Episode Summary
In a calculated move that backfires, Song Xiaoyu's attempt to provoke a rival at a palace banquet ends with her falling into a lake. Nan Heng rescues her, but an unseen "script mechanism" forces them into a public kiss, making them the talk of the capital. While Nan Heng's subsequent aggressive courtship appears romantic, it's a cover to investigate Song Xiaoyu, whom he suspects holds the key to the mysterious "Duan Dao Technique." The episode culminates in a tense confrontation where Nan Heng threatens her with a knife, forcing Song Xiaoyu to reveal her ability to "predict" events and propose a strategic alliance to find the technique together.
Spoiler Alert
A Dream Within a Dream Episode 3 Recap: An Unscripted Kiss and a Deadly Alliance
This Episode , the lines between performance and reality blur dangerously as Song Xiaoyu’s attempts to outsmart the plot only pull her deeper into its grasp. A staged confrontation results in a very real, very public kiss with Nan Heng, while his escalating pursuit hides a much deadlier motive. As the mystery of the "Duan Dao Technique" comes into focus, Song Xiaoyu is forced to leverage her one advantage—knowledge of the future—to forge a risky partnership.
A Splashy Miscalculation
Knowing a "famous scene" is set to occur at the palace banquet, Song Xiaoyu (inhabiting the body of Song Yimeng) does her best to avoid the formidable Nan Heng. Her plan goes awry when she runs into Jia Ruru, her character's sworn enemy. In an attempt to provoke Jia Ruru, Xiaoyu claims that Nan Heng intends to marry her. The taunt doesn't land as expected; instead of jealousy, Jia Ruru warns her to stop causing trouble. During the ensuing scuffle, Xiaoyu loses her footing and tumbles into a lake, and for a moment, the world around her freezes in time.
The Kiss Heard 'Round the Capital
Nan Heng dives in to rescue her, but a defiant Xiaoyu, unwilling to be saved by her scripted nemesis, tries to swim away into deeper water. Her escape is short-lived as he pulls her ashore. Onlookers, including a concerned Nan Rui who mistakes her for her sister Song Yiting, gather around. Xiaoyu coldly rejects Nan Heng's offer of his cloak, telling him he shouldn't have saved her. But as she turns to leave, the script's mechanics take over.An invisible force pulls her back towards Nan Heng, who is similarly manipulated, and the two are forced into a kiss in front of everyone.
Breaking away in a panic, Nan Heng is left speechless as Xiaoyu's quip, "First kiss, huh?" incites laughter from the crowd. The incident quickly becomes the hottest gossip in the capital. Headlines about "Nan Heng's lost innocence" spread like wildfire, and in a strange twist of fate, replicas of the hairpin Song Yimeng was wearing become instant bestsellers.
A Suitor's Suspicion
While Xiaoyu tries to console herself that it's all just part of the act, she notices that every other character seems to exist solely to push her and Nan Heng together.Nan Heng, however, is not playing along with any romance. Convinced that Song Yimeng has put some kind of spell on him and motivated by a past promise to his friend Chu Guihong, he is determined to strike back. His suspicions are fueled when Prime Minister Gao Changyin, returning from disaster relief efforts, suggests that the coveted "Duan Dao Technique" might have been passed from Chu Guihong to Song Yimeng.
Acting on this new lead, Nan Heng immediately sends lavish gifts of gold and silver to the Song mansion, probing for a reaction. Xiaoyu, realizing the gifts are from him, has them sent back without a second thought.
An Unavoidable Pursuit
Nan Heng interprets her rejection as a coy attempt to play hard to get. He doubles down, instructing his aide, Fugui, to buy out every single shop that Xiaoyu so much as glanced at during her outing. Feeling cornered, Xiaoyu retreats to her family home, only to find no escape. Even the servants and the birds in their cages seem to be chanting Nan Heng's name. Meanwhile, a side plot unfolds as Zhou Xueyi fails to push her other daughter, Song Yiting, into a match with Nan Rui.
The pressure mounts when Nan Heng appears at the Song residence himself, using the pretense of checking on her health to deliver medicinal herbs. Xiaoyu is deeply confused; this aggressive, passionate pursuit was never part of the original story she knows.
A Confrontation and a Dangerous Bargain
Her father, Song Yude, forces her to meet with their guest. In a stunning display of disrespect, he belittles his own daughter in front of Nan Heng, lamenting that once he retires, the "uninteresting" Song Yimeng will be of no use to Nan Heng's ambitions. Playing her part, Xiaoyu gently refuses any talk of marriage, a change in demeanor so drastic it shocks her father.
Nan Heng feigns his departure, asking that Song Yimeng see him out. Alone in the courtyard, he drops the act. He grabs her wrist, demanding to know why he felt manipulated by an unseen force during a previous encounter. Xiaoyu tries to dismiss it as a misunderstanding, but Nan Heng is not convinced. He draws a blade, holding it to her throat.
With her life on the line, Xiaoyu drops her own facade. She admits she's being controlled by an "external force" and, to prove her value, reveals her secret knowledge. She accurately recounts the history of his falling out with Chu Guihong and states his true objective: "You want the Duan Dao Technique. I can help you get it." This desperate gambit lays the foundation for an unwilling alliance, tying their fates together in a way the original script never intended.
