Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the body of Tang Zhuyun, a notorious marriage-seeker, Tang Zhuyun fled a plot involving the Prince of Jin and tried to deny any wrongdoing before the Grand Princess Royal. The Prince of Jin appeared unharmed, leaving Tang Zhuyun relieved that she was not caught in a secret tryst.

• Tang Zhuyun woke in her new life, recognized the unconscious Prince of Jin, and fled the room with Xiu'er.
• Tang Zhuyun realized someone had locked them inside the courtyard and tried to escape over the wall with Xiu'er's help.
• The Grand Princess Royal arrived with Ruan Anruo, and Tang Zhuyun pretended she had merely lost her way.
• Ruan Anruo tried to implicate Tang Zhuyun in the Prince of Jin's disappearance, but Tang Zhuyun denied knowing where he was.
• The Prince of Jin revealed himself, and his guard rebuked Ruan Anruo for trying to blame him.

Tang Zhuyun avoided being searched after Tang Baixin and Linlin arrived to defend her, while the chapter revealed how her scandalous past had burdened her family. Ruan Anruo’s accusation remained unresolved as Tang Mingfan arrived to protect his daughter.

• The Prince of Jin appeared, and Tang Zhuyun denied entering the courtyard to disturb him.
• Ruan Anruo accused Tang Zhuyun of bringing a filthy drug and demanded that her pouch be searched.
• Tang Baixin arrived with Linlin and challenged Ruan Anruo’s right to search his sister.
• Tang Zhuyun recalled that her family had concealed her out-of-wedlock son’s birth and suffered for her past behavior.
• Linlin rebuked Ruan Anruo, and Tang Mingfan arrived to defend Tang Zhuyun.

Tang Zhuyun exposed Ruan Anruo’s accusation as false and returned to the impoverished Tang residence with her family. There, she faced her father’s anger and learned how badly her past conduct and financial recklessness had harmed him.

• Tang Zhuyun showed that the supposed knockout powder was powdered sugar, and the Grand Princess ordered her and Ruan Anruo expelled from the residence.
• Tang Zhuyun went home with Tang Mingfan, Tang Baixin, and Linlin, where she found the family living in a shabby, crowded house.
• Tang Zhuyun admitted that she had acted foolishly and learned that she still owed more than a hundred taels to loan sharks.
• Tang Mingfan called for the family discipline rod but relented when Tang Zhuyun invoked her late mother, then left for the yamen in despair.
• Tang Zhuyun checked Tang Mingfan’s weak pulse and realized that his health had been damaged by poor nutrition and years of worry.

Tang Zhuyun went to pawn her belongings to raise money for her debt, but after the shopkeeper offered too little, she recognized his illness and sold him on a prescription instead. She left with a 100-tael note and a two-tael deposit, planning to return for her consultation fee in ten days.

• Tang Zhuyun decided to sell her jewelry and furs to repay the loan sharks and reassured Xiu'er that she was only going out to pawn them.
• The pawnshop owner offered Tang Zhuyun only 100 taels for her belongings, and she noticed his deformed fingers and checked his pulse.
• Tang Zhuyun identified the shopkeeper's chronic joint pain and offered to treat it with a prescription.
• The shopkeeper agreed to pay her 20 taels if the treatment worked, while keeping the pawn price unchanged.
• Tang Zhuyun dictated a prescription, accepted the 100-tael note, and received a two-tael deposit from the shopkeeper before leaving.

Tang Zhuyun bought bones, pig intestines, and seasonings, then cooked a rich meal for her family despite their doubts. Her father tried the intestines and found them delicious, while Tang Baixin refused to eat them.

• Tang Zhuyun bought bones and pig intestines from a butcher, who also gave her a piece of pig's blood.
• Tang Zhuyun carried the heavy purchases home and, after remembering her late parents, began cleaning the intestines with Xiu'er’s help.
• Tang Zhuyun cooked mao xue wang, bone broth, garlic-shoot eggs, and meat congee for the family.
• Tang Mingfan, Tang Baixin, and Linlin returned home and reacted skeptically when they learned Tang Zhuyun had cooked.
• Tang Mingfan tasted the pig intestine and praised it, but Tang Baixin refused to try it.

Tang Zhuyun borrowed twenty taels from Tang Mingfan to repay her loan-shark debt, provoking Tang Baixin to storm out with Linlin. After promising to manage the household responsibly, she got up before dawn to fry eggs for her father before he left for court.

