Chapter Summaries

Lady Wei persuaded Zhao Jing'an to carry out a plan against his sister, but Qingmo made him realize it could ruin Fifth Miss's life. Zhao Jing'an refused, while Qingmo began questioning why Lady Wei had involved Zhao Ruyu first.

• Lady Wei met Zhao Jing'an and claimed he could prevent her divorce by doing what she asked.
• Zhao Jing'an returned to the residence troubled and asked Qingmo whether his mother was a good person.
• Zhao Jing'an told Qingmo that Lady Wei wanted him to harm someone, and Qingmo warned that the target was his own sister, Fifth Miss.
• Zhao Jing'an decided he could not go through with the plan.
• Qingmo pointed out that Lady Wei had sent Zhao Ruyu to summon him instead of contacting him directly, and suggested she had first tried to recruit Zhao Ruyu.

Zhao Jing'an accepted Qingmo's advice not to help Lady Wei scheme against his sister, while a case file about the switched children at the Marquis of Suiping's Residence reached the Court of Judicial Review. The right vice minister ordered the earlier case file and a wet nurse brought in, intending to refer the matter to his superior.

• Qingmo convinced Zhao Jing'an that helping Lady Wei would bring punishment on him and harm his younger sister.
• Zhao Jing'an decided to attend Old Madam and seek her forgiveness for Lady Wei, promising not to heed his mother's requests.
• A case file arrived at the Court of Judicial Review and was sent promptly to the right vice minister because it involved the Marquis of Suiping's Residence and Wei Qiu's family.
• The right vice minister learned that the file concerned the midwife's switch of Lady Wei's and Lady Zhu's children and connected Lady Wei to the recent household scandal.
• The right vice minister sent a clerk to obtain the capital prefecture's earlier case file and bring in the wet nurse, then prepared to take the matter to his superior.

Zhang Changshen questioned the midwife and wet nurse about the children switched fourteen years earlier, then had Lady Wei arrested and confronted her with the midwife. Faced with the threat of a beating, Lady Wei agreed to confess, though she still hoped her father could save her.

• Zhang Changshen questioned the midwife, who recounted the child-switching in detail, and then questioned the wet nurse.
• Zhang Changshen ordered his men to arrest Wei Liniang without alerting the Wei Residence, and they brought her and her attendants to court.
• Wei Liniang claimed she had only gone to apologize to her mother-in-law and denied knowing anything about the case.
• Zhang Changshen brought in the midwife, whose appearance frightened Wei Liniang and made her realize the secret had been exposed.
• When Zhang Changshen threatened to have her beaten, Wei Liniang agreed to confess.

At the Court of Judicial Review, Zhang Changshen let Lady Wei and the midwife quarrel until they revealed details of the child switch and other crimes. Lady Wei signed the statements, and Zhang Changshen called in her servant, Granny Li.

• Lady Wei claimed her wet nurse had switched the babies without her knowledge, but the midwife accused her of arranging the switch and paying her to stay silent.
• Lady Wei and the midwife traded accusations, and the midwife provoked Lady Wei into admitting more about the affair and the deaths of two witnesses.
• The clerk recorded their quarrel as separate statements while Zhang Changshen let them continue.
• Zhang Changshen presented the statements to Lady Wei and promised to notify her family, prompting her to sign and fingerprint them.
• Zhang Changshen ordered Lady Wei and the midwife taken to the women's prison, then summoned Lady Wei's servant, Granny Li.

Zhang Changshen questioned Matron Li about the child-switching case and uncovered evidence linking Lady Wei and Lord Wei to the murder of Minister Wen’s grandson and the framing of Liu Chengde’s son. He presented the case to Emperor Xiao Ge, who learned that the old murder investigation might have been built on a false accusation.

• Zhang Changshen questioned Matron Li, who identified Li Mu as her son and said Lady Wei and Lord Wei had ordered him to kill Minister Wen’s grandson and frame Liu Chengde’s son.
• Matron Li named Wei Kang and witnesses who held copies of Li Mu’s written account, so Zhang Changshen ordered them brought in and detained the other servants.
• Zhang Changshen informed Grand Tutor Cen and Minister Wu that he had an important case to present to Emperor Xiao Ge.
• Zhang Changshen reported that Wei Liniang had switched her son with Zhao Yuanxun’s daughter fourteen years earlier, making Zhao Jingli the son of Wei Liniang and Zhao Yuanliang.
• Zhang Changshen revealed that his investigation into the child-switching case had uncovered the real culprit behind Minister Wen’s grandson’s murder, challenging the old accusation against Liu Chengde’s son.

