Chapter Summaries

On Nanxing’s birthday, she thanked Tang Zhuyun for changing the Xiao family’s fate and told her about her past as an abandoned child and deathsworn assassin. The evening ended when Tang Zhuyun developed a swollen, red face after drinking wine mixed with realgar, and Nanxing realized she might be allergic.

• Xiu'er and the others shared a meal with Nanxing, and Huaishang said he had a birthday gift for her.
• Nanxing declined the gifts and climbed onto the roof with the untouched realgar wine; Xiu'er, Song Jingyang, and Lüzhu later arranged gifts for her.
• Nanxing came down to speak with Tang Zhuyun and apologized for having been distant toward her.
• Nanxing told Tang Zhuyun that the Xiao Family had taken her in after her family abandoned her, and that she had become Vermilion Bird, one of the four great deathsworn.
• Nanxing thanked Tang Zhuyun for helping Sister Yuan and the prince, whose marriage gave Nanxing hope of atoning for her sins.
• Tang Zhuyun’s face turned red and swollen after she drank the realgar wine, and Nanxing noticed the reaction.

Tang Zhuyun suffered an allergic reaction after drinking realgar wine, while the Prince of Jin mistakenly became convinced she was a mermaid and struggled to accept her explanations. As they sat outside recovering, Xue Lie arrived at their home with armed men.

• Tang Zhuyun's face swelled after she drank realgar wine, and the Prince of Jin carried her to her room despite her protests.
• The Prince of Jin revealed that he believed Tang Zhuyun was a sea demon and little mermaid, and promised to protect her.
• Tang Zhuyun took allergy medicine and repeatedly explained that she was human, but the Prince of Jin remained doubtful.
• Tang Zhuyun rejoined her family outside, where they ate melon and discussed the thunder and possible rain.
• The Prince of Jin heard intruders and sent Song Jingyang to investigate; Xue Lie arrived with armed men and threatened the guards.

The Xue Family arrived at the Tang residence in force, claiming Tang Zhuyun and Tang Baixin were the children of their lost daughter. After bringing the dispute into the reception hall, the family began explaining the history behind their claim.

• The Prince of Jin kept Tang Zhuyun from rushing outside as the Xue Family arrived with armed soldiers and several generations of men.
• Xue Lie recognized Tang Zhuyun as his elder sister, while Xue Shanting became emotional and claimed she and Tang Baixin were his grandchildren.
• Xue Shanting tried to strike Tang Mingfan after Tang Mingfan denied the claim, but Tang Baixin and the Prince of Jin intervened.
• Tang Zhuyun persuaded the Xue Family to enter the residence and discuss the matter privately, despite Xue Lie urging her and Tang Baixin to return with them.
• In the reception hall, Xue Shanting asked his eldest son, Xue Xian, to explain the claim, and Xue Xian began recounting the Xue Family's exile after the Prince of Wu's rebellion.

Tang Zhuyun learned that Tang Mingfan was actually a Li family son and that her deceased mother had been Xue Shanting’s daughter, while the Xue family blamed Tang Mingfan for her suffering. The confrontation left Tang Mingfan asking how his mother had mistreated Huainiang.

• Xue Xian and Xue Zi told Tang Zhuyun and Tang Mingfan how the Li and Xue families were implicated in the Prince of Wu’s rebellion and how Huainiang had been betrothed to Tang Mingfan as a baby.
• Xue Shanting learned that his daughter had died long ago, and Tang Mingfan struggled to accept that he was born into the Li family and had been bound to Huainiang since infancy.
• Xue Shanting threw a teacup at Tang Mingfan, but the Prince of Jin stepped in front of him and was struck instead; Tang Zhuyun checked on the Prince of Jin and tended to him.
• Tang Zhuyun defended Tang Mingfan, telling Xue Shanting that he could not have abandoned her and her brother to mourn Huainiang at her grave.
• Xue Shanting accused Tang Mingfan of failing to protect Huainiang and their children, and Tang Mingfan asked how Granny Song had mistreated her.

