Recaps

After Yanran recovered from the gu worm, Cui Xiaoqiu explained how he and Linlin had used it to gain access to the princess’s real tomb. Lang Xuan and Linlin waited for her egg to hatch, and something finally crawled out.

• Linlin led Lang Xuan away from Yanran’s room, while Yanran asked Cui Xiaoqiu how he had helped free her from the gu worm.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Yanran that he and Linlin had used the gu worm to pressure a White Lotus Sect-believing family into guiding them to the princess’s real tomb.
• Yanran learned that the tomb search might not succeed, but she still wanted to go along.
• Lang Xuan watched over her cracked egg with Linlin, and its shell finally split open as something crawled out.

Lang Xuan cared for the little golden turtle that hatched from her egg and named it Xiao Huai, while Linlin and their visitors admired it. Ren Yingying announced that she planned to take Jingjing and Dog Meat back to the capital before the weather turned cold, leaving Lang Xuan worried about whether Qu Nian would agree.

• Lang Xuan coaxed the newly hatched golden turtle to move, named it Xiao Huai, and asked Linlin what it could eat.
• Lang Xuan and Linlin went to bed under separate quilts, each privately hopeful about their growing relationship.
• Yanran visited Xiao Huai, asked to borrow it, and then settled for coming to see it every day.
• Yanran told Ren Yingying and Qu Hua about Xiao Huai, and the group came to admire the turtle.
• Ren Yingying said she planned to take Jingjing and Dog Meat back to the capital before cold weather because Dog Meat seemed unwell.
• Lang Xuan asked whether Qu Nian agreed with Ren Yingying's plan, since they still needed to find an important treasure.

Yanran broke down while thinking about Mother Empress and the stalled search for the treasure, then learned that the tomb was filled with deadly traps. She decided to monitor the search with Lang Xuan, while the chapter ended with Tang Zhuyun feeling a tremor in bed.

• Lang Xuan suggested waiting until the princess and the Prince of Liaodong's heir married before leaving, and Yanran supported delaying the trip until autumn.
• Yanran began crying because she missed Mother Empress, and Linlin and Lang Xuan tried to comfort her.
• Cui Xiaoqiu explained that the first expedition into the tomb had suffered heavy losses because of its traps and that he and the commandery prince planned to find craftsmen to help clear it.
• Yanran said she would monitor the tomb search, and Lang Xuan offered to accompany her.
• That night, Tang Zhuyun felt a tremor while she and Emperor Wen were in bed.

After tremors shook the capital, Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun learned that a mountain had collapsed, burying four villages, and suspected the disaster might have been caused by gunpowder. Tang Zhuyun set out to help rescue survivors as Emperor Wen stayed behind to manage the response.

• Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun left their bed to investigate the tremors, and Lu Zhenyan reported that officials were searching the surrounding areas.
• Emperor Wen drafted an edict of self-reproach while Tang Zhuyun worried about the disaster and eventually fell asleep.
• Lu Zhenyan reported that a collapsed mountain had buried four villages and more than seven hundred households, and Emperor Wen ordered an investigation into its cause.
• Tang Zhuyun and Emperor Wen suspected gunpowder might have caused the collapse, and Emperor Wen said he had asked Linlin to investigate.
• Tang Zhuyun asked to go help the survivors, and Emperor Wen agreed to send guards with her.
• Tang Zhuyun changed into men's clothes and rode to the disaster site, where the destruction shocked her.

Tang Zhuyun and Emperor Wen turned a deadly landslide and the accusations surrounding it into a decisive succession announcement, naming Linlin crown prince. At Linlin’s residence, Lang Xuan went to find him and overheard Zhao Yingzhu urgently warning him to prepare for an enemy attack.

• Tang Zhuyun learned that Cui Run had helped coordinate the rescue and uncover evidence that gunpowder had caused the landslide, which killed more than three hundred people.
• Emperor Wen issued an edict condemning himself and naming Linlin crown prince, redirecting public debate away from the landslide.
• Tang Zhuyun wrote to Mingzhu about Cui Run’s promotion and to Linlin to explain his new title and future responsibilities.
• Linlin accepted the imperial edict, and Lang Xuan became crown princess; later, she searched for her escaped golden turtle, Xiao Huai.
• Lang Xuan went to the outer study to tell Linlin she was leaving and found Zhao Yingzhu urging him to prepare for an enemy attack instead of digging up a grave.

Linlin asked Lang Xuan to investigate how the gunpowder formula had leaked, and she traced it to Ren Yingying’s past conversation with Lei Qun. The chapter ended with Linlin deciding to control the sulfur supply to keep the formula from reaching their enemies.

