhu suggest that Tang Zhuyun claim to be pregnant to avoid returning, and Tang Zhuyun agreed it was a convenient excuse.
• Ren Yingying asked what Tang Zhuyun would do if the emperor insisted, and Tang Zhuyun said she would rebel rather than go back alone.
• Ren Yingying enthusiastically supported Tang Zhuyun, then redirected the conversation by asking whether Wu Zhenhai had stopped visiting Mingzhu.

Tang Zhuyun delayed the emperor’s summons while Cui Xiaoqiu’s letter revealed the emperor’s worsening health and the political motives behind calling her to the capital. The chapter left Tang Zhuyun aware that the summons was tied to the war against Northern Yi and the emperor’s fears about the Prince of Jin.

• Tang Zhuyun claimed she was pregnant and sent the eunuch back with her reply, while waiting for news from the capital.
• Yanran asked Cui Xiaoqiu for advice about the summons, and he showed her a letter from his grandfather.
• Yanran learned from the letter that Consort De suspected Tang Zhuyun’s medicine had been tampered with and that the emperor’s health had suddenly worsened.
• Tang Zhuyun and the others discussed Cui Xiaoqiu’s cleverness and his closeness with Yanran before he explained the letter’s implications.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Tang Zhuyun that the emperor had summoned her because he could not risk disrupting the war against Northern Yi and feared the Prince of Jin would be hard to control.

Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu shared a meal and talked about family expectations while Tang Zhuyun and the others resolved to resist the emperor’s attempt to take hostages. A young woman selling sanzi slipped Yanran a warning that a spy was following her, and Cui Xiaoqiu sent Cui Run to follow the couple who delivered it.

• Tang Zhuyun and the others concluded that the emperor had tacitly approved taking hostages and resolved not to return quietly.
• Yanran followed Cui Xiaoqiu out for food, and they discussed family schemes, expectations, and the burdens they had to bear.
• A young woman selling sanzi placed a message beneath the food warning Yanran that a spy was following her.
• A tall man arrived claiming to be the seller’s husband, and he left with her after taking the basket.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Cui Run to have someone follow the couple.

Tang Zhuyun and her companions investigated spies in the border city, while Ren Yingying helped identify a couple who escaped the shadow guards. Wu Zhenhai later lured Mingzhu away from the others and begged her to help him with an urgent crisis.

• Cui Xiaoqiu told Yanran that the martial couple had fled, and Wu Zhenhai reported that the woman was Lady Yu while the man's name was Zhao Ertai.
• Ren Yingying drew portraits of the couple, and Wu Zhenhai's search uncovered more than a dozen spies but failed to find them.
• Tang Zhuyun prepared medicinal herbs for the soldiers at the front and refused to send medicine to the emperor.
• Wu Zhenhai tried to summon Mingzhu with silver melon seeds, then told her that Tang Zhuyun's heir had gone out with Dog Meat.
• Ren Yingying rushed off after Wu Zhenhai's warning, and Wu Zhenhai grabbed Mingzhu and pleaded for her help with a matter of life and death.

Wu Zhenhai abducted Mingzhu and sent her away from the border city to protect her, then revealed that the Northern Yi were advancing while the city was nearly undefended. Tang Zhuyun learned that only about ten thousand troops remained to face thirty thousand Northern Yi soldiers, and Qu Nian confirmed the danger.

• Wu Zhenhai knocked Mingzhu unconscious and carried her away, while Wu Yu secretly witnessed the abduction.
• Wu Yu told Yanran that his father had seized Mingzhu, and Yanran alerted Tang Zhuyun.
• Wu Zhenhai returned to collect Wu Yu and told Tang Zhuyun he had sent Mingzhu away because the Northern Yi were coming.
• Wu Zhenhai revealed that the Prince of Jin had taken almost all the soldiers, leaving the border city exposed to a thirty-thousand-strong army.
• Qu Nian confirmed the invasion and said the city had only around ten thousand troops, including old and wounded soldiers.