Tang Zhuyun prevented Tang Mingfan from pressing Xue Shanting about the past, helping the two families postpone their reckoning and begin acknowledging their kinship. Xue Shanting agreed to attend the baby’s third-day washing ceremony, but warned Tang Mingfan he would settle accounts afterward.

• Tang Zhuyun pretended to faint and the Prince of Jin helped redirect Xue Shanting’s attention from the past.
• Tang Zhuyun and Meng Yulan urged Xue Shanting to visit after the baby’s third-day washing ceremony, and he agreed to meet the baby and Linlin.
• The Prince of Jin stopped Tang Mingfan from questioning Xue Shanting, while Xue Xian persuaded his family to support the younger generation.
• Tang Zhuyun proposed that the families reconcile and care for one another, and Nanxing stopped Xue Lie from provoking more conflict.
• Xue Shanting invited the Tang Family to visit and promised to settle accounts with Tang Mingfan after the ceremony.

Tang Zhuyun prepared to visit the Xue Family with the Prince of Jin after Xue Shanting invited her, while Tang Mingfan confronted his guilt over how he had treated her mother. The Prince of Jin beat Xue Lie, and Tang Zhuyun set out to get medicine for them both.

• Xue Shanting invited Tang Zhuyun to visit her maternal grandmother, and the Prince of Jin offered to accompany her.
• Xue Lie challenged the Prince of Jin over his place in the Xue Family, and the two went outside to fight as the Xue Family watched eagerly.
• Tang Zhuyun stayed to speak with Tang Mingfan, who wept as he admitted he had failed to understand how badly his mother had mistreated Huainiang.
• Tang Zhuyun comforted Tang Mingfan and persuaded him to wait until later to visit the Xue Family.
• Xiu'er cheered as the Prince of Jin returned after beating Xue Lie, and Tang Zhuyun offered to find medicine for both men.

Tang Zhuyun accompanied the Prince of Jin and Xue Lie to the Xue Family, where Old Madam Xue tearfully embraced her as her daughter Susu’s child. The Prince of Jin watched anxiously as Tang Zhuyun was pulled into the family’s grief.

• Tang Zhuyun left Xiu'er in charge of the household and went with the Prince of Jin and Xue Lie to the Xue Family.
• On the carriage ride, the Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun not to defend her father and to let her grandmother express her grief for Susu.
• Xue Lie tried to keep close to Tang Zhuyun, but Nanxing and Song Jingyang blocked him until the Prince of Jin said she was resting.
• At the Xue Family residence, Old Madam Xue reached for Tang Zhuyun and embraced her, mourning her daughter Susu.
• The Xue Family members escorted Tang Zhuyun into the courtyard while the Prince of Jin followed, worried as Old Madam Xue held her tightly.

Tang Zhuyun reconciled with the Xue Family and discovered that Old Madam Xue was nearly blind, while the Prince of Jin helped smooth over the family’s reunion. After returning to the Tang residence, he predicted that the Meng Family would delay its visit and challenged Tang Zhuyun to bet on it.

• The Prince of Jin urged Old Madam Xue to let Tang Zhuyun return, and Old Madam Xue invited her to visit after Sister Yuan’s third-day bathing banquet.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Xue Shanting and Old Madam Xue to temper their grief and accept her as their granddaughter, then examined Old Madam Xue and said she might restore some of her sight.
• The Prince of Jin promised to summon an imperial physician and told Tang Zhuyun that she was not the woman tangled in the Xue and Tang families’ past.
• The Prince of Jin instructed the governor of the capital to report the night’s events and escorted Tang Zhuyun back to the Tang residence.
• The Prince of Jin predicted that the Meng Family would wait before visiting and asked Tang Zhuyun to make a bet.

Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin made a bet about their marriage, while he worried that Xue Lie and the Xue Family could interfere with their future together. When Tang Zhuyun returned home, she found Tang Mingfan and Tang Baixin still sitting awake together.

