Lin’an, considering friendship, personally presents a blood-written letter to the former dynasty, causing a significant impact on the entire court. Originally, it would have been easy to frame Princess Pingyang, the daughter of the Pingyang County, for violating the imperial decree and escaping privately. However, with Lin’an’s intervention, she blocked those who wanted to speak on behalf of Zhang Feng’s lover. Ultimately, the emperor judged Zhang Feng to be beheaded.
Lin’an’s mother, the noble consort, upon hearing that her daughter took the blood-written letter to the former dynasty, became furious and personally went to find Lin’an. She accused her of interfering in court affairs. Normally, her father was indulgent and favored her, but this was because she was naive and had no worldly schemes. Now, she publicly exposed herself for the sake of a county princess. The noble consort harshly reprimanded her. Lin’an did not heed her mother’s accusations at all; she was constantly thinking of Pingyang, recalling the tragic scene when she last saw her, and couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. Suddenly, a butterfly flew in from somewhere, circling around Lin’an and lingering for a long time. Lin’an’s eyes reddened again as she stared at the butterfly repeatedly, murmuring, “Could it be that Sister Pingyang has finally gained her freedom?”
Heng Hui was also released from prison. Upon hearing that Zhang Feng would be beheaded within five days, those who had previously harmed Princess Pingyang had all been punished, which could be considered settling a grudge. It seemed that her junior brother should now find peace.
The position of Minister of War became vacant. The emperor instructed the court officials to recommend capable candidates. Everyone was eager to recommend their own confidants, except Wei Yuan, who remained silent. The emperor was puzzled and decided to let the Secretariat handle the appointment of the Minister of War. Finally, Wei Yuan pleaded with the emperor to pardon Xu Qi’an’s death sentence, but the emperor still did not agree.
Since learning about the injustice against Pingyang, Lin’an had stayed in the palace, losing her appetite and living in tears every day. The Grand Princess also felt sorrow for her and called Xu Qi’an over, giving her a painting scroll and carefully prepared pastries to pass on to Lin’an. In Lin’an’s courtyard, a maid refused Xu Qi’an entry; now, Lin’an would not see anyone.
After the maid left, Lin’an opened the painting scroll Xu Qi’an had sent. It turned out to be a painting made by Princess Pingyang before her death, depicting them together enjoying the Lantern Festival. There was also a short poem personally inscribed by Pingyang. Seeing Pingyang’s handwriting, Lin’an began to cry bitterly again. The crown prince came to visit Lin’an and, hearing her sorrowful cries, felt deeply saddened as well.
Recently, Xu Qi’an had not taken money home for a long time. Her aunt began to find reasons to ask Xu Pingzhi and Xu Qi’an to immediately provide their monthly salaries. With no money in their pockets, heroes like them would die of desperation. Xu Qi’an and Xu Pingzhi had no choice but to declare that they would no longer eat meat and would switch to vegetables to save money. But just as they finished speaking, an eunuch from the court came to the Xu family to read the imperial decree. The emperor’s bounty had finally returned. Xu Pingzhi and the aunt saw the dazzling 5,000 taels of gold bestowed by the emperor and could hardly believe their eyes, as they had never seen such glittering gold since childhood. Finally, Xu Qi’an’s family status skyrocketed. The aunt and Xu Pingzhi immediately came forward to express their gratitude, and Xu Qi’an, being generous, naturally handed over much of the gold to her aunt to manage.
Xu Qi’an also brought some gold to her former companions, the “Copper Gong” brothers and Li Yuchun. Everyone was deeply grateful upon seeing the gold. Traditionally, people could share hardships but not joys, but Xu Qi’an remembered to share the benefits even when she gained something, truly making her a rare kind-hearted person!
The emperor still did not pardon Xu Qi’an’s death sentence, making her uneasy. Wei Yuan explained that the emperor did not like her, possibly because of the Linglong incident last time. Xu Qi’an then asked if capturing Zhou Chixiong would allow her to avoid death. Wei Yuan nodded, saying that capturing Zhou Chixiong would indeed be a great achievement.
The second member of the Tiandi Society finally captured Zhou Chixiong and rode a phoenix to bring him before Xu Qi’an. With Zhou Chixiong in custody, Xu Qi’an still needed influential benefactors to assist her. She sought out the great Confucian scholar from Bailu Academy and Cai Wei from the Ministry of Heaven to accompany her in meeting the emperor.
