Chapter Summaries

After recovering memories of the book she had transmigrated into, Qiao Shuyi realized she was destined to die when her father’s rebellion was exposed. She rejected trying to win over or fight Zongzheng Heng and decided to stake everything on leaving him an unforgettable memory during his month in her household.

• Fuzhi told Qiao Shuyi that Zhigui had finished carrying water for her bath, and Qiao Shuyi summoned him to attend her.
• Qiao Shuyi recognized Zhigui as Zongzheng Heng, the emperor of Great Zhang, who had infiltrated the manor while investigating Qiao Nanyu.
• Qiao Shuyi recalled how Qiao Nanyu planned to sacrifice Liu Jinyu and their daughter to conceal his rebellion, though Liu Jinyu would later reveal evidence against him.
• Qiao Shuyi remembered that she was doomed cannon fodder in the book and that Zongzheng Heng would uncover the rebellion within a month.
• Qiao Shuyi dismissed plans to curry favor with Zongzheng Heng or rebel against him, then resolved to make her time with him unforgettable.

Qiao Shuyi humiliated Zongzheng Heng, a disguised emperor whose martial arts had been disabled by Power-Dissolving Powder, and forced him to kneel and serve her. She then ordered him to attend her bath, leaving him to follow her despite fearing she meant to force herself on him.

• Qiao Shuyi ordered Zongzheng Heng to put on her shoes, and he crouched to obey while concealing his anger.
• When Zongzheng Heng refused to kneel, Qiao Shuyi summoned An Yi, who used his internal energy to force Zongzheng Heng onto one knee.
• Qiao Shuyi questioned Zongzheng Heng about his refusal, and he hid his suspicions by admitting his mistake and putting on her other shoe.
• Qiao Shuyi dismissed Fuzhi and ordered Zongzheng Heng to attend her bath.
• Zongzheng Heng, unable to use his martial arts because of the Power-Dissolving Powder and watched by secret guards, agreed and followed Qiao Shuyi.

Qiao Shuyi teased Zongzheng Heng in the bathhouse and made him massage her shoulders, while he tried to resist her shameless advances. She enjoyed the reversal of power and wondered whether he would hate her or find the experience interesting when he returned to his throne.

• Qiao Shuyi undressed and entered the bath while Zongzheng Heng watched from behind the curtains.
• Qiao Shuyi reminded Zongzheng Heng that she had punished him by making him sleep in the woodshed and heat her bathwater, then offered to let him do as he pleased with her.
• Zongzheng Heng insisted they were unmarried and should keep their distance, but Qiao Shuyi persuaded him to come through the curtains.
• Qiao Shuyi asked Zongzheng Heng whether she was beautiful, and he admitted that she was.
• Qiao Shuyi asked Zongzheng Heng to massage her shoulders, and she enjoyed having the emperor serve her while wondering how he would remember the encounter.

Qiao Shuyi forced Zongzheng Heng to kneel and ordered him taken to the water dungeon after he resisted her demands. Zongzheng Heng suppressed his anger because he needed to win her trust and gather evidence against Qiao Nanyu, while vowing revenge.

• Qiao Shuyi made Zongzheng Heng repaint her toenails, then kicked him when he sat beside the daybed without permission.
• Qiao Shuyi ordered An Yi to make Zongzheng Heng kneel, and An Yi forced him down because the power-dissolving powder had weakened him.
• Qiao Shuyi accused Zongzheng Heng of rejecting her affection and ordered An Yi to take him to the water dungeon.
• Zongzheng Heng suppressed his murderous impulse, reasoning that he needed Qiao Shuyi's trust to obtain evidence of Qiao Nanyu's rebellion.
• An Yi led Zongzheng Heng out of the bathing room as he silently vowed to take revenge on Qiao Shuyi.

After enduring the water dungeon and memorizing Jinglan Garden’s rules, Zongzheng Heng remained determined to obtain the manor’s account books and expose Qiao Nanyu. Qiao Shuyi caught Qiao Shuqin speaking with him, punished her, and took Zongzheng Heng back to change and receive medicine.

• An Yi recited Jinglan Garden’s rules to Zongzheng Heng, who had spent the day in the water dungeon and resolved to obtain the manor’s account books.
• Qiao Shuqin encountered Zongzheng Heng in the corridor and offered to send him medicine.
• Qiao Shuyi arrived and questioned Zongzheng Heng about what Qiao Shuqin had said to him.
• Qiao Shuyi ordered Qiao Shuqin to kneel for two hours and told Fuzhi to stay with her.
• Qiao Shuyi took Zongzheng Heng back to change his wet clothes and apply medicine, and he placed his hand in hers.