• The Prince of Jin promised Tang Zhuyun that she could name any terms after their marriage if she won their bet, and she agreed to the arrangement.
• Tang Zhuyun picked up Jiaojiao and joked with the Prince of Jin about the tiger cub's timidity and Xue Lie's cuteness.
• The Prince of Jin asked Song Jingyang about Xue Lie and revealed his fear that the Xue Family might disrupt his marriage to Tang Zhuyun.
• Song Jingyang reassured the Prince of Jin and reminded him that Wang Fu sided with Tang Zhuyun.
• Tang Zhuyun returned home and found Tang Mingfan and Tang Baixin still awake, while the household had been anxiously waiting for her.

Tang Zhuyun struggled to choose between acknowledging the Xue Family and protecting the Prince of Jin’s future, while caring for her feverish father. As the prince helped her cook, she asked what he would do if the Xue Family welcomed her as their granddaughter.

• Tang Zhuyun soothed Tang Mingfan to sleep after he grieved over her mother, then discussed acknowledging the Xue Family with Tang Baixin.
• Tang Baixin warned Tang Zhuyun that ties to the militarily powerful Xue Family could endanger the Prince of Jin, whose kindness to her and Linlin he praised.
• Tang Mingfan developed a high fever before the third-day bathing ceremony, and the household rushed to care for him.
• The Prince of Jin came to help, tended the kitchen fire, and told Tang Zhuyun about his childhood training and his nickname, the fire-tending general.
• Tang Zhuyun asked the Prince of Jin what he would do if she were the Xue Family’s granddaughter and they treated her well.

Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin discussed the Xue Family’s reconciliation and its likely opposition to their marriage before Old Madam Xue arrived for Sister Yuan’s third-day bathing ceremony. Yanran realized the Xue Family had deliberately ignored the Prince of Jin’s marriage to her mother and went inside with Jiaojiao to cling to Tang Zhuyun.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that the Xue Family seemed sincere toward her, but he expected them to oppose their marriage and try to find her another match.
• The Prince of Jin arranged for Tang Mingfan to stay at his residence and waited with Tang Zhuyun for the Duke Meng’s household to visit.
• Meng Yulan reassured Tang Zhuyun that the Duke Meng’s household would come and advised her not to let people mistake kindness for weakness.
• Old Madam Xue arrived with several members of the Xue Family, comforted Tang Zhuyun, and urged Meng Yulan to rest while the family doted on Sister Yuan.
• Yanran noticed that the Xue Family had brought no gift for her and asked the Prince of Jin whether they rejected his marriage to Tang Zhuyun.
• Yanran declared that Tang Zhuyun was her mother, then went inside with Jiaojiao to cling to her.

Yanran tried to impress the Xue Family by showing off how well the Prince of Jin treated Tang Zhuyun, but Old Madam Xue remained opposed to the marriage. After Tang Zhuyun came outside, she suddenly felt faint, and the Prince of Jin caught her.

• Yanran brought Jiaojiao into the Xue Family gathering, showed off the tiger, Tang Zhuyun’s dragon-pearl ring, and plans with the Prince of Jin, then received a jade pendant from Old Madam Xue.
• Yanran went to find her brother while the Prince of Jin waited anxiously outside, wondering whether the Xue Family would accept his marriage to Tang Zhuyun.
• Xiu'er told the Prince of Jin that Old Madam Xue had rejected the marriage and suspected Yanran had been coached to praise him.
• The Prince of Jin resented the Xue women calling him a simp, then smiled and beckoned Tang Zhuyun over when she came outside.
• Tang Zhuyun wiped dust from her shoe, then suddenly grew dizzy and collapsed into the Prince of Jin’s arms.

Tang Zhuyun welcomed the Xue Family for Sister Yuan’s celebration while tensions between the family and the Prince of Jin grew. When the people from Duke Meng’s Residence arrived, Meng Yuqian insulted Tang Zhuyun’s family and dowry in front of everyone, prompting Meng Yulan to challenge her.

