Chapter Summaries

Zongzheng Heng searched the manor’s account books for evidence of military spending, then secretly ordered his hidden guard to bring an antidote and kill Lu Wenzhou and four other men. After learning that Liu Jinyu had been divorced, Qiao Shuyi told Zongzheng Heng she would make those who hurt her mother pay and asked him never to leave or betray her.

• Zongzheng Heng slipped into the accounting office and searched the books but found no evidence that Qiao Nanyu had spent money maintaining troops.
• Zongzheng Heng overheard maids say Liu Jinyu had been divorced and sent away, then left the manor through the back gate to summon his hidden guard.
• Zongzheng Heng ordered the guard to bring an antidote for his Power-Dissolving Powder and kill Lu Wenzhou, Zhao Hengyuan, Qian Mingyu, Sun Zhao'an, and Li Chongwen.
• Qiao Shuyi saw Zongzheng Heng near the back gate and told him her father had sent Liu Jinyu to an estate outside the city.
• Qiao Shuyi said she would make those who wanted her to suffer even sadder, then embraced Zongzheng Heng and called him her chosen family and future husband.
• Qiao Shuyi begged Zongzheng Heng not to leave or betray her, while he concealed that he had come to destroy her family and kill her father.

At the estate, Qiao Shuyi pressed Zongzheng Heng to confront the depth of his feelings, provoking his jealousy and breaking through his habitual restraint. Just as their heated kiss turned fierce, a sudden downpour brought him back to his senses.

• Qiao Shuyi spent three days at the estate enjoying poetry, painting, music, and rides with Zongzheng Heng while he wondered why she had come.
• While they rode together, Qiao Shuyi asked whether Zongzheng Heng liked her and described how she would react if he held another woman.
• Qiao Shuyi told Zongzheng Heng that his love was too light, and he admitted that his feelings for her were already heavy.
• Qiao Shuyi asked Zongzheng Heng to kiss her, then urged him to abandon his restraint and show his possessiveness.
• Zongzheng Heng imagined Qiao Shuyi with another man, lost control, and kissed her fiercely while gripping her throat before letting go.
• Zongzheng Heng kissed Qiao Shuyi's neck, but a sudden torrential downpour interrupted them and brought him to his senses.

In the rain, Qiao Shuyi encouraged Zongzheng Heng to abandon restraint with her, and they nearly crossed the final boundary before Qingyan interrupted them. After hearing that Song Chengyin was gravely ill and the prince had summoned her back, Zongzheng Heng suspected Qiao Shuyi’s influence ran deep and feared he was becoming attached to her.

• Qiao Shuyi told Zongzheng Heng that she wanted them to defy convention together, and he embraced his long-hidden madness as they gave in to each other in the rain.
• Qingyan called for them before they crossed the final boundary, and Qiao Shuyi and Zongzheng Heng dressed in silence.
• Qiao Shuyi privately considered her plan to draw Zongzheng Heng away from restraint and make him unable to return to his former self.
• Qingyan reported that Song Chengyin was gravely ill and that the prince wanted Qiao Shuyi to return to the residence, so Qiao Shuyi agreed to go back.
• Zongzheng Heng suspected Qiao Shuyi had arranged events at the residence and feared that he was sinking into his feelings for her without wanting to escape.

Qiao Shuyi denied causing Song Chengyin’s illness while Qiao Nanyu dismissed Qiao Shuqin’s accusation and left her to investigate. After Song Chengyin died, Qiao Shuyi admitted to Qiao Shuqin that she had killed her, then slapped her when she tried to strike back.

• Qiao Shuqin accused Qiao Shuyi of making Song Chengyin gravely ill, but Qiao Shuyi denied it to Qiao Nanyu.
• Qiao Nanyu gave Qiao Shuqin five days to investigate and left for the military camp without taking further action.
• Song Chengyin died three days later, and Qiao Nanyu left Qiao Shuqin to make the funeral arrangements.
• Qiao Shuqin searched the manor for evidence but found no one willing to help her.
• Qiao Shuqin confronted Qiao Shuyi, who said she had killed Song Chengyin and warned her not to insult Qiao Shuyi’s mother.
• Qiao Shuqin tried to slap Qiao Shuyi, but Qiao Shuyi grabbed her wrist and knocked her to the floor with a slap.

