Chapter Summaries

After Bai Mo saved Shen Qing by transferring her internal energy, the two discovered that their energies resonated, and Shen Qing promised to stay by her side. Bai Mo returned home to prepare for the academy exam and her planned marriage proposal, while Shen Qing remained recovered.

• Shen Qing woke and hurried to Bai Mo, whom he found unconscious and pale in the adjoining room.
• Bai Mo woke, checked Shen Qing, and discovered that their energies resonated with each other.
• Bai Mo explained that she had transferred her internal energy to save Shen Qing, and Shen Qing promised to stay by her side.
• Physician Ding examined Bai Mo and said she only needed rest; Bai Mo insisted she would take the academy exam and ask to marry Shen Qing afterward.
• Bai Mo returned to the Earl Who Protects the Nation's residence and ordered her servants to prepare exam supplies and tell her when her mother returned.

Bai Mo returned home before the academy examination, and Bai Peilan encouraged her while discussing her plan to propose to Shen Qing. The next morning, Bai Mo left for the examination compound with Lichun and Xiaohan while Bai Peilan was still asleep.

• Bai Peilan welcomed Bai Mo home, reassured her about the examination, and offered to arrange a marriage proposal to Shen Qing.
• Bai Peilan told Madam Chen that Bai Mo planned to marry Shen Qing and insisted she would make the proposal happen; Madam Chen concealed his displeasure over the dowry and the match.
• Madam Chen kept Bai Peilan awake until the fifth watch, while the poison in him continued to worsen.
• Bai Mo prepared for the examination and learned that Bai Peilan had not woken up in time to escort her.
• Bai Mo left for the examination compound with Lichun and Xiaohan, while Lixia stayed behind to tell Bai Peilan once she woke.

Bai Mo took the academy examination, found both sessions easy, and left the compound early after finishing her answers. She returned to the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State, where she met Bai Jingyao at the gates.

• Shen Qing sent Bai Mo cooling tea through Xiaojing before she entered the examination compound.
• Bai Mo passed the identity and belongings inspection, settled into her cubicle, and completed the morning questions before falling asleep at her desk.
• After eating flatbread and drinking Shen Qing’s tea, Bai Mo spent the midday break thinking about her possessions and the betrothal gift she would give Shen Qing.
• Bai Mo found the afternoon questions easy, finished her answers, and left the examination compound well before the exam ended.
• Bai Peilan took Bai Mo home, and Bai Mo greeted Bai Jingyao when their carriage arrived at the residence gates.

Bai Mo’s family discussed arranging her marriage proposal to Shen Qing, and Tang Xin offered to ask her former mentor, Xiao Ming, to deliver it. Bai Yuanshuang opposed the match and warned that Shen Qing’s royal admirers could bring trouble to the residence.

• Bai Jingyao and Tang Xin arrived at the Protector Earl’s residence to discuss Bai Mo’s proposed marriage to Shen Qing.
• Tang Xin proposed asking Xiao Ming, her former mentor and the retired Grand Preceptor, to deliver the marriage proposal, and offered to travel to Ru'an Commandery to fetch her.
• Bai Yuanshuang glared at Bai Mo, and Bai Mo called attention to her resentment in front of the family.
• Bai Jingyao rebuked Madam Chen for blaming Bai Mo and said she could return with him to his residence.
• Bai Yuanshuang said Bai Mo’s pursuit of Shen Qing could bring trouble because the Third Princess and Princess Ping'an also wanted to marry him.

Bai Jingyao defended Bai Mo and demanded that her late father's dowry be returned, while Bai Mo's potion treatment transformed her body. She agreed to attend Princess Ping'an's gathering and learned that Yun Wu wanted to return a ginseng root after his mother's funeral.

• Bai Jingyao rebuked Bai Yuanshuang for discouraging Bai Mo's marriage prospects and ordered Madam Chen to return Bai Mo's dowry.
• Bai Jingyao left Uncle Fu and Qingliu at the residence to inventory the dowry and ensure it was handed over.
• Bai Mo drank an intermediate potion, fainted, and woke after expelling a large amount of impurities, leaving her markedly transformed.
• Bai Mo accepted Bai Yuanshuang's invitation to attend Princess Ping'an's flower-viewing poetry gathering.
• Lichun gave Bai Mo a letter from Yun Wu, who said his mother had died and asked Bai Mo to collect the ginseng root he wished to return.

Bai Mo and Shen Qing each faced decisions tied to their intended marriage as they prepared for Princess Ping'an’s flower-viewing poetry gathering. At the gathering, Bai Mo caught the attention of the princesses and formed an immediate rapport with the fifth princess, Feng Zijin.

