Recaps

Zhao Ruxi met Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and Li Li at the yamen, where Cai tried to keep her away from meaningful duties. She turned his proposal to let her learn the local affairs against him by asking to inspect the records, leaving Cai trapped by his own words.

• Zhao Ruxi greeted Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and Li Li before they entered Liu Hongyu's room and took their seats by rank and seniority.
• Cai Yaozong praised Zhao Ruxi, then suggested she spend time learning about the prefecture before receiving any responsibilities.
• Zhao Ruxi agreed that learning the situation made sense, then asked whether she could read the salt, grain, waterworks, coastal defense, and thief-catching records.
• Liu Hongyu asked Cai Yaozong what he thought of Zhao Ruxi's request, while Li Li stayed silent.
• Cai Yaozong's smile froze as he realized Zhao Ruxi had used his own proposal to demand access to the records he controlled.

Zhao Ruxi challenged Cai Yaozong's refusal to show her the salt and grain accounts and threatened to report Nanyang's affairs directly to His Majesty. Liu Hongyu ordered Cai to cooperate and assigned Zhao an office and staff, while Li Li helped ease the confrontation.

• Cai Yaozong claimed Zhao Ruxi could not inspect the salt and grain accounts, and Liu Hongyu reluctantly agreed.
• Zhao Ruxi accused Liu Hongyu of letting Cai control Nanyang and warned that she would report both officials' conduct truthfully to His Majesty.
• Liu Hongyu ordered Cai to provide Zhao with the accounts and other records, and Cai reluctantly agreed.
• When Cai tried to delay moving the records, Zhao threatened to report his refusal, prompting Liu Hongyu to order him to gather them within two days.
• Liu Hongyu told Zhao her office was beside Cai's and assigned Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang to serve under her.
• Li Li offered to show Zhao her office and bring her clerks and yamen runners, and Zhao left after exchanging formal courtesies.

Zhao Ruxi settled into her new office and spoke with Li Li, who decided to join her political camp after realizing she would face opposition regardless. She began assigning staff and questioned Guan Jian'an about his role at the yamen.

• Li Li offered to request additional furnishings for Zhao Ruxi, but she declined to spend public funds.
• Li Li asked whether Zhao Ruxi feared retaliation from Liu Hongyu and Cai Yaozong, and her reply made him recognize that she would face their hostility either way.
• Li Li decided to stand in the same political camp as Zhao Ruxi.
• Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang arrived, and Zhao Ruxi told them they would work under her.
• Zhao Ruxi learned that Guan Jian'an had served at the yamen for ten years, doing odd jobs because of his poor health.

Zhao Ruxi questioned Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang about their backgrounds, then secured their agreement to work for her and ordered them to retrieve Nanyang’s salt and grain records from Lord Cai. After warning Qin Wang about the danger of getting caught in official rivalries, Guan Jian'an agreed to guide him through the task.

• Zhao Ruxi learned how Guan Jian'an inherited his father’s yamen post and heard that his family was now doing well.
• Qin Wang told Zhao Ruxi about his family and explained that he had only recently begun working as a runner.
• Zhao Ruxi offered both men the choice to leave her service or obey her orders, and Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang agreed to follow her.
• Zhao Ruxi ordered Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang to obtain the salt and grain files and accounts from Lord Cai, while Guan Jian'an warned that Lord Cai might withhold important documents.
• After they left, Guan Jian'an cautioned Qin Wang about the officials’ struggle, then agreed to work with him since he had already accepted Zhao Ruxi’s assignment.

Guan Jian'an sought Chen Kang’s advice about following Zhao Ruxi, while Zhao Ruxi formed a cautious alliance with Li Li and arranged for Zhou Chun to help her at the yamen. The chapter left Zhao Ruxi preparing to rely on Lady Luo rather than Xiao Lingyan’s unfamiliar female guard when traveling.

