Chapter Summaries

Di Qingyu attempted to seize the throne from Di Chenzhe, but Gu Wenci intervened with a hidden weapon and helped defeat her. After her death, she watched Gu Wenci take over the dynasty and learned why he had repeatedly escaped her schemes before her soul finally dissipated.

• Di Qingyu told Di Chenzhe that he should kill dissenting officials, then suggested she was ready to give up the regency.
• Di Chenzhe’s forces and Gu Wenci’s men attacked Di Qingyu’s faction, and Di Qingyu fought Di Chenzhe in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
• Gu Wenci shot Di Qingyu with a hidden weapon and condemned her for attempting a palace coup.
• Di Qingyu warned Di Chenzhe that Gu Wenci would eventually overthrow him, then cut her own throat.
• Four years later, Gu Wenci rebelled, took control of Xiling, and later conquered the other three kingdoms to found the Great Sheng Dynasty.
• As a ghost, Di Qingyu learned that Gu Wenci had a system that warned him of danger, cursed heaven, and eventually dissipated.

Di Qingyu negotiated gifts from her four brothers while they knelt outside Xuanzheng Hall, then persuaded Di Yunqian to release three of them after analyzing the ambush on the relief convoy. She left the fifth prince kneeling and departed with the emperor’s permission to take the others away.

• Di Qingyu offered to help her punished brothers and accepted jade chess pieces, calligraphy, and liquor from the first, second, and fourth princes.
• Di Qingyu entered Xuanzheng Hall, where Di Yunqian explained that bandits had ambushed relief supplies bound for Yulu City and killed or wounded thirty percent of the escorting soldiers.
• Di Qingyu argued that the bandits likely acted for someone behind the attack and that her brothers were partly unlucky, though they still deserved punishment for their losses.
• Di Yunqian agreed to release three princes after Di Qingyu offered to share the liquor and give him the calligraphy, while she insisted the fifth prince should keep kneeling because he had not asked for her help.

After securing her brothers’ release, Di Qingyu investigated the Yulu City flood and devised a scheme to get grain to the starving refugees. She learned that Gu Wenci might be the man who had ruined her rise to power in her previous life and decided to leave the palace to kill him herself.

• Di Qingyu secured her four brothers’ release from kneeling, charged them silver, and left them to send her the promised payment.
• At Yaohua Hall, Di Qingyu learned that Yulu City’s flood had left thousands of refugees without food and that the court’s relief grain had been seized along the way.
• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi to send Prefect Zhang Mingzheng an anonymous letter suggesting that he reclaim local grain by claiming it was stolen court grain recovered from bandits.
• Di Qingyu ordered Qiuwen to watch her imperial uncles for suspicious behavior and learned that a seventeen-year-old xiucai named Gu Wenci lived in Maotun County.
• Suspecting Gu Wenci was the man who had used a system to thwart her in her previous life, Di Qingyu ordered preparations to leave the palace and kill him herself.

Di Qingyu traveled to Zhu Prefecture to kill Gu Wenci, whom she believed was a threat because of his connection to a system. After confirming his identity, she beheaded him and ordered his remains removed, leaving silver for his parents.

• Di Qingyu hurried from the imperial palace toward Zhu Prefecture, using her disguise as a young master.
• At Fengkelai Inn, Shao Lan reported that Gu Wenci lived quietly with his parents and had no notable connections beyond scholars and the local magistrate.
• Di Qingyu and her companions went to Gu Wenci’s farmhouse at night and released poisonous smoke to incapacitate everyone inside.
• Di Qingyu examined the unconscious scholar, confirmed his name, and beheaded him to prevent the system from reviving him.
• Di Qingyu ordered her subordinates to dispose of Gu Wenci’s body and head without frightening his parents, and left fifty taels of silver on the table.

Di Qingyu returned to the imperial palace, where Zhu Wuyang inspected her carriage under the new security orders. At Yaohua Palace, she punished a maid for revealing her preferences to Jieyu Wei, rewarded the other servants for their loyalty, and decided to wait for Jieyu Wei to approach her.

• Di Qingyu stepped out of her carriage at the palace gates and allowed Zhu Wuyang to inspect it before she entered the palace.
• Zhu Wuyang introduced himself as the general’s eldest son, newly appointed as an imperial guard, and watched Di Qingyu’s carriage depart.
• Di Qingyu ordered Chunzhi to beat a maid to death for revealing her likes and dislikes, then warned the gathered servants against disloyalty.
• Di Qingyu and Xialin distributed silver to the palace servants, and Di Qingyu told them loyalty would bring opportunities.
• Chunzhi told Di Qingyu that the maid had spoken to Jieyu Wei, and Di Qingyu decided Jieyu Wei would come to her if she wanted something.

