Recaps

Zhao Ruxi weighed whether to go to Jiangnan or remain in the capital, where her family, master, senior brothers, and Xiao Lingyan needed her. Xiao Lingyan proposed that they become engaged before the coming coup, arguing that either his death or survival would leave her with advantages.

• Zhao Ruxi decided that leaving for Jiangnan now would separate her from her family and master and prevent her from helping Xiao Lingyan through the winter crisis.
• Xiao Lingyan asked Zhao Ruxi whether she had considered marriage, and she said she could postpone the decision for a year or two.
• Xiao Lingyan proposed that they become engaged but wait to marry until after next year's coup had settled.
• Xiao Lingyan explained that if he died, the engagement would let Zhao Ruxi choose whether to remain single or marry later without being bound to his family.
• Xiao Lingyan said that if he survived and Xiao Lingpu became emperor, Zhao Ruxi would gain the status and freedom of an imperial prince's consort.

Xiao Lingyan confessed his love to Zhao Ruxi, and she agreed to become engaged to him. They decided to keep their relationship secret until the following year, preserving Zhao Ruxi’s usefulness as a hidden ally in Xiao Lingyan and Xiao Lingpu’s political struggle.

• Xiao Lingyan told Zhao Ruxi he would marry only her and confessed that he liked her.
• Zhao Ruxi teased Xiao Lingyan about his confession, then agreed to get engaged to him.
• Zhao Ruxi asked why Xiao Lingyan had not confessed in their previous lives, and he admitted he had feared she would reject and mock him.
• Xiao Lingyan regretted that they had not confessed sooner, and Zhao Ruxi reflected on the aunt she had left behind after their transmigration.
• Xiao Lingyan and Zhao Ruxi agreed to keep their relationship secret until next year because their concealment aided their political plans.

Zhao Ruxi and Xiao Lingyan discussed keeping their relationship secret, and he guessed that she had a system. After Zhao Ruxi returned to the Earl of Suiping's Residence, Lady Zhu told her that Prince Jingping's Estate had sent a matchmaker to propose marriage.

• Xiao Lingyan agreed to meet Zhao Ruxi infrequently and asked to exchange letters every ten days, while she told him to write if he needed information that was difficult or costly to obtain.
• Xiao Lingyan guessed that Zhao Ruxi had a system and asked whether she was the female lead, but she refused to answer directly.
• Xiao Lingyan encouraged Zhao Ruxi to focus on the imperial examinations and promised to help her obtain a noble title, then asked for a parting show of affection; Zhao Ruxi left without granting it.
• Lady Zhu told Zhao Ruxi that Prince Jingping's Estate had sent a matchmaker to propose marriage to its fourth young master.
• Lady Zhu explained that the fourth young master studied and loved painting, and had asked his mother to arrange the proposal after admiring Zhao Ruxi's paintings.

Zhao Ruxi discussed marriage proposals with Lady Zhu and learned that Xu Chongwen was betrothed to Seventh Granduncle’s granddaughter. Later, she asked the system whether she could use her points to buy a pill for Xiao Lingyan, but the system stayed silent.

• Zhao Ruxi told Lady Zhu to reject every proposal and promised she would marry by seventeen, while Lady Zhu reassured her she would not be forced into marriage.
• Lady Zhu told Zhao Ruxi that Xu Chongwen was betrothed to Seventh Granduncle’s granddaughter, and Zhao Ruxi approved of the match.
• Zhao Ruxi learned that Madam Xie wanted to keep looking for a suitable match for Xu Xue, then declined Lady Zhu’s request to find a wife for Zhao Jingli among her classmates.
• After returning to Slender Bamboo Courtyard, Zhao Ruxi opened the system screen and asked whether she could buy a pill for Xiao Lingyan.
• Zhao Ruxi argued that Xiao Lingyan had to survive for her own prospects as a prince’s consort and pointed out that the system had allowed her to buy Recovery Pills for her family and master.

