Episode Summary
Li Qin fails to impress his father and gets punished, while Gu Pingyuan rises in status. Gu helps stage a fake revolt to free captive laborers, fooling the authorities. Impressed by Gu's character, Ruilin awards him control of the lucrative salt fields, infuriating Li Qin, who vows to destroy Gu's business by the end of the year.
Spoiler Alert
Li Qin Just Can’t Win
Li Qin is having a terrible time. He really wants his father’s approval. He goes to Shanxi to start a bank, but Gu Pingyuan crushes him. He has to shut it down. Li Qin doesn't give up, though. He decides to go after the salt fields in Lianghuai. He tries to bribe Ruilin with a massive amount of silver. That fails too.
He does manage to do one good thing. He uses his own money to fix the dam in Nantong. He even teams up with Gu Pingyuan to take down Yang Qianwan. You would think his dad, Li Wantang, would be happy. He isn't. Li Wantang is furious. He actually bought the salt commissioner title himself just to oversee things. He makes Li Qin kneel as punishment.
Li Qin feels totally wronged. He thinks he did the right thing, mostly. But his dad rips into him. The problem isn't just the failure. It's that Li Qin followed Gu Pingyuan around. Gu Pingyuan cleared his name and became a scholar. He won big. Li Qin got nothing. Li Wantang tells his son to stay far away from Gu. He promises to hand over the salt fields once he secures them himself.
A Ghost from the Past
Gu Pingyuan is riding high. His mom is thrilled to see him succeed. But all this success makes her think of her missing husband, Gu Wanzhang. She makes Gu bow to his father’s memory. Then she brings out a letter.
It turns out, some villagers saw Gu Wanzhang years ago. He was on the road to the capital. He tried to hide his identity. The villagers kept pushing. He finally wrote a poem and ran away. Mr. Bai called it a "ghost poem" and told Gu’s mom to stop looking. Gu reads the poem. It’s cold and unfeeling. It leaves him with a lot of mixed emotions.
The Rice Bucket Ruse
Things get tense back at the dam. Su Zixuan and Bai Yimei come to Gu for help. Li Cheng’s old crew is being held captive by the Ninth Marshal. They are building the dam. Once it’s done, the Marshal plans to kill them. They need a way out. Gu is hesitant. He’s a scholar, not a fighter. But Chang Yuer pushes him to help.
The Ninth Marshal inspects the work site. The prisoners are starving and overworked. Then, they pull a fast one. They tell the Marshal they found gold. They point to a giant rice bucket. The Marshal gets greedy. He looks inside. The prisoners shove him into the bucket. Chaos breaks out. The prisoners revolt and drag the Marshal away.
The Great Escape
Su Yuhua runs to get Gu Pingyuan. Gu rushes to the scene. He tries to negotiate. The prisoners want to kill the Marshal for revenge. Gu begs them to stop. He promises to ask Ruilin for their freedom. The leader recognizes Gu. He blames Gu for Li Cheng’s death. They grab Gu and take him hostage too.
Chang Yuer sneaks in to save him. Gu refuses to leave. He drags Yuer to see the Marshal. Here is the twist. It was all a setup. The Marshal and Su Zixuan planned the whole thing. It was a "bitter flesh" trick to fool everyone. They needed an excuse to let the prisoners go. Bai Yimei takes her daughter and the men to the boats. They escape.
The Salt King
Ruilin shows up the next morning. The Ninth Marshal lies to his face. He says the prisoners all died of malaria overnight. Ruilin doesn't buy it for a second. But Gu Pingyuan backs up the story. Ruilin decides to let it slide. He tells the Marshal to clean up the camp.
Ruilin has a bigger move to make. He warns Gu to keep the escaped prisoners quiet. Then, he drops a bomb. He gives the Lianghuai salt fields to Gu Pingyuan. He wants Gu to run a new salt chamber of commerce. He doesn't trust the Li family. Gu tries to refuse because of Li Qin. Ruilin insists. He wants the profits to help the people. Gu finally agrees.
Li Qin is not going to take this lying down. He wants a war. He plans to fight Gu for the salt markets in Jiangxi and Jiangsu. He thinks if he beats Gu by the end of the year, the board will fire him. Li Wantang agrees with the plan. The episode ends with a celebration banquet for the completed dam, but the battle lines are definitely drawn.
