When last we left our Handsome Stranger and the Pig Butcher, they were finally dealing with… everything.
But first, Grand Tutor Li and the Emperor set their trap in motion
At the banquet in his honor, a eunuch spills something all over Yan Zheng, and he has to leave to change.
Chancellor Wei catches the Emperor and Grand Tutor Li grinning at each other and knows something is up. Then a drunk Changyu wants to drink to his failure to get grain to the soldiers.
He takes a sip, then tosses the drink, and a suddenly not-drunk Changyu watches him leave. Outside, Chancellor Wei listens to the Emperor toasting himself and mumbles that he’s as vile as his father.
Yan Zheng meets secretly with the Grand Princess and a palace maid who supposedly has information. The woman is babbling that her lady wants him to run because of the fire, that her lady is with child, and things about osmanthus trees.
Grand Princess concludes her lady was Lady Qi, Chancellor Wei’s true/lost love.
But some aphrodisiac incense alerts Yan Zheng that it’s a trap, too late. A eunuch and soldiers are outside, telling Yan Zheng he can’t escape and should surrender now.
Yan Zheng cuts his hand to stay focused
Then he kills everyone and runs, abandoning the women. Changyu follows the trail of blood and finds him collapsed and horny. She hides them both.
Our horrible throuple learns that Yan Zheng assaulted a maid, but not only that, the place where he did it is now ON FIRE. Grand Tutor Li wants Yan Zheng killed on sight.
Then, having been alerted by Changyu, the Grand Princess’s mother shows up. Her daughter is in the fire!
No one does anything until Sun runs into the burning building. He carries the Grand Princess out and revives her using the CPR Qian taught him. Once awake, the Princess takes Sun’s hand, awww.
Meanwhile, Yan Zheng wants to make out with Changyu while they’re hiding, so she knocks him out. But the soldiers see someone else running and go after them instead.
Grand Tutor Li REALLY wants to kill Yan Zheng
But when Changyu and Yan Zheng finally return, Yan Zheng is soaking wet and claims he was drunk and fell in a lotus pond.
Grand Tutor Li is still determined to have him killed, but the soldiers have caught a different culprit. It’s his own grandson! Li claims he snuck in to confess to the Grand Princess.
To avoid taking any blame for their failed scheme, the Emperor and Grand Tutor Li blame the eunuch. Yan Zheng retrieves the sword the emperor tried to give him, and promptly slits the eunuch’s throat. Wow.
When everyone else is gone, Chancellor Wei slaps the Emperor for trying what his father tried 17 years ago. The Emperor wonders if Chancellor Wei slapped his father too.
Chancellor Wei is like, yes, that’s how you became Emperor. The Emperor collapses and cries, which is very satisfying
In their carriage, Changyu finally lets Yan Zheng make out with her
They arrive at her place, and Yan Zheng’s general thinks he needs the imperial physician. He does not. He needs hot sex in a huge tub with Changyu. First Qian and Qi, now our lead couple. These people like to mate in water.
Anyway, Changyu just needs to confirm he knows her name, then she’s good for it.
Grand Tutor Li meets with Qi, who wants the Li family traitor dealt with. Uh-oh, we gonna lose Li? Grand Tutor Li takes the blame for his grandson’s actions.
Qi has another plan anyway, involving the tiger tally. So it WAS another double cross. Maybe?
During post-sex sleep, Yan Zheng has that nightmare about his mother dying by suicide again. Except, this time, he reaches her, and she gives him osmanthus cake.
He cries, and she tells him that now that he has someone by his side, she can finally rest easy. But she doesn’t want him to forget her favorite treat was osmanthus cake.
When he wakes up, he lies to Changyu that it was just childhood memories. He hasn’t kicked that bad habit yet.
Also, he wants to give her the wedding she deserves. But she thinks the wedding she gave him was good enough, and they never signed their divorce papers.
He agrees. He married into her family for life. Awww.
Grand Princess wakes up, and Sun is by her side
She hugs him and sobs that she was afraid that she’d never see him again. She’s upset that he risked his life saving hers, but he is determined to no longer be timid. He promises to always be by her side.
Changyu dreams about her father bringing the tiger tally to Prince Changxin, but the pieces don’t match.
Later, she received the tiger tally from Qian. The letter says it’s the fake tiger tally, though? Changyu doesn’t comment on this, just that the dream means fate itself wants justice for her father.
Not just fate, but Qi wanted the tiger tally delivered. I think.
But he’s also upset Qian took it and still doesn’t accept his love. She points out this is possession and control, not love. He can’t bring himself to strangle her to death, but he’s not setting her free either. He shackles her to him and throws the key in a pond.
San Shi shows up to give Changyu the other tiger tally piece and Yuanqing’s head
Changyu only wants one of these things. Shi San has realized that revenge is endless, and she’s done now. Changyu thanks her and tells her she’s free, as thanks for helping Ning.
But what’s between them, they’ll settle later. What’s between them? Huh?
Changyu still wants to prove her parents innocence, but their only witness died in a fire. I guess no one saved her. Oops. Yan Zheng thinks they’ll need to use force against Chancellor Wei.
Chancellor Wei also thinks he’ll need to use force, and recalls his troops to the capital. He also wants word spread that Changyu’s father is the traitor Qilin.
Changyu plans to strike the drum of justice, but first needs to walk through the streets and face everyone’s accusations. In contrast to when she arrived as the heroic general, showered with favors, people now throw rotten veggies at her. And a rock.
No one cares that she says her father is innocent. But Mr Jin, his guys, and Li defend her and join her walk.
She reaches the drum, and even though she knows she’ll be executed if her father is ultimately found guilty, she starts beating it.
Meanwhile, Yan Zheng asks his parents for forgiveness
At their memorial, he takes the box holding the osmanthus cakes his Aunt brought, and finds a hidden compartment. In it is a letter from Lady Qi to Chancellor Wei.
Realizing what her brother did, caught in the middle of everything, Yan Zheng’s mother died by suicide to settle the dispute and protect Yan Zheng. I’m… not sure how? But anyway, Yan Zheng now understands.
The Emperor is doing nothing, so the Grand Princess scolds him. She’ll forgive him for nearly getting her killed if he acts like a real emperor.
So, the Song dynasty hats gather to decide the issue. Changyu has brought the tiger tally as proof. But Chancellor Wei says it’s fake. Unfortunately, records of the tiger tally burned in the fire 17 years ago, so there’s no way to verify it.
Chancellor Wei has a letter from General He, confirming Changyu is Qiling’s daughter. Changyu fires back, wondering why General He would want her protected if her father was a traitor. And who would benefit the most from what happened to her father?
Yan Zheng arrives, bringing the letter that proves Chancellor Wei abandoned everything to protect his beloved.
And, at the same time, soldiers slaughter their way into the capital while Qi and Grand Tutor Li watch.
I’ll give this show credit for having noble, strong mothers
But. Most of them are dead/have died. Oh well.
So much happened in these two episodes, which is good, since we have two episodes left to tie everything up. This feels very par for the course with cdramas. They tend to have rushed endings.
I’m still confused as to how Chancellor Wei abandoning his duties to go to his love made the tiger tally fake. Or real. Is it fake or real? I’m really hoping this becomes clearer in the next two episodes.
I quite liked the Chancellor Wei actor in these episodes. It probably helps that finding out he once had a tragic love story gives his character some dimension. But also liked the way he coldly watched these idiots trying to kill Yan Zheng, and just seemed tired of it all.
Because yeah, I also think Grand Tutor Li’s scheme to frame Yan Zheng was lame.
Not a lot to say about our lead couple, but I’m glad they’re together, talking, and… all that stuff.
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