Qiao Shuyi confronted Qiao Shuqin over Song Chengyin’s death and warned that she would protect her mother and Zhigui. Qiao Shuqin resolved to take Zongzheng Heng from Qiao Shuyi, setting the plan Qiao Shuyi wanted in motion.

• Qiao Shuqin admitted her long-standing hatred of Qiao Shuyi, who calmly told her that she had killed Song Chengyin because Song had tried to frame her mother.
• Qiao Shuyi warned Qiao Shuqin that Liu Jinyu was protected by people in the manor and that Zhigui was beyond her reach.
• Qiao Shuqin heard maids say that Qiao Shuyi and Zhigui had not consummated their marriage because they wanted to grow closer first.
• Qiao Shuyi listened from behind a corridor pillar and hoped Qiao Shuqin would interfere in her relationship with Zongzheng Heng.
• Qiao Shuqin mourned at Song Chengyin’s coffin and decided to spend her dowry hiring a killer, but concluded she could not kill Qiao Shuyi.
• Qiao Shuqin resolved to take Zongzheng Heng from Qiao Shuyi, even if she could not win his heart.

Qiao Shuyi showed Zongzheng Heng the garden she had created and shared a tender moment with him beneath a flowering fringe tree. They vowed to share this life's springs and autumns, though both kept their true thoughts hidden.

• Qiao Shuyi guided Zongzheng Heng through her lavish garden and explained how she had gathered rare flowers from across the land.
• Qiao Shuyi ran beneath the blooming fringe tree and asked Zongzheng Heng to lift her onto his shoulders so she could reach its flowers.
• Qiao Shuyi recited a poem about using the fringe tree to see their hair turn white together, and Zongzheng Heng lifted her down and embraced her.
• Zongzheng Heng pledged that they would share this life's springs and autumns, and Qiao Shuyi asked whether it counted as their vow.
• Qiao Shuyi wondered whether Zongzheng Heng no longer wanted to kill her, while Zongzheng Heng privately considered sparing her life if she remained obedient.

Qiao Shuqin drugged Zongzheng Heng and trapped him in an empty room after he was weakened by medicinal powder, while he had been secretly planning to retrieve an antidote and search Qiao Nanyu’s study. The chapter ended with Qiao Shuqin approaching him after lighting suspicious incense, and Zongzheng Heng warning her that she was courting death.

• Hidden behind the rockery, Qiao Shuqin watched Qiao Shuyi and Zongzheng Heng together and resented their happiness so soon after her mother’s death.
• As Qiao Shuyi rested in the garden, Zongzheng Heng considered her future after the Prince of Jin'an's Manor fell, then resolved to torment her himself.
• Qiao Shuyi realized Zongzheng Heng’s words and chosen name revealed clues about his identity and ambitions.
• Zongzheng Heng hurried toward the back gate to meet the Cold Owl Guard for an antidote and planned to search Qiao Nanyu’s study for evidence.
• A maid spilled medicinal powder over Zongzheng Heng, leaving him dizzy and too weak to move, and Qiao Shuqin had a servant drag him into an empty room.
• Qiao Shuqin lit suspicious incense and began removing her outer robe as Zongzheng Heng lay helpless and threatened her.

Qiao Shuqin drugged Zongzheng Heng and tried to force herself on him to hurt Qiao Shuyi. Qiao Shuyi interrupted them and left Qiao Shuqin fearing what she might do next.

