Unveil: Jadewind resumo, enredo, sinopse

Sinopse de Unveil: Jadewind

During the grand Lantern Festival, Princess Ningyuan suddenly dies under suspicious circumstances at the banquet. Li Peiyi, an exceptionally skilled martial artist with keen insight into human nature, is determined to uncover the truth. For her, solving the case is not just about seeking justice but also an intense battle of intellect and strategy against the murderer. Working seamlessly with the meticulous and astute Xiao Huaijin, they unravel the mystery by probing into the lives of an arrogant noblewoman and a Jinwu Guard burdened with secrets. Their investigation eventually leads them to the real culprit.

However, this is only the beginning. A series of intricate and bizarre cases unfold within the Tang Dynasty’s inner court—"Bi Shang Hua", "Xie Se Tian Zi", "Ji Shi Mi Wen", "Qi Xing Cuo", and more. Each case reveals the hidden fates of the women in the imperial harem. As Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin navigate through the marvels and mysteries of the Tang Dynasty, they uncover shocking secrets tied to the palace.

In their relentless pursuit of justice, they gradually expose the truth behind the Li family massacre that occurred fifteen years ago. Ultimately, they unveil the mastermind behind the conspiracy. Li Peiyi not only clears her father’s name but also finds redemption through her unwavering quest for truth. Along the way, she gains loyal companions and discovers the true meaning of justice and camaraderie.

Resumos de Unveil: Jadewind

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Li Peiyi, the Princess of Fuchang County, was raised in comfort until the Lantern Festival of her ninth year, when her family was massacred. The official report claimed her father, the Prince of Duan, had slaughtered his household in a fit of madness before taking his own life. Li Peiyi, refusing to believe her father was a murderer, spent years hiding her resentment and training herself to become an investigator.

She eventually joined the Palace Investigation Bureau to seek justice for the wronged and uncover the truth behind her family's death. While investigating a series of stolen female corpses, Li Peiyi goes undercover. She takes a Breath-Stopping Pill to feign death and poses as the late Xie Qiaolian. She is taken to the home of Guo Ruilin, the Director of the Court of State Ceremonial, who intends to use the body for a ghost marriage to satisfy his late son.

Li Peiyi reveals herself and accuses the official of illegal activities, but the Breath-Stopping Pill has left her internal energy in a state of chaos. Seizing her weakness, Guo Ruilin decides to bury her alive as a sacrifice for his son. To prevent her spirit from seeking revenge, he orders four peach wood nails to be driven into her arms before sealing her in a coffin. Fortunately, her colleague Wu Ren, also known as Ma Xiaoran, leads a rescue mission.

Li Peiyi survives and retaliates by striking Guo Ruilin four times with her blade for the four nails used against her. Back at the Bureau, a desperate Guo Ruilin tries to bargain for his life by offering to help with the upcoming marriage alliance of the Fifteenth Princess, Wanshun. Meanwhile, at the Astronomical Bureau, Deputy Director Xiao Huaijin observes an ominous guest star in the Girl mansion, a constellation governing marriage.

Though his office is forbidden from making divinations, he knows the blue-black star foretells disaster. This coincides with the arrival of the Uyghur Prince Yaoluoge Wutele, who has come to wed Wanshun. Wanshun, now titled Princess Ningyuan, is Li Peiyi’s close friend. On the day of the ceremony, the Bureau's Chief, Du Zhixing, warns Li Peiyi that she is better suited for solving crimes than managing people.

During a celebratory dance, a flaming yaksha kite descends from the Ruyi Pavilion, and the stage is engulfed in an inferno. Wanshun is trapped on the platform and killed, leaving no remains. The Emperor orders a joint investigation by the Palace Investigation Bureau and the Court of Judicial Review. Xiao Huaijin is detained near the scene, but he remains composed, offering cryptic clues about "fire on stone" and "gold beneath wood."

Li Peiyi initially dismisses him, but she soon discovers the mechanical genius behind the tragedy. At the top of Ruyi Pavilion, she finds remnants of a timed mechanism—wax and silk threads—that released the kite as candles burned out. In his cell, Xiao Huaijin draws a map that perfectly matches the crime scene layout. The Emperor secretly summons Xiao Huaijin, revealing that he received a secret report about the ill-omened star three hours before the official one.

Suspecting a conspiracy to sabotage the marriage alliance, the Emperor orders Xiao to assist Li Peiyi, granting him a qilin badge for palace access. Li Peiyi convinces the solitary Xiao that their cooperation is the only way to satisfy the Emperor’s anxiety. The investigation reveals that the water buckets used during the fire were smeared with tung oil and that the stage fire was fueled by low-quality, privately made black powder. Their leads point to a eunuch named Liu Deyi.

Li Peiyi searches the palace quarters but is incapacitated by hallucinogenic incense, causing her to see a vision of her mother as a fire phoenix. By the time Wu Ren breaks into the room, Li Peiyi is recovering, but Liu Deyi is already dead, his throat slit by a dagger just minutes prior. While Xiao Huaijin investigates outside the palace, he is caught in a "ghost wall" illusion near the abandoned mansion of the Prince of Duan.

He is followed by a mysterious black-clad figure but is saved by the timely arrival of Prosecutor Gu Lingzhou. Analyzing the shadows cast by the moon, Xiao Huaijin mathematically deduces that the killer is approximately six feet tall. Searching Wanshun’s room, Li Peiyi is heartbroken to find it sparsely furnished. A maid named Xue Rui reveals that the princess lived in poverty, selling her own embroidery to pay for expenses.

Xue Rui also mentions a potential grudge involving Cui Manshu, a noble lady who was humiliated two years prior when the Emperor preferred Wanshun’s needlework over hers. Joined by General Lin Ning and the Imperial Guards, the investigators head to Yanshou Ward to search for a secluded courtyard near the canals that may be serving as the killer's hideout.

Xiao Wenyuan, the Grand Tutor, visits his son Xiao Huaijin at the Astronomical Bureau. Huaijin has lived there for five years to comply with laws forbidding officials of the bureau from associating with court ministers. Despite the Emperor granting special permission for the visit, the atmosphere is cold. Wenyuan warns his son that Li Peiyi is a deeply calculating woman who may be feigning memory loss regarding the night her father, the Prince of Duan, allegedly slaughtered his family.

Huaijin maintains that she hasn't recognized him and reminds his father that he is currently bound by an imperial decree to assist Peiyi in her investigation. A new murder occurs in Yanshou Ward. Xiao Huaijin is the first to arrive but is detained by General Lin Ning until Li Peiyi arrives to clear him, confirming she had been following him and he had no time to commit the crime.

The victim is identified as Cui Manshu, the niece of the Right Chancellor and Consort Shu. Peiyi, who had planned to question her regarding the death of Princess Wanshun, performs an autopsy and finds a tuft of hair clutched in the victim’s hand. In a secret room behind a screen, they discover wet blood, remnants of gunpowder, and oiled boot prints that match evidence found at the palace explosion site, confirming the courtyard was the killer’s hideout.

Struggling with nightmares of her parents' deaths, Li Peiyi visits Du Zhixing at the Palace Investigation Bureau to review the case files from fifteen years ago. Du Zhixing maintains the official record: her father suffered a mental breakdown and killed everyone before committing suicide. He reminds Peiyi she only survived because she was in the palace with a fever and urges her to stop obsessing over the past and focus on the current case.

Peiyi continues her investigation by interrogating Cui Manshu’s servants. After dismissing a watchful matron, she learns of a former maid named Li Niang who was brutally punished by Cui. Peiyi tracks Li Niang to a tea shop in the West Market. Li Niang reveals her disfigured face, explaining that Cui Manshu had her branded for accidentally damaging a garment.

Li Niang expresses no pity for the victim, noting that Cui was a cruel bully who had made many enemies, including her own noble associates: Wang Yuhua, Zhao Luoshen, and Zhou Helan. Xiao Huaijin discovers that on the night of the murder, Cui Manshu returned to the Chancellor’s manor in a yellow dress but was later found in a wedding dress in Yanshou Ward. To investigate further, Peiyi invites Cui’s associates to Yunchui House.

Wang Yuhua claims she was home with her mother, while pointing to Zhou Helan as Cui’s closest friend. Huaijin arrives with palace records showing that the Zhou family, led by the Weaponry Commander, sent three carts of gifts to Consort Shu, but only two were logged. Peiyi examines Zhou Helan’s hands under the guise of palmistry, noticing her fingers are dry from handling gunpowder and identifying unique fingerprints that match the lease for the hidden courtyard in Yanshou Ward.

Under pressure, Zhou Helan confesses. She reveals a history of abuse where Cui Manshu forced her and her mother to kowtow 200 times at the Cui family shrine over a misunderstood gift of fox fur. Princess Wanshun had intervened to save them, but this only made Cui view the princess as an enemy. Cui later discovered a secret about the princess and orchestrated her marriage alliance as revenge.

Finally, Cui forced Zhou to smuggle a third cart filled with gunpowder into the palace. Out of fear for her parents' lives, Zhou complied, realizing too late that the powder was used to kill the princess. The investigation is interrupted when Zhou Helan and the other noble ladies suddenly vomit blood. Peiyi identifies the poison as raw aconite toxin hidden in the sashimi sauce.

As Madam Wang arrives with guards and threatens to seize Peiyi for the Emperor’s judgment, Peiyi realizes she is being framed. To buy time and prove her innocence, she intentionally consumes the poisoned sauce herself. Before losing consciousness, she instructs Xiao Huaijin to prick the Shaoshang and Zhongchong acupoints on her right hand to drain the toxic blood, telling him she will only survive if the blood turns from purple back to red. Li Peiyi then collapses before the horrified crowd.

Li Peiyi survives her self-inflicted poisoning thanks to Xiao Huaijin’s extraordinary memory and quick thinking in providing the correct antidote. The Emperor, who has always treated Li Peiyi as his own daughter, personally visits her manor to check on her condition. Inside the sickroom, Inspector Du Zhixing realizes that since she successfully purged the poison, she should be recovering well.

He correctly guesses that she is only pretending to be weak because the Emperor is present, and he half-jokingly vows to give her a proper scolding for her recklessness once His Majesty departs. Li Peiyi even manages to sneak some medicinal tonics from Du Zhixing’s room to aid her recovery. When the Emperor arrives at her bedside, he expresses his deep grief over already losing one daughter and tells Li Peiyi he cannot bear to lose her as well.

He intends to punish the Wang, He, and Zhao families for their hostility toward her, but Li Peiyi pleads for mercy. She points out that they acted out of grief for their own daughters and meant no real malice. Touched by her understanding nature, the Emperor grants them a reprieve to handle their funeral arrangements, though he orders Li Peiyi to let someone else handle the investigation. Li Peiyi firmly refuses, insisting that only she can uncover the truth.

Before the Emperor leaves, she asks him not to tell Consort Shu about her condition to spare the grieving woman further pain. Once she recovers, Li Peiyi discusses the case with Wu Ren and Xiao Huaijin. Wu Ren chides her for the dangerous gamble, noting that Xiao Huaijin was more terrified for her life than anyone.

Analyzing the events, they realize the killer who ignited the black powder must have hidden in a secret chamber before slipping out with the Uighur prince’s entourage. While that individual attacked Xiao Huaijin and killed Liu Deyi, the timing makes it impossible for them to have also traveled to Yanshou Ward to murder Cui Manshu. This confirms there were two killers.

Li Peiyi decides to search for information regarding Wanshun’s close friends or lovers, leading her to question Wanshun’s maid, Xuerui. Xiao Huaijin informs Li Peiyi that a man about six chi tall was seen hiding outside the palace walls on the night of the fire. Suspicion falls on Lin Ning, the guard who claimed he was blocked by a sudden flight of carrier pigeons while chasing the suspect.

Xiao Huaijin notes that the pigeons' release times are fixed, proving Lin Ning lied. Furthermore, a witness confirms that Lin Ning slipped away from the Uighur prince’s escort midway and was later seen near Yanshou Ward. Li Peiyi discovers an embroidery pattern in Lin Ning’s room that matches a poem found among Wanshun’s belongings: "Like reeds, my love is soft yet resilient; like rock, it is enduring and steadfast." This confirms Lin Ning was Wanshun’s secret lover.

Learning that Lin Ning has rented a boat to flee to Jinling, Li Peiyi pursues him to the docks. Just as her boat pulls alongside his, Lin Ning’s vessel erupts in flames. Li Peiyi leaps onto the burning boat only to find Lin Ning already dead.

After bringing his body back to the Palace Investigation Bureau, Xiao Huaijin examines the corpse and finds a blade wound on the arm, identical to the one he inflicted on the man in black who attacked him. Meanwhile, Xuerui is found burning Wanshun’s embroidery patterns, but Xiao Huaijin salvages several papers. Through Wanshun’s notes, they realize she had anticipated the explosion all along.

Li Peiyi remembers Wanshun expressing a desire to see the world beyond the palace and concludes that the Princess is actually alive. Li Peiyi eventually tracks Wanshun to her hiding place. Though Xiao Huaijin argues that harboring a fugitive is a crime, Li Peiyi is determined to protect her friend. She tells Xiao Huaijin that if Wanshun wants to leave, she will risk her own life to see her safely out of the capital.

Xiao Huaijin, bound by his duty to the Emperor, is torn but eventually leaves Li Peiyi to face Wanshun alone. Wanshun finally reveals the truth: she and Lin Ning fell in love during a previous Lantern Festival. Believing their meetings were fate, she felt loved for the first time since her mother’s death. However, when the Emperor ordered her to marry the Uighur prince, she and Lin Ning planned the palace explosion to fake her death.

Wanshun explains that she left a gold bangle and bones on the stage to simulate her death before escaping through a secret passage. She ran along the Qingming Canal toward what she thought was a new life of freedom. However, when she arrived at their secret meeting spot in Yanshou Ward, she found Cui Manshu waiting instead of Lin Ning.

Cui Manshu revealed that she had orchestrated Wanshun’s entire romance, even hiring the performer who originally brought Wanshun and Lin Ning together. Cui mocked Wanshun for being pregnant with a guard's child and insulted her as the "spawn of a foreign dancer." Driven to a breaking point by the cruelty, Wanshun stabbed Cui Manshu to death with a dagger. Li Peiyi is heartbroken to realize how much Wanshun suffered in silence.

Wanshun confesses that she was the one who poisoned the other noble ladies at Yunchui House as revenge for their bullying. She deliberately placed the poison in a raw fish dish, knowing that Li Peiyi never eats seafood because of the trauma of her parents' drowning and her own near-death experience in water.

Wanshun tells Li Peiyi that she was her only true friend, and that the others—Cui Manshu, Wang Yuhua, Zhao Luoshun, and Zhou Helan—received the justice they deserved for the malice they sowed. Wanshun’s final words suggest that even Lin Ning will carry the weight of their tragic, manipulated love into the afterlife.

Li Peiyi returns to the Palace Investigation Bureau, where Du Zhixing, the Internal Court Director, is incensed. He demands she surrender her law enforcement badge, reminding her that an investigator's greatest enemy is emotion. He warns that if law enforcers cover for their loved ones, the law becomes a mere formality and the truth is lost forever.

Du admits he has been too lenient with her, but after Peiyi confesses to overstepping her authority and acting recklessly, he orders her to stop taking cases. He notes that it was only because Princess Wanshun understood the gravity of the situation and chose not to flee that Peiyi was saved from making a catastrophic mistake. Following the investigation, an imperial decree is issued to settle the matter.

To protect the royal reputation, the entire burden of guilt is placed on the deceased Lin Ning. The decree states that Lin Ning, obsessed with Princess Wanshun, orchestrated the explosion and the subsequent murders to kidnap her, only to be killed by Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin during his flight. Wanshun’s title is restored, and both Peiyi and Xiao are rewarded for their insight. To comfort the princess after her ordeal, the Emperor arranges a grand banquet at Penglai Terrace.

At the banquet, Wanshun expects reprimand but is met with the Emperor’s outward affection. He promises that none of his children will suffer and offers a lavish dowry to proceed with the marriage alliance with the Uyghur prince, Wutele. Peiyi immediately interjects, pleading with the Emperor to withdraw the command, but Xiao Huaijin is unable to restrain her. The Emperor counters by noting that since Peiyi lost her parents at a young age, she cannot comprehend his paternal intentions.

He suggests that if the Prince and Princess Consort of Duan were still alive, they would surely explain the necessity of state matters. Peiyi retorts that it is precisely because they are gone that she does not need to understand such "logic." Sensing the tension, Wanshun calms Peiyi and offers to perform the Zhezhi Dance—a favorite of her mother's—as a final gesture of gratitude. As she dances gracefully upon the tower, she reflects on the bittersweet reality of her life.

She tells her father that in eighteen years, he has only truly noticed her three times: once as a child for her studies, once for her embroidery of the "Dragon Soars Across the Seas," and finally for this political marriage. Seeking to be permanently etched into her father’s memory and to escape a life of coercion, Wanshun finishes her performance and leaps from the terrace to her death. Peiyi rushes to her side and cradles the dying princess.

In her grief, she lists those responsible for Wanshun's death, naming Lin Ning, Cui Manshu, and even herself, before turning her gaze toward the Emperor. Seeing the danger of her words, Xiao Huaijin quickly interrupts, claiming that Peiyi is overcome with sorrow and requests that she be allowed to return to the Bureau to recover. In the wake of the tragedy, Princess Zhaoyuan is selected to take Wanshun’s place in the marriage alliance.

Regarding the secret memorial predicting an omen, the Emperor blames Lin Ning’s influence, but Peiyi confesses to Xiao Huaijin that she was the one who sent it, hoping the celestial warning would halt the marriage. She reflects that she was only able to thrive in the palace through cleverness and favor, whereas Wanshun was like a version of herself that never found the strength to stand.

The Emperor grants Wanshun the posthumous title of "Zhaosi," an act Xiao views as a sign of affection, though Peiyi remains skeptical of royal love. Seeking answers about the night of the massacre at the Prince of Duan’s mansion fifteen years ago, Peiyi visits Xiao Huaijin’s mother, Wang Yufang. During the visit, she notices the distinct scent of the sachets Wang makes for her husband and son, which contain sandalwood and myrrh.

Wang Yufang remarks that Peiyi shares the bold spirit of the late Princess Consort of Duan, whom she met once. Wang recalls that on the night of the tragedy, Xiao Huaijin was on duty at the Astronomical Bureau while she and her husband accompanied Old Madam Xiao in prayer. Her husband, Xiao Wenyuan, did not leave the house for his official duties until after midnight, and they only heard the news the following morning.

As Peiyi leaves, she encounters Du Zhixing. She tells him that even if she hasn't found the killer, clearing the Xiao family of suspicion is a significant step forward. Inside, Xiao Huaijin emerges and his mother assures him that she stuck to the story they established years ago. However, she warns him that Peiyi is incredibly perceptive and may see through the deception.

Xiao insists he has the situation under control and asks his mother not to mention Peiyi’s visit to his father. In the spring of the 13th year of Dali, a horrific discovery is made at Xingqing Palace. While the Emperor is admiring the "Hundred Charms" flowers with Consort Shu, an attendant accidentally breaks a branch, revealing a female corpse hidden within the flower wall.