Di Qingyu attended Empress Zhang’s gathering and rebuffed the consorts and concubines who raised her marriage, using their families’ troubles to silence them. After they withdrew, Di Qingyu asked the empress what she had wanted to discuss.

• Empress Zhang invited the consorts and concubines to review the Mid-Autumn banquet plans, and their conversation turned to the princes’ and princesses’ marriages.
• Di Qingyu arrived, and Empress Zhang welcomed her warmly while the others avoided mentioning her marriage.
• Noble Consort Gao brought up Di Qingyu’s impending adulthood and marriage, prompting Di Qingyu to confront the women who had raised the subject.
• Di Qingyu reminded Consort Rong, Consort Li, Noble Lady Fu, and others of problems involving their children and relatives, leaving them frightened and apologetic.
• Empress Zhang dismissed the consorts and concubines, and Di Qingyu asked her whether she had something to say.

Di Qingyu reassured Empress Zhang about the princes’ second disaster-relief escort, then visited Noble Consort Gao and shared wine and confidences with her. The two parted on the understanding that Gao Miling would likely remain trapped in palace politics, despite their playful talk of a future journey together.

• Empress Zhang asked Di Qingyu whether the second prince’s renewed grain escort could be stopped, and Di Qingyu urged her to support the mission while secretly sending guards.
• Di Qingyu guaranteed that bandits would not attack again and that her four imperial brothers would return safely, easing Empress Zhang’s fears.
• Empress Zhang probed whether Di Qingyu had someone she liked, but Di Qingyu said she had no interest in marriage for now.
• Noble Consort Gao welcomed Di Qingyu, and they discussed Empress Zhang’s questions before drinking wine together.
• Gao Miling joked that she would have married Di Qingyu if they were both men and spoke of visiting Sangnan, while they recognized that palace life would likely prevent her from leaving Xiling.

Di Qingyu went to visit Grand Tutor Gao Qian after learning that he had been waiting to see her, then discussed the upcoming imperial examination with Gao Shen on the way to his study. Gao Qian scolded her for relying on the emperor’s favor and antagonizing powerful people, while Di Qingyu’s position as a troublesome royal eccentric remained unchanged.

• Gao Miling remembered that Gao Qian had asked Di Qingyu to visit him and urged her to prepare for a scolding.
• Di Qingyu went to Gao Qian’s residence and learned from Gao Shen that the Ministry of Rites would take over the imperial examinations from the Ministry of Personnel.
• Di Qingyu entered Gao Qian’s study with a pot of wine and tried to placate him, but he sarcastically criticized her behavior in the harem.
• Gao Qian warned Di Qingyu that people she had offended would turn against her if the emperor’s favor faded.
• Di Qingyu dodged a book Gao Qian threw at her, and he continued to grumble about her dependence on the emperor’s indulgence.

Di Qingyu discussed her ambitions and her covert flood-relief plan with her teacher, Gao Qian, who warned that the plan could bring hardship to the farmers later. She defended her actions and promised to remember her duty to the people, leaving Gao Qian hopeful but worried about her future.

• Di Qingyu asked Gao Qian what position she could attain, and he warned her not to bring disaster upon the Gao Family.
• Gao Qian revealed that his former student Zhang Mingzheng had asked him to identify the person behind a plan that seized landlords’ grain to relieve flood victims.
• Di Qingyu admitted she had devised the plan, and Gao Qian warned that the landlords might retaliate against their tenant farmers.
• Di Qingyu argued that emergency relief was necessary and that the deeper problem lay in court policies and corruption.
• Di Qingyu declared that she would save people whenever she could and would not regret her plan, while Gao Qian urged her not to fail the people or make herself suffer.
• Di Qingyu bowed to Gao Qian and promised she would never forget his words.

Di Qingyu persuaded Gao Qian to let her inspect a confidential list of juren and arrange an introduction to Zhang Mingzheng. Back at the palace, she received Jieyu Wei, who asked to speak with her privately, leaving their important matter undisclosed.

• Di Qingyu asked Gao Qian to introduce her to Zhang Mingzheng, and he agreed to write him a letter.
• Di Qingyu requested a list of juren taking the spring examination so she could find people to recruit; Gao Qian reluctantly agreed to let her look at it once in a few days.
• Di Qingyu blamed Gao Qian for the wine when his wife caught him drinking, then slipped away as they argued.
• Di Qingyu returned to Yaohua Hall, where Jieyu Wei visited and chatted with her beside the brazier.
• Jieyu Wei asked to discuss an important matter in private, and Di Qingyu sent Chunzhi and the others out.

