Kill My Sins Recap, Plot, Synopsis

Kill My Sins Synopsis

The wandering physician Ye Ping'an arrives in the divine capital of Luoyang while investigating a mysterious old case. However, a series of bizarre and sinister medical visits earns her the reputation of a witch doctor. Clever and manipulative, she is shunned and feared by everyone. Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng, a deputy minister at the Dali Temple, is ostracized as a "dirty rat" due to his origins in the slums. Despite his exceptional abilities, he is met with disdain. Ambitious and ruthless, he eagerly seizes every opportunity to climb the ranks of power.

When a gruesome murder shakes Luoyang, a prominent official is found dead in his home. Strangely, he had summoned Ye Ping'an to treat his heart condition shortly before his death, and she is the only one present at the crime scene. Yuan Shaocheng takes charge of the investigation. Though he senses inconsistencies, he chooses to frame Ye Ping'an for personal gain, using her as a pawn in his political ambitions.

Ye Ping'an seems like an innocent scapegoat in this murder case. But is that really the truth? Little does anyone know, Ye Ping'an has already made her first move in a calculated game of revenge.

Kill My Sins Recap

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In the first year of the Kangzhou era, the Empress ascended the throne and implemented a strategy to suppress the aristocratic families, which triggered a dispute over the rites and propriety. At that time, ruthless officials held power. The right chancellor was exposed by one of these officials, after dreaming of the rebel Prince Yu Wang Like ascending the Empress's court in the Zhanlu Hall. This incident caused an uproar in both the court and the common folk.

From then on, people feared speaking of dreams, but the medical woman Ye Ping'an took a different approach. Dressed in a plain white robe and holding a cloud-patterned red umbrella, she appeared under the rain, the umbrella’s handle adorned with a string of hollow copper bells. Others avoided her like a venomous snake, and some women even warned children that the bells could steal one’s soul. On the streets, a man from Mangou, Hu Sheng, suddenly fell into a trance.

The palace’s imperial censor, Li Jun, believed he was a traitor from Prince Yu Wang Like's faction and was about to arrest him. However, Ye Ping'an intervened, analyzing that Hu Sheng was a former soldier who had fought under General Wu in battles with Shuo Dan. Despite this, Li Jun killed Hu Sheng in the street.

Many common people blamed Ye Ping'an for Hu Sheng’s sudden trance, surrounding her medical clinic and demanding she leave the capital, threatening to burn her clinic down. Ye Ping'an remained calm and, using a few tricks and threats, scared the crowd away. Yuan Shaocheng, the Minister of Justice, had heard of the sorceress in the capital and had witnessed this scene. He sneered at Ye Ping'an, who was using witchcraft to exploit the common people’s hard-earned money.

The Longmen Competition was held at the Dragon Gate arena, where mostly low-born people from Mangou fought to please the nobles. The victors could free themselves from their low status and claim land. At the time, there were twin brothers fighting in the ring. The Eastern Censor, Zheng Yuan, and the Servant Official, Zeng Xuan, were watching from the stands.

They had bet on the white team to win, but in the end, the red team emerged victorious, making Zheng Yuan feel irritated and unlucky. Xu Qing, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue’s military fund collection, reported to Du Liang, the Deputy Minister of Revenue, that 85,000 taels had been collected and would arrive at the capital in four days, but he would report only 80,000 taels.

Zheng Yuan suffered from a strange illness that kept him awake at night, so he sent his maid, Xin’er, to invite Ye Ping'an to his residence as a guest. When it was late, Ye Ping'an demanded a full bag of payment before agreeing to visit. Ye Ping'an treated illnesses without taking the pulse or asking for symptoms, claiming she could only read dreams.

She used the bell in her hand to make Zheng Yuan briefly fall asleep and, upon reading his dream, discovered his murderous intent. She pretended not to see the face of the woman in the dream and didn’t acknowledge what was written in the letter. Zheng Yuan’s killing intent faded, and Ye Ping'an told him that the illness required long-term treatment and that he should come back later.

Yuan Shaocheng, the Minister of Justice, wanted to strike a deal with Du Liang, but Du Liang looked down on him because of his low status, speaking to him with disdain. Ye Ping'an was being chased and barely escaped with her life. She overheard two assassins mention a “lord” and realized they were sent by Zheng Yuan, so she sneaked into Zheng Yuan’s residence that night, only to find him dead.

The housekeeper entered and, upon seeing Ye Ping'an and the dead Zheng Yuan, screamed in panic. Yuan Shaocheng took charge of the case. Despite the many suspicious points, he didn’t investigate in detail and casually declared that it didn’t matter whether she signed the confession or not, as in his eyes, Ye Ping'an was already a dead person. The news of Zheng Yuan’s death spread quickly through the capital, and rumors reached the Empress’s ears.

The Empress instructed Wu Xianer, a court official, to send word to the Ministry of Justice and bring Ye Ping'an to the Zhanlu Hall. Ye Ping'an defended herself, using Yuan Shaocheng as a reference for her medical skills, but she didn’t reveal that what Yuan Shaocheng truly hated was power. Instead, she made up an excuse to deceive the Empress. The Empress gave her one day to find the true murderer and prove her innocence.

They found Zheng Yuan’s dead servant, Xiao Quan, but Xin’er was missing. Unknown to them, Xin’er’s real name was Lu Danxin. She had secretly collaborated with Ye Ping'an to plot against Du Liang, framing Ye Ping'an as the scapegoat for Zheng Yuan’s murder. Zheng Yuan had already written a letter exposing Du Liang’s embezzlement of 5,000 taels of military funds.

He entrusted the letter to Zeng Xuan, instructing him to give it to a trustworthy person if he were to die. Zeng Xuan shook off the people sent by Ye Ping'an and Lu Danxin and handed the letter to Yuan Shaocheng. Just a moment before, Yuan Shaocheng had promised to bring him to the palace the next day, but in the next second, Yuan Shaocheng killed Zeng Xuan.

Cai Lian was trailing Zeng Xuan but was shaken off on Chang Le Street. Ye Pingan knew which official residences were on Chang Le Street and deduced that Zeng Xuan must have gone to Yuan’s residence. Next, Cai Lian was instructed to keep an eye on Yuan’s house to see when Zeng Xuan would come out. The 5,000 taels of embezzled military funds from Du Liang had a distinct seal, so he would definitely melt it down and recast it.

Ye Pingan’s aunt, Gu Erniang, got a map through Lao Gui and located Du Liang’s silver-smelting factory, which was situated ten miles to the east in a mountain hollow. The silver-smelting factory was crucial evidence against Du Liang. Ye Pingan needed her aunt’s help to contact Lao Gui and arrange for people to watch the factory.

In front of Du Liang, Yuan Shaocheng burned Zheng Yuan’s petition, gaining Du Liang’s trust and securing a letter from Du Liang’s adopted son, Qi Junshan, concerning the Qi Tai Dfang. As for Ye Pingan, Yuan Shaocheng believed she must be removed completely. Ye Pingan woke up from a nightmare. The calming incense Gu Erniang had prepared for her, which she had been using for years, still couldn’t cure her nightmares.

The reason Gu Erniang had allowed Ye Pingan to take such dangerous actions, despite her peaceful life in Wuxiang, was because she knew that only Ye Pingan could execute the plan to unravel the knot in her heart. The next day, Cai Lian rushed back with urgency and informed Ye Pingan that Zeng Xuan had been killed by Yuan Shaocheng.

This action was the only unforeseen factor in Yuan Shaocheng’s meticulous plan, and it meant that Ye Pingan might not be able to get the evidence in time and could end up framed and imprisoned. Qi Junshan received an order to find a frustrated scholar, Guo Yi, and cause a scene outside the Anxin Clinic to delay Ye Pingan. Qi Junshan was unguarded around the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Wu Xianer.

When Wu Xianer heard about the trouble at the Anxin Clinic, he immediately instructed Yue’er to inform the Minister of Personnel, Hai Yiping. Hai Yiping went to handle the situation, where Ye Pingan was held hostage by the irritable Guo Yi. Knowing the importance of calming the situation, Ye Pingan used reason and compassion to persuade Guo Yi, causing him to drop his weapon and cry in distress.

Afterwards, Ye Pingan even pleaded with Hai Yiping on Guo Yi’s behalf, completely impressing him with her ability to guide people’s hearts. This incident turned out to be a blessing for Ye Pingan, earning her Hai Yiping’s admiration, a combination of luck and courage. The evening gong had yet to sound six hundred times when Ye Pingan entered the palace with Guo Yi’s records. She was stopped by palace servants who claimed it was past the visiting hour.

However, Ye Pingan insisted and was allowed to meet the Emperor. Guo Yi had argued with someone the previous day over the time, and his records could prove that the night watchman had intentionally delayed the report by half an hour, which coincided with the hour of Zi. The murder of Zheng Yuan had occurred at the hour of Hai.

Ye Pingan also presented Zheng Yuan’s handwritten secret letter, which had originally been swapped with a new one made by copying. Ye Pingan knew that the Li and Wu families were at odds. Even if the Emperor received the secret letter, he might suspect that the Wu family was using the institution to trap Du Liang and would not make a hasty judgment.

Furthermore, Du Liang’s connections in the Li family were deep, and a single letter wouldn’t be enough to convict him. However, it would make the Emperor view Ye Pingan with new respect. The next step was to find a way to make the Ministry of Justice aware of the location of the silver-smelting factory, thus planting a seed of doubt in the Emperor’s mind and achieving Ye Pingan’s goal.

The silver-smelting factory was soon sealed, but the silver had already been moved. Du Liang wasn’t worried, believing it was the work of the Mei faction. Yuan Shaocheng suspected Ye Pingan was more than she appeared but hadn’t yet investigated her background, nor had he found out her aunt Gu Erniang’s lineage. At this time, a report came in that 80,000 taels of military funds had been robbed on the way to the capital, and their whereabouts were unknown.

The famous singer Ni Chang from Wanguo Xiang, along with her subordinate, Jin Fuze, staged a performance. This was partly to test Ye Pingan’s abilities and partly to find an opportunity to collaborate with her. Through Wanguo Xiang, Ni Chang could learn a lot from the young noblemen who came to seek pleasure, such as information about the Tongquan Censor case. Ye Pingan, without hesitation, agreed to collaborate with her.

The harsh official, Li Jun, was always ruthless, using torture on anyone involved in the military funds’ transport. However, Yuan Shaocheng was different. He asked the transport officer if there had been any suspicious incidents along the way. The officer mentioned that, while passing through Tongquan County, he had heard children singing a nursery rhyme. Tongquan County wasn’t far from the capital, and many years ago, a horrific arson case had taken place there.

The arsonist was the then Censor, Yu Qian. In the second year of the Zhao Feng era, Yu Qian was executed, and the people despised him. His entire family, over thirty members, was also beheaded. The transport officer asked around and learned that it was said Yu Qian’s ghost had returned after his execution and had become an evil spirit, driving the vengeful souls of the women he burned alive to haunt the mountains.

The officer and his men were filled with dread. As they traveled through the mountains around the hour of Hai, a thick fog suddenly rolled in. Soon after, ghostly shadows appeared in the mist, accompanied by terrifying laughter. The officers were scared out of their wits and fell unconscious for no reason. When they woke up, the carriage and military funds were gone.

It had only been a few hours from the moment they fainted to when they regained consciousness, so Li Jun was certain the thieves hadn't moved the funds so quickly. He immediately followed the tracks of the carriage. Lu Danxin’s residence, Ye Ping'an introduced Ni Chang to the others. They were all victims of the Censor’s case.

Lu Danxin and Cai Lian had originally found Ye Ping'an, who wore a butterfly pendant, and together they came to the capital to wait for the right moment. As for the robbery of the military funds, it had been a trap set by Ye Ping'an and her allies. However, the funds weren’t hidden in the mountains but were instead sent to the poorest area of the capital, the Mangou region.

Yuan Shaocheng, being meticulous, noticed that the tracks were faint and deduced that the thieves hadn't hidden the funds in the mountains. He kindly warned Li Jun not to waste time. Mangou was home to many people who hadn’t been elevated from low status and were looked down upon. Yuan Shaocheng was the only one who had risen from the lowest ranks and become an official.

Ye Ping'an hid the military funds in the riverbed and instructed Lu Danxin to scatter sea cucumbers in the river, which caused Li Jun and Yuan Shaocheng to bring in a boatman to search but they couldn't find the funds. Li Jun, however, refocused his attention on the mountains, while Yuan Shaocheng kept someone watching the river. Night was the best time to retrieve the funds due to the fog.

