Episode 15 recap: Yan Zhang Yun falsely accused the corrupt official Song Ting under the pretense of being the murderer.
After being demoted to a maid at dawn, Fushao received discrimination and could no longer tolerate it, getting into a fight with the other maids. That night, she angrily went to the emperor to settle the score, saying they were no longer friends. Yan Zhang Yun claimed in court that they had found the murderer of the Prime Minister Xiao - it was the Supervisor of the Imperial Armory, Song Ting. When Song Ting learned his son was accused of being the murderer, he became anxious.
The imperial physician Qu delayed giving the diagnosis for Fushao, caught between the Empress Dowager and the emperor. The emperor insisted the Crown Prince was a true Son of Heaven and could not be easily lost, while Fushao kept saying the Crown Prince would not survive. The physician then decided to claim he was powerless. Hearing the Crown Prince would die, the Empress Dowager gave Fushao two choices - become a nun or scrub the palace chamber pots. Without hesitation, Fushao chose to scrub the chamber pots, feeling relieved to have shed the false pregnancy and happily doing the task. The emperor came to question her, asking if he was really that bad.
Fushao said she liked neither money nor power. Yan Zhang Yun came to warn Fushao she shouldn't have framed the abortion on Xiao Quan, putting her in danger, but Fushao was ungrateful and they argued. Fushao snacked on melon seeds in her free time and was mocked by the other maids, retaliating angrily.
A guard was injured by the maids for no reason, and Fushao was grateful only he stood by her. The guard said he was actually sent by Yan Zhang Yun, and Fushao secretly smiled. The maids provoked her again, spilling her food, but Yan Zhang Yun's arrival scared them away.
The three maids who failed to complete Feng Gongong's task of forcing Fushao back to the emperor's side and offended Yan Zhang Yun, now knelt hoping to avoid punishment. Fushao overheard and angrily went to the emperor.
Feng Gongong hastily fled seeing the situation deteriorate. Fushao was dismayed the emperor used such dishonorable means to get her back, and left in a cold mood. Yan Zhang Yun's investigation found Feng Gongong had used colored powder, and questioned Wei Tianjiao, who recalled the emperor had dressed as a woman to perform for the Empress that night, with Feng Gongong also absent.
The next day, Feng Gongong personally helped Fushao with the chamber pot scrubbing, hoping she'd return to the emperor. The emperor apologized to Fushao in person, but she said she had adapted to her current life. Rejected, the emperor left, and Fushao wanted to make him realize his mistake, but found her actions too extreme, quickly chasing after him, also hoping to end the chamber pot duty sooner.
The ministers in the court proposed to wipe out the remaining members of the Qin family, but the Emperor strictly refused. In fact, this scheme was plotted by Xiao Quan, in order to force out Qin Yan. Yan Zhang Yun came to the Emperor, saying he had found the murderer of the Prime Minister Xiao - it was the Emperor himself. Yan Zhang Yun reasoned that the powder used was only available in the palace, and the killing method required little effort, while the acting and singing was to conceal the true identity, and the singer was not the Emperor but Feng the eunuch.
The Emperor admitted that Yan Zhang Yun's detective work was brilliant. He explained that he had gone to see Prime Minister Xiao that night, but they got into an argument, and the Emperor left angrily. It was Song Ting who had killed Xiao on his own initiative and framed the "Guan You" faction. The Emperor, while investigating Xiao's connection to the Guan You faction, ended up harming many people unintentionally, and never thought the Duke of Guoguo was connected to the pink powder.
Hearing the Emperor's trust in the Duke, Yan Zhang Yun was grateful. He felt that someone must have been behind Song Ting, and the Emperor also suspected it was Xiao Quan, but was powerless. Yan Zhang Yun asked the Emperor for the murder weapon, determined to intimidate Xiao Quan.
Yan Zhang Yun pleaded with the Emperor to spare Chu Yue. He gave the weapon to Acheng, telling him to hide it in Song Ting's residence, despite Acheng's worry of offending Xiao Quan.
The next day, Song Ting still proposed to execute the remaining Qin clan. Yan Zhang Yun then revealed that the murder weapon had been found in the Song residence, and a thread from Song Ting's shoulder was found under Xiao's nails. Xiao Quan said a single thread was not enough evidence, so Yan Zhang Yun produced a ledger of Song Ting's corruption, saying he killed Xiao out of resentment and framed the Qin family for his own gain.
Furious, the Emperor ordered the prosecution of Song Ting. Chu Yue suffered terribly in prison, and Yan Zhang Yun came to rescue her, only to find Xiao Quan waiting to ambush him. Yan Zhang Yun presented the imperial decree, disappointing Xiao Quan.
The Emperor told Pusha that Yan Zhang Yun had accomplished a great feat - capturing the corrupt official Song Ting and rescuing Chu Yue, the woman he loved.Chu Yue was pardoned and freed, and Yan Zhang Yun brought her home. Pusha hurried to see them, holding Chu Yue's hand and repeatedly calling her "Changyan", trying to drive a wedge between the two.
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