Different Princess

Episode 13 Recap: Qing is torn between her duty to improve the story's ending and her fear of Chu. At dusk, she makes her way back to Chu's place, but changes her mind, turning around, when Chu suddenly swoops her up to the rooftop to look at the stars. The next day, Qing sees Chu's guard, Xiao Yan, who sends his gratitude to her from Chu. Chu wanted to thank her for accompanying him when he was at his lowest. Qing replies that she didn't go willingly, but was forced because Chu has control over the life and death of others. Xiao Yan defends Chu, explaining he isn't as blood-thirsty as rumored, and that he never kills the innocent. But Qing has heard that the servants of Hua Qing Ge were murdered by him and wants to know where that story came from. Xiao Yan says they committed suicide and explains that he witnessed their distrust when questioned about Hua Qing Ge's motives for getting married. They admitted it was a political alliance, did not respond to why she ran away or where she went. When the guards were ordered to take them away for questioning, they killed themselves on the spot. Xiao Yan further explained that Chu doesn't explain himself because he's never cared about his reputation, and that's why the rumors of his blood lust continue. Qing is both persuaded and moved by this. She wonders if she may have jumped to the conclusion that Chu was trying to kill her and that she may have misjudged him all along. She is happy to think that there may be hope for him yet. Qing goes to the library to find books that have uplifting stories of good-hearted people who move a nation. Wan'er can't think of any so Qing decides to start a Mindfulness Club to which she invites everyone but Yun. She doesn't ask Yun due to questions she has about his recent decision he made over the Liu family. She's seeing his flaws for the first time. But when he confronts her, she relents and invites him. At the mindfulness club, Qing leads a meditation where she relaxes everyone and takes them back to a moment of a wonderful memory. Wan'er immediately starts to talk about playing hide and seek with her brothers Yun, Chu and Feng in the royal gardens. Yun recalled how Feng would hide under a table and Chu would climb to the tallest rock. Feng says he doesn't remember anything. Chu says he will remember their last hide and seek game forever. Yun said when Feng got spooked once, they stopped playing. Li Xiyao says she wishes she had siblings to have fond memories of playing with. Wan'er wishes to go back to how they were when they were young. Gong proposes to play hide and seek right now. Qing is elated that her Mindfulness session has had such an inspiring result of lovely, healing memories. Gong and Chu exchange knowing looks. During the game, Feng is triggered, remembering the very traumatic experience he had during that fateful and final game of hide and seek, where he witnessed a servant reporting to his mother that he had poisoned Imperial Consort Xian under her direction.

Episode 14 Recap: After Feng runs away, triggered by the memory of his very traumatic experience where he found out his mother was involved in the poisoning of Imperial Consort Xian, Chu finally lets go of his hold on Qing, whom he had stopped from yelling out. Qing whirls around and confronts Chu, asking if he orchestrated this event for revenge. Chu makes an evasive remark, asking "Am I that kind?". Qing reverts back to her prior suspicions about Chu, thinking he hasn't an ounce of goodness in him. At home, Feng spirals, refusing to let his mother near him and accusing her of dosing Imperial Consort Xian with demon poison. When he explains that he's remembered what has traumatized him over the years, she says she did it all for him so that he wouldn't be sent as a hostage to Nanjing like Chu was. Feng retorts that he'd rather be a hostage than have a wicked mother. Imperial Consort Wei gathers from her servants that Feng was affected by Qing's Mindfulness Club, which she claimed could open hearts. Imperial Consort Wei then vows to take revenge on Qing. She learns that Qing is now staying at Jingzhi library, but thinks it's a cover up to make it seem like Qing isn't in cahoots with Chu. Even though she thinks Chu is behind it, she decides to teach Qing a lesson. The next day, Wan'er and Qing's horse breaks free from their carriage, causing the cart to careen down the road until Chu appears and stops it. Afterward, Chu tells Qing he sent someone to look for the horse and that it looked like the carriage tethers were tampered with. Qing wonders out loud who would try to hurt Wan'er, but Chu tells her to watch out because someone might be trying to harm her. Qing wonders if Chu is actually concerned about her and whether the 'devil has changed his ways'. Wan'er just wants to play injured so Gong will visit her, but he doesn't make house calls. She seeks him out and he tells her she's fine, just lightly shocked and upset. Nothing serious. She accuses him of being a quack saying she's not feeling well at all. Just then a man shows up having wild hallucinations and Gong cures him quickly. Wan'er changes her mind about Gong. Gong explains to the sick man's friend that he was poisoned with a drug called Mind Confusing. Gong asked if the man took anything special or different recently, and the friend remembered him eating horse meat. Qing immediately suspects the horse to be the runaway from her carriage accident. The man heals and Chu calls him to the East Office for interrogation. The man admits someone paid him to stop an exhausted horse at the end of a lane and kill it. He swears he didn't know it was poisoned or he wouldn't have eaten any of it. He could not tell Chu the name of the person who arranged this, only that the person was from the palace. Of course, Chu immediately suspects consort Wei. Next we see servants reporting back to Imperial Consort Wei about the carriage incident, letting her know nobody was killed. Wei decides that anyway, if she'd killed one of them, Chu wouldn't stop until he found her out. She asks about prince Qi (Feng) but he left the palace and won't come back to see her. Qing tries to recall from her book who's trying to hurt her, but in order to increase the word count, she'd made the plot so complicated she can't even remember it herself. This results in a funny moment where Wan'er laughs at Qing's inability to write anything coherent with a brush and ink, and Qing defends herself saying she's a literary person in her homeland which is in a different region. (She obviously can't tell Wan'er she's from another time where she normally types on a laptop keyboard). Anyway, Wan'er has come to surprise her by dressing Qing and coroner Li Xiyao up to attend her impromptu banquet to thank Gong for curing her shock. Chu blurts out a question; why she isn't thanking him for stopping the carriage, which makes Qing choke on her food at his lack of humility. Yun shows concern, pouring her some tea. He also lifts his napkin to hand it to her, but Chu does the same at the same moment. Chu gives Yun an evil stare and shoves his napkin into Qing's hand, advising her to "Wipe it off, before it rubs on me". This is one of the funnier moments where the two brothers are jealous of each other but Chu covers it up like a grumpy old man, while Yun covers it up with graceful, social platitudes. The two brothers couldn't be more opposite. In such a sweet way, Li Xiyao asks for Yun's rejected napkin and gently brushes her lips against it. This puts an enormous smile on Qing's face because she really wants to see those two together and happy. Yun then compliments Li Xiyao's smile and Qing starts to glow. Wan'er wonders why Feng hasn't arrived, but he keeps circling the banquet hall because no one has come outside to greet him. Instead he goes to Rumeng House, the drinking hall where the dancer had committed suicide. Xiao Yan interrupts the dinner to whisper something about Feng to Chu. Qing suspects Chu of starting trouble again. Feng arrives at Rumeng, but isn't able to enter before his uncle shows up telling him to return home because his mother is sick. Feng resists, asking if her illness is serious, but then relents. Consort Wei is elated to hear that Feng has returned home, but is so angry about his absence that she won't see him. Her maidservant goes outside to greet him instead, informing him that the consort has been diagnosed as depressed, and that she said without her, "How would he compete in this blood-thirsty palace?" He turns and mumbles to himself that he doesn't want to compete. Back at Rumeng House Feng gets really drunk and obnoxious. Still at the banquet, Gong thinks they should play a drinking game. Qing suggests a newer, more exciting game, but Chu insists that only killing feels that stimulating. Qing recoils at Chu, feeling like all of her efforts to soften him have been in vain, but the girls want to hear what Qing has in mind, so she pivots and suggests a killing game. They circle around and each person takes a card that assigns them a role. Qing starts off the game, but it ends almost immediately when Chu (the killer) kills Yun (the constable) so there's nobody left to investigate the crime. Meanwhile, Feng is being spooked out of his mind at Rumeng House, seeing ghosts circling around him. Yun asks why Chu killed him in the killing game, and Chu retorts he doesn't need a reason to kill someone. Due to his hallucinations, Feng is so terrified that he jumps out a window.

Episode 15 Recap: His majesty's guards rush to the banquet to report that Feng is missing and call Yun and Chu back to the palace. As Qing comforts Wan'er, she recalls from her book that Chu is the culprit behind the second brother prince Qi's disappearance as part of his plan to completely take down the Wei family, but that Chu doesn't kill Feng. Chu offers to investigate, but Imperial Consort Wei protests, so his majesty appoints Yun to the investigation, to which Chu agrees. Qing shows up with Yun and coroner Li Xiyao, and since she knows what will happen next, she drops clues to the both of them to help find Feng faster. Meanwhile, Chu plays weiqi with Duke Ding Guo. Their game is a way of sparring and measuring each other up. It seems that Chu wants to place the Duke into the Wei family as a spy. Feng's companion at Rumeng House swears she didn't poison Feng, but Yun orders her to be taken away for interrogation. Gong is called to determine if a powder they find at the scene is toxic. Gong says it isn't, so Qing has to prompt him, asking if the powder is mixed with another substance if that could make it psychoactive. Coroner Li Xiyao mixes the unidentified powder with some of Feng's leftover food and it turns black. She then recognizes it as a substance known as Drunken Dream. Yun thinks the screams heard from Feng's were because he thought he saw Lady Wuxue (the performer who had committed suicide at Rumeng House). This mention causes Qing to exit immediately. Back at the weiqi game, Chu compliments the Duke on his tactical strategy saying he would expect him to have great achievements. The Duke then confesses that his majesty is under the influence of sycophants and that his best advice has fallen on deaf ears. Chu recommends that the sycophants be struck directly and uprooted. The Duke asks about Chu's plan, which Chu says he's set up but wants to know if the Duke will finish it. Chu then makes an impressive weiqi move that gets the Duke to agree saying "It can turn the tide; I'm at your disposal". At Rumeng House, it turns out Qing had gone outside wondering when the investigators were going to notice the clues on the ground under the window where Feng jumped. Yun jumps out and sees the clues, realizing Feng had leapt into a hay cart and been wheeled away. Yun calls Qing his "lucky star". Gong goes back to report to Chu that Qing is responsible for most of the investigation's progress. He reiterates to Chu that she is too close to ruining their plans, but Chu insists she's just making things more interesting and lively. Although she fears him, Qing goes back to Chu's place because she's run out of ideas as to where Feng might be. She accidentally overhears Gong telling Chu's guard to "leave no one alive", and becomes terrified that Chu might kill Feng. Qing races off to avoid Chu, to try to find Feng with Yun and coroner Li Xiyao. She catches up with them and they're following a lead regarding a number of people missing from the black market. They think it's too dangerous for Qing to join, but she convinces them she can help as their "lucky star". She also persuades them to dress in worker's clothes. In the lineup, they get passed over and she doesn't want to get picked and taken away by herself, so she pretends to be blind but it backfires. Qing avoided being drugged on the trip to the work camp, and was able to leave clues so that Yun could find where they took her. At the palace, Imperial Consort Wei is panicked and wants to deploy spies to rescue Feng, but her brother (Feng's uncle), General Wei Zhao, thinks that will expose their plot and spell disaster for their family. Wei goes around her brother to give the order to find Feng. Chu is patiently reading a military tactics guide when his guard Xiao Yan bursts in with the information about Wei's move. Chu was ready with his plan, as he expected consort Wei to do virtually anything for her son. Back at the camp, conditions are horrid but Qing has faith she will find Feng there. Her ability to see is discovered right away, but she pulls the guy's knife, puts it to his throat, throws a bean into his mouth and tells him he will need her for the antidote in 10 days or face a painful death. Guard Xiao Yan has another update for Chu to let him know that Qing is in the camp, but Chu is in a medicinal bath and Gong won't let guard Xiao Yan interrupt. Qing walks right past bedraggled Feng without recognizing him. Chu has traumatic memories of being beaten as a child hostage and vows to get payback.

