Chapter Summaries

Di Qingyu woke in Yaohua Hall and arranged for General Zhu to learn that Zhu Wuyang had been wounded, drawing the Zhu family into the dispute with Du Chengji and Du Yutao. In Xuanzheng Hall, Di Yunqian challenged Du Yutao to explain the supposed misunderstanding, threatening to execute him if he lied.

• Di Qingyu learned that Du Chengji had brought Du Yutao to the palace to plead guilty and confirmed that the rage-inducing medicine had worn off.
• Di Qingyu ordered Chunzhi to notify General Zhu of Zhu Wuyang’s injury and ensure he encountered Du Chengji, while Qiuwen gave Zhu Wuyang a rare healing ointment at Di Qingyu’s request.
• Du Chengji and Du Yutao waited outside Xuanzheng Hall before Di Yunqian summoned them inside.
• Du Chengji and Du Yutao pleaded guilty while calling the incident a misunderstanding, and Di Yunqian saw through their attempt to win a lighter punishment.
• Di Yunqian demanded that Du Yutao explain the misunderstanding honestly and warned that he would be executed for lying.

Du Yutao and Du Chengji tried to excuse the attack on Di Qingyu, but Di Yunqian saw through their account. Zhu Juxuan arrived and beat Du Yutao, leaving Di Yunqian to reprimand him while privately approving of the intervention.

• Du Yutao described his assault on Di Qingyu as drunken admiration and begged Di Yunqian for forgiveness.
• Du Chengji accepted blame for his son but subtly suggested Di Qingyu had harmed him and offered to provide her medicine.
• Zhu Juxuan entered Xuanzheng Hall and accused Du Yutao of deserving death, saying he had come because his own son’s life still hung in the balance.
• Zhu Juxuan kicked Du Yutao twice, knocking him down and making him vomit blood.
• Du Chengji challenged Zhu Juxuan, who retorted that he was teaching Du Yutao a lesson in his father’s place.
• Di Yunqian ordered Zhu Juxuan to stop and threatened him with military caning, while privately approving of the beating.

Zhu Juxuan persuaded Di Yunqian to imprison Du Yutao while the attack on Di Qingyu and Zhu Wuyang was investigated, and the emperor ordered the matter kept quiet. Di Qingyu learned Du Yutao was jailed and prepared to carry out her plans for the Mid-Autumn Festival, intending to leave once the evening was over.

• Zhu Juxuan argued that Du Yutao had threatened the imperial family and urged Di Yunqian to investigate the attack and imprison him.
• Di Yunqian ordered Du Yutao imprisoned, withheld Du Chengji’s salary for a year, and confined him to his home for seven days.
• Zhu Juxuan asked Di Yunqian not to let Wuyang or Qingyu be wronged, and they agreed to suppress news of the incident until after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
• Chunzhi told Di Qingyu that Du Yutao was in prison and Zhu Juxuan had left the palace.
• Di Qingyu ordered her plans for the Mid-Autumn evening to proceed and said she would skip the banquet and leave after it was over.

On the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Empress Zhang prepared Di Chenzhe to join the palace banquet and learned that Di Qingyu had fallen unconscious after coughing blood. Wei Xin then pleaded for the empress to protect the Wei Family, offering to spy on Di Qingyu in exchange.

• Empress Zhang assured Di Chenzhe that he could attend the Mid-Autumn banquet and study with the other princes.
• Chunzhi told Empress Zhang that Di Qingyu had coughed blood and remained unconscious, so she would miss the banquet.
• Wei Xin asked Empress Zhang to save the Wei Family and revealed that Di Qingyu had sought their loyalty and set a trap involving the Du Family.
• Empress Zhang questioned Wei Xin about Di Qingyu's plan, and Wei Xin offered to stay close to the princess and gather information.
• Empress Zhang helped Wei Xin up and welcomed her as an ally.

Di Qingyu recovered and urged Di Yunqian to punish Du Yutao while handling the Du Family in a way that strengthened imperial authority. Di Yunqian listened to her proposal and questioned her motives, and she defended her advice as loyalty to him and the imperial family.

• Di Yunqian arrived to find Di Qingyu awake and fed her congee himself.
• Di Qingyu asked about Zhu Wuyang, and Di Yunqian said he had recovered enough to move and that Du Yutao was imprisoned and would be executed after the festival.
• Di Qingyu warned that the Du Family might resent the emperor if he executed Du Yutao without considering their response.
• Di Qingyu advised Di Yunqian to return the Du Family’s apology gifts with additional rewards on the day of Du Yutao’s execution, praising the minister of punishments for putting righteousness above family.
• Di Yunqian questioned why Di Qingyu wanted to reward the Du Family, and she said she sought to protect his authority and the imperial family rather than forgive Du Yutao.

