Summary 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.

• Costume Drama
• History
• Fantasy
• Mystery
• Romance