Recaps

Wu Zhenhai destroyed the Zhou Family and learned that Mingzhu was Ruanruan, while she chose to move on with Cui Run. The Prince of Jin gained Wu Zhenhai’s loyalty, Song Jingyang prepared to leave for Xia, and Qu Nian’s feelings for Ren Yingying deepened as their outing ended in an alarming place.

• Cui Xiaoqiu offered the Cui Family’s support to the Prince of Jin, while Linlin concluded that the emperor’s unequal treatment of the twins was meant to provoke conflict among the brothers.
• Wu Zhenhai discovered that Zhou Fu had plotted to drown Wu Yu, but Governor-General Zhou dismissed his grievances, leaving Wu Zhenhai to search for his missing son.
• Yanran found Wu Yu and brought him to the prince’s residence, where he clung to her and refused to return to Wu Zhenhai.
• Wu Zhenhai killed Zhou Fu, seized the Zhou Residence, and swore loyalty to the Prince of Jin in exchange for protection for his men and care for Wu Yu.
• After examining Zhou Xu’s remains, Wu Zhenhai suspected they were not hers, and Mingzhu revealed that she was Ruanruan and told him Zhou Xu was dead.
• Mingzhu rejected Wu Zhenhai’s request to restart their relationship and later reconciled with Cui Run, while Song Jingyang prepared to leave for the Xia Kingdom.
• Qu Nian admitted to himself that he loved Ren Yingying, then followed her and Jinse when they left the prince’s residence.
• Ren Yingying advised Mingzhu to save some love for herself, and after the carriage horse bolted, Qu Nian and Jinse caught Ren Yingying before the carriage stopped in a desolate area.

Ren Yingying learned Qu Nian had returned to human form, but his reunion with her was strained as he tried to regain her trust and uncover the mystery of his transformations. Meanwhile, Mingzhu ended things with Cui Run and rejected Wu Zhenhai’s renewed pursuit, while Wu Zhenhai reported a Northern Yi spy’s offer to the Prince of Jin.

• Jinse revealed that she was Si Jinse, the last heir of the Si Family, and used Sound Attack to defeat the men who ambushed Ren Yingying’s carriage before collapsing from her injuries.
• After three months apart, Mingzhu and Cui Run ended their relationship when he said they were unsuited, while Lady Gao opposed the match and pressured Cui Run to focus on his future.
• Qu Nian took an arrow meant for the Prince of Jin, returned to human form, and told his parents that his soul might become unstable again before leaving for the northwest.
• Qu Nian returned to Ren Yingying, who mistook his sparring with the Prince of Jin for a sexual encounter, then kept her distance while he tried to win her over through Dog Meat and her companions.
• Qu Nian and Ren Yingying examined the chest she had brought to the northwest, and Ren Yingying found a damaged pomegranate bearing a pattern that matched the Prince of Min’s chest.
• The Prince of Jin told Qu Nian that Northern Yi was stirring and that he had secured supplies for another year, while Qu Nian offered to help with Consort De’s growing challenge after his marriage.
• Mingzhu told Wu Zhenhai that she would neither marry him nor resume their relationship, but he continued pursuing her publicly and gave her gifts.
• A Northern Yi spy offered Wu Zhenhai Mingzhu in exchange for helping capture the border city, and Wu Zhenhai pretended to agree before reporting the offer to the Prince of Jin.

With the Prince of Jin away, Tang Zhuyun and her companions faced a Northern Yi invasion, and Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying were captured before Qu Nian brought them home. After the Prince of Jin returned wounded and revealed a plot against him, he negotiated with Leertai and prepared to leave for the capital, while Tang Zhuyun managed the border city.

• The Prince of Jin left for war, while Wu Zhenhai exposed enemy spies and Tang Zhuyun received an imperial summons she suspected was a trap.
• Tang Zhuyun learned that a thirty-thousand-strong Northern Yi army was approaching the border city, and Qu Nian prepared its limited defenders to delay the attack.
• Tang Zhuyun and Ren Yingying were abducted by Leertai’s spies, escaped their bonds, and were eventually brought home by Qu Nian after negotiations.
• Tang Zhuyun learned that the Prince of Jin had won a victory but fallen from a cliff while trying to find her, and she found him injured but out of danger.
• The Prince of Jin told Tang Zhuyun that Duke Meng's Residence and Jiang Beihan had arranged the dangerous route, then said he planned to travel to the capital while she managed the border city.
• Leertai revealed that he was Heman’s posthumous son and sought the Prince of Jin’s help to reclaim the Northern Yi throne, offering access to forty thousand troops through Xiu Yun.
• The Prince of Jin and Qu Nian reached a preliminary agreement with Leertai, and the prince prepared to leave that night while Qu Nian took command and asked Ren Yingying to go with him.
• The Prince of Jin began telling Tang Zhuyun what she needed to know about Linlin, and she anxiously asked what was wrong.

As the Prince of Jin prepared for the struggle over the throne, Yanran traveled to the capital and navigated court hostility while Tang Zhuyun managed the border household and became pregnant. A suspicious letter from Tang Zhuyun brought Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu to the Prince of Jin, who weighed the capital’s dangers and possible allies.

• The Prince of Jin gave Tang Zhuyun his tiger tally and private seal, arranged the border defenses, and advised her to build a clinic and train physicians.
• Ren Yingying joined Qu Nian’s campaign against the Northern Yi, then met Lu Jiu and promised to help her escape Leertai after the war.
• Yanran traveled to the capital with her injured father, and at Consort De’s birthday banquet she humiliated Lang Shuang after Lang Shuang insulted and tried to frame her.
• Yanran returned to the prince’s residence, while Tang Zhuyun organized medical training and discovered she was pregnant.
• Jiang Ruo asked Yanran to look after Wen Heng, and the two became close before Consort De sent Nanny Jin to teach Yanran etiquette.
• Yanran grew suspicious of Tang Zhuyun’s unusually messy letter and asked Cui Xiaoqiu to compare it with her mother’s earlier handwriting.
• Yanran and Cui Xiaoqiu found the Prince of Jin hiding in a brothel, where he read Tang Zhuyun’s letter and sent Xiao Ye with a reply.
• After discussing the emperor’s worsening health and the princes’ positions with Pei Shen and Qin Li, the Prince of Jin chose not to act yet and proposed finding Qu Hua to draw Mu Ziyu to their side.