• Tang Zhuyun's family praised her mao xue wang, and Tang Baixin and Linlin ate heartily despite Tang Baixin's haughty response.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Tang Mingfan to lend her twenty taels, but Tang Baixin angrily refused and left with Linlin after retrieving the money box.
• Tang Mingfan gave Tang Zhuyun two ten-tael silver ingots and recalled how her late mother had cooked for the family.
• Tang Zhuyun promised Tang Mingfan she would manage the household and stop wasting money.
• Before dawn, Tang Zhuyun woke, hurried to the kitchen, and fried eggs for Tang Mingfan before he went to court.

Tang Zhuyun repaid her loan and went shopping for ingredients, where she realized Prince Jin had deliberately tried to take advantage of her. After Ruan Anruo revealed her borrowing to Tang Baixin, Tang Zhuyun followed her furious elder brother inside to talk.

• Tang Zhuyun made breakfast, then repaid her loan early and received five taels of silver back.
• Tang Zhuyun bought meat and seasonings, then encountered Song Jingyang outside a pharmacy and realized Prince Jin had pretended to be helpless to trap her.
• Tang Zhuyun bought medicine she claimed was for sterilizing stray cats, while Song Jingyang secretly listened and misunderstood her intentions.
• Tang Baixin confronted Tang Zhuyun after Ruan Anruo told him about the loan, and Tang Zhuyun agreed to go inside with him.

Tang Zhuyun repaid her debt, warned Tang Baixin about the Prince of Jin, and retaliated against Ruan Anruo by telling her mother about her gifts from her cousin. Later, she discovered Linlin was bruised and tried to find out who had hurt him.

• Tang Zhuyun assured Tang Baixin that she had repaid her debt and warned him that the Prince of Jin might have ulterior motives.
• Tang Zhuyun told Tang Baixin she would confront Ruan Anruo, then returned from the Ruan house after informing Madam Ruan about the gifts Ruan Anruo had accepted from her cousin.
• Tang Baixin returned home with Linlin and said he had punished him for studying poorly.
• Tang Zhuyun brought Linlin strawberries and found bruises on his arm, belly, and back.
• Tang Zhuyun suspected Linlin had been bullied at the prince's residence and urged him to seek help from his family.

Tang Zhuyun comforted Linlin about being bullied at school and promised to keep him home for a day, then learned that the Prince of Jin would train under Tang Mingfan at the Court of Judicial Review. She resolved to help Linlin grow up happier and healthier while avoiding the Prince of Jin.

• Tang Zhuyun treated Linlin's wounds and proposed giving him a few days away from the school, and Linlin admitted he did not want to attend riding lessons the next day.
• Tang Zhuyun reassured Linlin that she would not worry Tang Baixin or Tang Mingfan, then served dinner when they returned home.
• Tang Baixin and Tang Mingfan told Tang Zhuyun that the emperor had assigned the Prince of Jin to train under Tang Mingfan after someone criticized him over her behavior at the flower-viewing banquet.
• Tang Zhuyun said she hated the Prince of Jin and would avoid him, and her father and brother were relieved to see she had no lingering infatuation.
• Tang Zhuyun explained to Linlin why she had delayed asking for leave and promised to take him out the next day, while Linlin said he wanted to miss school for only one day.

Tang Zhuyun tried to improve the family’s finances and win Linlin’s trust, then showed him her martial arts skills and reassured him about his unknown father. Linlin accepted that he did not need a biological father but warned Tang Zhuyun never to give him away again.

• Tang Zhuyun took Linlin to several restaurants to sell her cold-dish recipe, but they turned her away, so she bought supplies and a toy before heading home.
• A carriage from the Prince of Jin's Residence raced through the street, and Linlin told Tang Zhuyun that the Prince of Jin's daughter was suffering an attack.
• Linlin admired the carriage's fine horses, and Tang Zhuyun later offered to teach him martial arts after realizing he wanted to learn.
• Tang Zhuyun demonstrated her punches and kicked a thick branch off a tree, impressing Linlin, then claimed she had learned martial arts and medicine in the countryside.
• Linlin asked what Tang Zhuyun would do if his unknown father came for him, and she promised she would not hand him over or marry the man.
• Linlin said he did not need a biological father and warned Tang Zhuyun that he would never forgive her if she ever gave him away again.

