Chapter Summaries

At the banquet, Wang He refused the Yongzhao Emperor’s proposed marriage to Wen Nihe, while Zhao Huiluan secretly took Rong An’s poem and shared it with Shen Zhiyun. Back at Jade Balance Palace, Shen Zhiyun praised the poem and teased Zhao Huiluan about whether she had truly taken a fancy to Rong An.

• Wang He told the Yongzhao Emperor that he already had a wife and could not marry Wen Nihe, leaving her humiliated.
• Zhao Huiluan took a sheet of Rong An’s poetry, and the little crown prince exposed her in front of him and the other candidates.
• Rong An declined an invitation to drink with his fellow graduates and left after hearing them tease him about the princess’s favor.
• Zhao Huiluan gave Rong An’s poem to Shen Zhiyun, who praised its depiction of snow among the pines.
• Shen Zhiyun asked Zhao Huiluan for the first-place scholar’s poem and teased her about liking Rong An.

Zhao Huiluan persuaded the Yongzhao Emperor to let her attend the crown prince’s lessons, hoping to see Rong An again. When Rong An next taught, she arrived at the Hall of Literary Glory with the crown prince and Zhang Yunchi, but Shen Zhiyun was absent.

• Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi eavesdropped on Rong An teaching the crown prince, but Rong An spotted them and closed the window.
• Zhao Huiluan asked the Yongzhao Emperor to let her attend lessons, claiming she wanted to study and avoid tiring Consort Jing.
• The Yongzhao Emperor agreed, and Zhao Huiluan told Zhang Yunchi he could be her study companion.
• On Rong An’s next teaching day, Zhao Huiluan arrived at the Hall of Literary Glory with the crown prince and Zhang Yunchi.
• Zhao Huiluan looked around the hall and noticed that Shen Zhiyun was not there.

Zhao Huiluan drew a portrait of Rong An, then endured three strokes of his disciplinary ruler after failing to complete her assigned copying. Zhang Yunchi questioned her feelings for Rong An as he tended her injured palm.

• Zhang Yunchi joked that the Shen family’s young ladies had no need for lessons, and Shen Zhiyun arrived before Rong An began teaching.
• Zhao Huiluan drew Rong An’s portrait, which he took and kept after class.
• Rong An discovered Zhao Huiluan had not copied The Great Learning and struck her palm three times despite her younger brother and Zhang Yunchi offering to take her place.
• Shen Zhiyun accompanied the little crown prince away after class, leaving Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi behind.
• Zhang Yunchi asked whether Zhao Huiluan regretted her words at the Jade Forest Banquet, and she insisted Rong An would not want to rely on the Wen family for advancement before asking him to blow on her sore palm.

Rong An treated Zhao Huiluan’s injured hand and accepted her request to teach her, while she told him she did not regret defending him at the Jade Forest Banquet. He decided to remain in the Yan Capital, though his former teacher Xie Shangxiu rejected him after hearing of the princess’s favor; days later, Zhao Huiluan attended Rong An’s lesson attentively.

• Rong An brought Zhao Huiluan ointment, and she asked him to apply it to her injured hand.
• Rong An told Zhao Huiluan he would teach her whatever he knew, and she accepted him as her teacher.
• Rong An decided to rent a house in Shiyong Ward and stay in the Yan Capital rather than seek an outside posting.
• Rong An visited Xie Shangxiu to explain his changed plans, but Xie Shangxiu mocked him and had him shown out.
• Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi argued about Rong An’s rejection before joining his lesson, where Zhao Huiluan listened attentively.

Zhao Huiluan learned that Xie Shangxiu and two other officials had been imprisoned after impeaching Wen Hong, putting Xie and his household in grave danger. She visited Xie in the Imperial Prison and urged him not to submit a blood-written memorial accusing Wen Hong, but he angrily rebuked her.