Qiao Shuyi began a plan to condition Zongzheng Heng into associating obedience with comfort, hoping to make him dependent on her rather than make him love her. She intended to fake her death after a month and later return with feigned amnesia, leaving Zongzheng Heng haunted by her and their supposed child.

• Qiao Shuyi praised Zongzheng Heng for obeying in the water dungeon and led him to a prepared bath.
• Qiao Shuyi undressed Zongzheng Heng, saw his whip wounds, and promised to apply medicine after he bathed.
• Zongzheng Heng soaked in the warm pool while Qiao Shuyi planned to pair his obedience with rewards and resistance with punishment.
• Qiao Shuyi decided that if her plan worked, she would fake her death and make Zongzheng Heng believe she was carrying his child.
• Qiao Shuyi planned to return two years later, when Zongzheng Heng held power, pretending she had lost her memory.

Qiao Shuyi treated Zongzheng Heng’s wounds and used her tears and affection to make him promise to obey her. She then shared her favorite sweet-and-sour pork with him, and he ate it despite disliking sweet food, leaving her delighted with him.

• Qiao Shuyi applied salve to Zongzheng Heng’s wounds and asked him to call her Shushu.
• Qiao Shuyi cried over his injuries and told him not to disobey her again, and Zongzheng Heng agreed to be obedient.
• Qiao Shuyi kissed the wound on Zongzheng Heng’s back before taking him to a table filled with food.
• Qiao Shuyi offered Zongzheng Heng sweet-and-sour pork, and he ate it despite disliking sweet food so he would not make her sad.
• Qiao Shuyi praised Zongzheng Heng and said that snatching him back might have been the best thing she had ever done.

As Qiao Shuyi prepared for bed, Zongzheng Heng remembered his long attachment to Su Yunyan and the plans he had made to keep her unmarried until he could bring her into the palace. Watching Qiao Shuyi, he wondered whether he could refuse her again without facing punishment.

• Zongzheng Heng recalled meeting Su Yunyan when they were children and how they had comforted each other before she left the palace a year later.
• At twenty, Zongzheng Heng encountered Su Yunyan praying at Brahma Sound Temple and learned she loved him and wished to avoid marrying anyone else.
• Zongzheng Heng left Su Yunyan a note asking her to wait, then arranged for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to delay marriages in the capital while court turmoil continued.
• After ascending the throne, Zongzheng Heng used an edict postponing marriage arrangements across Great Zhang until he selected consorts, intending to keep Su Yunyan from marrying.
• Seeing Qiao Shuyi readying for bed, Zongzheng Heng questioned whether he could refuse her again, knowing resistance brought punishment.

Qiao Shuyi invited Zongzheng Heng to attend the prince's residence's spring banquet, then kissed him after he agreed to learn with her. Though he became absorbed in the kiss, he reminded himself that she was Qiao Nanyu's daughter and resolved to kill her once he uncovered evidence of Qiao Nanyu's rebellion.

• Qiao Shuyi explained that the spring banquet would draw influential guests from Jinzhou and neighboring provinces, and offered to take Zongzheng Heng with her.
• Zongzheng Heng worried that attending with him could harm Qiao Shuyi's reputation, but she declared that no one would dare look down on someone she liked.
• Qiao Shuyi asked to kiss Zongzheng Heng, kissed him clumsily, and asked him to teach her.
• Zongzheng Heng pinned Qiao Shuyi beneath him and kissed her until she asked him to stop.
• After they lay beside each other, Zongzheng Heng realized he had been absorbed in kissing Qiao Shuyi, then resolved to kill her once he found evidence of Qiao Nanyu's rebellion.

Qiao Shuyi defended her harsh treatment of Qiao Shuqin and reassured Liu Jinyu that the man she had brought into the manor was suitable, while concealing her knowledge of Qiao Nanyu’s secret rebellion. The chapter left her determined to make her mother see Qiao Nanyu’s true nature and survive the coming upheaval, though she had no plan yet.

• Qiao Shuyi made Fuzhi kneel for the hour she had spared Qiao Shuqin, after scolding her for failing to enforce the punishment.
• Liu Jinyu confronted Qiao Shuyi about punishing Qiao Shuqin and bringing a man into the manor, and Qiao Shuyi said she had investigated his background.
• Qiao Shuyi told Liu Jinyu she would restrain herself outside Jinzhou after Liu relayed Qiao Nanyu’s warning about the new emperor’s powerful officials.
• Qiao Shuyi realized Qiao Nanyu’s warning was meant to protect his secret military plans, not his daughter, and concluded the Qiao Family’s destruction was inevitable.
• Qiao Shuyi focused on saving Liu Jinyu from the upheaval and resolved to reveal Qiao Nanyu’s true nature, but could not yet think of a way.