Episode 16 Recap: Qing's fake blindness is tested by forcing her to witness torture and death at the labor camp, nonetheless she remains calm. Disturbed by his memories, Chu steps out of his medicinal bath. Gong fears Chu will go soft and forget their need for revenge, so he keeps the news of Qing's whereabouts to himself. Yun and coroner Lin Xiyao are luckily on Qing's trail and found a way to disguise themselves as guards. Qing realizes the horrific camp is that of the Wei family, and that consort Wei would never think her son Feng is captive there. But she feels that Feng is safe from Chu at least. Yun and coroner Lin Xiyao have infiltrated the labor camp and are very worried about Qing and Feng. Yun still doesn't know who's behind the camp yet though. Qing tries to observe what's going on at the camp while keeping up the pretense of blindness. Xiao Yan reports to Chu that the Wei spies have been dispatched, but Yan doesn't mention Qing. Yun recognizes the labor camp is making inferior, illegal Wei weapons. Yun and Yao get a warning for getting out of line. Feng slipped away from the captors eyes and is trying to escape the camp when Qing finally sees him. Together they slink around and share what information they know. Feng asks Qing if Chu sent her. She doesn't want to burst his bubble, so she says yes, but also mentions Chu speaks with a forked tongue. After going through the brutal camp ordeal, Feng learned that he should've done more to ease Chu's suffering long ago. Qing acknowledges the maturity in what Feng is saying, but Feng still naively wants to signal troops to save them and arrest the guards. Qing regretfully has to inform him that, as far as she knows, they're the only two on their side, alone against the whole camp. Visibly upset, he starts to act out again, but Qing calms him by informing him she has a plan. They decide to hide in swill buckets on a cart leaving the camp. Yun and coroner Yao are ordered to take the cart away, not having seen Qing and Feng, but as they start to move, Yun realizes someone is in the buckets. Someone snaps the tether rope and the buckets fall from the cart, revealing Qing and Feng. Yun wants to save them, but Qing saw guards coming already and tells them to save themselves and come back later for her and Feng. It turns out that Chu's plan was to capture and eliminate Wei's spies, who inadvertently revealed themselves due to consort Wei's bad decision. The spies are now under Chu's control. Xiao Yan kills one that resists, and informs the others they can live if they cooperate. Qing and Feng are thrown in jail, where Qing is able to toss some beans out the window as a clue to help Yun locate them. Qing had hurt her ankle in the fall. The Duke reports to his majesty that he's located Feng inside a prison in General Wei Zhao's camp. His majesty asks why General Wei Zhao would imprison his own nephew. The Duke says Feng's a hostage of the rebellion, and that the camp is making private weapons, in addition to training the General's soldiers. The Duke informs his majesty that Yun is inside the camp. Thus two princes are in danger, so the crown needs to act. Xiao Yan wants to conduct a siege now that the spies are in hand and since the Duke has gained the crown's trust. However, Chu wants to wait for panic to set in for the Wei family. General Wei Zhao and his sister start infighting over the ill-advised deployment and capture of their spies. General Wei Zhao realizes they fell into a trap and starts closing ranks, making sure no one leaves the camp. He plans to silence the whole camp to cover his tracks and eliminate all witnesses that could point back to the Wei family. Xiao Yan finally informs Chu that Qing was imprisoned trying to save Feng. Incensed, Chu demands to know how Qing got mixed up in it. Gong gloats that he'd pointed out all along she is a problem for them, implying they'd be better off if Qing became a casualty. For the first time, Chu is angry, throwing a weiqi stone in outrage. He orders Xiao Yan to inform the Duke to surround the camp for the siege, and makes the decision to lead the siege himself. Gong advises Chu not to undermine their revenge plan for a woman. Chu tells him that Qing is *his* woman and he will not allow anyone to hurt her. Gong halts Chu, again wanting to know if it is worth years of planning going down the drain for a woman. Chu reminds Gong that Qing's his wife. Gong reminds Chu she was originally supposed to die. Chu tells Gong to silence himself because he knows what he's doing, but Gong interrupts Chu yet again. Chu deflects Gong's advance, knocking him out of his way. Gong recoils, dismayed that Chu would hurt him and go against their brotherhood for a woman. At the prison, coroner Yao delivers medicinally dosed preserved fruit to the guards, saying it is for prison manager Wang, and assuming that the guards would eat it themselves. The herbs were from her belt stash she carries with her at all times. Her trick works and the guards leave their posts because of the laxatives.

Episode 17 Recap: Yun and coroner Yao keep watch and make their move as soon as the guards get sick and leave. Inside the office, Yao finds a soldier's camp roster. Yun realizes this is an army and it means rebellion, but they want more evidence. General Wei Zhao returns and from their hiding place, Yun and Yao overhear the general giving orders to eliminate the camp and bury the weapons. Wei's commander responds that poisoning of the camp food is already in progress. General Wei Zhao conveys how critical these tasks are and plans to oversee them himself to make sure everything is handled completely. Since the general is Feng's uncle, Yun and Yao wonder if Feng became aware of the rebellion and if that could be the reason he's imprisoned. Yao realizes that Qing and Feng are in immediate danger now that Wei wants to silence the camp. Qing has faith, even in prison, and comforts Feng, who vows to make amends if he gets back home safely. Desperate, Qing decides to take their chances and try to pick the lock on the cell door using her hairpin. They're intent on this when they're discovered by prison manager Wang. Chu rides at breakneck speed to find Qing, but Wang has his knife drawn, about to kill both Qing and Fang. Yun who bursts through the door, dispatches both guards instantly and disarms Wang. Feng gleefully hugs his big brother Yun, while Qing sees Yao and runs to her for comfort. Yao says Qing's bean clues led them to the prison. Because she'd hurt her ankle, gallant Yao carries Qing on his back. Qing calls out not to forget her shoes, but Yun keeps moving out of there, so Feng grabs the shoes, wondering who Yun and Yao really came there to rescue. The four of them are chased through the bamboo thickets by guards. To confuse their pursuers, they decide to split into couples; Qing and Feng, and Yun and Yao. Yun wants to lead the troops away from Qing, since she can't move quickly. The four plan to meet up outside the mountain. Once Qing and Feng leave, Yun shoots up a flare to alert royal authority Fang Cheng to bring reinforcements. The distraction works and the troops go after Yun. General Wei Zhao is notified that troops have surrounded the camp. Shortly after, nature calls to Qing, and while she's relieving herself, Chu finds Feng. Suddenly, a masked man in black jumps down from the trees above, slicing at Feng. Chu had already drawn his sword and lunges forward, but he's too far away to stop the assassin, who fatally stabs Feng. Chu duels and slices at the man, but he throws a handful of dust as a smokescreen and disappears. Chu runs and drops his sword to check Feng's condition, which is not good, although he's still able to speak. Feng's dying words are that Qing had said Chu would come to rescue him, and she did not lie. Feng is just glad that Chu still considers him to be his second brother because Chu had stopped calling him that. He tells Chu that he knows his mother Wei owes him for making him live in pain every day for over a decade, and begs Chu to let his life pay for his mother Imperial Consort Wei's debts. Qing returns just then, and seeing Chu bending over Feng's bloody body, jumps to the conclusion that it was Chu who killed Feng. Screaming in horror, she feels she wronged Feng for letting him believe that Chu would rescue him, and maybe even inadvertently led him into a trap. She cannot understand why this happened. Suddenly voices come from the woods, and Chu sweeps up Qing over his shoulder. She screams for him to let her go, and yells out Feng's name, fearing that she's abandoning him. On the other side of the mountain, Yun fights off a dozen guards who have caught up with and cornered him. Yao gets a cut, and luckily Yun is able to attend to her, because the Duke's troops have arrived and are fighting off the guards. Yun leaves Yao with Fang Cheng for treatment so he can circle back to help the others. Meanwhile, Qing, being carried, pounds her fists on Chu's back, screaming to be released and calling him a murderer. He puts her down on a rock and sets her dislocated ankle, which makes her yell even louder, but asks her to stop, explains that he reset it and asks if she can walk better now. She silently puts her shoe back on and starts to walk away from him when more guards appear for Chu to fight off. Tracking them, Yun finds Feng, screams in angst, then slowly closes Feng's eyes. Doing so, he notices in horror a mark on the fateful blade with Ji Chu's name. Chu runs with Qing in his arms until he comes to a cliff, and has no way out. Chu puts her down and she asks what she should do to save herself. Chu asks rhetorically what she's talking about. General Wei Zhao himself appears and tells Chu to accept his fate. Chu asks how he dare attack a prince, asking if he intends to rebel. The general laughs at that, saying that even if it's his turn to die, he'll have a prince to die with him. The Duke has the camp searched for the general, and since they didn't find him there, they broaden the search. Chu would normally play hardball, but now he only wants to keep Qing safe. Arrows fly straight at them but Chu pushes Qing out of danger, then grabs her and leaps over the edge, digging his sword into the cliffside as much as possible to slow their fall. Qing yells out and then there's silence. The general and his troops run to the precipice to see if they're dead, and suddenly Yun arrives and has them up against the cliff! General Wei Zhao informs Yun he's gotten rid of Chu and that he's likely a pile of bones at the bottom of the bluff. He says he will send Yun to meet his brother now, ordering his troops to attack. Yun has only one warrior to fight against a dozen, but luckily the Duke and his troops arrive and an arrow strikes the general in the chest. The Duke kneels, apologizing to Yun for failing to serve him on time. Yun has him stand up, and the Duke accuses the general of being a traitor, raising an army with the intention to rebel, and fleeing with guilt. On top of this, he says Wei caused the death of a prince. He announces he was sent by his majesty to apprehend the general. Yun leaves the Duke to it so he can try to find Chu. The Duke gives the order