Peiyi’s examination reveals that the seeds of a flower inside a sachet worn by the victim had sprouted, consuming the body’s marrow and blooming through the wall. The sachet features distinct Xiang embroidery, leading Peiyi to a maid named Birou, who identifies the victim as her friend Hanxiao, a maid serving in Consort Shu’s palace. The victim is further identified by symmetrical cinnabar moles on her ankles.

Curiously, records indicate that Hanxiao had already collected her resettlement payment and left the palace. Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin travel to Chang'an County to find Hanxiao’s family. They meet her mother and younger sister, Zhenzhen, and learn that Hanxiao has been missing for two years. The mother appears more interested in claiming Hanxiao's resettlement money than her daughter’s whereabouts. In contrast, young Zhenzhen offers her sister's old letters to Peiyi.

Moved, Peiyi gives Zhenzhen a jade token, telling her to seek help at the Palace Investigation Bureau if her parents ever try to force her into an unwanted life. Back at Zuixian House, Peiyi and Xiao review the letters, which are mostly demands for money from the family. Peiyi explains she gave the mother marked tribute silver as a trap to track where the money is spent.

Their investigation reveals that Hanxiao never actually registered her return, suggesting she was killed shortly after leaving the palace and her body was smuggled back in. This implies the killer is someone who can move freely within the harem without suspicion. Their search for answers takes a turn when a maid named Qingquan from Consort Shu’s palace approaches them, claiming she knows exactly who murdered Hanxiao.

Following the shocking discovery of a female corpse hidden within a palace flower wall, the Palace Investigation Bureau begins a search for the truth. Qingquan, a palace maid, provides a crucial lead by identifying the victim as Hanxiao. She recalls seeing another maid, Hongshao, wearing a distinctive red agate gilded pendant that had originally been gifted to Hanxiao by Consort Shu.

When questioned, Hongshao reveals that the pendant was a gift from Hu Da, a supervisor at the Bureau of Palace Ladies (Yeting Bureau), delivered by a mysterious messenger who smelled of mugwort. Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin soon track down Hu Da, finding him attempting to coerce a maid named Birou into a compromising situation in exchange for a loan. Li Peiyi intervenes, allowing Birou to escape safely.

During questioning, Hu Da admits that Hanxiao owed him money but claims she settled her debt before leaving the palace. He vehemently denies any involvement in her death or the theft of the pendant, arguing that he values his life too much to touch a consort’s belongings. While searching Hu Da’s quarters, Xiao Huaijin notices a copy of the "Book of Rites" on the shelf that appears to have been frequently handled—a strange habit for the illiterate supervisor.

Suspecting Hu Da is hiding something, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin tail him as he leaves the palace to conduct business. However, their pursuit is interrupted by a staged dispute at a tavern. In the chaos, a hooded man in black sprinkles powder onto Hu Da’s clothes. The powder, derived from "linglong grass," attracts a swarm of poisonous bats that attack Hu Da with such ferocity that he is killed almost instantly.

Xiao Huaijin pursues the assailant but loses him near a night-soil cart marked with the seal of the palace lavatories. Back at the bureau, Li Peiyi identifies the suspect as Lou Chuo, a night-soil collector whose lowly status allows him to move through the palace unnoticed. They track him to the eastern suburbs, where he is selling "golden soil" (fertilizer).

After a brief struggle involving more linglong powder and an intervention by Prosecutor Gu from the Court of Judicial Review, Lou Chuo is apprehended. To prevent him from taking his own life and to mask his foul scent, Li Peiyi interrogates him while he is submerged in a hot bath. By falsely claiming that Hu Da survived the attack, she goads a jealous Lou Chuo into a confession.

Lou Chuo reveals he is the son of a disgraced military officer who was forced into a life of filth. He fell in love with Hanxiao after she treated him with rare kindness during a public humiliation. However, his affection turned to bitter obsession when he discovered she had a sexual relationship with Hu Da to secure loans. He claims he later found Hanxiao abandoned and weak in a gutter in Daozheng Ward.

He took her to his home, where he kept her for ten days until she succumbed to illness. He admits to walling her body into the masonry so that he could "visit" her every day during his waste collection route. Li Peiyi remains skeptical of Lou Chuo’s full story, as an examination of Hanxiao’s body revealed signs of severe abuse dating back over six months.

Following Lou Chuo’s description of where he found her—a path filled with the scent of cosmetics and the sound of music—Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin arrive at Xiuhong House in Daozheng Ward. Although the proprietress claims the establishment only produces high-end embroidery for merchants, the unnatural silence and the lack of visible workers suggest a much darker secret behind its doors.

While investigating the suspicious activities at Xiuhong House, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin were startled by a woman's scream coming from the backyard. They rushed to intervene, but the house steward intercepted them, dismissively claiming the noise was caused by a rat. To sell the lie, he even produced a pair of rodents. In reality, the house served as a prison for former palace maids who had been tricked and sold by the late Hu Da.

Among the captives was Taozhi, who led a desperate escape attempt only to be recaptured. As a brutal deterrent, the steward branded the women on their faces to mark them as property. Wu Ren’s investigation into Hu Da's background revealed that he had secured a wealthy godfather in the Western Capital named Sun Zhiwang, popularly known as Sun "Eight Wards."

Hu Da had leveraged this connection to run a predatory usury ring within the palace, eventually forcing maids who could not pay their debts to work at Xiuhong House. Inside the building's hidden quarters, a woman named Ruyi warned Taozhi that escape was futile, as she had been trapped there for months. Despite the warnings, Taozhi continued to look for a way to pick the locks, but she was eventually caught by the vigilant steward.

To draw Sun Zhiwang out, Xiao Huaijin disguised himself as a wandering sorcerer named Immortal Master Wuwang. At the Zuixian House restaurant, he put on a mystic performance, while Li Peiyi arrived in her official capacity to play along, further legitimizing his reputation. To push Sun into a state of panic, Prosecutor Gu Lingzhou posed as the vengeful ghost of Hu Da, appearing at Sun’s bedside.

The ruse worked, allowing the team to retrieve a copy of the "Book of Rites" that Hu Da had kept. Upon inspection, they discovered it was actually a disguised ledger of predatory loans, with Hanxiao’s name among those marked as settled through labor. Terrified by the hauntings, Sun Zhiwang begged for a solution. Xiao Huaijin claimed the only way to avert disaster was to perform a cleansing ritual at a property with "excessive yin qi" that was suppressing Sun's fortune.

Sun’s wary guard, Jiang Tingwei, remained suspicious and demanded to see the face of the sorcerer’s silent attendant. Li Peiyi, wearing grotesque makeup and using fish bladders to create the illusion of monstrous eyes, managed to unnerve the guard. The pair was then blindfolded and transported to Xiuhong House to ensure its location remained a secret. Despite the blindfold, Xiao Huaijin meticulously tracked their movements, realizing they were being led in circles to disorient them.

He deduced they were on the second floor, moving from west to east along the southern corridor. During the ritual, Li Peiyi used the opportunity to scout the rooms, hearing muffled noises coming from the easternmost room. Once the rite was finished, they were followed by Jiang Tingwei. Xiao Huaijin maintained his persona, rebuking the guard for his lack of respect toward the divine.

To appear like a typical greedy sorcerer and avoid suspicion, Li Peiyi insisted they accept payment, though she immediately gave her portion to a beggar. Sun Zhiwang’s suspicion grew as Jiang Tingwei pointed out the coincidental timing of the sorcerer’s arrival. Nevertheless, the pair returned to Xiuhong House for a final ritual, bringing Wu Ren disguised as a woman intended for a ghost marriage to settle the "spirit" of the deceased.

During the commotion, Li Peiyi swapped places with the "bride" and stayed behind. She eventually ambushed Jiang Tingwei, binding him to a bench and threatening him until he confessed the location of the hidden rooms. Li Peiyi discovered a secret chamber behind the embroidery room where the women were being held. Taozhi immediately recognized her as the sister of the Prosecutor Gu Lingzhou.

While Li Peiyi worked to free her, Taozhi begged her to save the other girls who had already been moved elsewhere. Outside, Xiao Huaijin and Wu Ren waited for the third "ke" of the You Hour to rendezvous, but the street erupted into a chaotic celebration. Sun Zhiwang’s son had survived his illness, and the merchant was distributing free wine and cakes to the public, creating a massive crowd that hindered the team's coordination.

Li Peiyi disguised herself as a maid and replaced a weeping girl to serve a mysterious guest in a room draped with red curtains at Xiuhong House. The guest, whose face was hidden behind a mask, was impressed by her boldness. After leading her deeper into the room, he struck her with a whip, a pain she endured to maintain her cover.

When he grew more aggressive, Li Peiyi fought back and knocked off his mask, revealing him to be Lu Zhenglian, a high-ranking official. Meanwhile, Jiang Tingwei managed to free himself from the bench where Li Peiyi had previously bound him. He alerted the madam, Zhenniang, and they quickly mobilized to capture Li Peiyi.

As the house was cleared of guests and the girls were moved to a secret location, Xiao Huaijin and Wu Ren used their imperial qilin badge to force their way inside. However, Li Peiyi was already surrounded and captured by Jiang Tingwei. Realizing she was an officer of the Palace Investigation Bureau, Jiang Tingwei decided to avoid direct execution. Instead, he ordered his men to tie a heavy stone to her and sink her into the lake.

At the lakeside, Li Peiyi revealed her true identity as the Princess of Fuchang County to the servants. Terrified of the consequences, one servant secretly slipped her a dagger before pushing her into the water. Once submerged, she used the blade to cut her ropes and was pulled to safety by Wu Ren. Du Zhixing and his guards soon arrived and arrested the staff of Xiuhong House, though Li Peiyi spared the man who had helped her.

Gu Lingzhou also joined the search, but by the time they reached the hidden chamber, the room had been meticulously transformed into a common embroidery hall, and all the girls were gone. Taozhi had only left behind a red bracelet as a clue. Gu Lingzhou later spotted a wedding carriage leaving the city and found a flower Taozhi had dropped, confirming the girls were being smuggled out. Du Zhixing later intercepted Zhenniang as she tried to flee with her savings.

During the interrogation, the cunning madam admitted to "lack of oversight" regarding her guards' behavior but refused to disclose the girls' whereabouts. The investigation hit a political wall when Eunuch Guo arrived from the palace to demand Lu Zhenglian’s release. Li Peiyi took the matter to the Emperor, but he was under immense pressure from over a dozen ministers who had petitioned in Lu’s defense. Lacking concrete evidence, Li Peiyi was forced to release the official.

While recovering from her wounds, Li Peiyi received a visit from Consort Shu, who revealed that Xiao Huaijin had saved Li Peiyi’s life once before when she fell into the Moonlit Pond as a child. Li Peiyi thanked Xiao Huaijin, who was surprised to learn she was the girl from the pond. When she asked if he had seen anyone push her that day, he recalled that no one else was around.

To break Lu Zhenglian’s alibi, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin returned to Swallow House. A waiter revealed that a mysterious "Mr. Lu" had paid a fortune for a special embroidery piece that night, but Lu Zhenglian had overshadowed the event by falling down the stairs with a courtesan named Liu Ying'er. This incident occurred at exactly the second ke of the Xu hour—the same time Lu was supposedly at Xiuhong House.

When questioned, Liu Ying'er insisted Lu had been with her all night, even reciting a poem he supposedly wrote about the moonlight at that moment. However, Xiao Huaijin detected a critical flaw in her poetic description of the moon, realizing the alibi was a coordinated lie. He immediately led Li Peiyi back to the bureau to confirm the astronomical discrepancy.

Late at night, the Palace Investigation Bureau re-interrogates Lu Zhenglian. He maintains a firm alibi, claiming he arrived at Swallow House at the middle of the You hour to review scores with the courtesan Liu Ying’er. He describes a poetic moment where he composed lyrics about a moon halo, which supposedly led to a heated argument when Liu Ying’er felt the music didn’t match his words.

He insists she stormed out at the second ke of the Xu hour and that his subsequent fall down the stairs was witnessed by many. When questioned on his precision regarding the time, Lu explains he heard a nearby servant announcing the presentation of a "Hundred Birds Return to Nest" gift at that exact moment.

However, Xiao Huaijin, an expert in celestial patterns, exposes the lie: the Observatory Terrace recorded that the moon halo did not appear until the fourth ke of the Xu hour. Lu could not have seen it hours earlier. Gu Lingzhou locates the courtyard where Jiang Tingwei is hiding and requests reinforcements. Li Peiyi leaves Lu Zhenglian in the custody of the Court of Judicial Review to assist Gu.

Inside the hideout, Taozhi and several captive palace maids manage to free themselves. When Jiang Tingwei enters, the women unite and kill him. Gu Lingzhou arrives to find a traumatized Taozhi, but as they attempt to leave, a hidden arrow is fired. Taozhi shields Gu and is mortally wounded. Despite Li Peiyi’s efforts to treat her, Taozhi passes away in her brother's arms.

High-ranking officials decide to abandon the merchant Sun Zhiwang and Xiuhong House to protect themselves, planning to pressure Lu Zhenglian into silence. In prison, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin use psychological tactics on Sun Zhiwang, who is restrained after a suicide attempt. They play a calm game of chess nearby to unnerve the suspects. Xiao suspects the mastermind is a powerful official, and Li realizes they must sow discord between Sun and Lu to break their silence.

Xiao devises a scheme to turn the prisoners against each other, providing Sun with a lavish meal and then presenting a fake confession to Lu. Lu becomes visibly shaken, urging Li not to trust the words of a "cunning merchant." Meanwhile, rescued maids identify Lu from a sketch but struggle to remember other faces because most clients wore masks. Suddenly, Gu Lingzhou storms the prison seeking vengeance for his sister.

In the chaos, Sun Zhiwang commits suicide using a pre-cracked calligraphy brush provided by the Chief Justice for a "handwritten confession." Following Sun's death, Lu Zhenglian receives a secret message and retracts his earlier statements. He mocks Li Peiyi’s "fake confession" and returns to his original alibi. With the main suspects dead or silent, Eunuch Guo and the Court of Judicial Review push to close the case, blaming everything on the deceased Hu Da and Sun Zhiwang.

Li Peiyi’s investigation is further hindered when the maids’ testimonies become vague after they are threatened by a worker from the Imperial Medical Office. Seeking a new lead, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin revisit the case of Hanxiao, the victim found in the palace wall. They confront Lou Chuo, who finally confesses he never harmed Hanxiao but rescued her while she was dying near Chunming Gate.

Before her death, Hanxiao revealed that Xiuhong House served high-ranking officials and specifically recalled a man with a distinct burn scar on his inner wrist from a banquet hosted by Consort Shu. This man had once paid to stop her from being whipped, not out of mercy, but because he found the sight of her scars "disgusting." Lou Chuo, dying from bat venom, begs Li Peiyi for justice.

To help her identify the culprits through the whip wounds she sustained while undercover, Xiao Huaijin provides medicinal incense used by his mother. The incense stains her tender, healing skin, revealing the scars' patterns without the need for Li to resort to self-harm. He warns her that as her colleague, he will protect her and no longer allow her to sacrifice her health for cases. However, their progress is stalled again when they learn Lu Zhenglian has already been authorized to be sent back to his hometown before dawn, escaping their grasp.

Li Peiyi hurried to the prison to interrogate Lu Zhenglian, only to discover that he had been processed for retirement and sent back to his hometown at dawn. The order had come directly from the palace, bypassing the usual lengthy procedures. Sensing a conspiracy to silence him before he could speak about the palace maid's death, Li Peiyi immediately set out on horseback to intercept him.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Heng and the Right Chancellor were engrossed in a game of Go when they received word of the pursuit. The Prince grew anxious, fearing Lu Zhenglian might expose their secrets. However, the Right Chancellor remained calm, advising him that even a desperate situation could be turned around. He suggested a strategy of redirection—besieging Wei to rescue Zhao—to break the deadlock and ensure Lu could never speak against them.

On the road, Lu Zhenglian’s carriage driver received a secret message via carrier pigeon. After swallowing the note, the driver intentionally steered the carriage into a massive rock. Although both survived the crash, the horse and carriage were destroyed. As Lu attempted to flee on foot, Li Peiyi caught up to him. Cornered, Lu brandished a dagger and threatened suicide, but his fear of death outweighed his resolve.

Hoping to trade information for his life, he began to confess about the Xiuhong House. However, just as officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Palace Investigation Bureau arrived, the driver pushed Lu onto Li Peiyi's sword and then took his own life. With his final breath, the driver shouted that Li Peiyi had murdered Lu, leaving her as the only suspect in the eyes of numerous witnesses.

Xiao Huaijin arrived to find Li Peiyi in a dire situation. Though she recounted the events truthfully, explaining that the driver had forced Lu onto her blade, the lack of independent witnesses made her defense weak. Despite the dubious nature of the testimonies, the Court of Judicial Review insisted on her arrest. At the palace, the Emperor was incensed by the chaos, suspecting Li Peiyi was being framed because she had touched a nerve.

Concurrently, the Ministry of Personnel fast-tracked Du Zhixing's retirement to remove Li Peiyi’s support. Even Prosecutor Gu was dismissed and made a commoner for his perceived failures. While Li Peiyi was held in prison, Wu Ren brought her food and pleaded with her to drop the investigation for her own safety. Wu Ren feared that their unknown enemies, who had already killed so many, would eventually resort to killing her as well.

Undaunted, Li Peiyi remained steadfast, insisting that Wu Ren stand by her side. At the imperial court, the Right Chancellor proposed appointing a new official to conclude Lu’s case quickly. Breaking the silence of the other ministers, Xiao Huaijin volunteered. Leveraging his position in the Astronomical Bureau and his imperial qilin badge, he received the Emperor's blessing to take over the investigation. Grand Tutor Xiao was furious with his son for diving into court disputes.

He warned Xiao Huaijin that those who could frame Li Peiyi would have no qualms about destroying him. Xiao Huaijin retorted that as long as his father remained an upright official, he had nothing to fear. He then visited Li Peiyi in jail to strategize. She pointed him toward Ruyi, the only person left who might know the identities of the patrons at Xiuhong House.

Xiao Huaijin sought out Ruyi, who spoke cryptically about watching the stars to survive her time at the house. Realizing that the bathhouse location offered no view of the sky, Xiao Huaijin deduced that Ruyi was providing a clue. He discovered a pot of Elephant Ear, a plant that "drips" at night, and found a hidden guest list tucked inside the soil. Without reading the names, Xiao Huaijin delivered the list to Eunuch Guo for the Emperor.

Shortly after, a fire broke out in the palace, allegedly caused by a cat knocking over a candle. Eunuch Guo later informed Xiao Huaijin that the Emperor was safe, though many official documents—including the list—had been destroyed. Fortunately, a surviving jailer from Lu’s accident eventually regained consciousness and testified to Li Peiyi’s innocence, leading to her release. Li Peiyi was outraged to learn that the evidence she had risked everything for was gone.

