Pre-dawn exterior and corridor of the Pavilion of Tender Years, establishing the immortal nursery as both beautiful and oppressive.

The wet nurses gather at the morning duty board and receive warnings about the inspection schedule.

Liang Hua passes the rule plaques that define the power imbalance of the Pavilion.

Liang Hua enters Cradle Seven and the reader meets Little Cloud in the nursery.

Liang Hua performs the morning care routine while demonstrating her restraint.

Liang Hua's false registration and the danger of her buried true name are established without revealing later secrets.

Under-Matron Shen Yulan enters the nursery wing and takes control of inspection preparation.

Shen gives practical inspection instructions and makes the consequences plain.

The third bell rings and the inspection party arrives with cold ceremonial authority.

The inspection begins with formal positioning and Luo's disdainful efficiency.

Luo questions Liang Hua directly, forcing her to answer under her false registered identity.

The expected developmental rule is made clear: an infant this age should not speak during inspection.

Little Cloud is placed on the examination platform beneath the jade record tablet.

Luo continues routine questions, and the inspection appears to be passing cleanly.

Little Cloud shifts attention away from the inspector toward Liang Hua.

Luo chooses bureaucratic dismissal over deeper investigation and records the anomaly lightly.

The inspection concludes and Luo leaves, but Shen's attention remains fixed on Liang Hua.

Shen clears the nursery and seals the door, turning the beautiful room into an interrogation chamber.

Shen confronts Liang Hua with the mismatch between her registered alias and the spoken true name.

Shen lights a six-hour incense and lays out the deadline before the report becomes permanent.

The chapter ends on Shen's threat and Liang Hua's impossible deadline.