Xiao Ge ordered Wei Qiu’s case investigated after evidence emerged that he had harmed a colleague’s family to secure a promotion. While the authorities gathered testimony and prepared to punish the guilty, Wei Qiu returned home unaware and planned to make the Marquis of Suiping’s Residence pay for humiliating him.

• Zhang Changshen explained that Wei Qiu’s daughter, Wei Liniang, had switched children, and Xiao Ge realized Wei Qiu might have arranged it to harm a colleague.
• Grand Tutor Cen and Minister Wu asked Xiao Ge to give Liu Chengde justice, and Xiao Ge ordered Wei Residence servants questioned and Wei Qiu secretly watched.
• Zhang Changshen’s men swiftly brought Wei Kang and other servants to the Court of Judicial Review, and their testimonies reached Xiao Ge before dinner.
• Xiao Ge gave the case file to the minister of justice and ordered the officials punished according to law.
• Wei Qiu returned home and argued with Mother Wei about Wei Liniang, then told her to take their daughter to the Marquis of Suiping’s Residence to apologize.
• Wei Qiu privately resolved to retaliate against the Marquis of Suiping’s Residence and endanger Zhao Yuanxun’s nominal post.

Mother Wei visited the Marquis of Suiping's Residence while Wei Liniang was missing, and Zhao Yuanxun arranged for the second branch to receive her as the household waited for news. Mother Wei began privately sounding out Zhao Jing'an and Zhao Ruyu, while Zhao Jingli left after she ignored him.

• Mother Wei told Wei Qiu she would visit the Marquis of Suiping's Residence to look for Wei Liniang.
• Zhao Yuanxun and Old Madam Wei discussed how Xu Xi's situation should soon be resolved, while servants reported that Wei Liniang had not returned home.
• When Mother Wei arrived, Zhao Yuanxun and the first madam arranged for the second branch and Zhao Jingli to meet her at Cloud Crane Hall and stationed guards outside.
• Mother Wei chatted affectionately with Zhao Jing'an while ignoring Zhao Jingli, who left the room in displeasure.
• Mother Wei sent the maids away so she could speak privately with the Wei Family's grandchildren.

Mother Wei learned that Lady Wei had tried to recruit Zhao Jing'an and Zhao Ruyu to lure Zhao Ruxi into a marriage, then hurried to the Marquis of Suiping's Residence after realizing her daughter was missing. The imperial edict revealed that Wei Qiu and the Wei Family had been punished for plotting a murder.

• Zhao Jing'an told Mother Wei that Lady Wei had asked him to lure Zhao Ruxi out so Wei Liniang could marry her to his Wei cousin.
• Zhao Ruyu confirmed that Lady Wei had asked her to do the same, but she did not reveal whether she had agreed.
• Mother Wei learned that none of the children had seen Lady Wei that day and hurried to leave for home.
• An older maidservant announced that the imperial messenger had summoned Mother Wei by name to receive an edict, and Zhao Jingli led the family to the main hall.
• The imperial messenger read that Wei Qiu had ordered servants to murder Wen Chengyu's grandson and was stripped of office, beaten, and exiled; Lady Yu and the rest of the Wei Family were also sentenced to exile.

An imperial decree exposed Lady Wei Liniang’s crimes, revealed that Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an were switched twin sons, and sentenced Lady Wei to execution. Zhao Yuanxun was demoted to Earl of Suiping, Zhao Yuanliang was sentenced to thirty strokes, and Zhao Jingli lost his position as heir.

• The imperial messenger announced that Lady Wei Liniang had aided Wei Qiu in murder and switched Zhao Jingli, Zhao Ruxi, and Zhao Ruyu as children, and sentenced her to immediate execution.
• Zhao Jingli, Zhao Jing'an, Zhao Yuanliang, Zhao Ruyu, and Xu Xi were stunned by the revelations and Lady Wei’s sentence.
• The imperial decree demoted Zhao Yuanxun to Earl of Suiping and removed him from his post at the Five Cities Military Command.
• The decree sentenced Zhao Yuanliang to thirty strokes of the cane and revoked Zhao Jingli’s position as heir.
• The old madam and the first madam accepted the decree, and the eunuch ordered Lady Yu taken away and Zhao Yuanliang punished.

After Lady Wei was taken away and Zhao Yuanliang was beaten, the Zhao Family faced Zhao Yuanxun’s demotion and the Old Madam agreed to divide the family. Zhao Jingli begged to remain the First Madam’s son, but Zhao Yuanliang recognized that his place in the genealogy also carried family rights.

• Imperial Guards took Mother Wei away and swiftly beat Zhao Yuanliang with thirty strokes.
• Zhao Jing'an, Zhao Yuanxun, and the children tended to Zhao Yuanliang, while the First Madam supported the Old Madam.
• The Old Madam agreed to divide the family and said the clan relatives should be told about changing the children’s places in the genealogy.
• Zhao Jingli knelt and pleaded with Zhao Yuanxun and the First Madam to remain their son, even if he lost the position of heir.
• Zhao Yuanliang considered that keeping Zhao Jingli in the first branch’s genealogy would preserve his status and share of the family property.

