Episode Summary
Zhuang Lu Yin traps and eliminates Feng Shui masters in a booby-trapped catacomb. Zang Hai, seeking revenge, enters the trap and is the sole survivor, impressing Zhuang Lu Yin with his skills. Tasked with the Empress Dowager's burial, Zang Hai cleverly uses a predicted rainstorm and a fabricated dream from Imperial Concubine Li Gui to gain favor and orchestrate the collapse of Li Gui's tomb, framing it as a divine sign. Despite initial plans to kill him, Zhuang Lu Yin accepts Zang Hai into his service after a faked background check. Zang Hai then navigates internal politics within the Marquis's residence, particularly with the jealous Yang Zhen, while secretly planning to rise in power and gather information with the help of Gao Ming.
Spoiler Alert
So, Zang Hai stumbles out of the catacomb, and Chu Huai Ming is understandably floored. He's immediately suspicious, thinking Zang Hai must be a descendant of the original imperial tomb builders – because who else could survive that? Zang Hai plays it cool, admitting he used something called the "Nine Stars Secret Method" to disarm that nasty rope trap. News travels fast, and when Zhuang Lu Yin hears someone actually beat his death maze, he rushes over. Imagine Zang Hai, face to face with the man who destroyed his life, having to keep his murderous rage on a tight leash. Talk about tension! Zhuang Lu Yin, clearly impressed (or desperate), assigns Zang Hai the crucial task of handling the Empress Dowager's burial. Chu Huai Ming is practically screaming "bad idea, this guy's a total unknown!" but the Emperor's deadline is looming, so Zhuang Lu Yin decides to roll the dice on Zang Hai.
Zang Hai, ever the strategist, then looks to the sky and casually predicts rain, claiming it's the key to solving the whole burial dilemma. Chu Huai Ming’s skepticism is off the charts, so he even ropes in Sun Gong Gong, the Emperor's top eunuch, probably expecting Zang Hai to fall flat. But guess what? The heavens open up! With Sun Gong Gong witnessing this 'miracle' firsthand, Zhuang Lu Yin's confidence in Zang Hai skyrockets. Zang Hai then spins a yarn about Imperial Concubine Li Gui visiting him in a dream, expressing her wish to help the Empress Dowager be buried with the late Emperor. Zhuang Lu Yin’s still got his doubts, but Zang Hai doubles down, saying it was Imperial Concubine Li Gui's divine intervention that got him out of the catacomb alive. Smooth.
Riding this wave of divine favor, Zang Hai – supposedly channeling Imperial Concubine Li Gui – advises that the various feudal lords should skip the funeral. Just Prince Lin Zi needs to be there to keep vigil. Sun Gong Gong, all ears, rushes off to tell the Emperor. Zhuang Lu Yin is still giving Zang Hai the side-eye, but hey, as long as the Emperor's man is convinced, right? Zang Hai then makes a bold request: he wants to visit Imperial Concubine Li Gui's tomb in the imperial mausoleum's inner sanctum. Zhuang Lu Yin, probably curious to see if Imperial Concubine Li Gui will pull another ghostly stunt, agrees. He sends Chu Huai Ming along as an escort and, just to be safe, tasks Qu Jiao with digging up some dirt on Zang Hai.
So, Chu Huai Ming leads Zang Hai to Imperial Concubine Li Gui's final resting place. Zang Hai does a little walk-around, then dramatically kneels, offering his thanks. And then, right on cue – or rather, at high noon – Imperial Concubine Li Gui's tomb collapses. Bam! Zang Hai doesn't miss a beat, proclaiming that this is Imperial Concubine Li Gui herself, making way for the Empress Dowager to be with the late Emperor. Zhuang Lu Yin and everyone else present? They totally buy it, dropping to their knees to thank the 'benevolent' spirit of Imperial Concubine Li Gui.
You'd think solving a massive headache for Zhuang Lu Yin would earn Zang Hai some serious brownie points, right? Wrong! Zhuang Lu Yin's first instinct is to kill Zang Hai to keep his mouth shut. Classic villain move. But Zang Hai’s ready for this, pledging his undying loyalty and offering his unique skills in architecture and Feng Shui to serve Zhuang Lu Yin. Meanwhile, Qu Jiao reports back on Zang Hai’s background: an orphan, learned his craft from a carpenter, and just arrived in the Capital a few days ago. (Little do they know, this is all a carefully crafted cover story by Zang Hai's masked benefactor!) With this seemingly harmless backstory, Zhuang Lu Yin is finally convinced and agrees to let Zang Hai stay at the Marquis's residence.
Zang Hai officially clocks in at the Marquis Pingjin's estate, gets his official waist token, and is shown to his new digs in the Scribes' Hall. Later, he secretly meets up with Gao Ming at an inn to debrief. Gao Ming is dying to know how Zang Hai orchestrated the tomb collapse. Zang Hai explains his genius move: he’d noticed the tomb was super damp and Imperial Concubine Li Gui's coffin was already waterlogged. He then sneakily placed a wooden wedge under it. The heavy rain did the rest, causing a "groundwater flood" (his words!) that brought the whole thing down. Gao Ming is, understandably, super impressed. Zang Hai then tries to get some info on his mysterious masked master and someone called Master Xing Dou, but Gao Ming shuts that down, saying it's "not the time." Cryptic!
Next morning, Zang Hai heads to the Scribes' Hall, flashes his new credentials, and is welcomed by an advisor named Hui Jian. Hui Jian gives him the lowdown on the residence's rules and the daily grind, all apparently set by a certain Yang Zhen. Elsewhere, the ever-suspicious Chu Huai Ming tries to warn Yang Zhen, basically saying, "Watch your back, this Zang Hai kid might be gunning for your job!" Yang Zhen just scoffs, firing back that if anyone should be worried, it's Chu Huai Ming, since Zang Hai's Feng Shui expertise directly rivals his own.
Hui Jian gives Zang Hai the grand tour, and Zang Hai discovers the main gig for these advisors: writing Zhuang Lu Yin's hagiography, titled "The Zhuang Family Annals." And guess who gets all the credit? Yang Zhen, of course. Yang Zhen himself then makes an appearance, laying down more rules for Zang Hai. But he also dangles a pretty tempting carrot: a chance for advisors to eventually become court officials. Zang Hai is definitely intrigued.
Just as Zhuang Lu Yin summons Zang Hai for a Feng Shui consultation (uh-oh, Yang Zhen!), Yang Zhen, clearly feeling the heat, intercepts and assigns Zang Hai a "critical" task: repairing the ancestral hall to prevent the ancestors' tablets from getting rained on. Real subtle, Yang Zhen. Zang Hai totally sees this for the power play it is – keeping him away from the Marquis – but he plays along, asking Yang Zhen to make his excuses. Yang Zhen is only too happy to oblige. Zang Hai later fills Gao Ming in on Yang Zhen's little scheme. Gao Ming’s worried Zhuang Lu Yin will forget about Zang Hai, but Zang Hai’s not having it. He declares he’s going to take Yang Zhen down and replace him. The ambition is real!
Yang Zhen isn't done trying to sideline Zang Hai. His next move? He gets Zang Hai and the other advisors to inventory all the antiques in the residence and catalog them. Zang Hai notices a lot of the items are broken or incomplete. Then, Yang Zhen singles Zang Hai out, making him re-catalog the entire collection by himself. And to add insult to injury, he posts guards at the door with orders to bust Zang Hai if he tries to sneak anything out. Looks like Yang Zhen is really trying to set him up or at least make his life miserable. Can't wait to see how Zang Hai turns this around!
