Episode 19 recap: Mu Zhuo Hua Takes Away Mother's Ashes

The aunts came to find the lady of the house and talked about the several men Miss Qi brought back. They mentioned that many of them thought Miss Qi was fortunate. The lady of the house believed that men could have several options, so why should women be limited to just one choice? Miss Qi had the right to choose whom she wanted to marry; it was her fortune.

The aunts wanted to have a look at the men Miss Qi brought back. Zhi Jian and Zhi Mo looked at the group of women and unexpectedly realized that they were the aunts from the eighteen rooms of the Mu Estate. The aunts claimed that they were already in the nineteenth room. The aunts thought Zhi Jian and the others were quite handsome, albeit a bit thin, and believed that the person lying inside must be the main wife. Unable to bear it, Zhi Jian quickly asked them all to leave.

Mu Zhuo Hua and Liu Yan heard everything from inside. Mu Zhuo Hua felt that these aunts had too much free time on their hands. Liu Yan asked Mu Zhuo Hua if he was attracted to her. Mu Zhuo Hua replied that he wasn't attracted yet, but if he continued to be by Liu Yan's side, he was afraid he would fall in love with her. Mu Zhuo Hua brought up the incident when they used a beauty scheme against the county magistrate. Liu Yan was displeased upon hearing it and expressed her disapproval, hoping Mu Zhuo Hua would avoid taking risks.

Mu Zhuo Hua and Liu Yan flew kites in the courtyard. Mu Zhuo Hua released the kite, but unexpectedly, Master Mu picked it up and returned it to him, much to Mu Zhuo Hua's annoyance. He said it was his kite for dispelling illness and disaster. Master Mu believed that Liu Yan was just a young gigolo by Mu Zhuo Hua's side, and Mu Zhuo Hua couldn't do much for Liu Yan's sake. He told Liu Yan to be diligent and take good care of Mu Zhuo Hua. Master Mu warned Liu Yan not to be jealous or cause trouble, as it would dampen the atmosphere, just like what happened with Gu Shenxiu in the mansion before.

Mu Zhuo Hua was extremely angry and felt that these concubines were jealous of her because they liked Master Mu. In Master Mu's heart, they were just a disappointment, and he didn't value them as much as he did his mother. Liu Yan believed that Mu Zhuo Hua's mother still had her place.

Mu Zhuo Hua believed that if Master Mu didn't love her mother, he shouldn't have made her any promises or deceived her into coming to the Mu family. In Master Mu's eyes, Mu Zhuo Hua's mother was just a courtesan. If it weren't for him, she would still be selling her charms somewhere. Mu Zhuo Hua wanted to take her mother's ashes away. She mentioned how Master Mu had prevented her from entering the Mu family ancestral tomb, considering her bad luck. It was only because of the compassion of the senior wife that her mother's ashes were allowed in the small ancestral hall. However, Master Mu disagreed, believing that she was born a member of the Mu family and in death, she would remain a Mu family ghost. Mu Zhuo Hua thought that Master Mu was only concerned about saving face if this were to be known. Master Mu wanted to hit Mu Zhuo Hua, but Liu Yan stopped him.

When Master Mu found out that Liu Yan was the Prince Ding, he was frightened and quickly knelt down, no longer daring to stop Mu Zhuo Hua. Mu Zhuo Hua and Liu Yan left, and Master Mu and the senior wife came out to see them off. Master Mu felt proud of his family. The princess and her group were distributing porridge here when someone disguised as a refugee attempted to assassinate the princess. The princess managed to escape to this side of the cliff, and fortunately, Xue Xiao Tang came to her rescue. However, Xue Xiao Tang fell off the cliff along with the refugees. The Crown Prince and his group also arrived and ordered a search for Xue Xiao Tang below the cliff.

Mrs. Zhuang got into a physical fight with Mu Ba, but Mu Zhuo Hua and her people intervened and stopped Mrs. Zhuang. Mu Zhuo Hua knew that there would be evidence of County Magistrate Zhuang's crimes on Mu Ba's side. Mu Ba asked Mu Zhuo Hua what he would gain from helping him, and Mu Zhuo Hua offered him one thousand taels, but Mu Ba demanded three thousand taels.

Mu Zhuo Hua and Liu Yan went to see Mr. Shang together. Mr. Shang believed that the current situation was only treating the symptoms and not the root cause, and there must be other people behind County Magistrate Zhuang. Liu Yan naturally understood this, as the influential families and nobles were now in a precarious position. Mr. Shang asked them when they would leave, and Mu Zhuo Hua replied that it would be within the next two days.