Zhao Jingli accepted that he could not remain in the first branch and promised not to blame Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu. After Zhao Yuanliang was taken to the second branch to recover, Zhao Jing'an faced the responsibility of dealing with Lady Wei and her family and wondered whether Zhao Ruyu would help him.

• Zhao Yuanliang urged Zhao Jingli not to make a request that would put Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu in a difficult position, and Zhao Jingli apologized through tears.
• The old madam blamed Lady Wei for Zhao Jingli's predicament, and Zhao Jingli reassured her that he would not blame anyone or burden Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu.
• Physician Shi examined Zhao Yuanliang and said his injuries were flesh wounds that would heal with rest.
• Zhao Yuanxun sent Zhao Jingli back with Zhao Jing'an to care for Zhao Yuanliang, and Zhao Jingli left after receiving reassurance from Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu.
• Zhao Jing'an worried that he would have to visit Lady Wei and the Wei Family in prison and wondered whether Zhao Ruyu would stay by his side.

After Lady Wei’s crimes were exposed, the household prepared for the Wei family’s revenge while Xu Xi settled into the Tea Tasting Residence. Xu Xi visited the first madam to ask about the Wei family’s circumstances when Lady Wei had first married into the household.

• Zhao Ruyu feared that Lady Wei’s execution and the Wei family’s exile had ruined her chance to marry Fu Yunlang.
• The first madam sent Zhao Jingtai back to the first branch’s quarters and directed Xu Xi to stay at the Tea Tasting Residence.
• Zhao Yuanxun and the first madam strengthened security inside and outside the residence and sought help from the Zhu residence.
• Xu Xi asked Dianjiang to tell her when the first madam returned, then went to visit her.
• Xu Xi asked the first madam whether the Wei family had been poor when Lady Wei married in, and the first madam confirmed they had been.

Xu Xi suspected Lady Wei had paid the midwife with money secretly given to Zhao Yuanliang and Zhao Yuankun by the late Duke of Sui. First Madam told Zhao Yuanxun, who recognized that the money mattered because it affected the household division and his mother's sacrifices.

• Xu Xi reasoned that Lady Wei could not have afforded the large bribe from her own resources and suggested the late Duke of Sui had given money to his concubine-born sons.
• First Madam agreed and wanted to tell her husband, but Xu Xi persuaded her to wait until morning.
• Xu Xi called First Madam "Mother" before returning to rest, and First Madam felt both heartache and relief.
• Before dawn, First Madam told Zhao Yuanxun about Xu Xi's suspicion, and he admitted he had overlooked the matter.
• Zhao Yuanxun realized he could not ignore his father's secret money when dividing the household without letting his mother down.

Zhao Yuanxun pursued the cases against Wei Qiu, Li Mu, and the midwife while First Madam worked through the family accounts. Xu Xi proved her skill at mental arithmetic by finding errors in the account books, leaving First Madam impressed by her cleverness.

• Zhao Yuanxun told First Madam that he would investigate the Gusu case and why Wei Qiu had been exiled rather than executed.
• Zhao Yuanxun explained that Li Mu would die, while Li Mu’s family and the midwife would be punished, bought, nursed back to health, and freed.
• First Madam invited Xu Xi to help with the accounts after Matron Zhou suggested it would teach her to manage them.
• Xu Xi used homemade pencils and mental arithmetic to check five account books, finding eight mistakes.
• First Madam recalculated the discrepancies and confirmed that Xu Xi’s answers were correct.

Xu Xi calculated the Zhao Family’s accounts and showed the eldest madam that the Earl of Suiping’s Residence spent more than it earned. When the eldest madam asked how to divide the household, Xu Xi advised leaving the decision to her grandmother and father, but the eldest madam explained that her mother-in-law would resist.

• Xu Xi quickly calculated the shop accounts and reviewed the residence’s assets, finding that its expenses exceeded its income.
• Xu Xi explained that dividing the household would reduce the main branch’s servants and expenses, while the other branches would have to meet their own costs.
• Xu Xi presented the eldest madam with a summary ledger and accurately recited the residence’s financial figures, impressing the eldest madam and Matron Zhou.
• The eldest madam praised Xu Xi’s ability to understand the household’s finances and asked for her advice on dividing the property.
• Xu Xi asked about customary rules for dividing a household, then suggested that the eldest madam leave the decision to the grandmother and Zhao Yuanxun.
• The eldest madam said Zhao Yuanxun would be reasonable, but the grandmother would object because generations of principal wives had built up the family property.

