Chapter Summaries

Yanran and Ren Yingying left with their respective companions, while Tang Zhuyun worried about both departures. During the journey, Qu Nian entered Ren Yingying's carriage at night and asked her for medicine, leaving her wondering what was wrong.

• Yanran prepared to travel to the capital with her father, and Tang Zhuyun saw them off as the struggle for the throne began.
• Tang Zhuyun cautioned Ren Yingying before she left with Qu Nian, and Ren Yingying promised to act timidly without her support.
• Ren Yingying traveled as Qu Nian's personal guard alongside Leertai and endured the difficult journey by carriage.
• Qu Nian gave Ren Yingying a hot-water bottle and stayed with the soldiers, earning her respect.
• Qu Nian entered Ren Yingying's carriage late at night and asked whether she had medicine, saying he was not the one who was sick.

Qu Nian brought Ren Yingying to examine Leertai’s bound woman, claiming she had a mysterious ailment. Ren Yingying found no obvious signs of illness, but Leertai insisted he could explain the woman’s condition, leaving her poised to hear what was wrong.

• Qu Nian told Ren Yingying that a woman in Leertai’s camp was ill and asked her for medicine.
• Ren Yingying insisted on seeing the patient, and Qu Nian led her to Leertai’s carriage.
• Ren Yingying arrived at the carriage and heard Leertai angrily demanding that the woman speak.
• Leertai introduced Ren Yingying to the bound woman, who cursed at her and ordered her to leave.
• Leertai said he would explain the woman’s condition privately, then threatened to tell Ren Yingying himself, leaving the woman to stop driving her away.

Ren Yingying treated Lu Jiu and learned that Leertai had abducted her after hiding his identity from her. She told Qu Nian about Lu Jiu’s plea for help, and they disagreed over whether Ren Yingying should intervene.

• Ren Yingying diagnosed Lu Jiu with a common infection and gave her medicine, easing her fear that she was dying.
• Lu Jiu revealed that she was from the Central Plains, had warned Ren Yingying before, and had married Leertai without knowing his true identity.
• Lu Jiu asked Ren Yingying to save her from Leertai, and Ren Yingying said she would need to think it over.
• Ren Yingying told Qu Nian about Lu Jiu, and he first mistook her invitation into the carriage for a romantic advance.
• Ren Yingying argued that she should help Lu Jiu rather than leave her with Leertai, while Qu Nian urged her to stay out of their marital dispute.

Ren Yingying befriended Lu Jiu during the march and promised to help her escape after the war, while asking about Leertai and his intentions. Meanwhile, Wu Zhenhai sought Xiyou's help with Wu Yu's despondency and unexpectedly encountered Mingzhu.

• Qu Nian agreed to think over how Ren Yingying could help Lu Jiu, though Ren Yingying warned him not to risk Leertai suspecting their motives.
• Ren Yingying visited Lu Jiu, chatted with her, and promised to help her escape after the war.
• Ren Yingying asked Lu Jiu about Leertai, and Lu Jiu said he was unlikely to betray their cooperation for now.
• Wu Zhenhai worried that Wu Yu had lost interest in everything since Yanran left him behind and decided to ask Xiyou for help.
• Wu Zhenhai arrived at Xiyou's place and unexpectedly ran into Mingzhu.

Wu Zhenhai mistook Mingzhu’s concern for Wu Yu as a sign of affection and agreed to let his son stay at the prince’s residence so he could keep visiting her. Meanwhile, Tang Zhuyun planned to encourage doctors to share their skills and learned that Yanran had recruited Wen Heng on the journey to the capital; Wen Heng was heading to the border city.

• Mingzhu brought Xiyou a white kitten and asked him to cheer up Wu Yu, while Wu Zhenhai overheard and read her concern as a sign she still cared about him.
• Xiyou offered to ask Lord Wu whether Wu Yu could continue staying at the prince’s residence, and Wu Zhenhai agreed, seeing the arrangement as a chance to visit Mingzhu.
• Tang Zhuyun discussed how to persuade the border city’s doctors to share their medical knowledge and train new practitioners.
• Tang Zhuyun told Mingzhu and Xiu'er that Yanran had met Wen Heng, a learned man related to Cui Xiaoqiu, and recruited him to serve the Prince of Jin.
• Wen Heng headed for the border city instead of joining Yanran’s party to the capital, and Xiu'er suggested they investigate his background before trusting him.

Tang Zhuyun recruited physicians and organized medical training at the Prince of Jin's Residence while the prince was away. In the capital, Yanran reunited with Meng Yulan and Little Tangyuan, and the family prepared to attend an important banquet.