Zhao Ruxi bargained with the system for a Taste Discerning Pill to protect Xiao Lingyan from suspected poisoning and planned to buy a Recovery Pill later. She arranged to meet Xiao Lingyan so she could watch him take the pill, while he eagerly prepared for a private romantic meeting.

• Zhao Ruxi negotiated a discounted price for the Taste Discerning Pill and Recovery Pill, but agreed to buy the Taste Discerning Pill first because she lacked enough points.
• Zhao Ruxi suspected that the Third Prince would poison Xiao Lingyan and believed the pills could protect his life.
• The system bought the Taste Discerning Pill, and Zhao Ruxi wrote Xiao Lingyan a letter asking to meet so she could watch him take it.
• Xiao Lingyan happily arranged a private meeting at Zhao Ruxi's warehouse residence in Beining and arrived half a shichen early.
• Zhao Ruxi asked Qingfeng to boil water so she could make tea, and Xiao Lingyan teased Wang Tong for failing to notice Qingfeng's feelings.
• Wang Tong reflected that he and Qingfeng cared for each other and continued waiting near the letter room to see her collect their correspondence.

Zhao Ruxi gave Xiao Lingyan a mysterious pill and brewed tea for him, revealing that the tea now tasted different to him. Xiao Lingyan detected lotus leaf in the second cup, leaving them to wonder how the pill had changed his sense of taste.

• Wang Tong and Qingfeng left the courtyard, and Xiao Lingyan told Zhao Ruxi he wanted the two of them to marry after their own wedding.
• Xiao Lingyan tried to hug and kiss Zhao Ruxi, but she turned him down and said she had something serious to discuss.
• Zhao Ruxi brought out the Guzhu Zisun tea Xiao Lingyan had given her and sent Qingfeng and Wang Tong to guard the outer courtyard.
• Zhao Ruxi tapped the empty air, produced a pill, and told Xiao Lingyan to swallow it; he took it without hesitation.
• After drinking tea Zhao Ruxi had brewed, Xiao Lingyan said he could distinguish its flavors and detected lotus leaf in the second cup.

Zhao Ruxi explained that the pill she gave Xiao Lingyan helped him detect changes in food, then asked him to spar so she could test her own pills. After she narrowly lost to Xiao Lingyan’s full-speed attacks, she asked how her abilities would rank in Great Jin.

• Xiao Lingyan realized Zhao Ruxi had secretly put dried lotus leaf powder in his teacup and asked whether his pill had sharpened his sense of taste.
• Zhao Ruxi said she had saved for two years to buy pills for them and asked Xiao Lingyan to spar with her.
• Xiao Lingyan attacked Zhao Ruxi in the courtyard, but she dodged his early strikes with ease using her enhanced agility.
• Xiao Lingyan increased his speed to its full extent and struck Zhao Ruxi twice, ending the spar.
• Zhao Ruxi asked Xiao Lingyan whether her skills made her a martial arts expert in Great Jin.

Zhao Ruxi discussed her new strength and martial training with Xiao Lingyan, who offered to teach her martial arts. At the academy, Madam Cui asked whether Zhao Ruxi would continue receiving guidance for the metropolitan examination, but Zhao Ruxi insisted the Imperial Academy’s teachers should not keep tutoring her.

• Xiao Lingyan asked Zhao Ruxi to describe their sparring, and she revealed her strength by crushing a stone in her palm.
• Xiao Lingyan offered to draw martial arts moves for Zhao Ruxi and teach her in person, then demonstrated fist techniques before Wang Tong hurried him away.
• Zhao Ruxi returned to Green Plantain Courtyard in disguise and then went with Qingfeng and Lady Luo to the academy.
• Madam Cui asked whether Imperial Academy teachers had discouraged Zhao Ruxi from returning, explaining that Grand Princess Shangde had asked her to find out.
• Zhao Ruxi said she needed guidance but refused to let the teachers continue tutoring her because their extra lessons had drawn public criticism.

