Episode Summary
The battle on the mountain concludes with the arrival of reinforcements, leading to the deaths of A'zi, Huo Jing, and the Baize Mountain Man with his beast. Li Nai'er takes her own life after asking to be buried near her mother. Su Wuming convinces Lu Lingfeng to hide the truth from the Emperor, pinning the disaster on a monster to prevent political chaos. Lu Lingfeng confronts his mother, the Princess, who denies involvement but reveals her ambition to rule. The episode ends with the Emperor feeling guilty over Shangguan Wan'er's death and the Princess plotting her next political move against Du Ming.
Spoiler Alert
The Mountain Showdown
The Cavalry Arrives
So, Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng are completely surrounded. It looks bad. Then, right on time, Chu Yingtao shows up with the whole crew. I'm talking Xue Huan, Master Fei, Pei Xijun, and three top constables. They crash the party hard. A'zi sees her husband is hurt and loses it. She tries to sneak-attack Chu Yingtao. That was a bad move. Chu Yingtao just turns and kills her. Seeing his mom go down, Huo Jing charges forward. The three constables take him out together. Just like that, the family is gone.
Fighting a Monster
The Baize Mountain Man is left with nothing. He's filled with grief and rage. He summons a massive beast. It has a tiger's head and deer antlers, looking just like the legendary Baize. This thing is a real monster. Everyone struggles to fight it.
Su Wuming suddenly remembers something important. The man used to feed the beast dried corpses. He quickly checks his copy of the Bai Ze Tu, the book of monsters. He finds the creature. Its name is Aotian. He tells Master Fei to use a dried ox leg as bait.
Master Fei puts a secret drug on the meat. Lao Jia and Lao Luo help him jump onto a roof. Lu Lingfeng does his part, luring the beast right below. Master Fei throws down the drugged ox leg. Aotian swallows it whole. The poison kicks in fast. The beast goes completely berserk. The Baize Mountain Man jumps on its back, trying to control it. But Aotian just bolts straight for the cliff. It leaps into the abyss, taking its master with it. Man and beast, both gone.
A Final Request
Li Nai'er has now lost everyone she cared about. She knows the fight is over. She has one last request for Lu Lingfeng. She asks him to bury her next to Shangguan Wan'er's tomb on the Hongdu Plains. She doesn't want an epitaph. She just wants a simple stone to mark her as Shangguan Wan'er's daughter, so she can be near her. After saying this, she pulls out a sword and takes her own life. The whole scene ends in a splash of blood across the ruined temple.
The Political Fallout
Crafting the Official Story
The group carries the injured Lu Lingfeng down the mountain. Partway down, they see Su Wuming standing alone by the cliff, just looking out. Lu Lingfeng, hurt as he is, goes over to him. He can tell Su Wuming is planning to lie about what happened.
Su Wuming gets serious. He warns Lu Lingfeng about their report to the Emperor. They can only talk about the monster, Aotian. They must never, ever mention Li Nai'er's real identity. The truth would create a huge problem between the Emperor and the Princess. It could lead to a bloodbath in Chang'an.
Lu Lingfeng is not a court politician. He hates the idea of lying to the Emperor. He tells Su Wuming to handle the report himself. But he is not letting it go. He decides he will go ask the Princess directly if she was behind Li Nai'er's plan.
Reporting to the Emperor
Back in the capital, Su Wuming goes to the palace. He gives the Emperor his version of the events on Zhongnan Mountain. He carefully leaves out everything about Li Nai'er's true story. He tells the story with a lot of emotion. He praises everyone for their bravery. He even claims a real Baize, an auspicious beast, appeared. He says it's a sign of a coming golden age.
The Emperor's anger starts to fade. He orders Du Ming to give the four Jinwu Guards a grand burial. He frames it as them dying to make up for their mistakes. The Emperor is smart, though. He knows Su Wuming is holding back the real story. But the lie is clean. He can't find any holes in it. It saves the court's reputation and also gives him an easy out. So even though he might want to kill Su Wuming, he has no reason to.
A Mother's Ambition
Lu Lingfeng and the Princess
The Princess hears Lu Lingfeng is injured. She goes to his home to see him. She's relieved he's going to be okay. She admits Li Nai'er was brave for fighting four generals alone. But she also hurt her son. So, in the Princess's eyes, she deserved to die.
Lu Lingfeng asks her the big question. Did she order Li Nai'er to do all this? The Princess flatly denies it. She then tells him about her relationship with Shangguan Wan'er. She says they were like sisters. She was heartbroken when Wan'er was killed. The Princess buried her in a private tomb and wrote the epitaph herself to set the historical record straight.
The Throne is the Goal
Lu Lingfeng believes her. He gets on the ground and begs his mother to stay out of court politics. He wants her to just enjoy her life and not challenge the Emperor for power.
The Princess pushes back. She asks him why a woman can't rule. She grew up in the palace. She served Empress Wu directly. She learned from the best. She believes her destiny is to fix the government and help the people, just like her role model.
She argues that Empress Wu was a brilliant ruler. She promoted people based on talent, not their family's political status. She says the current Emperor can't do that. He can't tell loyal officials from corrupt ones. His reign will weaken the Tang dynasty. The Princess says if she ever has to fight him, it will be for the survival of the empire. She is the "Nation-Guarding Princess." It's her duty to guard the nation. She tells Lu Lingfeng that no matter what side he chooses, the country and its people must come first.
New Plots Begin
The Emperor is having nightmares. He dreams of snakes crawling out of Shangguan Wan'er's old court documents. He wakes up terrified. He starts to wonder if he executed a loyal official all those years ago. He asks his attendant, A Yin, if she ever met Shangguan Wan'er. A Yin says she did. She ground ink for her for three years. She praises Wan'er's integrity and unmatched talent.
At the same time, the Princess is mourning Shangguan Wan'er. She's furious with Prime Minister Cui. She knows he recommended Li Nai'er to her, fully aware of her identity and her plans. Cui insists he is loyal to the Princess. He tells her that a person destined for great things cannot afford to be sentimental. The Princess calms down. She takes his advice. She starts planning how to get Du Ming kicked out of Chang'an.
