Chapter Summaries

Bai Mo sensed Shen Qing’s distress and rushed to the Grand Preceptor’s Residence, where he rejected her and called off her family’s planned proposal. The chapter ended with Bai Mo confronting him over the effort her family had put into the match, and Shen Qing coldly asking what it had to do with him.

• Bai Mo felt Shen Qing’s emotional distress while explaining the meaning of a ring to Bai Jingyao, then hurried to the Grand Preceptor’s Residence.
• Bai Mo entered Shen Qing’s room through a rear window, and Yun Wu quietly let her in.
• Bai Mo examined Shen Qing and found that his body was recovering, but Shen Qing pulled away and accused her of improper behavior.
• Shen Qing told Bai Mo he had mistaken gratitude for love and would not accept her family’s proposal, saying he wanted to marry into the imperial family.
• Bai Mo confronted Shen Qing about her family’s preparations for the proposal, and he replied, “What does it have to do with me?”

Bai Mo confronted Shen Qing after he rejected her marriage proposal, then drowned her sorrow in wine with Xiao Yiliu and Xiao Muzhi. Drunk on the way home, she mistook Xiao Muzhi for Shen Qing and kissed him.

• Shen Qing rejected Bai Mo, citing his grudge and threatening to repay her with his life if she used the imperial iron decree to force the marriage.
• Bai Mo left the Grand Preceptor's Residence in distress and encountered Xiao Yiliu, who invited her to drink with her and Xiao Muzhi.
• Bai Mo told the Xiao siblings that Shen Qing had rejected her and explained that she had planned to devote herself to him.
• Bai Mo drank until she was drunk, and the Xiao siblings escorted her back to the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State.
• During the carriage ride, Bai Mo mistook Xiao Muzhi for Shen Qing, pleaded with him not to break up, and kissed him.

Bai Mo drunkenly kissed Xiao Muzhi in the carriage, and their families discovered them together at the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State. After hearing that the Shen family had rejected Bai Mo, Xiao Muzhi declared that he was willing to marry her if she agreed.

• Bai Mo kissed Xiao Muzhi in the carriage while calling him Qing'er, and Xiao Muzhi's sister Xiao Yiliu tried to stop her.
• The carriage arrived at the residence, where Bai Jingyao, Bai Peilan, Tang Xin, Elder Xiao, and others saw Bai Mo clinging to Xiao Muzhi.
• Xiao Yiliu helped the drunken Bai Mo away, and everyone gathered in the main hall as Elder Xiao demanded an explanation.
• Xiao Yiliu explained that the Shen family's young master had refused to marry Bai Mo, leaving her upset and guilty.
• Bai Jingyao asked how the family should handle Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi's public intimacy, and Xiao Muzhi said he would marry Bai Mo if she was willing.

After Bai Mo’s drunken kiss with Xiao Muzhi, the Bai and Xiao families discussed a possible marriage, but they agreed to wait until Bai Mo was sober. Once she woke, Bai Mo returned to the main hall and thanked her relatives and Elder Xiao, leaving her decision about the marriage unresolved.

• Bai Jingyao enthusiastically proposed a marriage between Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi, while Bai Peilan and Elder Xiao considered the match.
• Xiao Yiliu urged the families to wait until Bai Mo sobered up before discussing the marriage, and Bai Jingyao set aside the planned Shen family match.
• Bai Mo woke after using her Wood-Element Ability to sober up and learned that Elder Xiao and the Xiao siblings were still at the residence.
• Bai Mo returned to the main hall, apologized to Xiao Muzhi for the day’s events, and sent him to change his wet robe.
• Bai Mo thanked Xiao Yiliu, Elder Xiao, and her aunt, then apologized to Bai Jingyao and Bai Peilan for worrying them.

After Bai Mo refused to marry Xiao Muzhi at first, he confessed that he loved her, and she agreed to take responsibility for what happened between them. The families began arranging their betrothal, while Xiao Muzhi admitted that he hoped she would eventually love him despite her feelings for Shen Qing.

• Tang Xin asked Bai Mo whether she would marry Xiao Muzhi, but Bai Mo said she had no romantic feelings for him and would not force him to marry her.
• Bai Jingyao warned Bai Mo that refusing to marry Xiao Muzhi could bring shame and harm to him, and Xiao Muzhi returned and declared that he loved her and wanted to marry her.
• Bai Mo agreed to marry Xiao Muzhi, and Bai Jingyao and Bai Peilan began preparing the betrothal arrangements.
• Bai Mo returned to her courtyard, bathed, and put away the jade pendant Shen Qing had given her, deciding to return it later.
• On the way back to the Xiao residence, Xiao Muzhi told Xiao Yiliu that he had fallen in love with Bai Mo when she held him and hoped she would come to love him.
• Great Master Xiao agreed to the betrothal after Elder Xiao told her that Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi would marry.

