Chapter Summaries

Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin joked about seeking refuge with Master Hong'en if his political situation became hopeless, while she worried over the danger ahead. Meanwhile, Qiao Qiao watched the prince's residence for a chance to approach him and followed Xiu'er to a secluded alley.

• Tang Zhuyun told Xiu'er to lure Qiao Qiao into her plan, and Xiu'er agreed in exchange for silver toward her wedding with Song Jingyang.
• Tang Zhuyun worried that the Prince of Jin might be trapped by his suspicions and that retreat could mean death, then suggested he seek refuge with Master Hong'en.
• The Prince of Jin joked with Tang Zhuyun about becoming a monk and revealed that Xiu'er had told him Tang Zhuyun might be pregnant.
• Qiao Qiao kept watching the prince's residence but could not find a way inside.
• Qiao Qiao saw Xiu'er leave the Tang Family residence, followed her to a deserted alley, and spotted a woman waiting there.

Qiao Qiao learned that Xiu'er could arrange favors inside the Prince of Jin's residence, so she paid her two thousand taels to secure a chance to approach the prince. Xiu'er told Qiao Qiao to come when the prince had a day off, and Qiao Qiao remained determined to become his consort.

• Qiao Qiao watched a junk collector pay Xiu'er to bring her into the prince's residence, then paid the woman to learn that Xiu'er arranged favors for silver.
• Xiu'er told Tang Zhuyun about Qiao Qiao's interest, and they decided to demand two thousand taels from her.
• Qiao Qiao pawned her own savings and her older sister Qiao Jiao's dowry to gather the money.
• Qiao Qiao gave Xiu'er two thousand taels in silver notes, and Xiu'er told her to come in two days when the prince had a day off.
• Qiao Qiao insisted Xiu'er arrange for her to reach the prince's bed and resolved to become the Prince of Jin's consort.

The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Nanny Rong had survived an assassination attempt but had tried to take her own life, while the captured assassins were deathsworn. Two days later, Xiu'er brought Qiao Qiao to the prince's residence to carry out her plan, leaving Qiao Qiao being ordered to undress.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that six assassins had attacked Nanny Rong, who had admitted to feigning madness and tried to kill herself.
• The Prince of Jin said Nanny Rong had urged him to take Tang Zhuyun far from the capital, while the assassins had killed themselves after capture.
• Tang Zhuyun comforted the Prince of Jin and said the emperor might protect him, then urged him to wait and see how Uncle reacted to Qiao Qiao's plan.
• Two days later, Xiu'er brought Qiao Qiao into the prince's residence and led her to a room.
• Xiu'er ordered Qiao Qiao to undress and said she would slip the Prince of Jin medicine to make him sleep with her.

Xiu'er drugged Qiao Qiao with incense and arranged a staged compromising scene for the Prince of Jin. As Qiao Qiao began to wake, the Prince of Jin entered and took his place, leaving the plan poised to unfold.

• Xiu'er made Qiao Qiao lie in bed and lit incense that caused her to fall into a deep sleep.
• Xiu'er and Song Jingyang discussed the Prince of Jin's decision not to send a man in, while Huaishang arrived to check on the plan.
• Xiu'er teased Huaishang about Nanxing and his search for a wife before noticing that Qiao Qiao was about to wake.
• The Prince of Jin entered, and Xiu'er covered Qiao Qiao with a quilt, leaving her shoulders exposed.
• Xiu'er urged the Prince of Jin to loosen his clothes and sit with his back to the bed, then left as the show was about to begin.

After Qiao Geng caught the Prince of Jin with Qiao Qiao, he rejected the prince’s offer to make her a secondary consort and said he would arrange her marriage elsewhere. Tang Zhuyun continued to suspect that Xiao Wu was alive and had returned, while the Prince of Jin ended the chapter wondering who was actually in Consort De’s palace.