• Bai Mo told Lichun to accept anything Young Master Yunwu returned and say that his debt was fully repaid, while Lichun and Xiaohan gossiped about him.
• Shen Qing accepted Princess Ping'an’s invitation, planning to gently reject her, and worried that he could not marry Bai Mo before his father interfered.
• Bai Yuanshuang brought Bai Mo to the gathering, hoping Princess Ping'an would help her separate Bai Mo from Young Master Qingya.
• The guests and princesses mistook Bai Mo for a beautiful young man when she entered, and Feng Zijin praised her appearance and pulled her to sit beside her.
• Feng Zijin defended women’s beauty by citing Prince Lanfeng, and Bai Mo reassured her that she had not taken offense.

Bai Mo attended Princess Ping'an’s flower gathering, where the Third Princess provoked her into joining a poetry competition. Bai Mo wrote a poem about peach blossoms, wine, and rejecting wealth, turning the gathering’s attention toward her talent.

• Bai Mo sat with the Fifth Princess, who warned her that the Third Princess seemed hostile toward her.
• Bai Mo told the Fifth Princess that the Third Princess and Princess Ping'an were love rivals for Young Master Qingya, and the Fifth Princess said she liked him too.
• Princess Ping'an announced a flower-themed poetry competition with valuable prizes for the winners.
• When Bai Mo tried to leave, the Third Princess mocked her for taking the academy examination, and the Fifth Princess urged her to write a winning poem.
• Bai Mo accepted the challenge and composed a poem about living among peach blossoms and wine rather than chasing wealth and status.

Bai Mo’s poem, “Peach Blossom Immortal,” dazzled two renowned scholars and changed the gathering’s view of her, though the third princess questioned whether she had written it herself. Bai Mo explained that peach blossom cake and wine had inspired her, leaving the scholars poised to judge her talent for themselves.

• Bai Mo finished writing “Peach Blossom Immortal” and handed her poem in at Princess Ping’an’s gathering.
• Great Scholar Chen and Great Master Xiao praised the poem and asked Bai Mo to come forward as its author.
• Great Master Xiao recited the poem to the assembled guests, who praised its carefree spirit while Bai Yuanshuang criticized it.
• Shen Qing arrived with the young masters, and he and Bai Mo exchanged smiles when they saw each other.
• The third princess suggested Bai Mo might have had someone else write the poem, so Great Master Xiao asked Bai Mo what inspired it.
• Bai Mo said that Fifth Highness had shared peach blossom cake and peach blossom wine with her, inspiring the poem.

Bai Mo impressed Headmaster Xiao with a second poem, and Headmaster Xiao invited her to become her personal disciple at Xiaoshan Academy. Great Scholar Chen announced the poetry gathering’s winners, with Bai Mo and Shen Qing taking first place in their respective contests.

• Headmaster Xiao asked Bai Mo to compose another poem, and Bai Mo wrote lines urging people to cherish their youth and seize the moment.
• Headmaster Xiao praised Bai Mo’s poem and concluded that she was a gifted poet, while Shen Qing was deeply moved by her words.
• Xiao Muzhi recognized Bai Mo as the woman who had helped him before, and his companions teased him about marrying her.
• Headmaster Xiao learned Bai Mo studied at home, then offered to teach her personally at Xiaoshan Academy; Bai Mo accepted after Shen Qing nodded.
• Headmaster Xiao kept Bai Mo’s poems and left the gathering, and Great Scholar Chen announced Bai Mo and Shen Qing as first-place winners.
• The organizers presented prizes to the winning ladies and gentlemen as Princess Ping'an watched Shen Qing intently.

After winning treasures at Princess Ping'an's poetry gathering, Bai Mo befriended Xiao Yiliu and met her brother Xiao Muzhi. When Princess Ping'an lured Shen Qing away, Bai Mo followed and discovered she had been trapped instead, so she escaped the locked room through the roof as people approached.

• Bai Mo and Shen Qing admired their matching luminous pearls after the poetry gathering ended.
• Bai Mo met Xiao Yiliu, learned she was Great Master Xiao's granddaughter and a student at Xiaoshan Academy, and spoke with her about studying.
• Xiao Muzhi joined them, and Bai Mo recognized him as the young master she had helped during the staged carriage accident involving Bai Yuanshuang.
• Bai Mo saw a maid lead Shen Qing away and followed, but lost sight of him and found a man dressed to resemble him entering a room.
• Bai Mo entered the room, realized she had been lured into a trap, knocked out the disguised man, and found the exits locked.
• Bai Mo used vines to escape through the roof and hid in the courtyard rockery as a crowd approached.

