Chapter Summaries

At Grand Secretary Liu Jian’s wedding banquet, Yanran avoided Jiang Ruo’s complaints until Jiang Ruo came to ask for help getting closer to Wen Heng, who now taught at the Imperial Academy. Yanran later joined her mother and Sangsang, while Jiang Ruo and Qu Hua talked and Yanran enjoyed the feast.

• Tang Zhuyun brought Yanran to Grand Secretary Liu Jian’s wedding banquet, where Jiang Ruo tried to get Yanran’s attention.
• Jiang Ruo complained that other women seemed interested in Wen Heng and admitted she regretted letting him go, but had been unable to tell him so when she visited him.
• Jiang Ruo learned that Wen Heng taught at the Imperial Academy and urged Yanran to accompany her there; Yanran refused.
• Qu Hua arrived, and she and Jiang Ruo talked about their relationships while Yanran focused on eating the banquet food.
• Yanran greeted Tang Zhuyun and Sangsang, and Sangsang remarked that she had heard about Yanran’s exploits.
• Tang Zhuyun complained that Yanran’s recent fighting had brought a stream of people to the Prince’s residence to report her.

Yanran was accused of pushing the Consort of Prince of Ding, who began bleeding and lost her baby. Yanran exposed flaws in the servants’ accusations, but the crowd pitied the Consort; Tang Zhuyun reminded Yanran that the four-month-old child would have to be delivered.

• Yanran went to the pond with Jiang'er and encountered the Consort of Prince of Ding, then turned to leave after warning that they might be blamed for trouble.
• The Consort of Prince of Ding fell and accused Yanran of pushing her, while her servants repeated the charge and an imperial physician was summoned.
• Yanran slapped a matron who grabbed her and challenged the servants to swear they had seen the push; they swore they were telling the truth.
• Yanran pointed out that her chicken-leg grease stained Tang Zhuyun’s sleeve and the matron’s face, but was absent from the Consort of Prince of Ding’s clothes.
• Imperial Physician Chen declared that the child could not be saved, and the Consort of Prince of Ding fainted before waking and crying for her baby.
• Tang Zhuyun told Yanran that the Consort of Prince of Ding was more than four months pregnant and would have to give birth to the stillborn child, leaving Yanran eager to see what happened next.

Tang Zhuyun exposed the Consort of Prince of Ding’s fake miscarriage and bluffed that she was infertile, then reunited with Ren Yingying. Qu Nian returned to the prince’s residence and found Mu Ziyu there, looking so different that he barely recognized him.

• Tang Zhuyun threatened to use silver needles to help the Consort of Prince of Ding expel her supposed stillborn fetus, then mocked her and claimed she could not bear children.
• Afterward, Tang Zhuyun told Yanran she had been bluffing and guessed that the Prince of Ding was the one who could not father children.
• Ren Yingying returned and reunited with Tang Zhuyun, then told her how Dog Meat’s disappearance had brought her and Qu Nian together.
• Qu Hua rushed to Qu Nian and begged him to drive Mu Ziyu away.
• Mu Ziyu emerged and greeted Qu Nian as his brother, leaving Qu Nian stunned by his changed appearance.

Qu Hua returned to the Prince of Jin’s Residence and found Mu Ziyu and Qu Nian conspiring to keep her in check, then tried to recruit Ren Yingying to help punish her brother. Ren Yingying instead revealed that Qu Nian had arranged a handsome man for Qu Hua, while her conversation with Tang Zhuyun ended with Ren Yingying asking about someone impersonating Mingzhu.

• Mu Ziyu told Qu Nian he had sent the foreigner Qu Nian provided to Liaodong for training, and Qu Nian approved while privately resolving to let Mu Ziyu keep disciplining Qu Hua.
• Qu Hua left after seeing Mu Ziyu and Qu Nian exchange knowing looks, then asked Ren Yingying to join forces against Qu Nian.
• Ren Yingying claimed she and Qu Nian had always gotten along, leaving Qu Hua furious that she had no ally.
• Ren Yingying asked whether Qu Nian had given Qu Hua a man and whether Qu Hua had been intimate with him, prompting Qu Hua to storm out in anger.
• Ren Yingying told Tang Zhuyun that she had warned Qu Nian’s relatives not to take advantage of her, then asked to see the person prepared to impersonate Mingzhu.
• Tang Zhuyun knew nothing about the impersonator, and Ren Yingying redirected their conversation by asking her to explain Mingzhu.

