That night, Sun Weiyan secretly meets with the mysterious figure who has been ordering him around. He angrily questions this person about the incidents in Zhao Family Village and the Lü Residence, asking if they were his doing. In response, the mysterious figure threatens Sun Weiyan by holding his father’s life as leverage.
Upon returning to the Guo Residence, Guo Zijie confronts his elder brother, Guo Zilu, in a rage. He demands to know why their mother would want to harm Cao Xuanxuan and, losing control of his temper, even strikes Guo Zilu. Concerned for his own safety, Mr. Tao (Tao xiansheng) warns Guo Zijie to avoid open conflict with “a scoundrel” like Guo Zilu in the future. Meanwhile, it happens to be their father’s birthday banquet. When word reaches him that the two brothers have come to blows, he scolds Guo Zijie. In turn, Guo Zijie admits his mistake and vows to resolve their conflict. Their father, satisfied, drops the matter and asks Guo Zijie to help him fetch an old friend, Master Ning (Ning Yuanwai).
Furious after being beaten, Guo Zilu realizes Guo Zijie’s “simple-mindedness” is all just an act. He worries their father will use the day’s banquet to declare Guo Zijie head of the family. When he hears that Guo Zijie is going out that evening to escort Master Ning, his murderous thoughts arise again.
Right as Guo Zijie is about to admit his wrongs to Cao Xuanxuan, their cousin Sun Ying bursts in. She protests that she never realized the poison could be lethal and feels jealous about Guo Zijie and Cao Xuanxuan spending all their time together. Guo Zijie openly declares he only has eyes for Cao Xuanxuan, prompting Sun Ying to leave in tears. Cao Xuanxuan is delighted to hear this but feigns indifference on the surface.
Guo Zijie, Cao Xuanxuan, and He Chuner plan to pick up Master Ning together. But since it’s his father’s 60th birthday and Guo Zijie hasn’t prepared a gift, he begs He Chuner to handle the gift purchase. On the way to invite Master Ning, they run into Sun Weiyan and two others, who are also heading to Master Ning’s residence. Master Ning claims he’s getting old and unwell, asking them to wait two hours for Doctor Shizhen to arrive before he can leave with them. He then sends the three to rest in the rear courtyard.
There, Cao Xuanxuan notices Master Ning is hiding something, and she also feels something is off about the entire Ning Estate—though it’s large, there seems to be only one servant around. She suspects Master Ning is stalling for time.
Hearing this, Guo Zijie goes to question Master Ning and happens upon a servant packing gold and silver into chests. Suspicious, Guo Zijie steps forward to ask, and Master Ning claims these are gifts for Guo Zijie’s father. Seeing the enormous wealth, Guo Zijie is momentarily stunned. At that moment, another servant reports they are still one hundred taels short. Master Ning grows anxious; Cao Xuanxuan borrows a one-hundred-tael banknote from Guo Zijie and hands it over, immediately deducing it is actually ransom money.
Master Ning tells them about how his youngest son was kidnapped. At first, he intended for the three of them to leave. But Guo Zijie, as an official, feels compelled to intervene. Just then, the kidnappers appear in the Ning Estate. Yet when they rush into the room, the kidnappers have suddenly vanished. Worried about his son’s safety, Master Ning has no choice but to follow the kidnappers’ instructions and bring the ransom to the designated location.
Guo Zijie and Cao Xuanxuan go with Master Ning to deliver the ransom. Guo Zijie mentions that once the ransom business is settled, they should go back to celebrate his father’s birthday—and adds that after the banquet, he will bring up his marriage to Cao Xuanxuan with his father.
Meanwhile, Guo Zijie’s father intends to entrust the family’s management to Guo Zilu. The steward is shocked to learn of this because Guo Zilu is not actually his father’s biological son. However, due to raising him all these years, Guo Zijie’s father has long regarded Guo Zilu as his own child. The steward, holding Guo Zijie’s father’s wooden seal, leaves the room puzzled. At that moment, Guo Zilu appears outside his father’s chamber.
When Guo Zijie and Cao Xuanxuan reach the designated exchange spot along with Master Ning, they both find it strange: the kidnappers could have taken the silver straight from the Ning Estate, so why choose this out-of-the-way location? Master Ning, however, is too worried about his beloved son to dwell on this question. All he cares about is paying the ransom as quickly as possible. Even so, he has still made certain preparations.