to kill without mercy. In the bamboo stand, a band of black masked assassins assembles. In order to protect the identity of their leader, the band is ordered to seek out Chu and make sure he's silenced. On the ground below the cliff, Qing regains consciousness and remembers that Chu saved her. She tries to get up, sees he's there on the ground under her and tries to rouse him. She fearfully checks to see if he's breathing, and finds him alive. She hears the assassins and, although she still thinks Chu a devil who disregarded brotherhood and killed Feng, she decides to try to save him anyway. Unbelievably, she manages to drag him on her shoulders into an old barn nearby. Wan'er is restless because too much time has passed. She's fearing the worst has happened to her brothers. Her maidservant says that seeing Gong will fix her right up. Yao is brought to them, injured but alive. She's taken to Mystic Medicine House, and although Gong is away, Yao can be treated immediately by his staff. Gong has arrived at the cliff outside the camp. Xiao Yan informs Gong that Chu and Qing went over the cliff, but have disappeared and a search is in progress. Gong and Yan join the search. Chu wakes up in the barn and sees that Qing somehow brought him to this hiding place, but at the same time realizes she's tied him up. He asks her what she means by tying him and she explains she couldn't stand by and watch him die, so she decided to let him go back to tell 'the truth' and let the law decide if he's guilty. He asks if she thinks that what she saw was the truth. She asks what he means by that, but he retorts, 'Never mind'. Qing tries to give him grubs to eat since they can't make a fire without being detected. Chu's shocked and disgusted by the grubs, but Qing doesn't see what's wrong since they're known to be survival food. He commands her to untie him but she tells him the power of life and death is in her hands now and to stop being arrogant. He starts to become delirious and noticing he has a fever, she wonders if his wound is infected. Qing goes into the woods to try to find a few helpful herbs, which she learned about when researching her book. While wandering, she makes a few marks on the trees to help Yun find her, but the assassins spot her and she has to run, losing much of what she'd gathered. She trips and is caught by them. They want her to lead them to Chu, so she feigns a broken leg. They ask for a map instead. Gong has caught up and witnesses this. Qing asks them to save her if she draws the map. Following the map, the assassins get disoriented when Gong throws some kind of knockout powder into the air. Gong takes the map and finds Chu. Qing has bought herself a little time by drawing a map with a long detour, and is trying to release herself from the ropes that bind her hands. Her intention is to free herself and get back to rescue Chu before the assassins. Chu hears someone at the door, and thankfully it's Gong. Gong checks him and gives him a remedy, but they need to clean his wound. Chu wants to wait for Qing, but Gong shows him the map she drew saying it was betrayal. Chu disagrees and wants to find her.

Episode 18 Recap: Yun finds the clues Qing left for him and is hot on her trail. Qing, being watched by one of the assassins, frees herself, screams snake, and throws a giant rock at the assassin's head. Chu comes out of nowhere and pulls her to safety, asking if she's hurt. She says she only has a slight cut. Nothing major. Chu stops Xiao Yan from killing the assassin, so Yan kicks him in the head to knock him out. Gong says he doesn't look like one of Wei Zhao's guys. Qing says he's been stalking them since the cliff fall. Gong wonders if this is why Qing gave up Chu. She explains she was trying to buy time with the map by sending the assassins in circles, then goes weak in the knees. Yun runs up, calling out to Qing, and shoves Chu off of her. He asks Chu why he killed Feng and harmed Qing. Chu responds that hearing the way he's being accused it seems Yun won't listen to Chu's answer. Qing faints, falling to the ground, and Gong diagnoses a poison blade, saying that the poison needs clearing immediately. Yun tries to rouse her, but Chu leaps on her, sucking the poison out of her wound. Gong is shocked, saying Chu will be poisoned too, and Yun is too stunned to even speak. Back in the barn, Gong tries to treat Qing with what little medicine he can gather from the woods nearby. But Qing can't swallow it, so Chu sips it and spits it into her mouth to get it down her. Again Gong and Yun look on in disbelief as Chu goes way out on a limb for her. Already weak, Chu lifts his head to ask what they can do next, then faints himself. Gong goes to make another batch of the medicine for Chu, since he was exposed by treating Qing. While Gong is making the concoction, Chu rises and comes outside. Gong reprimands him for not resting, asking if he even cares about his own life anymore. Chu shakes his head, saying he's fine and that Qing needs to be cured. Gong is only a physician, not a celestial being, and thinks Chu should be grateful Gong was able to keep Qing alive with what little resources they have there. So Chu wants to hurry back to Mystic Medicine House. Gong rejects this because he thinks Chu isn't strong enough for travel. Chu disagrees and orders Xiao Yan to prepare for their return. Yan tries to object, but Chu overrides. On the road back, in her delirium, Qing says she will fix what she wrote about these brothers upon her return. At Jingzhi Library, Wan'er's maidservant delivers the sad news that Feng was assassinated. Wan'er's knees buckle, but she asks about Yun and Qing and is told Yun is safe but Qing is lethally poisoned and unconscious since. Imperial Consort Wei mourns the death of Feng. Clearly destroyed, she ask Yun who killed him. Yun says nothing, but looks at the lethal blade. The consort inspects it and seeing Chu's name, vows to get revenge against him. Yun tells her she's under house arrest until the rebellion charges are resolved. She screams these are false charges. Qing wakes up babbling about thinking she was dead and not understanding why she's still in the past. Yao attributes this to her illness, asking if she feels ok. Qing asks after Yun and Chi. Chu emerges from his death bed a new man. Xiao Yan even notices his hair change looks better. Yun kneels before his father, taking responsibility for failing to protect Feng, and asks to be punished. His majesty doesn't feel it had to do with Yun and remarked that Yun flew in the face of danger to protect the family. His majesty asked who dared kill Feng, and Yun had to show him the dagger implicating Chu. Yun follows up that he's starting to suspect Chu, when Chu walks in and says it does have to do with him. Chu explains he was a witness to Feng's murder, asks how difficult it would be to make a blade with his name, and wonders if his father thinks Chu would implicate himself that way when he could've just gotten rid of the blade. Chu suspects someone is trying to frame him to reap benefits, and looks directly at Yun. Yun wants to know if Chu really suspects him, so Chu asks if Yun didn't just cast suspicion on him. His majesty quells their arguing and asks for an investigation. Chu volunteers. Imperial Consort Wei bursts on the scene calling Chu a hypocrite and killer. His majesty asks her what she's doing there. She says Chu has sown discord since returning from Nanjing and is seeking revenge for his mother, Imperial Consort Xian. She identifies Chu's goal being to take down the Wei family out of personal revenge. His majesty asks Chu to respond to this accusation. Chu decides that if his father would rather believe in a rebel from the Wei family than him, then nothing more can be said. His majesty observes that if Wei hadn't been involved in heinous acts of treason, Feng would still be alive. He strips her of her title on the spot and has her kept under house arrest. He then asks Chu to work with Yun to find Feng's killer. On the way out of the building, Yun asks Chu, for the betterment of the case, to hand over the assailant he captured, but Chu declines thinking they have different paths and methods. The Duke is next with his majesty, giving a report on the list of allegations for the treason case. His majesty looks at it and slams it down in anger over all they dared do behind his back. He officially decrees that Wei Zhao committed treason, thus nine generations will be punished as a deterrent. Lady Wei is exempted from this since her son was murdered, but she's confined to West Court for life. The Duke is recognized for his valor with a promotion to the head of the military. Chu looks for Qing at Mystic Medicine House, but Gong thinks he should be more concerned with his own health. Gong even believes Chu softened his look to appeal to her. Chu wants to find Qing, but Gong won't tell him until he lets him treat his wound. Gong is upset to see gangrene. Qing and Yao meet Yun on the way to Feng's memorial. Qing asks for the direction the investigation is headed and Yun says Chu denied it was him. Qing wonders if his majesty bought that because she says she saw it and can be a witness. Yun says they're both working on the case and might need Qing and Yao's help. Both girls vow to find out who killed Feng. At the memorial, Wan'er is bereft and Qing consoles her, apologizing for not saving Wan'er's brother. Wan'er begs Qing to tell her who killed Feng. Yun vows he will find the killer and asks coroner Yao to examine his body again. Outside, Gong shows up to check on Qing to see if she's still alive, since she left Mystic Medicine House abruptly. He says she could ruin his reputation as a great doctor, but she insists she's fine and thanks him. He doesn't need thanks since he did it for Chu. Wan'er doesn't even perk up when Gong offers his condolences. As soon as Wan'er leaves, Qing rips into Gong, wondering how he and Chu can show their faces after their ugly deeds. Gong wonders if Qing even actually witnessed the murder. She saw Chu hovering over Feng. Gong points out that she's basing her proof off of a dagger and asks that if Chu killed someone would he leave obvious flaws like that behind? Gong believes that Qing was prejudiced to begin, and is now judging Chu because he doesn't deny wrongdoings. Gong thinks it a pity that Chu wanted to save Qing since this caused him to give up his opportunity to rush to the weapons camp and she clearly doesn't appreciate it. Qing didn't know that Chu went to the camp to save her, and that's why he was ambushed and wounded. And still, when she was attacked, Gong continued, he even sucked the poison out of her wound, and if he hadn't done, she wouldn't be alive today. And there she is, doing nothing at all for him except suspecting him of the worst. Qing asks if that's all really true, but Gong thinks it's up to her to believe. Before leaving, he gives her a rejuvenating elixir because Chu asked him to, regretting he has to give it to a heartless soul like her. Qing questions herself, wondering if it wasn't Chu, then who killed Feng? She admits to herself that she doesn't know because Feng's death was never part of her novel.