Zhao Ruxi explained why she had stopped attending the Imperial Academy and focused on learning Great Jin’s affairs of state for the metropolitan examination. Support from Xiao Lingyan, Grand Princess Shangde, Madam Cui, and Kang Shilin gave her new materials and a way to keep receiving the academy teachers’ guidance without drawing criticism onto them.

• Zhao Ruxi told Madam Cui she expected to pass the metropolitan examination but needed to study Great Jin’s policies and current affairs.
• Madam Cui agreed to ask Grand Princess Shangde for court gazettes and to find books about conditions in Great Jin.
• Wang Tong delivered essays, five years of court gazettes, and memorial documents that Xiao Lingyan had gathered for Zhao Ruxi.
• Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui sent Zhao Ruxi books and court gazettes to help her study.
• Kang Shilin arranged for the Imperial Academy teachers to send examination questions through him so they could mark Zhao Ruxi’s essays without appearing to teach her directly.
• Kang Shilin offered to ask Zhao Ruxi’s three senior brothers to send books and articles related to their government offices.

Zhao Ruxi studied the books and essays her senior brothers gathered to prepare for the metropolitan examination, while winter arrived in the capital. At dinner, Zhao Yuanxun reported that livestock were dying in the north and warned that the border might become unstable, leaving Zhao Ruxi concerned that the first coup was approaching.

• Kang Shilin sent Zhao Ruxi half a carriage load of books and essays to help her study Great Jin's policies, laws, and affairs.
• Zhao Ruxi arranged to store the books in the Martial Observation Hall so Xu Chongwen, Zhao Jing'an, and others could read them without causing gossip in her courtyard.
• Zhao Ruxi spent the autumn studying while her businesses and estates continued to run with little attention from her.
• When the first snow fell, Zhao Yuanxun told Zhao Ruxi that cattle and sheep were dying in large numbers beyond the pass and that the border might not remain peaceful.

Zhao Ruxi worried about the border crisis but chose not to seek details that might expose Xiao Lingyan’s plans. She and Xiao Lingyan reduced contact for safety, and after a month without letters, she still had no news of his situation.

• Zhao Ruxi asked Zhao Yuanxun about the danger at the border, and he reassured her that the troops had supplies, guards, and nearby cities to support them.
• Zhao Ruxi decided not to write to Xiao Lingyan about the border and instead practiced calligraphy to earn points for gathering information later.
• Xiao Lingyan sent Zhao Ruxi a carefully coded letter about the border, and she replied that he should avoid sharing sensitive plans through letters or speech.
• Wang Tong introduced Wu Wei as the new shadow guard who would deliver messages, then explained that Xiao Lingyan would stop writing so often to protect Zhao Ruxi.
• Qingfeng told Zhao Ruxi that Wang Tong had promised to ask for her hand if he was alive and well the following year, and Zhao Ruxi urged her to wait quietly.
• After a month without letters from Xiao Lingyan, Zhao Ruxi asked Zhao Yuanxun about the border, and he and the old madam reassured her that Great Jin was strong.

Zhao Ruxi learned that Xiao Lingyan and Xiao Lingpu had the border crisis under control, easing her fears for them and her family. The next day, she was practicing calligraphy when the County Princess of Qingyang arrived.

• Lady Zhu asked Zhao Ruxi why she was concerned about the border, and Zhao Ruxi claimed she was studying for the metropolitan examination.
• Zhao Ruxi warned Lady Zhu not to let Zhao Yuanxun ask about the sensitive border situation.
• Zhao Ruxi paid the system three thousand points to learn about Xiao Lingyan and the border.
• The system reported that Xiao Lingyan and Xiao Lingpu were prepared for schemes by the third prince and the crown prince, and intended to expose their brothers' actions to Xiao Ge.
• Reassured by the princes' plans, Zhao Ruxi returned to reading and calligraphy.
• Yicui announced that the County Princess of Qingyang had arrived, and Zhao Ruxi went to receive her.

