Chapter Summaries

Lang Xuan and Yanran discussed her feelings for Yuwen Duo, while Linlin let Cui Xiaoqiu remain with Yanran and agreed to keep her confinement private from their parents. After more than half a month of cheerful confinement, Yanran heard that Yingying had gone into labor and waited anxiously for news.

• Yanran encouraged Lang Xuan to be open about wanting Yuwen Duo’s affection, and Lang Xuan admitted she was content with how things were.
• Linlin reprimanded Cui Xiaoqiu for hesitating to knock Yanran out, then trusted him to stay with her while Linlin searched for the fourth treasure.
• Linlin found Yanran and Lang Xuan chatting and agreed with Yanran not to tell Imperial Mother or Imperial Father about what had happened.
• Cui Xiaoqiu kept Yanran entertained during her confinement with games and activities, and Yanran practiced writing briefly each day.
• Yanran learned that Yingying had gone into labor, held back from visiting her, and sent someone to ask for news.

Ren Yingying went into labor, and Qu Nian anxiously stayed by her side until she gave birth to their daughter, Jingjing. He held the newborn for the first time, only for her to poop in his palm.

• Ren Yingying’s water broke, and Qu Nian hurried to summon the midwife while nervously tending to her.
• Ren Yingying calmly prepared for labor as Qu Nian panicked, then vomited outside from nerves.
• After nearly fourteen hours of labor, Ren Yingying safely gave birth to a daughter.
• Qu Nian cut the umbilical cord and carefully held Jingjing, who stopped crying in his hands.
• Jingjing pooped in Qu Nian’s palm, and he laughed as he announced it.

Ren Yingying and Qu Nian welcomed their daughter, Jingjing, while Qu Hua discussed her ultimatum to Mu Ziyu and Jinse visited to comfort the new mother. The chapter ended with Ren Yingying falling asleep to Jinse’s pipa music and Qu Hua leaving with Jinse.

• Ren Yingying gave birth to a daughter, and Qu Nian arranged for news of Jingjing’s birth to be sent out.
• Qu Hua told Ren Yingying she had given Mu Ziyu two choices: give up being heir and leave with her, or stay heir and lose her.
• Qu Nian argued with Qu Hua over her decision, while Qu Hua praised her niece and urged her to value her own happiness.
• Jinse visited Ren Yingying, explained that her pipa could ease childbirth pain, and later played music to help Ren Yingying sleep.
• Qu Hua asked Jinse to attend when she gave birth someday, then left with her after Jinse declined her guard’s attentions.

Xiu'er gave birth to Song Miemie, formally named Song Rong by Emperor Wen, while catching cicadas in the imperial garden. In Liaodong, Yanran discovered Cui Xiaoqiu’s musical talent when he played the chime bells he had brought from the capital.

• Qu Hua persuaded Jinse to help her after she gave birth, and Jinse agreed.
• Xiu'er went cicada-catching with the children, went into labor, and gave birth to Song Miemie in the imperial garden.
• Emperor Wen named the boy Song Rong, while Xiu'er and Tang Zhuyun settled on calling him Miemie.
• Ren Yingying joked about betrothing the children, but Qu Nian refused and said they could discuss it when Jingjing grew up.
• Cui Xiaoqiu showed Yanran the chime bells his grandfather had sent and played a beautiful tune for her.
• Yanran praised Cui Xiaoqiu’s abilities, and he claimed he had learned to play the bells just then to make her happy.

Yanran practiced playing an instrument with Cui Xiaoqiu, then learned that he had put calming medicine in her soup to help her sleep while the gu worm affected her. After Yanran fell asleep, Jiang'er remained suspicious of Cui Xiaoqiu and questioned whether he had told Yanran the whole truth.

• Yanran struggled to learn the instrument and felt reassured when Cui Xiaoqiu told her she would improve with practice.
• At dinner, Yanran mentioned her unusual sleepiness, and Cui Xiaoqiu said Jinse had predicted it and that he had added calming medicine to her soup.
• Yanran drank the soup and went to bed, unaware that Cui Xiaoqiu privately feared the gu worm might reach her brain.
• After Yanran fell asleep, Cui Xiaoqiu left Jiang'er to watch over her.
• Jiang'er recalled seeing Cui Xiaoqiu add something to Yanran's soup and remained uncertain whether his explanation was truthful.