Qu Nian approved of Mu Ziyu as a match for Qu Hua after Mu Ziyu said he would give up his heirship rather than constrain her freedom. After dinner, Qu Nian and Ren Yingying left together, bickering about the Prince of Jin, children, and Dog Meat.

• Tang Zhuyun grew furious when she heard that the Prince of Ding coveted Mingzhu and asked Hanxiang to find out whether the Prince of Jin would invite the returned Heir to the Prince of Min to dinner.
• Mu Ziyu told Qu Nian that he and Qu Hua had slept together and that he did not mind her past or care about keeping his heirship if it meant being with her.
• Qu Nian accepted Mu Ziyu as Qu Hua's future husband and took him to the Prince of Jin's Residence, where Yanran angrily searched for bricks after seeing them arrive together.
• After dinner, the Prince of Jin sent Linlin to see Qu Nian out, provoking Qu Nian, who then called Ren Yingying to leave with him.
• Qu Nian carried Dog Meat and told Ren Yingying he had found female dogs for him, while Ren Yingying joked that Dog Meat could be Qu Nian's ready-made son.

Qu Nian tried to find Dog Meat a mate so he could win a night with Ren Yingying, but Dog Meat rejected the Shar-Peis and Ren Yingying fell asleep beside him. Ren Yingying later helped the Prince of Jin with a scheme involving a woman resembling Mingzhu, while Wu Zhenhai visited Mingzhu and learned his subordinate had found a lead on who leaked Miss Huo’s portrait.

• Qu Nian brought several Shar-Peis for Dog Meat, but Dog Meat recoiled from them and Ren Yingying ordered the servants to take them away.
• Qu Nian shared a bed with Ren Yingying, but she fell asleep before anything happened.
• Ren Yingying worked all day on a woman selected by Chang Zhi’s old flame for the Prince of Jin, then complained that the Prince of Ding was getting off lightly despite the risks to Mingzhu.
• Wu Zhenhai visited Mingzhu while she fed Wuji, and Wuji eagerly reached for Wu Zhenhai’s saber.
• Wu Zhenhai left after a subordinate told him there was a lead on who had leaked Miss Huo’s portrait.

Wu Zhenhai exposed Jianchun as the maid who betrayed Mingzhu and learned that she had done it out of unrequited love for him. After dealing with Jianchun, he visited Mingzhu, who asked whether his concern was about the capital or the border city.

• Wu Zhenhai confronted Jianchun and demanded to know why she had betrayed Mingzhu, who had once given her two thousand taels of silver.
• Wu Zhenhai threatened Jianchun with a branding iron until she confessed that she had betrayed Mingzhu because she loved him.
• Jianchun claimed she had acted to protect Wu Zhenhai from Mingzhu's insults, and Wu Zhenhai ordered his subordinates to kill her and destroy her face.
• Wu Zhenhai ordered an attendant to silence Jianchun's family, then bathed and changed before checking on Wu Yu, who was reading.
• Wu Zhenhai visited Mingzhu as she finished writing to Tang Zhuyun, and she asked whether he had come to discuss the capital or the border city.

Wu Zhenhai concealed Jianchun’s betrayal from Mingzhu, but she worked out the truth and asked him to stop investigating her family. In the capital, the Prince of Ding kept the false Mingzhu hidden while Tang Zhuyun discussed Yanran’s visit to the Imperial Academy and the Prince of Jin went out to deal with his opponents.

