Wei Yun meets Chu Linyang to let him know he knows all about Chu Yu’s intentions and wants him to know he’ll be investigating the crossbow case as a promise to Wei Jun, who had promised him and Chu Yu to investigate the case. The meeting is yet again tense. With Chu Linyang not knowing that all was out in the open between Wei Yun and his sister, his guard was up, and he was worried that Wei Yun was wanting to do something to Chu Yu because of something Chu Yu did at his mansion.
Wei Yun keeps Chu Linyang on edge for a short time. He doesn’t come out with the fact that everything is out in the open and everything is fine between them. However, he eventually lets him know and even hands Chu Linyang back the crossbow trigger in hopes that maybe he could help the Arsenal Bureau look into improving it. Chu Linyang doesn’t voice his acceptance of this request, but Wei Yun takes his silence as such.
Tuantuan doesn’t realise it, but after returning from treating Chu Linyang, she’s showing signs of falling for Chu Linyang. Even Song Shilan picks it up. He has her think on whether her offer to Chu Linyang is because of her wanting to treat him or because of wanting to see him. According to Song Shilan, she’s been mentioning him this whole time.
Where Tuantuan is clueless about her developing feelings, Song Wenchang is clear about liking Chu Jin. Every day, he’s been hoping to run into her at Spring Breeze House, as the restaurant staff had informed him this was the place she often visited. Sure enough, after waiting for some time, she appeared before him and was making her way into the restaurant.
He lets her know he likes her. It has Chu Jin confused as to why he likes her, especially after what he witnessed at Wei Yun’s banquet where she stood by and let Chu Yu get drugged. Song Wenchang just looks past it, seemingly choosing to understand her emotions towards her sister. He struggled to list a thing that was good about her when she asked. As Chu Jin had provided, she didn’t expect him to since he’d only met her once.
After she says this, Song Wenchang does come up with a few good things from having listened to her talk about having cut ties with Young Master Sun after the drugging incident. From this action of hers, he tells her that she’s pragmatic for not insisting on keeping the relationship, and for this ability of hers to be pragmatic, he adds that it also means she is able to confront her inner feelings, which he calls being brave. When Chu Jin smiles from hearing his words, Song Wenchang compliments her smile and tells hers that everything about her is wonderful.
Song Wenchang is quite the sweet-talker. Chu Jin isn’t so quick to fall for Song Wenchang yet, but she’s not rejecting him.
At the Marquis of Zhenguo’s Mansion, Xie Yun has come to see Chu Yu about going home with her, but she’s noticeably absent from the room Wei Yun and Jiang Chun gathered to meet. Wei Yun had provided the reason of Chu Yu being unwell, but it looks like she just didn’t want to meet her mother because she was not sick at all when Wei Yun visited her later that night about the matter.
From a rational perspective, Wei Yun wants her to leave. In his heart, though, he wanted her to stay. However, what she wants is what he thinks she should do.
Chu Yu sees that from a rational perspective, she should also return, but she’s worried that returning to her home will make investigating the crossbow case not as convenient as if she stayed, and so, she tells Wei Yun she wants to stay. She also tells him that she wants to work together and help him rebuild his family, declaring that he will become a great general who will go down in history.
Wei Yun’s expression had subtly brightened when her choice was to stay. However, he worried about the current state of Chu Yu’s relationship with her mother. Wei Yun observed that her mother appears to be trying to become closer with her. If she stays, she won’t be able to make any progress with their relationship.
Chu Yu seems to suggest there’s no hope of improving their relationship, as even back then when her father was still alive, they didn’t get along. She had mentioned that her father mediated for the two and how back then, it was not bad. But now, with her father no longer around, there appears to be dejection in her voice as she trails off to her thoughts.
Chu Yu’s sadness sees Wei Yun jump in to stand in her father’s place. “You have me,” he told her. When Wei Yun, as well as Chu Yu, realises the possible meaning it conveys—such as, maybe, that he’ll be that someone who will stand on her side and look out for her from now on—it sees them both feeling awkward.
To diffuse the awkwardness, Wei Yun tells her off for moving about when she’s still recovering from her injured leg. Chu Yu gives him a telling off for not caring about their brother-in-law-sister-in-law relationship and entering her room whenever he pleases. Wei Yun retorts with the fact that she’s not his real sister-in-law and tells her that in front of people, they can pretend to be in-laws, but she better not take advantage of him behind his back.
Chu Yu doesn’t fight back. She was pretty cooperative when Wei Yun got a bit worried about what Jiang Chun and Wang Lan would think when they made a visit to bring Chu Yu some herbs. Chu Yu had no problem just opening her door and meeting her sisters-in-law while Wei Yun was still in her room. Wei Yun, though, felt it wasn’t appropriate for him to be seen in her room so late at night, so Chu Yu pretended to have just woken up from their call and told them that they best not enter, as she was sick and she might infect them and the children.
The last item Wei Yun wants to talk to Chu Yu about before his visit ends is the information Lu Qiba had helped obtain from his investigations into the crossbow case. This piece of information is that Yao Yong is behind Wei Tongfeng, and Yao Yong was a follower of the Lord of Qin. It was Yao Yong’s defence that has helped prevent the loss of Qingzhou to North Qi.