Xiao Ruotong told Zhao Ruxi to stop copying Master Mingcang and develop her own calligraphy style. Zhao Ruxi wrote freely for the first time and earned 156 Wisdom Points from the system.

• Xiao Ruotong examined Zhao Ruxi's calligraphy and praised how much she had learned from Master Mingcang.
• Xiao Ruotong urged Zhao Ruxi to break free of the copybook and let her own style emerge.
• Zhao Ruxi realized the system's points had kept her focused on copying Master Mingcang rather than innovating.
• Zhao Ruxi entered a focused, relaxed state and wrote more than forty characters in her own uninhibited style.
• Xiao Ruotong admired Zhao Ruxi's writing, and the system awarded Zhao Ruxi 156 Wisdom Points.

Zhao Ruxi’s calligraphy inspired Xiao Ruotong to make a bold breakthrough in her writing and find peace after the burdens of her marriage. The two celebrated their progress together over tea and snacks in Zhao Ruxi’s courtyard.

• Zhao Ruxi counted the characters in her calligraphy and wondered whether her points depended on how much she had written.
• Xiao Ruotong saw Zhao Ruxi’s work, experienced an epiphany, and wrote more than a hundred characters in a freer, more inspired style.
• Zhao Ruxi praised Xiao Ruotong’s calligraphy, and Xiao Ruotong thanked her for helping her progress and overcome her lingering depression.
• Xiao Ruotong hugged Zhao Ruxi and asked for tea and snacks, and they settled in Zhao Ruxi’s main room to enjoy them together.

Xiao Ruotong confessed to Zhao Ruxi that she had fallen for Wu Zong and asked her to find out whether he would consider marrying her. Zhao Ruxi agreed to ask him at their gathering at the Kang Family home two days later.

• Xiao Ruotong praised Zhao Ruxi’s comfortable sofa and asked to borrow the carpenter who had made it.
• Xiao Ruotong told Zhao Ruxi that she had fallen for her third senior brother, Wu Zong, after seeing how kindly he treated Zhao Ruxi in Beining.
• Xiao Ruotong said Wu Zong did not know her feelings and asked Zhao Ruxi to ask him whether he was willing to consider a match.
• Zhao Ruxi agreed to raise the matter when she met Wu Zong at the Kang Family home in two days.
• Xiao Ruotong admitted she had rarely spoken with Wu Zong, and Zhao Ruxi changed the subject by offering her pastries.

Zhao Ruxi visited Kang Shilin and watched her senior brothers receive criticism and praise for their paintings. She then asked Wu Zong whether he would marry Xiao Ruotong, and he refused, saying he did not intend to marry again; Zhao Ruxi was left worrying that Xiao Ruotong might blame herself for being unable to bear children.

• Kang Shilin praised Gong Cheng and Wu Zong's improved paintings, then scolded Wu Huaisi for arriving without a painting.
• Zhao Ruxi pulled Wu Zong outside and asked Qingfeng to give them privacy.
• Zhao Ruxi told Wu Zong that Xiao Ruotong had asked her to sound him out about marriage.
• Wu Zong said he and Xiao Ruotong were not suited and that he did not intend to marry again, taking the blame upon himself.
• Zhao Ruxi worried Xiao Ruotong would think Wu Zong rejected her because she could not bear children.

Zhao Ruxi concealed from Gong Cheng the real reason Wu Zong was upset, claiming he had gone to deal with trouble at her father’s workplace. The chapter ended with Wu Huaisi asking where Zhao Ruxi wanted to serve as an official if she passed the metropolitan examination.

• Wu Zong told Zhao Ruxi to end the matter with Xiao Ruotong and left, while Zhao Ruxi wondered why he was so unhappy.
• Wu Zong returned to the studio in low spirits and soon left, prompting Gong Cheng to ask Zhao Ruxi what had upset him.
• Zhao Ruxi used the past trouble at Zhao Yuanxun’s office as a cover, and Gong Cheng urged her to seek help from her senior brothers when needed.
• Wu Huaisi joined them and offered Zhao Ruxi his support if she faced difficulties.
• Wu Huaisi asked Zhao Ruxi where she wanted to serve as an official after passing the metropolitan examination and offered to put in a word with His Majesty.