Tang Zhuyun prepared a lavish lunch to bring Linlin at Prince Rong's Residence, where she discovered him being beaten by a larger boy. She attacked the boy before learning he was Prince Rong's young commandery prince.

• Tang Zhuyun agreed to bring Linlin lunch and reassured him about his ambitions to become top scholar.
• Tang Zhuyun made wontons for breakfast, then prepared a balanced lunch and took it to Prince Rong's Residence with Xiu'er.
• Tang Zhuyun heard children cheering and rushed toward the crowd, leaving Xiu'er behind.
• Tang Zhuyun found a larger boy sitting on Linlin and beating him while Linlin curled up to protect himself.
• Tang Zhuyun beat the boy, and his attendants tried to stop her, warning that he was Prince Rong's young commandery prince.

Tang Zhuyun took Linlin out of Prince Rong's household academy after he was beaten, and promised to help him study and learn martial arts at home. She was preparing to face his father when the eldest master returned.

• Tang Zhuyun stopped the young prince from beating Linlin, carried Linlin away, and declared that he would no longer attend the academy.
• The Prince of Jin rejected Prince Rong's offer to send his daughter to the household academy and was struck by Tang Zhuyun's fierce defense of Linlin.
• Tang Zhuyun treated Linlin's injuries, and he told her he would take responsibility for leaving the academy.
• Tang Zhuyun and Linlin ate together, then she promised to help him study, learn martial arts, and learn medicine at home.
• Xiu'er announced that the eldest master had returned, and Tang Zhuyun's legs went weak with fear.

Tang Zhuyun convinced Tang Baixin and Tang Mingfan to let Linlin leave Prince Rong's Residence and study at home, where she began learning to read from him. Ten days later, she took Linlin to see the pawnshop owner, whose chronic ailment had begun to improve.

• Tang Zhuyun told Tang Baixin that Linlin had been bullied at Prince Rong's Residence, and Tang Baixin agreed to keep him home and teach him himself.
• Tang Baixin saw Linlin's bruises, apologized for neglecting him, and asked whether he wanted to stay with Tang Zhuyun; Linlin agreed.
• Tang Mingfan approved Linlin staying home, and Linlin devoted himself to studying while Tang Zhuyun asked him to teach her to read.
• When the ten-day period ended, Tang Zhuyun took Linlin to the pawnshop, where the owner greeted her with gratitude because his chronic ailment was improving.

Tang Zhuyun collected payment for treating the shopkeeper and arranged for a restaurant to sample her cold-dish seasoning. While shopping with Linlin, she provoked Ruan Anruo into paying six hundred taels for a horse, then revealed she had planned to buy Linlin one herself.

• Tang Zhuyun accepted eighteen taels from the shopkeeper and arranged for him to deliver her seasoning to the Four Seas Tower.
• Tang Zhuyun bought food and fabric with Linlin, then took him to look at horses and learned the one he liked cost three hundred taels.
• Ruan Anruo arrived and mocked Tang Zhuyun, who pretended to bid against her for Linlin's preferred horse.
• Ruan Anruo raised her offer to six hundred taels, and Tang Zhuyun walked away, leaving her to buy the horse.
• Linlin promised to buy Tang Zhuyun an expensive horse someday, and Tang Zhuyun offered to buy him one immediately.

Tang Zhuyun used a scheme involving Ruan Anruo to get a horse for Linlin without paying for it, then discovered crayfish by the river and bought a large haul from local children. The family welcomed Gale and prepared the crayfish, while Tang Zhuyun looked forward to Ruan Anruo learning she had been outmaneuvered.

• Tang Zhuyun collected a horse worth one hundred and fifty taels from the trader after arranging to split the proceeds from Ruan Anruo's bidding, and Linlin named the horse Gale.
• Tang Zhuyun took Linlin and Gale to the river, where Linlin brushed the horse and Tang Zhuyun paid children one copper coin for every ten crayfish they caught.
• Tang Zhuyun returned home with two hundred and thirty crayfish, and Xiu'er complained that she had wasted money on them.
• Tang Baixin came home to find Gale in the courtyard and laughed after Tang Zhuyun explained how she had acquired the horse.
• Linlin stayed outside to feed Gale a carrot while Tang Zhuyun warned him not to take turns eating it with the horse.

Tang Zhuyun helped Tang Mingfan enjoy his new horse and arranged a carriage, coachman, and meals for his trips to court. Chang Zhi began driving Tang Mingfan and agreed to teach Linlin riding, while his appetite left Tang Zhuyun astonished.