• Qiao Shuqin told Zongzheng Heng she wanted to make Qiao Shuyi suffer and began undressing him while he was drugged and unable to use his inner force.
• Qiao Shuqin urged Zongzheng Heng to join her in taking revenge on Qiao Shuyi, but he refused and turned his face away when she tried to kiss him.
• Qiao Shuyi burst into the room, while Fuzhi extinguished the incense and opened a window.
• Qiao Shuqin taunted Qiao Shuyi and claimed she and Zongzheng Heng were in love, but Zongzheng Heng insisted nothing had happened.
• Qiao Shuyi pulled Qiao Shuqin off Zongzheng Heng and threatened to find her other men, then said she despised violating a woman's body but that Qiao Shuqin had displeased her.

Qiao Shuyi punished Qiao Shuqin for drugging Zongzheng Heng and ordered him returned to Jinglan Garden, where she confronted him about why he had gone to the dispensary. When he could not explain, she decided to mark his body so he would remember that he belonged to her.

• Qiao Shuyi ordered Qiao Shuqin dragged to Concubine Song's memorial to kneel while breathing the incense she had used to drug Zongzheng Heng.
• Qiao Shuyi had Zongzheng Heng carried back to Jinglan Garden and tied to the bed while the drug still affected him.
• Zongzheng Heng begged Qiao Shuyi to believe that Qiao Shuqin had drugged him, but he could not explain why he had been near the dispensary.
• Qiao Shuyi accused Zongzheng Heng of planning to leave her and said she would carve her mark into his body.

Qiao Shuyi tattooed her pet name, “Shushu,” beneath Zongzheng Heng’s collarbone despite his furious resistance, intending to use the mark as leverage in the future. After she freed him, the drug overcame his reason and he took her, while she expected his hatred to return once it wore off.

• Zongzheng Heng realized Qiao Shuyi was about to tattoo him and struggled against the ribbons binding him.
• Qiao Shuyi explained that she wanted to mark him with her pet name so he would belong to her, and dismissed his warnings about the disgrace it would bring.
• Zongzheng Heng threatened to kill Qiao Shuyi, but she continued tattooing him while he was restrained and drugged.
• After half an hour, Qiao Shuyi finished tattooing “Shushu” beneath Zongzheng Heng’s collarbone and untied him.
• Zongzheng Heng pinned Qiao Shuyi down and, overcome by the drug, kissed and took her; she expected him to hate her once he regained his senses.

After waking beside Qiao Shuyi, Zongzheng Heng discovered the characters she had carved into his chest and threatened to kill her. Qiao Shuyi challenged his hatred and drew him back to her, and he kissed her while resolving to kill her someday.

• Zongzheng Heng woke beside Qiao Shuyi and found the characters she had carved into his chest.
• Zongzheng Heng grabbed Qiao Shuyi by the throat, but released her when she showed no fear of dying with him.
• Zongzheng Heng told Qiao Shuyi he would kill her someday, and she said she would willingly die by his hand.
• Qiao Shuyi argued that Zongzheng Heng should focus on the happiness of the moment instead of hatred, honor, and disgrace.
• Zongzheng Heng gave in to his desire and kissed Qiao Shuyi, while telling himself he would kill her before long.

After a day of intimacy, Qiao Shuyi teased Zongzheng Heng about his shame and jealousy, then dismissed Fuzhi and Qingyan to prove she cared only for him. Zongzheng Heng claimed he had stopped being angry, but his hatred and growing emotional turmoil remained as they returned to intimacy in the bathing pool.

• Fuzhi and Qingyan discussed Qiao Shuyi's long silence and learned that she had spent the day with Zongzheng Heng.
• In the bathing pool, Zongzheng Heng resolved to obtain the antidote to the Power-Dissolving Powder and kill Qiao Shuyi, while she offered to have his name carved into her body.
• Qiao Shuyi called in Fuzhi and Qingyan and ordered them to leave the manor, saying she had freed them from their contracts.
• Zongzheng Heng accused Qiao Shuyi of having no heart, and she told him that her heart belonged to him.
• Qiao Shuyi said she wanted to appear in Zongzheng Heng's erotic dreams and nightmares, and he pulled her against the pool's edge and kissed her.