Qing first suspects Ji Chu, but after a heart to heart with Chu's sister Wan'er, begins to agree that Chu could be innocent. Qing then offers to help Chu investigate who might be trying to frame him for his half-brother Ji Feng's murder. Chu is so delighted by this he actually smiles and allows her into the interrogation cell with him. Qing playfully tricks the chained suspect into speaking, then directly offers him what he says he wants, and he inadvertently confesses under quickfire questioning. Chu is impressed. In answer to Qing's final question as to why the suspect made an attempt on Chu's life, Chu pulls back the suspect's shirt to show her a mark there. This same tattoo had also been revealed while Chu fought off his brother's attacker, so they wanted Chu silenced. Meanwhile, crown prince Ji Yun is investigating as well, and needs to clear Chu. Chu resists, but Qing, thinking it nothing, grabs his arm, pulling up his sleeve to reveal many old scars. She then hurriedly explains that the assassin had confessed, but they still don't know who masterminded the attack. Yun apologizes, but Chu brushes it off, saying, "I'm used to it". The Wei family is chained and made to march to their own executions, all except for Imperial Consort Wei. Gong relives his misery. The remaining royal children, Ji Chu, Ji Yun, and Ji Wan and Qing have tea with the Queen, where she announces that she will hold a tea party to find a match for crown prince Ji Yun. Out of nowhere, Imperial Consort Wei appears at the event and tries to run Chu through with a knife, ostensibly as retribution for the murder of her son Feng. Qing speaks up for Chu asking the Consort to consider that Chu might not have been her son's murderer. Remembering Feng's dying words begging Chu to let his life pay for his mother's debts, Chu visits the consort in her confinement. Chu tells her that he has asked his father to spare her life, but vindictively informs her she will never leave Changhan place. Chu and Gong celebrate their progress and vow to get revenge for Gong's wronged Su family. Gong tells Chu that more than a hundred of his family members were wiped out in his childhood. He only escaped execution because he was young enough to run away and change his name. Chu blames the demon poison for that and wants it eradicated. Gong blames humans, but Chu compels him to be less pessimistic. Chu says we each forge our own path in a treacherous world. Gong retorts he's just a physician and can't bring the dead back to life. He feels powerless to change anything. Chu reminds him that he always wanted to be a nomadic physician after avenging his family. Thinking of his feelings for Ji Wan'er, Gong says he doesn't know if he can ever actually be that carefree. Next step for Chu is to eliminate the mastermind and keep Qing with him. Chu admits to Gong he wants Qing's heart. Wan'er confronts Qing for hiding her true identity of Hua Qing Ge and feels slighted that she wasn't kept in the loop. The two of them bicker momentarily over whether they're best friends or in-laws. Qing explains that she is Hua Qing Ge, but also is not, and that it's complicated. Wan'er retorts that she understands Qing, but she doesn't because it's complicated. Wan'er says she thought Qing liked Yun and was repulsed by Chu. Qing emphatically denies feeling for Yun and says that coroner Li Xiyao is his match. Alone with the evening stars, Ji Yun recalls the way Qing looked at Chu at the family get together, and realizes he's jealous of Chu. On a walk the next day, Gong's feet take him to Jingzhi library, where he makes an excuse to see Wan'er by ordering books she recommends. But Wan'er has tricked him into admitting feelings. She knows these aren't advanced medical books and asks him directly if he came to see her.

Episode 20 Recap: As Qing and Chu examine the tattoo imprint together, Qing wonders why she doesn't remember this from her novel. Chu's never seen anything like it. Qing suggests it might be the mark of some kind of underworld ring. Chu asks where she gets ideas like that. She slips a mention of the movies and then quickly changes the subject. Saying that if it's a tag, then... Chu finishes her sentence saying whoever else bears the same mark is in the same gang. Astonished, Qing wonders how they've begun to understand each other so well. Chu orders Xiao Yan to search the city for bearers of the same insignia. At Jingzhi Library, as Gong is leaving, young master Chen arrives for Wan'er, whom he calls Miss Wanshu. Chen requests Wan'er hear his poem. She thinks his talent is second to none in Shengjing and accepts. Gong interrupts Chen's reading, asking if he feels sore, weak and thirsty today. Chen thinks so, and Gong shocks Chen by saying it sounds like kidney deficiency and advising him to visit Mystic Medicine House. Wan'er is at first disconcerted, then bemused as Chen takes his leave. She giggles and tells Gong that was a mean way to treat the guy. Secretary Du tells Coroner Yao that he's getting old and that this might be his last dossier. Yao is so surprised she accidentally burns him with very hot tea. Du insists he doesn't need to go to the clinic and can bandage it himself. Qing reads a letter over Chu's shoulder and asks why Secretary Du is resigning so suddenly since she likes him and thinks him adorable. Chu is befuddled as to why she would like the bent old Secretary, slaps closed the letter and tells his staff he approves the resignation, adding that he'd like all those in the East office to gather before Du is informed. Everyone in the East office is then checked for the tattoo. While this proceeds, Qing asks if Chu suspects a mole, and Chu says that Secretary Du's abrupt resignation made him suspect that a spy might try to leave now before being exposed. Qing thinks that distrusting Secretary Du is way off base, but regardless, Chu wants proof. Du shows up late with his arm bandaged from the burn. This makes Chu even more suspicious until Yao speaks up for Du. From Chu's expression, he's not satisfied. Xiao Yan grabs Du's arm, removing the bandage to reveal the burn, then yanks back his wrap to bare his shoulder. Du is shocked but clean. However, another guy in queue is spooked by this and starts to run. Xiao Yan catches the man, who has the tattoo on his right shoulder and scratches on his left hand. Xiao thinks this is Feng's killer. Chu asks the man who ordered Feng's death and tried to frame him. The man doesn't reply, so Chu asks what organization he's with, then why he infiltrated the East office. He doesn't speak so Chu orders him sent for interrogation. Yao asks that Chu recognize Du's years of good service, and thus respect his wish and let him leave now. Chu replies he's not giving Du a hard time. Qing intervenes to let Yao know that's just Chu's paranoia; anyway Du's resignation is approved. After the others have left, Chu is actually pleased that Qing jumped in, noting how well his wife knows him. Qing reminds him she's his fake wife. Chu wants to know if she's changed her mind and thinks it's now okay to deceive his majesty with their false marriage. He says they can solve this problem, whispering that the solution is to make the marriage real. Stunned, Qing stumbles, quickly recovers, lifting her hand to his forehead as if to check for a fever, while asking why he's talking nonsense. Chu swipes her hand away roughly and stomps off. Qing admits to herself that her arch-villain Chu is so devastatingly charming that she's the only one who could handle him when he's like that. Outside, Chu offers to take Qing to the market, but she declines saying she's meeting Wan'er and Yao. Chu asks her not to forget that they need to keep up the facade of husband and wife. Qing tells him fine as long as he doesn't cause any trouble. Perturbed, he asks when does he do that, but promises anyway. Qing immediately enjoys this newfound feeling of control, telling him he must do whatever she says the whole night. He agrees and they go to the lively and celebratory mid-autumn festival. Chu explains it represents reunion and that if two lovers complete the moon worship ceremony on that day, they can be together forever. Qing thinks to herself, yeah, this is the day the two leads of my novel confess their love. Chu wants quality time alone with Qing, but she's already in cahoots with Wan'er to make sure Yun and Yao end up together that night. So she runs off from Chu looking for Wan'er. As she turns back, telling Chu to hurry and catch up, Yun sees Qing and Chu together. He says nothing, but the look on his face is of dismay. Former Secretary Du appears saying enigmatically to Yun "Sometimes, it's a blessing not to get what you want". In his hand he holds a carved, serpentine black jade talisman. Yun agrees, seeing that Du had a similar heartbreak. Enroute, Yao gets lost, but the Duke calls out to her from his nearby carriage. She joins him and as they ride together, he says he didn't expect her to lose her way. She tells him it's been like that since she was a kid, and he replies that his late wife had the problem too. He found it adorable. Yao says she vaguely recalls her mother was the same and that it might be genetic. The Duke wonders to himself if Yao could be his long lost daughter. At the fair, Gong wants to know what Wan'er finds so great about the outside world. Wan'er says the people are friendly and it feels warm. She mentions she's afraid of the cold. The two of them are drawn into a couples game where the men must recognize their girl by looking only at her hand. Gong is the only man who got it right and found Yao. When he takes her hand and pulls her from behind the curtain, they gaze into each other's eyes and have a moment. They win a set of matching green jade carved pendants. Wan'er wants to know how Gong was able to recognize her, and he said it was from having taken her pulse before. Plus he said her fingers smell like book pages from spending so much time at Jingzhi library. Wan'er suddenly remembers she's supposed to meet Yun and Yao. Amidst the festival, a little boy has his back turned, as a tall, heavy wooden sign behind him is about to fall right on him. Former Secretary Du flies over, moving the boy away from danger. This is odd because Du has always complained of aches and age. Gong treats the boy, who is suffering an epilepsy seizure. In the crowd, Yun notices Du slip away and follows him. Suddenly, a man grabs Wan'er from the crowd. The boy is able to stand again and the onlookers clap for Gong, but when he turns back to Wan'er, he sees her lantern and the green jade pendant lying on the ground. He spies a carriage pulling away, and is on the chase. Yun loses Du's trail right when Qing finally finds him. Chu looks bothered to see Yun there, but just then Yao finds them. Yao immediately asks after Wan'er. Wan'er's hands are bound and she's thrown into a shed. The nut who grabbed her apparently doesn't know she's a princess and somehow thinks they will be together because of the moon ceremony. The doors burst open and Gong scuffles with the man, striking him with a set of acupuncture needles that cause him to collapse. Wan'er wants to know what Gong used on him, and he explains it is a 'Beg to Die' needle as he unties her and asks if she's alright. Wan'er cries, collapses into Gong, scared, saying she knew he would come for her. He lifts his arms to put them around her, but stops himself because of the blood feud between the royals and the Su family. He cannot go there. Instead he tells her to behave. She tells him she knows he likes her, but he replies that she misunderstood. Wan'er wants to know why he won't look at her. Is it because she's a princess? Gong says they're not right for each other. Wan'er offers to ask her mother for her blessing. She's even willing to give up being a princess; she doesn't care about identity. If she can be with the person she likes, she can be content with being an ordinary person. Gong turns to leave and Wan'er fakes a pain. He reaches down to check if her leg is hurt and she pulls him into her arms, saying emphatically, "I'm indeed hurt! I'm heartbroken! I hurt everywhere. You have to take care of me forever." Gong wants to know why she's so good at saying sweet nothings. Did she learn