Episode 12 recap: The Qin family was framed and slandered by the powerful families, and they ended up as prisoners.
It wasn't long before the Qin family was accused by the Censorate of being involved in the Yang case, colluding with Rong State and betraying the country together with the Yang family. The Ministry of Justice quickly handled the case. By order of the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court, they sealed the Qin family's residence. When Li Rong hurried to the Qin mansion, she found it full of wailing sounds, with soldiers surrounding it. She dared not go out rashly, but could only observe the situation from the darkness and think of a strategy.
Later, Li Rong learned from a Qin family maid that Qin Zhen Zhen had escaped. Li Rong tracked her down and eventually found the badly injured Qin Zhen Zhen in a corner. After gaining her trust, Li Rong took Qin Zhen Zhen back to her residence to shelter her.
Li Chuan told Li Rong that the current situation of the Qin family presented a great opportunity. He suggested that Li Rong try to defect to the Emperor, using the investigation of this case as a pretext to establish her own guard force, an independent supervisory body with the power of life and death, to be named the Supervisory Bureau.
Li Rong, exhausted, went straight to bed to rest. Pei Wen Xuan had no place to sleep, so Li Rong kindly reminded him that he could sleep on the bed. At first, Pei Wen Xuan wanted to be polite, but Li Rong no longer paid attention to him, as he knew that on the night of a big wedding, it would be inappropriate for him to go out.
At this time, Li Rong suddenly asked Pei Wen Xuan why he had let Su Rong Qing come to receive the bride. Pei Wen Xuan honestly told her that he had met with Su Rong Qing before the wedding and felt that she still had feelings for Li Rong. Pei Wen Xuan knew that Li Rong also had feelings for Su Rong Qing, but Li Rong was still hesitant, fearing that Su Rong Qing would prioritize power and family over her. Pei Wen Xuan told Li Rong that he now needs to find an opportunity to win over Su Rong Qing to become Li Chuan's person, and devise a plan to rekindle the old romance between her and Su Rong Qing.
Li Rong also did not let Pei Wen Xuan worry in vain and said she would try to prevent Qin Zhen Zhen from entering the palace, so that Pei Wen Xuan could resume his relationship with her. However, Pei Wen Xuan politely refused. That night, the two lay on the bed together, having weathered the storms for over twenty years, now more like allies than spouses.
Li Rong felt they should be considered confidantes, which Pei Wen Xuan found quite amusing. Meanwhile, Li Chuan met Qin Zhen Zhen after leaving the Princess's Mansion and they shared stories about the frontline battles, becoming so engrossed that dawn broke before they parted reluctantly.
The Emperor is now using Su Wang as a puppet, secretly supporting commoner families. Any families that ally with Su Wang will be promoted to counter Li Chuan. Although Li Chuan has kept a low profile as arranged by Li Rong, he lacks military power and relies on the aristocratic families. Therefore, the Shangguan family, which has produced three prime ministers, is naturally the Empress's trump card and the Emperor's main concern.
Li Rong decided to prevent Shangguan Ya from becoming the Crown Prince's consort, confident in her understanding of the latter from her previous life. She immediately sent a servant to the literary society to look for Shangguan Ya, only to be told that she was most likely at the gambling hall. Li Rong was shocked, as in her previous life, Shangguan Ya had always been a well-mannered and dignified person, not the kind to frequent such a dubious place. Pei Wen Xuan, however, was not at all surprised, and accompanied Li Rong to the gambling hall to investigate further.
Due to the crowded people in the Caiming Hall, Pei Wen Xuan was worried that Li Rong might get jostled, so he had to raise his hand to shield Li Rong in the middle, clearing the way for her, and telling everyone that Li Rong was his wife.
The two of them walked through the crowd and finally saw Shang Guan Ya, who was disguised as a man. Shang Guan Ya's sharp eyes spotted Li Rong, and she immediately scattered the money she was holding and ran upstairs. Li Rong, disregarding her decorum, chased after her closely, while Shang Guan Ya jumped out of the window and landed right into the arms of Su Rong Hua, who was passing by below.
With the headscarf that was holding her hair falling off, Shang Guan Ya's long hair came loose, exposing her identity as a woman. Shang Guan Ya quickly gave a silver ingot to Su Rong Hua and asked him to cover for her, then hid in the nearby grass basket. When Li Rong saw Su Rong Hua, he asked him about Shang Guan Ya's whereabouts, and was about to jump down from the second floor, but Pei Wen Xuan caught him just in time.
Eventually, Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan lifted the grass basket and found Shang Guan Ya, directly stating their purpose and dispelling her defensive attitude. Looking at the lively Shang Guan Ya before him, Li Rong felt a sense of unfamiliarity, as in his memory, Shang Guan Ya had become the empress and no longer had any smiles, appearing lifeless and full of pessimism about the future.
The three then sat down in the tea room, and Li Rong directly brought up the topic of the crown prince's marriage, wanting to know Shang Guan Ya's thoughts on it. Considering the misfortune that befell the Yang family, he thought Shang Guan Ya might not have the desire to become the empress. However, Shang Guan Ya showed indifference, saying that she had been prepared to sacrifice herself for the family since she was old enough to understand, and that losing was not necessarily a bad outcome for the crown prince.
Shang Guan Ya's words completely changed Li Rong's perception of her. The carefree and unrestrained woman before him was nothing like the graceful and refined empress he had known in the past. Pei Wen Xuan, recalling Shang Guan Ya's tragic fate of being beaten by her parents for loving Su Rong Hua in the previous life, was unsure whether he should tell Li Rong about it.
In the following days, rumors about the Shangguan family's potential fourth crown princess consort candidate spread through the capital, enraging the emperor, who knew that if the crown prince married into the Shangguan family, their power would only continue to grow. The empress summoned Li Chuan and demanded that he marry Shang Guan Ya, promising that if Shang Guan Ya became the crown princess, he could take a concubine of his choice.
When Li Rong went to the palace to advise the empress to give up her plan, the empress stubbornly refused to listen. After leaving the Weiyang Palace, Li Rong saw his brother's low mood and was concerned about the change in his personality. Pei Wen Xuan quietly cared for Li Rong and had Jing Lan report Li Rong's daily activities to him, instructing Jing Lan not to tell Li Rong.
Pei Wen Xuan later accompanied Li Rong to play chess and listened to her confide her worries. He then proactively mentioned Princess Yun Yan, who was sent to the northern border for a marriage alliance to prevent war, but still died in the palace. Pei Wen Xuan suggested that the incident had greatly impacted Li Chuan, and that was why Li Chuan had the idea of a northern expedition to unify the empire, but unfortunately, even after gaining the whole kingdom, he still lost himself.
Comments(Episode 12)