• Guan Jian'an told Chen Kang that Zhao Ruxi had assigned him to approach Wang Yongshou, and asked what he should do.
• Chen Kang advised Guan Jian'an to keep his promise to Zhao Ruxi but avoid confronting other yamen officials, and to report Wang Yongshou’s response to her.
• Li Li explained the yamen’s attendance hours and offered to help Zhao Ruxi with unfamiliar matters, and the two established a discreet alliance.
• Zhao Ruxi asked Zhou Chun to take extra care of yamen affairs.
• Zhao Ruxi decided to leave Qingfeng at home and bring Lady Luo with her when going out, despite having been given three guards by Xiao Lingyan.

Zhao Ruxi settled into her new role at the yamen while Zhou Chun and Xiang Ming gathered information and made themselves useful. Xiang Ming reported that Guan Jian'an had visited the personnel office before taking Qin Wang to the revenue office, leaving Zhao Ruxi curious about his purpose.

• Zhao Ruxi chose Xiang Ming to accompany her and sent Zhou Chun to gather information and hurry Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang along.
• Xiang Ming decided to take an active role in serving Zhao Ruxi, who let him investigate while Lady Luo cleaned her office.
• Xiang Ming reported that Guan Jian'an had spent time in the personnel office before leading Qin Wang to the room on its left.
• Zhao Ruxi realized Guan Jian'an had visited the personnel office rather than the revenue office, where the salt and grain accounts were kept, and wondered if he sought Chen Kang's help.
• Zhou Chun returned after visiting the works office and arranged to drink with Chief Clerk Hu at noon, earning Zhao Ruxi's approval.

Zhao Ruxi confronted Guan Jian'an over the delay in obtaining the revenue office’s salt and grain files, then went to Liu Hongyu to raise the same delay with Lord Cai. The chapter left Liu hearing her pointed comparison with the well-organized offices in the capital.

• Guan Jian'an told Zhao Ruxi that the revenue office needed three to five days to find the files and accounts, and suggested she inspect the works office’s records instead.
• Zhao Ruxi challenged Guan Jian'an to give her a deadline or admit he could not carry out her instructions; Guan Jian'an blamed Administrative Clerk Wang and Lord Cai for obstructing him.
• Zhao Ruxi said Guan Jian'an could leave the matter alone and departed, leaving him stunned while Qin Wang was secretly pleased.
• Cai Yaozong heard Qin Wang’s account and smugly told his steward to inform Lord Liu that Zhao Ruxi had failed to secure the records.
• Zhao Ruxi returned to the yamen and told Liu Hongyu that Lord Cai had claimed the records were disorganized, suggesting she report for duty five days later and contrasting the delay with the orderly capital offices.

Zhao Ruxi left Liu Hongyu after refusing further yamen staff, forcing him to reconsider his attempt to stay neutral in her conflict with Cai Yaozong. Zhong Liang advised Liu Hongyu that Zhao Ruxi’s powerful royalist connections made opposing her dangerous, while her aggressive conduct might conceal a deeper purpose.

• Zhao Ruxi criticized the disorder in the yamen, then left after telling Liu Hongyu she would use her own servants instead of the assigned clerks and runners.
• Liu Hongyu worried that Zhao Ruxi was forcing him to choose between her and Cai Yaozong, and asked Zhong Liang to assess her backing.
• Zhong Liang listed Zhao Ruxi’s royalist master, senior brothers, and noble family connections, contrasting them with Cai Yaozong’s ties to the crown prince.
• Zhong Liang suggested Zhao Ruxi’s immediate confrontation with Liu Hongyu and Cai Yaozong might have a deeper purpose.
• Zhong Liang warned Liu Hongyu that continuing to defend Cai Yaozong would make others regard him as part of the crown prince’s faction.

Liu Hongyu decided to break with Cai Yaozong and give Zhao Ruxi access to the files and accounts, while Cai and Chen Kang moved to protect their illicit salt and grain dealings. The chapter ended with Chen Kang proposing a secret counterplan.