Jiang'er grew increasingly suspicious of Cui Xiaoqiu’s nightly absences, but Linlin said he had sent him on an errand. Meanwhile, Qu Nian prepared an extravagant full-month celebration for Jingjing, and Jinse returned to help despite Ren Yingying’s worries about possible gu breeders.

• Jiang'er secretly checked whether Cui Xiaoqiu had gone to see Linlin, then watched him return hours later without explaining where he had been.
• Jiang'er noticed Cui Xiaoqiu left every night for exactly four hours and once returned carrying a fragrance unfamiliar to Yanran’s room.
• Jiang'er told Linlin about Cui Xiaoqiu’s strange behavior, and Linlin said he had sent Cui Xiaoqiu on an errand.
• Qu Nian arranged more than two hundred banquet tables for Jingjing’s full-month celebration, and Qu Hua happily took charge of the women’s side.
• Jinse returned two days before the celebration, and Ren Yingying urged caution about gu breeders and suggested bringing Yanran somewhere Jinse could watch over her.

Ren Yingying and her companions celebrated Jingjing’s calm arrival and teased Yuanyang and Lang Xuan, while Yanran endured painful cramps in her courtyard. When a servant announced that the commandery princess consort had been taken hostage, Yanran rushed to act but let Cui Xiaoqiu go in her place.

• Jinse played the pipa to soothe Jingjing to sleep, and Ren Yingying praised her.
• Qu Nian arrived to see Jingjing and proudly carried his daughter before Linlin’s arrival brought Lang Xuan to visit.
• Ren Yingying and the others teased Lang Xuan about having a child and Yuanyang about Zhao Qing.
• Yanran stayed in bed with severe menstrual pain and asked Cui Xiaoqiu to visit the heir’s residence for news.
• A servant reported that the commandery princess consort had been taken hostage, and Yanran reached for her golden bow.
• Yanran abandoned the idea of going out because she feared striking her own people, and Cui Xiaoqiu went to investigate.

Lang Xuan was taken hostage by Lady Lei, who had been controlled by a flute-playing Gu worm. Linlin agreed to release the captured White Lotus Sect members to save Lang Xuan, while the flute’s influence over Lady Lei continued.

• Lang Xuan joined the women at the gathering and impressed them with her poise, strengthened by Linlin’s encouragement.
• Lady Lei suddenly took Lang Xuan hostage at dagger point, and Lang Xuan realized a flute had placed her under the influence of gu.
• Jinse played her pipa while Linlin, Qu Nian, and others arrived, but the music failed to suppress the flute.
• A maid demanded the release of the White Lotus Sect members captured in Liaodong, and Linlin immediately agreed.
• Linlin ordered Jinse to stop playing and Zhao Qing to release every captured White Lotus Sect member, while Lady Lei remained under the flute’s influence.
• Pang Wanchun arrived and urgently demanded that Lady Lei put down her knife.

Lang Xuan saw through Lady Lei’s act of being controlled by a gu insect and escaped her knife with Linlin’s help. As Linlin comforted and kissed Lang Xuan, Yanran realized the gu cultivator at Jingjing’s celebration had been a diversion and that she was the real target.

• Lang Xuan noticed Lady Lei reacting emotionally to her words and suspected she was pretending to be controlled by a gu insect.
• Lang Xuan provoked Lady Lei with a false accusation, then struck back and escaped as Linlin pulled her to safety.
• Linlin took Lang Xuan to rest, but she urged him to check on Yanran because she feared the enemy might be using a real gu insect against her.
• Lang Xuan explained how she had read Lady Lei’s breathing, and Linlin praised her while reassuring her and kissing her.
• Yanran realized the supposed gu cultivator at Jingjing’s one-month celebration had been a feint to distract everyone from the attack on her.

Yanran was controlled again by the flute music, but Cui Xiaoqiu countered it with chime bells and helped lure out the gu worm. Yanran woke in the evening, learned the danger was over, and asked Cui Xiaoqiu how he had done it.

• Yanran had Jiang'er tie her to a pillar so she would be restrained if she lost control while Cui Xiaoqiu was away.
• When the flute music controlled Yanran again, Jiang'er tried throwing water on her, then summoned the guards to find the flute player.
• Cui Xiaoqiu played the chime bells, weakening the flute music until a tiger's roar made it stop.
• Cui Xiaoqiu left to capture the flute player alive, while Yanran recovered and woke later with Lang Xuan and Linlin beside her.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Yanran that the gu worm had been lured out, and she celebrated before dismissing his claim that the commandery prince deserved the credit.

