Episode 25 recap: Ning Yuan Zhou killed Jia Ling with Ruyi.

Jia Ling felt that neither the Ruyi of the Zhu Yi Wei envoy nor the Ning Yuan Zhou of the Liu Dao Tang could withstand her barrage of arrows. As Jia Ling spoke, she activated the signal in her hand, informing them that within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the Yu Lin Wei guards in the vicinity would rush here. Unless they killed all of them within that time, they would be wiped out.

Ning Yuan Zhou looked at Jia Ling's smug expression and casually told her that he didn't care. He informed the Zhu Yi Wei guards around him that Jia Ling was the culprit who killed their subordinates. Now he gave them two choices: either they leave now and pretend nothing happened, or they stay and die with Jia Ling.

Seeing Ning Yuan Zhou sowing discord among the troops, Jia Ling quickly denied it. Ruyi assured them that she wouldn't trouble them and that she would only target the main culprit. After hearing this, Coral and the others wavered. Jia Ling hurriedly informed them that the Yu Lin Wei had already arrived. Ning Yuan Zhou reminded everyone that the leader of the Yu Lin Wei was now Li Tong Guang, who was Ruyi's disciple.

Jia Ling immediately panicked. She desperately tried to assassinate Ruyi but ended up being stabbed and falling into the river. When Li Tong Guang arrived, he saw his master's silver needle and was pleased. He ordered his subordinates to erase all traces here and claimed that they had died in internal strife. Jia Ling wanted to quietly escape along the water's flow, but Ruyi guessed correctly and caught her.

Jia Ling believed that as a girl, she needed money to survive. She admitted to killing Ruyi's foster mother and believed that those in high positions achieved their status by stepping on the bodies of others. Jia Ling made a deal with Ruyi, wanting her to disguise her body as someone who died in the Battle of Beipan. In return, she would reveal the truth to Ruyi.

Ning Yuan Zhou knew that Jia Ling wanted to have a respected death. Jia Ling openly stated that she wanted her brothers to know that she wasn't a white sparrow who traded her beauty and was also worthy of the court's attention. Ruyi swore by the spirit of Zhao Jie Niang Niang, and Jia Ling told her that it wasn't Deng Hui but the person who could make Zhao Jie Niang Niang willing to die.

Ruyi wanted to confirm if it was the person she had in mind, but Jia Ling resolutely refused to say and chose to commit suicide. Ruyi didn't believe what Jia Ling said and desperately tried to save her. Unable to bear seeing Ruyi like this, Ning Yuan Zhou told her that it was the truth.

Ruyi was unwilling to believe it. Ning Yuan Zhou carried Ruyi and left.

Yang Ying took care of Ruyi attentively and followed Qian Zhao into the palace after the appointed time. Emperor An saw Yang Ying smiling and directly commented that Wuhuang (referring to Qian Zhao) was still in prison, wondering why Yang Ying was so happy.

Yang Ying calmly replied that her royal brother was returning to the country, so she was certainly happy. Emperor An realized that Yang Ying was trying to play tricks on him and wanted to dismiss her. However, Yang Ying bluntly revealed Emperor An's intention to use her brother's life as a threat to demand ransom for military expenses and foreign conquests. She warned Emperor An that if he didn't release her brother, it would be a breach of trust and detrimental to the war effort, possibly leading to a loss of military support.

Emperor An recognized Yang Ying's intelligence and agreed to her request. Ning Yuan Zhou believed that rescuing the emperor would require further planning since the emperor of An Kingdom would surely not trust them to return home so easily. Master Du wanted to say something, but Yang Ying stopped him, knowing that Ning Yuan Zhou was still worried about Ruyi.

Ning Yuan Zhou used his own icy body to cool down Ruyi, which deeply touched her. He informed Ruyi that Jia Ling's last wish might not come true as Deng Hui was unwilling to report it to Emperor An. Ruyi declared that she wouldn't let anyone who killed her foster mother go unpunished.

Yang Ying was very worried about Ruyi and wanted Ning Yuan Zhou to accompany her. However, Ning Yuan Zhou believed that everyone had their own secrets. Yang Ying informed him about the plan to save the emperor, considering it a secondary task while prioritizing the safety of their brothers.

Yang Ying felt that her royal brother had a narrow mind and carried the burden of everything. Ning Yuan Zhou acknowledged that Yang Ying had grown up. Yuan Lu pulled Yang Ying up to the rooftop, and Yang Ying felt a sense of inexplicable sadness. Yuan Lu told Yang Ying that she was actually quite afraid of death but believed in living each day without being too pessimistic.

Yang Ying was afraid that if Huang (her brother) couldn't be rescued, she would be detained there and those people wouldn't care about her. Yang Ying asked Yuan Lu if she had someone she liked, and Yuan Lu didn't hesitate to say yes.