Zhao Ruxi told Xiao Ruotong that Wu Zong had no plans to remarry, then learned that Wu Zong’s late wife had loved the crown prince. Xiao Ruotong doubted Wu Zong’s reason for refusing marriage, while Zhao Ruxi left the possibility of a match between them to fate.

• Zhao Ruxi told Wu Huaisi she wanted to go to Jiangnan, and he encouraged her to do well in the spring examination.
• Zhao Ruxi returned home instead of taking Wu Zong’s refusal to Xiao Ruotong immediately, then relayed it when Xiao Ruotong visited the next day.
• Xiao Ruotong explained that Wu Zong’s late wife, Lin, had loved a man before marrying Wu Zong, and Zhao Ruxi learned that the man was the crown prince.
• Xiao Ruotong told Zhao Ruxi that the crown prince was thirty-one and that the late empress had prevented other women in the palace from bearing children while securing her position.
• Xiao Ruotong suggested Wu Zong’s claim that he would not remarry because of his late wife was an excuse, while Zhao Ruxi decided not to interfere with either of their choices.

As the year-end banquets approached, Zhao Ruxi struggled to decide which invitations to accept, then learned that the border army’s grain and supplies had been destroyed and aid messengers were under attack. The news made the banquets irrelevant, while the fifth prince’s secret supplies remained safe.

• Lady Zhu brought Zhao Ruxi a stack of invitations and warned her that she needed a new excuse if she declined them.
• Zhao Ruxi hesitated over whether to attend the Prince of Zhennan's Residence banquet, since refusing the Prince of Jingping's Estate afterward could cause offense.
• Zhao Ruxi asked the system for an update on the border and practiced calligraphy while it gathered information.
• The system told Zhao Ruxi that the border army’s supplies and nearby cities’ grain reserves had been burned, and that the Fu Family’s messengers seeking aid had been ambushed.
• Zhao Ruxi learned that the fifth prince’s grain, supplies, and winter clothing were still hidden and safe, then warned the system not to overcharge her for information.

News spread that the frontier’s provisions had been burned, and the Zhao family wondered how Zhao Ruxi had anticipated the disaster. Zhao Ruyu struggled over whether to spend her saved points to learn what happened, but chose to save them for a Beauty Pill.

• Zhao Yuanxun told the Zhao family that the frontier’s provisions had been burned and soldiers had come to the capital seeking aid.
• The old madam and Lady Zhu marveled at Zhao Ruxi’s earlier concern, and Zhao Ruxi let them think she might have had a premonition.
• Zhao Jingtai asked Zhao Ruxi to predict his exam results, and her warning left him facing his parents’ scolding.
• Zhao Ruyu learned that Fu Yunlang had missed their meeting and discovered that the frontier was in crisis.
• The system offered to investigate the frontier for six thousand points, but Zhao Ruyu decided to keep her points for a Beauty Pill.

Zhao Ruyu rejected the system’s offer and tried to meet Fu Yunlang, who was consumed by fear for his family and refused her. Meanwhile, Xiao Ge learned from Fu Dayong’s secret letter that several generals at the border might have worked against him, leaving the emperor to suspect rival princes’ factions.

• Zhao Ruyu rejected the system’s proposal, then sent an errand boy to ask Fu Yunlang to meet her so she could learn about the border without spending points.
• Fu Yunlang refused to see Zhao Ruyu because he was focused on protecting his father and brother and organizing ministers to support the Fu Family.
• Zhao Ruyu grew angry at Fu Yunlang’s rejection and went to the music room to play the qin and earn points.
• Xiao Ge finished meeting with ministers and reviewed Fu Dayong’s secretly delivered letter, which described the border crisis and named four suspicious generals.
• Xiao Ge investigated the generals’ connections and suspected that rival princes’ factions had helped sabotage the border, while he ruled out Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan.