• Tang Zhuyun nearly fainted from low blood sugar, and the Prince of Jin misunderstood her request for candy before Xiu'er gave her some.
• The Xue Family welcomed Sister Yuan, while the Prince of Jin and the Xue men grew hostile toward each other.
• Tang Zhuyun stopped Tang Baixin from defending their father to the Xue Family, deciding the family rift would need time to mend.
• Xiu'er persuaded Tang Mingfan to stay in his room, where Tang Zhuyun had prepared a meal for him.
• Duke Meng's Wife and Meng Yuqian arrived late, and Tang Zhuyun took them to Meng Yulan's room.
• Meng Yuqian mocked Tang Zhuyun's family and questioned her dowry, and Meng Yulan rebuked her.

Tang Zhuyun and Xiu'er humiliated Meng Yuqian over the lavish dowry the Prince of Jin and the Xue Family provided, then celebrated Yuan’s third-day bathing ceremony with the Xue family. After the feast, Tang Zhuyun refused to leave with the Xue family that night, and the Prince of Jin insisted that he was not drunk.

• Xiu'er told the Prince of Jin that Meng Yuqian had mocked Tang Zhuyun for lacking a dowry, so he sent her a hundred thousand taels and Xue Shanting ordered a lavish dowry from the Xue storeroom.
• Xiu'er flaunted the gifts before Meng Yuqian, while Tang Zhuyun and Meng Yulan kept the gathering outwardly civil.
• Yanran reminded Tang Zhuyun to honor her grandmother during Yuan’s third-day bathing ceremony, and the Xue women offered incense and mourned her.
• Xue the Little Overlord and his brothers challenged the Prince of Jin to drink, but the Xue men became drunk while the prince remained sober.
• Tang Zhuyun elbowed Meng Yuqian when she tried to bump into her, then dismissed her taunts about the Prince of Jin favoring someone else.
• The Xue family urged Tang Zhuyun to stay with them, but she promised to visit the next day, and the Prince of Jin told her he was not drunk.

The Prince of Jin confessed his love to Tang Zhuyun while drunk, and she admitted that her feelings had been stirred but warned that the future was uncertain. He left with Song Jingyang and the sobering soup while Tang Zhuyun planned to speak with her father.

• The Prince of Jin pinched Tang Zhuyun's ear and confessed that he loved her, but she told him he was drunk and urged him to sleep it off.
• The Prince of Jin said he would not force Tang Zhuyun to love him, though he hoped she would love only him; Tang Zhuyun admitted she had feelings for him but said no one knew what tomorrow would bring.
• The Prince of Jin clung to Tang Zhuyun and insisted he was not drunk until Tang Baixin and Xiu'er interrupted them and arranged for Song Jingyang to take him back with the sobering soup.
• Old Madam He told Xiu'er that Qin Sang was looking for her, while the Prince of Jin stopped Tang Zhuyun from going to see Qin Sang.
• Tang Zhuyun sent Linlin to carry the soup to the Prince of Jin and said she still needed to speak with her father.

After Tang Zhuyun admitted her feelings had been stirred, the Prince of Jin was delighted, while she remained embarrassed and unsure about taking things further. Before visiting the Xue Family, she reassured Tang Mingfan and prepared to leave, with the Prince of Jin waiting to give her advice.

• Xiu'er advised Tang Zhuyun not to give the Prince of Jin her heart too quickly, then left to meet Qin Sang at a teahouse.
• Yanran teased Tang Zhuyun about kissing the Prince of Jin and asked if she had a little brother in her belly.
• The Prince of Jin asked Tang Zhuyun to stay and talk, but she left after he said he would miss her when she went to the Xue Family.
• Tang Zhuyun told Song Jingyang that Xiu'er would stay home, and he eagerly went to tell the Prince of Jin.
• Tang Mingfan urged Tang Zhuyun to show filial devotion to the Xue Family and not defend him, and she promised to return after two or three days.
• Song Jingyang told Tang Zhuyun that the Prince of Jin wanted to speak with her before her visit, then hurried off to see Xiu'er.

