Episode Summary
Li Cheng sacrifices himself to save his rebel soldiers, leaving Bai Yimei devastated and pregnant. Li Wantang uses his monopoly to block all sales of Anhui tea to destroy Gu Pingyuan. Pingyuan travels to Shanghai to bypass the blockade but faces rejection from foreign merchants who are in league with his rival.
Spoiler Alert
A General’s Final Stand
Gu Pingyuan pulls some strings with Su Zixuan. He needs a favor. He wants the "Ninth Commander," Jiu Shuai, to spare the captured Rebel Army. He also wants Li Cheng and Bai Yimei out of chains. Jiu Shuai agrees, but there is a catch. He likes Li Cheng’s fighting style. He wants Li Cheng to join the Qing army as a staff officer.
Li Cheng hates this idea. He doesn't want to serve the enemy. But he looks at his captured brothers. If he refuses, they die. He swallows his pride. He drags his injured body up and puts on the Qing uniform. He gathers his men. He tells them the war is over for them. He orders them to go home, farm, and live good lives.
Then he makes his real move. Li Cheng draws his sword and slits his own throat.
It’s a brutal scene. Bai Yimei collapses on his body. The surviving rebels kneel in respect. Jiu Shuai doesn't care about the sentiment. He tells Su Zixuan to send the rebels away with some cash. But he keeps Li Cheng’s body. He wants the head to claim credit for the kill. Su Zixuan tries to be diplomatic, but Bai Yimei realizes what’s happening. She tries to stop them from mutilating the corpse. It’s no use. She passes out from the grief.
Back at the Estate
Gu Pingwen calls a doctor for Bai Yimei. She doesn't want to be saved. She just wants to die. Pingwen panics. He and his mother call in Miss Liao to help. Miss Liao’s father, Mr. Liao, sends his daughter over. Bai Yimei is delirious. She hallucinates her own father and unloads all her trauma on him.
While the women deal with the fallout, business comes knocking. Old Master Hu shows up with Hou Er. He has bad news. Li Wantang is going for the throat. He has blocked all sales of Anhui tea. No foreigners or merchants are allowed to touch it.
Gu Pingyuan hesitates. He knows how to grow tea, not sell it. Hu explains the market. Most tea goes to Guangzhou to be sold to foreigners via the Thirteen Factories. Li Wantang has the exclusive rights. He has locked everyone else out.
Pingyuan tries to brush it off. He wants to focus on his mother. But Old Master Hu drops the truth bomb. Li Wantang isn't just doing business. He hates Pingyuan. He thinks Pingyuan’s "Number One Tea" humiliated him. He wants Pingyuan dead. That wakes Pingyuan up. He decides to fight.
The Shanghai Gamble
Li Qin shows up to bully the Anhui Tea Guild. He demands they lower their prices by eighty percent. He uses the imperial court’s name to threaten them. Pingyuan walks in and shuts it down. He acknowledges Li Qin helped save his life recently. But he calls Li Qin out for this robbery. Li Qin doesn't care. He tells Pingyuan to meet him at the inn.
Pingyuan goes to the inn. He asks Li Qin for an introduction to some foreign merchants. Li Qin laughs. He says his father spent a fortune on the tea competition and lost face. He hates Pingyuan. Li Qin advises Pingyuan to give up. But he drops a name. He tells Pingyuan to find Hart, who can introduce him to Richard.
Pingyuan grabs his brother Pingwen. They are going to Shanghai. Before they leave, they have to bail out Mr. Liao. The old man gambled away five hundred taels. Pingyuan pays the debt. He also leaves a message for Bai Yimei. She needs to wake up and live. She is pregnant. She has to survive for the child.
The brothers hit Shanghai. They find Hart. Hart warns them, but he sets up a meeting with Richard in the garden. It goes poorly. Richard is blunt. He is partners with Li Wantang. He won't buy Anhui tea. He warns that no other foreigner will touch it either. Pingyuan doesn't back down. He swears he will make Richard regret this decision.