• Tang Mingfan delighted in Gale, and Tang Zhuyun explained how she had earned the money to buy the horse and proposed buying a carriage.
• Tang Mingfan agreed to buy a plain carriage, and Tang Zhuyun offered to prepare him breakfast, including mao xue wang.
• Tang Zhuyun and Tang Baixin arranged for Chang Zhi to teach Linlin riding, and Chang Zhi volunteered to drive Tang Mingfan to court.
• Chang Zhi arrived early, ate all the roujiamo Tang Zhuyun offered, and asked her to make more the next day.
• Tang Mingfan proudly rode to court in the carriage while Tang Zhuyun wondered how he would manage eating mao xue wang on the way.

Tang Mingfan amused himself by bringing his daughter’s fragrant dishes to court, while the emperor and officials read hidden meaning into his behavior. After the emperor joined him for crayfish and looked toward the Prince of Jin, the officials speculated that he might arrange a marriage before he began to speak.

• Tang Mingfan told the emperor he was too hungry to endure court, prompting the emperor to dismiss the session and send Wang Fu to help him eat.
• Tang Mingfan surprised the officials by bringing his own food and said his daughter had prepared it for him, drawing the Prince of Jin’s attention.
• Over the following days, Tang Mingfan brought increasingly elaborate dishes, while the officials wondered whether he and the emperor were plotting something.
• The emperor followed the food’s fragrance to the dining hall and asked Tang Mingfan to share his garlic-flavored crayfish.
• After tasting the crayfish, the emperor looked toward the Prince of Jin, leading the officials to suspect he might favor him with a marriage to Tang Mingfan’s daughter.

Tang Zhuyun secured a lucrative deal to supply cold-dish seasoning and hid part of the proceeds, while Prince Jin considered the emperor’s possible intentions toward him. The chapter ended when cries of a child falling into the river made Tang Zhuyun fear for Linlin.

• Prince Jin learned from Song Jingyang that Tang Zhuyun had been pregnant and considered whether the emperor was planning a marriage between them.
• Tang Zhuyun refused to sell her secret recipe and negotiated an exclusive seasoning contract with Shopkeeper Zhao for the Four Seas Tower.
• Tang Zhuyun spent seventy taels on official robes for Tang Mingfan and Tang Baixin, then found Chang Zhi and the yamen runners at her home cadging a meal.
• Tang Zhuyun told Tang Baixin about the seasoning profits, and he urged her to keep the money from Tang Mingfan because he spent recklessly.
• Tang Zhuyun heard a cry that a child had fallen into the river and feared Linlin was in danger.

Tang Zhuyun helped the Prince of Jin and the constables rescue a drowned fugitive, then revived him and discovered the Prince of Jin had broken his ribs. Tang Mingfan praised her for helping his case, and Linlin asked to learn from her.

• Chang Zhi and the constables pursued a fugitive into the river, and the Prince of Jin and Song Jingyang pulled him ashore.
• Tang Zhuyun performed CPR with Chang Zhi and the Prince of Jin until the fugitive woke up.
• The fugitive tried to bite off his tongue, and the Prince of Jin dislocated his jaw to stop him.
• Tang Zhuyun warned that the Prince of Jin had broken the fugitive's ribs and urged the constables to get a doctor before moving him.
• Tang Mingfan thanked Tang Zhuyun for helping his case, and she promised to teach Linlin medicine, boxing, and arithmetic.
• Linlin reminded Tang Zhuyun that she had forgotten something.

Tang Zhuyun bought chicks for Linlin and encouraged him to solve a difficult counting problem. Chang Zhi then brought Prince Jin to visit, and Prince Jin left hoping to befriend Tang Zhuyun so he could ask her a favor.

• Tang Zhuyun agreed to buy chicks after Linlin mimed what he wanted, and Tang Mingfan withdrew after remembering his late wife.
• Tang Zhuyun took Linlin to buy chicks, then gave him a chickens-and-rabbits problem that he solved by testing numbers one by one.
• Chang Zhi arrived with Prince Jin, and Tang Zhuyun coldly reminded herself of Prince Jin’s past plot against her father and brother.
• Linlin asked Prince Jin for help with the problem, but neither he nor Linlin could solve it until Tang Zhuyun suggested making the rabbits stand on two legs.
• Prince Jin wrote four characters for Linlin and asked Tang Zhuyun to appraise them, but she said she could not read.