it from books? No, from Qing. Qing taught her 'flirting'. They both giggle slightly, then Wan'er asks why he's laughing when she's hurt everywhere. She wraps her legs around him too so he can't get away, saying she will cling to him forever like this. Gong thinks to himself that since he got his revenge, maybe he can live as he pleases. Finally he gives in and holds her, wrapping his arms around her. He lifts and carries her from that place. She smiles bright like the sun as she's carried off. As they find the group, Chu sees them and pulls Wan'er loose from Gong. Gong tells Chu he's hurting her, but Chu is still grasping her hand very firmly. Yun silently slips Chu's grip from Wan'er as she tries to suppress her grin. Qing thinks to herself "The damn plot has gone wrong again. The male and female leads missed each other. Instead Ji Wan'er and Gongye Qi sped up their relationship. Unintentional actions brought unexpected success." Later, Wan'er and Gong meet with Chu so Wan'er can tell him they want to be together forever. Chu disagrees and Wan'er wants to know why, since they're best friends. Chu just says they're not a good fit. Wan'er tells him it's not up to him to decide that for them. Chu narrows his eyes as he asks Gong if he can really let it go. Gong says he can give it a shot for Wan'er. Chu retorts, "This isn't going to end well for you". Wan'er tells Chu, no matter what, Gong is the only one she wants to be with, then pulls Gong away. Chu knows Qing was watching all of this and asks her if she's seen enough. She emerges from behind a door to tell Chu off. She asks if Gong is willing to release his prejudice and hatred for the royal family for Wan'er's sake, why won't he give them a chance? Chu simply says "Alright. I can give them a chance". The catch is he wants her to move out of the library and back to his place. Qing wonders what these two things have to do with each other, telling Chu he's unreasonable. He says he's always been this way. Qing reluctantly agrees for Wan'er's happiness. When she starts to stomp off, he informs her she's finally admitted she's his princess consort and that he'll be waiting for her. She doesn't like how he did that and feels tricked, wondering if his motive is still to kill her. Moving back, she gets the full royal welcome from Chu and all of the servants, including Xiao Yan. Chu informs her that she's the mistress of the residence. She can arrange however she likes with the food and clothes. She haltingly responds to just keep it as usual and mentions this is way over the top. Mo Yu will continue to be her personal escort, but she feels like Mo Yu might be her babysitter slash stalker. Chu promises to spend time with her after he finishes at the East office. The Duke's men bring him to the dumpling stall that Yao frequents. She shows up right then, ordering a bowl of dumplings. The Duke sits himself down at her table as her bowl of food is delivered and notes how much chili she likes. She says she's always liked chili, and he remarks how she's just like his daughter that way. She recommends he buys her some and takes them home to her. He informs Yao they've been separated for many years, but that she'd be about her age now. Yao apologizes for bringing up a sad memory for him. But he's thinking if Yao's his daughter would she accept him as her father now, having been absentee for years? At the East office, Chu asks Xiao Yan if Feng's killer confessed. He did. Chu says since he confessed, he's probably a scapegoat. Chu notices some mismatched handwriting in former Secretary Du's newer dossiers. This is suspicious. Yun arrives adding that Du's more agile than he lets on. Chu wants to handle the investigation himself, but Yun says he has to take all of the leads surrounding Feng's death seriously. Chu feels Yun's already helping by not suspecting him. Since Du hasn't yet left the city, Chu orders that he be carefully followed. The idea is to lure out whoever is behind Feng's death.

Episode 21 Recap: It turns out that former Secretary Du actually is with the assassins, but he had placed a plaster over his shoulder to hide his tattoo. However, nobody has outed him yet. Qing evades Mo Yu and overhears Chu preparing for some kind of action planned for the next day. She finds traces of gunpowder on the walkway, and fearing some kind of attack to be initiated by Chu, follows the guards, who carry boxes to a storage area. She sneaks in and pours an entire bucket of water into the boxes of gunpowder to sabotage the ploy. At the gates of the palace, a stream of potential matching ladies arrives for crown prince Ji Yun's tea party. Some of the prospects size up Yao and are shocked that a coroner was invited, thinking it ominous, and perhaps even a faked invitation. Yun arrives, greets Yao and escorts her inside. This enrages one of the candidates, who vows to make Yao regret showing her face. Wan'er is upset because Gong declined her invitation to attend the party. She wanted him to meet her mother there. Qing thinks it could be a little early in their courtship for him to meet the parents, and adds that her family can be intimidating. Since Qing is afraid Chu is up to something, she wants to follow him, so she tells him she will accompany him so they can show people they're a couple. Chu doesn't think affection is a show, but he takes her hand anyway and they proceed toward the tea party. Yao finds her seat at the party next to Wan'er, and Wan'er asks why she didn't dress up like Wan'er asked her to. Yau said she had to come straight from an autopsy with no time to change clothes, so her work outfit is the best she could do. The other women gasp and loudly gossip about how inappropriate it is to show up at a blind date like that. This is the first Yao has heard this is a date with Yun. Wan'er asks if she'd told Yao would she have come? In Wan'er's opinion, Yao is the one who really needs to be at this event, loudly adding the rest are just foils. Chu and Qing arrive with her majesty the Empress' party and are seated at the family table. After asking prince Yun to let her know which lady he likes, the Empress specifically asks Qing to help Yun by keeping her eye out. Just then, Chu offers to feed Qing a sweet and as she takes a bite all of the ladies swoon at the romantic gesture. Yun however, looks away. Chu then brushes some sweet off of Qing's cheek, and the Empress remarks how relieved she is seeing them so in love. The troublemaker drops her fan, and Yao goes to pick it up, but the agitator yells not to touch anything, then addresses the Empress that there's a coroner there who just had been touching a corpse. Surprised, the Empress calls up Yao, who identifies herself as the coroner. Both Qing and Wan'er jump up to admit to inviting Yao. But the mean girl persists, saying even so, common and lowly Yao might bring ominous vibes to the party. At that moment, the Duke walks up, demanding to know who is calling his daughter lowly. The Empress asks the Duke to explain how Yao is suddenly his daughter. He explains to everyone that after years of fruitlessly searching for her, he finally was able to find out that his missing daughter had been adopted by an old coroner after bandits had killed his wife on the road, and that Yao is his daughter. He invites Yao to come live with him, and will wait until she's ready to do so. The Empress is impressed that Yao is the daughter of a Duke, but Qing points out that regardless, Yao has a reputation as the top female coroner in Shengjing, and thus outshines the others who rely on comparing family backgrounds. The Empress feels that the event helped the Duke find his match and thus is another reason making it a joyous occasion. She then recognizes Yao's elegant, refined and outstanding abilities, adding that she really likes Yao. She asks Yao to come to the palace more often in future to keep her company. As the party disperses, Yun mentions that since Wan'er will stay at the palace that night, Qing will have to return to the library by herself. Chu informs Yun that Qing is now living with him. That being the case, Yun asks Chu to treat Qing well. Chu says he has great affection for his princess consort and will certainly do so, but Qing doesn't believe him for a minute. Chu adds he should worry about his own marriage prospects and grabs Qing's arm to go, but Qing wants Yun to accompany Yao since she doesn't know her way and tends to get lost. In the carriage, Yun comforts Yao, pointing out that a family could be a good thing for her. She opens up to him that after her foster father's death she was alone, and has gotten used to it, so she's unsure how to handle this sudden turn of events. Yun mentions that having a stable place could be just what she needs now. Yao thanks him and asks him to call her Xiyao instead of Miss Lin, and he does so. Yao apologizes for messing up his blind date and he explains it was just to appease his mother anyway. She then asks him what he's looking for in a consort. He doesn't need any specific criteria, and it wouldn't be based solely on background, because he thinks character is more important. What would be even better is if their interests and aspirations align. Yao thinks he's completely different from the rest of the royal family and tells him he's the greatest man in her heart. Yun looks stunned and Yao says she believes relationships aren't one-sided, so it's better to openly express one's feelings because even if they get rejected, at least there's a response, and that's better than ending without closure. Yun replies that she's also different from other women. They share smiles. Xiao Yan has caught Du infiltrating the palace guards. That evening, seated outside on the garden bridge with Chu, Qing reflects how she was tense all day thinking Chu was up to something, when he was looking to catch Du Hui. She still doesn't know what the gunpowder was for though, until Chu tells her he has a surprise for her. The fireworks start, but they're duds due to being waterlogged by Qing. When Chu asks rhetorically what is going on, Qing admits to accidentally ruining them because she thought they were to be used for something nefarious. Chu somehow interprets this as Qing knowing that Chu has feelings for her, and Qing asks how does what he's saying have to do with the fireworks? Chu simply says that whether she admits it or not, what he wants has never been unattainable. Qing still has a perplexed look as Chu says he's awaiting the good news from his princess consort. At the library, Wan'er finds a volume that might interest Qing in her search for the totem. Qing finds two emblems that are similar to what she's been looking for; the Tiger Totem, a symbol of loyalty and bravery once associated with a Fuyu assassin group, and Red Luan Constellation signs, symbolizing a life-and-death covenant. Chu interrogates Du. He won't give up any information, and brushes off the totem as a prank. In Chu's research, he noticed that Du Hui comes from Fuyu, and even though Liang has a lot of people from Fuyu, still, Chu says Du was a strategist for Fuyu. Gong mentions that a strategist is a third-grade minister, and thus it makes no sense that he would move to Liang and accept a demotion to secretary. Gong thinks it possible Du was running from a criminal record in Fuyu. Chu orders Xiao Yan to send a message to Fuyu asking for all of the files of any strategists in Fuyu around the time that Du left. Qing returns home to show Chu the book with the Red Luan Constellation sign and Tiger totem. She says the two symbols are similar but different and intertwined, just like the symbols found on Du Hui's body and the assassin in black. Both symbols come from Fuyu. Qing asks what does this represent? Chu is touched that Qing's been spending so much time at the library to try to help him find the totem. Qing says whether Chu's guilty or not, being falsely accused is too unfair. This time she is standing by him and vows to find the person who framed him. Chu interprets this as a sign of their bond, but Qing says that helping him is one thing, and it doesn't mean she has feelings for him. He asks what it means exactly then. She says it means she's helpful and not to overthink it. Chu agrees not to rush it then.

