Episode 19 recap: Li Yi was stripped of his title as the Prince of Zhen.
Li Yi was preparing to approach Cui Lin, but she stopped him. Unhappy, Li Yi said that Cui Lin finally remembered him and came to see him. Cui Lin explained that she came to look after Consort Xiao because Li Yi asked her to. She had just finished preparing a meal for Consort Xiao and hurried to find Li Yi. She said that if Li Yi was unhappy, she would go see the King instead and pretended to leave. Li Lai and Li Jun watched Prince Liang's dilemma, and they volunteered to stay behind and block the enemy's pursuit while escorting Prince Liang to safety. Their subordinates reported to the King that the Prince of Zhen had successfully recaptured West Changjing, which made the King very happy. He believed he was the true crown prince, the only one capable of ruling the world.
Li Yi arrived at the palace in West Changjing with his men. He recalled how the late Emperor had not held high expectations for him. General Xiao Pei believed that Li Yi had now recaptured West Changjing and could finally bring comfort to the late Emperor's spirit. Cui Lin and Tao Zi arrived at the palace together. Tao Zi looked at the surroundings and exclaimed, "So this is the palace."
Cui Lin introduced Tao Zi to the layout of the palace. Tao Zi marveled at the immense size of the palace and wondered how many people could live there. While they were talking, Li Yi appeared. He asked Cui Lin to take care of Consort Xiao. Jin Niang, Consort Xiao's maid, informed Cui Lin that Consort Xiao had put poison in her lipstick to kill Sun Jing and prevent him from suspecting anything, regardless of her own life.
Li Jun asked the King what would be an appropriate reward for the Prince of Zhen now that he had recaptured West Changjing. The King felt that Li Yi was his son and didn't need any rewards. Li Lai warned that if he wasn't rewarded, some ill-intentioned individuals might cause trouble. Li Lai suggested that the King return to the palace, open the inner chambers, and distribute the treasures inside to reward the three armies.
Consort Xiao heard the soldiers shouting for the King and woke up excitedly. She said they had won and tears welled up in her eyes. Consort Xiao asked Jin Niang who the two girls in front of her were. Jin Niang told her they were Cui Lin and Tao Zi, brought by Li Yi. Consort Xiao expressed her gratitude to Cui Lin and Tao Zi for saving her from the poison.
The King asked Li Yi what reward he wanted, whether it was gold or the title of Crown Prince. Li Yi told him he didn't want anything, except for one request: that once he found the Crown Prince, he would abdicate the throne in favor of the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing this, the King became displeased and said he needed to consider it. Consort Xiao asked Jin Niang if Sun Jing was still alive, but Jin Niang remained silent. Consort Xiao said she didn't know what had come over her and that she didn't want Sun Jing to die. She still remembered the moment during the palace coup when Sun Jing rushed in and held her hand. She recalled her days in the Eastern Palace, feeling like a walking corpse, and that she only felt complete when she was with Sun Jing. Jin Niang thought it was dangerous to talk about this now, but Consort Xiao assured her that she wouldn't speak of it again and wouldn't let anyone else know about it.
Consort Xiao felt that her relationship with Sun Jing had become stained and that she would rather die. Jin Niang was deeply worried upon hearing this, but Consort Xiao said she wouldn't die yet. She wanted to live and witness the Crown Prince grow up. Cui Lin came to see Li Yi, who expressed his unhappiness that Cui Lin had only come to see him now. He thought Cui Lin had forgotten about him.
Cui Lin asked if he had forgotten that it was he who asked her to take care of Consort Xiao. She had just finished looking after Consort Xiao and hurried to find him, not even visiting her own father. Cui Lin said she was about to leave when Li Yi quickly held her back.
Li Yi took Cui Lin to the dried fruit shop mentioned in their letters and bought her a lot of things. He didn't know when they would see each other again after this separation. Cui Lin brought some snow ginseng to give to Consort Xiao and told her that she needed to replenish her health.
Gu Xiang believed that only the Queen's legitimate son could be named the Crown Prince, so he planned to petition the King to posthumously title him as the Queen. However, the King was unwilling and instead named the mothers of Li Jun and Li Lai as Consort Empress Zhao, while Li Yi's birth mother was named Consort Zhao. He believed that Li Yi's birth mother came from a humble background and wasn't worthy of being named Empress. The ministers also debated the issue of naming an Empress, and Li Yi felt that if the King considered his mother's background to be humble, then he should revoke his title as the Prince of Zhen and let him return to Laolan Pass.
The King became extremely angry, stripped him of his position, and confined him to his room. Li Yi asked General Xiao Pei to deliver a letter to Cui Lin on his behalf, and although Xiao Pei was reluctant, he obediently went to deliver it to Cui Lin.
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