• Wu Zhenhai lied that Jianchun had died after her husband’s family abused her, but Mingzhu caught the lie because Jianchun had visited her half a month earlier.
• Mingzhu deduced that Jianchun had sold her portrait, and Wu Zhenhai admitted what had happened while leaving out Jianchun’s motive and his methods of punishment.
• Mingzhu told Wu Zhenhai not to tell anyone else or trouble Jianchun’s family, and he agreed to write to the prince to end the investigation.
• The Prince of Ding treasured the false Mingzhu in a hidden residence, while his Consort remained unaware of the reason for his absence and tried to make amends for her fake pregnancy.
• Tang Zhuyun spoke with Nanxing about Yanran, who went with Jiang Ruo to the Imperial Academy and planned to bring food to her brother and Cui Xiaoqiu.
• The Prince of Jin left home despite claiming to be recovering from an old injury, intending to force his opponents to submit.

Tang Zhuyun learned that the Prince of Jin had fought Yuan Han, the third young master of the Prince Who Guards the South’s household, after welcoming him in the palace. Nanxing began explaining that Yuan Han’s close sister Yuan Yi had met the Prince of Jin when he was still the heir.

• Ren Yingying visited Tang Zhuyun and revealed that the Prince of Jin and Qu Nian had gone to a group meeting about the new Prince Who Guards the South’s arrival.
• Zhao Kuo reported that the Prince of Jin had suffered a slight injury after fighting Yuan Han in the palace, so Tang Zhuyun sent medicine back with him.
• Qu Nian declined to explain the fight, telling Tang Zhuyun to wait for the Prince of Jin to return and explain it himself.
• Nanxing recalled that Yuan Han and his sister Yuan Yi had been close, then said Yuan Yi had met the Prince of Jin when he was still the heir.

Tang Zhuyun and her companions gossiped about Yuan Yi’s past affection for the Prince of Jin, then the Prince of Jin returned with a bruised mouth and explained that Yuan Han had attacked him over his sister. He denied being responsible for Yuan Yi’s unmarried life and revealed his close, secret friendship with Yuan Fang.

• Nanxing said Yuan Yi had once been interested in the Prince of Jin but had never married, and Ren Yingying worried she might threaten Tang Zhuyun.
• Tang Zhuyun joked with Yanran that the Prince of Jin should be nervous and promised they would find Yanran someone else if her future love did not return her feelings.
• The Prince of Jin returned with an injury at the corner of his mouth and said Yuan Han had struck him by surprise while accusing him of wasting Yuan Yi’s time.
• The Prince of Jin insisted he had forgotten what Yuan Yi looked like and questioned whether he was responsible for her remaining unmarried.
• The Prince of Jin revealed that he and Yuan Fang were close in private and that he had supported Yuan Fang in taking his position.

Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying discussed their relationships and Yuan Yi’s silence, while Jiang Ruo grieved over Wen Heng’s rejection. Yanran’s carriage nearly collided with Yuan Yi’s at a crossroads, leaving Yanran eager to meet the commandery princess.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that he had no part in Yuan Yi’s marriage and that he was close friends with Yuan Fang.
• Ren Yingying visited Tang Zhuyun, teased her about her marriage, and asked whether Qu Nian might have a physical problem.
• Ren Yingying wondered why Yuan Yi had not requested an audience, but Tang Zhuyun said there was little reason for them to meet.
• Jiang Ruo brought meals with Yanran and watched Wen Heng pass without acknowledging her, then cried over his rejection.
• Yanran and Jiang Ruo’s carriage nearly collided with the commandery princess’s carriage, and Yanran learned Yuan Yi was inside.

Yanran brought Jiang Ruo to the prince's residence, where Tang Zhuyun agreed to treat the gravely ill child Yuan Yi had brought to her. The chapter ended as Ren Yingying noticed the child's malformed ear and wondered how Doudou was related to Yuan Yi.

• Yanran changed plans and took Jiang Ruo to the prince's residence so she could seek relationship advice.
• Ren Yingying urged Tang Zhuyun to refuse Yuan Yi, but Tang Zhuyun agreed to see her after learning she had brought a child with a persistent fever and convulsions.
• Yuan Yi arrived carrying Doudou, and Tang Zhuyun examined the child before bringing her inside.
• Tang Zhuyun recognized that Doudou had congenital microtia and prepared to use acupuncture to lower her fever.
• Ren Yingying noticed Doudou's malformed ear and wondered whether the child was Yuan Yi's daughter.