While pretending to be Qiao Shuyi’s captive, Zongzheng Heng obtained the antidote to the Power-Dissolving Powder and gathered evidence of Qiao Nanyu’s secret military preparations. He ordered a covert operation to surround Qiao Nanyu’s forces and seize their supplies, while remaining at Jinglan Garden with Qiao Shuyi.

• Zongzheng Heng received the antidote and learned that the Cold Owl Guard had rescued Zhou Yan and discovered Qiao Nanyu’s hidden camp of several thousand soldiers.
• Zongzheng Heng obtained the layout of Qiao Nanyu’s study and the location of its secret compartment, where the prince’s letters were likely kept.
• After returning to Qiao Shuyi, Zongzheng Heng reflected on his attachment to her and decided she still had to die because she knew his fatal weakness.
• Zongzheng Heng gathered account books, secret letters, and maps documenting Qiao Nanyu’s troops, supplies, and weapons workshops.
• Zongzheng Heng ordered the Cold Owl Guard to deliver the evidence to Gu Huai'an and arrange for soldiers to enter Jinzhou, surround the hidden camp, take control of three granaries, and infiltrate the weapons workshop.

On the eve of Qiao Nanyu’s birthday banquet, Qiao Shuyi and Zongzheng Heng shared an intimate night as they both anticipated the coming destruction of the Prince of Jin'an’s Manor. Zongzheng Heng indulged in what might be their last tenderness before leaving, while Qiao Shuyi trusted that he would not kill her.

• Qiao Shuyi asked Zongzheng Heng to choose between two dresses for her father's birthday banquet, then flirted openly with him.
• Zongzheng Heng lifted Qiao Shuyi onto the table, and the two became intimate.
• Qiao Shuyi reflected that their bond depended on both their physical relationship and the attachment between them.
• Zongzheng Heng held Qiao Shuyi as she slept and wondered why she trusted him despite his threat to kill her.
• Qiao Shuyi had long known Zongzheng Heng was the emperor and chose to trust her judgment of him rather than live in fear.

At the Prince of Jin'an’s birthday banquet, Qiao Shuyi worried that Zongzheng Heng might move against her family, while the two exchanged flirtatious remarks. Gu Huai'an arrived with an imperial edict stripping Qiao Nanyu of his title and ordering the execution of all 137 members of the Qiao household, leaving Zongzheng Heng watching Qiao Shuyi as she knelt beside him.

• Qiao Shuyi wondered whether Zongzheng Heng intended to act against the Prince of Jin'an and considered how she might survive if he wanted her dead.
• Qiao Shuyi asked Zhigui whether he wanted many women, and they teased each other about what they liked most about one another.
• Gu Huai'an entered the banquet with guards and announced that he had come on the emperor’s orders to deliver an imperial edict.
• The edict accused Qiao Nanyu of treason and corruption, stripped him of his title, confiscated his property, and sentenced all 137 members of the Qiao household to execution.
• Qiao Shuyi knelt and thought about the power to decide life and death, while Zongzheng Heng watched her trembling form.

Gu Huai'an exposed Qiao Nanyu's rebellion and took control of the Prince of Jin'an's Manor, where the Qiao Family was sentenced to execution in half a month. Back in Jinglan Garden, Qiao Shuyi asked Zongzheng Heng to kill her, but he released her and she took his hesitation as proof that he cared for her.

• Qiao Nanyu tried to resist Gu Huai'an, but Gu revealed evidence of his rebellion and said the manor guards and military positions were already under control.
• Gu Huai'an confined the guests and Qiao Family to the manor and announced that the Qiao Family would be executed in half a month.
• Qiao Shuqin taunted Qiao Shuyi about their past, but Qiao Shuyi remained unconcerned about her impending death.
• Qiao Shuyi apologized to Zongzheng Heng for failing to give him the life of luxury she had promised and said the Qiao Family's downfall would not implicate him.
• Qiao Shuyi placed Zongzheng Heng's hand on her throat and asked him to kill her, but he let go; she embraced him, saying he could not bear to kill her.

