Recaps

After transmigrating into Jiao Liqiao, Wen Qiushui discovers that the body’s Painted Skin Art and accumulated karmic sin threaten her cultivation. She spends a year cleansing the art, then plans to address the damage Jiao Liqiao caused while leaving Li Xiangyi alone for now.

• Wen Qiushui realizes she has become Jiao Liqiao and struggles against the body’s obsessive desires for beauty and its master, Di Feisheng.
• Jiao Liqiao recalls the deeds behind her karmic burden, including harming women, killing Sigu Sect members, helping dissolve the Sigu Sect, and contributing to Li Xiangyi’s fall.
• Jiao Liqiao stores Wen Qiushui’s merit in the Chaos Pearl rather than using it to offset Jiao Liqiao’s karmic debts.
• Jiao Liqiao spends a year dissolving the Painted Skin Art, then cultivates the Heavenly Devil Instruction until she completes its second level.
• Jiao Liqiao decides to leave Li Xiangyi, now known as Li Lianhua, alone for another five or six years so he can endure hardship and prepare to shatter the void.

Jiao Liqiao took control of Nanyin’s forces after proving Shan Gudao was not Feng Qing’s true master and revealing that Li Xiangyi had been Nanyin royalty. She ordered Feng Qing to gather his followers and planned to establish a Nanyin state beyond the frontier, then poisoned Yun Biqiu and preserved Shan Gudao’s body for a future meeting with Li Xiangyi.

• Jiao Liqiao told Xue Gong and Xue Po to gather the Nanyin descendants loyal to her so she could lead them toward a new life.
• Jiao Liqiao confronted Shan Gudao and Feng Qing, crippled Shan Gudao’s Dantian, and used the Karmic Fire Parasite to prove that her blood belonged to Nanyin’s imperial clan.
• Jiao Liqiao revealed that Li Xiangyi had been her true imperial-clan master and that she had killed him with Bicha poison after Feng Qing misidentified Shan Gudao.
• Jiao Liqiao killed Shan Gudao, poisoned Feng Qing into submission, and ordered him to gather his forces for a meeting at the Dragon Gate in half a month.
• Jiao Liqiao poisoned Yun Biqiu with Bicha at the Hundred Rivers Courtyard, then ordered Feng Qing to preserve Shan Gudao’s body for her meeting with Li Xiangyi.

Jiao Liqiao left the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance and founded the Nanyin Cult in the Outer Realm, building its power and resources before returning to the jianghu to pursue merit by killing wicked people. Her return drew Nanyin survivors to her cause, while Li Lianhua continued searching for his senior brother’s body with few leads.

• Jiao Liqiao announced that she was leaving the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance to establish the Nanyin Cult, and Medicine Demon and other followers went with her.
• Jiao Liqiao and Feng Qing established the Nanyin Cult in the Outer Realm and used trade, research, and military strength to build it up over two years.
• Jiao Liqiao returned to the jianghu and slaughtered the Women's Residence at Fragrant Mountain, killing Yu Lou Chun and alarming other Nanyin lineages.
• Jin Mantang pledged allegiance to Jiao Liqiao, gave her wealth and the Luomo Heavenly Ice, and received a cure for his Tree-Man Disease.
• Li Lianhua learned of Jiao Liqiao's return but could not approach the Nanyin Cult to investigate because of his weakened condition.

Jiao Liqiao explored the First-Rank Tomb, recovered its treasures and Consort Xuan’s remains, and helped the Nanyin Cult establish itself in the Outer Realm. Ten years later, Nanyin had become a prosperous trading power, while Jiao Liqiao’s ruthless pursuit of criminals kept the martial world in fear.

• Jiao Liqiao entered the First-Rank Tomb, collected its treasures and medicines, and brought Consort Xuan’s body out for burial in Nanyin.
• Jiao Liqiao sent the tomb’s valuables to Nanyin and arranged for Consort Xuan’s remains to be escorted back.
• Feng Qing prepared a tomb, and Jiao Liqiao led Nanyin in reburying the princess after the tomb was completed.
• The Nanyin Cult developed useful machines, cotton goods, heated kangs, and higher-yield crops, then traded them with Great Xi and neighboring countries.
• Jiao Liqiao killed criminals throughout the Outer Realm and Central Plains, improving order in the martial world and making evildoers fear her.
• The Divine Weapon Valley relocated to the Outer Realm, where the Nanyin Cult allowed its people to pursue weapons research under agreed restrictions.