Xu Xi proposed renting out unused parts of the ancestral residence as the family considered dividing its property. Zhao Yuanliang and his children appealed to the old madam and Zhao Yuanxun to keep the family together, leaving Zhao Yuanxun uncertain about how to respond.

• Xu Xi suggested partitioning unused areas of the ancestral residence and renting them out, but the eldest madam was stunned by the idea.
• Caixia told the eldest madam that Zhao Yuanxun had returned and was discussing a matter with the old madam.
• Xu Xi saw Zhao Yuanliang being carried on a stretcher with his four children and guessed that the second branch opposed dividing the family.
• The eldest madam admitted she wanted to divide the family, and Xu Xi sent Caidie to fetch the third young master.
• Zhao Yuanliang and his children knelt before the old madam and Zhao Yuanxun and asked to keep the family together.
• Zhao Yuanxun hesitated, considering his resentment toward his brothers and the possibility of giving them more land and shops in exchange for peace.

The old madam reaffirmed the decision to divide the Zhao family after seeing Zhao Jingtai and realizing she could not let Zhao Jingli remain above him. Zhao Yuanxun arranged for the clansmen to attend, while Xu Xi stepped away from the family division and learned more about the Zhao clan.

• Zhao Jingtai arrived, and the old madam decided that the family should still divide rather than let Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an overshadow her grandson.
• The first madam supported the division, and Zhao Yuanxun said the clansmen would arrive in a little over an hour.
• Zhao Yuanxun told Zhao Yuanliang and the others to return to the second branch until the clansmen arrived.
• Xu Xi left the elders and asked Matron Yuan about the Zhao Family's history and its closest living clansman.
• Xu Xi concluded that the division was unlikely to become contentious because Zhao Yuanliang and Zhao Yuankun had little reason to fight over the family's property.

Xu Xi returned to the Zhao family through the ancestral rites, while Zhao Yuanxun planned to transfer her household registration and inquire whether she could remain at Beining Women's Academy. The first madam explained how the family residence and property had been divided, crediting Xu Xi's advice for helping secure a favorable settlement.

• The Ninth Grand Elder entered Zhao Jingli and Zhao Ruxi into the genealogy, and Zhao Jingli and Xu Xi kowtowed before the ancestral tablets.
• Zhao Yuanxun told Xu Xi he would transfer her household registration and ask the academy whether she could continue studying there; Xu Xi agreed to follow his arrangements.
• The first madam explained that the second and third branches would keep their current courtyards, leaving the first branch with a residence shaped like 凸.
• The first madam said Xu Xi's suggestion to rent out the residence had persuaded the old madam to accept the division of the courtyards.
• The first madam described how she and Zhao Yuanxun used the midwife's confession and questions about Lady Wei's money to counter the second and third branches' claims to the family assets.

Xu Xi moved from the Tea Tasting Residence to a courtyard in the first branch after her family situation changed. At Beining Academy, Zhao Yuanxun asked whether she could keep studying after her household registration was transferred, and Kang Shilin argued passionately that she must stay.

• The first madam offered Xu Xi the Slender Bamboo Courtyard, and Xu Xi agreed to move there.
• Master Kang found Xu Xi absent from painting class and learned she had taken leave to care for her ill grandmother.
• Zhao Yuanxun visited Madam Cui and explained that Xu Xi was his biological daughter, now named Zhao Ruxi, and that he had transferred her household registration.
• Madam Cui said she would ask Grand Princess Shangde whether Zhao Ruxi could remain at the academy and asked her to return in a few days for the decision.
• After Zhao Yuanxun left, Kang Shilin urged Madam Cui not to let Zhao Ruxi withdraw, praising her exceptional painting talent.

Madam Cui and Madam Chen considered whether Grand Princess Shangde would expel Xu Xi for violating Beining Women's Academy’s registration rules, despite her exceptional talent and the political costs of making an exception. Madam Cui went to the grand princess’s residence to explain the dilemma, but learned that Shangde had returned to the capital.

• Kang Shilin left to confront Grand Princess Shangde about Xu Xi’s case.
• Madam Chen worried that enforcing the academy’s rules would cost it Xu Xi and benefit the rival Capital Women's Academy, while making an exception could undermine the rules and provoke Consort Jin.
• Madam Cui described Xu Xi’s remarkable memory and the teachers’ plans to prepare her for an early examination, while Madam Chen recounted how Lady Wei’s crimes had been exposed and punished.
• Madam Cui decided to visit Grand Princess Shangde herself because Kang Shilin might anger her instead of persuading her.
• Madam Cui arrived at the grand princess’s residence, where Kang Shilin complained that Shangde had returned to the capital before he could speak with her.