Episode 22 Recap: Yao finally shows up at the Duke's place and he couldn't be happier to have her join him for dinner. Crown prince Yun's guard shows him an image of the Red Luan Constellation sign totem and he's stunned to find he recognizes it from childhood, having seen his mother, the Empress, at her vanity, applying makeup to her shoulder to conceal the same tattoo. Chu learns that when young, Du Hui rocketed to the height of third-ranked official in Fuyu, then resigned and vanished into thin air the same year that Fuyu surrendered to Liang, which was also the same year the Empress married his majesty in Liang. Chu confronts Du with the images of the Red Luan and Tiger totems, informing Du that he already knows they always occur in pairs, and asks Du who carries the totem that is the counterpart to his. Du says he fell for the wrong rich girl, so he left Fuyu to seek a new life in Liang. Chu doesn't believe this. Instead he says it was royal disapproval that separated Du 20 years ago from his love when she was married off to Liang. But Du couldn't let go and followed her to Liang. Chu notes how the third princess of Fuyu, Hua Yunni, became Empress of Liang, and is the same age as Du. Du tries to throw Chu off insinuating he wouldn't have crossed paths with a noble, but he's clearly uncomfortable. So Chu presses further, accusing Du of obeying the Empress' order to kill Feng. Chu steps outside and Qing enters the cell to ask why Du has called her there. Du wants Qing to deliver a message to her aunt Yunni, but Qing yells, and the guards run in to find Du on fire. Chu finds phosphorus powder on his body and bed frame, both of which were in direct sunlight from the tiny cell window. Crown prince Yun visits the palace to see the Empress. As she approaches, he notices hanging from her kimono a serpentine black jade carving just like the one Du showed him at the mid-autumn fair. Yun confronts her about accidentally seeing her tattoo as a child. She responds that his memory is off, but he says he recognized the totem and he's not wrong. She says she'll admit to the totem if he wants. Yun wants to know if she has a life-and-death pact with Du Hui since Fuyu. She's quiet, so he rips the black jade charm from her kimono, lifting it to eye level, letting her know that he saw Du buying the same charm at the mid-autumn fair. Yun angrily accuses her of already being in love with Du when she married his father. She goes completely silent. Yun is taken aback, shocked that she placed Du into the East Office. She finally speaks, saying Du was happy to serve him in the East Office, but Chu was a different story. Yun is horrified to have to ask his mother if she ordered that Feng be killed, and sick that she did not answer. Reeling in disbelief, he says she taught him to be generous, kind and courteous, and wonders with angst how that still stands. He recalls when he was young she punished him by making him copy the sutra a hundred times because he snatched a piece of cake from Chu. She told him not to fight with his brother, and to give in when he can. It was she who influenced him not to fight, and not to compete for anything. "So which is true?", Yun chokes out the words in heartbreak, dropping the amulet and turning away in sorrow. Back at their place, Qing asks Chu why he doesn't question her about seeing Du. Chu tells her he trusts her, and she smiles like the sun. The guards then bring a suspect into the office, telling Chu they caught him outside the jail cell using a bronze mirror to focus sunlight. Du immediately asks him if he was the one who scattered phosphorus powder on Du's straw mattress. Although he's silent, the guards also produce a long record of him feuding with Du. The man says he'd have killed him in or out of jail. Qing takes a look at the record, but Chu says it's falsified to make it look like the reason Du was eliminated, but that Du actually had a good reputation in the East Office for many years. Qing concludes from this that someone wants the Du case closed. Chu asks who Qing thinks is most eager to shut Du up, and follows up to ask if she remembers the message Du wanted delivered. At the palace, the Empress burns the only thing that connects her to Du, a hairpin he'd given her many years before. Qing arrives to inform the Empress that she sneaked into the jail to see Du the day before. The Empress plays dumb, asking if Qing is talking about the man who killed Feng. Qing says since the Empress is from Fuyu, she might be able to help explain Du's story. Qing said that Du wanted to pass a message to a friend but she didn't know who to pass the message to. The Empress said she never heard any stories about Du. Qing rises to leave saying she'll figure it out herself, but inside she wonders if the Empress isn't curious what Du had actually said. Since the Empress didn't take the bait, Qing leaves. Back at home on the deck in the moonlight, Qing reflects out loud how odd it was that the Empress didn't want to know Du's final words. Chu explains that the palace is treacherous since the most insignificant detail can lead to one's undoing. One thing Chu really wants to know is how Qing always knows what he's going to do before he does it. Qing can't spit anything out, so Chu says that's fine, she can tell him when she's ready. Then repeats that he trusts her and won't suspect her. She then stares at him in wonder, so he says if she keeps staring at him he'll take it as a sign that she likes him. The Duke's staff tries to move Yao's things out of the East Office and into his home. The Duke is troubled that Yao is surrounded by corpses instead of family. Yao explains that's her job, but the Duke insists he's old and since they were separated for so many years, they need to make up for that, but she has no time for him. He's also afraid she'll get married soon and he'll miss out on spending time with her at all. Yao doesn't want to get married, but the Duke feels her mother would've wanted him to find her a good match and will blame him if he doesn't see her married. Yao compromises and agrees to live with the Duke for now, but says getting married is a whole different issue. The Duke insists he will find her the best marriage possible, but Yao looks dubious. The Duke then visits Chu to ask him to marry Yao, and Qing overhears this. Chu tries to deflect the Duke by reminding him that the crown prince will ascend to the throne, so making his daughter the crown princess would mean she'd become the new Empress. But the Duke prefers Chu's ambition, and doesn't think that the throne is necessarily a guaranteed future for Yun. The Duke adds that if Chu marries the Duke's daughter, he'll be his son-in-law, and thus the Ding Guo army would be in his hands as well. Chu asks the Duke if he's using Yao as a bargaining chip. The Duke says no, she's beloved to him, and he wants her to live a carefree life, so he would want her to be Chu's princess consort. Chu says he appreciates the offer, but cannot accept because he already has a wife and princess consort. Qing realizes that Chu may have just given up the support of the Duke for her. The Duke takes his leave and Chu tells Qing she can come out from her hiding place now. Qing apologizes for eavesdropping and Chu asks if she heard everything. Qing nods asking why Chu gave up such a good opportunity to obtain the Duke's support. A bit exasperated, Chu tells her he wouldn't do anything that would hurt her, then leans in asking if she understands. Getting closer and closer, he almost kisses her until she pushes his face to the side and runs off.

