Episode 4 recap: Mei Lin Saved After Collaborating with Prince Jing
In Episode 4, Mei Lin finds herself imprisoned, and the people of Dayan are whispering about Western plots that threaten the relationship between the two nations. Yue Qin is worried about Mei Lin's safety and immediately goes to the palace to see the emperor, waiting outside the gates all night. Eventually, Eunuch Liu Zhong conveys the emperor's message, stating that the assassination attempt has no connection to the West, but that Mei Lin's death sentence is unavoidable.
In light of this, Yue Qin decides to take a risk by using Princess Zi Gu's name to deliver lantern fruit cakes to the prison, planning to rescue Mei Lin with a fake death potion. However, Zhang Yin sees Yue Qin delivering the food and devises a plan to poison Mei Lin using the cakes.
Meanwhile, Mu Rong Jing He enjoys the flowers and wine alone, consumed by thoughts of Mei Lin's desperate situation. Internally mocking her for being overconfident, he listens to a maid of the late empress mention that wildflowers are resilient and often referred to as "never dying." Mu Rong Jing He believes Mei Lin's predicament is hopeless and that only death would leave her with a hold over others.
Soon after, someone posing as a prison guard delivers the poisoned lantern fruit cakes to Mei Lin, but she quickly senses something is off and fights back. Fortunately, at a critical moment, Mu Rong Jing He arrives at the prison with a banquet. Mei Lin asserts that Mu Rong Jing He is not the real culprit; she would rather take the blame for the massacre than explain herself. She insists that the arsonist in Qingzhou was not the genuine Wei Bei army, and the true army would turn their weapons on themselves when faced with the people's attacks—a truth she witnessed clearly on the day they entered the city.
Thus, Mei Lin proposes a collaboration with Mu Rong Jing He, stating that if she can escape the prison, she’ll find a way to handle the rest, leveraging the fake token carried by the arsonist as her biggest bargaining chip. Just as Yue Qin arrives with the food, she sees Mu Rong Jing He exiting the prison and seizes the opportunity to test his stance.
The next day, Zhang Yin seeks out Mu Rong Xuan Lie, suggesting that Prince Jing orchestrated the palace assassination to expose the Mo Mai assassins and reopen the Qingzhou case. Mu Rong Xuan Lie believes the situation has escalated beyond control and concludes that the only solution is to eliminate all the Mo Mai assassins to sever any potential leverage, or else they risk giving their enemies a handle to use against them.
Mu Rong Jing He entered the palace to meet with Yan Di, revealing Mei Lin's identity and hoping that Yan Di would prioritize the greater good and spare her. He pointed out that Mei Lin had approached him numerous times but chose to act during the marriage banquet, clearly indicating that there was a conspiracy behind her actions.
From Mu Rong Jing He’s perspective, someone was trying to incite trouble by exploiting the grievances of Qingzhou. Regardless of whether Mei Lin was a Qingzhou orphan or a figure from the West, she could not be harmed. He suggested publicly claiming that Mei Lin's assassination attempt stemmed from a romantic vendetta, willingly taking on the reputation of being lecherous and foolish.
As soon as he finished speaking, Princess Zi Gu rushed in to plead for Mei Lin, stating that Mei Lin had acted out of humiliation inflicted by Mu Rong Jing He. In response, Mu Rong Jing He knelt down and admitted his fault. Yan Di had no choice but to agree, but insisted that Mei Lin must endure public flogging outside the main hall.
To prevent Mu Rong Xuan Lie from interfering, Mu Rong Jing He took the whip himself, even risking his own energy to reduce the force of the blows, and then carried the injured Mei Lin back. Following this incident, their enmity dissipated, and Mei Lin informed Mu Rong Jing He that the fake token of the Wei Bei army was buried under a tree at the Honglu Temple, insisting that the vengeance of Qingzhou should be avenged by the people of Qingzhou.
Mu Rong Jing He realized that Mei Lin was about to succumb to poison and secretly decided to retrieve red fungus to counteract the toxins of the Mo Mai. Meanwhile, Yue Qin, unable to forget their past bond, personally visited Mei Lin, urging her to live well and not carry too much hatred. In contrast, Mu Rong Xuan Lie reprimanded Zhang Yin, asserting that Mei Lin was merely a pawn of Mu Rong Jing He and ordered him to eliminate the Mo Mai assassins hidden in the Wenhualou.
Though reluctant, Zhang Yin had no choice but to comply. Shortly after he left, Mu Rong Xuan Lie spotted a signaling bird, realizing that Dayan's first female general, Yin Luo Mei, was returning to the capital, filling him with joy.
Comments(Episode 4)