• Qiao Geng arrived as the Prince of Jin dressed and offered to take responsibility for Qiao Qiao, but Qiao Geng poured tea on her, slapped her, and ordered her and the prince to come outside.
• Xiu'er secretly overheard the confrontation and reported it to Tang Zhuyun, who took Qiao Geng’s insistence on separating the pair as confirmation of the Prince of Jin’s suspicions.
• Tang Zhuyun privately considered that Xiao Wu might be alive and connected her possible return to Nanny Rong’s changed behavior and Consort De’s sudden rise in favor.
• The Prince of Jin asked Tang Zhuyun for cupping treatment, and she told him Yanran wanted to take Linlin and Cui Xiaoqiu to the Great Xiangguo Temple.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Qiao Geng planned to arrange a marriage for Qiao Qiao, and she advised him not to interfere in the previous generation’s affairs.
• The Prince of Jin said he was less concerned about the sisters than about who was in Consort De’s palace.

The Prince of Jin confided his doubts about his mother's death to Tang Zhuyun, then warned her to be cautious around Director Li after learning that Wang Chunqiu had returned to the palace. The next morning, Xiu'er rushed in with news from the Qiao Residence.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that he suspected he had missed something about his mother's death, and she comforted him.
• Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin joked about having children, but he said he could not risk harming a possible child and that she and the children might be all he had left.
• The Prince of Jin warned Tang Zhuyun to stay alert when Director Li next visited, explaining that Wang Chunqiu had gone to the palace to treat the emperor.
• Tang Zhuyun wondered whether Wang Chunqiu was secretly learning from her, and the Prince of Jin asked her to help him see Xiao Pang in a few days.
• The next morning, Xiu'er hurried in to tell Tang Zhuyun about something that had happened at the Qiao Residence.

Tang Zhuyun learned that Qiao Qiao was to marry the officer in charge of Guang'an Gate and suspected the match concealed a scheme connected to Nanny Rong or Xiao Pang. Yanran left to find Cui Xiaoqiu, while Song Jingyang and Huaishang waited at the prince’s residence and argued over candy and Huaishang’s misfortunes.

• Xiu'er told Tang Zhuyun that Qiao Qiao was engaged to the officer in charge of Guang'an Gate after Qiao Geng quickly arranged the match.
• Tang Zhuyun questioned why Qiao Geng had chosen the gate officer and wondered whether the match was part of a plan involving Nanny Rong or Xiao Pang.
• Xiu'er reported that Qiao Jiao had learned Qiao Qiao stole and sold her dowry, and the sisters were quarrelling.
• Yanran left with Jiaojiao to find Cui Xiaoqiu, while Tang Zhuyun warned her not to agree to go out with him.
• Jiaojiao roared at Xiu'er after she joked that Jiaojiao thought he was a cat, startling Tang Zhuyun, Xiu'er, and Eighth Master.
• Song Jingyang refused to share his candy with Huaishang as they waited for the Prince of Jin, and Huaishang lamented that he kept getting stuck with unpleasant tasks.

Huaishang watched Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu play chess by their own rules while Song Jingyang teased him about his poor prospects for finding a wife. Qiao Jiao then came to the Tang Family seeking an audience with the princess consort, and Xiu'er confronted her about her sister's schemes.

• Huaishang and Song Jingyang waited for the Prince of Jin, while Song Jingyang asked Huaishang for an advance wedding gift and mocked his chances of finding a wife.
• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu played Chinese chess without following its rules, and Huaishang tried to correct them until Song Jingyang pointed out that Cui Xiaoqiu was indulging Yanran.
• The Prince of Jin returned, and Yanran told Cui Xiaoqiu that she enjoyed playing chess with him and promised to bring him a protection talisman from the Great Xiangguo Temple.
• Yanran noticed Qiao Jiao lurking nearby and had her request an audience with the princess consort.
• Xiu'er recognized Qiao Jiao and rebuked her, but Qiao Jiao began explaining that she had come to plead for mercy over her sister's actions.