Episode 23 Recap: Qing's heart races when she thinks of Chu. Seeing him sacrifice the command of an army for her, she wonders if that means he'll be giving up his revenge plot to become a romantic type. Chu takes her on a super romantic evening dragon boat ride down the river under a hundred glowing strung lanterns. He tells her he knows she has secrets and he'll wait for her to trust him, but he wants to know if he has a place in her heart, even if it's just a bit. Fireworks blast overhead, pulling her eyes to the sky. She almost falls out of the boat at this but he catches and steadies her, then keeps his arm around her shoulders protectively. Drawn to watch the fireworks, crown prince Yun sees them together and turns away wistfully. Crickets loudly chirping, as they stroll home, Chu gently takes her hand in his. Suddenly a child flies out of nowhere, throwing himself onto Chu's feet and calling Chu father. Both taken aback, Qing tries to pry the youth's grip from Chu's legs. The kid insists that's his father and Chu calls him pumpkin, asking why he's there. Qing falters. In bed that night, Qing's hurt that the moment Chu professed his feelings for her she became a step-mother. Her suspicion swells and she thinks him a jerk, womanizer and outrageous. The Duke brings Yao to the palace to meet the Empress, bringing up the subject of marriage, discussing what happened with Chu. Her majesty says the Duke's prestige and power mean there's no one for Yao outside the royal family. Hearing the Duke tried to match her with Chu, Yao informs the Empress that her heart belongs to the crown prince. Yet she knows it takes two to make a marriage last, and that Yun has no intention of marrying her. Just then Yun speaks from across the way, asking who says he's not marrying her? Yao whips around to face Yun with a startled look as he approaches closer. The Empress asks him to explain, and he says if it will be allowed, he will marry Yao and make her his consort. The Duke is letting it sink in that Yao had feelings for the crown prince all along. Napping in her room, Qing's awakened by pumpkin with some kind of sneeze powder, as he calls her an old witch. He informs her that his father belongs only to his mother. Qing chafes that after dealing with his devil of a father, she must also put up with his evil spawn. Wan'er brings a sneeze remedy to Qing, and jokes that she never thought anyone could flummox Qing. Wan'er asks, and Qing believes pumpkin is Chu's illegitimate child from Nanjing, and wouldn't be surprised at a pregnant wife on their doorstep. Wan'er says sincerely that Chu isn't that kind of person. Qing asks if Wan'er plans to make it official with Gong. Wan'er says earnestly that no amount of objection can ever stop her from marrying the love of her life. Pumpkin strikes again at bedtime, putting something putrid on Qing's bed, then swinging a feather duster at her. She manages to disarm the brat and is holding the stick up in the air when Chu asks what is going on. The rascal complains Qing won't let him call Chu father and is punishing him for it. But adds it's not her fault, it's because he came uninvited. Qing takes a couple swipes at him telling him to drop the act. Chu calms them and sends pumpkin to ask Xiao Yan to play with him. Qing can't believe the feigning rascal outsmarted her, and neither can Chu. She points out that she's not a stepmother, but if she were, and she retaliated that would make her the evil stepmother, then tells him to just admit how many other wives and illegitimate children he has so she can be ready for it. He says 180 and she starts beating him with the feather duster while asking him if he's some kind of machine. He tells her it was a joke, then grabs her close calmly saying if he has a child, it will be their child. She slips away saying she doesn't want a child with him. She evades his gaze asking if the child's mother is his first love. He tells Qing that she's the first woman he's fallen in love with. A moment of awe sweeps over her and she smiles, but her expression changes as she says she almost fell for that lie. She wants to know if it's true she's his first love, then where's pumpkin from? He asks if she's jealous. She first denies, then admits it makes her a bit uncomfortable. He likes it when she's jealous. The mood turns humorous when he advises her to avoid picking a fight with pumpkin because he inherited Chu's temper and thus she can never outsmart him. He walks away after landing that zinger! At the palace, Yun's wedding is announced so he's officially betrothed to Yao. Yun asks his mother to promise to stay away from the Imperial court's affairs. He tells her that in cleaning up her mess, he forced himself to go against his own will and do wrongful things for her sake. She wants to know if this is about Yao or Qing. She tells him she knew from the beginning that Yun's feelings for Qing were unusual. She reminds him Qing is Chu's consort, and he can fall for anyone but her. Yun assures her he's moved on. Pumpkin has gone silent, causing Qing suspicion. She notices a trip hazard he created for her on the deck. But she didn't see a bucket trap he set above. Out of nowhere, Yun swiftly lifts her out of the range of the dumpster. Pumpkin rushes to apologize. Tired of his nonsense, Qing calls him a two-faced rascal. Yun's come to see Qing, but instead asks who pumpkin is and how long the boy's been staying there. She thinks he's Chu's son from Nanjing. Yun knew that Chu went through hell in Nanjing, and was at death's doorstep, but didn't know he had a son. Qing is rattled that Chu nearly died in Nanjing. She thinks back to her book and recalls that she didn't go into the details of Chu's journey in Nanjing. So she herself doesn't actually know what he went through. Yun changes the subject wanting to know if Chu investigated Du Hui's death. Qing says that because Du's murderer committed suicide in jail, they lost the lead. Yun wants to know if Du left any message, but Qing says no. Yun also wants Qing to know that he will marry Yao. Qing smiles brightly in elation at that! But Yun looks sad as he agrees. She adds that Yao is madly in love with him. Yun wants to know if Qing has any other feelings beyond being happy for Yao. She admits to a bit of sadness, thinking to herself that this means the end of the story, but simply says she will have to share her beloved Yao with him. She tells him they're a match made in heaven and he should be happy. Yun agrees they will. In the East Office, Chu gets word that Du is awake and goes straight to ask Du if it was worth it to work for the Empress, since here he lies in agony while she didn't even listen to his final message. Du is silent. Chu admires Du's devotion, because recently he's started to know the meaning of the word. Chu wants to know if the Empress was involved in the incident from 15 years ago (the demon poisoning of Chu's mother, Imperial Consort Xian). Chu informs Du he's uncovered the ties between the Empress and Du; he knows about the hairpin given as a token of love, and even knows that his majesty was supposed to marry the First princess of Fuyu and that it was Du's influence behind the match of the ambitious Third princess to Liang. Chu believes Du knew the Third princess would never settle for what she had, so he helped her climb the social ladder. Du tells him that was very generous and that he pities Du because he will never know if her majesty has ever thought about him. Du starts to tremble at this. Chu grabs Du's shoulder, demanding to know if the Empress was implicated in the death of Xian. Du mumbles, "15 years ago.. the empress... the Su family... the demon poison" and expires. It's a weak testimony, but that seems enough for Chu. At Mystic Medicine House, Qing wants to hear of Chu's life in Nanjing. Gong agrees to tell her because he believes she will then treat Chu better.

Episode 24 Recap: No one knew the bitterness and humiliation Chu had to endure as a hostage in Nanjing. Treated as a heinous criminal, beaten, locked in a wooden shed, and given spoiled food, then escaping briefly, by chance he met Gong, but was caught again and both were brought back. Chu would stand up for Gong and get beaten worse, then Gong would treat his wounds. Gong would try to tell him not to defend him, but then Chu said Gong wouldn't be stuck suffering if not for him. Whenever Gong wanted to rebel, Chu would stop him and make him stick to their ultimate plan. Eventually they found out Imperial Consort Wei was involved. Once Chu angered Wang Chuanzhi so much he had his finger cut off on the spot. By that point, Gong had developed his healing skills enough to reattach Chu's finger, but it left a terrible scar. Thus Chu habitually wears an ornate ring that covers nearly his entire finger. Qing feels at fault for Chu's suffering, since she's the one who wrote the novel and created all of these characters. Wang Chuanzhi met a tragic end. Gong says that given Chu's temperament, he wouldn't have spared the man. Afterward, Chu took advantage of the rivalry between the princes of Nanjing to remove all obstacles. Qing wants to know how pumpkin came into the picture. Gong suggests she ask Chu herself, but now she knows the pain Chu carries, and that the person she sees is not really him. Back at Anxiang Hall, Chu figures Yun told Qing about his betrothal, but doesn't get why Qing disappeared after seeing Yun. Chu didn't want Yun to find out about pumpkin. Qing appears and takes Chu's hand, telling him that even if she's a stepmother, she'll be good to him from now on. He apologizes for her having to spend so much time with pumpkin, but she says she doesn't mind because her Hua family's parenting methods are a balance of firmness and gentleness, so she can handle pumpkin. Since she has no children, Chu doesn't see how she knows parenting methods, but says when the time is right, he'll tell her about pumpkin. Gently brushing his hair from his face, Qing explains that regardless of his past, in the future, she'll be good to him. Chu covers her hand with his, asking how she will be good to him. Qing says she'll cherish him and hold him gently, doing everything he says and everything he wants. Chu reaches up to cup her face with his fingertips, then moves in to kiss her but is interrupted by pumpkin yelling, "Old witch, are you in there?". Qing runs to pumpkin to evade Chu. Now that Gong has told Chu what transpired when Qing visited, he understands her reaction. Gong's gotten his revenge, so now he'd like to tell Wan'er his past and marry her. Chu thinks back to what Du said, and feels this could get messy because if the Empress was responsible for the death of Gong's family instead of Lady Wei, then that would mean Wan'er's mother murdered Gong's father. Chu says "This matter needs careful consideration". Gong jumps to the conclusion he's not good enough for Chu's sister. Chu doesn't correct him because he's in a sticky position and doesn't want to reveal something that might not be true. Gong says he will ask for Wan'er's hand regardless if Chu objects. Chu lets him leave without saying more. At Mystic Medicine House, Wan'er proposes that they merge Jingzhi library and Mystic Medicine House with books on one side and medicine on the other and call it Xuanjing Abode. It could be the ideal place to heal both body and mind. Gong pulls her onto his lap, happily telling her how smart she is. Wan'er has been patient but Gong wonders if she isn't curious about his past. She is, she says because when you like someone you want to know everything about them. Wan'er accepts all of Gong, regardless of his past. Gong tells her his father was kind-hearted and skilled in developing extraordinary medicines, and that it was his skills that brought about his downfall. Gong's father refused to give a formula to former Imperial Consort Wei because of his ethics. He only wished to save lives and heal the sick and could not be involved in doing harm. Wei gave physician Su a day to reconsider, but warned him she has her ways. Wan'er immediately puts together that Wei wanted the demon poison from Gong's father. Gong says that's right. His father accidentally developed the mix when trying to make an anti-aging remedy. Physician Su wanted to destroy the formula, but to curry favor with the royal family, his colleague, Liu Mingsheng told Wei. Gong's father refused to concoct the formula for Wei, and out of concern that he might expose her, she plotted against him, which led to the execution of Gong's whole family. Gong was spared by an old servant who spirited Gong away. Wan'er exclaims that Wei is evil, that dozens of people lost their lives due to her, and she got what was coming to her. She feels sorry Gong had to go through all of that. Gong assures her it's all in the past and although the first half of his life was fixated on revenge, the rest of his life will be all about Wan'er. Wan'er vows that as long as she's with him, he will suffer no more injustices. Gong holds Wan'er on his lap thinking to himself he will marry her proudly regardless of the obstacles ahead, as he gently kisses her forehead. Since Qing mentioned parenting methods the day before, Chu has a bath drawn with petals. He's jumped to the conclusion that Qing wants to have children with him. Chu especially likes the idea of Qing becoming pregnant because if the Empress were to act again, she wouldn't dare lay a hand on Qing. Chu asks Xiao Yan to tell Qing to join him. Qing shows up, wondering why she was told to bring Chu a towel, when a servant could've done so. Chu's already in the tub. She tells him the towel's there, turning to leave, but Chu tells her to hurry up and join him, reminding her that she said she would listen to him from now on. Qing turns and moves toward the pool, avoiding Chu's eyes, but he stands up, wearing a small towel on his lower half, and moves toward her, causing her to gasp and turn her back to him. Chu asks her to bathe with him, but she deflects, telling him she'd rather give him a massage. She picks up a bowl of lotion, saying it will nourish his skin, then from the edge of the tub, dumps the entire bowl of cold liquid on him. He leaps to his feet, as she starts rubbing and her hands end up on his chest. She makes the mistake of stepping up onto the bench next to the pool, thus slips toward him and falls onto him, but he catches her and they end up in a slow-motion kiss where she's slipping and clearly doesn't want to get wet, so she tries clinging to him, but it doesn't work and she falls in anyway, apparently ripping his towel off in the process. A totally wonky moment! Seeing him fully naked, she screams and runs away. In her bed, Qing replays the comical and unexpected events of the evening. Chu tosses and turns. Qing's afraid Chu has put a spell on her because she can't clear her mind of him. Chu rests no better. Wan'er and Gong are organizing books when he asks her why she has an interest in romance novels. She says if one doesn't understand the ways of love how can they engage in romantic conversations? Gong tells her she doesn't need help in that department because they're already in love. Gong says if they could spend the rest of their lives reading, gathering herbs, and growing old together, it would be the most wonderful thing ever. Unfortunately for Chu, his love life hasn't gone so smoothly. Xiao Yan comes up with the idea that Qing is just shy and Chu will have to take the initiative. Xiao Yan produces a remedy he acquired from the ghost market, called a "Child Bearing Pill" that will help a woman conceive if the man takes it. Chu thinks this ridiculous, but after Xiao Yan leaves he considers it, having not really any other ideas. Still thinking of Chu, Qing's sitting in her room when he kicks open the door and stumbles toward her. She thinks he might be drunk, but she doesn't smell alcohol on him. He sweeps her up in his arms, and she protests, smacking and kicking him while yelling to put her down. He does so, but it's on the bed and he's over her. Then he twitches and says he didn't expect the 'child bearing pill' to be an aphrodisiac. Shocked, she exclaims, "Child Bearing Pill?", "Aphrodesiac?" while flipping over, trying to crawl away from him. In disbelief, she grabs the bedrail as he explains he thought she wanted to have children. He tries to pull her toward him but she wants to know when she said such a thing. Climbing up and bending toward her, he tells her she brought it up. Parenting methods. She kicks him in the shoulder, sending him reeling, saying that's a misunderstanding and that he's trying to take advantage of her. But, holding her leg to stop her kicking, he asks whether she has affections for him, and she nods yes! So he leans up over her, about to make his move, but she shoves a pillow into his face, yelling "Wait, wait, no" and requesting they find something else to shift their attention. His face still full of pillow, he asks, "What else?".