• Zhao Huiluan told Rong An that three officials who had impeached Grand Secretary Wen were imprisoned and warned that the Grand Secretariat would try to implicate Xie Shangxiu.
• Zhao Huiluan ordered Xiao Qinglan to protect the families of Xie Shangxiu and the other imprisoned officials.
• The Brocade Guard seized Xie Shangxiu, while a fire killed Madam Xie and Xie Zhiyao disappeared from the residence.
• Zhao Huiluan asked Xiao Qinglan to take her to the Imperial Prison, where she found Xie Shangxiu writing a blood memorial listing Wen Hong's crimes.
• Zhao Huiluan warned Xie Shangxiu that the emperor would treat his accusation of Wen Hong as an attack on himself, and Xie angrily rebuked her.

In the forty-first year of Yongzhao, Zhao Huiluan persuaded the emperor to let her study at the Imperial College. As Zhang Yunchi wondered whether she had done it for Rong An, Zhao Huiluan thought about how the college would let her venture beyond the inner court.

• Zhang Yunchi questioned why the emperor had agreed to let Zhao Huiluan study at the Imperial College.
• Zhao Huiluan told Zhang Yunchi that she would not leave him behind wherever she went.
• Zhang Yunchi recalled the three conditions the emperor had set for Zhao Huiluan's studies.
• Zhang Yunchi asked whether Zhao Huiluan had enrolled because of Rong An, who had been transferred to the Imperial College as a vice director.
• Zhao Huiluan said Rong An had promised to teach her everything he knew, while she privately recognized the college as her only way out of the inner court.

Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi’s carriage broke down on the way to the Imperial College, so Wen Yan lent them his carriage and turned back toward Yan Capital instead of attending. At the Imperial College, Zhao Huiluan reunited with Shen Zhiyun and learned that Sister Yao had not arrived yet.

• Zhang Yunchi’s carriage wheel broke, leaving him and Zhao Huiluan stranded on the road.
• Wen Yan offered his carriage to Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi, then headed back to Yan Capital with his servant.
• Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi rode on in Wen Yan’s carriage and discussed his reputation as a wastrel who sometimes helped women at the Red Sleeve House.
• Zhang Yunchi brought Zhao Huiluan to the Imperial College, where Wen Nihe and the others welcomed her.
• Zhao Huiluan greeted Shen Zhiyun and explained that Wen Nihe’s brother had lent them his carriage.
• Shen Zhiyun told Zhao Huiluan that Sister Yao had not arrived and might have offered them a ride if they had been delayed.

Zhao Huiluan arrived at the Imperial College, where she met Shen Zhiyao and learned about her strained interactions with Wen Nihe and Wen Yan. After struggling to stay awake through Vice Director Rong An’s first lecture, she told him she was unaccustomed to the early mornings and unfamiliar bed.

• Shen Zhiyao arrived at the Imperial College in the Shen family's carriage and greeted Zhao Huiluan and the others.
• The registrar showed Zhao Huiluan to the student quarters, where she shared a room with Shen Zhiyun and asked about Shen Zhiyao.
• Wen Nihe threw Shen Zhiyao's belongings out of their room, so Shen Zhiyao calmly moved into the room next door.
• Zhao Huiluan struggled to wake for class and sat behind Zhang Yunchi in the Hall of Exalted Aspirations.
• Rong An called Zhao Huiluan to the front, then explained the Imperial College's rules while she fought sleep.
• Rong An asked Zhao Huiluan whether she had slept well, and she said the unfamiliar bed and early hour had kept her from sleeping comfortably.

At the Imperial College, Shen Zhiyao rebuffed Wen Nihe’s insults and rejected Wen Yan’s attention, while Zhao Huiluan and Shen Zhiyun later found Rong An helping Shen Zhiyao in the library. The chapter ended with Zhang Yunchi impressing the archery instructor by hitting the target three times in a row.