Ye Ping'an needed to find a way to move the funds secretly under Yuan Shaocheng's surveillance. This wouldn't be easy, but Cai Lian believed that with Ye Ping'an's cleverness, it could be done. Wu Xianer arrived uninvited, bringing the Emperor's imperial decree, appointing Ye Ping'an as a "Palm Officer" with the authority to collaborate on cases and act as she saw fit. Ye Ping'an showed Yuan Shaocheng the official insignia and provided him with clues.

However, Yuan Shaocheng didn’t fall for the "bait-and-switch" tactic and kept a firm watch on the riverbank. Zheng Du Liang, upon learning that Ye Ping'an had become a Palm Officer, held her in higher regard but didn’t dare take action against her at this time. Instead, he sent people to monitor her, suspecting that she was backed by the Mei faction.

Hai Yiping visited his mentor, the Left Chancellor Mei Bowen, to seek advice on how to approach the case involving the military funds. Mei Bowen advised him not to rush and to wait and see how things unfolded. Yuan Shaocheng remained fixated on the river, while Ye Ping'an knew that he and Du Liang were in cahoots. She decided to use this situation to her advantage and set up a scheme to make Qi Junshan turn against Du Liang.

Qi Junshan received the news and sent people to smash the Qi Tai Dfang, where they found a bar of military funds. Gu Wenyu, a constable from the Dali Temple, was interested in a woman, and Yuan Shaocheng supported him in confessing his feelings. Soon after, Yuan Shaocheng learned that Qi Junshan had smashed the Dfang, and in a fit of rage, he rode back quickly, only to be captured by Du Liang’s men.

Du Liang ordered his subordinates to torture Yuan Shaocheng severely, determined to extract information about the whereabouts of the military funds. Du Liang had always looked down on Yuan Shaocheng because of his lowly origins. In Du Liang's eyes, crushing Yuan Shaocheng was as easy as crushing an ant.

Du Liang tried to interrogate Yuan Shaocheng about the whereabouts of the military funds but gained no useful information. Just as he was about to kill Yuan Shaocheng, Yuan Shaocheng managed to buy some time, and Du Liang gave him five days to find the funds. Before leaving, Yuan Shaocheng asked Qi Junshan where he had learned that the Qi Tai Dfang was hiding the military funds. This could help him figure out who framed him.

In the dead of night, Yuan Shaocheng, covered in injuries, was sent back to the gate of Yuan's mansion. He told his older brother, Yuan Hesheng, not to act rashly against Du Liang yet, as it wasn’t the time to sever ties completely. Lu Danxin came to inform Ye Ping'an that Yuan Shaocheng had been released. Ye Ping'an knew that Yuan Shaocheng was someone who would take revenge, so she had Lu Danxin notify Uncle Gui to return.

She feared that, for tonight, moving the military funds from the riverbed wouldn’t be possible. Yuan Hesheng’s wife, Bai Sheng, was furious when she saw Yuan Shaocheng’s injuries. She blamed him, thinking that if he hadn’t allied with Du Liang’s group, he wouldn’t have faced such a fate. She couldn’t understand why Yuan Hesheng and Yuan Shaocheng had changed so much after returning from the battlefield, now always thinking about power and influence.

Bai Sheng was angry with Yuan Hesheng, and she swore that if he ever came back injured like Yuan Shaocheng, she wouldn’t shed a single tear for him. Lu Danxin, knowing that Ye Ping'an couldn’t sleep, took her hand, just like her mother had done when she was young, to comfort her and help her fall asleep. Following Yuan Shaocheng’s instructions, Yuan Hesheng captured Qi Junshan’s subordinate, A Rong, and beat him to extract information about the Wanguo Xiang clues.

Ni Chang was being watched. She had just shaken off her pursuers when she was knocked out with a cloth and woke up to find herself face to face with Yuan Shaocheng. Ye Ping'an had been waiting for Ni Chang but instead found Yuan Shaocheng. Yuan Shaocheng casually brought up the Censor case, mentioning that both Zheng Yuan and Du Liang had been promoted from Tongquan County to the capital as officials.

He couldn’t help but speculate that these two might have been involved in the arson and abduction of women by Yu Qian, and Ye Ping'an was one of the lucky survivors. He thought Ye Ping'an might want revenge on them. Ye Ping'an neither denied nor confirmed this. Even though Yuan Shaocheng’s guesses were bold, he had no concrete evidence. However, Ye Ping'an still shared her plan with him—how she hid the military funds and intended to move them to Mangou.

She proposed they cooperate. Li Jun led a team to search the mountains, only to discover that the cave didn’t contain the military funds. Realizing they had been tricked, he became enraged. By this time, the funds had already been secretly moved through an underground passage to Mangou. Yuan Shaocheng ordered Uncle Gu to send someone to guard the entrance of the passage and watch over the military funds.

Uncle Gu understood the wide implications of this matter and advised Yuan Shaocheng to hand over the funds in a couple of days to take credit for it. However, Yuan Shaocheng had a bigger plan. Born into a lowly status, he had always been looked down upon by those in power. His father, in an attempt to escape from the low status, participated in a dragon gate competition, defeated his opponent but suffered severe injuries and soon passed away.

Yuan Shaocheng's mother also died shortly after. This hardened Yuan Shaocheng’s resolve to climb to positions of power, so that he could step on those who considered themselves nobility, and provide a better life for the people of Mangou. Through Ni Chang, Ye Ping'an learned that Wu Xianer had been secretly meeting Qi Junshan at Wanguo Xiang. Ye Ping'an sent someone to falsely relay a message to distract Qi Junshan, asking for Wu Xianer's help.

Wu Xianer, being from the Wu family, naturally wouldn’t get involved directly, as that would fuel rumors of discord between the Wu and Li families. However, she could recommend someone to help Ye Ping'an—Hai Yiping, the Minister of Personnel. Wu Xianer asked Ye Ping'an to pass on a message to Hai Yiping’s residence. The message itself seemed innocuous, but the true purpose was to use it as an excuse to ask for Hai Yiping’s assistance.

Lu Danxin saw that Ye Ping'an’s medicine pouch was worn and old and offered to make her a new one. She asked what design Ye Ping'an would like to have embroidered on it. Since her surname was Ye, Ye Ping'an decided to have Lu Danxin embroider leaves on the pouch.

Ye Ping'an went to the Hai residence to visit Minister Hai Yiping. The gatekeeper, upon hearing that she was sent by Attendant Wu to deliver a message requesting pearl powder, immediately led her inside. Inside the residence, Ye Ping'an noticed a sorcerer performing a ritual, which piqued her curiosity. When she later met with Hai Yiping, she inquired about it. Hai Yiping explained that his younger sister, Hai Yan, had been quiet since childhood.

After a fire broke out in their residence, her behavior became even more peculiar. The matriarch believed that Hai Yan was possessed by an evil spirit and thus invited a sorcerer to the residence every month to perform exorcism rituals. Ye Ping'an volunteered to see Hai Yan, thinking she might be able to help. Meanwhile, spies reported her visit to the Hai residence to Qi Junshan, who then informed Du Liang.

Du Liang decided to target Ye Ping'an’s aunt, Gu Erniang, to exploit Ye Ping'an’s weakness. Gu Erniang, despite her skills, was outnumbered and quickly captured, but Ye Ping'an, still at the Hai residence, remained unaware. Ye Ping'an used painting as a way to connect with Hai Yan, though she was nearly misunderstood by the matriarch. Fortunately, Hai Yan unexpectedly spoke up, clearing the misunderstanding.

Ye Ping'an explained to the matriarch that Hai Yan struggled to understand normal conversations and could only engage in simple dialogues. She advised interacting with Hai Yan according to her preferences. Hai Yiping, upon learning from Ye Ping'an about Du Liang’s actions, was deeply shocked. Ye Ping'an, holding only a nominal position, stated that she was not in a position to intervene but recommended someone who could—Yuan Shaocheng, the investigator of the military funds case.

When Ye Ping'an returned to Anxin Pavilion, Lu Danxin informed her that her aunt had been captured. Lu Danxin initially wanted to seek help from Uncle Gui, but Ye Ping'an stopped her. Instead, Lu Danxin went to the Yuan residence to inform Gu Wenyu about Gu Erniang’s capture. Soon after, Du Liang’s men arrived to invite Ye Ping'an to a night banquet, claiming it was to celebrate her new official position. Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng visited Hai Yiping.

Aware that Yuan Shaocheng had once sided with Du Liang and was now trying to align with the Mei faction, Hai Yiping was cautious. He tested Yuan Shaocheng to see if he was trustworthy and found him to be a promising talent. Yuan Shaocheng had prepared a significant gift for Hai Yiping. When he revealed that the gift was the military funds, Hai Yiping was visibly surprised.

Shortly after, Yuan Shaocheng returned to his residence, where Gu Wenyu quickly reported to him about the situation involving Ye Ping'an and her aunt, Gu Erniang. Since it was unwise for Yuan Shaocheng to appear at Du Liang’s residence, he instructed Gu Wenyu to go to the Hai residence and find Hai Yiping. Du Liang used Gu Erniang as leverage to threaten Ye Ping'an. However, Ye Ping'an remained calm and unyielding, neither showing fear nor backing down.

Furious, Du Liang was about to draw his blade when a servant reported that an envoy from Hai Yiping had arrived, claiming that Hai Yiping needed Ye Ping'an’s medical expertise. This provided Ye Ping'an with an opportunity to safely leave for the Hai residence. By then, the curfew had begun, so for safety reasons, she followed Hai Yiping’s arrangements and stayed at the Hai residence overnight.

Unexpectedly, she discovered that Hai Yan recognized a woman with a floral mark on her arm. Ye Ping'an attempted to ask Hai Yan more about the woman, but Hai Yiping walked in and interrupted. It turned out that Hai Yiping had used Hai Yan to draw the woman with the floral mark to verify his own suspicions about Ye Ping'an’s motives against Zheng Yuan and Du Liang.

Over a decade ago, when Ye Ping'an was still known as Gu Qing, she had self-taught psychological medicine through medical books. Zheng Yuan, having heard of her ability to make people obedient, deceived her into leading women into an abandoned residence, where they were assaulted. After the incident, Ye Ping'an personally witnessed Qi Junshan waiting outside the burning residence, mercilessly shooting down the women who had managed to escape the fire. Overwhelmed by guilt, she began planning her revenge—thus setting everything that followed into motion.

Back then, Lu Danxin narrowly escaped death and encountered Imperial Censor Yu Qian, who was returning to his hometown for an inspection. She recounted her ordeal to him in full. Yu Qian was outraged and vowed to uncover the truth and seek justice for the unfortunate women. However, he never expected that behind Zheng Yuan and Du Liang, there were even more powerful forces from the capital.

These forces conspired to falsely accuse him, pinning the crimes of extorting the people and abducting women onto him. As a result, Yu Qian was sentenced to execution, and his entire family of over thirty members was wiped out. Yuan Shaocheng met with Du Liang, appearing to be a turncoat.

He claimed to have revealed the whereabouts of the military funds to Hai Yiping and further stated that Hai Yiping intended to submit only half of the funds while secretly storing the other half in his private estate. With this information, Du Liang saw an opportunity to eliminate Hai Yiping, whom he considered a thorn in his side. Du Liang found this plan brilliant.

Ye Ping'an knew all too well that Du Liang was insatiably greedy and would undoubtedly fall into the trap, but the final outcome was still uncertain. Meanwhile, Yuan Hesheng drank alone at Manggou all night. Yuan Shaocheng went looking for him, only to discover that Yuan Hesheng had learned from Uncle Gu that Yuan Shaocheng was using the military funds to plot something significant, yet he had kept Yuan Hesheng in the dark.

Feeling disappointed, Yuan Hesheng believed his younger brother didn’t trust him. Yuan Shaocheng explained that he had kept it from him because he didn’t want him to get involved in such dangerous matters. He then revealed that the strategist guiding him through the military funds case was Ye Ping'an. Late at night, Yuan Shaocheng visited Ye Ping'an’s humble residence. She instructed him not to act against Du Liang just yet—she needed to extract more information from him first.