• Liu Hongyu ordered Cai Yaozong to prepare the files and accounts for Zhao Ruxi after realizing he could not risk appearing to obstruct her.
• Cai Yaozong argued that Zhao Ruxi was bluffing, but Liu Hongyu held firm and told him to arrange the records for her to take over.
• Cai Yaozong told Chen Kang that Liu Hongyu had switched sides, and Chen Kang concluded that Zhao Ruxi had powerful backing and ability.
• Cai Yaozong told Chen Kang to have Wang Yongshou deliver the four-year-old salt and grain files and to review the recent accounts for problems.
• Cai Yaozong warned Chen Kang that Zhao Ruxi might take control of salt or grain, prompting Chen Kang to propose secretly crossing at Chencang while openly repairing the plank road.

Zhao Ruxi abandoned her attempt to work with Chen Kang and waited for the yamen to choose whether to follow her. The system returned after upgrading, but its newly displayed goods carried much higher prices.

• Chen Kang proposed working together, and Cai Yaozong agreed to his plan.
• Zhao Ruxi told Zhou Chun to recruit anyone at the yamen who wanted to follow her and stopped contacting Chen Kang.
• Lady Zhu worried about Zhao Ruxi being mistreated, while Zhao Ruxi reassured her and discussed Kang Shilin's expected visit.
• Zhao Ruxi heard that the system upgrade had succeeded and rushed back to her courtyard to speak with it.
• The system showed Zhao Ruxi its expanded product list, and she complained that the prices had risen sharply.

Zhao Ruxi prepared to investigate corruption in Nanyang and considered several people who wanted to join her. She rejected Yu Gang after revealing that he secretly served Cai Yaozong, leaving Zhou Chun shaken by how close he had come to recommending a spy.

• Zhao Ruxi refused to buy anything from the system and assigned two of Xiao Lingyan's guards to investigate Chen Kang's connections within ten days.
• Zhang Wenhuan approached Zhao Ruxi to join her, and she asked Zhou Chun to have him recommend a yamen runner as well.
• Zhou Chun told Zhao Ruxi that Yu Gang had also volunteered to join her, but she questioned whether he had come on Zhang Wenhuan's recommendation.
• Zhao Ruxi explained that Yu Gang had secretly reconciled with Cai Yaozong and acted as his hidden tool for framing others, so she rejected him.
• Zhou Chun realized his careless recommendation could have harmed Zhao Ruxi and wondered how she had uncovered Yu Gang's secret.

Zhao Ruxi exposed Guan Jian'an’s attempt to claim credit for obtaining the revenue office files and accounts, bringing the matter before Liu Hongyu. Liu ordered Guan dismissed for excessive sick leave, and Chen Kang was called in to decide whether to defend him.

• Zhao Ruxi calmly told Guan Jian'an to accompany her to Liu Hongyu’s office after he claimed he had obtained the files and accounts.
• Zhou Chun and Xiang Ming escorted the reluctant Guan Jian'an to see Liu Hongyu.
• Zhao Ruxi explained that Guan Jian'an was no longer her subordinate and asked Liu Hongyu about his claim.
• Liu Hongyu learned that Guan Jian'an had taken more than two hundred days of sick leave each year and ordered him to go home.
• Guan Jian'an begged Liu Hongyu to spare him, while Zhao Ruxi remained silent.
• Liu Hongyu summoned Chen Kang and said that Guan Jian'an could not remain in service under court rules.

Zhao Ruxi used Feng Aimin’s years of sick leave to persuade Liu Hongyu to order him back to work, challenging Chen Kang’s hold over the yamen. She then went to the revenue office for administrative records, where Wang Yongshou agreed to provide them in batches.