Xiao Huaijin explained that the list likely contained the names of many trusted ministers. If the Emperor had acted on it, the government would have collapsed during a time of national crisis. He suggested the Emperor had burned the list as a balancing act to maintain stability and protect Li Peiyi. Bitter and disillusioned, Li Peiyi lamented that the pillars of the country were rotten.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Heng, thinking he was safe, indulged in a private party with Vice Minister Yang and Vice Minister Yu. They enjoyed a steam bath from the Western Regions, where water is poured over heated stones. The next morning, the residence was a scene of horror: the Prince, the officials, and several dancers were all found dead. Wu Ren informed Li Peiyi of the massacre.

Having been on leave and drinking to dull her frustration, Li Peiyi found Xiao Huaijin asleep at her home. The previous night, he had visited her, expressing his commitment by discarding his qilin badge to stay by her side. He had even tried to use a heart-to-heart tactic to comfort her, though Li Peiyi jokingly called him heartless for his efforts. At Vice Minister Yang’s residence, Li Peiyi met with Prosecutor Gu, who was working as a lowly petty clerk.

Examining the bodies, she noticed their bluish lips and fingernails, suggesting they had been poisoned. Since the food and wine were clean, she concluded that the victims had inhaled a toxic vapor released by the heated stones. Xiao Huaijin arrived and noted that a person in the seat of honor was missing. A man who had arrived late with the dancers had fled. Deducing that this individual must have been poisoned as well, Li Peiyi ordered a search for any high-ranking official who had failed to report for duty that day.

As Wu Ren prepared to leave the residence, she encountered Gu Lingzhou moving a body. Gu Lingzhou, who had been reinstated as a petty clerk thanks to Li Peiyi’s intervention, watched as Li Peiyi examined the corpse. Upon uncovering the face, she discovered a plum blossom brand on the victim's neck, identical to the mark found behind Hanxiao’s ear, linking the victim to the Xiuhong House.

Seeking answers about the poison used in the recent hot spring deaths, Li Peiyi visited the retired official Du Zhixing. Now spending his days focused on toxicology and brewing his own wine, which he called Amber Glow, Du Zhixing was reluctant to share his findings until Li Peiyi threatened to pour out his precious barrel. He revealed that the toxin was a volatile mixture of Bird-poison and Aconite.

He noted that the poisoner was likely driven by immense hatred but lacked professional experience, as they had haphazardly combined every lethal substance they could think of. However, there was a third plant-based toxin he couldn't identify. He warned that while the surviving victim's life could be briefly prolonged with his prescription, a full recovery required the specific antidote for that final ingredient.

Li Peiyi then tracked down Birou, who had remained in the Western Capital while Ruyi and the others supposedly left. Birou claimed she stayed behind because her chronic illness prevented her from making a living elsewhere, so she took up blending essential oils and hair treatments. Li Peiyi noticed Birou picking nervously at a wound on her hand and asked about the other girls, but Birou insisted she had lost contact with them.

Informing Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin of a potential lead, Gu Lingzhou pointed toward Chief Justice Wu Yuekun, who had taken a sudden leave of absence and secretly summoned numerous physicians. Posing as experts capable of curing the poison, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin gained entry to the Wu mansion. Wu Yuekun’s wife, desperate and terrified, admitted that her husband had returned home early five days ago after a secret gathering at Vice Minister Yang’s house.

He had been coughing blood, and their driver was so frightened by the situation that he resigned immediately. Li Peiyi administered a pill to the unconscious Chief Justice, stating it would only sustain him for a few hours, forcing him to wake and face the truth. When Wu Yuekun regained consciousness, he initially tried to maintain a facade of innocence, claiming he was merely an accidental victim.

Xiao Huaijin and Li Peiyi countered this by spinning a calculated narrative: they suggested that if Wu Yuekun were framed as a righteous official who took the law into his own hands to poison the corrupt Prince of Heng, he would be hailed as a hero, but his entire family would still be executed for the murder of royalty. Faced with the threat of his lineage being wiped out, Wu Yuekun broke.

He confessed that the girls from Xiuhong House had approached him, suggesting they could provide "mobile" services for high-ranking officials. He claimed he only agreed out of a moment of misplaced sympathy for their lack of livelihood. Searching the residence where the girls had been kept, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin found the rooms eerily identical and devoid of any personal effects like handkerchiefs or sachets.

Li Peiyi deduced that either the evidence had been meticulously scrubbed or the girls had prepared themselves for death. Returning to the morgue, Li Peiyi discovered that the girls had saturated their hair with the deadly poison. She tested a strand against her own blood and rushed to Du Zhixing, who confirmed it matched the toxin that killed the officials in the hot spring. Li Peiyi confronted Birou one last time.

Birou revealed the harrowing truth: after realizing that the man assigned to investigate their case was actually the secret owner of Xiuhong House, the girls knew they would never find justice through the law. Ruyi had led them back to Wu Yuekun, pretending to cooperate while secretly planning a suicide mission. Because they were searched before entering officials' homes, they hid the poison in their hair. Birou had served as the poison supplier and coordinator.

Having already ingested the toxin herself, Birou died in front of Li Peiyi, but not before asking her to return Taozhi’s belongings to Gu Lingzhou. In the aftermath, a burial was held for the seven courageous women. Hanxiao’s young sister, Zhenzhen, burned paper money at the site, hoping her sister would find peace in the next life.

The Emperor issued an edict to better protect palace maids and compensate the families of the victims, while the corrupt officials’ families were exiled and Gu Lingzhou was fully reinstated. Despite the victory, Li Peiyi felt the heavy weight of the lives lost to reach the truth. As they prepared to move on, Li Peiyi recalled the presence of water-clock apprentices at various crime scenes.

She asked Xiao Huaijin to investigate the records of the apprentice sent to the Prince of Duan’s mansion fifteen years ago. Xiao Huaijin discovered that the records had been intentionally destroyed long ago. When he questioned his father, Xiao Wenyuan, he was told to stop digging into the past, yet Xiao Huaijin remained haunted by his own memories of that time. Meanwhile, in the palace, a maid named Fangsheng was terrified by a ghostly silhouette and a child’s voice calling for its mother, eventually collapsing in fear.

Fangsheng is terrified by the conviction that a ghostly child is growing inside her, as her belly has unnaturally swollen to the size of a full-term pregnancy overnight. She begs Li Peiyi for help, fearing she will be consumed from within like a tragic case from her hometown.

After observing the girl’s distress, Li Peiyi notes that the symptoms appear physical and suggests waiting until after the hour of the Wu, when yang energy is at its peak, to perform an exorcism. While investigating Hanliang Hall, Li Peiyi discovers that since the sudden death of Lady Wang at the start of the month, only Fangsheng and Ruisheng remain.

Curiously, despite the hall's seclusion, their meals have recently improved to include meat and vegetables, though the deliveries are left anonymously at the door for the maids to collect. Suspecting food tampering intended to induce bloating, Li Peiyi organizes a midnight "ghost hunt." Wuren teases her, claiming the timing is just an excuse to see Xiao Huaijin, a suggestion Li Peiyi meets with a knowing smile.

At the hall, Xiao Huaijin questions the maids about potential enemies, but both insist they are newcomers who rarely leave. Xiao Huaijin provides Fangsheng with "Three-Purity Water" to calm her spirit and notes that the ghostly activity began on the twelfth, which was the seventh night after Lady Wang’s passing. As night falls, the team hears the wailing of a child and sees a distorted shadow against the window.

Li Peiyi chases a masked, black-clad figure through the alleys while Wuren attempts to corner them. Though the culprit escapes, the team discovers a bronze mirror and a polished lens used to project shadow puppets via moonlight. Li Peiyi is puzzled as to why someone would go to such lengths to terrify the maids without committing theft or murder. However, Xiao Huaijin finds distinct footprints in the ash he previously scattered.

The prints suggest the culprit is either a tall woman or a slight man who walks with a leftward lean and wears oversized hemp rope shoes. Li Peiyi identifies the puppet strings as high-quality silk-wrapped cords used by the Music Office. The next morning, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin examine Lady Wang’s remaining belongings: a ruan and a wooden dressing case.

Fangsheng reveals that Lady Wang was deeply attached to the box, often crying or laughing over its contents in private. Xiao Huaijin opens the complex mortise-and-tenon lock by aligning the star patterns of the Wings mansion, revealing several mysterious items. These are taken to the retired official Du Zhixing at the Palace Investigation Bureau for identification, though the former official is more preoccupied with his wine and dreams than the case.

Following the lead of the silk strings, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin visit the Music Office to observe the performers Tang Qinniang and the pipa player Jin Ahao. While Li Peiyi suspects the former due to her large, nimble hands, Xiao Huaijin bets on Jin Ahao, noting the strength in his right hand. During a solo of "Crossing a Thousand Mountains"—the same melody Lady Wang often played—Jin Ahao performs with fierce intensity but remains silent.

After the show, Li Peiyi confronts Jin Ahao, confirming through a brief exchange of blows that his bone structure matches the figure from Hanliang Hall. Xiao Huaijin finds a matching dressing case in Jin’s room containing the puppets and threads. Caught, Jin Ahao reveals she is actually a woman who disguises herself as a man to avoid the harassment of nobles. Jin Ahao explains her sisterly bond with Lady Wang, whose real name was Yushu.

Yushu had come from a wealthy family to refine her craft and had protected the vulnerable Jin Ahao when they first entered the palace. They had planned to travel the world together once their service ended. However, after the Emperor was captivated by Yushu’s performance, she was made a Selected Lady, only to be neglected in Hanliang Hall. Despite her isolation, Yushu remained resilient until two months ago, when she began showing signs of pregnancy.

Shortly after Jin Ahao discovered this secret, Yushu reportedly died of a sudden cold. Refusing to believe the healthy Yushu died naturally, Jin Ahao orchestrated the haunting to force an investigation into the death. Li Peiyi takes a sachet belonging to Yushu and finds that official records list only a "death from cold," with the attending physician conveniently on a long leave. To find the truth, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin infiltrate the imperial mausoleum using a qilin badge.

Inside the coffin, they find Yushu’s body preserved by ice, her face contorted in agony. Li Peiyi uses a piece of cured meat to test the red spots on the skin, proving they are subcutaneous bleeding rather than natural lividity. Upon finding the underside of Yushu’s tongue is black, Li Peiyi confirms she was poisoned. The duo realizes that in the palace, hatred is rarely the only motive for such a calculated murder.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin examined Lady Wang’s remains in the morgue, discovering that the fetus was at least four months old, a detail missing from her medical records. Their investigation was interrupted when a swarm of butterflies, attracted by decay, entered through a vent and converged on the coffin. The butterflies' wings had been coated in flint powder, which ignited in the heat, causing the body to rot and burn.

Xiao Huaijin noted that these butterflies typically inhabit damp marshes, yet the Mortuary Hall was dry, proving they were intentionally released. Furthermore, the official catalpa coffin had been replaced with flammable river willow and packed with pine shavings to accelerate the fire. Li Peiyi discouraged the guard from reporting the incident to avoid execution for negligence and instead enlisted him to help find the culprit.

During an inspection of the servants, she identified Wang Dejun as a suspect after he gave an oddly specific arrival time while claiming to cover a shift for his colleague, Liang Weishan. At the Palace Investigation Bureau, Xiao Huaijin used stinging insects to psychologically pressure Wang Dejun. Although the suspect initially claimed he had simply washed his hands with bath beans, Li Peiyi’s quick reflexes saved him from an assassin’s arrow fired from the shadows.

Terrified, Wang Dejun confessed that a hooded woman in black had paid him a string of coins to release the butterflies. He revealed he had hidden the woman's expensive butterfly box under a corridor near the Mortuary Hall. While Li Peiyi sent men to retrieve the evidence, she released Wang Dejun despite his pleas to remain in custody for protection.

The investigation moved to Hanliang Hall, where the maids Ruisheng and Fangsheng described Lady Wang as a solitary woman whose only notable visitor was Consort Wei. While the maids handled her food, her "pregnancy tonic" was delivered separately by a physician who had recently vanished in a shipwreck.

Xiao Huaijin noticed that the begonias in the room were wilting unnaturally and discovered that the pots contained remnants of the tonic—a mixture of white peony root, mulberry mistletoe, and honey-fried licorice—laced with poison. To identify the toxin, Li Peiyi tested it on her retired master, Du Zhixing, by sneaking it into his soup.

Although the poison caused him temporary distress, he identified it as "Yunxiang Powder" from Annan, a slow-acting substance that leaves red, flower-shaped marks on the skin seven days after death. Du Zhixing directed them to Heiya, a dealer in the Ghost Market. Despite his warning, Li Peiyi used Du’s name to gain entry. Heiya led them into a secret chamber, praising the "elegance" of Yunxiang Powder before trapping them inside with a ferocious alligator (Tuolong).

Heiya had surreptitiously left a bloody handprint on Li’s clothes to lure the beast toward her, but she managed to incapacitate the creature using a Softening Powder. Realizing his employers would kill him for his failure, Heiya committed suicide by throwing himself onto Li’s blade. Li recovered a partially burnt ledger from the shop and later used it to trick Du Zhixing into trading a secret bureau key he had kept since his retirement.

As they searched for Lady Wang’s secret lover, the investigators realized that the "nightly chanting" sessions Lady Wang’s maids observed actually lasted over two hours because she used long-burning ghee lamps. This window allowed her to slip away unnoticed. Based on her walking speed, they located a renovated room in the abandoned Cheng’en Palace. However, while investigating the room, they were locked inside as candles laced with Mi Hun Xiang—a lust-inducing incense—began to burn.

Xiao Huaijin, fighting the fumes, insisted Li Peiyi tie him up to prevent him from dishonoring her. As the incense took hold, Li Peiyi nearly succumbed but regained enough clarity to knock Xiao unconscious and use silver needles to stabilize herself before collapsing. The following morning, rumors of a tryst between the two spread throughout the palace, fueled by a maid named Youlan.

Wu Ren confronted the gossiping maids, fabricating a scandalous story about Youlan and a guard to silence her. When Li Peiyi finally regained consciousness, she revealed to Wu Ren that the public scandal was an intentional part of her plan; she wanted the noise to be loud enough to force the true perpetrator to reveal themselves while investigating the fallout of the trap.

The scandal at Cheng’en Palace has reached the Emperor, who has entrusted the investigation to Consort Shu. When Li Peiyi arrives at Consort Shu's palace, she finds Consort Wei already there, feigning concern about the "poor feng shui" of the residence. Li Peiyi pointedly reveals that Lady Wang had been using the palace for secret trysts before her death.

Consort Wei attempts to deflect by bringing up the rumors regarding Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin’s night together in a room filled with aphrodisiac incense. Li Peiyi calmly explains that they used silver needles to maintain their clarity and avoid the trap. Consort Shu, who raised Li Peiyi and has always treated her with the highest favor, fiercely defends her foster daughter’s character, prompting a cautious Consort Wei to excuse herself.

To protect Li Peiyi’s reputation and the royal family's honor, Consort Shu proposes requesting a marriage decree from the Emperor. Although Li Peiyi is indifferent to public gossip, she agrees to the marriage to ensure Consort Shu is not disgraced. Before leaving, Li Peiyi learns that Consort Wei’s son, Li Zheng (the Prince of Xin), was personally responsible for the renovations at Cheng’en Palace, giving him unrestricted access. She immediately tasks Wu Ren with investigating the Prince.

At the Xiao Mansion, Grand Tutor Xiao Wenyuan is in a state of fury, fearing the scandal will endanger the entire family. When Xiao Huaijin asks about Li Peiyi’s true identity and why his father is so terrified of her, Wenyuan remains evasive and orders his son to stay away from her. Huaijin remains resolute, declaring he is willing to ask for a marriage decree to protect her, which only further enrages his father.

Li Peiyi soon arrives at the mansion, confronting Wenyuan about his fear of her lineage. She reveals she recognized the scent of the incense on Xiao Huaijin as the same fragrance present during the massacre at Prince Duan’s estate fifteen years ago. Furthermore, she recalls that Wenyuan was present when she nearly drowned as a child, suggesting the stories she was told about her past were lies.

When Wenyuan refuses to speak and curses her as an "ill-starred jinx," Huaijin leads her away. Outside, Li Peiyi bluntly admits to Huaijin that she has been using him to uncover the truth from the very beginning. Meanwhile, the investigation into Lady Wang’s death deepens. Du Zhixing discovers that the trinkets in her box—mementos from places like Jinling and Penglai—represented her unfulfilled dream of seeing the world.

He also confirms she had a "Breath-Stopping Pill" hidden in her sachet, likely intended for a plan to fake her death and escape the palace with her lover. As the leads split up to investigate the work stoppage at the palace, Wu Ren notices that Huaijin seems to be avoiding Li Peiyi, leaving her puzzled. At the Prince of Xin’s mansion, Li Peiyi questions Li Zheng about his relationship with Lady Wang.

He claims they were merely friends bound by their love for music. However, when his concubine, Jinghe, intentionally spills a tray of refreshments to prevent Li Peiyi from testing them with a special powder, Li Peiyi realizes Jinghe is acting as a shield for the Prince. A subsequent visit to the Music Office confirms that the Prince and Lady Wang were once inseparable, but he stopped visiting once she was promoted.

The truth finally emerges when the musician Jin Ahao visits the Prince to play a specific tune. She intentionally plays a wrong note, and the Prince’s instinctive reaction proves his intimate knowledge of Lady Wang’s musical style. Realizing he is the one who got Lady Wang pregnant and indirectly caused her death, Jin Ahao stabs him. Li Peiyi arrives in time to prevent a fatal blow, and while the Prince survives, Jin Ahao is imprisoned.

Consort Wei arrives at the Palace Investigation Bureau demanding a harsh punishment for the assassin. However, Li Peiyi produces a candle from the room where she was entrapped, explaining that because the wax had not fully set, it captured a unique fingerprint. Trapped by this evidence, Jinghe steps forward to confess. She admits to being deeply in love with the Prince and had discovered his affair with Lady Wang.

Fearing that the Prince’s reckless behavior would ruin his reputation, Jinghe claims she acted alone to kill Lady Wang and set the trap for Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin to bury the secret forever. Consort Wei reveals that she had allowed Jinghe to become the Prince's concubine because of her devoted nature, unaware of the lengths the woman would go to "protect" him.

Jinghe confesses that after discovering Li Zheng and Yushu were planning something significant involving Breath-Stopping Pills, she tampered with the medicinal decoction to protect the Prince's reputation. Li Peiyi remains skeptical, doubting a mere maid would have the audacity to poison a consort alone. While Consort Wei attempts to distance herself by calling for Jinghe’s punishment, her primary concern is ensuring her son, Li Zheng, is not implicated in a scandal.

Li Peiyi blocks the Consort’s departure and presents a ruan that Consort Wei had previously gifted to Yushu, noting it remained untouched, which symbolizes Yushu’s rejection of the life Wei offered. Peiyi reveals that Consort Wei had actually placed Jinghe by Li Zheng’s side to spy on him. When the Prince eventually confessed that Yushu was pregnant and he intended to help her escape, the Consort was paralyzed by fear of the Emperor’s wrath.

Flashbacks reveal that Consort Wei had visited Yushu, urging her to accept the "blessing" of her status. Yushu, however, viewed the palace as a cage and prioritized her freedom, telling the Consort that "happiness" in the palace was merely self-deception. Despite being warned that the escape plan was life-threatening, Yushu remained committed to her child’s future.