Di Qingyu arranged a staged disaster at the moat during the Mid-Autumn Festival to begin her entry into the court’s power struggle. After explosions shattered a bridge and red liquid spread through the water, terrified onlookers fled, believing the bleeding stele foretold a great calamity.

• Di Qingyu reassured Di Yunqian that she wanted to protect his relationship with the Du family, then ordered mooncakes distributed and rumors spread that she was unwell.
• At the palace banquet, Di Yunqian explained Di Qingyu’s absence, while Gao Miling concealed her worry.
• Di Qingyu confirmed that Shao Lan’s people were in position and ordered them to act.
• Plainclothes agents detonated three charges near the revered stele, destroying part of a bridge and injuring people as others pulled victims from the water.
• Blood-colored liquid spread through the moat and appeared to seep from the stele, driving the crowd into panic as someone reported a stone floating in the river.

Di Qingyu’s explosives caused a bloody spectacle at the moat, prompting Di Yunqian to investigate and suppress rumors. She then sent Shao Chi’s men to attack the Wei Family, and the chapter ended with Di Yunqian learning that Wei Ning had been gravely wounded and ordering an investigation.

• A guard reported that an explosion had shattered the moat bridge and revealed a bloodied stele blaming the Du Clan, so Di Yunqian ended the banquet and ordered an investigation and a ban on rumors.
• Chunzhi told Di Qingyu that the imperial investigation had begun, and Di Qingyu ordered rumors directed toward the Du Family and the old case of a family wiped out years earlier.
• Di Qingyu dismissed concerns about the Wei Family’s loyalty and ordered Shao Chi to attack their home, injuring someone but killing no one.
• Di Qingyu revealed that she had recreated explosives from her previous life and awaited the arrival of the son of destiny, Gu Wenci.
• Di Yunqian learned that assassins had attacked the Wei Family, leaving Wei Ning gravely wounded, and ordered officials to investigate after hearing the attackers had escaped.

After the moat’s strange events stirred rumors of divine retribution against the Du clan, Du Chengji suspected his family was being targeted and prepared to withdraw from the royal city. In Yaohua Hall, Di Qingyu received the Empress Dowager, who abandoned Du Yutao and promised to support his execution, leaving Di Qingyu to recover as the Du Family tried to contain the crisis.

• Rumors of blood pouring from the moat frightened the royal city’s Du households, while Du Chengji suspected the incident was aimed at his family.
• Du Chengji learned that officials were investigating the moat and that the Wei Family was under Imperial Guard protection, then wrote to the Empress Dowager about leaving the royal city to preserve the Du Family.
• As rain began, Di Qingyu questioned whether Heaven was helping her and later prepared to receive the Empress Dowager in Yaohua Hall.
• The Empress Dowager brought medicinal herbs and acknowledged that Du Yutao had injured Di Qingyu, but Di Qingyu framed his attack as an affront to the imperial family.
• The Empress Dowager promised not to plead for Du Yutao and said she would urge the emperor to execute him, while Di Qingyu left the decision to her Imperial Father and grandmother.

Di Qingyu discovered that the empress dowager’s medicinal herbs could slowly poison her and made plans to turn the situation to her advantage. Meanwhile, Di Yunqian delayed Du Yutao’s execution and ordered an investigation into the strange moat disaster and the stele bearing the words “Du clan.”

• After the empress dowager left, Di Qingyu had Qiuwen examine the herbs and learned that prolonged use would cause her organs to fail.
• Di Qingyu reasoned that Du Chengji wanted Du Yutao executed quickly because he feared the moat incident would bring the Du Family under scrutiny, and she secretly instructed Chunzhi to act.
• The empress dowager urged Di Yunqian to execute Du Yutao, but Di Yunqian refused and ordered the case left pending while he dealt with state affairs.
• The vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review reported that the moat’s blood was human, the bridge damage resembled an earthquake, and the blood on the stele had likely been splashed there.
• Di Yunqian ordered officials to investigate every household in the royal city with the surname Du and check their clans’ criminal records.

Shao Chi and Shao Lan scattered papers across the royal capital accusing Minister of Punishments Du Chengji of a brutal murder committed seven years earlier. The authorities tried to suppress the papers as the citizens learned the identity of the Du clan on the river-suppressing tablet, while Shao Lan and Shao Chi fled.

• Shao Lan and Shao Chi planned to scatter papers by kite, but Shao Lan had to ask Wanniang for money because both youths were broke.
• Shao Lan drew crowds into the streets by claiming silver had been dropped, then shot down kites carrying stacks of papers.
• A citizen read that Du Chengji had murdered a woman and her family seven years earlier, escaped justice after a fire, and later risen to become minister of punishments.
• The vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review ordered officers to find the paper distributors and collect every paper, but the papers had already been spread across the city.
• Shao Lan hid his bow and arrows and fled from pursuing officers, while Shao Chi withdrew from the mountainside after the kites were gone.

