Recaps

Yanran joined the women gathered at Tang Zhuyun's Palace of Eternal Peace, where she caught up with Qu Hua and heard about her new life as the Princess Consort of Liaodong. Qu Hua ended the visit doting on Qu Jingjing and imagining her becoming a female prince.

• Ren Yingying teased Jinse about her relationship and urged someone to tell the suitor that she approved.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Hua Cha about the grandmothers, and Hua Cha assured her that they were well.
• Yanran reunited with Qu Hua, who explained that Mu Ziyu's father had suffered a stroke and Mu Ziyu was soon to become the new Prince of Liaodong.
• Qu Hua complained about the scrutiny and burdens of being a princess consort, though she had sent her difficult mother-in-law to a nunnery.
• Qu Jingjing shared Yanran's apple with Qu Hua, then guarded the fruit platter as Qu Hua joked that Jingjing would grow up to be a female prince.

Ren Yingying told Tang Zhuyun that Qu Nian had a system whose secret mission ended after she became pregnant, and they speculated about their children’s futures. After Wuji rejected the toddler Qu Jingjing, the friends discussed their families, the academy, and plans to travel together in the years ahead.

• Ren Yingying revealed that Qu Nian had a system, which disappeared after she became pregnant, and she and Tang Zhuyun wondered what its mission had been.
• Ren Yingying suggested that Qu Jingjing might one day become empress and joked that Wuji could give her the throne, while Tang Zhuyun dismissed the idea as chaotic.
• Ren Yingying imagined Wuji and Qu Jingjing becoming a couple, but Wuji told Jingjing to stay away, making her cry as he went to play with Little Tangyuan.
• Ren Yingying said she planned to stay for about two years to help with the academy, and she and Tang Zhuyun discussed traveling together after Emperor Wen stepped down.
• Ren Yingying and Tang Zhuyun imagined taking boats down the canal to Jiangnan and seeing how the people lived.

Guagua confessed to Xiu'er that she loved Wuxian and asked her mother to stop others from arranging his marriage. When Guagua told Wuxian she wanted to marry him, he agreed, choosing her because he did not want her to cry.

• Xiu'er questioned Guagua about rejecting prospective matches, and Guagua admitted she liked someone but hesitated to reveal who.
• Guagua confessed that she loved Wuxian and asked Xiu'er to speak with the empress about his marriage; Xiu'er warned her that Wuxian might not return her feelings but agreed to consider it.
• Guagua asked Wuxian whether he wanted a wife, and he said he did not want one, then added that having Guagua was enough.
• Guagua told Wuxian she wanted to marry him, and he agreed after she reassured him that she did not think he was stupid.
• Wuxian wiped Guagua's tears and held her as she cried with happiness.

Qu Jingjing traveled to the frontier under the pretext of meeting Wuji, fell for a foreign emperor, and married him far from home. When he revealed himself to be a scoundrel, she killed him, took his empire, and became an empress who expanded her power across the surrounding nations.

• Qu Jingjing rejected every prospective husband in the capital, while Ren Yingying proposed that she meet Wuji at the frontier.
• Qu Jingjing set off with Seahorse and a retinue of guards, and Qu Nian failed to persuade her to stay.
• Qu Jingjing married a foreign emperor several thousand miles beyond the Central Plains frontier, despite Qu Nian's misgivings.
• After her husband showed his true nature, Qu Jingjing killed him and took his empire.
• Qu Jingjing ruled as empress, campaigning east and west while avoiding an invasion southward into the Central Plains.

Xiu'er died after a lifetime spent beside Tang Zhuyun, and Song Jingyang soon died beside her. As Tang Zhuyun mourned them, she and Emperor Wen agreed on a password to recognize each other in another life, and a sudden gust made her wonder whether Xiu'er had returned.

• Xiu'er told Tang Zhuyun and Song Jingyang that she was ready to die, while urging Tang Zhuyun to take care of herself and promising they would meet again.
• Three days later, Xiu'er died smiling in Song Jingyang's arms, and Song Jingyang refused to leave her before dying beside her that night.
• Tang Zhuyun returned to the palace and later visited Xiu'er's wake at the Marquis of Liyang's Residence with Emperor Wen.
• Tang Zhuyun recalled Xiu'er poking Emperor Wen with a peachwood sword when he had feigned death, then mourned that Xiu'er could not return.
• Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun agreed to use “I love you” as a password in their next lives, and Tang Zhuyun called out to Xiu'er when a gust of wind opened the door.