• Linlin ordered Zhao Yingzhu to return to Goryeo and stop interfering in his affairs, then Zhao Yingzhu left.
• Linlin asked Lang Xuan to help investigate the confirmed leak of the gunpowder formula, and she agreed.
• Lang Xuan considered who might know the formula and suggested asking the empress and Ren Yingying.
• Ren Yingying admitted she had once discussed gunpowder proportions with Lei Qun, and Lang Xuan reassured her that she had not known his identity.
• Linlin proposed controlling the sulfur supply so the formula could not be used by their enemies.

Linlin explained that the White Lotus Sect’s attack had pushed Emperor Wen to resolve to destroy them, while Ren Yingying joked about marrying Yuwen Duo. Lang Xuan searched for the missing Xiao Huai with Linlin’s help and discovered the turtle had broken into a trunk to sleep on pearls.

• Linlin explained that the White Lotus Sect’s massacre had hardened Emperor Wen’s resolve to root it out, and Ren Yingying teased Lang Xuan about wanting to marry Yuwen Duo.
• Lang Xuan left to search for Xiao Huai, then told Linlin not to wait for her when she could not find him.
• Linlin returned and helped Lang Xuan search the room for the missing turtle.
• Linlin found Xiao Huai asleep on pearls inside a box in a trunk, which the turtle had chewed his way into.
• Xiao Huai struggled when Lang Xuan picked him up, then eagerly gathered the pearls Linlin placed in front of him.

Lang Xuan tried to understand the little golden tortoise’s love of pearls, then accidentally lost it while visiting Yanran at the tomb excavation. She used pearls to lure it back while the excavation team prepared to try gunpowder on the stubborn ground.

• Linlin scattered gold and silver around the little golden tortoise, but it pushed them away and stayed beside its pearls; Lang Xuan accepted Linlin’s guess that the pearls felt familiar because the tortoise came from the water.
• Lang Xuan tried seaside objects and then the residence pond, nearly drowning the tortoise; Linlin suggested its kind might not be able to swim, and Lang Xuan fed it grubs instead.
• With Linlin’s permission, Lang Xuan took Xiao Huai to find Yanran at the slow-moving tomb excavation, but the tortoise slipped away and disappeared.
• Yanran paused the workers and asked them to help search for the tortoise, promising a sheep roast and mutton soup; Lang Xuan then suggested bringing pearls to lure it back.
• Yanran returned to the excavation, where Cui Xiaoqiu and Qu Nian discussed using a small amount of gunpowder to break through the hard ground, while Lang Xuan waited and hoped Xiao Huai would return.

Lang Xuan and the others searched all day for Xiao Huai, the missing little golden turtle, while Yuwen Duo and more helpers arrived. Yanran finally found Xiao Huai glowing in the dark, but froze when she saw his condition.

• Lang Xuan and Yanran searched for Xiao Huai with pearls and grubs, and Linlin and Wei Jun arrived with the returning party.
• Linlin asked Qu Nian about the grave-leveling progress while Wei Jun learned that everyone had gathered to find a turtle and argued against delaying their work.
• As night fell and wolves howled nearby, Lang Xuan clung to Linlin and urged her to leave, while Zhao Qing volunteered to stay and continue the search.
• Yanran spotted a light in the darkness, picked up Xiao Huai, and was shocked by what she saw.

Yanran and Lang Xuan discovered that the little golden turtle, Xiao Huai, had swallowed a strange seal, which Linlin identified as Emperor Gaozu’s missing seal. The seal was sent to be delivered to the emperor, while Qu Nian prepared to take the four treasures to Mount Tai; the chapter ended with Emperor Wen waking Tang Zhuyun from a tearful dream.

• Yanran and Lang Xuan grew worried when Xiao Huai appeared to have something stuck in his throat, but he spat out a strange many-sided seal.
• Linlin examined the seal and recognized it as Emperor Gaozu’s missing seal, and Cui Xiaoqiu confirmed that one face was reserved for Empress Chungong of Gaozu.
• Qu Nian urged Linlin to send the seal safely to the capital and said he would take the four treasures to Mount Tai for the ritual.
• Lang Xuan worried that Xiao Huai’s discovery might be the wrong object, but Linlin reassured her that she had helped greatly.
• Emperor Wen woke Tang Zhuyun after she cried in her sleep.

Tang Zhuyun dreamed of her childhood and the grandfather who had loved her, and woke grieving that she could not tell him she loved him before he died. Emperor Wen comforted her and later learned that a seal matching her description had appeared in Liaodong, while life around them continued to improve.

