When last we left our Handsome Stranger and the Pig Butcher, Changyu was ready for a romantic night.
Starting with a luxurious foot soak
Yan Zheng abruptly leaves the one bed to her and Ning. Changyu wonders if the foot bath killed the mood.
Yan Zheng lies awake thinking about Sun asking if he’s leaving the Fan sisters. Sun thought Changyu could handle being at the front line with him. Yan Zheng doesn’t disagree. Changyu is amazing. But he doesn’t want to drag her into his messy, ugly world.
At breakfast, the ever-present village chorus shames a live-in husband for not paying for himself. Changyu doesn’t want the same for Yan Zheng and tries to sneak him money. But he got a big chunk of money from Sun. So big that the restaurant can’t make change.
Now the chorus is whispering for other reasons.
Back home, they learn the government is taking money from everyone.
Changyu checks on her grandfather and discovers her horrible aunt is starving him. She threatens to remove her Aunt from the family and take the house. She wants Grandfather to come home with her.
Grandfather doesn’t feel he deserves it
Because Changyu’s father isn’t his son!
When her parents moved into town, her father paid Grandfather to use the name of his long-deceased son. Before they died, Changyu’s parents gave Grandfather the deed and a letter. They said their deaths were the only way to keep Changyu and Ning safe.
But her “Uncle” took the letter and burned it to steal their property. Her Uncle dying and her Aunt being horrible feels like a fair punishment to Grandfather for allowing that to happen.
Later, Changyu tells Yan Zheng that Li probably lied about her parents’ deaths. She wants the truth and to avenge them.
He explains how everyone lies, from the local government to the imperial court, creating a tangled web. She doesn’t understand how her parents’ deaths have anything to do with the imperial court.
Regardless, she wants to keep digging. Because she’s a woman, the only way she can do this is with money.
To make things heavier, he wants to know what to give her for her birthday, to stand as her gift for the years ahead. Meaning, he’s leaving. She wants to confirm he’s coming back.
He kinda, sorta, maybe nods a little?
Li agrees to marry the Grand Princess, later
He learns that General He has been detained and wants to rush into action. Grandfather likes General He because he Truly Supports The People. And General He only supports Wei Yan because he has to.
Grand Tutor Li guesses Wei Yan allows Wei Xuan to destroy everything around him to isolate loyal officials and gain power. He wants his grandson to uproot Wei Yan and the corrupt faction around him. To that end, he warns Li that his loyalty is his greatest quality and deepest flaw.
Li vows to help his grandfather get rid of Wei Yan. He wants to join forces with Yan Zheng, but Grandfather is too worried about his blood ties with Wei Yan.
Wei Yan is not impressed by his son and sends someone to make him return command to General He and come home.
Out in the forest, Li finds dead people with farm equipment. One person was allowed to live, so that they’d run to a nearby town, blame the government soldiers, and start a rebellion.
Uh-oh, someone died while eating at Qian’s restaurant!
The wandering village chorus demands bloooood!
Changyu gets Mr Jin’s help in kidnapping the people responsible for the rumor and pretending to torture one of them. She learns the Magistrate’s creepy clerk is behind this.
Qian interrupts before it goes further. All day she’s tried to get help, but with no luck. Whoever is behind this is powerful. It’s not just another restaurant.
Officials show up to arrest Qian, and she asks Changyu to take care of Bao. Changyu agrees, but watches as Qian is taken away. That’s where Yan Zheng finds her.
Yan Zheng tells her this is all part of a plot to incite riots against the government. He wants her to get the Constable and guard the city gates from rioters.
Yan Zheng gently takes Changyu by the neck and tells her to take care of herself. There’s something heavy about his goodbye. Then he distracts the fake officials so Changyu can hide Bao in his secret prison.
Here’s someone new to remember
Yuanqing, Eldest Son of Prince Changxin. Although he calls Qi his elder brother. Not sure how that works. He’s part of the effort to destabilize this area and get Qian and Bao for his brother.