Qiao Jiao tried to plead with Xiu'er over Qiao Qiao’s arranged marriage, while the Prince of Jin’s suspicions about Qiao Geng’s intentions deepened. After receiving an imperial edict ordering Nanny Rong to enter the palace, the Prince of Jin agreed and prepared to wait for the next move.

• Qiao Jiao asked Xiu'er to help Qiao Qiao avoid marrying the gate warden, but Xiu'er refused and sent her away.
• Yanran told Cui Xiaoqiu about the gifts Tang Zhuyun had received from Great Confucian Scholar Kong and Master Hong'en, then continued playing chess with him.
• Huaishang asked whether Qiao Qiao’s marriage to the Prince of Jin’s guard at Guang'an Gate was meant to prepare for a rebellion, and the Prince of Jin said to let it proceed.
• The Prince of Jin confirmed preparations for the trip to the Great Xiangguo Temple and told Huaishang to await further instructions.
• Zhang Zheng delivered an imperial edict ordering Nanny Rong to enter the palace and teach the Ninth Princess, and the Prince of Jin agreed to send her.

After the emperor summoned Nanny Rong to the palace, Tang Zhuyun suspected that he was moving against the Prince of Jin and warned Meng Yulan to keep the Tang Family out of the prince’s affairs unless she asked for help. The next day, Tang Zhuyun and Meng Yulan took Yanran to the Great Xiangguo Temple, where they met Cui Xiaoqiu.

• Zhang Zheng asked the Prince of Jin to let Nanny Rong enter the palace, and the prince sent Song Jingyang to fetch her.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Xiao Pang was back at the residence and agreed to let her examine him the next day.
• Tang Zhuyun, Meng Yulan, and Yanran traveled to the Great Xiangguo Temple, bringing Jiaojiao hidden in a chest.
• Meng Yulan raised the emperor’s summons of Nanny Rong and offered to investigate Consort De, but Tang Zhuyun told her not to involve the Tang Family in the prince’s affairs unless asked.
• At the temple, Yanran excitedly greeted Cui Xiaoqiu, who had come with his mother to hear Master Hong'en lecture on the scriptures.

Yanran met Cui Xiaoqiu at the Great Xiangguo Temple, while Xue Lie confessed his interest in Nanxing and accepted that she did not return it. When Yanran later met Cui Xiaoqiu’s grandmother, Old Madam Cui reacted strangely to her, leaving Madam Cui wondering why she was angry.

• Yanran met Cui Xiaoqiu at the temple and joked that her feelings might change again, while Tang Zhuyun recalled a childhood friend who had once asked her to marry him.
• Lady Deng discussed Xue Lie’s marriage with Meng Yulan, and Xue Lie told Tang Zhuyun that he liked Nanxing but knew she was not willing to be with him.
• Xue Lie said he hoped Nanxing would find someone good and asked whether she liked Kong Xiyou, while Tang Zhuyun said she did not know.
• Yanran went to the back mountain with Linlin, Nanxing, Jiaojiao, and the guards, then waited for Cui Xiaoqiu after Linlin left to study.
• Cui Xiaoqiu arrived with Old Madam Cui and Madam Cui, and Old Madam Cui stared at Yanran before explaining that she had never seen a live tiger.
• After Old Madam Cui and Madam Cui left for Master Hong'en’s scripture lecture, Madam Cui asked about Old Madam Cui’s behavior, but Old Madam Cui said they would talk at home.

Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu wandered through the woods after Madam Cui and Old Madam Cui went to hear Master Hong'en's lecture. Yanran brushed off Old Madam Cui's coldness and continued playing with Cui Xiaoqiu, but their outing was interrupted by a guard spotting someone nearby.