Bai Mo hid with Yun Wu and Shen Qing in a rockery while the third princess accused her of having an illicit affair with her attendant lord. When the princess confronted the man pretending to be Shen Qing, he claimed that he and Bai Mo were in love, leaving the crowd convinced she was guilty as Xiao Yiliu stepped forward.

• Bai Mo found Yun Wu helping an ill Shen Qing hide in the rockery and treated Shen Qing while Yun Wu warned her that people were searching nearby.
• The third princess accused Bai Mo of seducing her attendant lord, while the fifth princess and Xiao Yiliu doubted the accusation and Xiao Muzhi left to find a way to help.
• Bai Mo overheard the accusations and stayed focused on Shen Qing as he recovered.
• The third princess entered the room with a crowd, and Shen Qing woke beside Bai Mo and asked her not to misunderstand his visit to the princess's courtyard.
• The man pretending to be Shen Qing claimed that he and Bai Mo were in love, and Xiao Yiliu entered the room after the crowd reacted in shock.

Bai Mo escaped the third princess's search and returned to the garden, where Xiao Muzhi helped her establish an alibi. When the princess confronted her, Xiao Muzhi testified that Bai Mo had been with him the whole time.

• Bai Mo told Yun Wu to protect Shen Qing, gave Shen Qing medicine, and climbed the rockery to escape the search.
• Bai Mo crossed the rooftops back to the garden, where Xiao Muzhi found her and offered to claim they had been together.
• Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi reached the lakeside pavilion just before the third princess and her search party arrived.
• The attendant accused Bai Mo of an affair, but Bai Mo denied knowing him and the fifth princess demanded evidence.
• Xiao Muzhi testified that Bai Mo had never left the pavilion, making the crowd doubt the attendant's accusation.

Bai Mo thwarted the Third Princess’s attempt to frame her, but Princess Ping'an fueled rumors about her and Xiao Muzhi. Meanwhile, Yun Wu helped Shen Qing escape danger, and Shen Qing questioned him about his connection to Bai Mo as they left the princess’s residence.

• Bai Mo exposed signs that the Third Princess’s attendant had been drugged, and the Third and Fourth Princesses ended the accusation and took him away.
• Princess Ping'an apologized to Bai Mo, then implied she and Xiao Muzhi were a perfect match, prompting Xiao Yiliu to defend her brother.
• Bai Mo left the banquet worried about Shen Qing and regretted being unable to leave sooner.
• Yun Wu helped the unwell Shen Qing to his carriage, and Shen Qing invited him along because returning alone might be dangerous.
• Shen Qing asked Yun Wu about Bai Mo and the day’s events, and Yun Wu explained that he had come to return an item Bai Mo had once given him.

Yun Wu explained how he rescued Shen Qing and learned Bai Mo had been framed, while Shen Qing reassured him of his love for Bai Mo and invited him to stay at the Grand Preceptor's residence. After taking medicine and falling asleep, Shen Qing left Bai Mo worried, and she confronted Bai Yuanshuang as she harassed Xiao Muzhi outside the princess's residence.

• Yun Wu told Shen Qing that he had taken him to a physician and hidden him in the rockery after suspecting trouble, and he explained that Bai Mo had been accused of an affair with the Third Princess's consort.
• Shen Qing told Yun Wu that he trusted Bai Mo and that they loved each other, leaving Yun Wu to hide his own heartbreak and wish them happiness.
• Shen Qing invited Yun Wu to stay at the Grand Preceptor's residence, where Jiang You arranged a room for him after Shen Qing faltered from exhaustion.
• Shen Qing drank the contents of a medicine bottle and fell into a deep sleep.
• Bai Mo left the princess's residence and found Bai Yuanshuang blocking Xiao Muzhi's carriage and insulting her.
• Bai Mo confronted Bai Yuanshuang and asked why she was blocking Young Master Xiao's way.

Bai Mo silenced Bai Yuanshuang after she publicly spread rumors about her marriage to Shen Qing, but gossip about Bai Mo’s romantic life spread through the Capital the next day. Shen Qing offered Yun Wu a peaceful home as a guest, and Bai Peilan arrived to have lunch with Bai Mo.

• Bai Mo slapped and kicked Bai Yuanshuang for exposing her private intentions, then left with Lichun while Xiao Muzhi departed in his carriage.
• Rumors spread through the Capital praising Bai Mo’s talent while accusing her of several illicit romances, including a secret pledge to Young Master Qingya.
• After bathing and seeing how clean he looked, Shen Qing invited Yun Wu to share a meal and encouraged him to stay at the residence as a guest rather than a servant.
• Yun Wu accepted Shen Qing’s offer and promised to live there as a guest.
• Bai Peilan arrived as Bai Mo was preparing for lunch, and Lichun arranged another place at the table for her.

