Chapter Summaries

Lang Xuan warned Linlin that the Lang Family planned to use Yuan Yi to damage the Prince of Jin’s reputation, hoping to protect the fourth branch from the family’s coming downfall. Linlin decided to preempt the scheme by bringing down the Lang Family before Doudou’s birthday, while resenting the emperor’s pressure on his parents over the critically ill Prince of Ding.

• Lang Xuan told Linlin that the Lang Family planned to implicate the Prince of Jin and Yuan Yi at Doudou’s birthday celebration.
• Lang Xuan left without stating her request, and Linlin concluded that he understood what she wanted.
• Linlin reflected on how the Lang Family’s scheme had succeeded in his previous life, leading Yuan Yi to die by suicide and leaving Tang Zhuyun heartbroken.
• Linlin told Zhao Qing to give the Lang Family no chance to act and decided to bring the family down before Doudou’s birthday.
• Linlin recalled that the emperor had tried to force Tang Zhuyun to save the critically ill Prince of Ding, and rejected his father’s promise to wait for the emperor’s death before forcing his abdication.

After Cui Run placed first in the provincial examination, Yanran visited the disappointed Cui Xiaoqiu and tried to cheer him up. Cui Xiaoqiu explained how an employee’s mistake with examination incense had harmed him, then accepted Yanran’s offer to go riding.

• Yanran heard that Cui Run had passed the provincial examination as the top scorer and went to check on Cui Xiaoqiu.
• Yanran found Cui Xiaoqiu practicing a horse stance, and he said he was exercising because his body was weak.
• Cui Xiaoqiu explained that an employee of Bai Incense Shop had given Madam Cui incense that harmed him during the examination.
• Cui Xiaoqiu fined the shop and exiled the employee responsible while leaving the other workers alone.
• Yanran offered to give Cui Xiaoqiu a horse and take him riding to lift his spirits.

Yanran learned from Cui Xiaoqiu that her brother Linlin was secretly plotting a rebellion and eagerly asked to join in. Cui Xiaoqiu revealed that the plan involved taking the Prince of Jin’s private seal and ensuring the prince could not interfere, leaving Yanran excited to help.

• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu rested beneath a tree after riding outside the city, and she shared food with him.
• Cui Xiaoqiu asked whether Yanran would blame him for keeping a secret, then hinted that the secret was rebellion.
• Yanran discovered that Linlin planned to rebel without telling their father, their mother, or almost anyone in the residence.
• Cui Xiaoqiu explained that the plan involved taking the prince’s private seal and preventing him from stopping them, even if he had to be tied up.
• Yanran praised Cui Xiaoqiu’s idea, promised to help him if the prince punished him, and made a pinky promise with him.

Linlin visited Ren Yingying and Qu Nian at night to ask for the Tiger and Leopard Battalion to help surround the Prince of Jin’s Residence as part of a palace coup. Qu Nian objected over the risks, but Ren Yingying urged him to help, leaving him under pressure to hand over his seal.

• Qu Nian and Ren Yingying were interrupted by Linlin, who arrived secretly to speak with them.
• Linlin asked to borrow Qu Nian’s Tiger and Leopard Battalion for a palace coup.
• Linlin explained that he had stolen his father’s seal and wanted the battalion to surround the Prince of Jin’s Residence.
• Qu Nian questioned what he would gain and warned that the plan could bring severe punishment on their families.
• Ren Yingying told Qu Nian to hand over his seal and help Linlin, even offering to knock him out and take it herself.

Ren Yingying wanted to witness Linlin’s impending rebellion, but Qu Nian kept her in bed, while the Prince of Jin returned to Tang Zhuyun after working late. He took Tang Zhuyun to the Great Xiangguo Temple to quiet their minds before dealing with the Prince of Ding, who might survive until the end of the year.

• Ren Yingying argued with Qu Nian because she wanted to witness history, but he pulled her into bed and kept her from joining Linlin.
• Qu Nian’s jealousy faded when he wondered whether Ren Yingying might be carrying their child, and he held her as she slept.
• Black Flower brought the Prince of Jin a hairpin from Tang Zhuyun, prompting him to leave his outer study and return to their room.
• Tang Zhuyun questioned the Prince of Jin about his late nights, and he spent the night with her before she slept until morning.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun they were going to the Great Xiangguo Temple to quiet their minds and said the Prince of Ding might cling to life until year’s end.