Both of them shared the same determination—no matter how powerful the forces behind their enemies were, they would not back down. Ni Chang arranged for Scholar Jin to steal the account books from Qi Junshan’s gambling house. The records showed that many people had used gambling losses as a cover to bribe Du Liang.

Additionally, Scholar Jin discovered that the trusted subordinates who had followed Du Liang and Zheng Yuan from Tongquan County to the capital had all died one after another. It was not hard to deduce that these people had been silenced for knowing too much. After confirming that military funds were indeed hidden in Hai Yiping’s private estate, Du Liang led a group of officers to storm the place that very night. At the time, Hai Yiping was leisurely drinking tea.

Minister of Justice Zhang Quan rushed in anxiously to inform him of the situation, but Hai Yiping remained exceptionally calm. He stated that regardless of whether there was bloodshed or fighting tonight, it had nothing to do with the two of them. However, he needed Zhang Quan to deliver a message to the ruthless enforcer, Li Jun.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng and Yuan Hesheng had already mobilized the people of Manggou, ready to show how those whom the nobles called "sewer rats" could devour a tiger. Taking advantage of Du Liang’s absence from his residence, Yuan Hesheng and the warriors of Manggou sneaked into Du Liang’s backyard, setting a fire to distract his household. Then, they secretly transferred the military funds into Du Liang’s residence. Before long, Du Liang realized he had found nothing at Hai Yiping’s estate.

Just then, a servant rushed in to report that his residence was on fire. Du Liang hurried back, only to discover that the fire was merely a diversion. The backyard was now filled with military funds. It was only then that he realized Yuan Shaocheng had outmaneuvered him—but it was too late. Ye Ping'an appeared before him, using her bell to disrupt his mind, making him see the vengeful spirits of those he had wronged.

He immediately went mad, screaming in terror, yet his viciousness did not wane. Yuan Shaocheng led his men to surround Du Liang’s residence, giving Ye Ping'an enough time to interrogate Du Liang. However, before she could extract the name of the mastermind behind the Imperial Censor case, Li Jun arrived swiftly after receiving the report and killed Du Liang. Ye Ping'an was unable to get the answer she sought, but she pretended that she already knew.

Li Jun then arrested Ye Ping'an on charges of smuggling military funds. As she looked at Yuan Shaocheng, she recalled his words from before. Perhaps, she realized, he had outmaneuvered her as well.

Ye Ping'an was imprisoned, but it wasn't in the Dali Temple prison; instead, she was taken away by the ruthless enforcer Li Jun. Lu Danxin suspected that Yuan Shaocheng was behind this, as Ye Ping'an had previously set him up to be tortured by Du Liang, leaving him with a grudge. Cai Lian wanted to rescue Ye Ping'an, but Lu Danxin advised her not to act impulsively.

In fact, Ye Ping'an’s imprisonment was not the result of Yuan Shaocheng’s betrayal; it was orchestrated by Hai Yiping, who had notified Li Jun. Earlier, Hai Yiping had warned Yuan Shaocheng about who to help and who to avoid. Yuan Shaocheng knew this in his heart, so he hesitated whether to rescue Ye Ping'an. Since he hesitated, Hai Yiping decided to leave it to fate.

Yuan Shaocheng's subordinate, Cheng Hui, had been bribed by Hai Yiping and reported the events of the night. Hai Yiping ordered him to poison Ye Ping'an. Not trusting the situation, Hai Yiping also sent people to keep an eye on Cheng Hui to ensure that he would complete the task and eliminate Ye Ping'an. Behind Hai Yiping, there was a masked figure.

They saw Ye Ping'an as no ordinary person, especially since she kept pursuing the Imperial Censor case, so they decided to remove her. In the prison, Li Jun subjected Ye Ping'an to brutal torture. Ye Ping'an understood Li Jun's nature well. Born from humble beginnings, Li Jun despised the high-ranking officials and enjoyed seeing them fall from grace. When dealing with criminals, Li Jun took pleasure in torturing them, but once they died, he lost interest.

To buy herself time, Ye Ping'an decided to appeal to his tastes. Barely alive, she suggested a new method of torment, which thrilled Li Jun. He ordered his men to fetch fish in the middle of the night. Lu Danxin overheard that Li Jun's men were going out to buy fish and quickly deduced that Ye Ping'an was sending them a message about the black market. So, she disguised herself as a fish vendor at the market in advance.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hui infiltrated the prison to kill Ye Ping'an. However, instead of killing her, he trusted her words and rushed to the black market to look for the so-called list. Li Jun realized that someone was attempting to kill Ye Ping'an, and she cleverly told him about the list, playing on his desire to expose the powerful officials behind the scenes. She guided Li Jun, a vicious dog, to bite the right people.

Hai Yiping learned that Cheng Hui had failed to kill Ye Ping'an, so he arranged for Cheng Hui’s execution to silence him. When Li Jun arrived, he found Cheng Hui already dead, and the copper axis was empty. Li Jun realized he had been tricked and rushed back to the prison, intending to kill Ye Ping'an. However, Wu Xianer arrived just in time with an imperial decree from the Empress, saving Ye Ping'an.

It turned out that Ye Ping'an had anticipated this and had previously obtained a life-saving talisman from the Empress, which led to her rescue. Soon after, Yuan Shaocheng was rewarded for recovering the military funds and was promoted to the position of Chief of the Dali Temple. Three months earlier, the Empress had secretly ordered Yuan Shaocheng to start an investigation with Du Liang and trace the powerful figures behind him.

Yuan Shaocheng’s first step was to fake the death of Zeng Xuan to gain Du Liang’s trust and secretly discover the extent of his embezzlement. As for the rise in salt prices, Yuan Shaocheng couldn’t find evidence that Du Liang was involved, but he suspected someone was using Du Liang to manipulate the salt tax. The Empress granted him permission to quietly investigate the Ministry of Revenue’s salt tax. Yuan Shaocheng had not offered any help to Ye Ping'an.

Though he felt guilty, Ye Ping'an, being clever, understood his reasons. If she were in his shoes, she would have made the same choice. Furthermore, Ye Ping'an knew that Yuan Shaocheng was not satisfied with his current rank; he truly desired the position of left or right prime minister, with power over everyone except the Emperor. Yuan Shaocheng thought she held no grudges against him and agreed to help her change her medicine.

However, to his surprise, Ye Ping'an bit him in revenge. Yuan Shaocheng didn’t mind at all. Before Yuan Shaocheng could begin his investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, a fire broke out in the Ministry's accounting room. The Empress used this as a reason to issue an imperial decree to dismiss and investigate the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Xianlang, and scrutinize the Ministry’s staff to find out who was behind the chaos.

With the position of Minister of Revenue vacant, Hai Yiping recommended Xue Zhongshan, the Governor of Jiangzhou, to take over the post, but Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, thought Xue Zhongshan’s character was lacking. Ultimately, the Empress decided to promote the Governor of Youzhou, who had been successful in his duties, to Minister of Revenue, while Xue Zhongshan, who had achievements, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Revenue. During her recuperation, Ye Ping'an kept wondering who had plotted her imprisonment.

It wasn’t necessarily the Li family, as Lu Danxin had suspected. Hai Yiping seemed to be a likely candidate, but Ye Ping'an could only guess without solid evidence. Ye Ping'an’s trembling hands had not improved, and Lu Danxin worried whether she had developed a heart condition. Ye Ping'an nonchalantly said no. Yuan Shaocheng was promoted to Chief of the Dali Temple, with the authority to review the case files. Ye Ping'an began to plot how to use him.

Yuan Shaocheng sealed off Longmen Field, and the Empress quickly received a memorial accusing Yuan Shaocheng. Longmen Field had been constructed under the decree of Emperor Wen, but now it had become a place where human life was treated carelessly. Yuan Shaocheng reserved Longmen Field for the next day and boldly invited the Empress to visit. The Empress agreed.

The high-ranking officials had always strongly opposed the closure of Longmen Field, but this time things went smoothly, and Yuan Shaocheng feared something might go wrong. News of the haunting in Yanqing Alley quickly spread, and skulls were hung along Liutiao Lane. The ominous rumors about Yanqing Alley reached the palace, and the aristocratic elders petitioned the Empress to avoid visiting Longmen Field.

Ye Ping'an proactively sought out Yuan Shaocheng and offered to invite the Empress to Longmen Field, but on the condition that Yuan Shaocheng would let her view the case files. They reached an agreement. Before the rumors of the haunting could subside, Ye Ping'an staged an incident where the night watchmen found auspicious items in Yanqing Alley, presenting them to the Empress. The Empress immediately realized that Ye Ping'an had used the auspicious items to block the ominous rumors.

She casually changed into her regular clothes and agreed to go to Longmen Field with Ye Ping'an. At Longmen Field, the Empress’s visit went unnoticed, and as usual, the contestants were terrified by the brutal match. To please the nobles, they even used iron fist rings. Previously, the matches were bare-handed. Yuan Shaocheng confronted Wang Guanshi, asking why the rules were being broken.

Wang Guanshi responded that Longmen Field had no rules, and the only rule was that the nobles should enjoy themselves with their money. Despite the masked faces, the Empress could still recognize the old men who took pleasure in human life. When the contestants fought, spilling blood and breaking bones, the old men grew even more excited, until one of the contestants died. Only then did the match come to an end.

Hai Yiping told the masked figure that although they hadn’t killed Ye Ping'an, her life could still be useful. Gu Wenyu mustered the courage to confess his feelings to Cai Lian, inviting her to meet him at Qinglong Bridge that evening. Gu Wenyu anxiously waited on the bridge, even buying a lantern, but Cai Lian never showed up.

Cai Lian had been eagerly preparing, ready to wear a hairpin, but when she saw her arm wrapped in cloth, her face immediately turned cold. The seven-leaf flower brand on her arm was a painful memory she could never speak of. If she decided to accept Gu Wenyu, how could she explain the brand on her arm to him?

Before Yuan Shaocheng could begin investigating the Ministry of Revenue, a fire broke out in the Ministry’s accounting room. The Empress used this as an excuse to issue a decree removing Minister of Revenue Zhang Xianlang from office and to investigate the entire Ministry staff, to find out who was behind the chaos. With the position of Minister of Revenue now vacant, Hai Yiping recommended Xue Zhongshan, the Governor of Jiangzhou, to take over.

However, Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, believed that Xue Zhongshan had poor moral character. In the end, the Empress decided to appoint the Governor of Youzhou, who had done a good job governing, to the position of Minister of Revenue, while Xue Zhongshan, who had achievements, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Revenue. During her recovery, Ye Ping'an kept wondering who had caused her to be imprisoned. It wasn’t necessarily the Li family, as Lu Danxin had suspected.

Hai Yiping seemed a bit suspicious, but Ye Ping'an could only guess, as there was no solid evidence. Ye Ping'an’s trembling hands had not improved, and Lu Danxin worried whether she had developed a heart condition. Ye Ping'an casually claimed that she didn’t. Yuan Shaocheng had been promoted to Chief of the Dali Temple, granting him the power to review the case files. Ye Ping'an decided to take advantage of this.

Yuan Shaocheng sealed off Longmen Field, and the Empress quickly received a memorial accusing him. Longmen Field had been constructed under Emperor Wen’s direct order, but now it had become a place where human lives were treated carelessly. Yuan Shaocheng reserved Longmen Field for the next day and boldly invited the Empress to visit. The Empress agreed. The high-ranking officials had always strongly opposed the closure of Longmen Field, but this time things went smoothly.

Yuan Shaocheng couldn’t help but feel uneasy, fearing something might go wrong. Rumors about hauntings in Yanqing Alley spread quickly, and skulls were hung in Liutiao Lane. The ominous rumors from Yanqing Alley reached the palace, and the stubborn aristocrats petitioned the Empress to avoid going to Longmen Field. Ye Ping'an took the initiative to approach Yuan Shaocheng and offered to invite the Empress to Longmen Field, on the condition that he would let her access the case files.

They made a deal. Before the rumors about the haunting could subside, Ye Ping'an cleverly had the night watchmen discover auspicious items in Yanqing Alley, which they presented to the Empress. The Empress immediately realized that Ye Ping'an had used the auspicious items to block the ominous rumors. She decided to change into her regular clothes and went to Longmen Field with Ye Ping'an. When the Empress arrived at Longmen Field, her visit went unnoticed.