Qiao Shuyi examined three years of the prince's residence's accounts and discovered that Qiao Nanyu had diverted Liu Jinyu's dowry silver to fund private soldiers. She worried Liu Jinyu would remain loyal to Qiao Nanyu even if she learned the truth, and the chapter left Qiao Shuyi unsure how to protect her mother.

• Qiao Shuyi ordered the accountant to bring her three years of account books and carefully reviewed the records.
• Qiao Shuyi noticed that Liu Jinyu's dowry silver had repeatedly disappeared under vague expense headings, while Qiao Nanyu paid the residence's ordinary costs from his own income.
• Qiao Shuyi realized Qiao Nanyu had used Liu Jinyu's money to support private soldiers while telling her that their daughter had spent it all.
• Qiao Shuyi decided she could not simply tell Liu Jinyu about Qiao Nanyu's plans because her mother might believe her but still choose to stand by her husband.

Qiao Shuyi decided that the only way to save Liu Jinyu from the Qiao family’s punishment for treason was to make Qiao Nanyu divorce her. She planned to exploit Qiao Shuqin and her mother’s hatred by giving them a chance to accuse Liu Jinyu of infidelity.

• Qiao Shuqin saw Qiao Shuyi looking melancholy and recalled her resentment over years of favoritism and the humiliation of being made to kneel.
• Qiao Shuqin approached Qiao Shuyi to probe her mood, but Qiao Shuyi asked whether she had recovered and mentioned that Liu Jinyu planned to choose her a husband at the spring banquet.
• Qiao Shuyi realized she could use Qiao Shuqin’s hatred to create grounds for Qiao Nanyu to divorce Liu Jinyu.
• Qiao Shuyi resolved to accept the disgrace of implicating her mother in an infidelity scandal if it would keep Liu Jinyu alive, and decided she could not save the rest of the Qiao family.

Qiao Shuyi returned to Jinglan Garden and slapped Zongzheng Heng after finding an attendant applying medicine to his wounds. She accused him of attracting other women, then made him apologize before cleaning and reapplying the ointment herself.

• Qiao Shuyi asked Fuzhi about Zhigui's recovery and learned that he had spent the day resting and exercising in her room.
• Qiao Shuyi entered and saw an older attendant applying ointment to Zongzheng Heng's whip wounds, then slapped him and ordered the attendant out.
• Qiao Shuyi accused Zongzheng Heng of letting another woman touch him and said she could not tolerate him being intimate with anyone else.
• Zongzheng Heng apologized, and Qiao Shuyi soothed him before asking to wash off the ointment and apply it again herself.
• Qiao Shuyi wiped the ointment from Zongzheng Heng's painful wounds and carefully treated them again.

Qiao Shuyi teased Zongzheng Heng with intimate kisses until he nearly lost control, then fell asleep beside him. He considered killing her but held back, resolving to find evidence of Qiao Nanyu’s rebellion so he could end their dangerous intimacy.

• Qiao Shuyi sat on Zongzheng Heng’s lap, kissed the cheek she had slapped, and asked him to kiss her hand in return.
• Qiao Shuyi guided Zongzheng Heng into kissing her fingertips, and he lost himself in the intimacy until she tugged his hair and snapped him out of it.
• Zongzheng Heng carried the exhausted Qiao Shuyi to bed and lay beside her, but he remained awake as she fell asleep.
• Zongzheng Heng raised his hand toward Qiao Shuyi’s neck, wanting to kill her, but withdrew it when she stirred.
• Zongzheng Heng decided to access the prince’s manor’s accounts office and find evidence of Qiao Nanyu’s rebellion as soon as possible.

As Qiao Shuyi prepared for the spring banquet, Zongzheng Heng sweet-talked her into letting him accompany her, secretly hoping to use the outing to reach the accounts office. She chose the outfit he recommended and agreed to take him along.

• Qiao Shuyi praised Zongzheng Heng in his new white clothes while he hid his dislike of pale colors.
• Zongzheng Heng asked to attend the spring banquet, and Qiao Shuyi warned that she might become jealous if other young ladies saw his face.
• Zongzheng Heng offered to wear a mask and persuaded Qiao Shuyi by praising her beauty and recommending one of her outfits.
• Qiao Shuyi recognized his sweet talk but agreed to wear the outfit he chose and bring him to the banquet.