As the Northern Yi army threatened the city, Tang Zhuyun prepared to search for Mingzhu while Qu Nian insisted they should hold out. Mingzhu returned safely after escaping Wu Zhenhai’s men, and Ren Yingying left the room despite Tang Zhuyun’s warning to stay inside.

• Qu Nian told Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying that the defenders could not win outright but needed to delay the enemy, and he urged them not to evacuate.
• Tang Zhuyun decided to search for Mingzhu, while Wu Zhenhai argued that he only wanted her to survive.
• A maid announced that Mingzhu had returned, leaving Wu Zhenhai stunned as Mingzhu reassured Tang Zhuyun that she was unharmed.
• Wu Zhenhai questioned Dong Da and learned that Mingzhu had tricked her captors by pretending to leave to relieve herself, then escaped and returned to the city.
• Mingzhu explained that she had suspected Wu Zhenhai was behind her abduction, and Tang Zhuyun asked Xiu'er to tell her what was happening.
• Ren Yingying left the room, and Tang Zhuyun warned her not to leave the residence without guards.

Ren Yingying learned that Qu Nian planned to use his nine-hundred-man Tiger and Leopard Battalion to help them escape the Northern Yi, and worried about the soldiers who might die. Meanwhile, Mingzhu chose to set aside what happened with Wu Zhenhai and focus on the approaching enemy.

• Ren Yingying found Qu Nian and asked what he would do if the Northern Yi attacked; he revealed that he had brought the Tiger and Leopard Battalion.
• Qu Nian said his nine hundred elite soldiers could break through enemy lines and escort them away, though they might all die, including him.
• Ren Yingying thanked Qu Nian on Tangbao's behalf, offered to care for his parents, and promised to look after him if he became disabled.
• Mingzhu decided not to confront Wu Zhenhai because the Northern Yi threatened them, and Tang Zhuyun agreed they should focus on the enemy.
• Xiu'er suggested asking Qu Nian how to face the Northern Yi, while Tang Zhuyun remarked that his attitude seemed strange.

As the Northern Yi repeatedly attacked the city, Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying tended to wounded soldiers while Qu Nian kept the defenders inside and waited. Qu Nian and the Prince of Jin were stalling for time so they could strike the Northern Yi from within and without, but an overlooked remnant of the Zhou Family threatened their careful plan.

• Tang Zhuyun decided to help the defenders by treating wounded soldiers alongside Ren Yingying and the others.
• Qu Nian rejected Ren Yingying’s hints about leaving him an heir, then went to command the defense when the Northern Yi attacked.
• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying worked in the wounded soldiers’ camp as repeated Northern Yi assaults caused heavy casualties and growing panic.
• Qu Nian told Ren Yingying he was waiting for the Prince of Jin to return and help attack the Northern Yi from within and without.
• Cui Xiaoqiu reassured Yanran that Qu Nian was stalling for time, and Yanran went to tell her mother and Sanbao.
• The narration revealed that the Prince of Jin and Qu Nian had anticipated the attack, but had overlooked what the Zhou Family had left behind in the border city.

Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying stopped at a bun shop after a night tending wounded soldiers, but the shop proved to be a trap set by Northern Yi spies. The women were captured, leaving their fate unknown.

• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying watched Qu Nian ride out in silver armor to face the Northern Yi, and Dog Meat ran after him.
• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying entered a bun shop for breakfast with their guards.
• The shop assistant’s young master said his mother’s door would not open, then the assistant screamed upstairs.
• Two guards went upstairs to investigate and did not return, while someone shut the shop’s exit.
• Archers appeared on the second floor and identified Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying by their titles.
• The spies knocked Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying unconscious after ordering them to come with them.

Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying were kidnapped and held in an abandoned cottage, where their captor, Leertai, revealed that he wanted to speak with the Prince of Jin. The women remained bound as they waited for the prince, and Tang Zhuyun asked where they were.

• Tang Zhuyun woke bound beside the still-unconscious Ren Yingying in a dilapidated cottage.
• Tang Zhuyun warned Ren Yingying that they should each try to escape rather than become hostages used against the other.
• Ren Yingying and Tang Zhuyun discussed their fear and urged each other to stay alive until the Prince of Jin and the heir could rescue them.
• Leertai entered the cottage and said he had brought them there to talk with the Prince of Jin, claiming he did not intend to harm them.
• Ren Yingying recognized Leertai as the spy she had drawn, while Leertai refused to untie them and told them to wait for the Prince of Jin.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Leertai where they were.

Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying freed themselves and tried to escape through a small window, but Ren Yingying got stuck just as Leertai brought Qu Nian into the room. Qu Nian demanded to see them before negotiating, leaving the escape attempt interrupted.

• Leertai told his guards to ignore Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying, and the women reasoned that he wanted to negotiate rather than harm them.
• Tang Zhuyun untied herself using a knot trick the Prince of Jin had taught her, then freed Ren Yingying.
• The two women planned to escape through a high window, but Tang Zhuyun waited until night because she feared she would not fit through it.
• Ren Yingying climbed onto Tang Zhuyun's shoulders, squeezed through the window, and got stuck halfway.
• Qu Nian arrived with Leertai and insisted on seeing the women before discussing terms.

Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying were held by Leertai while Qu Nian negotiated with him, and Qu Nian helped free Ren Yingying after she got stuck. Ren Yingying was safe but mortified, and she refused to eat after asking Qu Nian for a chamber pot.

• Tang Zhuyun challenged Leertai over how he had treated them, while Qu Nian agreed to continue negotiations with him.
• Ren Yingying pretended she was enjoying being stuck above them, and Tang Zhuyun persuaded Qu Nian to leave her to handle the situation.
• After Leertai went outside, Tang Zhuyun told Qu Nian that Ren Yingying was stuck, and they worked together to free her.
• Qu Nian said he would return to talk about the situation and promised to arrange food, then Ren Yingying shouted that she needed a chamber pot.
• Ren Yingying refused to eat, saying she wanted to go on a hunger strike because Qu Nian would tease her about the incident.

Qu Nian escorted Ren Yingying and Tang Zhuyun back to the Prince of Jin’s residence, where Tang Zhuyun learned the prince was safe and still occupied after his victory. Ren Yingying then fainted after hitting her head while leaving the carriage, and Qu Nian panicked as Tang Zhuyun found her pulse was fine.

• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying wondered why the Prince of Jin had not come to rescue them, and Qu Nian arrived to take them home.
• Leertai apologized as Qu Nian escorted the women away in Tang Zhuyun’s carriage.
• Ren Yingying thought she heard a woman crying, while Tang Zhuyun worried about the Prince of Jin’s safety.
• At the residence, Xiu'er, Yanran, Cui Xiaoqiu, and Mingzhu welcomed Tang Zhuyun back, and Xiu'er said the Prince of Jin had won a great victory but was still busy outside.
• When Tang Zhuyun noticed Ren Yingying had not emerged from the carriage, Qu Nian found her unconscious after she hit her head; Tang Zhuyun checked her pulse and said she was fine.

Ren Yingying pretended to have amnesia while Qu Nian worried over her, and Tang Zhuyun learned that the Prince of Jin had been injured while trying to rescue her. She found him recovering in the outer study, then left to ask Ren Yingying for medicine.

• Ren Yingying decided to pretend she had lost her memory, while Qu Nian stayed by her bedside and Dog Meat returned exhausted.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Mingzhu where the Prince of Jin was and learned he had fallen off a cliff while heading to find her.
• Tang Zhuyun rushed to the outer study and found the Prince of Jin badly bandaged but out of danger.
• The Prince of Jin tried to joke with Tang Zhuyun about his injuries, but she scolded him for hiding them.
• Tang Zhuyun left to ask Ren Yingying for medicine.

Tang Zhuyun brought Ren Yingying to treat the Prince of Jin, then stayed with him as he revealed that his fall from the cliff had been deliberately arranged by someone he trusted. The Prince of Jin identified Duke Meng's Residence and Jiang Beihan as involved, leaving Tang Zhuyun to suspect Consort De and the start of a struggle for the throne.