Realizing Yushu had summoned a medical officer—which threatened to expose the situation—Consort Wei bribed the official to switch the escape pills for lethal Yunxiang Powder. Overhearing this, a devastated Li Zheng confronts his mother for murdering the woman he loved. The investigation further clarifies that while Consort Wei assumed the child was a result of a tryst with her son, the fetus was actually five months old—the Emperor’s own biological child from his single night with Yushu.

To protect the royal reputation and avoid a massive scandal, Li Peiyi allows the truth to be buried. Consort Wei fabricates a story claiming she executed Yushu to maintain palace order after the girl attempted to flee. Li Peiyi uses this leverage to save Ahao, gifting her a valuable ruan as she leaves the palace to fulfill Yushu’s dream of traveling the world.

Meanwhile, Li Zheng, unable to endure the guilt of his mother’s actions and the tragic "misalignment" of everyone's intentions, decides to leave his mansion. Shortly after his departure, Jinghe takes her own life out of remorse. Retribution finds Consort Wei on the bridge at Chenxiang Pavilion. While walking with the Emperor, she is suddenly attacked by a swarm of crows that peck at her face.

Li Peiyi discovers that Fangsheng and Ruisheng orchestrated the attack to avenge Yushu by staining the Consort’s clothes with the juice of xiangsi fruit, which attracted the birds. Li Peiyi chooses to let the matter rest, reporting that the evidence was destroyed. Consequently, Li Zheng is sent to the desolate Northwest borders, Consort Wei descends into madness and is confined to Qinghui Palace, and Li Peiyi remains the Emperor’s favored county mistress.

A few days later, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin share a drink at Swallow House. She apologizes for the harsh words she previously directed at his father, explaining she only meant to counter the old man's insults. Xiao Huaijin dismisses it, remarking that true friendship is built on a cycle of mutual debts and connections. As they listen to the music of "Crossing a Thousand Mountains," Peiyi reflects on how the melody feels more profound outside the palace walls. However, the peace is shattered when the newly recovered Consort Li suddenly coughs up blood and collapses during a musical performance with the Emperor.

Consort Li suddenly vomited blood and passed away shortly after recovering from a previous illness. Upon investigating, Physician Song, the Imperial Medical Director, observed that her purple fingertips and pale eyelids indicated chronic poisoning rather than a sudden natural death. Li Peiyi visited the Consort’s dark chambers and learned from a maid that the Consort avoided candles to preserve her complexion.

On the vanity, Li Peiyi found various refined cosmetics, such as Jade Dust face cream and angelica root powder, which helped the thirty-seven-year-old Consort maintain a youthful appearance. However, the most suspicious discovery was a stash of unmarked medicinal pills hidden inside a lampstand. Testing revealed these were non-toxic "Xiaoyao" pills used to balance qi and blood. Li Peiyi discovered that a female technician named Pei Yu had secretly visited the Consort to take her pulse ten days prior.

At the Imperial Medical Office, Li Peiyi found Pei Yu being punished with copying medical texts by Physician Song for her lack of discipline. Pei Yu admitted she had been providing beauty pills for the Consort in secret, as female technicians were forbidden from prescribing medicine. She insisted her recipe—containing safflower and gleditsia spines—was harmless. However, she soon realized that her pills contained a small amount of veratrum, which becomes lethal when combined with ginseng.

Li Peiyi confirmed that the Consort’s mother, Madam Zheng, had recently sent high-quality ginseng, which she had personally boiled with ginger into malt candy to mask its taste. Consort Li had been consuming this fatal combination unknowingly for days. The Emperor fined Physician Song three months' salary for his lack of oversight but left Pei Yu’s punishment to Song’s discretion.

Song later explained to Li Peiyi that he had rescued Pei Yu, an orphan with a natural genius for medicine, years ago. Despite her blunt personality, her talent had often saved him from difficult medical dilemmas. Days later, a seasonal epidemic began to spread through the palace. While visiting the Imperial Medical Office, Li Peiyi witnessed Medical Supervisor Huang prescribing a general "Cinnamon Twig Decoction" for the sick.

Pei Yu boldly interrupted, arguing that the treatment was unsuitable for patients who were not sweating or had specific pulses, as it could worsen their condition. Supervisor Huang took offense, but Li Peiyi silenced his gossip by challenging him to bring any evidence of Pei Yu’s alleged "crimes" to the Bureau of Palace Ladies. Amidst the chaos of the epidemic, the Neishi Cheng of the Yeting Palace, who was responsible for distributing supplies to the sick, went missing.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin searched his quarters and found his boots left by the bed, suggesting he had been surprised in the middle of the night. Xiao discovered the eunuch’s body hidden behind a cabinet; he had been killed with a heavy iron tea kettle. Blood spatters on the victim's collar suggested the killer was suffering from the epidemic, as the pattern matched blood coughed up during a violent fit.

When Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin entered the side hall to find the culprit, many desperate patients vied to confess. Eventually, an elderly patient named Old Chai admitted the truth. He explained that as the epidemic worsened, the Neishi Cheng and his staff had become neglectful out of fear of infection, leaving the sick with only one meal and one dose of medicine a day in a cold, damp hall.

Old Chai had sneaked into the eunuch’s room to steal food for the weakest patients and struck the official in a panic when he threatened to call the guards. Li Peiyi moved the selfless man to a private room, but he succumbed to his illness that same night. The situation became critical when the young prince also contracted the illness.

With existing treatments failing, Li Peiyi suggested that the Emperor gather prescriptions from everyone in the Imperial Medical Office to benefit from collective wisdom. However, when Pei Yu pointed out a fatal flaw in a prescription submitted by a senior physician, she was met with verbal abuse and dismissed because of her gender.

Li Peiyi arrived to end the confrontation, warning the senior doctors that whether the issue was incompetence or a deliberate attempt to seek fame at the risk of the prince's life, the Bureau of Palace Ladies would investigate every detail.

Pei Yu’s career faced a crisis when her patient, Liu Jia, died after taking her prescription. While Physician Liu mocked her and Eunuch Guo moved to have her investigated by the Palace Investigation Bureau, Pei Yu insisted her formula was safe, noting that her mentor, Physician Song, had previously vetted it.

Since the body had already been cremated to prevent the spread of the disease, she begged Li Peiyi to help her find the utensils Liu Jia had used to prove the medicine itself was not lethal. During this time, Xiao Huaijin discovered that Li Peiyi had contracted the epidemic.

Weak and fearful, she gave Xiao her final instructions through her door, asking him to look after the aging Du Zhixing and help arrange a marriage for her attendant, Wuren, with Gu Lingzhou. Distraught, Xiao sought medicine and even turned to divination for her safety, a gesture that deeply touched her. To clear Pei Yu's name and test the cure, Li Peiyi courageously volunteered to try the medicine herself, and she eventually made a full recovery.

Xiao’s investigation later revealed that Liu Jia had a pre-existing stomach condition, which he had hidden by taking stomach medicine before the trial. Furthermore, the "random" selection of Liu Jia was rigged by Physician Huang Futong, who used alum water to make the target slip reveal its writing when touched by Liu Jia's damp fingers. Despite this discovery, Huang Futong remained arrogant because the physical evidence had been destroyed.

Soon after, Physician Song was found dead, having apparently suffered a stroke and drowned in his basin of medicinal steam. Huang Futong immediately accused Pei Yu of murder, citing a recent argument between her and her mentor, though Pei Yu maintained that such bickering was a normal part of their relationship. As the young prince recovered under Pei Yu's care, Su Jieyu requested a reward for her.

Seeking to set a trap, Huang Futong praised Pei Yu before the Emperor to force her into a public oath to eradicate the epidemic within fifteen days or resign. Pei Yu overheard Huang and Physician Liu mocking her, realizing they were certain she would fail. However, Huang's arrogance turned to terror when he found a headless rat in his bed, which he interpreted as a death threat.

Although Xiao determined that a weasel had actually bitten off the rat's head, Huang was killed shortly after when a heavy millstone was triggered to fall from a roof, crushing him. Investigating the scene, Xiao and Li Peiyi realized the killer had used a rake and a rope to drop the stone from a nearby room.

While Physician Liu tried to pin the crime on Pei Yu, she remained focused on a more pressing crisis: the current cure required rare ingredients like rhino horn and pearls, which were too expensive for the palace servants. Pei Yu dedicated herself to finding an affordable alternative as the death toll among the lower ranks continued to rise.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin confront Xia Shisan, the butcher for the Imperial Food Service, presenting their theory that he murdered Supervisor Huang Futong. They suspect Xia used a cart to force Huang into a specific path, where he then triggered a heavy millstone to fall from a roof.

Though Xia remains composed and claims he only parked the cart to save labor, the investigators find him highly suspicious; despite his messy work with meat, his sleeves are spotless, and his knife skills are far too precise for a common servant. The investigation takes a gruesome turn when Huang Futong’s body is moved to the mortuary, only for workers to find it professionally disemboweled.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin note that the incisions are exceptionally neat, suggesting the work of a skilled medical practitioner. While Xiao orders extra guards, Li, weary of the desecration and the spreading epidemic, suggests the bodies be burned immediately. That night, Xiao comforts a restless Li by observing a Moon-Venus conjunction, viewing it as an omen of harmony.

To uncover the truth, Gu Lingzhou and Wu Ren travel to Wanzhou to visit Benevolence Hall, where the technician known as Pei Yu allegedly studied. The headmaster speaks of Pei Yu as their greatest success but reveals a shocking discrepancy: the portrait of Pei Yu is that of a boy, not the woman currently in the palace. The headmaster recalls that as a child, Pei Yu had brought a nameless orphan girl to the hall.

She was a strange child who collected animal carcasses to study their anatomy, eventually frightening the other students so much that she was moved to the back mountains. Pei Yu continued to care for her until he was recruited for the palace by Physician Song Huaiyou. While the girl vanished shortly after, the headmaster notes that "Pei Yu" only recently began writing letters back to Wanzhou.

Back in the capital, suspicion falls on the female technician, Ying, who has assumed Pei Yu's identity. Li Peiyi confronts her after more bodies are found mutilated in the mortuary. Ying maintains that she only seeks to save lives, though Li senses a coldness in her demeanor. The investigation shifts back to Xia Shisan when medical books and daggers matching the incisions on the corpses are found in his room.

However, before he can be apprehended, Xia is found dead at the Clothing Bureau. Li and Xiao discover Ying standing over his body, having disemboweled him as well. She uses his blood as ink to write a detailed medical record, begging Li to deliver it to the Medical Office to help cure the epidemic before she collapses from exhaustion.

Once in custody, Ying confesses to the murders of Song Huaiyou and Huang Futong, claiming she is a monster driven by slaughter. However, Xiao Huaijin’s forensic examination of the scene and the coroner’s report on Xia Shisan tell a different story. The fatal wound to Xia’s neck was made at an angle suggesting he committed suicide while kneeling.

Furthermore, blood splatter patterns reveal that Ying had stood directly in front of him to block the spray, explaining why she was covered in blood while the walls remained clean. The final layer of the mystery is revealed through the discovery of a medicine pouch among Xia’s things. Li Peiyi learns that Ying and Xia Shisan—the real Pei Yu—had been meeting secretly for years.

They used rainy days as a signal; whenever Ying delivered rheumatism medicine to Su Jieyu, Xia would swap shifts to meet her. As orphans, they were kindred spirits. When Physician Song Huaiyou was impressed by a formula Ying had written, the real Pei Yu forced her to take his identity to enter the palace for a better life. He eventually castrated himself to follow her as a eunuch, vowing to clear any obstacles from her path.

He had killed Consort Li after she tried to blackmail Ying into poisoning Consort Shu. Finally, knowing he was dying of the epidemic, he committed suicide in front of Ying so she could study his internal organs to find a cure, ensuring her talent and compassion would not be wasted.

Driven by a singular desire to see Ying become the most exceptional physician of her time, the man she knew as Pei Yu—who was actually the real Xia Shisan—committed himself to removing every obstacle in her path. Years ago, after an eunuch died of illness, Ying had performed an unauthorized autopsy to study the disease. When the head of the Imperial Medical Office, Physician Song Huaiyou, discovered her secret through her prescriptions, Ying confessed.

Knowing that unauthorized dissection was a capital offense, Song Huaiyou planned for Ying to flee the palace immediately to save her life. However, Pei Yu refused to let her dreams be sacrificed. He meticulously orchestrated Song’s death by serving him a meal of lamb noodle soup combined with blood-agitating herbs like Angelica and donkey-hide gelatin. This combination, paired with the emotional stress of their confrontation, induced a stroke.

Pei Yu then submerged the helpless physician in his own medicinal steam bath, making the murder look like an accidental drowning. Ying was devastated and furious upon learning of Pei Yu’s actions and vowed never to see him again. Despite her anger, she remained consumed by her research but struggled to find a cure for the spreading epidemic. She resorted to sneaking into the mortuary at night to examine bodies, but found no clues because the corpses were too old.

Eventually, Pei Yu himself contracted the disease. He summoned Ying one last time, urging her to find a cure and insisting that she needed a fresh body to succeed. He then took his own life in front of her. Overcome with grief but driven by his sacrifice, Ying immediately dissected his body, finally locating the disease's focus and developing a prescription that would save hundreds of lives.

Reflecting on the tragedy, Li Peiyi lamented the societal prejudice that forced a talented woman like Ying into such dark corners. In prison, Ying attempted to take her own life by swallowing poison, but Li Peiyi arrived just in time to save her. Soon after, Eunuch Guo arrived with an imperial decree: because Ying’s new prescription had successfully halted the epidemic, the Emperor summoned her. At the palace, Ying confessed her crimes and begged for death.

While Minister Wei demanded her execution for the terror caused by the murders, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin stood by her. They argued that the tragedy was born from the Imperial Medical Office’s discrimination; if women had been allowed to practice openly, Ying would never have had to work in secret. Impressed by her contribution, the Emperor issued a special pardon. He ordered the medical office's regulations be revised to allow anyone, regardless of gender, to practice based on merit.

Ying was tasked with continuing Song’s legacy and training new students. Her only request was to return Pei Yu's remains to his hometown. Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin accompanied Ying to the Benevolence Hall in Wanzhou. The elderly headmaster was heartbroken to receive Pei Yu’s ashes. While the others waited outside, they were suddenly alerted that something was wrong. Entering a room, they found that Ying had taken her own life to join Pei Yu in death.

She left a final letter requesting that her medical notes be given to Physician Liu to aid her colleagues. Li Peiyi provided funds for the burial and requested a new portrait featuring both of them together as a warning and inspiration for future generations. In a final vision, Ying reunited with a younger Pei Yu in a forest of fireflies, remembering the night he gave her the name Xia Ying.

On the journey back to the Western Capital, Li Peiyi expressed her determination to uncover the truth behind her family's massacre. They detoured to Ping'en County in Mingzhou to visit Li Peiyi’s uncle, Wu Siping. The Wu estate was lavishly decorated, yet Li Peiyi noticed her uncle’s wife, Madam Wu, was strangely cold, claiming their six-year-old son was too sickly to meet guests. During dinner, Wu Siping served fresh sliced bass, a local delicacy.

Xiao Huaijin, noticing the day's elemental alignment, advised against eating fish, while Li Peiyi explained she had never eaten fish since nearly drowning during the night of her family’s tragedy. Wu Siping, who claimed to have been close with her family, seemed surprisingly ignorant of this trauma. Xiao Huaijin later followed a servant and discovered that the young son was being kept in a remote, isolated courtyard.

When questioned about his sudden retirement from the Crown Prince's Mansion, Wu Siping claimed it was due to poor health. He echoed the narrative that Li Peiyi’s father, the Prince of Duan, had succumbed to madness following his military defeats. He also confirmed a crucial detail: he had visited Li Peiyi’s home on the day of the massacre to give her new clothes, proving she had indeed been present.

That night, Xiao Huaijin shared his suspicions about the hidden child and the rehearsed nature of Wu Siping's story. The following morning, a servant discovered Wu Siping dead in his room. Madam Wu and the servants claimed to have heard nothing during the night’s heavy thunderstorm. Li Peiyi insisted on investigating the scene, but because the victim had suffered a gruesome injury to his lower body, Xiao Huaijin blindfolded her and acted as her eyes.

He described the room's arrangement, which was strictly designed for wealth. Wu Siping’s body was found suspended over his bed from a beam. Magistrate Wen Yuqing arrived to find that while no valuables were missing, the entire household had been drugged with Datura flowers hidden in the mosquito incense. Only Wu Siping had remained awake, having been given blood-activating medicine containing herbs like Szechuan Lovage and Cinnamon to ensure he bled to death in agony.

Li Peiyi questioned Madam Wu about any local adversaries, as the murder of Wu Siping seemed to lack a monetary motive. Madam Wu asserted their business primarily involved rural farmers and southern merchants, so they had limited contact with locals and no known enemies. Soon after, the servant A Wang reported that the side door to Young Master Wu Mujin's detached residence was open. Li Peiyi, accompanied by Xiao Huaijin and Madam Wu, proceeded to investigate.

Li Peiyi noted the courtyard appeared poorly maintained, but Madam Wu attributed this to the constant shedding of bamboo leaves. Li Peiyi found it unusual that Madam Wu prioritized checking the door over her son after a family tragedy. A Wang then explained that Wu Siping had designed the door to "gather energy" according to geomantic principles and had installed a special lock, forbidding anyone but himself from using it.

Madam Wu initially tried to prevent Li Peiyi from seeing Wu Mujin, claiming he was too frail. Inside Wu Mujin's room, the child greeted the visitors. He explained that his father required him to go to bed at the Xu hour each night, and he often fell asleep watching bamboo shadows on the wall. Xiao Huaijin noticed a unique incense burning in the room.

He gently asked Wu Mujin about his sleep, and the boy admitted the stormy night with strong wind, rain, thunder, and lightning had frightened him, causing him to sleep poorly. He then revealed that a powerful lightning flash, making his room as bright as day, woke him, and he saw a figure pass by his window. Li Peiyi attempted to extract more details about the figure's appearance, but Wu Mujin was visibly scared and looked to Madam Wu before speaking.

To help the child, Xiao Huaijin used leaves to create a human silhouette, and Wu Mujin then adjusted them to match the shape he remembered. Li Peiyi encouraged him, promising to catch his father's killer if he could recall the person's appearance. As they exited the detached residence, Li Peiyi confronted Madam Wu about her apparent dislike for Wu Mujin.

Madam Wu admitted that due to her inability to bear children, she disliked children, but clarified that placing Wu Mujin in the detached residence was Wu Siping's decision. She explained that Wu Siping, deeply reverent of Xu Daoyin, had specifically requested a geomantic formation to house Wu Mujin there, as he relied on Xu Daoyin for all major decisions and even maintained a shrine for him in the manor.

Madam Wu reiterated that Wu Mujin's detached residence was arranged with a geomantic formation, limiting access, and specified that only Mr. Zhong, whose Four Pillars of Destiny aligned with the location, was permitted to care for Wu Mujin. A Wang confirmed that Mr. Zhong's room also contained the same type of incense, which contained a specific flower (implied to be Datura).

