Jun Qiluo learned from her third sister that last night, soldiers had burned two Beixuan spies to death in a thatched cottage in the woods. Since last night, they had not seen Xuan Lie or Luo Qi, and Jun Qiluo suspected something had happened to them. She rushed to the scene and saw the soldiers carrying out two bodies. Xuan Lie’s whip, which he always carried, fell to the ground. Jun Qiluo was devastated, unable to believe that Xuan Lie and Luo Qi had died like this. Overwhelmed with grief, she fainted on the spot. Fortunately, the Jun family arrived in time and took her back home. Jun Qiluo’s fainting was due to extreme sorrow, but her body and the baby in her womb were unharmed. Seeing this, Qi Min had no choice but to reveal Xuan Lie and Luo Qi’s true identities, stating that Xuan Lie was the father of Jun Qiluo’s unborn child. The head of the Jun family warned everyone to keep this matter absolutely secret. Qing Kou and He Jiyao had also left before the imperial guards arrived yesterday. The Jun family patriarch was deeply worried, as the family was in a dangerous position and could not afford to let the King find any evidence linking them to Beixuan.
After waking up, Jun Qiluo asked Qi Min to take her to find Qing Kou and He Jiyao. Qing Kou was insisting on going to look for Xuan Lie and Luo Qi, as she, like Jun Qiluo, refused to believe that the two could have been so easily killed. He Jiyao told Jun Qiluo about Xuan Lie’s previous plan: he had intended to have Madam Sun adopt Jun Qiluo as her goddaughter, so that he could marry Jun Qiluo on the day arranged by the King. Xuan Lie had always regarded Jun Qiluo as his only wife. Even after watching her jump off a cliff, he had kept his promise and established a trade market in the neutral zone, holding onto the bracelet Jun Qiluo had left behind day and night. Now, He Jiyao handed the bracelet to Jun Qiluo, hoping she would no longer resent Xuan Lie.
Dong Yin had been staying in Xixiang with Luo Zhizhou, deliberately hiding the truth about Consort Li’s situation. Luo Zhizhou mistakenly believed that Consort Li was doing well in the palace, unaware that she had been in poor health and living in misery. Soon after, Consort Li passed away. King Xuan Xu recalled how Consort Li had been in life, believing that life and death were predetermined and that he had done all he could for her.
The King, being meticulous, summoned Qi Min to ask his opinion on the rumors that spies were hiding in the Jun family. Qi Min stated that Jun Qiluo valued the Jun family more than her own life and would never risk harboring spies. As for Jun Qiluo’s pregnancy, the King was also suspicious. Although Qi Min claimed it was all a rumor and that Jun Qiluo was not pregnant, the King trusted the royal physician’s diagnosis and ordered Jun Qiluo to be examined. Fortunately, Jun Qiluo and Qi Min had anticipated this and had taken a medicine prepared by Qing Kou to conceal her pregnancy, allowing them to deceive the King. Despite this, the King still did not fully trust Qi Min and ordered the eunuch to delay giving Qi Min his monthly antidote for a few days, reminding him of his place.
That night, Qi Min’s poison flared up, but luckily, Qing Kou secretly came to see him and gave him an antidote she had developed. She took care of him all night. Meanwhile, Jun Yujue had Young Master Zheng help him steal Jun Qiluo’s weaving method. He planned to finish the work ahead of time and deliver it to the procurement office first, leaving Jun Qiluo with no options. However, Jun Yujue’s plan backfired. The soft smoke silk they produced had issues after being exposed to the sun. Furious, he went to confront Jun Qiluo, only to realize that she had intentionally let them take the order, knowing they would fail to deliver the soft smoke silk on time. The procurement office would surely hold them accountable. Jun Qiluo offered to help them overcome the crisis on one condition: that Jun Yujue hand over the family seal. Enraged, Jun Yujue began to curse, but he was suddenly struck by a hidden assailant and forced to kneel before Jun Qiluo. Seeing a pebble on the ground, Jun Qiluo thought of Xuan Lie—this was his style. She immediately chased after the figure.