Episode 25 Recap: Qing's wonky plan to detox Chu of the "Child Bearing Pill" ends up with them both drunk and passed out. The Empress hears from Prime Minister Li of Nanjing that the assassination attempt on the Emperor failed and he's now missing. Yun arrives and tells her that he saw Qing because he wanted to put things to an end with her. He also tells her there's an 8 year old boy who's reportedly Chu's son from Nanjing. The Empress guesses it's not Chu's son. Chu's spies report that Prime Minister Li had the young Emperor pursued all the way to Liang, but they took out Li's assassins at the border. Chu has a message sent by pigeon. Still at the palace, Yun plays weiqi with his majesty as he asks about the boy staying at Chu's place. He believes the boy is Wei Nanqing, emperor of Nanjing. Surprised, Yun asks if his father suspects something. Caution is required, since the fish-shaped token commands the armies of Nanjing. The question is whether Wei Nanqing has the token in hand. Yun trusts Chu not to plot against the nation. However, the Emperor says when people discover Nanqing is in his mansion, the Imperial Court will be shaken. Yun asks for advice in handling this. The Emperor says if Yun doesn't want to put Chu in a difficult position, Wei Nanqing can't stay. Back home, Yun's plans come together and he gives the order to mobilize as a silent nod of consent to his guard. Pumpkin wants to tag along with Qing to shop for Yao's wedding gift. She tells him he can go on the condition that he never lets go of her hand. He grasps her fingers saying he can handle the humiliation. As they head out, but pumpkin pulls Qing toward the back gate to avoid the guards. In merchant district, Qing asks pumpkin why he dislikes her. In his mind his father's love is in Nanjing and no other is worthy. When Qing asks who the woman is, pumpkin only says she's beautiful like the flowers and gorgeous like the moon, a mistress of elegance and grace. Qing should forget it. As a pole vendor sprints by, pumpkin wants something the man is selling and pulls Qing after him, around a corner into an empty street. Qing freezes as a man with a sword slowly approaches. She commands he identify himself, while shielding pumpkin behind her. Pumpkin's question is if Prime Minister Li sent him. As the assailant leaps into the air, sword raised, Qing throws her arms outward to deflect the blade from pumpkin, but the man retreats swiftly. Then he takes a deadly run at them, sword pointed at their hearts, when Chu flies out of nowhere to fight him off with his bare hands! He leaps, bends and spins out of the path of the blade as he tries to disarm the culprit, until finally Chu's guards show up to capture him. Chu's secret guards had told him Qing left with pumpkin. As Qing apologizes for her recklessness, pumpkin owns up to asking her to sneak him out. Qing likes this new pumpkin. As Chu and Xiao Yan discuss the fruitless interrogation of the attacker, Qing busts in to confront Chu about pumpkin not being his son and Chu finally admits he's not. But Qing still wants to know who the kid is and why Chu would take him in. Chu tells her he's the Emperor of Nanjing, Wei Nanqing. He didn't want to keep it a secret from her, but it was just safer if fewer people knew. However, now that the young Emperor's identity has been compromised everything is different. Qing remembers Wei Nanqing's words, and asks Chu if Prime Minister Li sent the assassin. Chu thinks not because his men wouldn't have saved her. Chu asks her not to take the young Emperor outside the gates again and Qing says they could've avoided the whole mess had he told her this secret before! She wants to know why go to the trouble of pretending the Emperor is his son? Chu explains that since the boy lost his father very young, he grew up calling Chu father. So Chu's used to it. Qing wants to know if Wei Nanqing's mother was Chu's lover. Chu smirks, accusing her of being jealous and wants to know if Qing meant it last night when she agreed she had affections for Chu. Qing says she doesn't remember saying that and runs off. Yun admonishes his guard at how wrong the mission went. The assassin wasn't instructed that Qing was to remain unharmed, so Yun was very glad he was there to stop her getting hurt. Yao's being trained in etiquette. She's given a huge stack of books to read, the first of which is titled "Rules for Women". It states things like don't show yourself outside the house. She commits to reading the rules, but not the rules for women, handing that title back. The woman says she may be a Duke's daughter, but a coroner doesn't belong in the royal family, otherwise the crown prince will be mocked. Yao says she's a coroner yes, but don't use that as an excuse. She takes the book of women's rules back saying she'll read it, but only for the crown prince's sake. Yun witnesses all of this silently. Later he asks to see her. He feels he was rash with his proposal and inconsiderate of her feelings. He assures her that after she becomes crown princess she can keep her job as coroner. He says if she feels this is against her will he'll inform his father and call off the marriage, taking full responsibility. She asks if he regrets proposing, but no; he knows she's a great person. Yao says this is her decision and he need not be concerned. Yun asks if it's really worth it. Who can say? All she knows is she needs to move forward now that she's made her choice. She knows his heart belongs to someone else, but there's a chance she will have it one day. She believes that day will come for her. She asks him to walk down this path with her, and he says he will. At Chu's residence, a servant brings some fruit tea for the young Emperor just as Qing arrives to let him know that she knows he's Wei Nanqing and Chu's not his father. Pumpkin asks if his 'father' told her that, and she tells him to stop trying to sabotage her relationship. The young Emperor shoots back "You could tell?". Qing asks if she looks like a fool, and Wei Nanqing nods yes. Qing throws a mocking fist in the air and gives him the evil eye. Wei Nanqing simply says that being that she risked her life for him yesterday, he won't be picking on her anymore. He lifts his fruit tea as if to drink a toast to that, but she stops him, asking who Chu's lover in Nanjing is. It's not his mom, but his elder sister, the First Princess of Nanjing, Wei Nanyi. The young Emperor believes they have feelings for each other. He continues that without Wei Nanyi, Chu would've died in Nanjing. So it turns out his sister saved his father! Disturbed by this news, Qing downs the fruit tea, then says the tea tastes funky. Wei Nanqing says when a person is upset, everything tastes bad. Qing leaps at him informing him she's not his stepmother anymore and can teach him a lesson. They run circles around the table until Qing falls unconscious to the floor. The tea servant slinks away as Wei Nanqing tells her to stop playing dead. He kneels, shaking her, yelling "Old witch wake up!". His eyes land on the tea cup as he realizes it must've been tampered with. Chu's been informed the assassin died from the torture. He predicts another assassination attempt, when an aide races in to blurt that someone tried to poison the boy and the princess consort accidentally took the poison. Chu flies into action, getting Gong to treat her. Gong says without an antidote, there's not much he can do against such a strong poison. Qing must be saved. Gong knows it will take a lot of time to determine the correct antidote but he'll do his best. Chu sends Gong to start immediately. He wants the head of the one responsible. Xiao Yan says the servant who served the fruit tea took her own life. Back at Yun's, his aide doesn't know how Qing ended up getting poisoned. Yun wants the antidote sent over, but the guard reasons that Chu wouldn't trust the antidote enough to use it. Yun says he'll send it himself, but the aide says that will compromise their plan. Yun says Qing's life comes before anything. His guard advises him to come up with an excuse if he's going to go over there. Yun decides to act through Yao. Chu tells a comatose Qing that they're looking for an antidote and she'll be fine. Xiao Yan announces that the crown prince and coroner are there to deliver the wedding invitation. A look of suspicion crosses Chu's face as he doubts why the crown prince is there at this moment. Outside, Chu skeptical that they're really both there to deliver the invitation personally. Yun explains since Yao and Qing are very close, they wanted to come by so they can arrange to get together before the wedding. Yao asks to see Qing but Chu tells her not now because Qing accidentally drank poisoned tea and is in a coma. Distressed, Yao asks who is after Qing's life? Yun asks how Qing is. Chu says without the antidote it looks like they'll lose her. Yun pulls the antidote from his sleeve, saying it's from the Healer Sage and is said to cure any poison. He wants Chu to give it to Qing immediately. Chu's eyes narrow as he takes it from Yun and says "much appreciated".