Episode 28 recap: Cun Qing decided to secretly assassinate Prince Qi.
Cun Qing hoped that Prince Qi would be patient and work for the good of the country and the people, but Prince Qi felt that if he continued to be patient, the foundation of the Great Qing would be in great peril. Cun Qing believed that in this critical moment of saving the Great Qing, there was no need to be concerned about that seat of power. He advised Prince Qi not to act rashly, not to sacrifice the 300-year foundation of the Great Qing for his own private interests, but Prince Qi disregarded Cun Qing's advice.
Cun Qing became discouraged and after much careful consideration, decided to secretly assassinate Prince Qi. Knowing that the odds were against him, before setting out for Fujian, he entrusted his golden token to Men San Dao, so that he could have an audience with the Prince Regent Zaifeng. He also instructed him to keep the hidden information a secret, except for sharing it with the Prince Regent.
After bidding farewell to Mu Qing, Cun Qing drank heavily with Ge Tai. He left his accumulated savings with Ge Tai, so that if today's mission did not succeed, Ge Tai could find a way to escape. That night, Ge Tai and his men secretly assassinated Prince Qi, but unbeknownst to them, Prince Qi had anticipated this and easily trapped them. Prince Qi apprehended the Imperial Household Department guards, but did not immediately execute them. Instead, he gave them a choice with a heavy heart.
Prince Qi believed that he and Cun Qing both wanted the Great Qing to be strong, but Cun Qing placed the imperial family first, while he wanted to weaken the imperial power. Prince Qi gave Ge Tai and the others the choice of following him or following Cun Qing, making it clear that choosing to follow Cun Qing would be equivalent to choosing death.
Prince Qi led his troops to hunt down Cun Qing, but Cun Qing still believed that his responsibility and mission as a high-ranking official of the Imperial Household Department was to uphold the imperial power.
Now, learning that the Imperial Household Department guards he had sent were won over by Prince Qi, Cun Qing hoped that Prince Qi would treat them well. Prince Qi promised that he would not execute Cun Qing's entire clan today, nor would he execute anyone other than Cun Qing himself. He said he would leave Cun Qing's body intact, and in the end, Cun Qing begged Prince Qi that if the rebellion succeeded, he could do his utmost to rebuild the prestige of the Great Qing.
However, Prince Qi told Cun Qing that the Prince Regent Zaifeng had told him that reforms were too slow, and that in times of chaos, bold and decisive action was needed. Cun Qing's faith was shattered, and his beliefs collapsed.
Wang Jia Luo saw people buying and selling children on the street. He stepped in to rescue a child and sent the human traffickers to the magistrate's office. But the office did not want to investigate, as they believed the parents had truly sold their own children in these troubled times. Wang Jia Luo argued passionately, using the principle that even tigers do not eat their own young, to force the officials to search for the child's family.
That night, Wang Jia Luo used the information he had gathered to return the child to the mother. But the mother was a prostitute who could not afford to keep her daughter, and so she had sold the child to a theater troupe, as at least there the child might survive, even if the mother herself was too sick to be cured. Lin An Jing confirmed the child's name was Shen Ling Long, and took the child away.
Later, Lin An Jing and Wang Jia Luo brought the child to the theater troupe. Before leaving, Lin An Jing told Shen Ling Long that no one could help her, and that she could only rely on herself. The only way to avoid being bullied was to become stronger. She advised Shen Ling Long that tears would only make her weak, and that when she felt like crying in the future, she should remember these words.
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