Jiao Liqiao left the Nanyin Cult for Jade City, where she confronted Di Feisheng and took Li Lianhua with her. She offered to reveal the location of Shan Gudao’s corpse if Li Lianhua agreed to three conditions.

• Jiao Liqiao gave Feng Qing the antidote to his poison and instructed him to preserve Shan Gudao’s corpse and manage the Nanyin Cult loyally.
• Jiao Liqiao traveled to Jade City and arrived as Di Feisheng emerged from seclusion.
• Di Feisheng tried to seize Jiao Liqiao, but she activated the Gu worm in his brain, forced him to his knees, and warned him not to insult her again.
• Jiao Liqiao drove Fang Duobing and Shi Shui away, then left with Li Lianhua.
• Jiao Liqiao told Li Lianhua that she knew where Shan Gudao’s corpse was and offered to take him there in exchange for three conditions.
• Li Lianhua agreed to hear the conditions after Jiao Liqiao promised they would not violate chivalry or harm his friends and family.

Jiao Liqiao cured Li Lianhua of Bicha and compelled him to take over the Nanyin Cult, where he rebuilt his life and later raised a family with Su Xiaoyong. Years afterward, Jiao Liqiao defeated Di Feisheng and brought the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance into the cult, while Li Lianhua eventually left the jianghu and shattered the void again.

• Jiao Liqiao brought Li Lianhua to the Nanyin Cult and gave him pills that neutralized his Bicha over ten days.
• Jiao Liqiao showed Li Lianhua Shan Gudao's corpse, explained the old conspiracy, and made him promise to lead the Nanyin Cult.
• Li Lianhua took over the cult, and news of his return as its leader shifted the jianghu's respect away from the Hundred Rivers Courtyard; Xiao Zijin abandoned his scheme after Feng Qing's warning.
• Jiao Liqiao defeated Di Feisheng, removed his gu worm, and brought the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance into the Nanyin Cult.
• After Su Xiaoyong died, Li Lianhua stopped suppressing his martial power and shattered the void again.

After awakening as He Xiaolan, Wen Qiushui recognized Shan Gudao’s hidden schemes and focused on recovering while preparing to protect herself and her unborn child. Three years later, with her health and martial arts restored, He Xiaolan sent her followers to find Shan Gudao, intending to kill him in front of Li Xiangyi.

• He Xiaolan recalled how she had uncovered Shan Gudao’s secret followers and his interest in her family’s mechanisms, then broke off their relationship while pregnant.
• He Xiaolan resolved to survive childbirth, raise the child as He Duobing, and eventually kill Shan Gudao.
• He Xiaolan treated her weakened body with medicine and pills, studied medicine, and told He Xiaohui why she distrusted Shan Gudao.
• He Xiaolan recovered before giving birth and spent the next three years regaining her health and advancing her Heavenly Devil Instruction to the second level.
• He Xiaolan became known for her medical skill, while He Xiaohui cared for He Duobing during her recovery.
• When Li Xiangyi came down from the mountain, He Xiaolan sent her followers to search for Shan Gudao so she could kill him before Li Xiangyi.

He Xiaolan killed Shan Gudao after catching him torturing a child, then clashed with Li Xiangyi, who accused her of murdering his senior brother. She returned to the Heavenly Secret Manor, where her sister He Xiaohui’s pregnancy delighted the family and the three-year-old He Duobing secretly listened as He Xiaolan revealed she had killed his birth father.

• He Xiaolan found Shan Gudao torturing a child in Luoyang and killed him when he tried to attack her.
• He Xiaolan fought Li Xiangyi, admitted to killing Shan Gudao, and left the rescued child in Li Xiangyi’s care.
• He Xiaolan returned to the Heavenly Secret Manor and checked He Xiaohui’s health after learning that she was pregnant.
• He Duobing, who had recovered memories of his previous life as Fang Duobing, realized that his current life differed from the one he remembered.
• He Xiaolan warned He Xiaohui that Shan Gudao’s forces might retaliate, and He Xiaohui scolded her for killing Xiaobao’s birth father.

He Xiaolan warned He Xiaohui about Shan Gudao’s mysterious faction, then went to Mount Yun Yin to confront his sect. Li Xiangyi learned that his senior brother had tortured the He orphan and that He Xiaolan and Shan Gudao had once been lovers, then hurried back to warn his master.