Gao Miling visited Di Qingyu, and their conversation revealed why Gao Miling had taken a sterility decoction and resigned herself to life in the palace. Di Qingyu promised to help her leave when a new emperor ascended the throne.

• Gao Miling visited Di Qingyu in Yaohua Hall and gave her a peace talisman blessed at Longhua Temple.
• Di Qingyu teased Gao Miling about her wealth and offered to keep her gold, silver, and jewels, so Gao Miling gave her a jade pendant she could use to take money from her storeroom.
• Di Qingyu asked why Gao Miling believed she would never have children, and Gao Miling admitted she had taken a sterility decoction a year earlier to avoid bringing a child into the palace's dangers and ease the emperor's worries about the Gao Family.
• Gao Miling explained that she had accepted her role as a pawn in the palace and feared her child would suffer the same fate.
• Di Qingyu promised to help Gao Miling leave the palace when a new emperor ascended the throne, and Gao Miling agreed to trust her.

Di Yunqian investigated rumor papers spread over the royal city and became suspicious that the Zhang Family had framed the Du Family. As a crowd gathered outside the Du residence and officials retrieved old case files, Du Chengji tried to appear confident but wondered who was behind the attack.

• The vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review told Di Yunqian that a masked man had shot down the kites carrying rumor papers and left behind a bow whose grip cord matched Di Yinli’s unusual knot.
• Di Yunqian dismissed the bow as insufficient proof against Di Yinli, ordered an inquiry into the papers and old Ministry of Punishments files, and told officials to watch the Du Family.
• Di Yunqian recalled that Zhang Lingshen had taught Di Yinli the knot and suspected the Zhang Family might be plotting against the Du Family.
• A subordinate told Du Chengji that injured people and other commoners were gathering at the Du residence to demand an explanation, while the household could not send word to the empress dowager.
• Du Chengji ordered his guards to protect the residence and insisted that he was innocent, despite learning that officials were retrieving the old case files.
• Left alone, Du Chengji wondered whether Wei Ning or the Zhang Family was behind the rumors.

Di Qingyu visited Zhu Juxuan’s residence to thank Zhu Wuyang for saving her and used the gifts and news about Du Yutao’s execution to hint at suspicions surrounding the Empress Dowager and Du Chengji. Zhu Juxuan began weighing those implications while Di Qingyu stayed to dine and speak with the Zhu sisters.

• Zhu Juxuan hurried to welcome Di Qingyu after learning she had arrived at his residence.
• Di Qingyu offered precious medicinal herbs as thanks for Zhu Wuyang saving her, but Zhu Juxuan initially refused them.
• Di Qingyu said the Empress Dowager wanted Du Yutao executed quickly, then revealed she had asked the emperor to delay the execution until Du Chengji’s affairs were investigated.
• Di Qingyu suggested that heaven would judge whether the accusations against Du Chengji were true, leaving Zhu Juxuan to ponder her meaning.
• Di Qingyu asked to stay for a meal and chat with the Zhu sisters, while Zhu Juxuan excused himself to leave.

Zhu Juxuan realized Di Qingyu was urging the Zhu Family to help bring down the Du Family, while the emperor intended to use the case as bait to uncover the force behind the destructive attack. Di Qingyu returned to the palace after dinner at the general's residence, leaving Zhu Juxuan and Madam Zhu worried about the emperor's plans and her own role in them.

• Zhu Juxuan told Madam Zhu that Di Qingyu had drawn the Zhu Family into the Du Family affair and wanted them to act against the Du Family for their own future.
• Zhu Juxuan explained that the emperor cared more about finding whoever caused the bridge and stele to be destroyed than proving the rumors about the Du Family, and that the Du Family's fate could serve as bait.
• Madam Zhu wondered whether Di Qingyu was behind the scheme, but Zhu Juxuan said she was too young and lacked the influence to have planned it alone.
• Di Qingyu chatted with Zhu Jiuning about marriage and advised her to choose someone who would treat her well.
• Di Qingyu ate dinner at the general's residence, learned Zhu Wuyang would not appear because of his wound, and returned to the palace.

Di Qingyu let the investigation into the Wei and Du Families unfold while the empress questioned Wei Xin about the conspiracies. Wei Xin persuaded the empress to protect her family, and the empress formally brought the Wei Family under her wing.

• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi not to contact Wei Xin and chose to wait for other factions to act against the Du Family.
• The empress questioned Wei Xin about whether Di Qingyu had arranged the incidents and asked if Wei Ning had evidence from the past.
• Wei Xin argued that the Du Family was hiding further wrongdoing and urged the empress to investigate it and consider her father for minister of punishments.
• The empress said the Duke of Anguo was already investigating the Du Family and promised the Wei Family protection through her and the Second Prince.