• Zhao Ruxi pointed out that Feng Aimin had also been on sick leave for years, and Liu Hongyu ordered Feng Xuemin to return to work or seek retirement.
• Chen Kang realized Zhao Ruxi had won Liu Hongyu’s support and considered how he could use local village heads, gentry, merchants, and salt traders to obstruct her.
• Liu Hongyu said Feng Aimin and Guan Jian'an would be treated equally, while Zhao Ruxi praised his decision.
• Chen Kang and Guan Jian'an left, and Zhao Ruxi went to the revenue office to collect the files and accounts.
• Wang Yongshou offered Zhao Ruxi only old records at first, but agreed to provide the remaining files after she finished the first batch.

Zhao Ruxi reviewed Nanyang’s salt administration records while Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang stalled, hoping to amend the accounts. Kang Shilin, Gan Lun, Zhou Wenbai, and Xiao Ruotong arrived unexpectedly, leaving Cai and Chen worried that Gan Lun would expose their falsified records.

• Zhao Ruxi began rapidly reading the case files and account books while Lady Luo brought her tea and pastries.
• Kang Shilin, Gan Lun, Zhou Wenbai, and Xiao Ruotong entered Nanyang without warning and headed to the yamen to find Zhao Ruxi.
• Zhao Ruxi greeted the visitors and introduced them to Liu Hongyu and Li Li, who came out to welcome them.
• Cai Yaozong learned Gan Lun had arrived and feared his experience with financial records would uncover flaws in the falsified accounts.
• Chen Kang asked Cai Yaozong whether Zhao Ruxi had summoned Gan Lun to examine the accounts, and Cai regretted delaying her work.

Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang debated how to appease Zhao Zhiwei without surrendering their profitable salt trade, settling on offering her the grain business. After seeing Zhao Ruxi’s safes and learning she sold them in partnership with the emperor, Cai Yaozong regretted provoking her while Chen Kang considered switching sides.

• Chen Kang advised Cai Yaozong to offer Zhao Zhiwei the grain business rather than give up the lucrative salt trade.
• Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang went to ask Liu Hongyu to mediate, then saw workers carrying two safes into Zhao Ruxi’s room.
• Liu Hongyu explained that Zhao Ruxi had brought the safes to secure the yamen’s case files and accounts.
• Li Li told Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang that Zhao Ruxi had developed the safes with craftsmen and sold them in partnership with the emperor, offering to sell more at cost.
• Cai Yaozong regretted antagonizing Zhao Zhiwei, while Chen Kang considered cooperating with Zhao Ruxi to gain the emperor’s favor.

Zhao Ruxi’s allies clashed with Cai Yaozong over her plans to inspect the yamen’s case files and accounts, and Liu Hongyu ordered the records moved to her office. Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang went to visit Zhao Ruxi, who prepared to hear them out while asking Gan Lun to help audit the salt and grain accounts if needed.

• Liu Hongyu told Cai Yaozong that Zhao Ruxi planned to return to the yamen with Gan Lun and inspect its files and accounts.
• Cai Yaozong objected to Gan Lun reviewing Nanyang’s records, but Li Li mocked him for letting his own unqualified friend audit the accounts.
• Liu Hongyu silenced the argument and ordered the files and accounts moved to Zhao Ruxi’s office the next day.
• Cai Yaozong found Chen Kang waiting at the Zhao Residence and concealed his suspicions as they waited to see Zhao Ruxi.
• Zhao Ruxi explained the yamen’s conflicts to Kang Shilin and the others, then asked Gan Lun to help inspect the salt and grain accounts if necessary.

Zhao Ruxi received Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang, who brought local gifts to ease their strained relationship with her. Chen Kang’s thoughtful offerings gave Zhao Ruxi clues about Nanyang’s local specialties and sparked ideas for developing the region, though she knew she needed to investigate further.

• Zhao Ruxi left her guests with Lady Zhu and went to meet Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang in the side hall.
• Cai Yaozong claimed credit for the local gifts Chen Kang had arranged, while Chen Kang described the wine, rice, and river crabs.
• Zhao Ruxi recognized the tension between Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang and realized the gifts had been Chen Kang’s initiative.
• Chen Kang’s list of Nanyang specialties strengthened Zhao Ruxi’s suspicion that Nanyang resembled modern-day Danyang and gave her ideas for improving the local economy.
• Zhao Ruxi said she would have her guests try the wine and asked Chen Kang where to buy more, signaling that she welcomed future dealings with him.