• Tang Zhuyun and Mingzhu planned to attract physicians by offering rewards and possible official posts, then Tang Zhuyun issued a call for talent in the prince's name.
• Tang Zhuyun personally welcomed the physicians, arranged apprenticeships for military physicians and new students, and gave demonstrations and lectures.
• Tang Zhuyun thanked the old madam and Nanny Jing for caring for the children, then returned to find the household staff managing the residence's affairs.
• Yanran returned to the Tang Family and stayed with Meng Yulan, where she met the lively Little Tangyuan and watched her lift Jiaojiao with her strength.
• Meng Yulan told Yanran and Little Tangyuan to get their measurements taken because they would soon attend an important banquet.

Yanran prepared for Consort De’s birthday banquet despite Meng Yulan’s concerns about the family’s political tensions. At the palace, Yanran answered Consort De’s pointed remarks with a shocking claim about her father, then faced Lang Shuang’s insult.

• Meng Yulan ordered new outfits for Yanran and Little Tangyuan, and Yanran calculated that the clothes would cost more than three hundred taels of silver.
• Meng Yulan warned Yanran that Consort De was displeased with her family and that the Prince of Ding and Yanran’s father were at odds; Yanran said she would attend the banquet on her own.
• Nanxing visited and warned Yanran that the Consort of the Prince of Ding and her younger sister, Lang Shuang, were petty and annoying.
• Yanran entered Consort De’s birthday banquet with Jiang’er and paid her respects to Consort De.
• When Consort De implied Yanran had come to the capital without regard for her injured father, Yanran claimed he was at death’s door but had sent her to wish Consort De a happy birthday.
• Consort De sent Yanran to sit with Lang Shuang, who insulted her as uncivilized, and Yanran answered with a roguish grin.

Yanran confronted Lang Shuang at Consort De’s birthday banquet after Lang Shuang called her a barbarian, then turned the dispute into a challenge to the dignity of the soldiers at the frontier. Meng Yulan arrived as Consort De threatened punishment, and the chapter ended with the conflict unresolved.

• Yanran provoked Lang Shuang after she called her a barbarian, then threw tea over her and grabbed her by the hair.
• Yanran forced Lang Shuang to her knees before Consort De and argued that the insult to her as a frontier defender concerned the soldiers’ dignity.
• Yanran threatened to take the matter to Imperial Grandfather, frightening Lang Shuang into hiding behind Consort De.
• Meng Yulan arrived, and Consort De blamed her for Yanran’s behavior while Meng Yulan asked who had first called Yanran a barbarian.
• Consort De focused on Yanran’s use of violence and appeared determined to punish her, while Yanran remained calm.

Yanran turned Lang Shuang’s attack into a defense of the Yuwen imperial family, forcing Consort De to end the dispute without punishing her. Lang Shuang returned after changing clothes, emboldened by her sister’s advice to provoke Yanran again and tie her faults to the Prince of Jin.

• Yanran accused Lang Shuang and her family of placing the imperial in-laws above the Yuwen imperial family, silencing the other guests with the threat of a charge of usurpation.
• Consort De tried to hold Yanran responsible for striking first, but Yanran accepted punishment as a defense of the Yuwen Family and invoked its ancestors.
• Consort De swallowed her anger, dismissed the quarrel as children speaking without restraint, and ordered someone to take Lang Shuang to change.
• Yanran taunted Consort De by wishing her a son soon, then returned to her seat and encouraged the nervous Jiang'er to be brave.
• Lang Shuang returned in fresh clothes after her sister advised her not to fear Yanran, to keep provoking her, and to make Yanran’s faults reflect on the Prince of Jin.

Yanran and Lang Shuang clashed at Consort De’s birthday gathering after Lang Shuang arranged to plant her pendant on Jiang’er and accuse Yanran of stealing it. Yanran turned the accusation toward the pendant’s giver, Eighth Imperial Uncle, while Consort De intervened, leaving Lang Shuang still pressing her case.

• Lang Shuang showed off her pink tourmaline pendant while Yanran idly played with her carved beeswax bracelet.
• Lang Shuang tried to make peace with Yanran, but their exchange turned hostile, and her maid secretly planted the pendant on Jiang’er during the commotion.
• Meng Yulan sent Lüzhu to warn Yanran that Lang Shuang might accuse her of stealing the missing pendant, but Yanran told her aunt to enjoy the show.
• Lang Shuang announced that her pendant was missing and had her maid lead a search that reached Yanran.
• Yanran questioned why Eighth Imperial Uncle had given such a valuable, one-of-a-kind pendant to his wife’s younger sister, then told Consort De that Lang Shuang accused her of theft.
• Lang Shuang insisted that either Yanran or Jiang’er had stolen the pendant and appealed to Consort De.

At Consort De’s birthday banquet, Yanran exposed Lang Shuang’s attempt to frame her for stealing a jade pendant and forced Lang Shuang to apologize. Yanran left having made a striking first impression on the capital’s noblewomen as the Overlord Flower.