• Zhao Huiluan and Shen Zhiyun overheard Wen Nihe insulting Shen Zhiyao and her family, and Shen Zhiyao firmly defended herself and told Wen Nihe to keep Wen Yan away from her.
• Wen Yan apologized to Shen Zhiyao, then warned Wen Nihe to stop meddling in his affairs and threatened to send her home.
• Shen Zhiyun told Zhao Huiluan how Wen Yan had fallen for Shen Zhiyao after seeing her at the Lantern Festival and had used a jade pendant as an excuse to contact her.
• At the Hall of Exalted Literature, Zhao Huiluan and Shen Zhiyun saw Rong An prevent books from falling on Shen Zhiyao; Rong An then gave Zhao Huiluan books and agreed to answer her questions.
• During archery lessons, Zhang Yunchi hit the target with three arrows in a row, earning Assistant Instructor Ma’s praise and an invitation to help teach the other students.

Zhao Huiluan and Wen Yan shared food and secretly drank wine at the Imperial College. As they talked, Wen Yan explained how he first came to admire Shen Zhiyao.

• Zhao Huiluan watched Wen Yan bandage Shen Zhiyao’s blistered hand and teased Rong An about treating Shen differently from his other students.
• Zhao Huiluan learned that Wang He, Wen Hong’s adoptive son, had been appointed to oversee construction of a shrine at the Temple of the First Sage.
• Wen Yan brought Zhao Huiluan chicken from Between Water and Clouds, and they ate together in a quiet pavilion.
• When Zhao Huiluan remarked that wine would go well with the food, Wen Yan fetched a flask he had hidden at the Imperial College.
• Zhao Huiluan asked Wen Yan whether he loved Shen Zhiyao, and Wen Yan recalled admiring her calmness when they first met at a temple gate.

Zhao Huiluan helped Wen Yan pursue Shen Zhiyao by advising him to win the class prefect election, and Wen Yan was elected. Shen Zhiyun worried that Shen Zhiyao’s feelings for him were complicated by his ties to the Wen family.

• Wen Yan confessed his feelings for Shen Zhiyao, and Zhao Huiluan offered to help him court her.
• Zhao Huiluan advised Wen Yan to become class prefect to gain opportunities to spend time with Shen Zhiyao.
• Zhao Huiluan got drunk with Wen Yan, and Rong An punished her with ten extra sheets of calligraphy.
• Wen Yan apologized to Zhao Huiluan for avoiding her, and she accused him of protecting his reputation before Rong An arrived.
• Zhao Huiluan suggested that Shen Zhiyun consider whether Shen Zhiyao liked Wen Yan, and Shen Zhiyun voted for him in the class prefect selection.
• Wen Yan was elected class prefect, and Shen Zhiyun worried that Shen Zhiyao’s coldness toward him came from his family ties.

Wen Yan spoke with Shen Zhiyao about ambition, while Zhao Huiluan brought Shen Zhiyun to a lecture on the stars. Hearing Vice Director Tao recount a prophecy about a southern general star, Zhao Huiluan remembered how Yun Fengge had saved her in her previous life and wondered why he had married her.

• Wen Yan crumpled his unfinished essay and asked Shen Zhiyao whether she would look down on him for lacking ambition, and she accepted his wish for a carefree life.
• Zhao Huiluan took Shen Zhiyun to find Zhang Yunchi, who was despondent after missing the target with all three arrows in the archery examination.
• Zhao Huiluan and Shen Zhiyun heard students discuss Vice Director Tao's prophecies about the southern general star and the danger to Marquis Jingwu and his son.
• Zhao Huiluan attended Tao Xuanzhi's lecture on the stars with Shen Zhiyun and Zhang Yunchi, and a student asked whether the southern general star was Yunsong, Yun Fengge.
• Tao Xuanzhi smiled without confirming the general's identity, and Zhao Huiluan remembered how Yun Fengge had rescued and protected her in her previous life before wondering why he had married her.