• He Xiaolan asked He Xiaohui to investigate Shan Gudao’s faction and said she would visit Mount Yun Yin to judge his sect.
• He Xiaolan arrived at Mount Yun Yin, where Li Xiangyi escorted her up the mountain while planning to learn the truth about his senior brother.
• The He orphan panicked at the sight of Li Xiangyi, confirming that Li Xiangyi’s senior brother had tortured him and that the child believed Li Xiangyi was involved.
• Li Xiangyi took the He orphan to his maternal grandfather’s household, promised to help find the He Household’s killer, and left his senior brother’s body at a mortuary.
• Su Wencai told Li Xiangyi that He Xiaolan and Shan Gudao had been lovers and that she had given birth to a son three years earlier whose father was unknown.
• Li Xiangyi hurried back to Mount Yun Yin to tell his master about his senior brother and warn him that He Xiaolan might come to the mountain.

He Xiaolan told Qi Mushan that Shan Gudao had ties to Nanyin and feared his allies might target the Heavenly Secret Manor. She and Li Xiangyi set out to investigate the He Household massacre, while Qi Mushan and Qin Po uncovered letters and evidence of Shan Gudao’s hatred for Li Xiangyi.

• He Xiaolan told Qi Mushan she had killed Shan Gudao and asked about his connection to Nanyin, revealing that she had found Nanyin letters and treasures.
• Qi Mushan asked whether He Xiaolan’s son had been Shan Gudao’s child, then said Mount Yun Yin would investigate Shan Gudao’s Nanyin ties.
• Li Xiangyi suggested that he and He Xiaolan investigate the force that had massacred the He Household, and He Xiaolan agreed after learning the surviving boy belonged to that household.
• Qi Mushan and Qin Po searched Shan Gudao’s room, finding letters to Nanyin people and discarded gifts from Li Xiangyi.
• Li Xiangyi and He Xiaolan rode to the former He Household site, and Li Xiangyi offered to teach He Xiaolan’s son, Xiaobao, martial arts someday.

He Xiaolan and Li Xiangyi traced the He Household massacre to Feng Qing and Shan Gudao’s followers, but He Xiaolan killed them despite Li Xiangyi’s objections. After they argued over justice and the martial world, Li Xiangyi went with He Xiaolan to meet He Duobing.

• Li Xiangyi investigated the He Household ruins while He Xiaolan relaxed in town, then reported that several Ten Thousand People Register figures had taken part in the massacre.
• He Xiaolan and Li Xiangyi interrogated the suspects until their investigation reached Feng Qing, who revealed Shan Gudao’s origins and ambitions.
• He Xiaolan killed Feng Qing and the other Nanyin followers, then knocked Li Xiangyi unconscious and killed the survivors before dissolving their bodies.
• Li Xiangyi told He Xiaolan he wanted to establish a hall of punishment that relied on evidence, and He Xiaolan warned him that his trust in others could lead to betrayal.
• He Xiaolan took Li Xiangyi to meet He Duobing and sent the crying boy into his arms, telling Li Xiangyi, “He’s yours.”

He Xiaolan settled at Heavenly Secret Manor and sent He Duobing to Mount Yun Yin, where he trained while Li Xiangyi rose to fame and established the Sigu Sect. Years later, He Duobing traveled the jianghu and met Li Xiangyi again, overwhelmed by his admiration for him.

• Li Xiangyi apologized to He Xiaohui on Mount Yun Yin's behalf, then left, while He Xiaolan withdrew to Heavenly Secret Manor and erased the wall revealing the emperor's origins.
• He Xiaolan sent He Duobing to Mount Yun Yin after he said he wanted to pursue the jianghu, and gave Qi Mushan a martial arts manual for his instruction.
• He Duobing trained under Qi Mushan as Li Xiangyi defeated the Blood Realm Heavenly Demon and later established the Sigu Sect.
• He Xiaolan befriended Li Xiangyi, helped him investigate his associates, and crippled Xiao Zijin when he confronted her.
• He Duobing traveled the jianghu and watched Li Xiangyi greet him in the Sigu Sect's great hall, becoming overwhelmed with admiration before he had even drunk anything.

Princess Zhaoling confronted Feng Qing with the truth that Shan Gudao was not the Nanyin descendant and that Feng Qing had killed Li Xiangyi, his true master. She offered to protect Li Xiangyi and the Nanyin people by making Li Xiangyi her husband, then left Feng Qing to decide whether to serve her.