Qiao Shuyi brought Zongzheng Heng to the Prince of Jin'an's spring banquet, then learned that Concubine Song planned to frame Liu Jinyu with Lord Zhou. Qiao Shuyi showed no sign of intervening, leaving her intentions unclear.

• Qiao Shuyi led Zongzheng Heng through the grand manor to the spring banquet and introduced him as someone from her residence.
• Qiao Shuyi left Zongzheng Heng to mingle with Zhou Wanniang and the other young ladies.
• Fuzhi told Qiao Shuyi that Concubine Song had obtained a letter Qiao Shuyi forged in Liu Jinyu's handwriting to Lord Zhou.
• Fuzhi reported that Concubine Song planned to drug Liu Jinyu and have her caught with Lord Zhou before the prince and his guests.
• Qiao Shuyi dismissed Fuzhi without explaining what she planned to do, and Fuzhi apologized for questioning her.

Lu Wenzhou and the young gentlemen mocked Zongzheng Heng, then forced him to kneel while Qiao Shuyi watched from hiding, intending to make him feel indebted to her. Kneeling in the manor, Zongzheng Heng remembered his rise from an unfavored prince and silently vowed to remember those who humiliated him.

• Lu Wenzhou and his companions gossiped about Qiao Shuyi and went to see the face behind Zongzheng Heng’s mask.
• Zongzheng Heng listened to guests in the garden and memorized details about their families, planning to settle accounts with them later.
• Qiao Shuyi watched from behind a pillar after arranging for servants to spread rumors that she had mistreated Zongzheng Heng.
• Lu Wenzhou tried to remove Zongzheng Heng’s mask, but Zongzheng Heng caught his wrist and warned him that Qiao Shuyi would be angered.
• Lu Wenzhou ordered his attendant to strike Zongzheng Heng, who was forced to kneel as the assembled guests looked on without intervening.
• Zongzheng Heng recalled his past humiliation in the palace and clenched his hand as he silently vowed to remember those present.

Qiao Shuyi arrived as Lu Wenzhou beat Zongzheng Heng and punished Lu Wenzhou for hurting her male favorite. She left Lu Wenzhou wounded and gagged while Zongzheng Heng watched her defend him.

• Lu Wenzhou forced Zongzheng Heng to kneel and repeatedly kicked him until Qiao Shuyi arrived.
• Qiao Shuyi slapped Lu Wenzhou and comforted Zongzheng Heng, offering to punish Lu Wenzhou as he wished.
• When Zongzheng Heng remained silent, Qiao Shuyi ordered An Yi to kill the page who had restrained him.
• Qiao Shuyi had An Yi force Lu Wenzhou to his knees, then stabbed both of his thighs with a dagger.
• Qiao Shuyi ordered An Yi to gag Lu Wenzhou after his screams became too loud.

After Qiao Shuyi took revenge for Zongzheng Heng, she was summoned to the front hall, where Qiao Nanyu accused Liu Jinyu of adultery and ordered her drowned. Qiao Shuyi arrived as the door burst open, leaving Liu Jinyu’s fate unresolved.

• Qiao Shuyi comforted Zongzheng Heng by letting him clean the blood from her hand, then left for the front hall after Fuzhi reported that something had happened to Liu Jinyu.
• A maid told Qiao Shuyi that Qiao Nanyu had caught Liu Jinyu and Zhou Yan together and was threatening to kill Liu Jinyu.
• Qiao Nanyu questioned Liu Jinyu while Song Chengyin and Qiao Shuqin urged him to consider the possibility of a misunderstanding.
• Song Chengyin presented a love letter supposedly found in Liu Jinyu’s room, and Qiao Nanyu treated it as proof of an affair despite Liu Jinyu denying she wrote it.
• Qiao Nanyu ordered the guards to drown Liu Jinyu in the pond, and Qiao Shuqin secretly rejoiced.
• The door to the side room burst open as Qiao Shuyi arrived.

Qiao Shuyi stopped Qiao Nanyu from drowning Liu Jinyu and secured her mother’s transfer to an estate outside the city. After sending Liu Jinyu away with a mysterious pouch, Qiao Shuyi vowed to punish those who had harmed her.

• Qiao Shuyi confronted Qiao Nanyu and demanded that he spare Liu Jinyu so she could investigate the scheme against her.
• Qiao Nanyu agreed to send Liu Jinyu to an estate outside the city and ordered Zhou Yan imprisoned pending judgment.
• Qiao Shuyi comforted Liu Jinyu, gave her an embroidered pouch, and told her to open it only if something unbearable happened.
• Qiao Shuyi escorted Liu Jinyu out of the residence and watched her carriage disappear before turning back with a cold expression.