Bai Mo decided to put her disappointment aside and focus on studying, but Bai Jingyao drew her into preparations for her marriage to Xiao Muzhi. After discussing the betrothal gifts, her father's dowry, and possible living arrangements, Bai Mo left for Xiaoshan Academy.

• Bai Mo chose to visit Xiaoshan Academy and asked Xiaohan to prepare her, but Lixia relayed Bai Jingyao's summons.
• Bai Jingyao told Bai Mo the proposal would take place in three days and showed her the expanded betrothal gifts.
• Bai Jingyao gave Bai Mo the official list of her father's dowry and advised her not to hand it to Madam Chen again.
• Bai Mo told Bai Jingyao to let Xiao Muzhi choose whether they would live separately or at the residence.
• Bai Mo left for Xiaoshan Academy with Xiaohan and Lichun.

Bai Mo enrolled at Xiaoshan Academy and met Xiao Yiliu there after Great Scholar Chen showed her around. Xiao Yiliu spoke earnestly about her younger brother and asked Bai Mo to care for him after their planned marriage.

• Aunt Liu escorted Bai Mo through Xiaoshan Academy to meet Great Scholar Chen, who registered her in xiucai class A and told her to begin after the academy’s three-day break.
• Great Scholar Chen invited Bai Mo to lunch and introduced her to the academy’s facilities and students.
• Xiao Yiliu met Bai Mo at the dining hall, and the three shared a meal while discussing studies and examinations.
• After Great Scholar Chen left, Xiao Yiliu told Bai Mo that her family was preparing for Bai Mo’s marriage proposal three days later.
• Xiao Yiliu described her deep concern for her younger brother and asked Bai Mo to look after him; Bai Mo smiled and nodded.

Bai Mo promised Xiao Yiliu she would treat Xiao Muzhi well, while Shen Qing remained outwardly calm until he learned Bai Mo was going to propose marriage to the Xiao family. As the families discussed the wedding, Bai Mo struggled with her worry for Shen Qing but was called away to discuss the bridal chamber.

• Xiao Yiliu urged Bai Mo to love and protect Xiao Muzhi, and Bai Mo promised not to let him down if he treated her well.
• Bai Mo returned to the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State, while Shen Qing spent the next few days quietly reading, playing chess, and painting with Yun Wu.
• Xiaotian told Shen Qing that Bai Mo would go to the Xiao residence to propose marriage, and Shen Qing shut himself in his room and smashed objects.
• Bai Mo felt a sharp pain in her heart and considered going to see Shen Qing and returning his token of love.
• Xiao Muzhi brought Bai Mo osmanthus pastries, and she praised his cooking despite being lost in thought.
• Bai Mo drew back from leaving when she was called in with Xiao Muzhi to discuss where the bridal chamber would be.

Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi agreed on a wedding residence beside the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State, and their families began arranging the wedding. After the elders sent them to the garden, Xiao Muzhi took Bai Mo to a lakeside pavilion, where he quietly admired her.

• Bai Mo deferred to Xiao Muzhi on choosing their residence, and he selected the home beside the Residence of the Earl Who Protects the State.
• Bai Peilan and the others agreed to begin preparing the residence, exchange birth records, consult the temple about an auspicious date, and hold the wedding in the ninth month.
• Great Master Xiao asked Xiao Muzhi to thank his future in-laws, then sent him and Bai Mo to walk in the garden.
• Xiao Muzhi led Bai Mo to a lakeside pavilion, where she admired the koi and learned that his grandmother had raised them and planted the osmanthus trees.
• Xiao Muzhi watched Bai Mo with affection as she sat beside the lake.

Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi grew closer as they spoke about family, and the Earl Who Protects the State’s household formally brought fifty loads of betrothal gifts to the Xiao Residence. Shen Qing watched Bai Mo’s procession from a teahouse and explained that he had rejected her because of his revenge and his belief that he was unworthy of her.

• Bai Mo and Xiao Muzhi discussed his grandmother’s cats, and Xiao Muzhi promised to treat Bai Mo’s mother and uncle as his own family after their marriage.
• The Earl Who Protects the State’s household arrived at the Xiao Residence with fifty loads of betrothal gifts, drawing crowds who admired Bai Mo and the grand procession.
• Shen Qing watched Bai Mo pass from a private room at the Baihui Teahouse, and Yun Wu questioned why he had given up the marriage.
• Shen Qing told Yun Wu that he cared for Bai Mo but felt unworthy of her and feared dragging her into his revenge, then revealed that revenge might require killing his father.
• Xiao Muzhi welcomed Bai Mo’s family at the Xiao Residence, while Li Ce and Qi Mengzhou teased him about winning her over; he said that when something needed snatching, he had to snatch it.