As usual, the contestants were terrified, and to please the nobles, iron fist rings were used. Previously, the matches were bare-handed. Yuan Shaocheng confronted Wang Guanshi, asking why the rules had been broken. Wang Guanshi responded that Longmen Field had no real rules; as long as it made the nobles happy and allowed them to spend money, that was the only rule. Even though the old men wore masks, the Empress could still recognize them.

As the contestants fought, their blood spilled, and the old men grew more excited. The match only ended when one contestant died. Hai Yiping spoke to the masked figure, saying that although they had failed to kill Ye Ping'an, her life could still be useful. Gu Wenyu gathered his courage to confess his feelings to Cai Lian, asking her to meet him that evening at Qinglong Bridge.

He anxiously waited on the bridge, holding a lantern, but Cai Lian was nowhere to be seen. Cai Lian had been eagerly preparing, excited to put a hairpin in her hair. However, when she saw the cloth wrapped around her arm, her face instantly grew cold. The seven-leaf flower brand on her arm was the deepest pain she could never speak of. If she decided to accept Gu Wenyu, how could she explain the brand on her arm to him?

General Wu Ankang of the Left Wei Guard had been stationed at the border for many years. Upon his return to the capital, the Empress rewarded him with silver and a golden cudgel. Yuan Shaocheng presented a memorial, requesting the Empress to seal Longmen Field, which caused strong opposition from many conservative officials. Left Guard General Xu Guangping courageously supported Yuan Shaocheng, and the two sides got into a heated argument.

The Empress asked Left Chancellor Mei Bowen for his opinion on the matter, to which Mei Bowen replied that it was up to the Empress to decide. The Empress then asked if anyone else opposed the sealing of Longmen Field. Several senior officials stood up in opposition. The Empress immediately ordered the servants to bring a steel cage and commanded the two ministers to fight inside. The one who won would be granted the position of Right Chancellor.

At this, everyone quickly understood the Empress’ intentions, and in unison, they all begged her to calm down. Yesterday, Cui Yi, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, had also been at Longmen Field. The Empress decided to make an example of him first. Wu Xianer passed on the Empress’ orders, strictly prohibiting anyone from forcing or coercing lower-class citizens to fight.

Yuan Shaocheng then asked the Empress to allow lower-class citizens from two or more generations to compete with their literary skills, writing and testing with pens, to select those worthy of leaving the lower classes. Li Mu Yuan, the Vice Minister, was the first to oppose this suggestion, and Mei Bowen also felt this proposal was excessive. The Empress agreed with their reasoning and decided that Yuan Shaocheng should not pursue this matter further.

Wu Ankang, however, had a good idea and suggested that those skilled in martial arts could be brought to Longmen Field to compete, using this as a way to select talented individuals. His suggestion aligned with the Empress’ previous idea of using martial tests to find talent, so she issued an imperial decree to establish martial selection at Longmen Field.

Ye Ping'an noticed that Cai Lian seemed troubled, and Cai Lian confided in her that Gu Wenyu had confessed his feelings for her. However, due to her own experiences, Cai Lian didn’t know how to respond. People place great importance on a woman’s chastity, but Ni Chang had never heard anyone mention the chastity of men, which greatly angered her.

Ye Ping'an advised Cai Lian to make a choice, whether to accept or refuse, but to give Gu Wenyu a clear answer. The eldest daughter of Duke Shuo had come of marriageable age, and an envoy would soon be sent to the capital. The Empress intended for the Prince to marry her.

Although there was no precedent for a Prince’s marriage to be arranged in this way, the Empress’ ascension to the throne had already broken tradition, as had her promotion of female officials. Wu Ankang and Wu Xianer were siblings, and their father, King Kangping, understood that the Empress intended to wait for Wu Ankang’s return before announcing the royal marriage to keep the Wu family in check.

Wu Ankang could naturally see that the Empress wanted to balance the power of the Wu family by having him give up his military command. King Kangping therefore advised him to obediently hand over his military power and return to the capital to seek a new post, though Wu Ankang would need time to adjust to life in the capital after being in the army for so long.

Yuan Shaocheng successfully entered the case files vault to review the documents on the Inspector case, but the clerk informed him that the relevant files had been taken by Hai Yiping several years ago and had yet to be returned. Yuan Shaocheng did not tell Ye Ping'an that the files had been taken by Hai Yiping; he just didn’t want her to disrupt his plans.

However, Ye Ping'an had her own ways of investigating and learned that the clerk who had previously overseen the case files vault had been dismissed by Hai Yiping. Ye Ping'an then went to Hai Yiping’s residence, hoping to extract information about the seven-leaf flower brand from Hai Yan, but was unsuccessful.

Hai Yiping deliberately sent his mother to inform Ye Ping'an that the Inspector case files had been destroyed in a fire, in an attempt to dispel Ye Ping'an's suspicions about him. Furthermore, Hai Yiping instructed his subordinates to begin casting a wide net. Ni Chang, having overheard something from the poet Sun Xizheng, shared the information with Lu Danxin and Ye Ping'an.

Just as Hai Yiping’s mother had said, Hai Yiping had been close friends with Yu Qian, and after Yu Qian fell from grace, Hai Yiping had spoken up for him. Wu Xianer rented the Wan Guo Xiang restaurant and used it to connect Ye Ping'an and Wu Ankang. Yuan Shaocheng came uninvited and was surprised to find that he already knew Wu Ankang. Ye Ping'an inadvertently noticed that the dancer Li Ge also had a seven-leaf flower brand on her arm. This led her to fall into the trap that Hai Yiping had specially set for her.

Upon learning that Li Ge had the same seven-leaf flower brand on her arm as Cai Lian, Ni Chang was greatly surprised. Li Ge had only recently arrived at Wan Guo Xiang, and Ni Chang didn’t know much about her except that she had been sold to the establishment by her family. Ye Ping'an took the initiative to approach Li Ge, attempting to understand her thoughts.

She guessed what was on Li Ge's mind and asked who had branded her arm with the mark. Li Ge refused to answer, only stating that the person was of a high status. Wu Youjing knew that Wu Xianer had always resented her mother for abandoning her and going to the mountains to practice Daoism. However, he still hoped that Wu Xianer would visit her long-lost mother in the mountains one day.

In front of her father, Wu Xianer pretended to be strong and indifferent, but whenever she remembered the scene of her mother leaving resolutely, she couldn’t help but cry. The next day, Gu Wenyu waited again on Qinglong Bridge for Cai Lian. This time, Cai Lian showed up, but she rejected his confession. Although Cai Lian didn’t speak about it, Gu Wenyu knew that she was worried because of the Inspector case.

He then shared his own background and experiences with her. Gu Wenyu respected Cai Lian’s decision, and no matter what she chose in the future, he just wanted to stay by her side. Faced with Gu Wenyu’s deep affection, Cai Lian was at a loss for words. Ye Ping'an learned from Guo Yi that the owner of the small cloth shop, Cai Yun, hadn’t paid the workers their wages.

She went to investigate and found out that Cai Yun was being squeezed out by Jiu He Da Bu Fang, who claimed that his cloth shop’s products were substandard. Cai Yun had spent money trying to smooth things over, but it had been to no avail, and he was even struggling to pay for his own meals. The people behind Jiu He Da Bu Fang were the richest merchant in the capital, Li Zongxu, a royal family relative.

The workers didn’t believe it because Li Zongxu was known to be a good man. He was even hosting a charity banquet for the poor the next day. After understanding the situation, Ye Ping'an assured Cai Yun that she had a way to solve it, but it would require Cai Yun to endure some hardship. Bai Sheng found out she was pregnant and wanted to persuade Yuan Hesheng to live a quiet life in the countryside, but Yuan Hesheng was hesitant.

He couldn’t bring himself to leave Yuan Shaocheng. Wu Ankang invited Yuan Shaocheng to a match at Longmen Field. After a few rounds, the two cleared up their misunderstandings and realized that neither of them had lost their true intentions. Yuan Shaocheng suggested canceling the Longmen match, but this was misunderstood by the people of Mangou, most of whom believed that Yuan Shaocheng was blocking their only chance to rise from the lower class and become respectable citizens.

Yuan Shaocheng had no choice but to bear the blame silently. On the night of the charity banquet, Ye Ping'an went to join the festivities. She saw Cai Yun crying and complaining about being beaten by the manager of Jiu He Da Bu Fang. Li Zongxu, who cared greatly about his reputation, immediately promised to pay the workers their wages and even gave them an extra ten coins each.

Ye Ping'an smiled to herself, knowing this was the plan she had suggested to Cai Yun and the workers. Wu Ankang was also at the banquet. He had intended to ask Xu Qing, the head of the Ministry of Revenue's Financial Department, about the battle at Jin Yuan, but decided against it since it wasn’t the right time.

Wu Ankang suspected that Ye Ping'an had come up with the idea for the workers, and he felt that meeting someone like her during his return to the capital was a fortunate turn of events. At Cai Yun’s home, an elderly man with a mental illness had been specially brought to Ye Ping'an for treatment. However, Ye Ping'an realized that the man’s condition was severe, and she could only treat him bit by bit.

She promised to come regularly to help him. Finally, Li Ge came to Ye Ping'an to clear her heart. It was then that Ye Ping'an learned the truth—Li Ge’s seven-leaf flower brand had been branded by none other than Li Zongxu, the royal family relative and so-called great benefactor, who had hosted the charity banquet the previous night.

The nightmare that had haunted Ye Ping'an for years originated from an innocent woman named Ruan Qin. She was deceived into a house by villains and lost her chastity, which led to her husband divorcing her. Ruan Qin's grandmother took her to see a shaman, but before Gu Erniang could help her dispel the demons in her heart, Ruan Qin, unable to bear the grief, jumped off a cliff and committed suicide.

Ye Ping'an witnessed Ruan Qin's fall and the image was deeply etched in her mind, becoming a memory that she could never shake off. Li Zongxu, a member of the Li family, greatly looked down on Yuan Shaocheng, the Grand Secretary of the Dali Temple from Mangou, believing that he was just a pawn of the Mei faction and that no one would take him seriously.

Although Yuan Shaocheng held the title of Grand Secretary, his house in Yanqingfang was still rented. In contrast, Li Zongxu, who considered himself born with a golden key, possessed immense wealth and supreme power. Yuan Shaocheng could not compare to him, nor could he compete for control over the river in Mangou. The people of Mangou had turned their business of selling "qing jiao" (a type of root vegetable) into a profitable one in Fushu Fang.

Two factions of the business fought over territory near the Langyang Prince’s residence, and a man named Xin Jun, the leader of one faction, won the fight and seized the land. Gu Wenyu introduced Xin Jun to Yuan Shaocheng, and Yuan Shaocheng gave Xin Jun a job in the accounting office. Though Xin Jun was Gu Wenyu's friend, Yuan Hesheng reminded his brother to have Uncle Gu check Xin Jun's background.

Later, Yuan Hesheng shared the news with Yuan Shaocheng that Bai Sheng was pregnant, which naturally made him happy for his brother. The two brothers then discussed serious matters, and Yuan Shaocheng stated that if the old and stubborn Li family, represented by Li Zongxu, were not suppressed, the lower-class people of Mangou would never be able to rise to the status of respectable citizens.

Ye Ping'an revealed to others that it was Li Zongxu who had branded Cai Lian with the flower mark. As the involvement of the Li family deepened, Ye Ping'an gave everyone a choice. Cai Lian was determined to seek revenge, and both Lu Danxin and Ni Chang refused to back down. Ye Ping'an told them that Li Zongxu was incapable of controlling everything, which was why he had resorted to cruelty toward innocent women.

Moreover, Li Zongxu believed in gods and Buddha, and every half month, he would make a pilgrimage to Wan'an Mountain to offer incense. They decided to use this information, setting up a trap along Li Zongxu's usual route to Wan'an Mountain. They also managed to persuade Master Liao Jing from Wan'an Mountain to convince Li Zongxu that a demon had attached itself to him, suggesting to him the word "heart.

"Ye Ping'an began to take action against Li Zongxu, and everything was under Hai Yiping's control. In the matter of toppling the Li family, Ye Ping'an inadvertently became the most useful tool for the Mei faction. Li Zongxu fully believed it and immediately summoned Ye Ping'an as soon as he returned home. Ye Ping'an used a bell to put him to sleep, asking him for clues about the "ancestral hall.

" She needed to find more details about the ancestral hall and the Inspector case before Li Zongxu woke up. Ye Ping'an managed to avoid the guards patrolling the Langyang Prince’s residence and successfully entered the ancestral hall, only to find that Li Zongxu’s mother's spirit tablet was absent. She searched the hall and discovered the hidden door to a secret room. After entering, she was trapped inside.

