Episode Summary
Wei Yan departs despite Wei Shao's pleas, vowing not to oppose Wei while Xu Furen lives. Xu Furen's health deteriorates after a fall. Wei Shao, comforted by Xiao Qiao, uncovers Su Ehuang as the mastermind behind recent plots. Su Ehuang, after confessing and failing to sway Wei Shao, has her nose cut off and is banished. Her servants Lan Yun and Su Zixin are killed. Undeterred, Su Ehuang, now masked, allies with Xue Tai and then convinces Liu Yan in Liang Ya to take her as his wife, despite Wushan Country's demand for her as a concubine for Tao Zhoumu, leveraging her supposed 50,000 troops.
Spoiler Alert
We picked up with Wei Shao trying his best to convince Wei Yan to stick around. He promised to get to the bottom of the rumors and clear Wei Yan's name. But Wei Yan? His mind was made up. He knew that leaving was the only way to keep Xiao Qiao safe and allow Wei Shao to maintain his dignity. In a pretty dramatic scene at the city gate, Wei Yan even lopped off a finger, swearing an oath that as long as Xu Furen was alive, he wouldn't help Bian Zhou fight against the Wei state. He chugged some wine from a flask called "Wang Xiang" (which roughly means "gazing towards home"), handed the flask to Wei Shao, and rode off, presumably to carve out a new path for himself.
Meanwhile, Xu Furen took a tumble and hasn't been the same since. Xiao Qiao has been by her side, playing nurse. Wei Furen, bless her heart, heard about the fall and came rushing in, wailing and nearly pulling out pre-prepared burial clothes! Xiao Qiao had to quickly shut that down, reminding her that Xu Furen was just asleep. Honestly, Xu Furen looked like she'd had enough of her daughter-in-law's dramatics and, feeling the weight of Wei Yan's departure, just wanted everyone to leave so she could have a good cry in peace.
Wei Shao, understandably, was a wreck. Xiao Qiao found him moping in the courtyard and offered some much-needed comfort. She reassured him that with his skills, he'd definitely unmask the snake in the grass who caused Xu Furen's illness and drove Wei Yan away.
And unmask them he did! Wei Shao got his hands on Lan Yun and Su Zixin. Under some intense interrogation (read: torture), Su Zixin spilled everything. He confessed that Su Ehuang was the mastermind behind it all – the whole wheat seed sabotage and the framing of Qiao Ci? All her. Lan Yun backed up his story. Su Ehuang, cornered, had no way to deny it.
So, what does Su Ehuang do? She pulls out the tragic backstory card, talking about her hardships and professing her undying love and admiration for Wei Shao. She even tried to leverage her supposed "peony destiny," claiming she could help him conquer the world. Wei Shao wasn't buying any of it. He shot back that she was never worthy of his elder brother. Then, in a pretty brutal move, he wiped the peony marking from her forehead, telling her that her insatiable greed led to her downfall. He revealed that his late brother, Wei Bao, knew all along the peony mark was a fake but still wanted to marry her. Even Chen Xiang was willing to build her a jade tower! These guys genuinely loved her, but she was too ungrateful and had become completely unreasonable. Wei Shao snatched back a jade pendant from her, and then – get this – he had her nose cut off. Lan Yun and Su Zixin were beaten to death. Wei Shao then placed the jade pendant in front of his brother's memorial tablet, lamenting that his brother deserved better. Xiao Qiao, ever the pragmatist, mused that the Su Ehuang of the past probably wasn't like this, and cheekily added that she believed the current Su Ehuang genuinely did admire Wei Shao – after all, the woman has a thing for powerful men.
Kicked out of Wei Shao's territory, Su Ehuang was next seen in a carriage on the city outskirts, dabbing at her bloody nose. Her maids were terrified, whispering that no one would want her now and plotting to steal her gold and silver and bolt. Bad move. Su Ehuang overheard them, and by nightfall, she’d executed the two main instigators. The rest, understandably, fell back in line. Donning a butterfly mask, Su Ehuang sent word to Xue Tai: they were going to Liang Ya.
At Liang Ya, Su Ehuang managed to convince Liu Yan to let her stay and form an alliance, boldly declaring herself the official "chooser" of the future emperor who would unite the lands. Just as things seemed to be looking up for her (in a twisted sort of way), Wushan Country threw a wrench in the works. They sent envoys to Liang Ya demanding Su Ehuang be returned to marry Tao Zhoumu – as a concubine. They even brought betrothal gifts. Su Ehuang scoffed, saying she had 50,000 troops and wouldn't stoop to being a concubine. The envoy's response? Those 50,000 troops were precisely why they wanted her as a concubine. However, Wushan Country said they'd respect Liu Yan's decision; if he wanted to take Su Ehuang as his concubine, they'd allow it. But Liu Yan surprised everyone. He declared he had no intention of taking her as a concubine and then offered a hefty betrothal gift, proposing to marry Su Ehuang as his proper wife.