Tang Zhuyun discussed the Xue Family visit with the Prince of Jin, while Qin Sang explained why she had given up hoping to be with Tang Mingfan. After Qin Sang broke down in Xiu’er’s arms, Song Jingyang walked in and mistook the moment for a romantic rivalry.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun not to reveal her medical skills at the Xue Family and asked why she had felt dizzy.
• Qin Sang told Xiu’er she had left the pleasure quarters and taken over a small rouge shop.
• Xiu’er asked whether Qin Sang wanted to be with Tang Mingfan, and Qin Sang said she had chosen to retreat rather than damage his reputation and devotion to his late wife.
• Qin Sang explained that she had admired Tang Mingfan ever since the Court of Judicial Review cleared her name in a case involving a patron’s death.
• Xiu’er encouraged Qin Sang to move on, and Qin Sang cried as she embraced her.
• Song Jingyang entered and wondered whether Qin Sang was competing with him for Xiu’er.

Xiu'er and Song Jingyang escorted Qin Sang home, and Tang Zhuyun prepared to visit the Xue Family while leaving her children in Xiu'er's care. That night, the Prince of Jin visited Tang Zhuyun and teased her about a medicine bottle, only to discover it was meant to stimulate milk production.

• Song Jingyang accompanied Xiu'er as she walked Qin Sang home, and Qin Sang watched them leave together.
• Xiu'er told Tang Zhuyun she felt sad for Qin Sang, and Tang Zhuyun said a short pain was better than a long one.
• Tang Zhuyun arranged for Xiu'er and Lüzhu to care for Meng Yulan and the children while she visited the Xue Family for three days.
• Tang Zhuyun reassured Yanran that her father would stay home with her while Tang Zhuyun was away.
• The Prince of Jin climbed over the wall and visited Tang Zhuyun after she put the children to bed.
• The Prince of Jin teased Tang Zhuyun about a green porcelain bottle, and she told him it was medicine to stimulate milk production.

Tang Zhuyun teased the Prince of Jin about his feelings, then accepted his gift of palace-made candy while keeping him from taking liberties. After finally sending him away, she wondered whether he might climb over the Xue Family’s wall while she was visiting them.

• Tang Zhuyun admitted that she had feelings for the Prince of Jin, but urged him to return to bed and stop talking.
• The Prince of Jin asked Tang Zhuyun to take Nanxing to the Xue Family, then gave her a pouch of palace-made candy.
• Tang Zhuyun shared a piece of candy with the Prince of Jin, who tried to get closer; she ducked away and warned him not to paw at her.
• Tang Zhuyun coaxed the Prince of Jin into leaving, then lay in bed laughing at him and remembered she had not told him to avoid climbing over the Xue Family’s wall.

Tang Zhuyun settled into the Xue Family residence, met her grieving grandmother, and received a warm welcome from her eldest aunt. When Xue Lie brought her a prized fawn as a gift, she immediately suggested roasting it, leaving him stunned.

• Tang Zhuyun treated Old Madam Xue’s eyes with acupuncture and gave her a prescription while the old woman mourned Tang Zhuyun’s mother.
• First Madam Xue showed Tang Zhuyun her courtyard, assigned Xiaoying as her maid, and left the courtyard plaque for Tang Zhuyun to name.
• Nanxing told Tang Zhuyun that Second Madam and Third Madam had privately discussed asking whether she was willing to marry the Prince of Jin, and Tang Zhuyun said she would agree if asked.
• Xue Lie brought Tang Zhuyun a fawn and its keeper, expecting her to admire the deer.
• Tang Zhuyun suggested preparing roast venison from the fawn, leaving Xue Lie dumbfounded.