Eager to learn more about Xu Daoyin, Li Peiyi asked A Wang to lead them to Xu Daoyin's shrine within the Wu residence. At the shrine, many jade tokens, acquired through monetary offerings to Xu Daoyin for blessings, were displayed. A Wang suggested they offer incense. As Li Peiyi bowed her head, she noticed bloodstains on the base of Xu Daoyin's statue.

She speculated that the killer had deliberately left this as a clue, noting that the shape Wu Mujin had described earlier resembled the statue. As they returned from the shrine, Li Peiyi felt a sudden dizziness.

Xiao Huaijin explained that the courtyard's feng shui—its cold and damp environment, dense bamboo blocking sunlight, and elements like a peach wood stake in the Li position which caused "fire to clash with wood"—was actually a harmful arrangement, draining auspicious energy and inhibiting the gathering of qi. He warned that if Wu Mujin continued to live there, he might not survive three years, suggesting this layout was responsible for the child's chronic illness and Li Peiyi's discomfort.

Li Peiyi recalled that the stone blocks in the courtyard had been moved from their original position near the peach wood. Xiao Huaijin deduced that while the formation was initially designed to be detrimental, someone had subtly altered it, suggesting a hidden effort to protect Wu Mujin amidst attempts to harm him. He noted that such a restrictive and dark environment would debilitate even a healthy adult, let alone a child.

During this discussion, Li Peiyi reflected on her method of detaching from the emotional toll of cases by leaving a "self" behind with each completed investigation, allowing her current self to move forward unburdened, a strategy Xiao Huaijin expressed interest in trying. A subordinate then reported finding medicine dregs in the grass outside Wu Siping’s bedroom.

Xiao Huaijin identified the herbs, including Dang Gui, cinnamon, Sichuan lovage, Achyranthes root, plantain seed, and safflower, as ingredients for "Tuohua Decoction," a labor-inducing medicine. He noted that the quantity of blood-activating herbs, Dang Gui and Sichuan lovage, far exceeded normal dosages, a mixture that could cause fatal bleeding during childbirth.

He emphasized that the Imperial Medical Office had long prohibited the unsupervised use of this powerful concoction, though its readily available ingredients meant it was still used in folk medicine. Soon after, a servant informed them that Madam Wu now suspected Wu Mujin of Wu Siping's murder, influenced by the fact that only Wu Mujin's incense did not contain Datura flowers.

She had moved the boy from his detached residence to a room next to her own to monitor him closely. Li Peiyi found this accusation against a frail child absurd. Wu Ren and Gu Lingzhou arrived, with Wu Ren playfully reprimanding Li Peiyi for not including them in the investigation. With time pressing, Li Peiyi, accompanied by Xiao Huaijin, Wu Ren, and Gu Lingzhou, immediately set off for Qingtan Town to visit Xu Daoyin.

Upon reaching Xu Daoyin's manor, they were initially halted at the gate, being told to join a queue for the Heaven-Inquiry Ceremony. However, Li Peiyi presented Wu Siping's jade token, securing their entry as honored guests. A manor servant led them to a courtyard owned by Wu Siping within the manor to rest. Xiao Huaijin observed that the entire manor was a vast geomantic formation, designed according to the Big Dipper constellation with the mountain as its backing.

He pointed out that the side gate they had entered through was strategically placed as the "Gate of Life" within this elaborate setup, implying other hidden exits. This complex design, he believed, was intended to deter outsiders from freely exploring, hinting at many secrets hidden within. Gu Lingzhou and Wu Ren attempted to scout the manor but found its winding paths and dense foliage impenetrable, concealing any buildings beyond Wu Siping's courtyard.

They concluded that Xu Daoyin was no ordinary charlatan. That evening, as Xiao Huaijin gazed at the stars, Li Peiyi joined him, reflecting on her original purpose for joining the Palace Investigation Bureau: to uncover the truth behind her family's massacre. Xiao Huaijin, in turn, revealed his presence was due to a promise made to an old friend, acknowledging their shared past burdens. Li Peiyi expressed hope that the stars would guide them to answers.

The next day, Xu Daoyin's grand Heaven-Inquiry Ceremony began. During the performance, a ritual bell appeared to float magically, followed by the startling illusion of Xu Daoyin's head separating from his body before he seemingly vanished. This spectacle plunged the audience into a panic, with manor staff attempting to calm them by claiming Xu Daoyin had been "summoned to Heaven." Asserting the authority of the Palace Investigation Bureau, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin rushed onto the stage.

They quickly discovered an intricate mechanism. Xiao Huaijin noted a perfectly flat incision on the victim's neck, suggesting a precise cut beyond human capability, yet no visible blade on the altar. Behind a curtain, Li Peiyi discovered a human head, prompting her to question its identity. Lady Yue, identifying herself as Xu Daoyin's immortal companion, appeared and greeted Li Peiyi with polite surprise, then suggested Li Peiyi report the incident to Wu Siping.

Li Peiyi informed her of Wu Siping's death and inquired if Xu Daoyin had any enemies. Lady Yue tried to dismiss the incident as divine judgment for unknown transgressions, but Li Peiyi sternly warned her against continued deception, reminding her that Xu Daoyin's fate was uncertain. Lady Yue then identified the decapitated body as Liu San, Xu Daoyin's protector. However, Xiao Huaijin exposed the truth: Liu San was a mere stand-in for an illusion.

He explained that Xu Daoyin would initially appear before a curtain, making a ritual bell seem to float by hanging it on a hidden hook, the dark curtain blending with moonlight to enhance the effect. Then, during the distraction of molten iron sparks, Xu Daoyin and Liu San, dressed identically with matching face covers, would switch places.

Xu Daoyin would reveal his head above the curtain from a platform behind, while Liu San remained on the altar as the "body," creating the illusion of decapitation through light, shadow, and smoke. Xiao Huaijin clarified that while Xu Daoyin's "head" vanished during the iron sparks, Liu San's actual decapitation and the subsequent blood spurt indicated a real murder, far more complex than a simple illusion. Li Peiyi, now convinced of a deliberate murder, warned Lady Yue against further lies.

Gu Lingzhou discovered thin copper wires, which Li Peiyi identified as the murder weapon. She explained that these incredibly sharp wires, hidden within decorative ropes tied to the stage pillars, were activated by a mechanism. The significant wear marks on the pillars indicated the ropes were pulled with immense force, allowing the copper wires to swiftly and cleanly sever Liu San's head. She theorized that someone had set up these copper wires before the ceremony.

Behind the stage, they found Xu Daoyin's clothes, devoid of bloodstains, suggesting he had been abducted, not killed there. Xiao Huaijin proposed that a single, highly skilled individual could have orchestrated both the abduction of Xu Daoyin and the killing of Liu San by activating the mechanism precisely when the audience was distracted by the iron sparks.

When Li Peiyi asked about the mechanism's designer, Lady Yue claimed it was Xu Daoyin, adding that only he and Liu San possessed keys to the heavily guarded mechanism area, meaning no other staff had ever accessed it. Li Peiyi stressed that finding the killer was the priority for Xu Daoyin's safety. Lady Yue then led Li Peiyi to four porters who guarded the altar's entrance. Li Peiyi questioned Old Xiao, who was specifically responsible for the central mechanism tower.

Old Xiao vehemently denied noticing anything unusual, asserting his constant vigilance and additional checks. Li Peiyi, observing that intruders would have to pass Old Xiao, asked if he had used any incense, referencing the Datura flowers found previously. Old Xiao insisted he never burned incense, as his daughter provided him with a repellent sachet. Xiao Huaijin speculated that the culprit either circumvented the tower or was someone Old Xiao would not suspect.

He concluded that the murderer of Wu Siping and Liu San, and the abductor of Xu Daoyin, was likely the same individual who could move undetected between the manor and Wu's residence. Lady Yue, still trying to maintain an image of benevolence, questioned how such "compassionate and kind" men like Xu Daoyin and Wu Siping could have enemies. A servant then reported an incident at the Vitality Hall.

Lady Yue, visibly distressed, attempted to handle it alone, but Li Peiyi insisted on accompanying her, stating that no incident in the manor was trivial with a killer at large. Lady Yue tried to dissuade Xiao Huaijin from entering, citing that the Vitality Hall housed only women.

Li Peiyi entered with Lady Yue and learned from Liu, a pregnant woman, that a black-clad assailant had attempted to abduct her the previous night, fleeing only after she screamed, though Liu was not physically harmed. Tracing fresh bloodstains, Li Peiyi located the intruder's escape route. Li Peiyi noted a mix of smells in Liu's room, and Liu confirmed she had taken calming and prenatal medications. Li Peiyi questioned why so many pregnant women were gathered there.

Lady Yue explained that Xu Daoyin, out of compassion, sheltered destitute or unmarried pregnant women who couldn't deliver or raise their children at home, even arranging adoptions. Li Peiyi was skeptical of this selective charity, noting that other vulnerable groups also needed help, and questioned the manor's capacity. Lady Yue clarified that while Xu Daoyin cared for others, they were not housed within the manor, hinting at a specific agenda for the women in the Vitality Hall.

Later, Lady Yue was overheard discussing her plans with a subordinate. She emphasized the urgency of finding Xu Daoyin before Li Peiyi's team, ensuring a "delivery" by that night, and preparing to leave Qingtan Town in half an hour once the final payment for the "goods" was received, should Xu Daoyin not return. That night, Lady Yue arranged a meal for Li Peiyi's group. Despite the hospitality, Li Peiyi remained wary, sensing Lady Yue's complex intentions and anticipating further trouble.

Indeed, later, Wu Lie, a servant from Wu's Manor, urgently sought Li Peiyi's help regarding an emergency at the Vitality Hall. Rushing to the delivery room, Li Peiyi found Liu in premature labor. Midwives tried to dismiss her and insisted Liu drink a medicine to expedite delivery. At the start of the Hai hour, Liu gave birth, but immediately suffered a severe hemorrhage that the midwives failed to control, leading to her death.

Li Peiyi, observing their actions, accused them of not caring for Liu's life. She identified the medicine used as Tuohua Decoction, a potent labor-inducing drug banned by the Imperial Medical Office due to its high risk of fatal bleeding. Li Peiyi confronted the midwives, suspecting they had deliberately induced Liu's labor rather than allowing her to rest after her fright. The midwife defended their actions, claiming Liu had insisted on preparing the decoction, valuing her baby's life over her own.

Li Peiyi then exposed Lady Yue's attempt to poison her group through a meal containing "Eighteen Incompatibilities"—veratrum disguised as scallions in roast mutton, served with ginseng-infused medicinal liquor. Gu Lingzhou confirmed Li Peiyi's astute detection of the poisonous combination. Li Peiyi directly confronted Lady Yue, accusing her of attempted murder and using banned drugs to cause Liu's death.

Li Peiyi confronted Lady Yue, accusing her of attempting to harm her, using banned drugs, and causing the death of a mother-to-be. Lady Yue insisted she was only delivering babies and earning merit. Li Peiyi then revealed her knowledge of the "food-clash trick" she learned from Pei Yu, implying the meal had been intentionally prepared with incompatible ingredients to cause harm.

Pressing further, Li Peiyi questioned if Lady Yue was involved in a dark art from Dvaravati, where infants are turned into "gu kids" by feeding them tainted blood to serve their master, a crime punishable by immediate death. Lady Yue vehemently denied any knowledge or involvement in such a "heartless" practice, stating that the baby, having lost its mother at birth, was simply sent to Vitality Hall to be cared for by a wet nurse.

She maintained that Xu Daoyin was benevolent and had no intention to harm anyone. At that moment, Madam Wu and another man, Wu Lie, entered the room, accusing Lady Yue of colluding with Xu Daoyin. They claimed Lady Yue used the manor as a front for illicit business, making money and harming lives by having newborns delivered at specific auspicious times to "bring in lucky joy and avoid bad omens" for patrons.

Panicked, Lady Yue ignited a black powder charge to create an explosion, using the ensuing chaos to escape through a secret passage. Xiao Huaijin immediately instructed Investigating Commissioner Su Kuangyuan to intervene, and Su Kuangyuan swiftly apprehended Lady Yue’s associates in Qingtan Town. A maid informed Li Peiyi that Lady Yue had indeed escaped via the secret passage.

Knowing that Old Xiao, who had worked closely with Xu Daoyin for over three years, was the most trusted and knowledgeable about the tunnels, Li Peiyi sent for him. Old Xiao, who had been praying at a living shrine, provided a detailed blueprint of the secret passages.

Xiao Huaijin explained that while the tunnels had many entrances, their few, well-hidden exits were designed according to the "five elements' generating cycle," requiring specific interactions, such as turning a white marble mechanism near a stream three times clockwise. Xiao Huaijin, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan divided to search for the exits, while Li Peiyi went to speak with Madam Wu. Li Peiyi asked Madam Wu if she was drugged the night of Wu Siping's death.

Madam Wu confessed her deep hatred for her husband, admitting she was not drugged. She recounted their history: after Wu Siping suddenly claimed illness and quit office, they moved from the Western Capital to her ancestral property in Ping'en County. Her business acumen quickly led to a prosperous life, surpassing their former comfort in the capital. However, after she became pregnant, Wu Siping's business encountered difficulties.

He grew superstitious and began to devoutly follow Xu Daoyin, even installing a statue in their home. Madam Wu recalled an instance where Wu Siping initially reacted with alarm to her presence near the statue, fearing her "blood stains" would "offend the Immortal," but then quickly apologized, claiming Xu Daoyin could ensure a "safe and easy to raise" child and elevate their business. She found his sudden affectionate change puzzling.

Following a miscarriage, Wu Siping brought home Wu Mujin, an illegitimate son, explaining that he needed a child to "carry on the line." Madam Wu, feeling guilty for her inability to conceive, accepted the child. However, Wu Siping kept Wu Mujin isolated in a detached residence, where he arranged "strange formations." Madam Wu discovered through Wu Lie's investigation that Wu Siping had used Xu Daoyin to find poor women to bear "children with lucky fates" to ensure his "smooth fortune."

These wealthy patrons forced a potent drug, Tuohua Decoction, on the pregnant women to induce labor at precisely calculated auspicious times, disregarding the severe harm it caused. Madam Wu realized Wu Siping had administered this very drug to her, disguised as an "antifetal medicine," leading to her premature delivery.

She considered divorce but remained to secretly protect Wu Mujin, swapping his medicine and instructing Wu Lie to dismantle the formation, fearing Wu Siping would harm the boy if his health improved or his business faltered. Madam Wu noticed a change in Wu Siping's treatment of Wu Mujin, becoming less harsh, and also saw him renovating another courtyard, deducing he was preparing for another "lucky child."

Knowing he would come to Qingtan Town around the due date of the new mother, Liuer, she sent Wu Lie to rescue her, but arrived too late. She concluded that Wu Siping deserved to experience the effects of the Tuohua Decoction himself. Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin discovered a "signal marker"—a bird-shaped device with its beak pointing down to indicate a blocked path and forward for a safe one—in a secret passage. He deduced that someone was guiding Lady Yue.

After checking all exits with Su Kuangyuan, he noticed the "Celestial Market pattern" pointing to the northeast, which is governed by the "Butcher's Star" and "rules over slaughter." This led him to realize the signals were deliberately reversed to "lure into a death trap" Lady Yue. He, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan found Lady Yue dead in the bell tower, hanged from a horizontal beam.

Her death, by strangulation, was less bloody than Wu Siping's, leading Xiao Huaijin to conclude the killer planned for the "bell ringer at the Hour of Yin" to discover her body. A piece of gauze, likely torn from the killer during a struggle, was found near Lady Yue's body, emitting a "smell of incense." Li Peiyi, ruling out Madam Wu due to her soft nature, began to suspect Old Xiao.

Wu Ren investigated the midwives, who revealed that poor women in Vitality Hall were coerced into bearing children for wealthy patrons who wished to avoid the risks of Tuohua Decoction for their own wives. The women, desperate for the promised payment of ten strings of cash, were often told stories of serving immortals and accumulating merit. They feared returning home without the money or with an unwanted child, as their husbands would beat them.

Li Peiyi arranged for their care and temporary shelter. The following day, Xiao Huaijin located Xu Daoyin. The room was sealed with a magnet-controlled lock mechanism designed to trigger a falling dagger upon opening. Inside, Xu Daoyin lay dead, his abdomen grotesquely distended with swallowed "gold ingots"—offerings from patrons. His broken teeth indicated the gold had been forced into his mouth.

The mechanism presented a grim choice for Xu Daoyin: self-termination with the dagger once the door was opened, or a slow, agonizing death by distension if undiscovered. Xiao Huaijin concluded that Old Xiao, who had intentionally omitted the northeast tunnel exit from his map, was the killer. The incense smell on the gauze matched that associated with Old Xiao.

A doorman informed them that Old Xiao had left two kes earlier on Su Kuangyuan's fast horse, claiming to be on a mission from Li Peiyi to seek reinforcements. Xiao Huaijin, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan pursued by boat, leveraging the strong west wind and current to outpace the horse. Wu Ren discovered Old Xiao's past as a carpenter, explaining his intricate knowledge of mechanisms, a skill Xu Daoyin lacked. She also learned Old Xiao had a married daughter.

The pursuit led them back to Wu Siping's manor, where Xiao Huaijin cornered Old Xiao. Old Xiao attempted to detonate black powder but relented when Wu Mujin appeared, allowing Gu Lingzhou to apprehend him. Old Xiao confessed to killing Wu Siping, Liu San, Lady Yue, and Xu Daoyin, stating they all deserved to die. He revealed his daughter, Xiao Wan, had married into the Sun family in Qingtan County seven years prior. As a traveling carpenter, he rarely saw her.

Three years ago, visiting her after finishing a job early, he found her bound, her in-laws claiming she had gone insane after multiple miscarriages, fixated on having a child and attempting to steal one from a wealthy family in a neighboring county. Old Xiao took Xiao Wan home, but while passing through Ping'en County, she suddenly jumped from their cart and ran to a detached residence. There, she met a young boy who strikingly resembled his grandson.

Before he could question her, Wu Siping appeared and took the child. In despair, Xiao Wan then jumped into a river and drowned. Heartbroken by the death of his only family, Old Xiao began a secret investigation. He learned that the Sun family had lied about Xiao Wan never having children. The night before Xiao Wan’s burial, a woman approached him, claiming to know Xiao Wan and her tragic story.

She disclosed that soon after Xiao Wan's marriage, her husband, Sun Renyi, became critically ill, and the Sun family could not afford his expensive treatments. Lady Sun, his mother, hearing of Xu Daoyin’s generosity, took Xiao Wan to his temple to pray for aid. Later, Lady Yue told Xiao Wan she could reside at the manor for "cultivation" and to "build merit," then arranged a private meeting with her.

Lady Yue set her scheme in motion by isolating Xiao Wan under the pretense of religious cultivation. During their meeting, she manipulated the desperate woman, claiming her husband Sun Renyi’s illness was a tribulation Wan had brought upon him. Lady Yue convinced her that the only way to save Renyi was to become a surrogate for a wealthy family with a matching horoscope.