Yuan Yi brought her feverish daughter Doudou to Tang Zhuyun for treatment and revealed that the child was her own, while Tang Zhuyun warned that the illness might be beyond her ability to cure. The Prince of Jin returned and said Yuan Fang had told him Yuan Yi had never married, leaving the truth about Doudou uncertain.

• Tang Zhuyun gave Doudou medicine and warned Yuan Yi that she might be unable to treat the child's illness.
• Yuan Yi revealed that Doudou was her daughter and asked Tang Zhuyun to ease her suffering if she could not be saved.
• Tang Zhuyun agreed to try to help and arranged a courtyard for Yuan Yi and Doudou to stay in.
• The Prince of Jin encountered Yuan Yi but did not recognize her, focusing instead on Tang Zhuyun's lack of warm clothing.
• Ren Yingying teased Tang Zhuyun about the Prince of Jin and left, promising to investigate Yuan Yi's story with Qu Nian.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Yuan Fang had said Yuan Yi had never married, and he suspected Yuan Yi was lying.

Tang Zhuyun weighed whether to treat Doudou, whose severe anemia might require a blood transfusion, and agreed to try after Yuan Fang asked for help. Yuan Yi then admitted that Doudou was her biological daughter, though she had concealed the truth from her brothers.

• Tang Zhuyun told the Prince of Jin she was unsure whether she could safely help Doudou, and he went to ask Yuan Fang about the child.
• Yuan Fang told Tang Zhuyun that Doudou was the daughter of one of Yuan Yi's maids, whom Yuan Yi had adopted, and begged her to help.
• Yanran told Tang Zhuyun that she had heard Yuan Yi call Doudou her own flesh and blood, leading Tang Zhuyun to suspect Yuan Yi was Doudou's birth mother.
• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying discussed stabilizing Doudou's anemia before attempting ear reconstruction, and Tang Zhuyun explained that Doudou might need a blood transfusion.
• Yuan Yi offered her own blood and admitted that Doudou was her biological daughter, a secret known only to her wet nurse and two personal maids.
• Tang Zhuyun assured Yuan Yi that she would do everything she could to help Doudou.

Yuan Yi explained how Fan Chun drugged and assaulted her, leaving her to bear Doudou in secret, and why she had killed him. Ren Yingying urged Tang Zhuyun to help women trapped by abuse, and the chapter ended with Tang Zhuyun asking Yuan Yi how old Fan Chun had been.

• Yuan Yi told Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying about her youthful affection for the Prince of Jin and explained that she had not stayed unmarried for his sake.
• Yuan Yi revealed that Fan Chun, her father's trusted adviser, had drugged and assaulted her, and that she became pregnant with Doudou.
• Yuan Yi said she had hidden her pregnancy by announcing that she would marry and giving birth while secluded in an embroidery tower.
• Yuan Yi told them that she had killed Fan Chun the previous year and that Doudou was his daughter, though Yuan Yi had raised her as her own.
• Ren Yingying comforted Yuan Yi and urged Tang Zhuyun to use her influence to speak up for women and help them resist abuse.
• Tang Zhuyun asked Yuan Yi how old Fan Chun had been and how his age compared with her father's.

Tang Zhuyun discovered that Doudou’s type O blood was incompatible with Yuan Yi’s type AB blood, raising the possibility that Doudou had been switched at birth. Yuan Yi left to investigate her daughter’s origins while Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying committed to treating Doudou and preparing to challenge the system that disadvantaged women.

• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying tested Yuan Yi’s and Doudou’s blood types to find a compatible donor for Doudou.
• Tang Zhuyun realized Doudou’s type O blood could not have come from Yuan Yi, who had type AB blood, and told Yuan Yi that someone might have switched the baby.
• Yuan Yi insisted she had given birth to Doudou, and Tang Zhuyun urged her to investigate what happened during and after the birth with her brother’s help.
• Yuan Yi left in a daze after asking Tang Zhuyun to continue treating Doudou, and Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying agreed to focus on saving her.
• Ren Yingying urged Tang Zhuyun to become empress and use her influence to show that daughters were valuable.