• Princess Zhaoling told Feng Qing that Shan Gudao was a fake, then revealed she had secretly drained his internal power.
• Zhaoling explained that Li Xiangyi’s elder brother Li Xiangxian had died and entrusted Shan Gudao with caring for Li Xiangyi, proving Li Xiangyi was Consort Xuan’s descendant.
• Feng Qing realized he had killed his true master, Li Xiangyi, and Zhaoling deduced that Li Xiangyi was still alive.
• Zhaoling offered to take Feng Qing into her service and proposed marrying Li Xiangyi to reassure the emperor and secure the succession.
• Zhaoling told Feng Qing to verify the bloodline with Qin Po at Mount Yun Yin and gave him half a month to decide; after she left, Feng Qing weighed her offer and Li Xiangyi’s chances of survival.

Wen Qiushui, now Princess Zhaoling, planned to claim the throne and began securing power through the emperor and the Inspection Bureau. She intended to recruit Feng Qing and exploit Shan Gudao, with a marriage sacrifice as leverage, but had not yet revealed her ambition to the court.

• Wen Qiushui realized that becoming emperor was her only path to a secure life as Zhaoling.
• Zhaoling secretly gave the emperor a sterilizing drug to prevent him from having another child.
• Zhaoling used Fang Duobing's flight from their marriage to explain her changed temperament, trained in martial arts, and defeated Yang Yunchun.
• Zhaoling persuaded the emperor to place the Inspection Bureau under her management, while he planned to raise her future child as his heir.
• Zhaoling planned to enlist Feng Qing, use Shan Gudao against her opponents, and make Feng Qing cooperate by sacrificing her marriage.

Zhaoling used her authority as Inspection Bureau chief envoy to take control of the Jade City murder investigation, challenge the Hundred Rivers Courtyard, and rescue Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing. After gathering evidence against Chancellor Zongzheng’s family and the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, she returned to the capital and accused them of plotting rebellion, shaking the court.

• Zhaoling arrived in Jade City, asserted the court’s jurisdiction over the murder case, defeated Shi Shui, and ordered Yang Yunchun to arrest Yu Hongzhu and the others.
• Zhaoling exposed the Hundred Rivers Courtyard’s connection to the traitor who had harmed Li Xiangyi, while Li Lianhua stopped Fang Duobing from confronting her.
• Under Zhaoling’s interrogation, Yu Hongzhu revealed the truth about the mountain behind Jade City, and Zhaoling hurried there to save Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing.
• Zhaoling stayed in Jade City, chose a new administrator with Feng Qing’s help, and learned that Zongzheng Mingzhu had worked with Jiao Liqiao.
• Zhaoling ordered Feng Qing to prepare evidence against Chancellor Zongzheng and his family, then returned to the capital and accused them of conspiring with the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance to seize the throne.

Zhaoling used her knowledge from a previous life and newly acquired martial skills to pursue Guanyin's Tear in the First-Rank Tomb, while also intending to make Li Lianhua her prince consort. At Wei Manor, she joined Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing under the alias Feng Qingtang, claiming to be Li Lianhua's fiancée and warning that anyone who obstructed her would die.

• After Zhaoling pleaded for Chancellor Zongzheng, the emperor spared most of his relatives from execution but exiled them, while Chancellor Zongzheng, his son, and grandson were sentenced to be cut in half at the waist.
• Zhaoling recalled her previous life as the Ethereal Immortal Maiden, when she had saved Li Lianhua and learned about his later movements from his stories.
• Zhaoling practiced the Void Thought Art, drained several martial scoundrels of their internal force, and used her swordsmanship to defeat Yang Yunchun.
• Seeking Guanyin's Tear, Zhaoling traveled alone to Wei Manor to join Li Lianhua's case-solving team and claim the treasure, while planning to win Li Lianhua's favor.
• After Li Lianhua rescued Fang Duobing, Zhaoling arrived, took Li Lianhua's arm, and introduced herself as Feng Qingtang, his fiancée.
• Zhaoling told Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing that she wanted Guanyin's Tear and would kill anyone who stood in her way, leaving Li Lianhua wondering whether she knew his identity.

At Wei Manor’s banquet, Zhaoling killed Zhang Qingshi and later entered the First-Rank Tomb with Li Lianhua, Fang Duobing, and Di Feisheng. In the main burial chamber, she fought Di Feisheng to stop him from taking Guanyin’s Tear while Li Lianhua began to wake.