Xiao Lingyan earned Xiao Ge’s trust by massaging him, and the emperor began considering him as a possible successor because he seemed unambitious and good-hearted. After court, Xiao Lingyan explained that he wanted the border supplies delivered safely and the border affair investigated, then recommended Zhang Changshen for the mission.

• Xiao Lingyan visited Xiao Ge and offered to massage his head, helping the exhausted emperor fall asleep.
• Xiao Ge woke refreshed and reflected on his sons’ ambitions, deciding that Little Five might be a suitable successor if necessary.
• Xiao Ge considered removing any princes implicated in using the border crisis for political gain, and resolved to weaken the Cen Family if it threatened Xiao Lingyan.
• After court, Xiao Ge asked Xiao Lingyan why he had requested an audience the previous night.
• Xiao Lingyan said he wanted the border supplies delivered safely and the border affair investigated, then recommended Zhang Changshen to go to the border.

Xiao Lingyan persuaded Xiao Ge to send Zhang Changshen to the border and put Wu Zong in charge of the Court of Judicial Review. The princes grew anxious that Zhang Changshen would uncover their schemes, while the crown prince’s advisers turned against each other.

• Xiao Lingyan urged Xiao Ge to appoint Zhang Changshen as the impartial leader of the border supply mission and argued that Wu Zong could manage the Court of Judicial Review.
• Xiao Lingyan proposed transferring Tang Guanming and promoting Wu Zong, and Xiao Ge agreed to consider the arrangement.
• Xiao Ge appointed Zhang Changshen imperial envoy to deliver provisions and investigate the border, transferred Tang Guanming to the Ministry of Rites, and put Wu Zong temporarily in charge of the court.
• The princes worried Zhang Changshen would expose their actions, and two of the crown prince’s advisers argued over whether he should be killed.
• The crown prince ordered both advisers to leave, and they departed in anger.

After Xiao Ge sent Zhang Changshen to investigate the border provisions, Xiao Lingpu, Xiao Lingyan, and Fu Yunlang arranged guards and local guides to protect him. The Third Prince chose to continue his plan to disrupt the supply shipment, and officials discovered that provisions were missing as the carts were being loaded.

• The crown prince ordered two people expelled from the Eastern Palace, while Xiao Ge summoned Zhang Changshen and assigned Imperial Guards and shadow guards to protect him on his journey.
• Xiao Lingpu, Xiao Lingyan, and Fu Yunlang met Zhang Changshen at the palace gates and each provided guards, deathsworn, or soldiers familiar with the border.
• Xiao Ge learned that the princes and Fu Yunlang had protected Zhang Changshen, then asked an Imperial Guard to report how the other princes reacted.
• The Third Prince consulted his advisers and agreed to proceed with a plan to disrupt the provisions and shift blame onto the crown prince.
• Ministry officials found that the provisions weighed too little, leaving eight Ministry of War carts empty as the loading began.

Xiao Ge investigated an eight-cartload shortfall in provisions meant for the border and ordered emergency grain collection and transfers. Guo Jitong insisted his calculations were correct, but Xiao Ge found a discrepancy between the figures Guo wrote and the Ministry of Revenue's memorial and demanded an explanation.

• Xiao Ge learned from Qi Xugu that the capital was eight cartloads short and that the northern cities and prefectures could not safely surrender more grain.
• Xiao Ge ordered Eunuch Zhang to collect grain from wealthy households in the capital and directed Qi Xugu to send the available provisions first, then arrange additional grain transfers from the south.
• Xiao Ge summoned Guo Jitong and accused him of miscalculating the provisions, but Guo Jitong claimed his figures had been correct and suggested the grain totals or records might have been altered.
• Guo Jitong wrote down the figures he remembered while Xiao Ge had Eunuch Zhang retrieve the Ministry of Revenue's memorial.
• Xiao Ge compared Guo Jitong's figures with the memorial, found that they did not match, and demanded to know whether Guo was certain his figures were correct.