Episode Summary
The episode kicks off with a massive battle between the rival Susha and Jinxiu kingdoms. Susha's Prince Feng Suige is defeated by Jinxiu's General Fu Yixiao, but both are ambushed by assassins afterward. Fu Yixiao loses her memory and is taken in by a neutral doctor, Ling Xueying. Feng Suige, who faked his own death, also seeks refuge at the same location to heal. They cross paths at a secret healing pool, where he discovers her amnesia and tricks her, ultimately capturing her when his soldiers arrive.
Spoiler Alert
A Battle Gone Wrong (and Right)
The Prince and the General
So, you have two kingdoms that are constantly at each other's throats. The Jinxiu Kingdom and the Susha Kingdom. They really, really don't like each other.
Susha's First Prince, Feng Suige, leads his army to attack a border fortress called Zhennan Pass. He's tearing through their defenses. It looks like an easy win for him. But then, a female general from Jinxiu named Fu Yixiao shows up. She shoots him right off his horse with a single arrow. Just like that, the battle is over. Feng Suige's army is totally defeated, and they retreat.
The Disappearing Act
On his way home, Feng Suige gets ambushed by a bunch of masked assassins. His second-in-command, Lu Ke, stays behind to fight them off. He tells another guy, Gu Yu, to get the prince to safety.
It's no use, though. More assassins chase after the prince's carriage. Feng Suige knows this is a setup. He realizes there are ambushes waiting for him all along the route back. The assassins force his carriage to a cliff's edge. It goes flying over the side. The assassins see this and leave, thinking the job is done.
Back in Jinxiu, everyone is celebrating their victory. But there's a problem. Fu Yixiao, the hero of the battle, has vanished. She went missing the very night she won.
A Neutral Ground for Enemies
The Doctor and the Patient
We find Fu Yixiao in a forest. She's also being attacked by masked assassins. She's badly hurt but still manages to fight them off. There are just too many of them, so she finds a place to hide.
Nearby, a young doctor named Ling Xueying is gathering herbs with her attendant. She runs into a forest full of dead bodies and is terrified. An assassin puts a knife to her throat. He asks if she's seen a woman in a red dress. Ling Xueying says no. Just as he's about to kill her, Fu Yixiao appears. The assassins drop Ling Xueying and run after Fu Yixiao.
Fu Yixiao kills the rest of the assassins but collapses from her injuries. Ling Xueying rushes over to help. Fu Yixiao tells her to stay away, but then she passes out completely. Ling Xueying is the young master of a place called Zhengnian Villa. It’s a neutral sanctuary where they treat wounded soldiers from both kingdoms. She takes Fu Yixiao back to the villa and starts working to save her life.
The Prince's Secret Plan
It turns out Feng Suige never went over the cliff. It was a trick. He and his guard jumped out of the carriage before it fell. They hid in the woods and escaped.
He's still seriously injured, though. A local doctor can only remove the arrow. He can't heal the wound properly. Feng Suige knows he won't make it back to Susha. He thinks of one place that might save him. It's a forbidden area with a special healing pool, located in the back mountains of Zhengnian Villa.
Politics and Betrayal
Trouble in the Susha Court
With Feng Suige missing and his army defeated, the Susha court is in chaos. Some officials want to keep fighting, while others want peace. The Prime Minister, Zhuang Shen, suggests they wait. He wants to find Feng Suige and learn why the battle was lost before they start blaming people.
His nephew, Zhuang Ming, doesn't get it. He thinks this is the perfect chance to take the prince down. From their conversation, Zhuang Shen figures out his nephew was behind the assassination attempt on the road. He gets angry and tells Zhuang Ming not to drag him into his schemes.
A Desperate Search
Meanwhile, in the Jinxiu Kingdom, a man named Xia Jingshi is looking for Fu Yixiao. He's the Prince of Zhennan. He and his men have been searching the area below the cliff for days without sleep. They haven't found her. He refuses to give up. He says he'll search to the ends of the earth if he has to.
A Fateful Meeting
The Amnesiac and the Liar
Fu Yixiao wakes up in Zhengnian Villa. She has amnesia. The fall must have injured her head. Ling Xueying tells her the arrow wound on her shoulder was inflicted at very close range. We're talking five steps away. Someone she trusted must have shot her. Fu Yixiao can’t remember her name or who betrayed her.
Ling Xueying takes Fu Yixiao to the forbidden medicinal pool in the back mountains to help her heal. At the same time, Feng Suige arrives at the exact same spot. He's there for the same reason. They are in the same pool, separated only by a rock formation. Later, two of Xia Jingshi's men, Xiao Weiran and Ning Fei, burst into Zhengnian Villa looking for Fu Yixiao. They don't find her and leave empty-handed.
The Trap is Sprung
Back at the pool, Fu Yixiao and Feng Suige finally meet. He's so weak from his injuries that he faints. When he wakes up, he recognizes her immediately. She's the general who shot him.
Fu Yixiao finds a portrait of herself that he was carrying. She has no idea he's her enemy. Feng Suige quickly realizes she has amnesia. So, he lies. He tricks her into thinking he's on her side. His reinforcements arrive soon after. Fu Yixiao finally understands she's been deceived, but it's too late. The prince's men knock her unconscious and take her away.