Through careful analysis, Ye Ping'an unlocked a secret lock and found a copper version of the flower mark, which confirmed that Li Zongxu was indeed the one who had branded Cai Lian. Next to the brand was a copper axle, and after reading its contents, she returned it to its place. Ye Ping'an managed to leave the ancestral hall before being discovered and returned to the place where Li Zongxu had been receiving treatment. Everything went according to plan.

Li Mu Yuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was Li Zongxu’s uncle. Li Zongxu asked him to propose to the Empress that he should be in charge of hosting the night banquet for the envoy from Shuo Dan. The goal was to pressure Yuan Shaocheng, who had already aligned with the Mei faction, into stepping down. Whether Yuan Shaocheng agreed or not, it would benefit the Li family. Li Mu Yuan agreed to help.

Li Zongxu was naturally suspicious. After discussing matters with Li Mu Yuan, he immediately went to the ancestral hall's secret room. Seeing that nothing had been disturbed, he felt relieved. Li Zongxu's sadistic tendencies toward women stemmed from his childhood, when he witnessed his mother being violently beaten by his father. The trauma twisted his psyche, but it did not change his cruel behavior toward innocent women, as well as his disturbing habit of drawing "blood women" images.

Yuan Shaocheng expressed his willingness to help the Mei faction, behind Hai Yiping, to remove the thorn in their side—Li Zongxu. Hai Yiping hinted that rather than getting involved himself, Yuan Shaocheng should make use of Ye Ping'an as a tool. However, after using her, they would need to clean up the situation. At Qi Tai D Fang, Ye Ping'an arrived uninvited.

She realized that Li Zongxu was cunning and difficult to deal with, so she came here to cooperate with Yuan Shaocheng. Rather than calling it cooperation, it was more accurate to say they were mutually exploiting each other. Smart people rarely waste words. Yuan Shaocheng took out two bags of salt to show Ye Ping'an. One contained high-quality salt, which was expensive, and the other had black-market salt, which was poisonous.

Ordinary people, unable to afford the high-priced salt, would sometimes buy the cheaper, toxic black-market salt, resulting in death after prolonged consumption. The skyrocketing salt prices were linked to Li Zongxu and the Li family's influence. Yuan Shaocheng had previously discovered that the flooding in Yangzhou, which submerged many salt fields, was not a natural disaster but a man-made catastrophe. Ye Ping'an also shared the clue she had found about the Shuo Dan letters in the Langyang Prince's residence.

She had not stolen the letters because she did not want to alert anyone. Soon, the Shuo Dan envoy, Apuna Haoji, along with Princess Jiayue, arrived in Shengdu. The Consulate arranged for them to rest, and they would meet with the Emperor the next day at the Chen hour. Wu Ankang was questioning Xu Qing about why he had failed to arrange for grain shipments from Jiahuai warehouse to relieve the difficulties of the Jin Yuan battle.

He soon realized that these decisions could not have been made by Xu Qing alone. Xu Qing suggested that Wu Ankang should directly ask Li Zongxu how much salt he had stockpiled at that time. Ye Ping'an was once again invited to the Langyang Prince’s residence. She stated that tonight was a good opportunity to drive away evil spirits, and if they missed it, they would have to wait for another two months.

Li Zongxu allowed her to arrange the formation, but secretly met with envoy Apuna and expressed his willingness to sell salt to Shuo Dan at 30% below the market price. He also suggested that the person to marry Princess Jiayue should be Wu Ankang. The princess was uninterested in the other princes and had only eyes for General Wu Ankang. This suited Li Zongxu’s plans.

Li Zongxu arranged for a few death-servants to disguise themselves as people from Mangou, planning to assassinate the envoy at the night banquet and frame Yuan Shaocheng for the crime. Lu Danxin, wearing a mask to cast spells, disguised herself as Ye Ping'an to deceive everyone, while Ye Ping'an secretly overheard Li Zongxu’s plan to frame Yuan Shaocheng. Apuna, along with Princess Jiayue, went to the palace to meet with the Emperor.

Apuna proposed that General Wu Ankang be made the prince consort, and the straightforward Princess Jiayue immediately expressed her interest in him. She had been captivated by Wu Ankang ever since he saved her from a pit in the grasslands when she was fourteen. The Emperor, in a gentle tone, said that while the proper rituals could not be abandoned, Princess Jiayue could meet other prince consort candidates at the banquet and decide afterward.

Yuan Shaocheng had originally planned to approach Apuna Haoji to find a way to break through Li Zongxu’s defenses, but Apuna was very cautious. Seeing the Shuo Dan people reminded Yuan Shaocheng of the battles he had fought on the battlefield, and he found it hard not to act on his anger. He decided to let it go. Ye Ping'an informed Yuan Shaocheng about Li Zongxu’s plan to frame him. They quickly came up with a countermeasure.

First, they obtained a white pheasant, which resembled a phoenix, and then devised a plan to get Li Qianzhao to agree to Cai Lian's proposal for the "Phoenix's Auspice" at the night banquet.

Li Qianzhao had set his dog on a young child and left behind a bag of money, claiming that it was enough to buy the life of a woman or her child. Cai Lian, who had been watching from behind a large tree, felt a deep hatred toward Li Qianzhao for treating human lives so lightly. She was ready to take a knife and turn him into minced meat.

Ye Ping'an stopped her from acting on her own, reminding her that they still needed to make use of Li Qianzhao. Cai Lian then realized that Li Zongxu would not die tomorrow because he knew the details of the Imperial Censor's case. Ye Ping'an planned to interrogate him about the case while he was detained. Cai Lian was worried about any missteps that might occur, fearing that someone might try to protect Li Zongxu. Ni Chang shared the same concern.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside, and Lu Danxin, Ni Chang, and Cai Lian quickly hid. The visitor was Wu Xianer, who came to invite Ye Ping'an to watch a soldier's competition at Longmen Field, where they would perform the music of Qin Wang breaking the enemy's formation. Ye Ping'an and Wu Ankang discussed the Jin Yuan battle against Shuo Dan.

Ye Ping'an knew that Wu Ankang had single-handedly won the Jin Yuan battle, defeating hundreds of enemies, but Wu Ankang told her that the battle was nearly lost because they had run out of salt. The military camp had suffered from a severe salt shortage, and Wu Ankang had been forced to hold the city and plan a surprise attack on Shuo Dan.

However, the reconnaissance team that had been sent to gather information from the enemy camp had not returned. It wasn’t until Yuan Shaocheng, who was the army commander at the time, returned covered in blood and brought back crucial intelligence about the enemy's camp, that Wu Ankang was able to plan a counterattack. Using fire tactics, he managed to repel 80,000 enemy troops with only 5,000 soldiers. Many soldiers had died far from home due to the salt shortage.

Now that Wu Ankang had returned, his goal was to find out why there had been a salt shortage. While Li Zongxu had provided the salt for Shengdu’s officials, his influence was vast. Wu Ankang also learned that after Ye Ping'an had treated Zheng Yuan, he had died, and now she was treating Li Zongxu. Ye Ping'an told him that if Wu Ankang did not inquire about her personal matters, she could help him.

General Zuo Yulin of the Left Army was infatuated with Wu Xianer, but she didn’t feel the same way. Hai Yiping ordered Yuan Shaocheng to kill Ye Ping'an after the night banquet, a difficult decision for him. After Ye Ping'an’s guidance in the flower fields, Cai Lian decided to focus on the bigger picture. Yuan Shaocheng, Ye Ping'an, and the others laid out their plan. First, Yuan Hesheng’s people would set a fire near Yihua Street to divert attention.

Then, they would use the plan step-by-step to force Li Qianzhao to reveal Li Zongxu’s crimes. Since Li Zongxu was trying to frame Yuan Shaocheng, they would turn the tables and use arrows with the special markings of Langyang Prince’s residence to assassinate the Shuo Dan envoy. Cai Lian showed her scars to Gu Wenyu, agreeing to be with him. Gu Wenyu gave her a bracelet, which she liked very much.

They promised to go to the county to pick up her uncle once the bad people were taken down. Cai Lian shared the good news with Ye Ping'an and Lu Danxin, and both of them were happy for her. That night, Yuan Hesheng led Xin Jun to Yihua Street to set the fire. Ni Chang secretly entered the inner area, while Li Zongxu’s secret guards had already positioned themselves on the rooftop, waiting for their moment.

During the night banquet, Li Zongxu deliberately caused trouble for Wu Ankang and criticized the gift sent by Wu Xianer, which everyone present could hear. The blood woman picture had not yet been retrieved by Lu Danxin to give to Cai Lian, so Cai Lian had to delay time with Li Qianzhao.

After Lu Danxin obtained the blood woman picture and the Shuo Dan letters from the secret room, she quickly sent them to Gu Wenyu, who passed them to Yuan Shaocheng. Yuan Shaocheng handed the items over to Cai Lian. When Li Qianzhao came to present his gifts, Ye Ping'an and Yuan Shaocheng eagerly awaited the upcoming spectacle. Li Qianzhao stepped onto the stage and blew his whistle, signaling that the show was about to begin.

As the whistle sounded, a white pheasant, resembling a phoenix, appeared before the crowd, drawing exclamations of awe. The white pheasant made its appearance, scattered flower petals, and then retreated. It reappeared shortly after, carrying a long box. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Li Qianzhao received the long box, claiming it contained the "Millennia of Prosperity" painting. However, before he could unveil it for the crowd, an unexpected event occurred.

An assassin shot a long arrow at Hao Ji, and chaos erupted. Li Zongxu, who had been prepared, immediately activated his guards and secret agents. He attempted to flee with his son, Li Qianzhao, but Cai Lian, filled with a desire for revenge, chased after them. However, she was stopped by Li Zongxu’s secret agents, preventing her from killing him, and she tragically lost her life.

Ye Ping'an saw Cai Lian charge forward, and she followed right behind, but she was too late. She only saw Cai Lian’s body being carried away in the shadows, and tears streamed down her face as she gritted her teeth in anger. Yuan Shaocheng found the distraught Ye Ping'an, but there was no time for mourning. They had to deal with Li Zongxu’s next move to frame them. Ye Ping'an decided to target Li Zongxu's salt warehouses.

Li Zongxu had arranged for eight people from Mang Gou to impersonate assassins, luring them to their deaths and then blaming Yuan Shaocheng for being the mastermind behind the attack. Li Kun, the Prefect of Luozhou, understood the implication and publicly announced that Yuan Shaocheng was suspected of plotting to assassinate the Shuo Dan envoy. Meanwhile, they also surrounded the entire Mang Gou area.

It turned out that it was Xin Jun who had informed on them, which allowed Li Zongxu to prepare in advance and lay an ambush, causing their plan to fail. Yuan Shaocheng sought help from Hai Yiping, but Hai Yiping first demanded that he kill Ye Ping'an. Yuan Shaocheng then turned to Mei Bowen for assistance, swearing a poisonous oath before Mei Bowen agreed to help.

Li Zongxu tempted the Mang Gou people with money, asking them to point out Yuan Shaocheng as the mastermind, but the people of Mang Gou were all resolute and refused to accuse him of something they hadn’t done. However, the loudest voice among them was that of a Mang Gou villager, who was killed shortly after. Ye Ping'an, wearing a mask, set fire to the salt warehouse and diverted a group of people surrounding Mang Gou.

She also stalled for time, claiming that Yuan Shaocheng was on his way, and Li Zongxu eagerly awaited him, hoping that he would walk right into the trap. Yuan Shaocheng arrived, and Li Zongxu attempted to frame him as the mastermind behind the assassination of the envoy, but Yuan Shaocheng denied it, and the people of Mang Gou refused to accuse him.

Li Zongxu had Uncle Gu brought in and killed him in front of Yuan Shaocheng, then ordered the Prefect of Luozhou to take action against Yuan Shaocheng. Mei Bowen arrived with his men and saved Yuan Shaocheng’s life, but Ye Ping'an was taken away. Fortunately, Mei Bowen had no intention of harming Ye Ping'an and released her halfway. Ye Ping'an returned to Anxin Pavilion with injuries.