• Tang Zhuyun dreamed of her childhood with her grandparents and remembered how her grandfather gave her a seal pendant before he died.
• Tang Zhuyun cried out to her grandfather in the dream, then woke to Emperor Wen comforting her and heard him offer to have a new pendant made.
• Xiao Ye brought back Linlin's letter from Liaodong, and Emperor Wen noticed that it described a seal like the one Tang Zhuyun remembered but kept the letter from her.
• Emperor Wen learned her grandfather's name, arranged a memorial tablet and everlasting lamp for him, and went to offer incense.
• Lei Qun's grandmother was executed, the White Lotus Sect was defeated, and Tang Zhuyun continued teaching as the academy took shape.

Emperor Wen brought Tang Zhuyun a seal identical to the one from her previous life, easing his fear of losing her and giving her a connection to her beloved grandfather. The chapter left them together in peace, with Tang Zhuyun promising her grandfather she would be happy.

• Emperor Wen learned that Tang Zhuyun had left the palace with Lu Zhenyan and found her teaching at the academy.
• Emperor Wen joined Tang Zhuyun at the academy, then took her to the Four Seas Tower for a meal.
• Emperor Wen presented Tang Zhuyun with a seal identical to the one from the provincial museum in her previous life.
• Tang Zhuyun cried as she recognized the seal and told her grandfather that she had found someone and would be happy.
• Emperor Wen embraced Tang Zhuyun and resolved to cherish her forever.

Qu Hua’s impulsive decision to marry Mu Ziyu sparked a fierce quarrel with Qu Nian, while Ren Yingying helped settle the wedding preparations. As Lang Xuan and Yanran set out for the wedding, Lang Xuan nervously tried to imitate Tang Zhuyun’s dignified style, and Linlin grew jealous of how close she and Yanran looked.

• Qu Hua announced that she would marry Mu Ziyu despite not being sure he was the one, and Qu Nian angrily objected to her rushed wedding plans.
• Ren Yingying questioned Qu Hua’s haste, but Qu Hua insisted she wanted to marry and arranged to wed before she could change her mind again.
• Qu Nian and Qu Hua quarreled over the wedding and Jingjing, while Dog Meat barked at Qu Nian when he ordered it to keep Qu Hua away.
• Qu Hua’s wedding was settled, and Lang Xuan agreed to attend with Yanran after asking Linlin.
• Lang Xuan dressed carefully to uphold her role as crown princess and admitted she was copying Tang Zhuyun, while Yanran chose a carefree outfit.
• Linlin saw Lang Xuan and Yanran walking arm in arm, abandoned his plan to ride a horse, and offered Lang Xuan his hand as Yanran happily went to the horse.

Lang Xuan attended a gathering at the Prince of Liaodong’s Residence and proved adept at handling the high officials’ wives, despite her nerves. When she overheard a woman disparage her, she confronted the speaker with a calm smile, leaving everyone unsure how she would respond.

• Lang Xuan insisted she would attend the gathering without Linlin’s help, and Linlin sent her with Yanran after giving her a sweet.
• At the residence, Lang Xuan impressed Yanran by warmly greeting the women and recalling details about their families.
• Yanran took Lang Xuan to a quiet spot, where they listened to young ladies showing off their talents nearby.
• A woman criticized Lang Xuan’s lack of artistic talent and said she had married the Crown Prince anyway.
• Lang Xuan stopped Yanran from retaliating, approached the woman, and calmly helped her up as the onlookers waited to see what she would do next.

At the Prince of Liaodong’s Residence, Lang Xuan calmly asserted her status as the crown prince’s legal wife, then impressed the gathered women with her calligraphy. When Wang Rong challenged her skill, Lang Xuan appeared to yield, but her thoughts made clear she had no intention of accepting the slight.

• Lang Xuan answered the women’s insults by declaring that she was the crown prince’s original, legal wife.
• Mu Qing tried to provoke Lang Xuan into displaying a talent, and Yanran rebuked Mu Qing and Mu Xue for their remarks.
• Lang Xuan wrote a line wishing the crown prince a long life, and Yanran showed it to the crowd, who praised Lang Xuan’s calligraphy.
• Wang Rong claimed her calligraphy was better than Lang Xuan’s, and Mu Qing encouraged her to demonstrate it.
• Lang Xuan said she believed Wang Rong’s calligraphy was better, while privately resolving not to accept the challenge as a loss.

Lang Xuan punished Wang Rong for disrespecting her, then Qu Hua rejected the Prince of Liaodong’s authority during her wedding and left with Mu Ziyu and Madam Xi for a mountain stronghold.