• Zhaoling killed Zhang Qingshi after he leered at her, and Zhang Qinghu abandoned his attempt to attack her.
• Zhaoling left Wei Manor with her companions and entered the First-Rank Tomb, where the grave robbers suffered heavy losses finding the main burial chamber.
• Zhaoling tried to knock Li Lianhua unconscious, but he resisted until she used knockout drug to put him down; Di Feisheng knocked Fang Duobing unconscious.
• When Di Feisheng approached Consort Xuan’s coffin for Guanyin’s Tear, Zhaoling attacked him with Ethereal Swordsmanship.
• Zhaoling and Di Feisheng fought evenly in the chamber as Li Lianhua began to wake.

Zhaoling took Guanyin's Tear, subdued Di Feisheng and Ding Yuanzi, and warned Yang Yunchun as she prepared to move against the Hundred Rivers Courtyard. Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng reached an agreement to keep Li Lianhua's identity secret and search for his senior brother's remains.

• Zhaoling poisoned Di Feisheng, took Guanyin's Tear, and forced him to swallow a pill mixed with Asura Grass seeds.
• Zhaoling offered to cure Li Lianhua's Bicha poison if he married her, then let him leave with Di Feisheng.
• Zhaoling forced Ding Yuanzi to swallow a pill, gave him a fake Luomo Ding, and ordered him to report back to Jiao Liqiao without revealing what he had heard.
• Zhaoling told Yang Yunchun to arrest Ge Pan and warned him to choose between serving her and remaining entangled with Shi Shui and the Hundred Rivers Courtyard.
• Di Feisheng recognized Li Lianhua from his lightness skill, and Li Lianhua promised to teach him the Essence-Cleansing and Marrow-Tempering Instruction.
• Di Feisheng agreed to keep Li Lianhua's identity secret and help him search for his senior brother's remains.

Zhaoling reported to the emperor, strengthened her martial arts with Guanyin's Tear, and then confronted Qiao Wanmian at the Hundred Rivers Courtyard's sword-viewing gathering. She accused Qiao of contradicting her long-standing search for Li Xiangyi by speaking like his widow while leaning on Xiao Zijin.

• Zhaoling told the emperor about the First-Rank Tomb while concealing the Luomo Ding, and he praised her work and assigned her to the Court of Judicial Review after she handled the Hundred Rivers Courtyard.
• Zhaoling swallowed Guanyin's Tear and, after a day and a night in seclusion, greatly improved her martial arts.
• At Pudu Temple, Li Lianhua learned that the Hundred Rivers Courtyard was holding a sword-viewing gathering for the Shaoshi Sword, and he and Di Feisheng, using the name A Fei, entered with Fang Duobing's help.
• Before Qiao Wanmian could begin the gathering, Zhaoling's attendants defeated and slapped Xiao Zijin for disrespecting the princess.
• Zhaoling appeared at the gathering and challenged Qiao Wanmian over claiming to have searched for Li Xiangyi while now speaking as his widow and leaning in Xiao Zijin's arms.

Princess Zhaoling exposed Yun Biqiu and the Hundred Rivers Courtyard for conspiring against Li Xiangyi, leaking secrets, and neglecting cases, then placed the Courtyard under the Inspection Bureau’s supervision. As the four courtyard masters were taken into custody, Qiao Wanmian confessed that she had wronged Li Xiangyi and left.

• Zhaoling accused the Hundred Rivers Courtyard of plotting against Li Xiangyi and failing to report the desecration of Prince Fangji’s tomb, while Fang Duobing challenged her authority.
• Yang Yunchun charged Yun Biqiu with poisoning Li Xiangyi, betraying the Sigu Sect to the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, and leaking a map of the One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Prisons.
• Yang Yunchun also accused the other courtyard masters of covering up Yun Biqiu’s crimes and the Courtyard of neglecting cases, including dozens of missing women.
• Inspection Bureau guards surrounded the Courtyard, Zhaoling’s maids crippled Yun Biqiu and arrested him, and Yang Yunchun announced the Bureau would supervise the Courtyard and review its cases.
• Zhaoling shattered the Shaoshi Sword, revealed it was fake, and departed after warning Yang Yunchun to prove himself.
• Qiao Wanmian admitted that she had wronged Li Xiangyi, waved Xiao Zijin away, and left in tears.

Zhaoling strengthened her authority at court while Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing uncovered Shan Gudao’s plot and retrieved the Mother Worm from the Tower of Ultimate Bliss. After the emperor’s men seized it, they escaped the palace with help from Zhaoling’s subordinates and wondered why she had not appeared.