Wei Xin asked Di Qingyu to protect the Wei family from Du Chengji, the empress dowager’s powerful nephew, and offered the family’s loyalty in return. Di Qingyu withheld her decision until she could verify Wei Xin’s story, then used the silver and jade to fund the Information Pavilion and ordered an investigation.

• Wei Xin told Di Qingyu that Wei Ning had once imprisoned Du Chengji for murdering a family, but Du escaped and later rose to become minister of justice under the empress dowager’s protection.
• Wei Xin explained that the evidence had vanished and pleaded for Di Qingyu to protect the Wei family, offering their loyalty and striking her forehead against the floor.
• Di Qingyu said the silver was not enough to secure the family’s lives and asked Wei Ning to meet her, but delayed any agreement until her people verified the account.
• After Wei Xin left, Di Qingyu ordered Chunzhi to pawn the empress’s jade and send the proceeds with Wei Xin’s silver to the Information Pavilion.
• Di Qingyu told Xialin to investigate Wei Xin’s claims and urged her people to make progress on the Information Pavilion before the new year.

Di Qingyu met the Eighth Prince, Di Chenzhe, as the empress brought him out of the Cold Palace and showed him maternal kindness. On the journey back, Di Qingyu suspected the empress was positioning him to support her son, and decided to wait for the princes’ struggle to unfold before acting.

• Di Qingyu met Di Chenzhe at the city gate and learned that he was the Eighth Prince, recently brought out of the Cold Palace.
• Di Qingyu greeted Empress Zhang, who invited her to choose silks and return to the palace with her.
• Empress Zhang welcomed Di Chenzhe as her son, offered him her fur coat, and brought him back to the palace alongside Di Qingyu.
• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi that the empress might be preparing Di Chenzhe to help her legitimate son in the succession struggle.
• Di Qingyu dismissed Chunzhi’s suggestion to target a prince and chose to wait until the princes’ conflict became more dangerous.

Di Qingyu met Wei Ning in disguise and offered to save the Wei Family in exchange for their loyalty to her rather than the Xiling imperial family. After warning him that refusal would leave his family doomed, she secured his pledge and departed to await the next move.

• Di Qingyu disguised herself and entered Zhihua Pavilion through a secret passage to meet Wei Ning.
• She identified herself and demanded the loyalty of every member of the Wei Family in return for saving them.
• Wei Ning questioned her motives and whether he could trust her, and Di Qingyu warned that refusing her offer would leave the family to die.
• Di Qingyu said she would have the Wei Family follow her, protect Xiling’s people, and safeguard the peace of its lands.
• Wei Ning accepted the wager and pledged the Wei Family’s loyalty, and Di Qingyu told him to await her instructions.

Di Qingyu uncovered clues about the stolen disaster-relief grain and planned a sequence of resignations for Wei Ning as the first step toward saving his family. After receiving a mysterious message, Wei Ning abandoned his hesitation and rushed to the palace to see the emperor.

• Di Qingyu learned that the provisions had been stolen intact and ordered her agents to trace their carriage wheel ruts and identify suspicious government carriages.
• Di Qingyu instructed Wei Ning to ask the emperor to relieve him of office three times and have the resulting conflict spread through the royal city.
• Wei Ning told Wei Yan'an about his wager with Di Qingyu, but Wei Yan'an urged him to seek protection from the empress's faction.
• Someone threw a brocade pouch through Wei Ning's study window, and its message convinced him to go to the palace at once.

Di Qingyu visited Di Yunqian and secured his approval and funding to distribute porridge and padded clothes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Di Yunqian assigned Zhu Wuyang to help her and keep her safe as they began preparing for the work.

• Di Qingyu learned that Wei Ning had sought an audience with Di Yunqian and waited outside Xuanzheng Hall until Wei Ning emerged.
• Di Qingyu brought pastries to Di Yunqian, then asked to set up a three-day porridge stall and distribute padded clothes to the poor.
• Di Yunqian approved the plan, promised to provide silver, and summoned Zhu Wuyang to assist Di Qingyu and protect her.
• Di Qingyu left with Zhu Wuyang to collect the silver from the treasury.

Di Qingyu organized free porridge and winter clothing for the poor, earning their gratitude while quietly targeting Du Yutao’s grain business. The emperor learned of her conduct and ordered an investigation into Wei Ning’s resignation.