• Lang Xuan threatened Wang Rong and ordered her confined to her home for three years after Yanran and the other noble ladies pleaded for mercy.
• Lang Xuan and Yanran watched the wedding ceremony, where Qu Hua refused to bow to the Princess of Liaodong because she was not Mu Ziyu’s birth mother.
• Mu Ziyu supported Qu Hua and said he would not stop her from speaking against his stepmother.
• The Prince of Liaodong threatened to punish Mu Ziyu, but Madam Xi arrived and challenged him to lay a hand on her son.
• Madam Xi invited Qu Hua and Mu Ziyu to leave for a mountain stronghold, and Qu Hua accepted as Yanran joined them.

Mu Ziyu stayed in Liaodong to help Linlin face the coming war with Oirat, while Qu Hua remained with him. After several battles drove Oirat into retreat, Linlin prepared to pursue its army and try to end the threat to Liaodong.

• Mu Ziyu left the Prince of Liaodong's Residence, and the Prince of Liaodong refused to replace him as heir apparent despite the Princess Consort of Liaodong's urging.
• Mu Ziyu decided to stay in Liaodong and assist Linlin in the coming war, while Qu Hua chose to remain there with Madam Xi.
• Ren Yingying and Qu Nian left Liaodong for the capital with Jingjing and Dog Meat, and Zhao Qing stayed behind after Yuanyang agreed to consider marrying him.
• After the Oirat People arrived with the first snow, Linlin sent generals to fight them, then allowed Yanran to lead troops with Cui Xiaoqiu protecting her, and they won a victory.
• Two months later, Linlin pursued the retreating Oirat army with most of his forces, leaving six thousand soldiers and Yanran to defend the city with Lang Xuan.
• Linlin told Lang Xuan not to open the city gates until Oirat had withdrawn.

While Linlin campaigned against the Oirats, Lang Xuan struggled with longing and worry, then chose to keep Jinzhou’s gates closed when Goryeo attacked and Linlin was endangered. Linlin returned safely, comforted her, and promised they would never be apart again.

• Lang Xuan asked Linlin not to take Wei Jun, and Linlin left Wei Jun behind as he divided his army and pursued the Oirats.
• Lang Xuan kept busy caring for Jinzhou’s people while waiting for Linlin’s letters, then learned of his great victory and his return.
• Goryeo sent twenty thousand soldiers to attack Jinzhou and intercepted Linlin as he rode ahead with two thousand elite soldiers.
• Yanran wanted to lead troops out to help Linlin, but Lang Xuan used Linlin’s seal to order the city gates kept closed and the city defended.
• Linlin returned unharmed, embraced Lang Xuan, and reassured her that he had ordered her to protect Jinzhou.
• Linlin promised Lang Xuan they would never be apart again and said he would take her to the capital to meet his parents.

As New Year passed, Lang Xuan and Linlin spent the night keeping vigil together, and she planned to make him longevity noodles for his fifteenth birthday. Cui Xiaoqiu redirected Yanran from her handwriting lessons by suggesting there might be a traitor who had leaked Yuwen Duo’s itinerary, and she began to suspect Wei Jun.

• Cui Xiaoqiu carried the drunk Yanran away, while Linlin and Lang Xuan kept vigil together and talked until they fell asleep.
• Lang Xuan woke first and set out to make Linlin birthday noodles, while he revealed he had been awake and watching her.
• Yanran lost interest in receiving New Year visitors and tried to study handwriting, but she kept sleeping instead.
• After Linlin warned Cui Xiaoqiu, Cui Xiaoqiu persuaded Yanran to investigate the suspicious timing of the Goryeo attack rather than keep studying.
• Yanran ruled out the Crown Princess and began considering whether Wei Jun had leaked Yuwen Duo’s itinerary.

Cui Xiaoqiu explained that Wei Jun had passed information to Zhao Yingzhu on the crown prince’s orders, setting up a pretext to send troops against Goryeo, while Lang Xuan learned the truth and reconsidered her past with Yuwen Duo. After the campaign and Yanran’s efforts to find Xiao Ye a mate, Yanran returned to the capital and was stopped by a new palace rule forbidding riding during the midday rest.

• Cui Xiaoqiu explained to Yanran that Wei Jun had deliberately fed Zhao Yingzhu information at the crown prince’s instruction so the crown prince could act against her in Goryeo.
• Linlin told Lang Xuan that he and Wei Jun had arranged the deception, and Lang Xuan wondered whether Yuwen Duo had also pretended to be injured while waiting for her in her previous life.
• After the first month, Linlin took Lang Xuan back to the capital while Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu led troops into Goryeo and defeated its forces in less than four months.
• Yanran helped Xiao Ye approach a female eagle, and the pair eventually bonded before Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu returned to the capital.
• An Imperial Feathered Guard stopped Yanran before the imperial study and told her that a new decree banned riding in the palace during the midday rest.