After Yanran recovered from the gu worm, Cui Xiaoqiu explained how he and Linlin had used it to gain access to the princess’s real tomb. Lang Xuan and Linlin waited for her egg to hatch, and something finally crawled out.

• Linlin led Lang Xuan away from Yanran’s room, while Yanran asked Cui Xiaoqiu how he had helped free her from the gu worm.
• Cui Xiaoqiu told Yanran that he and Linlin had used the gu worm to pressure a White Lotus Sect-believing family into guiding them to the princess’s real tomb.
• Yanran learned that the tomb search might not succeed, but she still wanted to go along.
• Lang Xuan watched over her cracked egg with Linlin, and its shell finally split open as something crawled out.

Lang Xuan cared for the little golden turtle that hatched from her egg and named it Xiao Huai, while Linlin and their visitors admired it. Ren Yingying announced that she planned to take Jingjing and Dog Meat back to the capital before the weather turned cold, leaving Lang Xuan worried about whether Qu Nian would agree.

• Lang Xuan coaxed the newly hatched golden turtle to move, named it Xiao Huai, and asked Linlin what it could eat.
• Lang Xuan and Linlin went to bed under separate quilts, each privately hopeful about their growing relationship.
• Yanran visited Xiao Huai, asked to borrow it, and then settled for coming to see it every day.
• Yanran told Ren Yingying and Qu Hua about Xiao Huai, and the group came to admire the turtle.
• Ren Yingying said she planned to take Jingjing and Dog Meat back to the capital before cold weather because Dog Meat seemed unwell.
• Lang Xuan asked whether Qu Nian agreed with Ren Yingying's plan, since they still needed to find an important treasure.

Yanran broke down while thinking about Mother Empress and the stalled search for the treasure, then learned that the tomb was filled with deadly traps. She decided to monitor the search with Lang Xuan, while the chapter ended with Tang Zhuyun feeling a tremor in bed.

• Lang Xuan suggested waiting until the princess and the Prince of Liaodong's heir married before leaving, and Yanran supported delaying the trip until autumn.
• Yanran began crying because she missed Mother Empress, and Linlin and Lang Xuan tried to comfort her.
• Cui Xiaoqiu explained that the first expedition into the tomb had suffered heavy losses because of its traps and that he and the commandery prince planned to find craftsmen to help clear it.
• Yanran said she would monitor the tomb search, and Lang Xuan offered to accompany her.
• That night, Tang Zhuyun felt a tremor while she and Emperor Wen were in bed.

After tremors shook the capital, Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun learned that a mountain had collapsed, burying four villages, and suspected the disaster might have been caused by gunpowder. Tang Zhuyun set out to help rescue survivors as Emperor Wen stayed behind to manage the response.

• Emperor Wen and Tang Zhuyun left their bed to investigate the tremors, and Lu Zhenyan reported that officials were searching the surrounding areas.
• Emperor Wen drafted an edict of self-reproach while Tang Zhuyun worried about the disaster and eventually fell asleep.
• Lu Zhenyan reported that a collapsed mountain had buried four villages and more than seven hundred households, and Emperor Wen ordered an investigation into its cause.
• Tang Zhuyun and Emperor Wen suspected gunpowder might have caused the collapse, and Emperor Wen said he had asked Linlin to investigate.
• Tang Zhuyun asked to go help the survivors, and Emperor Wen agreed to send guards with her.
• Tang Zhuyun changed into men's clothes and rode to the disaster site, where the destruction shocked her.

Tang Zhuyun and Emperor Wen turned a deadly landslide and the accusations surrounding it into a decisive succession announcement, naming Linlin crown prince. At Linlin’s residence, Lang Xuan went to find him and overheard Zhao Yingzhu urgently warning him to prepare for an enemy attack.

• Tang Zhuyun learned that Cui Run had helped coordinate the rescue and uncover evidence that gunpowder had caused the landslide, which killed more than three hundred people.
• Emperor Wen issued an edict condemning himself and naming Linlin crown prince, redirecting public debate away from the landslide.
• Tang Zhuyun wrote to Mingzhu about Cui Run’s promotion and to Linlin to explain his new title and future responsibilities.
• Linlin accepted the imperial edict, and Lang Xuan became crown princess; later, she searched for her escaped golden turtle, Xiao Huai.
• Lang Xuan went to the outer study to tell Linlin she was leaving and found Zhao Yingzhu urging him to prepare for an enemy attack instead of digging up a grave.