Tang Zhuyun agreed to try treating Doudou while Yuan Fang and Yuan Yi remained in the capital, and the investigation into the children switched at birth continued. As the autumn examinations approached, Yanran repeatedly fought Yuan Han at the Imperial Academy before bringing food to Linlin, Cui Xiaoqiu, and the others.

• Tang Zhuyun promised the Prince of Jin she would do her best to treat Doudou, while Yuan Fang planned to leave the capital and Yuan Yi planned to stay nearby with the child.
• The Prince of Jin said the investigation into the switched children was ongoing and would require checking Yuan Yi’s former trusted attendants.
• Yuan Fang left the capital, while Yuan Yi and Yuan Han stayed; Yuan Han entered the Imperial Academy and repeatedly fought Yanran.
• Yuan Han teased Yanran about bringing food to Cui Xiaoqiu, but Yanran denied being his wife and invited him to eat with the group.
• Yanran brought food to Linlin, Cui Xiaoqiu, and Cui Run as the autumn examinations neared, and Jiang Ruo wondered whether Cui Xiaoqiu could pass.

Jiang Ruo took Yanran’s advice on how to get Wen Heng to hear her confession, while Yanran prepared for Cui Xiaoqiu’s provincial examination and visited Doudou. Yuan Yi and Tang Zhuyun discussed delaying Doudou’s ear surgery and the search for Yuan Yi’s missing child.

• Jiang Ruo asked Yanran how she could win Wen Heng over, and Yanran advised her to get drunk and have the servants plead on her behalf.
• Yanran worried that Cui Xiaoqiu’s frail health might not withstand the provincial examination and planned a handbook of precautions for him.
• Yanran gave Doudou a clay figurine and took her and Little Tangyuan outside to play while Yuan Yi and Tang Zhuyun talked.
• Yuan Yi and Tang Zhuyun agreed to wait until the weather cooled before repairing Doudou’s ear, and Tang Zhuyun warned that Doudou might be affected emotionally.
• Yuan Yi told Tang Zhuyun that the prince had found no trace of her missing child and wondered whether Doudou had been brought to her in place of a stillborn baby.

Yuan Yi focused on Doudou’s illness while resolving to investigate her lost biological child in time. As Cui Xiaoqiu prepared for the exam, Yanran suggested he bring charcoal and a hot-pot setup, and Madam Cui later insisted he accept two bedchamber maids, leaving Cui Run alarmed by how calmly he agreed.

• Yuan Yi told Tang Zhuyun she would investigate her past slowly and repay her for giving her a new life.
• Yanran urged Cui Xiaoqiu to bring extra charcoal and hot pot to the exam, and offered the same supplies to Cui Run.
• Cui Xiaoqiu asked Cui Run not to tell Madam Cui that he had seen Yanran, then visited Old Madam Cui before going to see his mother.
• Madam Cui feigned illness, served Cui Xiaoqiu chicken soup, and said she had prepared two maids for him.
• Cui Xiaoqiu quietly accepted Madam Cui’s order and left, while Cui Run wondered why she had risked provoking him.

Cui Xiaoqiu accepted the two maids Madam Cui sent him and arranged for news of them to reach Old Madam Cui, prompting her to punish Madam Cui. When Cui Xiaoqiu found his mother kneeling, he promised to speak to his grandmother, but said he would admit his own fault.

• Cui Xiaoqiu let Yanhong and Liuyi serve him, rewarded them, and told Cui Run he no longer needed to keep watch at night.
• Cui Xiaoqiu allowed word of the maids to reach Old Madam Cui through the household servants.
• Old Madam Cui ordered Madam Cui to kneel in the courtyard for sending the maids to Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Cui Xiaoqiu knelt beside Madam Cui, wiped her tears, and said he would explain matters to Old Madam Cui.
• Cui Xiaoqiu entered Old Madam Cui's room and said he would admit his fault, leaving Madam Cui confused about what he meant.