• Yang Yunchun reopened the Cailian Manor bride murder case, helping Zhaoling justify the Inspection Bureau’s presence in the Hundred Rivers Courtyard.
• Zhaoling became vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, studied its operations, and sent old cases with mistaken or lenient judgments for retrial.
• Zhaoling gained control of several major offices and support from more than half the court while preparing to confront Shan Gudao.
• Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing entered the Tower of Ultimate Bliss, obtained the Mother Worm before Shan Gudao, and noticed that someone had recently erased markings from a wall.
• The emperor’s men seized the Mother Worm from Li Lianhua, but he and Fang Duobing escaped the palace with help from Zhaoling’s subordinates.
• Li Lianhua asked the maid who helped them escape why Princess Zhaoling had not appeared during the palace crisis.

Li Lianhua and Princess Zhaoling joined forces with the martial world to defeat Shan Gudao’s rebellion and restore the imperial court. After Zhaoling was named crown princess, she sought the Lethe Flower to save the emperor and hinted that a secret about their bloodline explained her actions.

• Li Lianhua left the palace, learned that Princess Zhaoling had gone to destroy the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, and resumed his identity as Li Xiangyi to summon the martial world.
• Li Xiangyi, Fang Duobing, and the assembled heroes met Zhaoling at the alliance’s headquarters after she executed Jiao Liqiao and other Nanyin remnants.
• Zhaoling’s forces returned to the palace, where Qin Po destroyed Shan Gudao’s Mother Worm with Li Lianhua’s blood and revealed the truth about their ancestry; Feng Qing killed Shan Gudao and then himself.
• The emperor named Zhaoling crown princess, and she spared Xuanyuan Xiao while appointing Feng Xiaoduo to command the palace guards.
• The imperial physicians found that the Lethe Flower could cure the emperor’s poison, and Zhaoling asked to seize it from Li Lianhua while promising to find another cure for him.
• Zhaoling told the emperor that she had left the palace to verify a secret about their bloodline and origins by questioning Jiao Liqiao.

Zhaoling revealed the secret of Consort Ying’s affair with the Nanyin sorcerer Feng Alu and explained why she had pursued Li Lianhua. She cured his Bicha poison by forcing their marriage and later told Qin Po she was carrying his child.

• Zhaoling told the emperor that Consort Ying had imprisoned Feng Alu in the Tower of Ultimate Bliss, conceived a son with him, and destroyed the tower with him inside.
• Zhaoling explained that she sought Li Lianhua, a descendant of Prince Fangji, to protect them if the truth about the emperor’s bloodline emerged, and that she had tried to verify the story through Jiao Liqiao.
• The emperor ordered Zhaoling to find Li Lianhua and save him, and Zhaoling offered him palace spirit medicines if he became her prince consort.
• Li Lianhua refused Zhaoling’s offer and gave her the Lethe Flower, but she sealed his acupoints and forced him to marry her.
• Li Lianhua woke with his Bicha poison gone and learned that Zhaoling was carrying his child; Qin Po welcomed them on Mount Yun Yin, scolded Li Lianhua, and agreed to the marriage.

Li Lianhua agreed to marry Zhaoling to protect their unborn child, and she gave birth to twin boys whom he named. Zhaoling later conceived a daughter, inherited the throne from her dying father, and achieved her ambition of ruling as emperor.

• Li Lianhua agreed to marry Zhaoling, bringing relief to Qin Po, Fang Duobing, and Di Feisheng, while Zhaoling became annoyed by his constant efforts to make her take tonics.
• Zhaoling gave birth to twin boys, and she told Li Lianhua to give them his surname and choose their names.
• Zhaoling decided her heir must be a girl and spent five years developing a pill to conceive a daughter.
• As the emperor became terminally ill, he passed the throne to Zhaoling.
• Zhaoling took the imperial throne and smiled as the people hailed her as emperor.

Situ Baye reflected on how her mother’s ruthless rule and her father’s compassion shaped her as she prepared to ascend the throne. After receiving the imperial jade seal, she realized she could never become the solitary sovereign her mother had been.

• Situ Baye described how her mother reformed the examinations and suppressed Confucianism to protect her own power and ambitions.
• Situ Baye recalled how her father, Li Lianhua, divided his time among her and her twin brothers, and comforted her when she feared they resented her.
• On the day of her enthronement, Situ Baye walked toward the throne and saw her family and allies gathered in the palace.
• Situ Baye accepted the imperial jade seal from her mother and concluded that she could never rule as a solitary sovereign.