Changyu discovers Horrible Ex-Fiancé’s Fiancée, daughter of the magistrate, is being held hostage. Ex-Fiancé’s Fiancée’s father was taken prisoner, and that horrible clerk quickly changed sides.
She’ll do anything to save her father, and even offers Horrible Ex-Fiancé back. Changyu politely declines, but she’d like her maid’s clothing.
Disguised, Changyu sneaks in to see Yuanqian, who is pretending to be Wei Xuan in what I’m guessing is the Magistrate’s office. Changyu guesses he isn’t Wei Xuan and takes him hostage, demanding they release the magistrate.
Meanwhile, at the city gates
The rioters, led by the survivor of that massacre, want in. The villagers want out. And the Constable helpfully exposits that they were able to close the gate and defend themselves thanks to Yan Zheng’s warning.
Qi, watching from a distance, learns that Yan Zheng and General He’s armies took the grain back. Since General He works for Wei Yan, Qi didn’t think they’d work together.
Still, Qi has fake rioters and a fake army ready to help him take over the city.
At the gates, someone kills a rioter before the Constable gives the order. A masked Yan Zheng appears and stops another guy from doing the same. Thankfully, the fake officials and rioters are all wearing bright red ribbons, making them easy to spot.
The grain has arrived, so they lower it outside the gate. The real villagers are thrilled, the fake rioters aren’t.
The Magistrate has been freed, and Changyu brings him and her hostage to the gate. She immediately recognizes Yan Zhen in the mask. The Magistrate takes credit for everything, somehow upsetting the rioters. The fake rioters use this to incite the whole crowd again.
Fireworks go off. The fake rioters start scaling the wall, and the fake army attacks.
Li, who also received a warning from one of Yan Zheng’s people, takes his people to intercept the fake army. There are more than he can handle, but General He rides in with some OST to save the day.
Yuanging breaks free of Changyu and attacks!
Even with just a knife, she cuts him and knocks him into a wall. Yan Zheng then kills Yuanqing’s right-hand man before he can kill Changyu.
Yuanqing learns about General He, and has to retreat. He tries to take Changyu over the wall with him to be his concubine, but Yan Zheng saves her. Before going after Yuanqing, Yan Zheng tells Changyu to meet at their usual place.
Yan Zheng catches up to Yuanqing, and in a quick exchange of arrows, his mask is destroyed, revealing his identity. Yuanqing provokes him by saying lewd things about Changyu, and Yan Zheng goes after him with all the arrows. As Yuanqing leaps backwards off a cliff, he gets one in the shoulder.
Next, Yan Zheng meets up with the injured Li. Li offers to help Yan Zheng, but Yan Zheng still doesn’t trust him because he’s a Li.
Li says his aspirations are different from his Grandfathers. He wants peace and happiness for the common people. Yan Zheng sees this, but won’t work with Li until he’s decided whose side he’s on.
Then Yan Zheng goes to meet Changyu. She’s worried about him, but he hugs her and says he’s fine. My. Heart.
Changyu thinks for SURE Yuanqing is dead. She hasn’t watched these kinds of shows. Yan Zheng is upset by her injuries. She’s happy she stabbed Yuanqing.
That Was A Lot
At times, I got lost. I’m still confused about how Changyu ended up saving the Magistrate while Yan Zheng went to the gate. Isn’t that the opposite of the plan?
Regardless, the story world expanded here, with local politics overtaken by larger world issues. Yan Zheng basically warned both Changyu and us that this would happen when he explained that the local corruption she experienced also existed in the Imperial court.
I also appreciated the insight into Changyu’s eager attitude about money. It’s her main source of power. Though arguably, a woman with super strength has some extra advantages over the typical woman, or man.
It’s sweet of Yan Zheng to want to protect Changyu from the ugly world, but that’s not happening. Whatever her parents were involved in, and her own determined personality, have made that impossible. She’s safer with him around.
But I think he’s still going to make that separation happen soon, and I’m dreading it a little.
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