At the Imperial College, Shen Zhiyao and Shen Zhiyun defended women’s right to pursue official careers, while Zhao Huiluan stopped the quarrel and questioned Registrar Tao Xuanzhi about her father and Tao’s past. Zhao’s questions revealed that Tao’s family had died during the Oirat invasion of Hequ, and she left him after expressing sympathy.

• Shen Zhiyao challenged the students who opposed women taking the imperial examinations, and Shen Zhiyun offered to compete with them.
• Shen Zhiyun argued that women deserved choices beyond the inner quarters, and Shen Zhiyao supported her as the students protested.
• Zhao Huiluan rebuked the students for criticizing her, and Rong An signaled the registrar to let the discussion pass as a conversation about storybooks.
• After class, Tao Xuanzhi accepted Zhang Yunchi’s respectful bow, then answered Zhao Huiluan’s questions about the emperor’s health and his own family.
• Zhao Huiluan learned that Tao Xuanzhi’s relatives had died during the Oirat invasion of Hequ and expressed sympathy; Zhang Yunchi questioned whether Tao would risk his position for the dead.

Zhao Huiluan helped Wen Yan arrange a meeting with Shen Zhiyao, then caught Rong An watching her at the Imperial College. Fireworks frightened her just as Rong An began to tell her something, leaving him concerned about her.

• Zhao Huiluan agreed to arrange a meeting between Wen Yan and Shen Zhiyao in exchange for food and wine.
• Zhao Huiluan told Shen Zhiyao that Vice Director Rong was waiting for her in the pavilion, and Shen Zhiyao went to meet Wen Yan there.
• Zhao Huiluan crept closer to watch Wen Yan and Shen Zhiyao, but Rong An caught her and questioned what she was doing.
• Zhao Huiluan told Rong An she would act as Wen Yan's matchmaker if he wanted to marry Shen Zhiyao, but fireworks drowned out her words.
• Rong An began speaking to Zhao Huiluan, who suddenly admitted that she was scared.

Zhao Huiluan overcame her fear of fireworks and persuaded Rong An to ally with her to protect her future and help the crown prince ascend the throne. After sealing their agreement, she pressed Rong An about whether he and Shen Zhiyao had known each other before, but he asked her to state her own suspicions first.

• Rong An led Zhao Huiluan into Chongwen Pavilion to shield her from the fireworks, and she told him why she hated them.
• Zhao Huiluan offered to help Rong An enter the Grand Secretariat if he joined her, and she asked him to help the crown prince ascend the throne smoothly.
• Rong An questioned Zhao Huiluan's intent, and she explained that she wanted to preserve her status and wealth before circumstances changed.
• Rong An accepted Zhao Huiluan's offer, and they sealed their alliance with a handshake.
• Zhao Huiluan teased Rong An and asked whether he and Shen Zhiyao had known each other before, but Rong An asked her to share her thoughts first.

Zhao Huiluan deduced that Shen Zhiyao was actually Xie Zhiyao, the rescued daughter of the imprisoned Censor Xie, and learned how Rong An had protected her. After Zhao Huiluan declared her willingness to help Xie Zhiyao, Rong An revealed that he had refused his teacher’s plan to betroth Xie Zhiyao to him, leaving Zhao Huiluan shocked and then annoyed.

• Zhao Huiluan tricked Rong An into reacting to Xie Shangxiu’s name, then explained how she had identified Shen Zhiyao as Xie Zhiyao.
• Zhao Huiluan recounted how Rong An had arranged for Xie Zhiyao to be rescued and entrusted to Great Scholar Shen Linfu.
• Zhao Huiluan explained that Rong An’s concern for Xie Zhiyao and her complicated feelings toward Wen Yan had raised her suspicions.
• Zhao Huiluan promised to help Xie Zhiyao and told Rong An that their alliance required mutual trust.
• Rong An revealed that his teacher had proposed betrothing Xie Zhiyao to him, but he had refused.
• Rong An left Chongwen Pavilion to escort Zhao Huiluan back, while she followed him in shock and annoyance.

