Episode Summary
In this episode, the team tracks Su Wuming to a royal villa on Mount Zhongnan. Lu Lingfeng confronts his mother, the Princess, to get permission for a search. They set a trap using golden peaches, successfully capturing both the Black Flame Bird and the Birdman, and rescuing Su Wuming. We learn the Birdman is Lena, a vengeful prince enslaved and disfigured as a child. He was manipulated by a masked figure, likely from the Li-Wu clan, who wants the entire imperial family dead.
Spoiler Alert
The Hunt for the Bird's Nest
A Feather and a Leaf
The episode kicks off with Lu Lingfeng searching the night market. He's looking for any sign of Su Wuming. He finds a single bird feather on the ground. This isn't just any feather, though. Stuck to it is a tiny, fresh leaf.
They take it back to Master Fei. He looks at the leaf's color and veins. He says it can only grow high up on Mount Zhongnan. So, now they have a location.
Su Wuming's New Friend
Speaking of Mount Zhongnan, Su Wuming wakes up there. He's in some hidden courtyard. He looks up and sees a giant Black Flame Bird. This one is a real, full-on bird. It’s not the half-man, half-bird creature that grabbed him.
Then, the Birdman shows up. He's wearing Liu Shiqi's face as a mask. He claims to be an old friend. He tries to get Su Wuming to eat a golden peach. Su Wuming immediately gets it. They're trying to use him as bait. He puts the peach right back on the plate. Classic Su Wuming.
Cutting Through Royal Red Tape
The Unchecked Villa
Back at the inn, Pei Xijun has been busy. She stayed up all night drawing a complete map of Mount Zhongnan. The team looks it over. They realize there's one spot they haven't checked. It's a royal villa.
Lu Lingfeng goes to Lu Tong. He asks for permission to search the villa. Lu Tong shuts him down hard. He tells Lu Lingfeng to forget about Su Wuming. He says it's the only way to get back in the Emperor's good graces.
A Son's Plea
Lu Lingfeng isn't having it. He knows Su Wuming's theories have been right so far. He understands this is about a power struggle at the top. But he has to save his friend.
He pulls out his sword and offers it to Lu Tong. He holds it with the blade turned inward, basically saying "do what you want with me." He will not abandon Su Wuming. Lu Tong sees his determination and finally caves. He explains the truth. There are three royal villas. One belongs to the Emperor, one to the Princess, and one to the Supreme Emperor. He doesn't have the authority to search any of them.
Later that night, Lu Lingfeng goes to see the Princess. He formally requests to search her royal villa. You can feel the temperature drop in the room. The Princess is his mother. She is furious and disappointed that her own son would suspect her. She orders her guards to throw him out.
But then Lu Lingfeng does something unexpected. He just calls her "Mom." He explains that a thorough search is the only way to prove her innocence to everyone. She sees his boldness and his smart thinking. Her anger turns to pride. She gives him the order. Her villa is completely open to him. All her staff will follow his commands.
Setting the Trap
The Final Clues
The plan starts coming together. Lao Liu finds Lu Lingfeng. He says the description of the Birdman matches a worker at a paper effigy shop. Lu Lingfeng connects this to other clues. He starts to suspect Wu Wenbin is a descendant of the old Li-Wu clan. Sure enough, when Lu Lingfeng visits, Wu Wenbin admits they share the same lineage. Lu Lingfeng uses the excuse of mourning Cen Zhi to get a look at the body.
The next morning, Lu Lingfeng heads to the royal villa. He takes Pei Xijun and Chu Yingtao with him. He tells Xue Huan to stay at the inn with Master Fei. Xue Huan doesn't get it. Master Fei has to explain it to him. Lu Lingfeng is protecting him. Searching a royal property is dangerous. One wrong move could be seen as treason. Lu Lingfeng doesn't want a young kid like Xue Huan taking that risk.
The Capture
At the villa, they set up a banquet. Golden peaches are the centerpiece. They wait for the Black Flame Bird. The sweet smell of the peaches drifts through the air. Soon enough, the giant bird flies in, heading straight for the trap.
The Birdman sees this and panics. He rushes after his bird. But Lu Lingfeng was ready for both of them. His team springs the trap. They capture the bird and the man. Su Wuming is finally safe.
The Whole Ugly Story
The Bird Slave of the Eastern Palace
After the rescue, Su Wuming explains everything. He tells the captured Birdman how he figured out the Mount Zhongnan location. Then he drops the big reveal. The Birdman's real name is Lena. He was a young prince of the Amonuo Kingdom.
Years ago, the Tang Dynasty conquered his kingdom. Lena was just a kid. He was taken to Chang'an and made a slave. The Crown Princess at the time, who would become Empress Wei, loved birds. She made Lena her official bird keeper. She also forced him to wear a bird-shaped mask. As he grew up, the mask literally shaped his skull. His face became deformed. People called him the "Bird Slave."
Su Wuming remembers this. He was a young official back then, with the famous Judge Di Renjie. He saw how cruelly the princess treated Lena. That memory is why he guessed the Birdman's identity.
A Prince's Revenge
Lena doesn't deny any of it. He tells them he went back to his homeland six years ago. It was completely destroyed. The Black Flame Birds were nearly extinct. He found a single chick in the weeds and raised it. The bird became his only friend.
Later, Lena heard that the Kang Kingdom was restoring ties with Tang. He found some of his old court officials. They helped him get a master craftsman to build a flying machine. He then used the golden peaches to train his bird to attack specific targets.
Su Wuming also explains why the Princess was never a target. She once saved Lena from having his tongue cut out. To repay her kindness, Lena sent her a secret note. He told her to stay inside her mansion. That's why the bird never attacked her home.
Su Wuming can see that Lena isn't completely evil. He convinces him to give up the mastermind. Lena says the person who hired him always wore a mask. Their only deal was to kill the Emperor, the Princess, and the Supreme Emperor. Based on this, Lu Lingfeng makes a final deduction. The masked man knows the old secret paths of the Eastern Palace. The prime suspect is someone from the Li-Wu royal clan.