• Madam Cui worried that Old Madam Cui was displeased with her, but Old Madam Cui reassured her and invited her to hear Master Hong'en's lecture.
• Yanran accused Cui Xiaoqiu of lying about why his grandmother disliked her, and he promised to ask Old Madam Cui about it.
• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu left Yushu behind and walked farther into the woods, where they picked and ate sour jujubes with Jiaojiao.
• Yanran suggested that Jiaojiao catch a deer, but Cui Xiaoqiu reminded her that they were on Buddhist grounds; Yanran said she would hunt with her brother another day.
• A guard shouted after noticing someone nearby.

Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu escaped an ambush, but Cui Xiaoqiu was struck by an arrow while shielding her. As Tang Zhuyun treated him, Cui Xiaoqiu tearfully asked whether he would still be able to hold a writing brush.

• Yanran watched the guards fight four masked attackers until eight more figures in blue arrived and overwhelmed them.
• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu fled on Jiaojiao, but an arrow struck Cui Xiaoqiu in the right arm.
• Xue Lie met them with other guards, and Yanran sent him after the assassins while she stayed to care for Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Tang Zhuyun began treating Cui Xiaoqiu's wound, and Yanran went outside at his request.
• After Yanran left, Cui Xiaoqiu cried and asked Meng Yulan whether he would still be able to hold a writing brush.

Tang Zhuyun removed the arrow from Cui Xiaoqiu and discovered it was coated with a subtle, slow-acting poison, which she treated before sending him home with the Cui family. The assassins were dead, leaving their master unknown, while Xue Lie complained that his blood-soaked appearance had ruined his mother's matchmaking plans.

• Cui Xiaoqiu trusted Tang Zhuyun, drank the anesthetic, and asked her to tell his family that the assassins had targeted him if he did not wake up.
• Tang Zhuyun found poison on the arrow and treated Cui Xiaoqiu's wound more deeply to save his life.
• Old Madam Cui and Madam Cui arrived, and Tang Zhuyun explained the attack and offered to continue treating Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Cui Xiaoqiu reassured Yanran as his family carried him away, while Tang Zhuyun planned a generous gift for the Cui family.
• Xue Lie told the Prince of Jin that his mother had brought him to meet a prospective bride, but the attack had left him covered in blood.

After an attempt on Yanran’s life, the Prince of Jin continued investigating while Tang Zhuyun returned to the residence and worried over who might be targeting her daughter. Nanny Jing arrived to report on the household and ask Tang Zhuyun for guidance on a difficult matter.

• The Prince of Jin dropped the subject of Xue Lie’s prospective bride and returned to investigating the attack on Yanran.
• Yanran reassured Tang Zhuyun that Cui Xiaoqiu would still be able to write and called him a true friend.
• Tang Zhuyun returned to the prince’s residence with the Prince of Jin, who continued investigating instead of taking her to see Xiao Pang.
• Tang Zhuyun wondered who wanted Yanran dead and learned that the Prince of Jin planned to find Xue Lie a match.
• Nanny Jing visited Tang Zhuyun to report on the residence and ask her for guidance on a thorny matter.

Tang Zhuyun prepared to attend the Qiao Family's wedding and discussed Xiu'er's marriage and the Prince of Jin's generous house gift to Song Jingyang. Yanran returned from visiting Cui Xiaoqiu with a jade pendant and questions about its meaning.

• Tang Zhuyun learned that Qiao Qiao's wedding was set for the end of the month and decided to send five hundred taels of silver and attend the feast.
• Tang Zhuyun and Nanny Jing confirmed that Xiu'er and Song Jingyang would marry at the beginning of the twelfth month and continue serving in the prince's residence.
• Nanny Jing worried that the Prince of Jin's gift of a valuable three-courtyard residence to Song Jingyang would cause resentment, but Tang Zhuyun said he should keep it.
• Tang Zhuyun discussed Xiu'er's dowry and wondered whether Yanran should have visited Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Yanran returned holding a jade pendant that Cui Xiaoqiu had sent her.