Tang Zhuyun panicked when the Prince of Jin's residence was surrounded, but the Prince stayed calm and asked her to retrieve his private seal. She found the box empty, and the Prince suggested Linlin might have taken the seal, leaving Tang Zhuyun demanding the truth.

• Tang Zhuyun and the Prince of Jin planned a visit to Great Xiangguo Temple, but Hanxiang reported that the residence was surrounded.
• Tang Zhuyun considered escaping through the tunnel, while the Prince of Jin insisted they stay and continue as usual.
• The Prince of Jin asked Tang Zhuyun to find his private seal so they could resist the people surrounding the residence.
• Tang Zhuyun opened the locked box and discovered that the private seal was missing.
• The Prince of Jin said he had told Linlin about the seal, and Tang Zhuyun demanded to know what he and Linlin were hiding.

The Prince of Jin and Tang Zhuyun discussed Linlin’s decisive campaign against the Prince of Ding and worried over the woman who might shape Linlin’s future. Meanwhile, Yanran rode toward the imperial city in armor, carrying a bloody human head.

• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Linlin had acted on his own and had surrounded the residence to keep his father from interfering.
• The Prince of Jin explained that Linlin’s target was the Prince of Ding, not the emperor, and praised his son’s resolve.
• The Prince of Jin raised his concern about Linlin’s future marriage, and he and Tang Zhuyun also discussed Yanran.
• Tang Zhuyun worried that Yanran might have been taken hostage, but the Prince of Jin said Cui Xiaoqiu was helping Linlin.
• Yanran rode through the streets toward the imperial city in silver armor, carrying a bloody human head.

After learning that the Prince of Jin's Residence was safe, Lang Xuan headed to the palace to seek Yuwen Duo's mercy for her family. Yanran entered the palace with a severed head and declared that she had rebelled, while her father had not.

• Lang Xuan saw Yanran ride through the market and concluded that the Prince of Jin's Residence had won and Yuwen Duo was safe.
• Lang Xuan sent Chunya to lure her family to her new house, then set off for the palace to wait for Yuwen Duo and plead for their lives.
• Yanran rode into the inner palace through a path cleared by Linlin's people and requested an audience with the emperor.
• The emperor refused to see Yanran and accused her of daring to ride a horse inside the palace.
• Yanran entered carrying a severed head, tossed it at the emperor's feet, and announced that her father had not rebelled, but she had.

Yanran confronted the emperor after the Prince of Ding was killed, pretending he had taken his own life while revealing the Prince of Jin’s household had seized control. She left the emperor incapacitated and waiting for her brother, while saying her father was under house arrest.

• Yanran refused the emperor’s demands to summon the Prince of Jin and told him the Prince of Ding was dead.
• Yanran claimed the Prince of Ding had killed himself and forced the palace attendants to agree that a person could cut off their own head.
• The emperor fainted, woke unable to speak, and Yanran told him she had hoped to discover which attendants remained loyal to him.
• Yanran rejected the name Commandery Princess Rouyi and declared that she shared Xiao Wu’s coldness and the Xiao Family’s rebellious nature.
• Yanran said her brother had not yet arrived and revealed that her father was under house arrest at the residence.

Lang Xuan gave Linlin evidence of the Lang Family’s crimes and pleaded for his protection, then returned to a small house with her family. She told them the Lang Family was finished and offered them refuge in the house she had bought.

• Lang Xuan stopped Linlin at the palace gate and handed over evidence that the Lang Family had plotted against the prince, colluded with the Prince of Ding, and harmed commoners.
• Linlin promised to protect Lang Xuan, arranged for her to be escorted wherever she wished, and warned her not to endanger herself again.
• Lang Xuan refused the guard’s offer to buy her shoes and returned with him to the small house she had purchased.
• Lang Xuan reunited with Lang He, Concubine Yun, and Lang Wu, who had been anxiously waiting for her.
• Lang Xuan told her family that the Lang Family was finished and said they could all stay in her house.

Lang Xuan told her family she had found the silver used to buy a house and revealed that the Lang Family faced ruin after the Prince of Jin's Residence rebelled and the Prince of Ding died. She reassured her family that she would try to save them through her connection to the Prince of Jin's Residence, then admitted she had taken Yuwen Duo's hidden silver and given him evidence of the Lang Family's crimes.