It sees Chu Yu suspect that maybe Yao Yong was out to get revenge for the Lord of Qin. Gu Chusheng had mentioned believing that the Lord of Qin was framed, and with the discovery that Yao Yong was a follower of the Lord of Qin, it seems Chu Yu sees that perhaps Yao Yong wants revenge over the ruling that unjustly went against the Lord of Qin.
She appears to be considering asking Gu Chusheng about the hidden details of the case he previously mentioned. However, it seems she didn’t want to lean on him for help. She wasn’t out of options, though, as she comes up with her fourth sister-in-law Yao Ju, who’s the cousin of Yao Yong.
A letter is sent to Yao Ju stating that her cousin is collaborating with the North Qi, with a request that Yao Jue return and help their case. However, Yao Yong’s threat to harm her and her child, Lingmo, sees her return a straight-out refusal to return and help, sending a letter back telling them that she’s no longer a Wei and for them to not contact her anymore.
Yao Yong’s threat comes after learning that his mole Wei Tongfeng had been discovered and killed. Following this report, he summoned Yao Ju to tell her through a bowl of soup—which used a hen and her chick to create the broth—that he won’t hesitate to kill Lingmo if she does anything that will result in the fall of their family.
Chu Yu and Wei Yun don’t misunderstand the reason Yao Jue was so blunt with her refusal to return and help. They know it must be because she’s under the watchful eye of Yao Yong. For this issue, Wei Yun will have Wei Qiu watch over Yao Jue.
Another lead comes their way not long after receiving Yao Jue’s refusal. Gu Chusheng appears at the doorsteps of the Marquis of Zhenguo’s Mansion to give her a small scroll.
Initially, Chu Yu had declined to see Gu Chusheng when he was announced to have come by. However, when it was said that he wanted to see both Wei Yun and Chu Yu, he was able to get a meeting with her. He also manages to speak to her privately because he expressed that the Lord of Qin’s treason is closely connected to Chu Yu’s investigation.
With everything out in the open between Chu Yu and Wei Yun, there was nothing Chu Yu didn’t want Wei Yun to hear. However, it seems that her desire to see what information he had to corroborate his claim had her agree to speak privately.
Inside the scroll, Qinxi Valley, Bitao Villa, and Wangyu Manor are written. They’re meeting places for North Qi’s long plan of annexing Great Sui. The Lord of Qin’s treason was included in this long plan.
Chu Yu focuses on Qinxi Valley, as this place is owned by Li Changming. Chu Yu doesn’t suspect the Eldest Princess’ loyalty to Great Sui. She suspects there’s someone within her group of followers. The information sees it as a starting place for their next focus.
Whilst Gu Chusheng is here, he tries to see if Chu Yu could give him another chance to gain her trust. He wants her to let him help her with her investigations. He’s also looking for a chance to start over. This seems to be the reason he was so insistent on meeting her privately. After giving her the scroll, he wanted to bring this up.
Gu Chusheng doesn’t get her alone at this point, though, as Wei Yun suddenly appears to express that repentance is worthless. He also scoffs at the hope of starting over. He reminds him that Chu Yu is his sister-in-law and that he wouldn’t have had this chance to see Chu Yu if Gu Chusheng weren’t an official.
Chu Yu ends the exchange between Wei Yun and Gu Chusheng and reaffirms the words she said to him already—that it’s too late. Gu Chusheng lets it go for now. He believes that he will gain her trust again.
Li Changming’s taken a liking to some pearls, which her brother, Emperor Chunde, won’t give without payment of 100,000 taels. It leads Li Changming to hold a meeting with her followers to have to them brainstorm on ways to get those pearls for as little money as possible if not free.
A follower volunteers to take it from the Emperor, which sees him scolded, as it’s asking to be killed. The next follower suggests increasing taxes or surtaxes on the people. Xue Hanmei opposes the idea, as the people are already struggling following the Baidi Valley battle. He suggests that the money come from the nobles through some donations. This idea of Xue Hanmei is one Li Changming approves and orders them to come up with a logical way to get enough money from the nobles.
Xue Hanmei’s opposition creates a small confrontation between him and the follower he opposed. It sees him confront Xue Hanmei later that night, wanting to teach him a lesson. However, he ends up suffer humiliation himself when his punch misses and he’s sent to the garden before. Xue Hanmei scares him with a story about the herbs being poisonous and that he’d die in there day when they’re actually not that deadly. When the fellow follower shows signs of being scared, Xue Hanmei tells him he only needs an application of bath cream to relieve the itch he suddenly developed.
The poisonous plants from Xue Hanmei’s garden have been mentioned twice so far. The first time was in Episode 8 when he was speaking to Li Changming after coming back from his gardening. When she approached him, he had immediately stepped back from her, not wanting her to touch him. He gives the reason that the plants in his garden can both heal and poison, so that patch of herbs isn’t benign.
With Qinxi Valley being a meeting place for discussing the plans to annex Great Sui and Chu Yu suspecting someone within Li Changming’s group of followers to be a spy, Xue Hanmei comes across as suspicious. But then he did just help the people out of footing the bill of 100,000 taels, so that’s the intention. He’s made to come off suspicious, yet not.
Chu Yu certainly doesn’t suspect him. She climbs over the wall to show her face after Xue Hanmei senses her presence. He appears to have spotted her by noticing her shadow. She’s there to see Xue Hanmei about her suspicions.