Gu Erniang and Lu Danxin anxiously questioned what had happened and why Cai Lian hadn’t come back with her. Ye Ping'an took out Cai Lian’s shattered bracelet, and everyone understood that Cai Lian was gone, her body already taken by Li Zongxu's men. Lu Danxin wanted revenge, but Ye Ping'an told her to do nothing for now.

Ni Chang believed that they didn’t need to listen to Ye Ping'an’s advice, while Lu Danxin feared that there were too many people involved in the plan, and there might have been a leak or a traitor. Ni Chang mistakenly thought Lu Danxin was accusing her, but Lu Danxin regained her composure and said that they should not be suspicious of one another at this point.

Two years ago, Cai Lian had buried a jar of fine wine under a tree and told Ye Ping'an that after avenging her, she would marry Gu Wenyu. Yet, not long after, Cai Lian was dead. She had been a woman who was preparing for a beautiful life, so why had she suddenly been taken from them? Ye Ping'an dug up the jar of wine, drinking and laughing while tears flowed down her face.

Li Zongxu ordered two of his secret agents to escort Li Qianzhao away while he remained at the scene, unfurling the scroll. To his shock, it was the "Blood Maiden" painting. Knowing that this evidence could not be allowed to fall into anyone's hands, he burned the painting. He then pondered who the masked figure might be. Li Qianzhao and the two guards encountered Hei Zai, a beast who could sense the blood of Cai Lian on Li Qianzhao.

In a frenzy, Hei Zai lunged at him, viciously attacking and tearing at him. Xin Jun was eager to work for Li Zongxu, and this act of informing was his way of pledging allegiance. However, Li Zongxu scorned him, insisting that he remain by Yuan Shaocheng's side and find a way to expose his flaws.

Xin Jun was afraid, knowing that if Yuan Shaocheng discovered he had been the one to inform on him, causing the death of Uncle Gu, he would be in serious trouble. But Li Zongxu was not someone to be crossed, and Xin Jun was now caught in a web of betrayal, unable to back out. King Chunyao, Wu Liangchen, liked Jia Yue.

After the assassination attempt, he visited Princess Jia Yue, bringing her calming herbs and deer velvet balm for Hao Ji to aid his recovery. Jia Yue didn’t like Wu Liangchen, but since he meant well, she reluctantly accepted his gifts. What displeased Jia Yue was that, after the night banquet incident, many people came to visit her, but the one person she liked, Wu Ankang, never showed up.

Hao Ji comforted her, saying that after the marriage, love would develop over time. Jia Yue cheered up immediately after hearing this. Li Mu Yuan and Mei Bowen argued endlessly over who the mastermind behind the night banquet assassination was. Li Mu Yuan insisted that Yuan Shaocheng was the mastermind, while Mei Bowen claimed there was no evidence.

Li Mu Yuan then had the Qitai D-Fang ledger brought forward, arguing that Yuan Shaocheng had withdrawn 2,000 taels from the D-Fang profits, without any clear explanation, implying that someone else was backing him. Ye Ping'an knew she couldn’t leave Cai Lian’s body with Li Zongxu, so she made up an excuse to visit the Prince’s Mansion under the pretext of treating Li Zongxu. She told Lu Danxin that if she hadn’t returned within an hour, something had gone wrong.

She would leave clues behind for Lu Danxin to follow and rescue her. Li Zongxu had people take Ye Ping'an to the outskirts, seemingly well-prepared. As for the money from the D-Fang business, Yuan Shaocheng had given it all to Sun Haozhi, the governor of Bianzhou, to buy salt and grain to settle the disaster victims in Bianzhou. The Emperor had chosen not to pursue the matter, but the assassination at the night banquet was another story.

He issued an order to remove Yuan Shaocheng from his post pending investigation and prohibited him from entering the Dali Temple or commanding any soldiers until the matter was resolved. Hai Yiping had his people pass on information to Li Zongxu about Ye Ping'an’s involvement in the Tongquan Censor case, allowing Li Zongxu to prepare in advance. Ye Ping'an’s ambush attempt failed to kill Li Zongxu, and he ordered that she and Cai Lian's bodies be buried.

Meanwhile, Gu Erniang learned from Lu Danxin that Ye Ping'an had gone to the Prince’s Mansion and had not returned even after an hour. The two of them traced her whereabouts and followed the trail to the outskirts, where they overheard Li Zongxu’s secret agents talking about digging a grave and burying someone. They immediately split up to search. Lu Danxin found fresh earth and began digging with her bare hands, finally uncovering Ye Ping'an.

She saved her and together they carried Cai Lian's body back. Hei Zai only injured Li Qianzhao, not killing him, and Li Zongxu refrained from revealing too much to his son. The people of Mang Gou were in mourning, and Yuan Shaocheng led them in sending Uncle Gu off. Yuan Hesheng disagreed with Yuan Shaocheng over the matter and refused to listen to his advice. He was determined to leave the capital with Bai Sheng.

Ye Ping'an handed Cai Lian’s belongings to Gu Wenyu, who wept bitterly. Yuan Shaocheng, in deep sorrow, drank alone, when Ye Ping'an arrived.

Uncle Gu treated Yuan Shaocheng and Yuan Hesheng like his own sons. This time, Uncle Gu died because of the false accusations against Yuan Shaocheng, and he knew Yuan Hesheng would blame him. Ye Ping'an tried to comfort Yuan Shaocheng, treating him like a confidant among good friends, but neither of them knew if this confidant would one day become an enemy. Hai Yiping sent people to Tongquan County to investigate Ye Ping'an's background, but they found nothing.

His subordinates couldn't understand why he didn’t just kill Ye Ping'an, but Hai Yiping knew the Emperor had gifted Ye Ping'an the Fengming Vase as a warning to everyone—that Ye Ping'an was not someone who could be easily harmed. Since breaking through at Li Zongxu's place was impossible, Ye Ping'an decided to target Xu Qing. She followed Xu Qing and discovered he had been frequently visiting the Jinlu Quality Bureau.

On one occasion, after Xu Qing left, Ye Ping'an entered the bureau pretending to buy something. She found the owner holding a bronze ox of little value and overheard him lying, claiming it was an item brought from his home. Xin Jun reported Yuan Hesheng's move to the countryside to Li Zongxu. Li Zongxu then decided it was time for his son, Li Qianzhao, to get involved in the salt business.

Li Qianzhao was very happy, but he couldn’t shake the shadow of Cai Lian’s death at the hands of Li Zongxu. He drowned his sorrow in alcohol at Wangguo Xiang. Ni Chang noticed that Li Qianzhao seemed off and thought he could be a potential point of leverage. Wu Ankang wanted to help Yuan Shaocheng, but Yuan Shaocheng knew that Wu Ankang had enough problems of his own, so he shouldn’t worry about him.

However, Yuan Shaocheng did want him to deliver a box of Jiuxiang honey to King Kangping, Wu Youjing. Although Wu Ankang's father despised those who clung to the powerful, he agreed to help. Gu Wenyu saw the secret guards of Langyang County's royal mansion moving and immediately reported it to Yuan Shaocheng. Ye Ping'an, who was with him, realized that Yuan Hesheng might be in danger and accompanied Yuan Shaocheng to the countryside.

Yuan Hesheng was quite capable, but when Li Zongxu's secret agents arrived in greater numbers, though he managed to defeat three of them, he didn’t anticipate the fourth, who was hiding behind a tree and struck him with a knife to the chest. Yuan Hesheng fought to the end and killed the last one, but he collapsed from exhaustion. By the time Yuan Shaocheng and Ye Ping'an arrived, Yuan Hesheng was unconscious.

Yuan Shaocheng delivered the devastating news to his sister-in-law, Bai Sheng. She slapped him and cried, asking why. Yuan Shaocheng, devastated and consumed by hatred, swore revenge on Li Zongxu for the bloodshed. Xin Jun once again reported Yuan Shaocheng’s movements to Li Zongxu, who decided to devise a plan to kill Yuan Shaocheng. Li Qianzhao, plagued by nightmares, was constantly tormented by the sins committed by his father, Li Zongxu.

Hao Ji sent word to Li Zongxu, saying that the next day he would submit a petition to the Emperor to make Wu Ankang the prince consort, but that the salt business still needed some consideration. This time, Li Zongxu didn’t send his secret agents but bribed several reckless Shuo Dan people to deal with Yuan Shaocheng. Upon learning that Li Zongxu would be visiting Wan'an Mountain to pay respects, Yuan Shaocheng lost his composure and went alone to seek revenge.

Li Zongxu forced him to sign a contract selling the Mang Gou River’s rights and then demanded Yuan Shaocheng kneel and beg for mercy. Yuan Shaocheng suppressed his impulse and complied, slowly leading Li Zongxu to confess his actions. Just then, the situation took a turn when Ye Ping'an, accompanied by the envoy Hao Ji, arrived and took control of the Shuo Dan people bribed by Li Zongxu. Li Zongxu was suddenly at a disadvantage.

At the same time, Gu Wenyu and the others took Xin Jun to a damp secret tunnel. To their surprise, Yuan Hesheng appeared—he hadn’t died! When Ye Ping'an and Yuan Shaocheng arrived earlier, Yuan Hesheng had only been unconscious, and the knife wound hadn’t been fatal, so Ye Ping'an had managed to save him. Yuan Shaocheng suspected that Xin Jun was the traitor, so he deliberately spread the false belief that Yuan Hesheng had died. His plan was to use Xin Jun to send a message to Li Zongxu, setting up a trap to turn the tables.

Xin Jun, after betraying his brothers, not only did not repent, but he also tried to gain sympathy by attempting to kill Gu Wenyu. However, Gu Wenyu was far more skilled than him, and in the end, Xin Jun failed and ended up dying from the consequences of his own actions. At the Wan'an Mountain worship site, Yuan Shaocheng severely injured Li Zongxu with several punches.

Just as he was about to take Li Zongxu's life with a single blow, Ye Ping'an stopped him. Ye Ping'an urged Li Zongxu to reveal his role in the Tongquan Censor case, hoping that if she could find out more, Yuan Shaocheng might spare his life. But before she could ask him who else was involved in the Censor case, Li Zongxu was rescued by his secret agents.

Ni Chang secretly added mind-distracting herbs to the wine that Li Qianzhao drank, causing him to experience terrifying hallucinations. Drunk and disoriented, he drowned in the water. The severely injured Li Zongxu was brought back to his residence, where he heard the bad news of Li Qianzhao’s death and immediately vomited blood before falling unconscious. When Yuan Shaocheng returned to his residence, Yuan Hesheng and several brothers were already waiting for him.

Although Li Zongxu had not died, the Emperor was already aware of his assassination attempt on the envoy, and it was certain that Li Zongxu wouldn’t be spared. Yuan Hesheng and Bai Sheng, after this ordeal, also understood that no matter how far they tried to hide, bad people would always target them, and they no longer had the privilege of hiding. They had won this round against Li Zongxu.

Lu Danxin and the others, along with Ye Ping'an, celebrated by drinking, but Ye Ping'an didn’t feel happy. She went alone to Cai Lian’s grave to drink. She had to admit that she was scared. From the moment she had decided to seek revenge, and even up to now in the Holy Capital, this was the first time she felt fear. She was afraid that someone close to her would be caught in danger or even die.

Yuan Shaocheng came to accompany her and gave her a golden hairpin inlaid with jade. Wu Ankang presented the box of Jiuxiang honey that Yuan Shaocheng had sent to his father, Wu Youjing. Wu Youjing, like Mei Bowen, thought that Yuan Shaocheng was a person with great potential. Wu Youjing reminded Wu Ankang that since the Princess of Shuo Dan’s assassination attempt, Wu Ankang had not visited her, and now it was time to go see her.

Wu Ankang did as he was told, confessing to Princess Jia Yue that he had no romantic interest in her, but if she insisted on marriage, he would have no choice but to become her consort. Princess Jia Yue was not someone who would use her feelings to force him, nor would she threaten him with war. Wu Ankang wished her well in finding a good partner.

The next day, Hao Ji submitted a memorial, stating that the assassination attempt at the night banquet was orchestrated by Li Zongxu, and that Yuan Shaocheng had no involvement. Furthermore, Hao Ji requested the Emperor’s permission for King Chunyang, Wu Liangchen, to marry Princess Jia Yue of Shuo Dan. The Emperor granted permission, bestowing gold, silver, and fine gifts, and sent guards to escort King Chunyang and Princess Jia Yue back to Shuo Dan for their wedding.