Yanran accepted a lotus-seedpod pendant from Cui Ling and resigned herself to being kept apart from him while he recovered. Old Madam Cui opposed their friendship because Yanran resembled a woman she feared, while Cui Ling privately hoped the pendant would convey his feelings.

• Xiu'er and Tang Zhuyun discussed the ordinary jade pendant Cui Ling had sent Yanran, and Yanran said she would keep it because he had asked her to.
• Yanran accepted that she might not see Cui Xiaoqiu again soon, while Tang Zhuyun promised to take her to apologize to the Cui Family after the assassins were investigated.
• Old Madam Cui told Madam Cui to keep Cui Ling away from Yanran because Yanran resembled Xiao Wu, whose return and rumored connection to the Prince of Jin worried her.
• Madam Cui stayed with the recovering Cui Ling and decided she would not send him away, despite Old Madam Cui's suggestion.
• After his mother left, Cui Ling asked Mujin about Yanran's response to the pendant and learned that Yanran had accepted it and wished him well.
• Cui Ling revealed that the pendant he kept was identical to Yanran's, and told Mujin he would explain if the old master discovered the resemblance.

Cui Ling resolved to become strong enough to protect Yanran and gave thought to a jade pendant that might help her and the Cui Family. The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that the Emperor had taken back the Golden Scale Guard after Huaishang reported his use of it to investigate the imperial harem.

• Cui Ling remembered how Yanran had become his only friend and how Old Master Cui had supported their closeness before recently advising him to see her less.
• Cui Ling felt powerless to help Yanran, then began studying from his sickbed so he could protect the people he cared about.
• Old Madam Cui worried that the Cui Family might be implicated in the Prince of Jin's affairs, but Old Master Cui reassured her that they had little to fear.
• The Prince of Jin returned late, and Tang Zhuyun noticed his unusual urgency when he carried her to bed without eating.
• Tang Zhuyun asked whether the Golden Scale Guard had uncovered something, and the Prince of Jin revealed that the Emperor had taken it back because Huaishang reported his investigation of the imperial harem.

The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Xiao Wu wanted his help gaining power, and they agreed to seek a fief and leave the capital. He then visited Linlin and told Nanxing that Xiao Wu had returned, leaving her to choose what to do.

• The Prince of Jin explained that the emperor intended to make Xiao Wu a noble consort and that she wanted him to help her rise to power.
• The Prince of Jin said he had handed over the Golden Scale Guard and agreed with Tang Zhuyun to ask the emperor for a fief so they could leave the capital.
• Tang Zhuyun welcomed the plan to escape the capital’s affairs, and the Prince of Jin went to handle preparations while she went to sleep.
• The Prince of Jin visited Linlin’s courtyard and told Nanxing that Xiao Wu had returned and she could make her choice.
• The Prince of Jin found Linlin awake and reading, and Linlin explained that he was sorting books to decide which ones to take when they left the capital.

Linlin and the Prince of Jin discussed their coming departure from the capital, the dangers surrounding Xiao Wu, and the people who might accompany them. Afterward, Nanxing confronted the Prince of Jin about Huaishang, then beat Huaishang the next day.

• Linlin admitted he was reluctant to leave his grandfather and father, and asked whether his teacher and senior brother could travel with them; the Prince of Jin told him to decide for himself.
• The Prince of Jin warned Linlin not to meet Xiao Wu alone and agreed to warn Tang Zhuyun and Xiu'er that Xiao Wu might summon them.
• Linlin showed the Prince of Jin the lotus-pod jade pendant Cui Ling had given Yanran, and the Prince of Jin said Cui Ling knew what it meant.
• Nanxing asked whether Xiao Wu was the reason the Prince of Jin had treated Huaishang harshly, then asked him to give Huaishang another chance.
• The Prince of Jin left Nanxing to act as she wished, and the next day he learned she had beaten Huaishang after he refused to change his mind.