• Lang He questioned Lang Xuan about the silver, and she claimed she had found it near Great Xiangguo Temple.
• Lang Xuan explained that she had bought the house in case she was divorced, and warned Lang He and Concubine Yun that the Prince of Jin's Residence had rebelled and the Prince of Ding was dead.
• Lang Xuan said her betrothal to the Prince of Jin's eldest son could help save the family, and promised they had enough silver to survive exile.
• Lang Xuan privately recalled that the ten thousand taels belonged to Yuwen Duo, who had hidden it in case disaster struck his residence.
• When Concubine Yun pressed her for the truth, Lang Xuan revealed that she had given Yuwen Duo evidence of the Lang Family's crimes and asked whether they could survive.

Lang Xuan revealed that she had stolen supplies to protect herself from the Lang Family and had arranged for Concubine Yun and the others to stay safely away from the family. In the palace, Linlin confronted the emperor over the Prince of Ding’s crimes, took the imperial seal, and left to secure the throne.

• Lang Xuan told Concubine Yun that the Lang Family had forced her into danger, so she had stolen supplies to give herself a way to survive.
• Concubine Yun praised Lang Xuan’s actions and offered to take the blame if they were discovered.
• Lang Xuan explained that Chunya had lured them away from the Lang Family and that she had stocked food for their stay in the courtyard.
• Linlin presented evidence of the Prince of Ding’s crimes and told the emperor to distinguish right from wrong.
• Linlin rejected the emperor’s accusation of usurpation, took the imperial seal, and left to attend to the throne.

After Emperor Wen ascended the throne and appointed Tang Zhuyun empress, Tang Zhuyun learned that Linlin had refused the crown prince position and wanted to leave the capital for Liaodong. She understood that he was trying to spare his father further political pressure while proving himself elsewhere.

• Emperor Wen ascended the throne, appointed Tang Zhuyun empress, and moved her into the Palace of Eternal Peace.
• Tang Zhuyun wondered why Linlin’s identity had not been announced and why he had not been named crown prince.
• Yanran told Tang Zhuyun that Linlin had refused the crown prince position and offered to take responsibility for the events that brought Emperor Wen to power.
• Yanran explained that Linlin wanted to leave the capital for Liaodong, where he planned to address the danger posed by its incompetent prince.
• Tang Zhuyun realized Linlin was avoiding adding political pressure on Emperor Wen and intended to build his own standing away from his parents.

Yanran tried to persuade Tang Zhuyun to let her accompany Linlin to Liaodong, but Tang Zhuyun refused and confined her to the palace for three months. Tang Zhuyun accepted that Linlin would go and resolved to discuss how he would be protected, then asked how the Prince of Ding's household had been dealt with.

• Yanran asked Tang Zhuyun to let her go with Linlin, offering to defend him and catch a female gyrfalcon for Xiao Ye.
• Tang Zhuyun refused, citing the danger from the Prince of Ding's remaining supporters, and ordered Yanran to stay in the palace for three months.
• Yanran urged Tang Zhuyun to persuade the emperor to stop Linlin from going to Liaodong, but Tang Zhuyun said Linlin could not be stopped.
• Tang Zhuyun decided she would not hold Linlin back but would ensure he did not bear the dangerous responsibility alone.
• Tang Zhuyun allowed Yanran to invite friends to the palace, then asked how the people at the Prince of Ding's Residence had been dealt with.

Yanran told Tang Zhuyun that Emperor Wen planned to punish the guilty members of the Prince of Ding’s faction while releasing those who had only served their masters. Emperor Wen reunited with Tang Zhuyun, assured her that Linlin could go where he wished and would be treated fairly, then refused an audience with the Heir to the Prince of Min.

• Yanran explained that Emperor Wen would purge the Prince of Ding’s close associates, punish the Lang Family’s masters, and release servants who had not harmed ordinary people.
• Emperor Wen visited Tang Zhuyun and told Yanran to stay in the Palace of Eternal Peace and keep her mother company.
• Tang Zhuyun teased Emperor Wen about the dragons on his robe and asked him to stop having eunuchs record their intimate moments; she discovered the ninth dragon was embroidered inside the lapel.
• Tang Zhuyun asked about Linlin’s interrogation, and Emperor Wen said her father-in-law would recuse himself and promised Linlin would not be deprived of what was due to him.
• When the Heir to the Prince of Min requested an audience, Emperor Wen refused to see him and ordered him to return and await the edict.