With Cai Lian gone, Gu Wenyu was responsible for looking after Black Cub, while Ye Ping'an treated the old madman. The old man’s eyes were gradually becoming clearer. Yuan Shaocheng was reinstated in his position, and the eunuch Fan Cheng delivered the Emperor’s message, advising him to be more careful in the future.

With this matter settled, Yuan Shaocheng, who had been like a tightly wound bowstring for so long, found himself unable to sleep for more than two hours a night. Eventually, his body collapsed, and he fell ill, often plagued by nightmares. Ye Ping'an treated him, and Yuan Shaocheng began to treat her like a confidant, willing to open up to her. Ye Ping'an did not disappoint him.

She helped him resolve the heart demon that had troubled him for many years. Ye Ping'an herself was also troubled by a heart demon, but she had never fully confided in Yuan Shaocheng about it. When the night banquet’s assassination plot was exposed, the Emperor did not punish Li Zongxu. Yuan Shaocheng understood that this meant Li Zongxu still had value in the eyes of the Emperor.

Yuan Shaocheng also realized that Ye Ping'an’s dream-infiltration technique was extraordinary and was curious why she didn’t use it on those investigating the matter. Ye Ping'an explained that she had tried, but the closer she got to the truth, the more she saw the dark side of human nature. Ultimately, it was only the law that could punish and deal with everything.

The Supervisor of the Department of Architecture (Jiàngzuòjiān) issued an order for the young men of Mangou to go to Mingyifang to repair the Tian Sheng Pagoda. Because there were no children at home to take care of things, a commoner begged the Supervisor to make an exception, but was heartlessly turned away.

Yuan Shaocheng, still recovering from his illness, heard Gu Wenyu mention that the Supervisor had been ordered to build the Tian Sheng Pagoda, and was said to be short on labor, so people from Mangou would be requisitioned to help.

Yuan Shaocheng knew who was behind the scheme, and immediately went to see Hai Yiping, using the example of the farmer deaths caused by the construction of the Yunze Canal to urge Hai Yiping to show leniency towards the people of Mangou. Hai Yiping didn’t beat around the bush and bluntly told Yuan Shaocheng that his constant hesitation regarding Ye Ping'an had led to trouble in Mangou.

With the time for the construction of the Tian Sheng Pagoda running out, Hai Yiping pressured Yuan Shaocheng to take action against Ye Ping'an. Leaving Hai Yiping's residence, Yuan Shaocheng instructed Gu Wenyu to keep an eye on Ye Ping'an’s movements. Ye Ping'an and her group were investigating Xu Qing, suspecting that there was something suspicious with the Jinlu Zhi Ku (Golden Grain Storage).

Ni Chang, drinking with the young masters at Wanguo Xiang, discovered that the owner behind Jinlu Zhi Ku was a disciple of Gong Shao, the warehouse manager of Dongqiao Salt Depot, and that it was Hai Yiping who had recommended Gong Shao for the position. Although it had been found that Hai Yiping and Yu Qian were close friends, even close friends might fall out due to conflicting interests.

The secret accounts of Jinlu Zhi Ku were very important, and they needed to get hold of them. Cai Yun rushed to ask Ye Ping'an for help, saying that the mad old man had gone missing after leaving his home. During this time, the mad old man had recovered significantly due to Ye Ping'an’s treatment. Ye Ping'an immediately thought he might have gone to a familiar place, and sure enough, they found him at a location with Cai Yun.

The mad old man kept muttering that the fire was not his doing and went mad in front of Hai Yiping’s mansion. Just as Hai Yiping returned, the mad old man pointed at him and accused him. Ye Ping'an began to have doubts. Perhaps Hai Yiping wasn’t as clean and upright as he appeared. The mad old man’s name was Chang Qing. He had come to the Holy Capital to seek justice, but had been turned away by many officials.

Only Hai Yiping had taken him in, giving him tea and allowing him to read the Censor’s case files. After drinking the tea, Chang Qing suddenly became drowsy. He remembered blowing out the candle before sleeping, but when he woke up, the place was engulfed in flames. The people at Hai Yiping’s residence all claimed that he was the one who set the fire, but Chang Qing was sure he had blown out the candle.

However, no one believed him, and Hai Yiping did not pursue the matter but simply had him driven out. Afterward, Chang Qing’s life became increasingly difficult, and he was bullied until he went mad. He accidentally noticed the wolf’s tooth pendant that Ye Ping'an was wearing, and he immediately insisted that it was something he had made for his daughter, which would ensure her safety. He mistook Ye Ping'an for his daughter, Cai Lian.

Ye Ping'an quickly realized that Cai Lian was the daughter of the old man in front of her, Chang Qing. Ni Chang, Lu Danxin, and Ye Ping'an cooperated. Ni Chang’s task was to seduce the servant at Jinlu Zhi Ku to steal the account book. At the same time, Ye Ping'an was responsible for distracting the boss, giving Lu Danxin the chance to get the account book. However, Yuan Shaocheng arrived and disrupted their plan.

Not only did he take the account book, but he also warned Ye Ping'an to stop investigating the Censor’s case. Ye Ping'an was puzzled at how Yuan Shaocheng happened to appear at Jinlu Zhi Ku at such a coincidental moment. But when she heard his words, she immediately understood that Hai Yiping had sent Yuan Shaocheng to keep an eye on her.

Ye Ping'an did not want Yuan Shaocheng to become her enemy, because if that happened, even he would not be spared. Since it was clear that Hai Yiping was also involved in the Censor’s case, Ye Ping'an decided to confront the issue directly. She brought the Seven-leaf Orchid brand that Li Zongxu had used to harm women into the palace to meet the Empress. However, the Empress thought she was overstepping and, citing Buddhist rites, refused to meet her.

Disappointed, Ye Ping'an returned, only to be mocked by Hai Yiping. With the initiative lost and no longer under the protection of the Empress, Ye Ping'an found herself in a dangerous position. Lu Danxin suggested she go to Yangzhou to avoid the danger, but Ye Ping'an refused to leave Lu Danxin alone in the Holy Capital. She wanted to devise a plan to enter the Qixi Painting Shop and make contact with Hai Yan.

Yuan Shaocheng returned the account book to Hai Yiping, admitting that he had seen the account book, but he only looked at one page before stopping. Hai Yiping suddenly asked him if he was willing to become his disciple.

Wu Xian'er and her brother were drinking at Wanguo Xiang and invited Ye Ping'an to join them. Ye Ping'an asked Wu Xian'er why the Empress refused to meet her. Wu Xian'er explained that either Ye Ping'an had done something wrong, violating the Empress's taboos, or the Empress knew exactly what Ye Ping'an wanted, but simply didn’t want to entertain it. Wu Xian'er’s explanation was in line with Ye Ping'an’s suspicions.

Ye Ping'an told Wu Ankang that Li Zongxu was indeed the person who obstructed the salt and grain transportation to the border during the Battle of Jin Yuan, but the salt traffickers captured by Wu Ankang had no connection to Li Zongxu. Ye Ping'an pointed the finger at Gong Shao, the warehouse manager of Dongqiao Salt Depot, and suggested that Wu Ankang should find an opportunity to investigate Dongqiao Salt Depot.

Wu Xian'er reminded him that without solid evidence, it would be best not to confront Gong Shao directly, or else they might alert their enemies. In a few days, it would be the 15th of August, and Gu Erniang had made Hu Bing (a type of bread). Half was sold, and the other half was shared among the three of them.

The four of them sat in the yard, happily eating steamed buns sent by the old ghost and the Hu Bing made by Gu Erniang. Lu Danxin pretended to be one of the staff from Qixi Painting Shop and went to Hai Yiping’s residence to deliver paint. There, she saw an elderly poor man being led into Hai Yiping’s study by the housekeeper.

She sneaked closer to eavesdrop and overheard the old man telling Hai Yiping that Ye Ping'an’s real name was Gu Qing, and that it was she who had used the sleep-inducing technique to lure the girls into the abandoned house years ago. Lu Danxin was in disbelief, deeply distressed. What she didn’t know was that she and Ye Ping'an had already been targeted by Hai Yiping's people.

Hai Yiping knew that Lu Danxin was coming to deliver the paint that day, so he had the old man come again to repeat everything he knew. Hai Yiping, reporting to his superior while wearing a mask, expressed his desire to transfer Xu Qing out of the Holy Capital to prevent any further investigations. As for Ye Ping'an, Hai Yiping believed that the friends who had been around her day and night were her greatest weakness.

If she lost the trust of her friends, it would be a fatal blow. Lu Danxin, having spent much time with Ye Ping'an, still held a faint trust in her. She casually mentioned the things she had overheard, and to her shock, Ye Ping'an openly admitted that she was indeed Gu Qing. Years ago, when Ye Ping'an was a child, Du Liang had tricked her into using the sleep-inducing technique to lead three women into an abandoned house.

Because she was just a little girl, the women hadn’t suspected her. The butterfly pendant belonged to Ruan Qin, the first survivor of the abandoned house fire that Ye Ping'an had encountered. Lu Danxin became utterly disappointed in Ye Ping'an, severing their friendship and deciding to act on her own from now on, no longer taking orders from her. A storm was brewing, and in Anxin Pavilion, there was a figure in the shadows.

At first, Ye Ping'an thought it was Lu Danxin returning, but when she went over to check, it was Yuan Shaocheng. Ye Ping'an told him that, with Lu Danxin’s temperament, she was probably already on her way to assassinate Hai Yiping. She explained that she was telling him this because Hai Yiping knew the full details of the Censor’s case, and he couldn’t die just yet.

Yuan Shaocheng arrived in time to stop the crossbow bolt that Lu Danxin had aimed at Hai Yiping, and he handed Ye Ping'an’s Heart Healing Handbook over to Hai Yiping. Lu Danxin had secretly planned this assassination attempt, but her true goal wasn’t to kill Hai Yiping. Instead, she had designed a trap to provoke him into speaking, but Hai Yiping had already seen through her scheme.

Hai Yiping not only refrained from killing Lu Danxin, but also told her that if she stayed, he would take her to a certain place the next day. Under Hai Yiping’s instruction, the old man at the tea stall spoke to Ye Ping'an about the past, and intentionally had someone push the old man into the river to see if Ye Ping'an would help. To Lu Danxin's surprise, Ye Ping'an chose to do nothing.

Hai Yiping had in his possession a letter of grievance that Yu Qian had written to him from prison. He told Lu Danxin that if she helped him kill Ye Ping'an, he could testify before Guo Yu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, that Lu Danxin was a survivor of the fire in the abandoned house. In that case, Lu Danxin could overturn the Censor’s case. Lu Danxin agreed to cooperate with him.

Ye Ping'an gave money to a young maid and, through her, learned that Xu Qing had gone to the Dongqiao Salt Depot. She immediately made her way there and secretly entered. By chance, she encountered Wu Ankang, who had sneaked in with a stolen key. It seemed that rich people did things in a less rigid manner.

Wu Ankang had arrived before her and discovered that at least a dozen bags in the depot were filled with sand, indicating that Gong Shao and Xu Qing were colluding to swap salt for sand. No wonder the guards outside Dongqiao Salt Depot were so lax; it was all to facilitate the exchange. Wu Ankang planned to stall Xu Qing, while Ye Ping'an’s task was to send a message to Yuan Shaocheng, asking him to bring people over.

They could arrest Xu Qing on charges of salt smuggling and poor supervision, hoping to extract more information from her. However, Yuan Shaocheng only brought one person with him, and his purpose wasn’t to arrest anyone. Instead, he wanted to remind Wu Ankang not to alarm the enemy. Wu Ankang ignored the advice and, in front of Xu Qing and Gong Shao, insisted on opening the salt depot for verification.

To his surprise, the sand he had seen earlier was now replaced with salt bags. The disturbance had startled the enemies, and now it would be much harder to uncover anything further. Wu Ankang left in anger. Lu Danxin went alone to the tomb of Cai Lian to burn paper money. Gu Erniang and the old ghost happened to be there as well.

Gu Erniang tried to persuade Lu Danxin not to target their own people, but Lu Danxin refused to listen. Gu Erniang's divination still had no answers, and the old ghost hoped she would return to her sect for help in resolving this crisis. Ye Ping'an returned to Anxin Pavilion and saw a note left by Lu Danxin. She had arranged to meet Ye Ping'an at the Manggou Bridge during the late hours.