Bai Mo heard the Capital’s rumors about her supposed romances, then learned she had placed first in her examination. The chapter ended with messengers congratulating her and Bai Peilan celebrating her daughter’s achievement.

• Bai Peilan told Bai Mo about rumors praising her literary talent and inventing several romantic entanglements, and Bai Mo denied most of them.
• Bai Peilan praised Bai Mo’s poem and said she expected her to pass the examination.
• Lichun pushed through the crowd to hear the results and learned that Bai Mo had ranked first.
• Bai Peilan hurried home after receiving news of the result, while a messenger arrived to deliver the formal announcement.
• Bai Mo met the messenger at the gate, accepted congratulations as First-Ranked Bai, and thanked the messengers.

Bai Mo placed first in the examination, while rumors spread that she and Shen Qing had pledged themselves to each other. Shen Qing told Shen Jingwen that the rumors were true and revealed his slow-acting poison, but she refused to send him to the family temple and declared the Bai family unworthy of him.

• Bai Peilan celebrated Bai Mo's first-place examination result and rewarded the household servants with two months' wages.
• Xiaotian told Shen Qing that Bai Mo had placed first and that rumors claimed she and Shen Qing were privately pledged to each other.
• Shen Qing went to Shen Jingwen's courtyard and confirmed the rumors while asking her to hear his explanation.
• Shen Qing revealed that he had consumed a slow-acting poison and feared he would not live past nineteen.
• Shen Qing explained that he and Bai Mo had been set up at the Third Princess's residence, then asked to be sent to the family temple.
• Shen Jingwen refused to send Shen Qing to the family temple and said the Bai family was not worthy of him.

Shen Jingwen ordered an investigation into Shen Qing’s alleged poisoning and his son-in-law’s conduct while trying to contain damaging rumors. Meanwhile, Bai Jingyao welcomed Elder Xiao to his residence, where she learned that Bai Mo had placed first in the xiucai examination and asked how she had studied.

• Shen Qing told Shen Jingwen he wished to remain unmarried and fulfill his filial duty, and she promised to investigate the rumors and summon an imperial physician.
• After Shen Qing left, Shen Jingwen ordered Mama Sun to investigate his alleged poisoning and his son-in-law, and to stop the rumors from spreading.
• Bai Jingyao brought lavish gifts to Bai Peilan’s residence after learning Bai Mo had placed first in the xiucai examination, then took Bai Mo home to meet Elder Xiao.
• Bai Jingyao reunited with Tang Xin, praised Bai Mo’s examination result, and arranged a dinner featuring dishes from Ru'an Commandery for Elder Xiao.
• Elder Xiao praised Bai Mo’s reputation, learned she had studied seriously for only a little over a month, and asked how she had prepared for the examination.
• Bai Mo told Elder Xiao that she could remember anything after looking at it once.

Bai Mo met Elder Xiao, who praised her talent and agreed to help arrange her marriage to Shen Jingwen’s family. The next day, Shen Jingwen learned that Yuan-shi had poisoned Shen Qing, and an imperial physician began examining him.

• Elder Xiao praised Bai Mo’s talent, agreed to speak with Shen Jingwen about the marriage proposal, and mentioned her grandson Xiao Muzhi as a worthy match.
• Bai Jingyao received an auspicious date for the proposal, and Elder Xiao agreed to visit the Grand Preceptor’s Residence with them the day after tomorrow.
• Nanny He and Mama Sun reported their findings to Shen Jingwen, who learned that Yuan-shi had used the Ghost Physician’s Ten-Year Powder on Shen Qing.
• Shen Jingwen sent an imperial physician to give Shen Qing a routine examination at the Pure Elegance Courtyard.
• The imperial physician examined Shen Qing’s pulse, and his expression grew increasingly grim as Yun Wu asked whether something was wrong.

Shen Qing’s examination led the physician to declare that he was poisoned, gravely ill, and unlikely to have children, leaving him devastated. Meanwhile, Bai Mo helped prepare betrothal gifts for Shen Qing and gave Bai Jingyao a pair of diamond rings to take to her aunt.

• The young physician examined Shen Qing and said a strange poison had ruined his health and left him unlikely to have children.
• Nanny He asked the physician not to disclose what he had learned and escorted him out to report to the head of the household.
• Yun Wu comforted Shen Qing and helped him back to his room, where Shen Qing feared he could not give his beloved a child or continue her family line.
• At the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State, Bai Jingyao and Bai Mo checked the betrothal gifts being prepared for Shen Qing.
• Bai Mo showed Bai Jingyao her diamond rings, then gave him another pair for him to present to her aunt.