After returning safely to the dormitory, Zhao Huiluan reassured Zhang Yunchi and later joined him, Rong An, Wen Yan, and the Shen sisters for a feast at Between Water and Clouds. Their attempt to disguise themselves as young men failed at Red Sleeve House, where the madam explained that their eyes and mannerisms gave them away.

• Rong An stopped Zhao Huiluan near the dormitory and asked whether she had truly visited her honored teacher in the Imperial Prison.
• Shen Zhiyun reunited with Zhao Huiluan, and they learned Zhang Yunchi was still searching for her before turning back to find him.
• Zhang Yunchi rushed to Zhao Huiluan, checked that she was unharmed, and left in a huff when she teased him with promises of food and wine.
• Five days later, Zhao Huiluan and Zhang Yunchi joined Rong An, Wen Yan, Shen Zhiyun, and Shen Zhiyao for a feast at Between Water and Clouds.
• At Red Sleeve House, the madam saw through the three girls' disguises and told them their eyes and mannerisms made them look like women.

Wen Nihe ordered the Red Sleeve House madam to send Shen Zhiyao south, claiming her grandfather would protect them. After Shen Zhiyao disappeared, Zhao Huiluan arranged a discreet official search and gave Zhang Yunchi her late mother's pendant as a cover story.

• Wen Nihe threatened the Red Sleeve House madam into carrying out her grandfather's order to send Shen Zhiyao south.
• Zhao Huiluan and her companions visited the Red Sleeve House, where she spoke openly about its auction of new girls.
• Zhao Huiluan told Zhang Yunchi she wanted to go south, but the next day he informed her that Shen Zhiyao had vanished during a temple fair.
• Zhao Huiluan instructed Zhang Yunchi to tell the prefect of Shuntian that she had lost an important object so officials could search for Shen Zhiyao without drawing attention to the Shen family.
• Zhao Huiluan gave Zhang Yunchi her late mother's pendant and asked him to return it intact once Shen Zhiyao was found.

Shen Zhiyao woke in a warehouse among kidnapped girls and learned that their captors were forcing them to take medicine to produce menstrual blood. When soldiers blocked the ferry crossing, the traffickers took the girls to a ruined temple instead.

• Shen Zhiyao heard her captors order medicine forced down the girls’ throats and learned it was meant to bring on their periods.
• Shen Zhiyao saw a dozen frightened girls in the warehouse and asked whether they had been hurt.
• A bearded trafficker recognized Shen Zhiyao, shoved her, and warned his underling to make sure his mother was cared for if he went to prison.
• The traffickers tied the girls together and hurried them toward a boat, but a guard reported that soldiers had filled the ferry crossing.
• Shen Zhiyao suspected Princess Zhenning had sent help, and the traffickers drove the girls to a ruined temple as a storm broke.

Zhao Huiluan learned that the missing girls case had reached court officials and went to Tianji Hall to take her leave of the Yongzhao Emperor. There, she encountered the newly promoted Daoist Xuanyi, whose arrival stirred a faint unease in her.

• Zhao Huiluan ordered people to search for the burly criminal’s parents after receiving his pendant from Zhang Yunchi.
• Officials traced the abductors’ superiors, but the Shuntian Prefecture magistrate and Court of Judicial Review minister halted the investigation; Rong An and others continued it.
• Zhao Huiluan learned that the criminal’s parents had been killed and that someone was sending him their fingers to keep him silent.
• Wen Yan confronted Wen Hong and insisted he would marry Shen Zhiyao, refusing Wang Wenhua’s attempt to intervene.
• Zhao Huiluan went to Tianji Hall as the holiday ended and learned that Daoist Xuanyi had recently been promoted for presenting pills.
• Daoist Xuanyi recognized Zhao Huiluan as Princess Zhenning and bowed to her.