• Tang Zhuyun dragged Ren Yingying to the Prince of Jin and had her treat and stitch his wound.
• Qu Nian confronted Ren Yingying about pretending to have amnesia, and the two resumed bickering.
• Tang Zhuyun stayed beside the Prince of Jin as they spoke about his injury and their time apart.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that someone had deliberately led him onto the dangerous route and caused his fall.
• The Prince of Jin named Duke Meng's Residence and Jiang Beihan as involved, and Tang Zhuyun wondered if the struggle for the throne had begun.

Tang Zhuyun learned that the Prince of Jin was secretly planning to travel to the capital despite his injuries, and agreed to take charge of the border city while he was away. After they reunited, Mingzhu watched over the children and resolved to pray for the family’s safety.

• Tang Zhuyun pressed the Prince of Jin to explain why he had hidden his injuries, and he revealed that he planned to go to the capital.
• The Prince of Jin explained that Northern Yi’s threat had largely been dealt with and that he would leave the remaining border affairs to Qu Nian.
• Tang Zhuyun agreed to manage the border city and provide the Prince of Jin with a stable rear while he traveled to the capital.
• The Prince of Jin and Tang Zhuyun became intimate despite his injuries, and they tried to keep the matter hidden.
• Mingzhu checked on Yanran and the twins, sent Xiu'er to care for Guagua, and resolved to donate incense and oil for the family’s safety.

Wuxian nearly injured Wu Zhenhai while he secretly watched Mingzhu, who then heard Wu Zhenhai’s account of her eldest brother’s injury. The next evening, the Prince of Jin received Leertai, who arrived alone and claimed a profound connection to him.

• Wuxian woke and nearly poked Wu Zhenhai in the eye when he peered through a hole in the window paper.
• Mingzhu invited Wu Zhenhai to sit, asked how her eldest brother had been injured, and listened as he shared what he knew and suspected.
• Wu Zhenhai offered to help Mingzhu and asked her to think of him as an elder brother before leaving.
• News spread that the Prince of Jin was gravely wounded, but he received Leertai the following evening looking vigorous.
• Leertai claimed he had a profound connection to the Prince of Jin, while Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying thought of Xiao Wu and the prince remained calm.

Leertai recounted how his father Heman’s infatuation with Xiao Wu helped destabilize the Northern Yi and led to Heman’s downfall, then revealed his own claim to the throne and sought Central Plains support. The Prince of Jin challenged Leertai’s offer, and Leertai answered that he could command forty thousand troops through his uncle Xiu Yun.

• Leertai explained that Heman had fallen in love with Xiao Wu, whose family used their relationship to pursue an alliance with the Yanta Tribe.
• Heman’s actions alienated factions across the Northern Yi, and his rivals eliminated him and killed his wives, concubines, and children.
• Leertai revealed that Heman’s pregnant Central Plains lover had escaped with the help of his retainers and raised him in a border town, where he learned his identity and the Xiao Family’s secret tunnel.
• Leertai apologized to Tang Zhuyun and asked to cooperate with His Highness, explaining that he wanted Central Plains troops to help him reclaim the throne.
• The Prince of Jin objected that Leertai expected the Central Plains to fight without contributing troops of his own.
• Leertai said his uncle by marriage, Xiu Yun, commanded forty thousand troops that Leertai could call upon.

After negotiating a preliminary agreement with Leertai, the Prince of Jin prepared to leave for the capital while Tang Zhuyun questioned Leertai’s motives and listened to his instructions. The chapter ended when the Prince of Jin mentioned Linlin, alarming Tang Zhuyun.

• Leertai offered to cooperate, and the Prince of Jin and Qu Nian negotiated conditions with him through the night, reaching a preliminary agreement.
• Ren Yingying asked whether Leertai and Heman were connected, and Tang Zhuyun explained that Leertai was Heman’s posthumous son.
• Ren Yingying questioned why Leertai would seek revenge, and Tang Zhuyun suggested his stated motive was a pretext for gaining power.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun he planned to leave that night and that Qu Nian would take command against the Northern Yi and wanted Ren Yingying with him.
• The Prince of Jin began explaining what Tang Zhuyun should know about Linlin, and Tang Zhuyun anxiously asked what was wrong.