Qiao Shuyi chose to spend one last day with Zongzheng Heng before he left, and he departed at dawn without waking her. He resumed his role as emperor in Jinzhou, where he ordered officials to deal with Qiao Nanyu’s followers and planned to question Qiao Nanyu himself.

• Qiao Shuyi told Zongzheng Heng she would not flee and invited him to spend one last day with her; he accepted.
• Zongzheng Heng left Qiao Shuyi sleeping at dawn and returned to his imperial duties.
• Zongzheng Heng entered the Jinzhou prefectural yamen and revealed his identity to the assembled officials.
• Gu Huai'an reported that Qiao Nanyu and his family were detained, the rebel troops dispersed, and evidence and weapons had been seized.
• Zongzheng Heng approved Gu Huai'an’s plan to punish proven ringleaders, deal proportionately with other officials, and reward informants.
• Zongzheng Heng told Gu Huai'an to prepare a verified list and plan within three days, and said he would question Qiao Nanyu the next day.

Zongzheng Heng struggled with his feelings as the Qiao Family’s execution approached, then rode to the Prince of Jin'an's Manor to stop Qiao Shuyi from dying. He learned she had escaped and was pregnant with his child, and ordered the Black Armor Guard to find her alive.

• Gu Huai'an told Zongzheng Heng that the empress dowager was arranging a consort selection and that both daughters of the Su Family would participate; Zongzheng Heng let the arrangements proceed.
• As the Qiao Family’s execution drew near, Zongzheng Heng could not stop thinking about Qiao Shuyi and realized he did not want her to die.
• Zongzheng Heng rode toward the Prince of Jin'an's Manor to prevent Qiao Shuyi’s execution.
• The commander of the Black Armor Guard reported that Qiao Shuyi had escaped after learning she was pregnant.
• Zongzheng Heng learned the child was his and ordered the guards to find Qiao Shuyi alive.

Zongzheng Heng learned that Qiao Shuyi was pregnant and rushed to stop her execution, while Qiao Shuyi staged her death by falling from a cliff to escape. She fell before he could reach her, and Zongzheng Heng ordered his guards to search for her, alive or dead.

• Zongzheng Heng ordered the Black Armor Guard commander to bring Qiao Shuyi back alive after learning she was pregnant, then raced toward the mountain.
• Qiao Shuyi and An Yi reached the cliff, where she planned to fake her death and escape to a hidden cave.
• The Black Armor Guards surrounded Qiao Shuyi and An Yi and attacked them with a rain of arrows.
• An arrow struck Qiao Shuyi's shoulder, and she fell from the cliff just as Zongzheng Heng arrived and shouted.
• Zongzheng Heng kicked the archer who had shot Qiao Shuyi, while An Yi stabbed himself and leaped after her.
• Zongzheng Heng ordered the Black Armor Guard to find Qiao Shuyi and bring her back if she was alive, or show him her body if she was dead.

Qiao Shuyi faked her death at the cliff and prepared new identities for her shadow guards as she planned to travel to Jiangnan while pregnant with Zongzheng Heng’s child. Zongzheng Heng found her clothes and what appeared to be remains at the bottom of the cliff, but ordered the search to continue.

• A Qi pulled Qiao Shuyi into a hidden cave, where she removed the arrow and revealed that she was wearing protective armor and was truly pregnant.
• Qiao Shuyi gave An Yi and A Qi new identities as Yan Po and Ling Han, then arranged for Yan Po to escort her to Jiangnan and Ling Han to build a business in Jinzhou.
• Qiao Shuyi told Ling Han to erase all traces of the cave and resolved to meet Zongzheng Heng again in two years.
• Zongzheng Heng’s guards found Qiao Shuyi’s waterlogged clothes and pieces of a corpse beside the river, and reported that jackals might have torn her apart.
• Zongzheng Heng ordered the guards to kill every jackal and search another hundred li along the riverbank.