As the Retired Emperor returns, Han Liang freezes to death outside the Imperial Study as punishment, and Jinqi escorts his widow home before returning to Jinling for good.

With Du Cuique defeated, the Lins count their blessings, though Fengxian loses four front teeth for ignoring Lanxiang’s orders. Lanxiang’s mother dies peacefully, telling her to keep writing for women

Grieving Shaohui, Jinqi and Lanxiang see through Du Cuique’s plan: her revenge on the Lins is only a diversion to burn the grain bound for the besieged capital so she can become King of Jinling.

Saved by the quick-witted scholar Xie Zhao, Xiuwan escapes the pirates, and his portraits of the kidnappers reveal a shocking truth: the pirate chief is Du Cuique

After Fengxian’s plot to frame Lanxiang backfires, the Old Master welcomes Xiulai’s children into the Lin genealogy and officially makes Lanxiang head of the household.

Ye Xinzhi admits to a friend that he has fallen for someone, while Xu Chi tries to move on by agreeing to date Yang Rui. Bu Tianna discovers her father secretly had her proposal rejected

Ma Ke passes off Xu Chi’s value tree as his own in front of Mr. Pi, but after a nosebleed, a good cry and some insider tips from an ex Celestial salesman turned real estate agent

Bu Tianna explains why she joined the Celestial Insurance team, but after Zhao Heng bluntly exposes how little she knows about Xu Chi’s life, her clumsy second apology turns into a declaration of rivalry

Xu Chi decides to pour herself into her career and moves to the Celestial Insurance digital finance team, while helping Lin Long stand up to her husband and outsmart him in the divorce

Lin Long’s husband shoves her during an argument, and she loses the baby, but with Xu Chi’s help she secretly records his confession and resolves to divorce him, ending her feud with Xu Chi for good