Desperate, Wan agreed to bear a child for Wu Siping in exchange for the funds needed for her husband's medicine. While Wan was initially cared for at the manor, the cruelty of the arrangement surfaced two weeks before her due date. To ensure the child was born during a specific auspicious hour, Lady Yue forced Wan to ingest a massive dose of Tuohua decoction to induce labor. Wan survived the ordeal, but the infant was immediately taken from her.

Though Renyi recovered thanks to the money Wan earned, the premature birth and the harsh drugs left her health permanently shattered and unable to conceive again. The Sun family, who had known about the arrangement all along, eventually used the surrogacy as an excuse to despise her.

After Wan spent her final days in a state of fractured mental health, searching for her son at the Wu estate, the Suns eventually bound her in a cold woodshed, where she ultimately died. Old Xiao was heartbroken by his daughter's tragic end. To exact his revenge, he used his expertise in mechanics and carpentry to infiltrate the inner circle of the charlatan Xu Daoyin.

He persuaded Xu to construct a network of secret passages throughout the manor, which allowed Old Xiao to move undetected while making the fraudulent monk appear more powerful to his patrons. During this time, Old Xiao realized that Xu Daoyin, Liu San, and Lady Yue were running a dark business, using poor women as reproductive tools and frequently causing the deaths of both mothers and children through the forced use of Tuohua decoction.

When Old Xiao learned that Wu Siping planned to seek another surrogate child to solve his business failures—fearing that young Wu Mujin would be harmed or replaced—he decided to strike. Using the delivery of invitations for the Heaven-Inquiry Ceremony as cover, he entered the Wu mansion. That night, he bound Wu Siping and forced him to drink the same Tuohua decoction that had tortured Wan.

He then brutally beat Wu Siping with Xu Daoyin’s statue, leaving him to die in agony. Days later, during the ceremony, Old Xiao killed Liu San and trapped Xu Daoyin in the secret passages, forcing the man to swallow gold ingots until he perished from the excruciating pain. During his interrogation, Li Peiyi questioned Old Xiao about the deaths of the Sun family three years prior.

Old Xiao confessed that after Wan died, the Suns had feigned grief to take her body back to their ancestral grave. However, he soon discovered they had actually sold her corpse for a high-priced ghost marriage to fund a new wedding for Sun Renyi. On the night of the new wedding, Old Xiao set fire to their home, burning all three members of the Sun family alive as retribution.

Li Peiyi suspected Old Xiao had an insider within the mansion to help him manage the incense and track her movements. While Old Xiao tried to take the blame, young Wu Mujin stepped forward and admitted to being the accomplice. Realizing the boy had been manipulated by his circumstances and the desire for a real connection, Li Peiyi refused to punish him.

Madam Wu decided to rename the boy Xiao Yi’en and vowed to raise him as her own, seeing the tragedy as the karmic result of Wu Siping’s own greed. Later, Li Peiyi asked Madam Wu about Wu Siping’s sudden departure from the capital fifteen years ago. Madam Wu explained that while Wu Siping had been a guard for the Crown Prince, his decision to flee was his own.

She revealed that on the night of the tragedy at the Prince of Duan’s mansion, Xiao Wenyuan had arrived at their home before midnight to demand a command tally for a mysterious mission. Just as Madam Wu mentioned the timing of Xiao Wenyuan’s departure, a poisoned arrow struck Li Peiyi. A group of masked assassins ambushed them, and Li Peiyi fought to protect Madam Wu until she was nearly overwhelmed.

Xiao Huaijin arrived just in time, using black powder to create an explosion that allowed them to escape. Despite the poison in her system, Li Peiyi tried to push Xiao Huaijin away to save him, but he refused to leave her side. Her mentor, Du Zhixing, eventually arrived to provide an antidote and stayed behind to hold off the remaining assassins while Xiao Huaijin hurried Li Peiyi to safety.

Du Zhixing engaged in a fierce battle with a black-clad assailant. Having used tactics to discern the assailant's moves, Du Zhixing already knew his identity. The assailant injured Du Zhixing with a hidden weapon. Li Peiyi attempted to intervene, but Xiao Huaijin forcefully covered her mouth, reminding her that Du Zhixing's sole wish was for her to live safely.

This action triggered Li Peiyi's memory of a boy covering her eyes fifteen years ago during the incident at Prince of Duan's manor, recognizing the identical movement. Du Zhixing, aware that the assailant's blade was poisoned, revealed that he had further enhanced the poison, ensuring it had reached the assailant's eyes. He grimly stated that without an antidote, they would both die.

Du Zhixing internally reflected that he had prevented Li Peiyi from investigating the 15-year-old case for her safety, as the culprits were too well-hidden. He then declared his intention to unmask his "old acquaintance." Suddenly, Du Zhixing was ambushed again, struck by an arrow. As the black-clad man closed in, Du Zhixing spat poisoned saliva into the assailant's face, temporarily blinding him.

Du Zhixing seized the opportunity to unmask him, but the assailant, always prepared, used a hidden wrist blade to slash Du Zhixing's neck. Du Zhixing succumbed to the wound, vomiting blood as he died. Li Peiyi, witnessing the horrific scene while being held back by Xiao Huaijin, cried out for the "old man," begging him to wake up and reveal the antidote, heartbroken that he was leaving her.

Overwhelmed by grief, she questioned why she was the one still alive before fainting. Xiao Huaijin quickly carried her back to the inn. After the black-clad man fled, Xiao Huaijin allowed Li Peiyi to approach Du Zhixing's body. Overcome with sorrow, she longed for Du Zhixing to scold her like a father again, remembering his two decades of care. Later that night, Li Peiyi, having regained some strength, confronted Xiao Huaijin.

She knew he was the one who had taken her from Prince of Duan's mansion fifteen years ago. She pressed him, asking what he had seen behind the rockery that night. He admitted he hadn't seen much, as he was focused on covering her eyes to protect her, a similar action to when he had covered her mouth earlier. He also confessed he wished he had seen more.

As a subordinate arrived to handle Du Zhixing's body, Li Peiyi pressed for details about her escape and who took her to the palace. Xiao Huaijin recounted carrying her on his back and climbing the manor walls, but then he passed out and truly could not recall what happened next. Desperate for answers about her father's killer, Li Peiyi pleaded with Xiao Huaijin to remember any detail, no matter how small.

He apologized, stating he knew no more than she did. His inability to provide answers, combined with her renewed despair, led her to ask him to leave her alone. Li Peiyi chose not to send Du Zhixing's body back to Western Capital, believing he disliked the city and would prefer a quiet rest. She instructed her subordinates to bury him in a scenic, elevated spot facing the capital, so he could oversee her revenge.

At his graveside, she mourned, lamenting that she was a "cursed lone star" who had not only failed to find the killer but had also caused her master's death. She spoke to him, accepting his departure but vowing to return to the capital for vengeance. She affirmed that even with a cold trail, she possessed infinite patience and time, and asked for his spiritual blessing.

As she left, a wine jar toppled, which she interpreted as Du Zhixing's silent assent to her mission. As Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin rode back to Western Capital, Xiao Wenyuan met them outside the city. He instructed Xiao Huaijin to return home to his mother, as he needed to speak with Li Peiyi privately. Li Peiyi, though wary, understood that Xiao Wenyuan was not her enemy and pressed him for new information.

Xiao Wenyuan, without seeking anything in return, promised to reveal everything. He explained that fifteen years ago, on the night of the Lantern Festival, he had heard that Prince of Duan's Jianning Iron Army, numbering in the tens of thousands, had entered Western Capital without orders. This was not, as rumored, due to the Prince going mad, but a serious military transgression that could not be faked.

Xiao Wenyuan, hearing this, immediately sought the Crown Prince's military tally from Wu Siping. He then rode swiftly to Prince of Duan's manor, but upon arrival, found the mansion already surrounded by Imperial Guards, preventing any entry or exit. He encountered Xiao Huaijin carrying Li Peiyi out, and quickly hid them in a carriage. He continued to explain that with the Imperial Guards patrolling, Li Peiyi was still in great danger.

Despite his subordinate's warnings about the risk to the Xiao family and the Crown Prince, Xiao Wenyuan, desperate, appealed to Du Zhixing, who happened to pass by. He pleaded with Du Zhixing to take Li Peiyi into the palace for safety, reasoning that as the sole heir of Prince of Duan, she could only be protected there.

Du Zhixing, after a moment of feigned indifference, agreed, but stipulated that after that night, they would be strangers, and the credit for saving Li Peiyi would fall to Xiao Wenyuan and his son. Xiao Wenyuan gratefully entrusted Li Peiyi to him. He then recounted how Du Zhixing had reported to the Emperor that Li Peiyi was found unconscious in a woodshed, implying she had fainted from shock. The entire court awaited her testimony, each with their own agenda.

Li Peiyi remembered only making lanterns with her father before waking up an orphan. Xiao Wenyuan warned that even this limited memory put her life at risk, and that he and Du Zhixing had always been vigilant.

He revealed that her "accidental" fall into the Moonlit Pond was a deliberate act, a terrifying warning to him (Xiao Wenyuan) not to interfere with the Prince of Duan's case, made in front of both Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin, and for Li Peiyi never to remember that night. He had desperately hoped she would forget, for everyone's safety, and expressed his regret that she had remembered everything anyway.

Li Peiyi, feeling responsible for the troubles inflicted upon the Xiao family and the death of her master, declared her intention to sever ties with them. However, Xiao Wenyuan reassured her that Xiao Huaijin, though gentle, was as stubborn as she was and was determined to investigate the case regardless.

He confessed his own compromises made for the stability of his family, the Crown Prince, and the court, but emphasized Xiao Huaijin's pure motives: he only ever wanted to protect Li Peiyi. He had spent fifteen years trying to forget that night but, upon learning of Li Peiyi's resolve for truth, forced himself to relive the nightmare repeatedly, hoping to recall any detail to aid her.

Remembering Jin Niang, a close friend of Du Zhixing, Li Peiyi sought her out at a tavern. Jin Niang, after recognizing Li Peiyi, recounted her history with Du Zhixing. They had been childhood sweethearts, but their paths diverged when his father's conviction forced him into the Palace Investigation Bureau. Despite this, they maintained contact, and Du Zhixing, even as he faced his own struggles, dedicated himself to protecting Li Peiyi, treating her like his own daughter.

Jin Niang offered Li Peiyi a sachet, a gift Du Zhixing had bought for her, but Li Peiyi insisted she keep it. Jin Niang, offering her help in avenging Du Zhixing, revealed her unofficial channels for information, and confirmed she was already aware of Du Zhixing's death. She had also heard rumors of someone inquiring about individuals with sudden eye illnesses, piecing together Li Peiyi's hunt for the killer. Li Peiyi gratefully accepted her help, urging her to stay safe.

Meanwhile, the black-clad assailant, whose eyes were poisoned by Du Zhixing, reported his failure to his superior. He admitted Du Zhixing's unexpected appearance led to Li Peiyi's escape, but believed Du Zhixing's death would hinder Li Peiyi's investigation. When questioned about his eye injury, the assailant vowed to treat it and disappear to avoid exposure.

The official then instructed another subordinate to investigate who Li Peiyi had secretly met "before" her return to Western Capital, noting that someone else was also watching her. The official chillingly implied that the injured assailant's death might prevent Li Peiyi from tracing them. Back in Western Capital, Li Peiyi remained despondent in her room for a month. Wu Ren, grappling with a case involving Brilliant Lady Dou's destroyed magnolia trees near Penglai Pond, sought Li Peiyi's help.

Wu Ren explained that despite constant vigilance, the trees were inexplicably dying, one even toppling over in front of her, and the soil was disturbed. Brilliant Lady Dou, convinced of sabotage and curses, was furious. Li Peiyi, though disinterested in cases, was eventually forced to help when Brilliant Lady Dou personally arrived at the Palace Investigation Bureau.

Brilliant Lady Dou, who attributed her influence in the inner palace solely to her "persistence" with the Emperor, threatened to sit at the Bureau indefinitely until Li Peiyi investigated, implicitly warning that failure to act would lead her to appeal to the Emperor, thus implicating Consort Shu. Li Peiyi, realizing the threat to Consort Shu's precarious position, agreed to take the case.

She learned that Consort Shu had indeed recently lost favor with the Emperor due to an issue involving the Right Chancellor. Li Peiyi understood that the magnolia sabotage was an attack targeting Consort Shu. She rejected Wu Ren's offer to discreetly investigate the court matter, explaining that any action by her team would be seen as Consort Shu meddling, further damaging her.

Instead, Li Peiyi instructed Wu Ren and her team to diligently fertilize and guard every inch of the flowerbeds around Penglai Pond, publicly stating her commitment to saving Brilliant Lady Dou's magnolias. A week later, Li Peiyi joined the vigil, anticipating the culprit's next move. Indeed, another magnolia tree was destroyed. Li Peiyi noticed fresh footprints and disturbed soil. She devised a plan, ordering all soldiers, including Secretary Pan, to warm their feet by a fire.

The flowerbeds had been treated with fertilizer containing actinolite and alum clay, which would react with heat. Secretary Pan's boots immediately reacted. He tried to claim it was an accident, but Li Peiyi, seeing through his excuse, ordered his hands to be heated. Under the heat, Pan Changshi confessed. Li Peiyi then revealed ginseng seeds found in his hand, a royal item usually reserved for the Emperor.

She demanded to know how he obtained them and why they were buried beneath the magnolia tree. Li Peiyi then sternly outlined the severe penalties for stealing royal property: high treason, strangulation, and collective punishment for at least three, and potentially up to nine, clans.

Administrator Pan initially refuses to confess to the theft until Li Peiyi threatens him with the penalty of "collective punishment," which could implicate his entire clan. Terrified, Pan reveals that his young son suffers from a mysterious condition causing unbearable pain. After exhausting his savings on the black market for rare ginseng seeds—the only remedy that brings the boy relief—Pan became desperate when his supply ran out.

He claims that a deity known as "White Asura" intervened, appearing in his dreams and leaving seeds behind. He also mentions seeing a "divine" white parrot near the Penglai Pool, which guided him to the seeds he dug up beneath the magnolia trees. Wu Ren recalls that rumors of the White Asura circulated in the palace years ago, though they were dismissed as harmless.

Li Peiyi realizes the white parrot is actually "Lady in Snow," a gift from the Emperor to Consort Shu. The following day, Li Peiyi visits Consort Shu, who remains unbothered by her recent loss of imperial favor to Brilliant Lady Dou. During the visit, Li Peiyi observes the maid Fuqu caring for the bird. Fuqu claims she simply follows the parrot wherever it flies, often to the Penglai Pool.

Later, Li Peiyi uses ginseng seeds to persuade Pan to reveal the location of a secret altar. As she investigates the site at night, she falls into a hypnotic trance induced by a complex trap. Xiao Huaijin arrives just in time to wake her by ringing a bell. They spot someone on a nearby tower and Li Peiyi uses her skills to confront the person, who turns out to be Fuqu.

Although Fuqu claims she was merely repotting flowers that cannot survive daylight, her presence at the scene deepens Li Peiyi's suspicions. Amidst the investigation, Xiao Huaijin finally apologizes for concealing the truth of Li Peiyi’s past for fifteen years, admitting his own weakness in trying to "protect" her from pain she was already enduring. Li Peiyi, who had already sensed his feelings, forgives him.

Despite her warning that she is a "cursed star" who brings misfortune to those close to her, Xiao Huaijin vows to stay by her side and gamble against fate to find the truth together. Their investigation takes a dark turn when they find Administrator Pan dead in the bamboo forest, struck by a crossbow bolt. He died with a look of pious joy, having placed a waxed talisman in his mouth beforehand.

Xiao Huaijin examines the site and dismantles the "miracle": a trapped weasel was used to rattle bells, which, combined with spinning wind wheels and the evening drum, created a sensory trap to induce hallucinations. The footprints and the mechanism—a crossbow triggered by a flexible bamboo branch—suggest Pan set up his own death. However, because Pan was in custody when the "timer" (a slow-burning incense strip) would have been lit, he must have had an accomplice.

While Fuqu remains a suspect, she has a firm alibi provided by palace guards and her supervisor. The focus then shifts to the Imperial Medical Office to track the missing ginseng seeds. Supervisor Sun explains that the medicine cabinet requires two keys: one held by himself and the other by the Aide to the Imperial Physician, Luo Yicheng.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin visit Luo’s humble residence and discover a hidden stash of fresh seeds, realizing he used sleight of hand to swap them with spoiled ones intended for disposal. To confront him, they search for Luo on the "Yin-Yang Road," a gloomy corridor he used as a shortcut to visit Concubine Liu. There, they find a discarded lantern and eventually stumble upon Luo Yicheng’s lifeless body.

Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin examine the modest residence of the Imperial Physician Luo Zhian. A servant reveals that despite his low personal spending, Luo’s expenses are high because he regularly sends his stipend home. In the backyard, the pair discovers a beehive containing hidden ginseng seeds, confirming Li Peiyi’s suspicion that Luo was the one who stole the precious medicine.

They set out to find him but soon discover his body on a secluded path known as the "Yin-Yang Road." Based on the level of rigor mortis, Li Peiyi estimates he died about half an hour (two ke) ago. Although his death appears to be caused by a heart attack (chest bi), there are clear drag marks indicating his body was moved into the shadows after he fell.

Tucked inside his mouth is a familiar yellow talisman reading: "Welcome White Asura." Li Peiyi questions Luo’s student, Zhao Yudi, who is now a practicing physician herself. Zhao recalls that a month ago, while returning from treating Consort Su late at night, she and Luo encountered a terrifying "female ghost" in white on the Yin-Yang Road. The apparition called Luo by his title, causing him to suffer a severe heart attack from the shock.

Since that night, Luo had forbidden her from walking that path. Li Peiyi, refusing to believe in the supernatural, has Xiao Huaijin disguise himself as Luo Zhian to bait the spirit. They successfully corner the "ghost," who is revealed to be Dong Cairen, a formerly favored consort now living in the derelict Qinghui Palace. Dong’s maid, Dianjiang, explains the consort’s tragic history.

Years ago, seeking to maintain the Emperor's favor, Dong had Luo Zhian provide her with Cold Food Powder to make her skin pale and radiant. While it worked initially, the drug caused hallucinations and severe nearsightedness. When the Emperor grew repulsed by her vacant, unfocused gaze, Dong begged Luo for a cure. Luo, who had already secured a high position and no longer needed her influence, used an aggressive acupuncture technique that resulted in her total blindness.

Trapped in her own world, Dong would visit the mural on the Yin-Yang Road to relive her past glory. On the night Luo died, the two women encountered him again; during the confrontation, Luo suffered a fatal heart attack. Dong and Dianjiang then dragged his body to the boundary of light and shadow to ensure his soul would never find peace. However, a deeper autopsy by Zhao Yudi reveals needle marks on Luo's Danzhong, Neiguan, and Quze acupoints.

It appears Luo had used his own skills to intentionally trigger the fatal attack, choosing to end his life just as he was about to be promoted to Medical Lead after treating Consort Shu. Li Peiyi suspects Dianjiang is still hiding something, but when she returns to the palace, she finds the maid dead. Dianjiang’s body is pinned to a wooden post, dressed in a magnificent ceremonial gown that had once belonged to Consort Shu.

