Royal Betrothal

As a young child, Meng Tinghui fell into the hands of human traffickers. In her moment of despair, a youth clad in red enlightened her : only by studying, becoming an official, and having power can she truly exact revenge.

To retrieve the handwritten resume Ying Gua took, Meng Tinghui deliberately leaks his whereabouts on the street to both the Black Tiger Hall and Huo An's faction. That night, Ying Gua returns to Bofeng House with people to confront Meng Tinghui about the betrayal, and the two face off amidst a torrential downpour.

Meng Tinghui seizes the opportunity to escape prison and seeks out Ying Gua to propose a deal. She will guide him into Jiuyou City, and in return, he will restore her status as a law-abiding citizen, reinstating her eligibility for the Imperial Examination.

Ying Gua returns Meng Tinghui's handwritten resume to her and invites her to go horseback riding. As she recounts the story of being abducted and trafficked as a child, Ying Gua realizes she is the same young beggar who stole his jade pendant a decade ago.

Meng Tinghui's discourse on policy in the Metropolitan Examination is plagiarized, and the perpetrator even attempts to silence her permanently. She decides to blow up the matter, printing and distributing leaflets on Changle Street to expose the fraud surrounding the discourse on policy of the Metropolitan Examination's Top Scholar.

The Magistrate of the Metropolitan Office, Dong Shoucai, conspires with Jiang Mei'er and has Meng Tinghui thrown into prison. Jiang Mei'er orders the prison guards to set the prison ablaze to silence her. At the critical moment, Ying Gua arrives with the Shenwei Army, and only then does Meng Tinghui learn that He Du is actually the reigning Emperor.

Left Chancellor Xu Ting forcibly abolishes the Women's Special Imperial Examination. Meng Tinghui persuades Right Chancellor Gu Qin to help secure land for women's academies across all the provinces. She then gathers all the female tribute scholars to sign a joint petition and kneels in the rain in front of the Xu residence to plead their cause.

Ying Gua announces the establishment of the Censorship Bureau and appoints Meng Tinghui to lead it, but Xu Ting vehemently objects, arguing that it would throw the court into disorder.