Episode 21 recap: The Young Emperor and Li Qi joined forces to investigate the messages.
Li Qi left the palace to visit his family, and Li Yumei asked Li Qi if he had already met Rong Er and if the two had betrothed themselves. Duoluo Ma, because Rong Er had gone to the Wanhua Pavilion, did not approve of their relationship. Li Qi then learned that Rong Er had been taken to the Wanhua Pavilion before, and he expressed that he believed Rong Er was innocent, and that Rong Er had made many sacrifices. Finally, he persuaded Duoluo Ma to no longer oppose their relationship.
Li Qi's injuries had healed, and he returned to his duties in the palace. Puyi went with Li Qi to the Imperial Gardens and said that although their plan was pre-arranged, the situation had gotten out of control, and he wanted to apologize to Li Qi. Li Qi said it was not Puyi's fault, but the fault of the treasure thieves, and that he only felt sorry for Qin Fang.
It was time for the ancestral rites, and Puyi felt that the portrait of Qianlong looked old, so he wanted to replace it with a new one. He went to the Jianfu Palace to look for it, but was obstructed by Eunuch Yu, who made excuses to prevent Puyi from searching for the painting. In the end, Puyi did not personally search, and had the Grand Secretariat find the inventory list for him.
Puyi had the meal prepared in the Chonghua Palace, and the people in the Taihe Palace were very angry upon hearing this news. The Grand Secretariat found the inventory list, which was from the time of the Ancestral Emperor. Puyi realized that no one knew what was actually in the Jianfu Palace, so he had them conduct a thorough re-inventory.
During the re-inventory in the Jianfu Palace, something suddenly jumped out of a box, startling the eunuchs. Eunuch Sun exaggerated the story, saying even the Jiaqing Emperor did not dare to enter without making offerings, and that it must be the ancestors' spirits. A small eunuch suggested it was the Huang Daxian, and soon the rumor of the palace being haunted spread. This caused the inventory work to be suspended, as the eunuchs were too afraid to enter.
When Puyi inquired about the progress, Shao Ying reported that the more they inventoried, the fewer items they found. Puyi angrily criticized the Grand Secretariat for dereliction of duty. Shao Ying said there were many evil occurrences in the Jianfu Palace, all attributed to offending the spirit of the hall. Puyi felt someone was trying to create supernatural hysteria, and ordered them to find the truth.
On his patrol, Li Qi encountered some Chonghua Palace maids discussing the haunting rumors, saying a servant named Xiao Dezi had fallen ill after serving in the Jianfu Palace. Li Qi warned them not to spread rumors, and Cai Bi pleaded for them, so Li Qi let them off. But when Li Qi went to visit the sick Xiao Dezi, he was told Xiao Dezi had gone mad and was biting people, so he had been locked up in the Shenxing司.
Due to revealing Sun Yi Ren's secret, the young servant Xiao De Zi was falsely accused of stealing treasures and said to have gone mad. He was brought to the Shen Xing Si (Judicial Bureau) for punishment, and when Li Qi arrived, he found Xiao De Zi had become deranged and very fearful. Li Qi asked him if he knew what had happened at the Jian Fu Palace and who the real thief was. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao De Zi secretly slipped a cloth strip into Li Qi's hand and bit him.
After leaving the Shen Xing Si, Li Qi noticed he was being followed. When he checked the cloth strip, the clues pointed to the Jing Ren Palace. Li Qi went to the Imperial Pharmacy to get medicine for his injury, where he encountered Rong Er who had come to collect chrysanthemum flowers. The pharmacist Qian De Hai questioned Rong Er, saying the chrysanthemum was only for the use of the Emperor and Empress, not for lowly servants like her. Rong Er angrily retorted at him.
Eunuch Sun instigated Qian De Hai to antagonize Rong Er, threatening that she would not be treated well when coming to the Imperial Pharmacy. Sun had people secretly follow Li Qi, but found he only went to the Shen Xing Si to check on the deranged official and did not get any useful information, though he was bitten. Sun found this situation suspicious.
Li Yu Mei saw a thug bullying a young lady on the street and righteously intervened, buying all of the lady's donkeys. Wu Tian, who was thought to have died, was actually saved by an old woman who cared for him tenderly. When severely interrogated at the Shen Xing Si, Xiao De Zi pretended to faint and managed to escape when the guards were not paying attention.
Comments(Episode 21)