Despite her hands being tied, she appears to have been strangled. Investigation reveals that Dianjiang was once a top embroiderer who was demoted after she was caught secretly wearing the Consort's gown. Recently, sores on her hands had prevented her from sewing, which devastated her. Li Peiyi discovers that the "White Peony Balm" Dianjiang used was laced with a mysterious toxin.

By re-enacting the scene, Li Peiyi and her team deduce that Dianjiang used a rattan-fiber cord, which shrinks and tightens as it cools or dries. She had also taken Softening Powder to prevent herself from struggling during the slow strangulation. This leads them to Fuqu, a maid who had orchestrated the theft of the gown during a commotion caused by Consort Shu’s parrot, Lady in Snow. Fuqu is caught performing a ritual for White Asura and confesses her involvement.

She claims the deaths were voluntary acts of devotion. Fuqu reveals that her own sister, Gonglian, had jumped to her death two years ago as part of the same cult. Many followers, including Luo Zhian and Pan Yongqi, had "helped" each other fulfill their destinies to welcome the deity. The investigation eventually leads to the capture of Wang Anping, a Southwestern shaman posing as the White Asura. While he admits to running a scam to collect money from superstitious palace staff, he insists the followers' deaths were of their own making.

Li Peiyi confronts Wang Anping, the man posing as the "White Asura." While Wang denies physically committing the murders, he cannot escape the charge of practicing forbidden witchcraft within the palace, leading Li Peiyi to have him imprisoned. Meanwhile, Fuqu, disguised as the deity, approaches the blind Talent Dong with a jar of poisonous rouge, claiming it can restore her sight.

However, Talent Dong refuses, explaining that she only trusts Doctor Luo and previously chose to remain blind rather than allow a young girl to die for her sake. Xiao Huaijin arrives and clarifies that Talent Dong was never truly under a spell; her mind was simply simple and desperate enough to believe the illusions presented to her. Seeing her plan fail, Fuqu flees to a high balcony to jump, only to find Li Peiyi already waiting for her.

Li Peiyi reveals her deduction: Fuqu has been orchestrating these events to avenge her sister, Gonglian. Fuqu stops hiding the truth, recounting how Gonglian’s death was not a simple suicide. Initially, Gonglian and Wang Anping created a mutual aid network to help palace maids with necessities like medicine and charcoal. However, as the worship of the White Asura turned into a fanatical cult, it began to breed greed.

Wang Anping used the deity to extort money, and followers began making malicious requests to harm their rivals. Horrified, the righteous Gonglian demanded an end to the witchcraft and threatened to expose Wang. Refusing to give up his wealth and influence, Wang manipulated the believers into putting relentless psychological pressure on Gonglian, convincing them that her death was required to "summon" the deity.

Trapped in a nightmare of harassment and fear, Gonglian eventually felt she had no choice but to jump. For two years, Fuqu carefully planned her revenge. She infiltrated Wang Anping's inner circle by pretending to be a fanatic, using the cult's resources to target those who drove her sister to suicide. She manipulated Pan Yongqi through his family, ruined Dianjiang’s hands, and led Doctor Luo Zhian to his downfall by involving him in the illegal treatment of Talent Dong.

Li Peiyi explains she realized Fuqu was the mastermind because Fuqu showed no true reverence for the White Asura’s sacred feather, treating it as a mere prop rather than a holy relic. Li Peiyi prevents Fuqu from jumping, telling her that her life is essential to testify against Wang Anping and ensure he is held accountable for Gonglian’s death.

Fuqu, dressed in white like a "Snow Lady" bird, expresses a weary hope that in her next life, she can be as free as a bird. Following the case, a sense of profound loneliness washes over Li Peiyi, and she deeply misses her late mentor, Du Zhixing. She remembers how Du Zhixing raised her in the Palace Investigation Bureau with both strictness and fatherly love.

In a half-dreaming state, she sees a vision of him sitting beside her, encouraging her to keep moving forward despite the darkness. He tells her that if she ever feels lost, she should look at the brightest star in the sky, which represents the watchful gaze of her parents and himself. Feeling safe, she falls asleep with her head on his lap. When she wakes up, she is embarrassed to realize she was actually sleeping on Xiao Huaijin’s lap.

To comfort her, Xiao Huaijin shares the reason he joined the Astronomical Bureau. He recalls a lunar eclipse from their childhood; while others hid from the "bad omen," he had snuck out to watch the moon and fell into a mud pit. A young Li Peiyi had found him and used a clever technique taught by her father to rescue him.

During that first meeting, she had asked him about the meaning of the omen where "Mars lingers in the Heart Mansion." He admits he spent fifteen years in the Bureau to find that answer for her. He eventually discovered that the omen had been used as a political tool to foreshadow the downfall of her father, the Prince of Duan. Xiao vows that from now on, she will never have to face the search for the truth about her family's massacre alone.

Xiao Huaijin expressed his deep devotion to Li Peiyi, sharing a discovery from the almanac that a rare celestial phenomenon called "Airglow" appeared on the day she was born. He promised to stand by her as she sought the truth behind the tragedy that destroyed her family. Meanwhile, Jin Niang met Li Peiyi at a blacksmith shop to report her findings from the Black Market.

She discovered that someone had been seeking a prescription to treat a severe eye injury caused by toxic blood. Li Peiyi realized the patient was likely the person who killed her master, Du Zhixing, as her master had recognized the attacker’s martial arts moves. Vowing to find this "one-eyed man," she suspected the culprit was a high-ranking official. Li Peiyi consulted Zhao Yudi, who was busy instructing a new group of female medical technicians.

They devised a plan to lure the target out by offering a remedy that would cause intense itching, forcing the patient to seek specialized acupuncture from Zhao Yudi herself. On a rainy night, Xiao Huaijin was intercepted in a bamboo forest by a masked man. Li Peiyi arrived just in time to intervene, and the assailant fled. Recognizing that Xiao Huaijin had intentionally acted as bait, Li Peiyi insisted he stay at the Palace Investigation Bureau for his safety.

She installed intricate Mohist traps in his room and gave him a compact hand crossbow for self-defense. In return, Xiao Huaijin presented her with a wind-sensing bird to alert her to the changing winter winds. Jin Niang successfully leaked news of the cure, prompting the mysterious contact to schedule a meeting. Although Wu Ren volunteered to go in disguise, Zhao Yudi insisted on going herself to maintain the ruse.

The target cautiously changed the meeting location to a secluded warehouse near the Jueshui River. Xiao Huaijin and Gu Lingzhou tracked them, eventually using the pretext of an investigation into illegal salt smuggling to search the warehouse. Inside, Zhao Yudi was brought in a wooden crate to meet a man calling himself Third Master. She first treated a subordinate to prove her skill before the real target, who had a distinct scar on his hand, stepped forward.

As she began the acupuncture, Li Peiyi entered the room. The target mocked her, but he was suddenly seized by agonizing pain. Li Peiyi revealed that she had secretly coated the second row of needles in the acupuncture kit with a new toxin, anticipating the man's cautious nature. Trapped and in pain, the man was identified as Lv Chongshan, a general of the Andong Protectorate.

Lv Chongshan finally confessed his involvement in the events of fifteen years ago, claiming he was once a Left General of the Imperial Guards. He asserted that the Prince of Duan had plotted a rebellion and ignored an imperial summons on the night of the Lantern Festival, slaughtering his own household in a fit of madness once the plot was exposed. Li Peiyi was stunned by the accusation, as she vividly remembered spending that night with her father, who had never mentioned receiving any summons from the Emperor.

Li Peiyi confronts Lv Chongshan over the events of fifteen years ago, refusing to believe his claim that the Prince of Duan went mad and slaughtered his own household. When she demands to know the true identity of the person the Emperor sent to deliver the imperial edict that night, Lv Chongshan uses a bag of black powder to trigger an explosion and escapes.

Despite a pursuit by the Palace Investigation Bureau, Lv manages to elude capture by jumping into a river. Li Peiyi suspects that Lv’s master is now aware of her discovery and wonders who originally arranged for a former Imperial Guard to be transferred to the An Dong Protectorate. Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin is coerced into luring his father, Xiao Wenyuan, into a trap.

He sends a message via his servant, Qingfeng, asking his father to meet him at a tavern for a drink and to bring a specific sachet. Xiao Wenyuan immediately recognizes the signal; as an official of the Astronomical Bureau, Huaijin should be on duty, not at a tavern. Realizing his son is in danger, Wenyuan alerts Li Peiyi and secretly follows the carriage to the abandoned Prince of Duan’s mansion in the Chongren Ward.

Li Peiyi and Gu Lingzhou arrive at the mansion to find the Xiao father and son tied up before the memorial tablets of the late Prince and his wife. Their captor is Chen Luo, the Commandant of the Jianning Iron Army. Chen Luo, seeking vengeance, accuses Xiao Wenyuan of the massacre. He explains that fifteen years ago, hearing rumors of a plot against the Prince, he and his men snuck into the capital.

That night, he saw a man wearing a unique jade pendant—identical to Wenyuan’s—leading the slaughter. Li Peiyi intervenes, revealing that the Xiaos were actually her saviors who rescued her and brought her to the palace. The group pieces together the truth: the disaster was a meticulously planned frame-up. Li Peiyi deduces that the mansion’s clepsydra (water clock) had been tampered with to run an hour slow, making the Prince unknowingly defy the Emperor’s summons and creating an illusion of rebellion.

Xiao Wenyuan also recalls finding a dying eunuch at the gates whose throat had been slashed by a fingertip blade—the signature weapon used by Lv Chongshan. It becomes clear that the record of this eunuch was erased to bury the truth. Determined to uncover the mastermind, Li Peiyi kneels outside the palace for a day and a night until the Emperor finally grants her an audience.

She boldly asks whether the Emperor’s care for her over the years was born of compassion or guilt. Though offended by her insolence, the Emperor issues a decree: since Li Peiyi is so obsessed with the truth, she is to be confined within the ruined Prince of Duan’s mansion to conduct her investigation. Li Peiyi realizes that by doing so, the Emperor is giving her a chance to draw out the person who manipulated the events of that night.

As Li Peiyi moves back into her childhood home, Xiao Huaijin helps her settle in but knows she is in grave danger. He realizes the mastermind will see her confinement as a perfect opportunity to strike. Xiao Huaijin decides that the only way to truly save her is to earn significant merit.

He entrusts Li Peiyi's safety to Gu Lingzhou and Wu Ren, announcing he will enter seclusion to work on a task the Emperor desires but no one else can complete. He instructs them to seek help from Consort Shu or Zhao Yudi if Li Peiyi falls into immediate peril. Inside the dusty mansion, Li Peiyi is haunted by memories of her family.

She discovers that her father’s former bedroom has been fitted with a suspiciously brand-new lock that is free of dust. Though curious, she remembers Huaijin’s advice and decides to wait before forcing it open. Outside, the guards appear hesitant and evasive when Li Peiyi’s maid, Yuebai, requests charcoal for the cold autumn nights. Li Peiyi realizes that the people watching her are still weighing the situation, waiting for the right moment to decide her fate.

Li Peiyi begins her life of confinement at the Prince of Duan's mansion, where she remains vigilant against unseen threats. Every day, she uses a silver needle to test the food sent to her, while her loyal maids, Xibai and Yuebai, insist on tasting the meals first to ensure her safety. Touched by their devotion, Peiyi gives them heart-protecting medicine she received from her master, instructing them to take a pill every morning and night.

She also tells them to save a portion of every meal and store it in a cool place, sensing it will be vital evidence later. As she grew increasingly weak and began to cough up blood, Peiyi realized that her enemies had grown impatient for her death. Assessing the danger, Peiyi orders her maids to stop consuming any food or water provided by the mansion and subsist only on the fruit they had set aside.

She chooses to continue appearing in public to play out the act of her illness. When she informs the guards of her condition, the news reaches Consort Shu, who becomes deeply unsettled. During a meal of mutton—prepared using a recipe once given to her by the late Princess of Duan—Consort Shu tries to plead for Peiyi. However, the Emperor reacts with fury, accusing her of questioning his past judgment. He declares that anyone who speaks for Peiyi will be punished.

Despite his harsh words, the Emperor had already dispatched the medical official, Zhao Yudi, to the mansion to check on the girl. Zhao Yudi examines the preserved food and discovers a sophisticated method of poisoning. Cinnabar had been mixed into the water used to cook the meals, making it undetectable by silver needles in such small doses. Over time, however, the poison accumulates and damages the heart.

Zhao Yudi promises to find a cure and provide safe food within three days. When she returns with medicine the following day, the guards refuse her entry, citing new orders to block all visitors. Wu Ren arrives and joins the plea, even attempting to kneel before the guards. Moved by the desperation, the guards allow one packet of medicine through on the condition that they go to the palace to obtain an official imperial edict.

Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin has spent fifteen days and nights without sleep at the Astronomical Bureau, determined to achieve a merit great enough to save Peiyi. Wu Ren rushes to the Bureau to inform him that Peiyi is dying of poison and that the Emperor has forbidden visitors. Racing against time, Huaijin finishes his work and presents the Emperor with a full star chart and a reconstructed observing lens.

This chart perfectly aligns with the Dayan Calendar and provides a crucial foundation for the realm's future. The Emperor is so impressed that he offers Huaijin any reward he desires. Huaijin bravely asks for the hand of Li Peiyi in marriage. The Emperor, who was already troubled by how to handle Peiyi’s situation, gladly approves the union to solve the dilemma. Eunuch Guo later confirms to the Emperor that Peiyi was indeed poisoned.

Zhao Yudi had proven the presence of cinnabar by boiling down the meal liquids until the concentration was high enough for a silver needle to detect. They also discuss the tragedy from fifteen years ago, noting that the young eunuch sent to the mansion was likely not killed by the Prince of Duan. Realizing that the real culprits are still active, the Emperor decides to let Peiyi continue her own investigation.

Back at the mansion, Wu Ren tells the unconscious Peiyi about the impending marriage. Peiyi finally wakes up, holding onto the compass Huaijin gave her. Wu Ren teases her for treasuring the gift so much, and Peiyi, though still weak, is relieved to be alive. News of Peiyi’s recovery reaches the Right Chancellor, who is enraged. He knows that if Peiyi traces the evidence back to the soldiers he led fifteen years ago, his life will be forfeit.

He orders his subordinates to find Lv Chongshan immediately, threatening them with death if they fail. At the Xiao mansion, Huaijin’s parents are already preparing for the wedding. Xiao Wenyuan worries they are moving too fast, but Xiao’s mother is determined to welcome Peiyi with the warmth she has missed for so long.

When Huaijin returns home, his mother advises him to speak his heart to Peiyi directly, explaining that for a woman, hearing his sincere feelings is more important than a marriage arranged as a desperate measure. Huaijin visits Peiyi, who is slightly upset by his delayed appearance after being awake for three days. He presents her with a rabbit lantern and apologizes, explaining that he had struggled with how to approach her without damaging her reputation.

He confesses that while the request for marriage was a tactic to save her, his love for her is genuine. Overjoyed by his honesty, Peiyi accepts his embrace. Soon after, Eunuch Guo arrives with an imperial edict naming Li Peiyi as Princess Yong'an and granting her the Prince of Duan’s mansion as her official residence. Although the Emperor grants her request to hold a banquet, he refuses to meet her in person.

Despite her frustration at the Emperor’s refusal to speak the truth about the past, Huaijin promises to stay by her side and help her gather the evidence needed to bring the real killer to justice.

After her confinement was lifted, Li Peiyi finally gathered the courage to return to the mansion of her late father, the Prince of Duan. Her loyal ally Chen Luo was already there, waiting to toast to the memory of the deceased couple. However, Peiyi refused to drink, vowing not to touch the wine until she had personally slain her enemies.

When Chen Luo expressed concern that she might not be able to topple such a powerful official on her own, Peiyi remained resolute, insisting that she had her own way and asking him only to help her keep watch over their home. Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin was also working tirelessly to aid her revenge.

Although Gu Lingzhou cautioned that they should avoid trouble with the wedding approaching, Xiao Huaijin wanted Peiyi to live a life free of burdens after they were married. He tasked Gu Lingzhou with spreading word through the black market of a high bounty on Lv Chongshan's head. The plan worked; fearing that his master would turn him into a scapegoat, Lv Chongshan sought to flee the Western Capital.

Xiao Huaijin decided to pose as a "snakehead" boatman to lure him out, but he kept the truth from Peiyi to spare her worry, claiming he was merely on duty at the Astronomical Bureau. On the night of the confrontation, Peiyi hosted a banquet at the mansion. By using Consort Shu’s name to issue the invitations, she ensured that all the high-ranking officials attended.

She personally selected a unique "Gentleman Wine" infused with mushrooms, which the guests praised for its rare autumn flavor. At the docks, Xiao Huaijin and Gu Lingzhou moved to intercept Lv Chongshan, only to clash with a masked figure using hidden weapons. Upon unmasking the stranger, they were shocked to find it was Wuren.

It turned out Wuren had been posing as Lv Chongshan to lure out the mastermind's agents, while Xiao Huaijin had been posing as the boatman to catch Lv. Xiao Huaijin realized then that Peiyi had intentionally lured them all away to execute a plan of her own. Back at the Prince of Duan's mansion, the Right Chancellor, Cui Minzhong, was the last to arrive.

Peiyi remained hidden behind a screen, offering three toasts: to her survival, to her homecoming, and to a meeting with an old acquaintance. Soon, the guests began to feel dizzy, realizing the wine was spiked with toxic mushrooms. Peiyi emerged to recount the nightmare of fifteen years ago.

She described how, as an eight-year-old child, she had been sedated for a burn on the night of the Lantern Festival, only to wake up to a manor soaked in blood and her parents murdered. She declared that the killer was among the guests and threatened to kill them all.

While the other officials fled in a panic, Cui Minzhong instinctively headed for a secluded exit he had used to escape the slaughter years ago, only to find Peiyi waiting for him. Peiyi confronted the Right Chancellor, noting that his refusal to eat or drink proved he was too paranoid to fall for her trap.

Cui Minzhong eventually dropped his facade, admitting he had murdered the Prince of Duan for investigating military corruption and had used the "Mars invades the Heart" omen to frame him. He boasted about personally killing the Prince and forging evidence of suicide, and he threatened to kill Peiyi as well, confident he could spin a new story for the Emperor. Chen Luo arrived to fight off the Chancellor’s men.

When Lv Chongshan suddenly appeared, Peiyi anticipated his hidden weapon and killed him first. Just as she prepared to strike down the Right Chancellor, Xiao Huaijin arrived to stop her. He argued that killing a high official would only brand her a murderer and destroy the chance to legally clear her father’s name. The Imperial Guards soon arrived and took Cui Minzhong into custody, while Peiyi, exhausted and injured, collapsed in Xiao Huaijin's arms.

In the aftermath, the Emperor suspended Cui Minzhong and ordered him to reflect at home, but he stopped short of stripping him of his rank, fearing political instability. Peiyi, treated by Zhao Yudi, was devastated by this leniency. When the Emperor visited, she spoke out against him, questioning if the empire belonged to the Cui family or the Li family. The Emperor left in a fury after warning her against further insubordination.

