Recaps

Fan Xian investigated the assassination and dismissed Teng Zijing’s report that Zhou Cheng believed he was connected to Emperor Qing, unwilling to risk the family bonds he cherished. He focused on finding the attackers, and Wang Qinian arrived with a lead identifying the token as belonging to a Northern Qi undercover agent.

• Fan Xian returned to the assassination site and investigated for more than half a day.
• Teng Zijing repeated Zhou Cheng’s theory that he had been placed beside Fan Xian to keep him in the Capital and that Fan Xian resembled the royal princes.
• Fan Xian rejected the claim that Emperor Qing was his father and urged Teng Zijing to help trace a cipher found near the assassin’s position.
• Fan Xian reflected on his fears of losing his family and resolved to focus on uncovering the assassination plot and returning to Danzhou.
• Wang Qinian arrived and told Fan Xian that the token belonged to a Northern Qi undercover agent.

Fan Xian traced the assassination attempt to a murdered household and suspected Si Lili was a Northern Qi spy who had helped expose his route. He and Wang Qinian caught up with her during her escape, but she lured them into a mountain ambush and rode away.

• Fan Xian and Wang Qinian found the assistant general's household murdered, cutting off their lead to the weapons used in the assassination.
• Fan Xian recalled Prince Cheng's knowledge of the culprit and reasoned that the assassination details might have leaked from the Drunken Immortal Residence.
• Fan Xian suspected Si Lili because of her secretive behavior and connection to the Northern Qi spy token, but discovered that she had disappeared.
• Wang Qinian tracked Si Lili as she fled toward the sea, and Fan Xian joined him in pursuing her.
• Si Lili led Fan Xian and Wang Qinian onto a mountain road where her covert operatives surrounded them, then escaped.

Fan Xian captured Si Lili and tried to learn who had ordered his assassination, but she demanded to meet Prince Cheng first. Yan Ruohai revealed that Fan Xian had full authority over her fate and warned that Prince Cheng could not enter the Overwatch Council.

• The Black Cavalry, led by Shadow, routed the Northern Qi operatives, and Shadow told Fan Xian that Chen Pingping had ordered him to proceed without restraint.
• Fan Xian secretly visited Si Lili in the Overwatch Council dungeon and offered to free her if she named the person who wanted him dead.
• Si Lili said she would reveal the culprit only after she saw Prince Cheng, and Fan Xian agreed to pass on her request.
• After Fan Xian left, Yan Ruohai told Si Lili that Fan Xian had been appointed chief interrogator and could decide her fate.
• Yan Ruohai warned Si Lili that Prince Cheng could not enter the Overwatch Council because of the Emperor's decree.

Zhou Cheng went to the Overwatch Council with Fan Xian to question Si Lili, but Yan Ruohai and Zhu Ge barred him from entering as a prince. Zhou Cheng used Fan Xian’s role as chief investigator to gain entry, leaving Yan Ruohai to step aside.

• Fan Xian told Zhou Cheng that Si Lili had asked to see him, and Zhou Cheng decided to go to the Overwatch Council.
• Zhu Ge and Yan Ruohai refused to let Zhou Cheng enter or bring Si Lili to the gate, citing the emperor’s decree and the Council’s authority over the suspect.
• Zhou Cheng called Fan Xian out of the carriage and claimed he was accompanying the chief investigator to question Si Lili.
• Yan Ruohai questioned how Zhou Cheng knew Fan Xian was the chief investigator, then stepped aside and let Zhou Cheng and Fan Xian enter.

Zhou Cheng secured Si Lili’s allegiance and freed her from the Overwatch Council dungeon after she revealed that Lin Gong had masterminded the Ox Pen Street Assassination Case. The group left the Council with Fan Xian asking them to keep Lin Gong’s identity secret, and Zhou Cheng disclosed the truth to Yan Ruohai and Zhu Ge.

• Yan Ruohai declared that Fan Xian was presiding over the Ox Pen Street case, allowing him and Zhou Cheng to enter the Overwatch Council without hindrance.
• Zhou Cheng visited Si Lili in the dungeon, and she agreed to serve him and the Northern Qi Spy Network in exchange for his protection.
• Si Lili told Fan Xian that Lin Gong had used the Northern Qi token to command Cheng Jushu in the assassination attempt.
• Zhou Cheng broke Si Lili’s cell lock with his true qi and led her out of the dungeon.
• Fan Xian asked Zhou Cheng and Si Lili to conceal the culprit’s identity, and Zhou Cheng said he would stay silent unless asked.
• Zhou Cheng told Yan Ruohai and Zhu Ge that Lin Gong was the mastermind, leaving both men stunned.

After Zhou Cheng publicly blamed Lin Gong for the Ox Pen Street assassination, Fan Xian realized his hopes of privately clearing things up were gone. At the Imperial Villa, Ye Linger confided in Lin Wan'er about her relationship with Zhou Cheng, then grew furious that he had brought Si Lili to his residence.

• Zhou Cheng publicly named Lin Gong as the mastermind behind the Ox Pen Street assassination, and the news spread through the Capital.
• Fan Xian realized he could no longer quietly resolve the matter with Lin Gong, then left to visit Lin Wan'er.
• Ye Linger told Lin Wan'er that Zhou Cheng had tricked her into coming to Prince Cheng's Residence and forced himself on her.
• Ye Linger admitted that Zhou Cheng later treated her well and that she had stayed at his residence to recover and learn about him.
• Ye Linger complained that Zhou Cheng had brought Si Lili, a Northern Qi spy, back to his residence.