Zhao Ruxi accepted Chen Kang’s offer of wine while countering Cai Yaozong’s attempt to control which responsibilities she took on. She pressed to inspect local salt and grain accounts, warning Cai that she might soon return to the Ministry of Revenue, and left him facing the risk of future scrutiny.

• Chen Kang offered to send Zhao Ruxi aged wine from a local winery, and Zhao accepted his goodwill while Cai Yaozong disparaged the wine.
• Cai Yaozong offered Zhao Ruxi responsibility for grain supervision and water conservancy, and she agreed while asking to inspect the salt and grain files and accounts.
• Cai Yaozong refused to let Zhao inspect accounts outside her jurisdiction, so Zhao said she would postpone taking over responsibilities until she understood local affairs.
• Zhao Ruxi explained that she had worked on Ministry of Revenue accounts and might soon return to the capital, prompting Cai Yaozong to fear that she could investigate his future accounts.

Zhao Ruxi secured Cai Yaozong’s agreement to let her review Nanyang’s files and accounts, then discussed the compromises of official life with her companions. After receiving Xiao Lingyan’s notes on tribute-wine brewing, she began investigating Nanyang’s wine workshops and learned about the Dong family’s closely guarded methods.

• Cai Yaozong agreed that Zhao Ruxi could review the files and accounts while taking up her duties, and Chen Kang offered to answer her questions.
• Zhao Ruxi told her companions what had happened, and Kang Shilin and Gan Lun reassured her that compromise did not mean abandoning her principles.
• At dinner, Zhao Ruxi tasted the local yellow wine and found it disappointing compared with the wine she remembered from her previous life.
• Zhao Ruxi sent a letter to Fifth Master, and Xiao Lingyan replied with a standard method for brewing tribute yellow wine.
• Zhao Ruxi asked Lu Yun about local wine workshops, and Lu Yun reported that the Dong family guarded its century-old brewing skills and passed its secret recipe to the main line’s eldest grandson.

Zhao Ruxi investigated the Dong family's Dragon Pool Spring and took charge of grain, water conservancy, and land reclamation matters at the yamen. After reading five years of records in just over twenty days, she left the yamen staff impressed by her formidable methods and memory.

• Zhao Ruxi told Lu Yun to investigate whether the Dong family's Dragon Pool Spring was the Jade Milk Spring and to bring her water to taste.
• Liu Hongyu assigned Zhao Ruxi the grain and water conservancy matters Cai Yaozong had handled, and she took land reclamation from Li Li.
• Zhao Ruxi selected Zhang Wenhuan as her clerk and Chen Tao as her yamen runner, then received the files and accounts for her new responsibilities.
• Cai Yaozong and Li Li instructed their staff to cooperate with Zhao Ruxi and provide the records she requested.
• Zhao Ruxi questioned registrars from the revenue and works offices, then spent over twenty days reading the yamen's files and accounts from the past five years.
• Zhao Ruxi returned the records she had borrowed, and the yamen staff praised her remarkable memory and ability.

Zhao Ruxi secretly copied suspicious accounts from the yamen’s salt, grain, and river-defense records and worked with Gan Lun to find evidence of Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang’s corruption. After confirming the river dikes were sound, she planned to consult her eldest senior brother about how to handle the evidence.

• Zhao Ruxi arranged her office to conceal a private workspace where five helpers could copy suspicious accounts without being seen.
• She reviewed five years of salt, grain, and river-defense records while Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang mistakenly believed she had only skimmed them.
• The guards delivered copied accounts to Gan Lun, who checked them and taught Zhao Ruxi how to identify irregularities.
• Zhao Ruxi and Gan Lun uncovered evidence of Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang’s embezzlement and bribery, but found that river-defense funds had been spent on solidly built dikes.
• Zhao Ruxi told Gan Lun she would consult her eldest senior brother about how to handle the evidence.