Xiao Huaijin kept watch outside her room for two days, but when Peiyi finally emerged, she blamed him for preventing her from taking her own revenge. Deeply disappointed that his efforts to save her from the burden of being a killer were misunderstood, Xiao Huaijin agreed that they should clear their debts to one another and go their separate ways.

Half a month later, Peiyi requested the Emperor to revoke the marriage decree, accept her resignation from the Palace Investigation Bureau, and strip her of her princess title. The Emperor agreed, returning her to the rank of County Princess. Learning that Consort Shu had moved to the Cold Palace to repent for her brother’s crimes, Peiyi went to visit her. She told the Consort that the debt of being raised by her outweighed her brother's sins. Peiyi declared that she would not leave the palace; instead, she would stay by Consort Shu’s side, as they were now the only family each other had left.

Xiao Huaijin finally has an audience with the Emperor following a long period of recovery after his broken engagement. Though he has relinquished the Qilin badge, he remains committed to his role at the Astronomical Bureau. The Emperor, noting his frail appearance, tasks him with assisting the Ministry of Rites for the crucial Southern Suburb Ceremony and year-end blessings.

As Xiao Huaijin leaves the hall, he is unaware that the warmth in the palace corridors—which the servants attribute to imperial grace—was secretly arranged by Li Peiyi to protect his health. Seeking to regain the Emperor’s favor, Consort Shu offers a lock of her own hair as a symbol of eternal devotion, stating that while her status is a gift from the crown, her hair belongs only to her.

Touched by the gesture, the Emperor reinstates her to oversee the Grand Banquet following the ceremony. Li Peiyi, who has been keeping the Consort company while hiding her own heartache, is asked to assist in these preparations. However, a dark omen strikes during a meeting to finalize auspicious dates: a eunuch holding the imperial scrolls suddenly convulses and spontaneously combusts. While the Emperor departs in anger, Consort Shu tasks Xiao Huaijin and Li Peiyi with investigating the tragedy.

At the Palace Investigation Bureau, an autopsy conducted by Zhao Yudi reveals that the deceased eunuch had ingested iron caltrops hidden in his calming medicine. These sharp objects perforated his internal organs, and the resulting chemical reaction triggered the fire. Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin’s own health takes a turn for the worse when he begins coughing up blood, leading to the discovery that his expensive rhinoceros horn and pearl pills have also been tampered with.

Amidst the tension, Li Peiyi has Gu Lingzhou deliver a rare compass once owned by Li Chunfeng to Xiao Huaijin to replace a broken one, though she continues to insist she has no intention of returning to her former post at the Bureau. The mystery deepens when the body of a musician named Su Zhuo'er is found inside a large drum during a rehearsal at the Music Office.

Li Peiyi determines that the killer used lime and water inside the drum to generate heat, causing the victim's blood to drain out and seep through the drum skin. Investigating Su Zhuo'er’s final hours, Peiyi finds her discarded heavy coat and realizes the victim suffered from "paradoxical undressing," a phenomenon where extreme cold and intoxication cause a person to feel a false sense of heat and undress before freezing to death.

This calculated murder mirrors the death of Liu Guanghan, suggesting the culprit is intentionally creating public spectacles. As the ceremony approaches, the Emperor observes that Xiao Huaijin has become "withered and emotionless," comparing him to the philosophical figures in the Zhuangzi who have abandoned their sense of self. Meanwhile, rumors of a supernatural omen spread through the streets. Xiao Huaijin visits the home of his late mentor, Du Zhixing, where he encounters officials struggling to suppress a growing cult.

The commoners believe Consort Shu’s birth was linked to the "Venus" star (Taibai) and that its return will herald a new era of peace. A cryptic nursery rhyme about the five elements and the descending star fuels the public's hysteria. Xiao Huaijin warns the people that they are being manipulated by a hidden hand, but the superstition has already taken deep root in the capital.

Workers at the Liuli Palace uncover a massive stone head buried underground. Initially hailed as an auspicious dragon, the find is quickly reported to the Emperor. However, Shen Chuan, the Assistant Director of the Palace Workshop Service, identifies the skeletal structure not as a dragon, but as a fossilized "Hou"—a legendary fierce beast known for preying on dragons. While inspecting the site, Shen Chuan suffers a suspicious fall down the stairs and is seriously injured.

Meanwhile, a secret bamboo message reaches the palace, and rumors spread through the streets that the star Taibai will soon reappear during the day, a celestial omen suggesting the rise of a female ruler. Xiao Huaijin analyzes the situation at the Astronomical Bureau and concludes that the bamboo message was intercepted and altered to create a false omen. He suspects this incident, along with the nursery rhymes circulating in the city, is a deliberate attempt to frame Consort Shu.

Xiao asks Gu Lingzhou to inform Li Peiyi so she can warn the Consort. When Gu suggests that Xiao should deliver the message himself, Xiao declines, noting that both stars and humans must follow their own predetermined paths. Later, Xiao has an audience with the Emperor to clarify that the daytime appearance of Taibai is merely one astronomical possibility, not a certainty.

The Emperor, weary of recent disturbances and wary of the "unlucky" Hou fossil, expresses a firm desire to prevent any chaos before the upcoming Grand Festival. Li Peiyi arrives at the excavation site to investigate. While descending the stairs, she nearly falls just as Shen Chuan did, but she uses her martial arts training to catch a rope and steady herself.

She discovers that the ladder was deliberately coated in oil and moved from its corner to the walkway to ensure an "accident." A bandaged Shen Chuan returns to the site, loudly accusing his subordinates of framing him to steal his position, though others mock him for his past failures—such as the "Flower on the Wall" case—and suggest his misfortune is the result of his own desperate attempts to flatter the Emperor.

Xiao Huaijin deduces that the killer is obsessed with the five elements and meticulous timing. He instructs Gu Lingzhou to disguise himself as the injured Shen Chuan and walk outside the palace at night to lure the culprit. The plan works, and the assailant is unmasked as Yu Shishun, an official from the Astronomical Bureau.

Xiao explains that the murders were timed to align with the five elements: previous victims died during the hours of Si (Fire) and Zi (Water), while the attempt on Shen Chuan occurred during hours associated with Earth (Wei and Chou). Following his arrest, a hysterical Yu Shishun begs Li Peiyi to save his family from the "Star Lord."

Li Peiyi leads her team to the Yu mansion in the southwest corner of the Chongren Ward, but they arrive to find the servants and Yu’s parents already murdered by steel needles driven into their necks. Only Yu Shishun’s young son, Yu Lan'er, is found alive, having hidden in a water jar. Xiao Huaijin notes that the tea water is still warm, suggesting the killer—who masqueraded as the deity "Lord Taibai" using flash bombs and smoke—had only just vanished.

Yu Lan'er is brought back to the Palace Investigation Bureau. Traumatized, he tells Wu Ren about the "immortal" who walked on mist and taught him a nursery rhyme about the five elements and the Hou beast. Li Peiyi is struck with guilt, realizing her failure to act sooner has made the boy an orphan, just like her.

She attempts to interrogate Yu Shishun, but the official is paralyzed by fear, claiming the "Star Lord" has finally found him after fifteen years to punish him for a past sin. Before he can confess, Yu loses control and violently strikes his head against the wall until he loses consciousness. Later, Li Peiyi finds Yu Lan'er in the back courtyard obsessively stabbing a straw man to avenge his mother.

Seeing her own past reflected in the boy's hatred, she finally understands why Xiao Huaijin once stopped her from taking her own revenge. She gently consoles the child, warning him that living only for vengeance will consume his life and alienate those who love him. She eventually persuades Yu Lan'er to help her identify the killer by describing the "Star Lord's" face to a court artist so they can bring the true culprit to justice.

Li Peiyi returns to the County Princess Manor to find Chen Luo and several servants planting a plum tree. Chen Luo claims he wants to leave a spark of life within the manor, hoping the tree will eventually grow tall enough to offer her shelter from the wind and rain. Peiyi remains skeptical, noting that no one uses plum trees for such protection.

Chen Luo argues that even if it cannot block the storm, its blossoms provide a splash of blood-red color against the lifeless winter. Peiyi confronts him directly, asking if he murdered Yu Shishun’s family and the others just for a moment’s satisfaction.

When Chen Luo feigns ignorance, Peiyi presents the mounting evidence: the iron caltrop found in the calendar official (Li Sheng), the unique blade marks on the servants, and the fact that the "Celestial Lord" vanished near her own manor. She has deduced that Yu Shishun was the apprentice who slowed her family’s water clock fifteen years ago, leading to her father's downfall. Finally, she reveals a portrait drawn by the young survivor, Yu Lan'er.

Because the child viewed the killer from a low angle, the perspective was unique, and Peiyi recognized her childhood companion, "Uncle Luo," instantly. Faced with the portrait, Chen Luo admits to the killings, claiming they were a means of avenging the Prince of Duan and his fallen comrades. He admits to spreading the nursery rhyme to frame Consort Shu, believing the Right Chancellor only maintains power because of her influence over the Emperor.

Peiyi is horrified, reminding him that Consort Shu was the one who raised and protected her in the palace. She vows to prevent anyone from harming the Consort. Chen Luo remains steadfast, arguing that the Right Chancellor will never fall as long as the Consort remains in favor. He tells Peiyi that if the law and the Emperor cannot provide justice, he will take it by his own means.

He leaves her with a chilling choice: either turn him in or embrace her identity as the daughter of the Prince of Duan to seek blood for blood. Upon returning to the Palace Investigation Bureau, Peiyi informs Xiao Huaijin and Gu Lingzhou that she has only been distributing the portrait and hasn't found the suspect. However, Xiao Huaijin notices her somber mood and suspects she is hiding the truth.

The following day, during a dragon dance rehearsal, the dragon lantern’s eyes appear to weep blood. Peiyi investigates and determines that the "blood" is actually a mixture of red paste and oil hidden in grooves. As the dragon moves, the heat causes the paste to melt and soak through the thin paper. She learns that the dragon head was crafted by Lang Maochun, a master artisan from Puzhou personally chosen by the Emperor.

Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin visit the Palace Workshop Service, where Lang Maochun shows them a complex revolving lantern he made for the Emperor. He insists he would never fake an evil omen, as it would be treasonous. During their conversation, a fire suddenly breaks out, fueled by tung oil that had been moved outside a window on Peiyi’s earlier advice.

In the chaos, a hidden mechanism is triggered, and Lang Maochun is killed by a barrage of sharp bamboo ribs (the lantern's frame) before the flames can reach him. Peiyi notices a shadow fleeing and chases the suspect toward Chuyang Gate, but the trail vanishes abruptly. Xiao Huaijin later realizes that the "Phoenix Pecking Dragon" pattern revealed by the fire was a deliberate distraction, and he begins to suspect that Peiyi may have intentionally let the shadow escape.

With the sacrificial ceremony only three days away, the Emperor is briefed on the nursery rhyme. He notes that the rhyme’s specific phrasing (ordering the Five Elements as Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Metal) originates from Puzhou, Consort Shu’s hometown. Although Eunuch Guo attempts to defend her, the Emperor remains suspicious, particularly of the Right Chancellor, Cui Minzhong, who continues to receive disciples despite being under house arrest.

Feeling the walls closing in, the Right Chancellor decides to call upon Lv Chongshan of the Andong Protectorate to prepare for a counter-strike. Meanwhile, Peiyi visits Consort Shu and urges her to find an excuse to skip the upcoming festivities, fearing she is the killer’s true target. Consort Shu refuses, explaining that any attempt to hide would only fuel the Emperor’s suspicion. She believes that performing her duties perfectly is her only means of survival.

Back at the bureau, Gu Lingzhou traces the nursery rhyme to a butcher’s daughter who was taught the song by a man matching the portrait of the "Celestial Lord." Xiao Huaijin analyzes the Five Elements pattern of the murders: the latest case represented "Wood" (East/Morning). Since "Metal" (West) is the final element, he concludes the killer will strike during the evening banquet at the Grand Festival. Elsewhere, Chen Luo meets with a mysterious "Young Master" to discuss their progress.

They believe the bait has been taken, as the Right Chancellor is growing desperate. They prepare for a final move to topple the Cui clan and finally avenge the Jianning Iron Army.

With the Grand Festival imminent, Li Peiyi meets secretly with Chen Luo, who prepares to enter the palace disguised as her driver. Chen Luo remains tight-lipped about his high-ranking ally, insisting only on fulfilling their vengeance for the late Prince of Duan. However, before they can depart, Xiao Huaijin arrives to confront them. Xiao Huaijin has finally unraveled the mystery of the "bamboo strip murder" and the staged death of Lang Maochun.

He deduces that the killer never left the room; as the person closest to the dragon-headed lantern, Li Peiyi was the only one who could have cut the cord. She then used the ensuing fire to hide the real Lang Maochun in an empty tung oil barrel, while Chen Luo swapped in a pre-prepared corpse.

Xiao Huaijin notes that the real Lang Maochun had flammable grease on his fingers that would have left distinct burns, yet the body found in the debris had clean hands. Furthermore, Physician Zhao confirmed the corpse had been dead for days prior to the fire. Though Li Peiyi is impressed by his deduction, she remains committed to her path.

Realizing Xiao Huaijin only wishes to prevent her from throwing her life away, she has Chen Luo tie him up before they head to the palace. Inside the palace, Chen Luo manages the transportation of the "tribute crates" containing specialized fireworks. Meanwhile, Wu Ren is overcome with a sense of dread and begins to tremble. Li Peiyi kindly wraps her own cloak around the girl to steady her, while Gu Lingzhou provides a heater.

Li Peiyi encourages them to enjoy the evening, though she is secretly preparing for the final move. Back at the manor, Xiao Huaijin manages to shatter a teacup and use the shards to cut his bonds. As the evening banquet begins, Prince Li Qiang watches from the shadows, satisfied that Chen Luo is in place and the Right Chancellor, Cui Minzhong, is being successfully provoked.

The Chancellor, realizing he has not been summoned by the You Hour and hearing that the palace guard has doubled, grows desperate. Believing the Emperor is moving to wipe out the Cui clan and execute his sister, Consort Shu, he decides he has no choice but to rebel. Acting on a notification he reportedly received from Xiao Huaijin, he gathers his forces outside the palace gates, determined to "rescue" the Consort.

During Consort Shu's dance, the sky is suddenly lit by unauthorized fireworks forming the patterns of "Phoenix Dances Across the Nine Heavens" and "Venus Shines in Tandem"—symbols of a consort usurping the throne. The palace erupts in whispers of treason. Xiao Huaijin reunites with Wu Ren and immediately recognizes the display as a frame-up. Outside the walls, the Right Chancellor’s rebel forces engage the Imperial Guards in a bloody battle.

However, the tide turns when the fireworks suddenly shift into the auspicious "Dragon and Phoenix in Harmony" pattern. This change, orchestrated by Li Peiyi to save the Consort who raised her, calms the Emperor's fury but leaves the Chancellor with no retreat. Cui Minzhong is eventually captured and brought before the Emperor. Blood-stained and desperate, he argues that he was framed by Li Peiyi and the circulating nursery rhymes, claiming his intrusion was a loyal attempt to clear his name.

When the Emperor asks Consort Shu to decide her brother's fate, she refuses to oppose the law, accepting whatever punishment falls upon her family for the crime of treason. The Emperor orders the Chancellor to be returned to his manor under guard to await final judgment. In the aftermath, Chen Luo reports to Prince Li Qiang, who is displeased that Li Peiyi tampered with the fireworks to spare the Consort.

Believing the Cui influence must be totally eradicated, Chen Luo slips into Consort Shu’s chambers that night to assassinate her. He stabs the bed only to find a pillow; turning to flee, he finds Li Peiyi standing in his path with her blade drawn. Denouncing him as a traitor to her father's true legacy, she prepares to settle the score once and for all.

Li Peiyi confronts Chen Luo, revealing that he has been a pawn in a larger game orchestrated by Prince Li Qiang. She explains that his escape from the Right Chancellor’s banquet and the subsequent chaos in the palace were all carefully staged by the Prince. Li Qiang only chose Chen Luo because of his history as a subordinate of the Prince of Duan, intending to discard him as a scapegoat once the Cui family fell.

To prove he has been abandoned, Li Peiyi wagers that the people arriving will be guards, not allies. When the Jinwu Guards storm in, Li Peiyi successfully bluffs their General, claiming she has already executed the intruder and fed his remains to dogs. Intimidated by her demand to face the person who sent them, the guards retreat. Realizing he was betrayed, Chen Luo is taken by Wu Ren to the Palace Investigation Bureau to confess his crimes and seek protection.

Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin waits at the Bureau. Having escaped using the "finger blade" Li Peiyi intentionally left for him, he understood that her true goal was to protect Consort Shu while focusing her vengeance solely on the Right Chancellor. He admits he helped her by ensuring Cui Minzhong was forced into her trap.

They discuss how she cleverly subverted the planned fireworks display, turning a symbol of rebellion into a blessing of "Dragon and Phoenix in Blissful Harmony" to appease the Emperor. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Li Peiyi arrives at the Right Chancellor's manor dressed in vibrant red. Cui Minzhong, realizing the gravity of the visit, is forced to his knees as she reads an imperial edict.

The decree lists his extensive crimes: selling offices, forming cliques, and the massacre of the Prince of Duan’s household sixteen years ago. It further accuses him of using dark sorcery to curse the nation’s fate and plotting rebellion. Desperate, Cui Minzhong claims the rebellion charges were fabricated by Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin. Li Peiyi mocks his terror, reminding him that he once manipulated the water clock to frame her father and forged decrees to slaughter her family.

She reveals her knowledge of his every move, including his attempt to have her drowned in Juyue Pool when she was a child. Stating that she is acting outside the usual rules that he manipulated for so long, she strikes him down with her sword, finally obtaining justice for her parents. Later, Li Peiyi faces the Emperor. While he acknowledges her service in exposing the Chancellor’s corruption and offers her the leadership of the Palace Investigation Bureau, Li Peiyi refuses.

She boldly criticizes the royal court, stating that the law has become a mere tool for the royal clan's convenience rather than an instrument of true justice. Enraged by her insinuation, the Emperor banishes her from the palace, telling her never to return. Li Peiyi performs a final bow, expressing her gratitude for being raised within the royal walls before departing. Before leaving, Li Peiyi visits Consort Shu and addresses her by her birth name, Cui Yuyao.

She urges her to leave the suffocating palace and live a free life, but Cui Yuyao refuses. Feeling that she lost her true self long ago, she chooses to remain to atone for her brother's sins and protect the legacy of the Cui family. Xiao Huaijin also submits his resignation, which the Emperor eventually grants.

As the two walk out of the palace gates hand-in-hand, they ignore the eunuchs' protests about their improper conduct, finally leaving the world of power struggles behind. Time passes, and another Lantern Festival arrives. In the capital, Wu Ren has taken over the Palace Investigation Bureau and finds happiness with Gu Lingzhou. Other friends and former colleagues remember those who have moved on in their own ways.

Li Peiyi tells Xiao Huaijin that her parents appeared in a dream to take down a rabbit lantern, telling her the festival of the past is finally over. Xiao Huaijin promises to stay by her side every year until dawn. As they ride together across the land, a darker thread remains; the Prince, realizing they know too much about his schemes, orders his subordinates to ensure no witnesses are left alive, casting a lingering shadow over their hard-won peace.