Episode Summary
Zang Hai enlists a reluctant Xiang Antu to help him eliminate Lu Jin and frame it as a secret meeting with Zhuang Luyin. Xiang Antu kills Lu Jin and, with Zang Hai, stages a scene to deceive Cao Jingxian's spies into believing Lu Jin spent the night conferring with Zhuang Luyin (who is actually Zang Hai in disguise, while the real Zhuang Luyin is kept occupied by his son, Zhuang Zhixing). The deception works, and Cao Jingxian is furious. However, before Cao Jingxian can act against Zang Hai or Zhuang Luyin, Lu Jin's body is "discovered" drowned in a river, with a secret letter found on him, leading Cao Jingxian to launch a new investigation.
Spoiler Alert
So, Zang Hai, clearly in a tight spot, shows up at the Pillow Tower looking for Xiang Antu. And get this – she’s in the middle of a bath! Awkward. Zang Hai’s all flustered and ready to bolt, but Xiang Antu, cool as a cucumber, tells him to stay and spill the beans. Turns out, Zang Hai needs her help to, shall we say, eliminate Lu Jin. Xiang Antu initially suggests he ask Zhuang Luyin, but Zang Hai knows Zhuang Luyin won't want to cross Cao Jingxian for him. Luckily for Zang Hai, Xiang Antu has heard all about Lu Jin’s nasty habit of killing innocent people and agrees to do the deed, you know, for the greater good. Her price? Zang Hai has to help her wash her hair. Yep, you read that right. So, our hero awkwardly obliges.
As Zang Hai’s lathering up her locks, Xiang Antu’s watching him in the mirror and notices he’s surprisingly good at it. He mentions he used to do it for his mother – a little tidbit there. She officially agrees to help him take out Lu Jin, but makes it clear he’ll owe her big time. Zang Hai’s all in and asks her to also find some of Lu Jin's letters so he can forge a note to Cao Jingxian. Meanwhile, Lu Yan has people tailing Zang Hai but they come up with nothing. With Lu Jin still MIA, Cao Jingxian is getting antsy and orders Lu Yan to find someone to kill Zang Hai.
Speaking of Lu Jin, he’s been roughing it, making a beeline for The Capital. Worried about being followed, he crashes at a Chang Wei’s (Palace Guard's) place and sends the guard to update Cao Jingxian. Suddenly, assassins attack! Lu Jin, being the skilled fighter he is, takes them down pretty quickly and assumes Zang Hai sent them. But then, another wave of attackers bursts in and surrounds him. Lu Jin fights them all off, but not without sustaining some serious injuries himself.
As if things weren't dramatic enough, it starts pouring rain. A wounded Lu Jin tries to sneak back to the Cao residence but gets intercepted by Xiang Antu. She does her thing, kills him, and then plops his body onto Zang Hai’s carriage, making sure his head is peeking out the window for maximum effect. Classy. Sure enough, guards from the Cao residence spot Lu Jin in Zang Hai’s carriage from a distance and, thoroughly confused, decide to follow them. Zang Hai parks the carriage at the back gate of the Marquis's residence. He then has Xiang Antu disguise herself as Lu Jin, and the two of them walk back into the residence under an umbrella. The Chang Wei see this whole charade. One rushes off to report to Cao Jingxian, while another stays behind to keep an eye on the Marquis's place.
Zang Hai, knowing there are Chang Wei lurking outside the Marquis's residence, sends Gao Ming out to keep watch. He then disguises himself as Zhuang Luyin, and has Xiang Antu continue her Lu Jin impersonation. They deliberately sit by the study window, where Xiang Antu takes the opportunity to read Zang Hai’s palm – all for the benefit of the watching Chang Wei, who naturally assumes they're deep in a secret discussion. Xiang Antu starts to suspect Zang Hai faked his identity and killed Lu Jin to silence him. She threatens to expose him, but Zang Hai promises that once he’s done what he needs to do, he’ll tell her everything. Xiang Antu’s worried Zhuang Luyin might suddenly return, but Zang Hai reassures her he’s already arranged for Zhuang Zhixing to keep Zhuang Luyin occupied.
And occupied he is! Zhuang Zhixing is treating his father, Zhuang Luyin, to a celebratory dinner. They’re having a grand old time, and Zhuang Zhixing suggests they make a night of it, to which Zhuang Luyin happily agrees. Back with Zang Hai, Xiang Antu is pretty ticked off when she learns the full extent of Zang Hai's scheming, not wanting to be just a pawn in his game. Zang Hai, however, insists he already considers her a friend. As the night wears on, Jiang Xiang comes to invite Zhuang Luyin to rest. She’s even wearing the red dress she wore when she welcomed Zhuang Luyin back after his victorious Dong Xia campaign. Zhuang Luyin, having already promised to spend the night chatting with his son, invites Jiang Xiang to join them. He even recounts the tale of his legendary 800-li overnight march to fame. Zhuang Zhixing, ever so tactful, excuses himself to give them some privacy, waiting outside the door.
Xiang Antu and Zang Hai stay by the window until dawn. The Chang Wei then reports back to Cao Jingxian, who now mistakenly believes Lu Jin and Zhuang Luyin were talking all night. Furious, Cao Jingxian immediately rushes over to Marquis Pingjin's residence to see what’s going on. Zhuang Shan hurries to inform Zhuang Luyin, but Zhuang Luyin and Jiang Xiang are still asleep. Zhuang Zhixing, who’s been standing guard outside their door all night, refuses to let Zhuang Shan disturb them.
Zang Hai goes to meet the irate Cao Jingxian. Cao Jingxian is desperate to know if Lu Jin really spent the whole night talking with Zhuang Luyin. Zang Hai plays dumb, feigning ignorance. When Cao Jingxian learns Zhuang Luyin is still asleep, he wants to go confront him directly. Zang Hai tries his best to stop him, leading Cao Jingxian to order Zang Hai killed on the spot! Just then, a Chang Wei rushes in with shocking news: Lu Jin has drowned in the Guangji River! Cao Jingxian immediately drops everything, takes his men, and drags Zang Hai along with him.
When Zhuang Luyin finally wakes up, he sees Zhuang Zhixing still waiting outside. Learning that Cao Jingxian just left, Zhuang Luyin immediately grabs his son and they hurry to the scene. At the riverbank, Cao Jingxian has his adopted daughter, Lu Yan, examine Lu Jin’s body. And what does she find? A secret letter hidden inside! Zhuang Luyin arrives shortly after, curious about how Lu Jin ended up drowned. Cao Jingxian, however, declares he’s heading back to thoroughly investigate the truth.
