Episode 7 recap: Fan Zhong Ju participated in the imperial examination.
Fan Zhong Ju stated that he was well-prepared for this examination, having learned from the lessons of the previous six exams. He also mentioned the support he received from everyone. He believed that unless he made a mistake in writing his name on the test paper, he would surely pass. However, after saying this, Fan Zhong Ju suddenly fainted. In an attempt to console him, everyone took turns telling jokes.
After the examination, Fan Zhong Ju returned home, where Yu Huan was waiting for him. She gently touched his forehead and then a lion dance performance was held to bless him for success. Fan Zhong Ju happily declared that he would definitely pass this time, as he had reflected on his experiences from the previous six attempts. However, just as he spoke, he suddenly remembered that the name signed on the test paper was his pen name, "Aote Nan." This realization caused him to faint again.
The crowd drank and talked about things they had never done before. They became intoxicated, and while imagining Fan Zhong Ju passing the examination, they wondered if he could fulfill their wishes. Guo Dong Li expressed a desire to meet "Aote Nan," not realizing it was Fan Zhong Ju's pen name. Just as he was about to speak, Guo Dong Li entered and warned everyone not to mention "Aote Nan" since he held disdain for the imperial examination. He explained that the emperor had ordered to delay the announcement of the results and was looking for the person behind the pen name. The crowd began discussing the possible fate of "Aote Nan," which frightened Fan Zhong Ju. In a state of fear, he announced that he was indeed "Aote Nan" and immediately fainted again.
When Fan Zhong Ju woke up, he initially did not want to admit his true identity. However, since he had already confessed in the restaurant, he saw no need to hide it any longer. Xie Quan Jia proposed to the crowd that they would surely help him overcome this situation. Fan Zhong Ju's novels were highly regarded, and many of his fans started searching for his whereabouts. Guo Dong Li speculated that perhaps the emperor didn't intend to execute him but wanted to see what would happen in the next chapter.
Fan Zhong Ju mentioned that he followed his heart during the examination and wrote the latest chapter of the novel "Shanhe Jing." Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately begged him for spoilers. Fan Zhong Ju hesitated but eventually revealed that the characters in "Shanhe Jing" were based on their own personalities. The crowd was delighted to learn this and realized that they had fulfilled their dreams of becoming heroes in the novel.
Ren Shu played the role of a blind master, which was fitting since she had a penchant for divination. Liu Lang portrayed a pastoral dog, and the character Ziyan was a role that she secretly admired. This revelation led the crowd to suspect that Fan Zhong Ju had developed feelings for Yu Huan. However, there was no character based on Guo Dong Li in the novel. Learning this, the crowd felt a sense of dissatisfaction and suggested that Fan Zhong Ju should modify the development of the story to ensure a perfect role for each of them.
Yu Huan waited for her carrier pigeon that evening, but it never arrived. Due to Fan Zhong Ju's participation in the imperial examination, he hadn't been able to write to Yu Huan recently, and her carrier pigeons had already been stewed in a nourishing soup by Xie Quan Jia. Xie Quan Jia and Gu Chuan came to find Fan Zhong Ju with their self-scripted and self-directed character developments, hoping that he would incorporate these things into the storyline. However, after a night of inner struggle, Fan Zhong Ju didn't know how to reply to Yu Huan and had no inclination to continue rewriting the novel "Shanhe Jing."
Gu Chuan, in order to become a hero in the novel, even stayed in Fan Zhong Ju's room and refused to leave. Eventually, Fan Zhong Ju managed to send Gu Chuan away and settled down to write a letter to Yu Huan, feeling that he shouldn't pretend to be Li Tu when writing to her. That night, in front of everyone, Xie Quan Jia suggested how her character should be changed. She likened herself to a tadpole searching for its mother, but the others felt it was inappropriate since she never had the opportunity to speak up in that situation.
Ren Shu suggested that her character should be searching for her lost son based on the twelve zodiac signs. Liu Lang, as a pastoral dog, believed that the storyline should include more pastoral dogs and that their dialogues were already written above. When Fan Zhong Ju looked at the manuscript, it was filled with barking words, and he proposed that they should respect the original work.
Finally, Gu Chuan revealed that his character development would involve Xie Quan Jia falling in love with him, which prompted Xie Quan Jia to activate silent mode. Yu Huan had written many letters to Li Tu, which piled up on Fan Zhong Ju's desk. Finally, he gathered the courage to reply to Yu Huan. The next day, everyone gathered at the Wanli Tower, all wanting to change their characters in the novel. At that moment, Guo Dong Li found out that the emperor had identified "Aote Nan" as a person from Bianliang, and this screening had surely angered the emperor. Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly took Fan Zhong Ju and left.
Back at home, Fan Zhong Ju wanted to destroy the novel, and everyone reluctantly burned their own drafts. In order to avoid implicating the Li family, Gu Chuan urged Fan Zhong Ju not to admit that he was "Aote Nan" and to stop writing "Shanhe Jing" in the future. To ensure Fan Zhong Ju's survival, Liu Lang taught him light-footed skills, and the princess taught him the language of the Western Regions.
Yu Huan received a reply from Li Tu, and through the handwriting, she discovered that it was Fan Zhong Ju who had been impersonating Li Tu all along in their correspondence.
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