Episode 4 recap: "The Phoenix Seal is fake.
Di Ren Jie's foot was trapped and he couldn't get off the horse. He saw the cliff in front of him and couldn't help but break into a sweat. At a critical moment, Ma Rong and Qiao Tai caught up with the horses. One grabbed the horse's head while the other tried to pull Di Ren Jie onto his own horse. However, Di Ren Jie asked them to let go. Ma Rong noticed the problem and cut the rope tied to Di Ren Jie's foot with his sword, saving him.
Hong Liang paid to clean up the Di Mansion and had already received the students from the Imperial College. Di Ren Jie reminded Ma Rong and Qiao Tai that they must not light candles or make noise at night and must not let anyone discover that there are people in the Di Mansion. Meanwhile, he and Qiao Tai went to guard Wei Wu Ji at the Wei Mansion. Looking at He Da Jing's memorial tablet, Di Ren Jie wanted to have a drink with him but unexpectedly discovered that the wine urn He Da Jing carried with him that day contained not fine wine, but instead contained the flame stone. Di Ren Jie recalled the things he found during the investigation, realizing that both the documents and the sea monster card were things Kang Zhi Yi wanted him to see. He began to suspect that Zhang Sun Qing was not the mastermind behind it all, and immediately went to find Wei Wu Ji.
First, Di Ren Jie raised the first doubt, pointing out that the fire at the Ju Shui Tower that day was intentionally set, and only he survived. Wei Wu Ji knew in advance that He Da Jing liked good wine, so he put the flame stone in the wine beforehand, intending to disrupt the imperial examination. However, he didn't expect that the examination this time would not allow wine flasks to be brought in. So when He Da Jing got the flask, most of the wine had already flowed out through a small hole. To prevent He Da Jing from drinking the wine and igniting the flame stone prematurely, Wei Wu Ji applied yellow gentian to the mouth of the flask. Therefore, the fire that night was deliberately orchestrated by Wei Wu Ji.
Wei Wu Ji didn't expect that despite his calculations, Di Ren Jie would uncover the truth through subtle clues and determine that he was the true mastermind. He chose to self-immolate and intensify the legend of the Heavenly Fire in order to overthrow Empress Wu, who was ruling as a woman. Di Ren Jie watched Wei Wu Ji, who opposed the new policies and female rule, self-immolate and couldn't help but feel a mixture of anger and helplessness.
Hong Liang set up a clever mechanism in the mansion, and indeed, a group of black-clad individuals attacked. With the mechanism, Hong Liang managed to capture and defeat several of them, but there were still many black-clad individuals. Qiao Tai immediately came to assist, and the two of them fought together. At this moment, one of the black-clad individuals joined Hong Liang's side. When Di Ren Jie asked to spare his life, this person killed him with a sword, deliberately provoking Di Ren Jie and leading him to a hidden place in Chang'an City to meet the empress. Di Ren Jie quickly dropped his sword, making the empress unable to suppress her laughter. She expressed that the implementation of the new policies faced heavy resistance, but fortunately, fate arranged for Di Ren Jie to appear, giving her a turning point in her perilous situation. She hopes that Di Ren Jie can uncover the truth."
The officials of the Zhang Sun Qing faction pressured the emperor to depose the empress. At this point, all the incidents related to the Heavenly Fire pointed to Zhang Sun Qing. The situation in Chang'an was in turmoil, but Zhang Sun Qing remained firmly in Qinglong Temple without leaving. The empress, seeing this, personally entered the temple to confront Zhang Sun Qing.
Zhang Sun Qing accused the empress of being a demon queen and staunchly opposed the implementation of the new policies. He spoke arrogantly in the temple. The empress approached him for negotiations, but their differences in political views made it impossible to reach a resolution. Just when the Heavenly Fire allegations made it difficult for the empress to stand her ground, the large candle in the temple suddenly cracked open, revealing the Phoenix Seal inside. This undoubtedly dealt a fatal blow to Zhang Sun Qing. He raged and scolded, but he was already powerless in the face of such a scene.
Di Ren Jie understood the complex relationships in Chang'an City and realized that the Phoenix Seal had never been lost. It was just that the empress faced difficulties in implementing the new policies, and Zhang Sun Qing forced her into a precarious situation, so he set up a scheme to intensify the rumors of the Heavenly Fire. Originally, he planned to use the court maid and Kang Zhi Yi to expose Zhang Sun Qing's wrongdoing, but Wei Wu Ji, dissatisfied with female rule, meticulously orchestrated everything, playing right into the empress's hands. This not only allowed them to shift the blame onto Zhang Sun Qing but also ensured the safety of their loyal followers. Di Ren Jie couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he thought of the dozens of lives lost in vain. However, the empress's words also made sense. The worth of sacrificing those lives should be assessed by the people of the world, as the new policies benefited the common people. Without bringing down Zhang Sun Qing, the new policies would never be implemented.
Di Ren Jie participated in the Mingjing examination, and the empress arranged for him to take part in the palace examination. The topic was "new," and the students were asked to write policy essays. Di Ren Jie's understanding of the new policies satisfied the empress, but he had not yet found his true direction. The empress appointed him as the magistrate of Penglai County, hoping that he would uncover the truth and perhaps be able to truly serve her in the future.
Ma Rong and Qiao Tai went to check the announcement board and learned that Di Ren Jie's name was not on it. They comforted him, but little did they know that Di Ren Jie had already obtained an official position. The two of them became his attendants and, along with Hong Liang, accompanied Di Ren Jie to his new post.
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