Yanran returned to the palace and discovered that her mother had given birth to a baby girl, Xingan'er, whom Emperor Wen doted on. Yanran eagerly welcomed her little sister and offered to choose her proper name.

• Yanran arrived at the imperial study, mistook the sounds inside for her parents fooling around, and kicked open the door after learning the Empress was away.
• Emperor Wen scolded Yanran for startling Xingan'er and told her that the baby was her new little sister.
• Tang Zhuyun’s contraceptive implant expired without her noticing, and she discovered her pregnancy only after three months.
• Tang Zhuyun gave birth to a healthy daughter, Xingan'er, and Emperor Wen wept with joy.
• Yanran held Xingan'er, delighted in her, and promised to teach her riding and archery when she grew up.
• Yanran asked for Xingan'er's proper name and offered to choose one herself.

Yanran visited Emperor Wen and celebrated the birth of her little sister, Xingan'er, while Emperor Wen worried that Cui Xiaoqiu could not have children. Cui Xiaoqiu explained the situation to his mother and prepared her for the possibility, and the chapter ended with Yanran excitedly telling him about Xingan'er.

• Emperor Wen told Yanran that her little sister could not be named until she turned one, and Yanran offered to raise her.
• Emperor Wen suspected Cui Xiaoqiu could not have children and wondered whether doctors might help him.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Madam Cui that an injury had affected his ability to have children, while leaving her hope that treatment could help.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Madam Cui that Yanran accepted him and would protect him from gossip about having no children.
• Madam Cui warmly welcomed Yanran the next day, and Cui Xiaoqiu said he had persuaded his mother to like her.
• Yanran told Cui Xiaoqiu that Emperor Wen had given her a little sister named Xingan'er, and he tightened his grip on her hand.

Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu visited her maternal grandparents’ home, where Yanran brought Little Tangyuan back to the palace and watched her train. Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu confirmed they would marry in the third month of the following year, with friends and family returning to the capital for the wedding.

• Cui Xiaoqiu asked Yanran whether she resented Emperor Wen doting on Xingan'er, and Yanran said she was happy for her little sister.
• Yanran told Cui Xiaoqiu how the empress came to have another child, then invited him to visit her maternal grandparents’ home.
• Yanran brought Little Tangyuan into the palace, praised her strength, and joined her in martial arts practice and archery.
• Little Tangyuan asked whether Yanran was married, and Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu agreed that they would marry.
• Yanran’s wedding was set for the third month of the following year, and relatives and friends from across the realm began returning to the capital.

Lang Xuan helped prepare Yanran’s wedding, which began with Yanran briefly disappearing to practice her sword and continued with an embarrassing exchange about erotic pictures and toys. As the wedding day unfolded, Mingzhu gave Yanran gemstones and Wu Zhenhai escorted his pregnant wife away, while Cui Run quietly reflected on his past love and his service to the country.

• Linlin carried out sweeping reforms and appointed young officials, including Gao Zheng and Cui Run, while Lang Xuan learned to help Tang Zhuyun manage affairs.
• Yanran was missing on her wedding morning, but Lang Xuan’s search found her practicing her sword in the pavilion on the lake.
• Lang Xuan gave Yanran an erotic picture scroll, and Yanran showed her a box of moving figures she planned to take to the bridal chamber.
• Mingzhu gave Yanran gemstones and revealed that she was pregnant after Tang Zhuyun felt her pulse.
• Wu Zhenhai escorted Mingzhu from the palace, and Cui Run saw them before leaving with thoughts of his lost love and his duty to the country.

Lang Xuan worried about Yanran’s wedding night, but Linlin distracted her and kept her from getting up on time the next morning. After meeting Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu at court, Yanran planned to spend the day with him rather than visit his family.

• Lang Xuan sent a palace maid to check on Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu at the princess residence while Linlin teased her about being distracted.
• Lang Xuan explained that Yanran had shown her an intimate object, and Linlin drew her into bed before the palace maid returned.
• The next morning, Linlin woke Lang Xuan so they could join Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu in paying their respects to Imperial Father and Imperial Mother.
• Yanran told the family she had mistaken an injured owl for an assassin during the night and had rescued it.
• Cui Xiaoqiu urged Yanran to keep quiet about their wedding night, and she proposed visiting his parents before deciding they should go have fun instead.