After news spread that Du Yutao had attacked Di Qingyu and Zhu Wuyang, Du Chengji faced the angry crowd and swore to sever his ties with his son, then offered three years of his salary to compensate those harmed by the moat disaster. The crowd dispersed, while a hidden figure watching from across the street told a gagged, resentful man that she had not forced Du Chengji to make his declaration and ordered him taken back.

• News spread that Du Yutao had attacked Di Qingyu and Zhu Wuyang, prompting the people to gather outside the Du residence again.
• Du Chengji came out with a sword and claimed he was innocent of the accusations against him.
• Du Chengji said he had asked for Du Yutao to be executed and cut his palm to swear that he was severing their father-son relationship.
• Du Chengji offered three years of his salary to compensate the moat disaster's victims, and the crowd dispersed, doubting the accusations against him.
• A figure across from the Du residence told a gagged man that she had not forced Du Chengji to make his declaration, then ordered him taken back.

Di Qingyu learned that her brothers had reached Yulu City and were managing flood relief well, then redirected her agents to search the royal city for suspicious warehouses. Zhu Juxuan reported that the medicinal herbs the Empress Dowager had given Di Qingyu could fatally harm someone frail, leaving Di Yunqian suspicious of the Empress Dowager’s intentions.

• Di Qingyu visited Di Yunqian, who praised the princes’ orderly flood relief in Yulu City and said their escort had been doubled after the earlier bandit attack.
• Di Qingyu asked Chunzhi about the mountain bandits and ordered her to search the royal city for warehouses guarded by people resembling government soldiers.
• Zhu Juxuan told Di Yunqian that Bai Lian had identified the Empress Dowager’s medicinal herbs as dangerous to someone who had been ill and frail for years.
• Di Yunqian demanded proof, and Zhu Juxuan said the herbs were intact outside the hall and could be examined by skilled physicians.
• Di Yunqian grew suspicious that the Empress Dowager might have intended to harm Di Qingyu.

Di Yunqian moved against the empress dowager and Du Chengji after Di Qingyu ordered Shao Chi to release their plan. Du Yutao exposed his father’s corruption, leaving Du Chengji facing arrest and investigation.

• Di Yunqian ordered Zhu Juxuan to keep the medicinal herbs secret and asked him to invite Bai Lian to examine Qingyu.
• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi to tell Shao Chi to release the people they had captured and begin their plan.
• Di Yunqian sent the empress dowager to Longhua Temple under guard, then Zhu Wuyang arrested Du Chengji as he tried to flee.
• Di Yunqian questioned Du Chengji about the Li Family murders, but Du Chengji denied involvement.
• Du Yutao revealed a hidden account book documenting Du Chengji’s corruption, and Zhu Wuyang confirmed that he had found it.
• Du Chengji attacked Du Yutao and cursed him, while Du Yutao said he had learned betrayal from his father.

Du Chengji was exposed and arrested for embezzlement and the attack on Wei Ning’s family, while his son Du Yutao turned against him. Di Yunqian promoted Wei Ning to minister of punishments, and Di Qingyu treated Du Chengji’s downfall as one move in a larger plan.

• Du Yutao revealed that Du Chengji had taught him to lie about his attempt on Di Qingyu and had helped cover up the attack on Wei Ning’s family.
• Du Chengji attacked Du Yutao, and guards restrained him after he beat his son until he could no longer move.
• Di Yunqian ordered Du Chengji imprisoned, the Du Family’s property confiscated, and the family members jailed.
• Gao Qian and Zhang Lingshen recommended Wei Ning for minister of punishments, and Di Yunqian decreed that Wei Ning would take the post the next day.
• Di Qingyu told Chunzhi that Du Chengji had been a chess piece to advance her plan, then went to sleep without waiting for news.

At court, Du Chengji was stripped of office and sentenced to beheading, while Wei Ning was promoted to minister of punishments. Later, Bai Lian examined Di Qingyu and agreed to announce that her health was severely damaged and she could never bear children, leaving Di Qingyu’s plan tied to his eventual meeting with Shang Lu.

• Di Yunqian issued an edict stripping Du Chengji of office, ordering his imprisonment and future execution, and confiscating the Du Family’s property.
• Di Yunqian promoted Wei Ning to minister of punishments, and Wei Ning gratefully accepted the decree.
• Di Qingyu welcomed Bai Lian, who reproached her for making him deal with an old woman and criticized Qiuwen’s medical skills before Di Qingyu explained she had damaged her own health with medicine.
• Bai Lian told Di Qingyu that Zhu Wuyang’s life was in grave danger, and she asked him to say that she could never bear children.
• Bai Lian agreed to Di Qingyu’s request and reminded her not to forget her promise when she succeeded; Di Qingyu thought of his meeting with Shang Lu.