• Yanran mocked Consort De and Lang Shuang, denied taking Lang Shuang’s jade pendant, and challenged Lang Shuang to search her sleeves.
• When Lang Shuang grabbed Yanran, Little Lovely bit her hand, and Yanran revealed Lang Shuang’s maid had both the jade pendant and Yanran’s missing amber bracelet.
• Yanran accused Lang Shuang and her maid of trying to frame and disgrace her, then demanded an explanation from the Lang Family.
• Meng Yulan urged Yanran to let the matter go, and Yanran agreed only after insisting that Lang Shuang apologize.
• Consort De ordered Lang Shuang to apologize, and Yanran left the banquet with the noblewomen watching her.

After returning from the palace, Yanran avoided staying at her grandfather’s home so the family there would not blame her aunt, and she spent time with Little Tangyuan and Nanxing. Cui Xiaoqiu asked his servant to learn why Yanran seemed upset, while Nanxing and Yanran sparred and discussed their strengths.

• On the carriage ride back, Yanran told Jiang'er she would return to the prince's residence rather than her grandfather's house to keep the others from blaming her aunt.
• Yanran brought Little Tangyuan pastries from the palace and promised to have the imperial kitchen recipe copied for her.
• Cui Xiaoqiu appeared over the courtyard wall, but Cui Run called him away, and Cui Xiaoqiu ordered him to find out what had happened at the palace because Yanran seemed upset.
• Nanxing explained that Pei Shen had misled her about the palace visit, then scolded Yanran for confronting Consort De without need.
• Yanran sparred with Nanxing, who praised her improvement, and the two discussed their relative strengths in riding and archery.

Nanxing warned Yanran about Consort De and urged her to stay cautious while Yanran chose to remain at the prince's residence. Far away, Tang Zhuyun discovered she was pregnant again and decided not to tell Prince of Jin yet, just as a visitor from the prince's residence requested to see her.

• Nanxing told Yanran that Consort De had helped frame her mother and advised her not to meet Consort De alone.
• Yanran refused Nanxing's offer to stay at the marquis's residence and insisted on remaining at the prince's residence.
• Tang Zhuyun strained her waist while catching Wuxian and realized her monthly courses had been absent for nearly three months.
• Xiu'er confirmed Tang Zhuyun was pregnant, and Tang Zhuyun joked about naming the child Wuyan before deciding to keep the news from Prince of Jin.
• A maid told Tang Zhuyun that someone from the prince's residence had brought a calling card and asked to see her.

Tang Zhuyun learned that Wen Heng had come to the border city after divorcing Jiang Ruo, and he began working under Mr. Xu. The next day, Yanran encountered Jiang Ruo outside the prince's residence, and the commandery princess appeared to approach her with a forced smile.

• Tang Zhuyun sent Wen Heng to Mr. Xu as the Prince of Jin had instructed, and Xiu'er learned that Wen Heng had once married Jiang Ruo, Jiang Zhong's cousin.
• Xiu'er considered whether Wen Heng might suit Mingzhu, but decided against it after seeing him and warned Tang Zhuyun not to mention the idea to Mingzhu.
• Xiu'er reported that Jiang Zhong had asked Mr. Xu to take care of Wen Heng because Jiang Ruo had wronged him.
• Yanran left the prince's residence to visit Little Tangyuan and saw a jeweled eight-bearer sedan chair stop in front of her.
• Jiang Ruo stepped out of the sedan chair and tried to smile pleasantly at Yanran, who immediately became wary of her.

Yanran met Jiang Ruo, who awkwardly flattered her and followed her to the Tang Family before abruptly leaving. After Yanran realized Jiang Ruo was Wen Heng’s former wife, Meng Yulan wondered how Jiang Ruo had learned that Yanran had helped him on the road.

• Jiang Ruo approached Yanran with sweets, introduced herself as her older cousin, and awkwardly praised her despite Yanran warning her about her dispute with Consort De.
• Jiang Ruo followed Yanran to the Tang Family, where Meng Yulan was surprised to see her and Jiang Ruo called her Aunt and complimented her and Little Tangyuan.
• Yanran asked Jiang Ruo why she had come, but Jiang Ruo claimed she had nothing to say and hurried away.
• Yanran speculated that Jiang Ruo might want to marry her father, and Meng Yulan explained that Jiang Ruo had been married to Wen Heng before they divorced.
• Yanran recognized Wen Heng’s name and told Meng Yulan that she had met him on the road and helped him reach the border city.
• Meng Yulan asked whether Yanran had told anyone about meeting Wen Heng; Yanran said she had forgotten about it, and Meng Yulan wondered how Jiang Ruo knew.