The people of Manggou had ultimately not gone to build the Heavenly Saint Tower. Yuan Shaocheng thanked Zhao Feng, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, for speaking up on their behalf, but Zhao Feng explained that it was Prince Kangping who had submitted a memorial to the Empress, pointing out that conscripting people from Manggou to build the tower would do more harm than good. Thus, the Empress decided not to send them.

As promised, Ye Ping'an showed up at Manggou Bridge. Yuan Shaocheng, unaware that Lu Danxin had arrived at the bridge, immediately feared something was wrong. He rushed over and saw Lu Danxin aiming a crossbow at Ye Ping'an. She shot an arrow at close range, piercing Ye Ping'an’s body, and the force of the shot sent her into the river. Once Lu Danxin left, Yuan Shaocheng threw himself into the river without hesitation and managed to pull Ye Ping'an out.

Gu Erniang didn’t want to see the sisters, Ping'an and Danxin, turn on each other, nor did she want to become a burden to Ye Ping'an. She left a letter and departed. Ye Ping'an cried bitterly; now, even her closest people had left her. With no one left by her side, she placed her last hope in Yuan Shaocheng. If the Censor's case were to be reopened, she hoped that Yuan Shaocheng would take charge of the investigation.

If he exposed the corruption, he would gain merit, and the Mei faction wouldn't suspect him. Yuan Shaocheng didn’t immediately agree; he said he needed to think it over. Ye Ping'an didn’t die, and therefore, Hai Yiping’s goal had not been achieved. So, Hai Yiping needed Lu Danxin to write another petition, accusing Ye Ping'an, who had once been known as Gu Qing, of being the mastermind behind the kidnapping of local women in Tongquan County.

Once the petition was posted, the people of the Holy Capital began to gossip about it. Hai Yiping, accompanied by Lu Danxin, went straight to the Court of Judicial Review to find Guo Yi, the Minister. Lu Danxin presented the petition, while Hai Yiping testified that she had witnessed the events of the Censor's case firsthand. Yuan Shaocheng was hesitant about helping Ye Ping'an.

The words of the Empress still echoed in his mind, and to him, siding with Hai Yiping and staying away from Ye Ping'an seemed like the best choice. Helping Ye Ping'an would be equivalent to risking everything behind him. Yuan Hesheng took out a coin, and undecided matters were left to fate. Yuan Shaocheng tossed the coin onto the table, and it landed with the blank side up. This was a sign that he would not help.

Hai Yiping brought Lu Danxin to the Court of Judicial Review to file a report. Soon, Ye Ping'an was brought in as well. She confessed that years ago, she had been deceived by Du Liang and had used a sleep technique to bring three girls into an abandoned house. However, the people involved in this case—Yu Qian, Zheng Yuan, and Du Liang—were all dead, and only Lu Danxin had a personal testimony without any physical evidence.

Guo Yi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, stated that he couldn’t make a decision and submitted the matter to the Empress. When the Empress sent a person with heavy tea and fallen leaves, Guo Yi immediately understood. He announced that they would need to wait for the Court to investigate Lu Danxin’s statements and find physical evidence before they could reconsider the Censor's case.

Another decree from the Empress concerned Ye Ping'an: since she had been involved in the Zheng Yuan case and had concealed it after assuming an official position, her official title was stripped, and she was demoted to a commoner. Yuan Shaocheng volunteered to take over the Censor's case. Guo Yi tried to persuade him to give up the dangerous task, but Yuan Shaocheng was determined to take it on.

Lu Danxin, now living at Hai Yiping’s residence, invited Yuan Shaocheng to her house to share some Hu Bing (a type of pastry). Ye Ping'an left the Court of Judicial Review alone and, on her way back, bought some Hu Bing. She overheard some commoners praising Hai Yiping as a righteous and caring official, while she herself was being scorned. Not only that, but some people also came to Anxin Pavilion, smashing and destroying things in front of the door.

Ye Ping'an saw it but didn’t stop them. She silently put on her veil and left. Wu Ankang arrived on horseback and took Ye Ping'an out to the countryside. He comforted her, advising her that no matter what, her spirit must remain strong and resilient, just like grass in the wind. Yuan Shaocheng didn’t understand why the Censor’s case needed to be linked to Lu Danxin.

Hai Yiping explained that Wu Ankang had been pursuing Gong Shao and Xu Qing relentlessly. To protect these officials, Hai Yiping needed the Censor’s case to draw everyone’s attention. Sometimes, they had to make the common people suffer a little to force the officials to take action, as it was for the greater good. Without conclusive physical evidence, the Censor's case couldn’t be reopened.

Hai Yiping knew that Lu Danxin was eager to get her hands on Yu Qian's letter as circumstantial evidence, so he ordered Lu Danxin to tie Li Zongxu, the relative of the Li family, to the city tower and also invited Ye Ping'an to come to the tower. Lu Danxin was tasked with killing Li Zongxu and framing Ye Ping'an. Once Li Zongxu died, Ye Ping'an would have no chance of survival, and she could be executed on the spot.

That night, the Empress and all the officials were to gather at the Qianqiu Pavilion to observe the moon. In front of a large crowd, they would make sure to put Ye Ping'an to death. Hai Yiping had schemed thoroughly, but in order to obtain physical evidence, Lu Danxin had no choice but to agree. Yuan Shaocheng chose to help Ye Ping'an and informed her of Hai Yiping's plan.

Since Lu Danxin had already sent her a note, Ye Ping'an had been aware of the situation and decided to keep the appointment. On the fifteenth night of the eighth month, the family reunion night, Ye Ping'an visited Cai Yun’s home to see Cai Lian’s father, Chang Qing. Yuan Shaocheng accompanied her and personally cooked the meal.

As they sat down to the family dinner, Ye Ping'an suddenly felt her eyes well up with tears—it was the long-lost feeling of home. Chang Qing still mistook Ye Ping'an for Cai Lian, and to please the elderly man, Ye Ping'an allowed him to believe it. After the meal, Yuan Shaocheng saw Ye Ping'an off. When Chang Qing woke up, he wasn’t drunk anymore and recognized that Ye Ping'an was not his daughter, Cai Lian.

However, he played along because he knew that Ye Ping'an was a good person. Yuan Shaocheng couldn’t let the Mei faction know that he was secretly investigating, so he secretly arranged for Gu Wenyu to sneak into Hai Yiping’s residence that night and copy Hai Yiping’s list of recommended candidates, making sure not to miss anyone. Lu Danxin took people to tie Li Zongxu to the city tower.

Hai Yiping’s men spread the word that Ye Ping'an had been tied to Li Zongxu, and he also instructed Yuan Shaocheng to immediately shoot Ye Ping'an after Li Zongxu’s death. When the Empress found out, she was furious and refused to even reward the moon that night. She immediately headed to the Changxia Gate. Hai Yiping had set a trap for Ye Ping'an, but Ye Ping'an had set one for him as well.

Earlier, through the old man, she had informed Hai Yiping of her true identity to lure him into the trap. She had also arranged for the Ghost Uncle to guide Lu Danxin in getting closer to Hai Yiping. To keep Gu Erniang out of danger, Ye Ping'an had the Ghost Uncle take her away. Behind all these moves was Ye Ping'an’s careful planning.

Ye Ping'an knew that Hai Yiping wanted to use her to kill Li Zongxu and then frame her for the crime of holding the Li family hostage, killing two birds with one stone. This would also allow the Censor's case to be conclusively settled because of him. Despite this, Lu Danxin didn’t understand why Ye Ping'an still came.

Ye Ping'an explained that tonight was the only opportunity to expose Hai Yiping’s true face and force the Empress to reopen the Censor’s case. Lu Danxin said she would join forces with her and not disappoint her. On the other side of the city gates, Yuan Shaocheng had already prepared the archers. As soon as the Empress arrived, Ye Ping'an began executing her plan. She publicly accused Li Zongxu of harming women in Tongquan County over a decade ago.

Lu Danxin stepped forward, using the Seven-leaf Epiphyllum seal to strengthen the accusation against Li Zongxu. Lu Danxin raised her knife to kill Li Zongxu, but he didn’t recognize her and didn’t understand why she was trying to kill him. Lu Danxin explained that Hai Yiping had ordered her to do so, which caused a stir among the commoners below.

To them, Hai Yiping was a righteous and caring official, so it was natural for them to believe that Lu Danxin had been deceived. In order to have Li Zongxu also point to Hai Yiping, Ye Ping'an deliberately made him look toward Yuan Shaocheng, who happened to shoot an arrow at that moment. The arrow missed, but with Ye Ping'an whispering in his ear, Li Zongxu became convinced that it was indeed Hai Yiping who had ordered his death.

He immediately accused Hai Yiping of being the mastermind behind the Censor’s case. Hai Yiping quickly realized that Lu Danxin had turned against him and immediately declared his innocence to the Empress. Ye Ping'an then brought in Sun Xizheng, who had been a mutual friend of Yu Qian and Hai Yiping. Sun Xizheng provided the testimony of Chang Qing, which completely confirmed Hai Yiping’s crimes.

After reading the testimony, the Empress suppressed her anger and ordered Guo Yi to arrest Hai Yiping and take him to the Court of Judicial Review for interrogation. As for Li Zongxu, the Empress instructed Guo Yi to escort him safely back to his residence. Seeing that both Lu Danxin and Ye Ping'an were being arrested while he was unharmed, Li Zongxu grew increasingly arrogant.

However, to his surprise, Lu Danxin broke free from the guards, took Li Zongxu hostage, stabbed him several times, and gritted her teeth, forcing him to apologize for the women he had harmed. Ye Ping'an had already anticipated that Hai Yiping must have done something to Lu Danxin, and Lu Danxin confirmed that Hai Yiping was cunning and didn’t trust people. He had forced her to take poison, ensuring that she wouldn’t survive the night.

Lu Danxin, determined to go all out, pushed Li Zongxu off the city tower, causing him to fall to his death. She then jumped off the tower herself, ending her life. The next day, the Empress issued a decree, instructing the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice to hold a joint inquiry and thoroughly investigate the Censor’s case from the Zhaofeng years.

Hai Yiping had been locked in the Court of Judicial Review overnight, and Guo Yi had interrogated him for an entire night, but Hai Yiping refused to admit his crimes. He was skilled at disguising himself, and now there were commoners outside shouting in his defense. If they couldn’t find any evidence, both Guo Yi and Yuan Shaocheng would be forced to remove their official robes.

Ye Ping'an and Yuan Shaocheng went to Lu Danxin’s home and found a letter hidden in her sachet. The letter recorded that Hai Yiping had Yu Qian’s handwritten letter, which could be used as circumstantial evidence to convict him in the joint inquiry. He Mo Shan, a bailiff from the Court of Judicial Review, had been instructed to mess up Lu Danxin’s room in advance and had overheard Ye Ping'an and Yuan Shaocheng’s conversation.

A masked person had also instructed He Mo Shan to cut off useless branches in time. Yuan Shaocheng’s men indeed found an iron box at Hai Yiping’s residence. However, the box had a mechanism that would automatically burn it upon being opened. Fortunately, Ye Ping'an happened to have a bowl of water in hand and extinguished the fire, preserving this crucial piece of evidence. Hai Yiping still insisted that there was insufficient evidence.

Ye Ping'an then produced a letter that had been left behind by Sun Xizheng, who had been the Ministry of Justice’s registrar at the time. The letter was meant to silence people and had been written by Yu Qian himself. However, it had been meticulously altered by Hai Yiping, who had cut and pasted it together, forging a letter that was not Yu Qian’s original intent.

At first glance, the letter seemed fine, but when exposed to sunlight, the adhesive marks were clearly visible. Hai Yiping attempted to argue that the two books Yu Qian had given him had already been stolen from his residence, but Ye Ping'an countered that Hai Yiping’s mother would know if there had ever been any theft at the residence. At middle age, Hai Yiping didn’t want his elderly mother to be dragged into court because of him.

In the end, he confessed, admitting that he had taken the wrong step. Ye Ping'an thanked Guo Yi for his help. It turned out that although the original handwritten letter from Yu Qian had been burned by a trap set by Hai Yiping, Lu Danxin had carefully memorized the contents of the letter word for word.

Yuan Shaocheng had then copied Yu Qian’s handwriting and forged the letter, and because Ye Ping'an had kept a distance from Hai Yiping, he completely believed in the authenticity of the letter. Thankfully, the plan had been executed flawlessly, and Hai Yiping finally confessed to his crimes.

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