• Di Qingyu opened porridge stalls and personally helped commoners collect food and padded clothing, earning their trust with her kindness.
• When her arm began to ache, Zhu Wuyang took over serving porridge while Di Qingyu instructed Chunzhi to disrupt Du Yutao’s grain deals and spread word of half a month of free porridge.
• After Du Yutao made no move, Di Qingyu told Chunzhi to find his usual companions and arrange to get him drunk the following night.
• Di Qingyu ended the day’s distribution, offered Zhu Wuyang drinking money, and returned to the palace with her attendants and guards.
• A dark figure reported to Di Yunqian that Di Qingyu had credited him for the relief effort and concealed her identity, and he ordered the figure to investigate Wei Ning’s resignation.

While Di Qingyu continued distributing porridge before the Mid-Autumn Festival, she visited the crowded moat street with Chunzhi and Zhu Wuyang. Di Qingyu slipped away in the crowd to pursue Du Yutao, while Chunzhi planned to guide Zhu Wuyang to the brothel if he did not find her.

• Wei Ning repeatedly demanded to resign and was beaten and made to kneel after threatening to kill himself at court.
• A little girl gave Di Qingyu a handmade decorative lantern to thank her for distributing porridge.
• Di Qingyu persuaded Zhu Wuyang to accompany her and Chunzhi to the lively moat street, then vanished when the crowd separated them.
• Zhu Wuyang and Chunzhi split up to search for Di Qingyu, with Zhu Wuyang planning to gather the guards if she remained missing.
• Chunzhi met Di Qingyu in a fox mask and reported that Du Yutao was still drinking at the brothel.
• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi to follow Zhu Wuyang and lead him to the brothel if he had not found his way there within a quarter of an hour.

At a brothel, Du Yutao became captivated by Di Qingyu when her veil slipped, then pursued her after she rejected and publicly scolded him. He secretly followed her with two servants while his companions reluctantly tagged along.

• Du Yutao's companions discussed how the porridge stall might hurt his family's grain business, but he claimed not to care.
• Du Yutao and the other young masters spotted Di Qingyu in the street after a gust of wind revealed her face.
• Di Qingyu used her beauty to draw Du Yutao's attention and refused his invitation to admire the lanterns.
• When Du Yutao blocked her way, Di Qingyu scolded him and told him to move aside, making him lose face before the onlookers.
• Du Yutao waited until the crowd dispersed, then followed Di Qingyu with two servants, and his companions decided to follow as well.

Zhu Wuyang found Di Qingyu being attacked by Du Yutao and rescued her, taking a dagger wound in the back while shielding her. He carried her toward the porridge shed as the crowd noticed their bloodied clothes.

• Chunzhi told Zhu Wuyang that people had surrounded Di Qingyu near the Misty Rain House, and he hurried there.
• A stallholder told Zhu Wuyang that Du Yutao had pestered Di Qingyu and that his men had followed her into an alley.
• Di Qingyu blinded Du Yutao in one eye with a hairpin, and Zhu Wuyang arrived and disarmed him before protecting her from his attendants.
• Du Yutao attacked Di Qingyu while she appeared unconscious, and Zhu Wuyang took the dagger in his back while shielding her.
• Zhu Wuyang kicked Du Yutao away, carried Di Qingyu over a wall, and covered her face with his robe as he escaped through the crowd.

After Di Qingyu was attacked and left unconscious, Di Yunqian rushed to Yaohua Hall and heard Zhu Wuyang’s account of the assault. Once Qingyu was out of immediate danger, Di Yunqian ordered an investigation and went to confront the Minister of Punishments and his son, who had come to plead guilty.

• A guard told Di Yunqian that Di Qingyu had been injured during a porridge distribution and that Zhu Wuyang had been stabbed while protecting her.
• Di Yunqian hurried to Yaohua Hall, where imperial physicians treated the unconscious Di Qingyu and found Zhu Wuyang still kneeling with a dagger wound in his back.
• Di Yunqian ordered Zhu Wuyang’s wound treated, and Zhu Wuyang recounted how the Minister of Punishments’ son and his companions had harassed Di Qingyu and attacked her.
• Zhu Wuyang urged Di Yunqian to investigate carefully so rumors would not damage Di Qingyu’s reputation, and Di Yunqian agreed to uncover the truth.
• After confirming parts of Zhu Wuyang’s account with Chunzhi, Di Yunqian ordered the shadow guards to collect testimony and arrest those who had harassed Di Qingyu.
• A eunuch reported that the Minister of Punishments and his son were kneeling outside Xuanzheng Hall to plead guilty, and Di Yunqian went to see them.