Tang Zhuyun cared for Emperor Wen while the capital waited anxiously to learn how he would handle the captured Lang Family. When Lang Xuan learned that Yuwen Duo had taken responsibility for killing the Prince of Ding and would face investigation, she resolved to save him and recalled a potentially useful connection.

• Tang Zhuyun learned Emperor Wen had promised Qu Nian the title of Lady Protector of the State, then cared for her sleeping husband and looked forward to Xiu'er bringing the children to the capital.
• The Lang Family remained under arrest, and Lang He asked Lang Xuan whether their branch was safe; she reassured him while worrying that officials might arrest them too.
• Tu Wu reported that the Court of Judicial Review would investigate the eldest young master's killing of the Prince of Ding after censors accused him of taking punishment into his own hands.
• Lang Xuan learned Yuwen Duo had accepted all responsibility for the killing, panicked that her actions had changed the course of events, and decided she had to save him.
• Lang Xuan recalled Lady Shen Temple of Linzhou and her connection to an ancestor of the Min Family.

Lang Xuan tried to help Yuwen Duo survive a public trial presided over by the famously impartial Gao Zheng. When she urged Linlin to present his evidence and was threatened with removal, an imperial decree arrived.

• Lang Xuan learned that Gao Zheng would preside over Yuwen Duo’s public trial and feared he might condemn him.
• Lang Xuan joined the crowd outside the Court of Judicial Review, hoping Yuwen Duo would use the evidence she had obtained for him.
• Gao Zheng ordered Linlin to kneel, but Linlin remained composed and did not move.
• Lang Xuan protested that Linlin had done nothing wrong and urged him to present his evidence.
• Gao Zheng ordered the guards to remove Lang Xuan after Linlin defended her, but an imperial decree was announced.

Yuwen Duo received an imperial edict naming him Prince Ming and declaring him the emperor’s eldest son, while Gao Zheng continued questioning him at the public trial. Lang Xuan watched anxiously, and Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu discussed Gao Zheng’s past before noticing Lang Jiu.

• The eunuch delivered an edict naming Yuwen Duo Prince Ming and identifying him as the emperor’s eldest son, surprising the crowd and Gao Zheng.
• Yuwen Duo accepted the edict, while Lang Xuan concluded that the emperor intended to protect him and considered leaving.
• Gao Zheng continued questioning Yuwen Duo harshly, prompting Lang Xuan to look for help without drawing attention to herself.
• Lang Xuan spotted Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu on a nearby roof, where they discussed Gao Zheng’s connection to Tang Zhuyun and an old examination fraud case.
• Yanran noticed Lang Jiu waving and worried that she had taken a fancy to Cui Xiaoqiu.

Lang Xuan told Yanran where the Prince of Ding’s secret Black Armor Army was hidden, hoping to help protect the empress, but Linlin won his case without needing the evidence. Gao Zheng declared Linlin not guilty, and Lang Xuan fled as Linlin emerged to widespread attention.

• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu met Lang Xuan, who privately revealed that the Lang Family had trained a secret army of one or two thousand men for the Prince of Ding and told Yanran where it was hiding.
• Lang Xuan reflected on her past life, when Yuwen Duo mourned her and the empress placed a pearl ring in her coffin, and felt glad she had helped prevent the empress’s future danger.
• Yanran learned that Linlin had handled the case himself and led Lang Xuan to see him come out.
• Gao Zheng declared Linlin not guilty, and Lang Xuan turned and ran.
• Linlin told Yanran they would talk when they got back, having made a name for himself as Prince Ming.

Yanran and Linlin returned to the palace, where Emperor Wen assigned Linlin to investigate the private soldiers raised by the Lang Family’s fourth branch. Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun then discussed whether Lang Xuan truly liked Linlin and whether she could be a suitable future wife for him.

• Yanran left Cui Xiaoqiu behind and returned to the palace with Linlin.
• Yanran told Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun about the events involving Gao Zheng and Lang Xuan.
• Emperor Wen put Linlin in charge of investigating the private soldiers, then sent Yanran out with him.
• Emperor Wen asked Tang Zhuyun what she thought of Lang Xuan’s feelings for Linlin, and they agreed that Lang Xuan might truly like him.
• Emperor Wen proposed testing Lang Xuan’s intentions and considering her as Linlin’s future wife, while Tang Zhuyun worried about the marriage.