Zhao Ruxi learned that Kang Shilin and his companions had found the Jade Milk Spring near a nunnery outside Danyang’s north gate. She ordered Zhou Chun to investigate and buy the land so she could eventually build a wine workshop there.

• Zhao Ruxi refused the system’s offer to locate the spring for a thousand points and tasted the water Kang Shilin’s group had brought back.
• Kang Shilin explained that they had found a spring-fed well near a nunnery after leaving through Danyang’s north gate.
• Zhao Ruxi recognized the white, misty water as the Jade Milk Spring she had been seeking and thanked Kang Shilin.
• Zhou Wenbai asked about the wine project, and Zhao Ruxi said it would take at least half a year to buy land, build a workshop, and hire a brewer.
• Zhao Ruxi told Zhou Chun to investigate ownership of the land and well, buy the land if possible, and offer to relocate the nuns if the workshop disturbed them.

Zhao Ruxi warned her servants to avoid trouble while she investigated land, as Cai Yaozong and Chen Kang searched for leverage against her. After failing to find anything they could use, Chen Kang urged Cai to stop provoking her, while Zhao began taking charge of grain, water conservancy, and military farming in Nanyang.

• Zhao Ruxi told Zhou Chun to keep the servants cautious and have Qian Buque arrange an intermediary for land negotiations.
• Cai Yaozong told Chen Kang that Zhao's business partners included the emperor, prominent officials, and Grand Princess Shangde, leaving them no useful scandal to exploit.
• Cai Yaozong described how powerful women protected Zhao and how people who had opposed her had suffered, prompting Chen Kang to wonder if she was an immortal.
• Chen Kang urged Cai Yaozong to stop plotting against Zhao, but Cai became angry and stormed out.
• Liu Hongyu's notices informed Nanyang's four counties and twenty-three neighborhood heads that Zhao had taken charge of grain, water conservancy, and military farming.

Zhao Ruxi set out to inspect Nanyang’s villages and learn about farming and irrigation firsthand. After Kang Shilin and the others departed, she heard from villagers that disputes over irrigation schedules sometimes turned violent.

• Zhao Ruxi told Lady Zhu and Kang Shilin she planned to visit the countryside, and Kang Shilin warned her to take enough people for safety.
• Kang Shilin said he and the others would visit Wu Zong in Linjiang Prefecture before returning to the capital, and Zhao Ruxi prepared gifts and arranged to send their shares to the capital.
• Lady Zhu suggested involving Kang Shilin in a possible match between Xiao Ruotong and Zhao Ruxi’s third senior brother, but Zhao Ruxi said the two should decide for themselves.
• After seeing Kang Shilin and the others off, Zhao Ruxi rode to nearby villages with her companions and Gan Lun to inspect local conditions.
• Zhao Ruxi asked an old farmer about irrigation, and he explained that villages fought over whose fields received water first, sometimes causing serious injuries and even deaths.

Zhao Ruxi inspected Wang Family Village and questioned Village Head Wang Houde after learning that local officials had allowed a feud between two villages to persist. When a couple knelt outside Wang Houde’s gate pleading for justice, he secretly arranged to bribe Chen Kang.

• An old villager told Zhao Ruxi that the village heads had let Wang Family Village and Scholar Tree Village fight over water, and Chen Kang claimed their conflict stemmed from an old deadly feud.
• Zhao Ruxi asked to tour Wang Family Village and noticed the imposing home of Village Head Wang Houde.
• Wang Houde welcomed Zhao Ruxi and answered her questions at his home until a commotion arose outside.
• Zhao Ruxi went to the gate and found a middle-aged couple kneeling and pleading for justice, while Wang Houde reacted angrily at their appearance.
• Wang Houde told his steward to get two hundred taels of silver from his wife and give the money to Chen Kang.