Linlin asked Lang Xuan to investigate how the gunpowder formula had leaked, and she traced it to Ren Yingying’s past conversation with Lei Qun. The chapter ended with Linlin deciding to control the sulfur supply to keep the formula from reaching their enemies.

• Linlin ordered Zhao Yingzhu to return to Goryeo and stop interfering in his affairs, then Zhao Yingzhu left.
• Linlin asked Lang Xuan to help investigate the confirmed leak of the gunpowder formula, and she agreed.
• Lang Xuan considered who might know the formula and suggested asking the empress and Ren Yingying.
• Ren Yingying admitted she had once discussed gunpowder proportions with Lei Qun, and Lang Xuan reassured her that she had not known his identity.
• Linlin proposed controlling the sulfur supply so the formula could not be used by their enemies.

Linlin explained that the White Lotus Sect’s attack had pushed Emperor Wen to resolve to destroy them, while Ren Yingying joked about marrying Yuwen Duo. Lang Xuan searched for the missing Xiao Huai with Linlin’s help and discovered the turtle had broken into a trunk to sleep on pearls.

• Linlin explained that the White Lotus Sect’s massacre had hardened Emperor Wen’s resolve to root it out, and Ren Yingying teased Lang Xuan about wanting to marry Yuwen Duo.
• Lang Xuan left to search for Xiao Huai, then told Linlin not to wait for her when she could not find him.
• Linlin returned and helped Lang Xuan search the room for the missing turtle.
• Linlin found Xiao Huai asleep on pearls inside a box in a trunk, which the turtle had chewed his way into.
• Xiao Huai struggled when Lang Xuan picked him up, then eagerly gathered the pearls Linlin placed in front of him.

Lang Xuan tried to understand the little golden tortoise’s love of pearls, then accidentally lost it while visiting Yanran at the tomb excavation. She used pearls to lure it back while the excavation team prepared to try gunpowder on the stubborn ground.

• Linlin scattered gold and silver around the little golden tortoise, but it pushed them away and stayed beside its pearls; Lang Xuan accepted Linlin’s guess that the pearls felt familiar because the tortoise came from the water.
• Lang Xuan tried seaside objects and then the residence pond, nearly drowning the tortoise; Linlin suggested its kind might not be able to swim, and Lang Xuan fed it grubs instead.
• With Linlin’s permission, Lang Xuan took Xiao Huai to find Yanran at the slow-moving tomb excavation, but the tortoise slipped away and disappeared.
• Yanran paused the workers and asked them to help search for the tortoise, promising a sheep roast and mutton soup; Lang Xuan then suggested bringing pearls to lure it back.
• Yanran returned to the excavation, where Cui Xiaoqiu and Qu Nian discussed using a small amount of gunpowder to break through the hard ground, while Lang Xuan waited and hoped Xiao Huai would return.

Lang Xuan and the others searched all day for Xiao Huai, the missing little golden turtle, while Yuwen Duo and more helpers arrived. Yanran finally found Xiao Huai glowing in the dark, but froze when she saw his condition.

• Lang Xuan and Yanran searched for Xiao Huai with pearls and grubs, and Linlin and Wei Jun arrived with the returning party.
• Linlin asked Qu Nian about the grave-leveling progress while Wei Jun learned that everyone had gathered to find a turtle and argued against delaying their work.
• As night fell and wolves howled nearby, Lang Xuan clung to Linlin and urged her to leave, while Zhao Qing volunteered to stay and continue the search.
• Yanran spotted a light in the darkness, picked up Xiao Huai, and was shocked by what she saw.

Yanran and Lang Xuan discovered that the little golden turtle, Xiao Huai, had swallowed a strange seal, which Linlin identified as Emperor Gaozu’s missing seal. The seal was sent to be delivered to the emperor, while Qu Nian prepared to take the four treasures to Mount Tai; the chapter ended with Emperor Wen waking Tang Zhuyun from a tearful dream.

• Yanran and Lang Xuan grew worried when Xiao Huai appeared to have something stuck in his throat, but he spat out a strange many-sided seal.
• Linlin examined the seal and recognized it as Emperor Gaozu’s missing seal, and Cui Xiaoqiu confirmed that one face was reserved for Empress Chungong of Gaozu.
• Qu Nian urged Linlin to send the seal safely to the capital and said he would take the four treasures to Mount Tai for the ritual.
• Lang Xuan worried that Xiao Huai’s discovery might be the wrong object, but Linlin reassured her that she had helped greatly.
• Emperor Wen woke Tang Zhuyun after she cried in her sleep.