Episode 28 recap: Rong Er was in despair as she bid farewell to her father.
Jing Yi Tai Fei said that he dare not stop Rong Hui Tai Fei, for fear that one day he would harm the Emperor. There were eunuchs who secretly poured the dregs of the medicine into the medicine bucket of the Taihe Palace. Jing Yi Tai Fei found Puyi and told him that Duan Kang Tai Fei was harmed by Rong Er's Shiquan Dabu Gao, and asked Puyi to imprison Rong Er in the Shenxing Agency. Li Qi pleaded that the matter was not yet concluded, and that the Empress Dowager did not necessarily die of poisoning, and that Duan Kang Tai Fei also did not want to wrongly accuse an innocent person.
After the medical examination, the physicians said that the tonic had no problem, but a large amount of Huangqin (Chinese skullcap) was found in the medicine dregs. Puyi hurriedly asked if Huangqin was toxic, and the physicians said it was not toxic, but excessive consumption of Huangqin would lead to cold, and the Empress Dowager already had a cold constitution. The Emperor asked the physicians what the real cause of the Empress Dowager's death was, and the physicians all said they were too inexperienced to speculate. Li Qi suggested that they could invite skilled physicians from outside the palace to discuss with the imperial physicians, and Puyi entrusted this matter to Yu De Fu to handle.
Youcao Ge was a business that Qian De Hai had secretly set up outside the palace. When Qian De Hai heard about this, he hurriedly went to Youcao Ge and had people gather up all the precious medicinal materials. Yu De Fu found Qian De Hai and threatened to expose him for privately selling the palace's medicinal materials, telling him that the medicines used for the Emperor and Empress Dowager were of inferior quality, unable to cure illness or kill people. Qian De Hai was frightened and asked if there was a way out for him. Yu De Fu hinted that he could manipulate the prescription, so Qian De Hai changed the amount of Huangqin in the prescription Rong Er had previously obtained from 1 liang to 10 liang, and told the shopkeeper that if anyone from the palace came looking for the prescription, to give them this version, and also had the old doctor who had gathered the medicines for Rong Er driven out, not allowing him to appear in the capital city.
The court doctor and the palace physician discussed the matter together and found that the amount of Huang Qin (Chinese skullcap) in the Shi Quan Da Bu Gao (a nourishing ointment) was indeed excessive, and that mixing it with tonic herbs would make it poisonous. Jing Yi Tai Fei said that someone was indeed trying to harm Duan Kang Tai Fei, and that the Emperor should arrest Rong Er. Emperor Puyi summoned Rong Er to the palace, and Rong Er admitted that she had made the Shi Quan Da Bu Gao herself, following the prescription and adding an extra ingredient of Chong Cao (caterpillar fungus). The prescription was kept in the Youxicao Hall, so the Emperor ordered Li Qi to go there and retrieve it.
When Li Qi went to the Youxicao Hall, the shopkeeper, knowing he was from the palace, gave him the altered prescription as previously requested by Qian Dehai. Li Qi brought the prescription back to the palace and reported to Emperor Puyi. Upon seeing that the prescription stated 10 liang (a unit of weight) of Huang Qin, while Rong Er had said she only used 1 liang, Li Qi pointed out the discrepancy. Emperor Puyi summoned Rong Hui Tai Fei, who confirmed the handwriting was hers but said 10 liang of Huang Qin was impossible. Jing Yi Tai Fei insisted Rong Hui Tai Fei was guilty, but Rong Hui Tai Fei claimed she had no motive to harm Duan Kang Tai Fei as they were on good terms. Yu De Fu suggested Rong Hui Tai Fei consider who else had handled the prescription. Rong Hui Tai Fei became upset, insisting she and Rong Er could not have been the ones to poison. Emperor Puyi said he did not believe Rong Er was the culprit either. The two Tai Fei (Imperial Consorts) argued, so the Emperor had them both escorted out and ordered Li Qi to further investigate the matter.
Rong Er felt this was an extraordinary situation and did not want to implicate the Imperial Consorts, so she decided to take responsibility herself. At night, she gave her clothes and valuable jewelry to Qing Er, hoping Qing Er would take care of her and the Imperial Consorts if anything happened to her. Rong Er then asked Li Qi to disguise her as a guard and take her out of the palace to see her father Liu Shou Gui and brother Liu Er. There, Liu Er accidentally discovered Rong Er's farewell letter, and Liu Shou Gui realized someone named Qian was trying to harm Rong Er. Li Qi was surprised Liu Shou Gui knew about Qian Dehai, but this provided an important clue.
Liu Shou Gui told Li Qi to help Rong Er escape and clear her name. Li Qi assured Rong Er he would protect her safety and prove her innocence.
Comments(Episode 28)