Episode Summary
Zang Hai and the artisans complete the Empress Dowager's mausoleum, only for Chu Huai Ming and Yang Zhen to reveal their plan to entomb them alive. Zang Hai, anticipating this, agrees but has a counter-plan. During the entombment, after a poisoned feast is offered, Zang Hai leads a desperate escape attempt. Many artisans, including the loyal Ji Qun, sacrifice themselves to help Zang Hai trigger a mechanism to open the stone gate. Ji Qun dies heroically after Zang Hai reveals his true identity as Kuai Duo's son, Zhi Nu. Zang Hai emerges alive, shocking the officials. He then cleverly turns the tables, exposing Yang Zhen's supposed suitability for sacrifice with the late Emperor and maneuvering him into the tomb, where Yang Zhen is trapped and killed after denouncing Zhuang Lu Yin.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with Zang Hai and his father’s loyal old subordinate, Ji Qun, pushing the workers to the limit to get the imperial mausoleum finished. They manage to pull it off within the three-month deadline, but little do the hardworking craftsmen know, Chu Huai Ming and Yang Zhen have a seriously twisted retirement plan for them. Their scheme? To have Zang Hai and eight master artisans entombed alive as sacrificial companions for the late Empress Dowager. They try to sweet-talk and strong-arm the artisans, promising their families will be well taken care of. However, Zang Hai, ever the sharp one, is already onto their plot and has a few tricks up his own sleeve, including having Gao Ming pose as a fortune teller to plant some ideas in Zhuang Lu Yin's head earlier on.
When Chu Huai Ming publicly announces the "imperial decree" that Zang Hai and the eight artisans are to be buried with the Empress Dowager the next day, Ji Qun and the other craftsmen are gutted for Zang Hai. Surprisingly, Zang Hai agrees without a fuss. He then questions Ji Qun and the others why they'd willingly go along with this. Their heartbreaking answer? They know Chu Huai Ming and Yang Zhen are ruthless. If they refuse, they’ll likely be maimed or worse, and their families will suffer. This way, they can at least trade their lives for their families' security. Zang Hai is, understandably, seething.
Fast forward to the Empress Dowager's burial day. All the civil and military officials are there to pay their respects. The Emperor, however, is supposedly too overcome with grief and remains in the palace to pray for his mother. Zang Hai uses the opportunity to get the lay of the land from Ji Qun regarding the officials. The head of the civil officials are Shi Yi Ping (Minister of Rites) and Zhao Bing Wen (Minister of Revenue) – rare good guys, apparently. The top military dog is Zhuang Lu Yin, with Zhuang Zhi Fu (Vice Minister of Works) also in the mix. Chu Huai Ming is basically their lackey. Zang Hai mentally files all this information away.
Once the Empress Dowager's coffin is inside the mausoleum, Zang Hai has the artisans do a final check. Then, they're all led to the deepest hall. Chu Huai Ming puts on a show of seeing them off, complete with a lavish feast... laced with a slow-acting poison that will kill them in three days. Classy. With everything "arranged," Chu Huai Ming orders the massive stone gate of the mausoleum closed. He and Yang Zhen share a smug look, confident in the additional traps they’ve set inside. They figure even if Zang Hai has god-like skills, there's no escaping this one.
The artisans hear the "soul-departing bell," signaling that it's all over. They're ready to have one last meal, but Zang Hai stops them. He promises he’ll lead them out of there, heads held high. He argues that if they don't fight back, countless more artisans will face the same fate in the future. Ji Qun and the craftsmen, desperate for any hope, put their faith in Zang Hai. Outside, the officials perform their kowtows, and the next step is to drop the "Dragon-Cutting Stone" to seal the tomb permanently.
Zang Hai quickly deduces there must be a trigger wire for the main stone gate. If they can find and pull it before the Dragon-Cutting Stone falls completely, they have a chance. One artisan remembers seeing a wire hidden above them. He steps onto a stone slab to reach it but is instantly killed by a volley of arrows – Chu Huai Ming's handiwork, of course. Zang Hai is furious, cursing Chu Huai Ming's treachery.
Thinking fast, Zang Hai grabs a plate from the poisoned feast to use as a makeshift shield and goes for the wire himself. Ji Qun and the remaining artisans grab other plates, forming a protective barrier around Zang Hai as arrows rain down. Several more men fall, but the survivors press on, shielding Zang Hai. He starts punching desperately at the ceiling bricks to expose the mechanism. More artisans die. Finally, only Ji Qun is left, riddled with arrows but still standing, protecting Zang Hai as he smashes through the bricks and yanks the trigger wire.
The massive stone gate begins to rise! Zang Hai lets go of the wire, intending to get Ji Qun out with him. But as he does, the gate starts to descend again. Ji Qun, grievously wounded, knows he's a burden. In a final act of loyalty, he uses his own body to prop up the heavy stone door, yelling at Zang Hai to escape. Zang Hai barely squeezes out. As the gate crashes down, crushing Ji Qun, Zang Hai, overcome with emotion, finally admits his true identity: he is Zhi Nu, the son of Kuai Duo. Hearing that his old friend Kuai Duo's son is alive, Ji Qun manages a satisfied smile before he dies.
Outside, the Dragon-Cutting Stone has only lowered halfway before inexplicably stopping. Chu Huai Ming and Yang Zhen exchange bewildered glances. Then, to the absolute shock of all the assembled officials, a blood-soaked Zang Hai stumbles out of the mausoleum, alive. Zhuang Lu Yin immediately recalls the fortune Gao Ming told him – about a "noble person" in his life who would escape a life-threatening crisis. Yang Zhen, ever the opportunist, seizes the moment to slander Zang Hai to Zhuang Lu Yin, insisting Zang Hai is a heinous criminal who must fulfill his duty and be entombed. Zhuang Lu Yin, playing his part, condemns Zang Hai for not keeping his "promise" and orders him back into the tomb, threatening to have him shot with arrows if he refuses.
Zang Hai, however, isn't backing down. He throws his head back and declares that his survival is a sign from the heavens – he’s not meant to die. When Zhuang Lu Yin scoffs, saying the Dragon-Cutting Stone won't fall if Zang Hai isn't sacrificed, Zang Hai assures him it will. Just then, a panicked eunuch rushes in to report to Zhuang Lu Yin that the auspicious time for the Empress Dowager's burial is about to pass. Seizing this new opening, Zang Hai loudly proclaims that Yang Zhen's birth chart is actually highly compatible with the late Emperor's and that he should be the one entombed. He even puts Chu Huai Ming on the spot, forcing him to begrudgingly admit that such a "saying" does indeed exist.
Yang Zhen, obviously not keen on this sudden turn of events, starts to panic. Zhuang Lu Yin, trying to manipulate the situation, whispers to Yang Zhen to just go into the tomb for now, promising to get him out as soon as the Dragon-Cutting Stone starts moving again. Yang Zhen, foolishly, believes him and hesitantly steps towards the tomb entrance. The moment Zang Hai is clear, the Dragon-Cutting Stone indeed begins its final descent. The officials erupt in murmurs. Yang Zhen, terrified, starts begging for his life. As he tries to scramble back out, an arrow hits him. Realizing he's been played, Yang Zhen screams curses at Zhuang Lu Yin, publicly exposing his crimes. But before he can reveal too much, another arrow silences him for good.