Meng Yulan learned that the Third Princess’s consort had once sought Tang Baixin’s help in getting a relative placed under the Prince of Jin, and Yanran realized Jiang Ruo was courting her to secure help for Wen Heng. Jiang Ruo finally asked Yanran to have the prince look after her ex-husband, and Yanran agreed, though she misunderstood Jiang Ruo’s attempt to explain their relationship.

• Meng Yulan told Tang Baixin about Jiang Ruo’s visit, and he revealed that Jiang Yi had sounded him out about recommending a relative to serve the prince.
• Tang Baixin and Meng Yulan suspected Jiang Ruo wanted to repair her relationship with Wen Heng, who now served under the Prince of Jin.
• Jiang Ruo repeatedly sought out Yanran, struggling to ride and showering her with praise until Yanran demanded to know what she wanted.
• Jiang Ruo asked Yanran to have the prince look after Wen Heng, and Yanran readily agreed.
• Jiang Ruo began explaining that Wen Heng was a good person, but Yanran mistakenly thought she was trying to introduce him as a suitor.

Jiang Ruo opened up to Yanran about her feelings for Wen Heng, then moved into the prince's residence to keep Yanran company. When Consort De sent Nanny Jin to teach Yanran etiquette, Yanran and Jiang Ruo turned the lesson against her.

• Jiang Ruo told Yanran she still cared about Wen Heng and could not stand by while anyone bullied him, and Yanran bluntly explained that Wen Heng had never loved her.
• Jiang Ruo began treating Yanran as a confidante and brought her household to stay at the prince's residence for several days.
• Yanran and Jiang Ruo spent time together in the shade, and Yanran reassured Jiang Ruo that she had asked someone reliable to watch Wen Heng.
• Consort De sent Nanny Jin with an edict appointing her to teach Yanran etiquette.
• When Nanny Jin corrected Yanran for receiving the edict improperly, Yanran and Jiang Ruo made her demonstrate the rules repeatedly in the scorching sun for over an hour.

Yanran and Jiang Ruo dealt with Nanny Jin, then learned why Consort De would not dare provoke Jiang Ruo’s family. Later, Yanran became alarmed by a change in Tang Zhuyun’s letter and feared something had happened to her mother.

• Nanny Jin apologized to Yanran, who sent her to the sewing room after Jiang Ruo warned her against challenging Yanran.
• Yanran learned that Jiang Ruo’s mother was protected by the memory of Consort Shu, the late mother of the Third Princess, who had died saving the emperor.
• Jiang Ruo stayed with Yanran despite being asked to leave, and Yanran eventually sent her home before considering a barbecue with Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Yanran received a letter from Tang Zhuyun and grew suspicious when her mother refused her request for dried meat and the handwriting looked unusually messy.
• Yanran insisted something had happened to Tang Zhuyun, and when Cui Xiaoqiu appeared, she asked him to compare the letter with her mother’s earlier ones.

Yanran asked Cui Xiaoqiu to help her find her father, the Prince of Jin, and he promised to seek him out that night while keeping his return secret. Cui Xiaoqiu also rejected his mother’s attempt to arrange a marriage, then feigned illness and won her sympathy.

• Yanran urged Cui Xiaoqiu to take her to her father, but he said he would find the Prince of Jin that night because the prince was hiding in a brothel and needed to stay concealed.
• Cui Xiaoqiu realized his mother was summoning him to meet his aunt’s daughter and refused to attend, explaining to Yanran that his mother wanted to arrange a marriage for him.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Cui Run to say he was ill, then coughed to convince Yanran and promised to find the prince after dinner.
• Yanran, distressed over Tang Zhuyun, ate only a little barbecue, and Cui Xiaoqiu made sure she finished some congee.
• Madam Cui learned Cui Xiaoqiu had avoided the marriage meeting, but when she visited and saw him feigning illness, her anger gave way to concern.

Cui Xiaoqiu took Yanran to meet the Prince of Jin at a brothel, where they realized Tang Zhuyun might be in trouble. The Prince of Jin then met with Pei Shen and Qin Li to discuss political alliances and whether he should approach the Prince of Liaodong.

• Cui Xiaoqiu slipped out of the residence, and Yanran joined him after revealing she knew the Prince of Jin was hiding in a brothel.
• Yanran showed the Prince of Jin a letter from Tang Zhuyun, and he grew concerned that something had happened to her before sending Xiao Ye with a reply.
• Cui Xiaoqiu and Yanran encountered Pei Shen and Nanxing at the brothel, then Nanxing escorted them back.
• Pei Shen and Qin Li met with the Prince of Jin to discuss the emperor's worsening health, the princes' likely positions, and the risks of leaving the capital.
• The Prince of Jin decided not to act yet and suggested that finding Qu Hua might help draw Mu Ziyu, the heir of the Prince of Liaodong, to their side.