Episode Summary
In Tang Dynasty's Chang'an, Li Shande, an honest official at the Imperial Gardens, is tricked by his superior into accepting a seemingly impossible mission: transporting fresh lychees over a thousand miles from Lingnan to the capital before they spoil. This occurs just after Li has financially ruined himself to buy back his family home. Simultaneously, his brother-in-law, Zheng Ping'an, becomes entangled in a dangerous political plot to expose the corrupt Right Chancellor, which culminates in him committing murder to protect his identity as a spy.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 1 Recap: The Impossible Fruit
Our story kicks off in the sprawling, rain-slicked capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an. We meet Li Shande, a man more comfortable with soil and petals than with politics. He’s a supervisor at the Imperial Gardens, and his first crisis is a prized peony, the Emperor's favorite, damaged by a storm. This problem, however, is about to become laughably small.
The real trouble begins with a craving. The Emperor wants fresh lychees from the southern region of Lingnan. It's a simple request with an impossible catch: Lingnan is over a thousand miles away, and lychees spoil within three days. As the saying goes, "one day the color changes, two days the scent changes, three days the taste is gone." The task is a suicide mission, a poisoned chalice passed down from the sneering Right Chancellor to the Ministry of Agriculture, who promptly dumps it on the Imperial Gardens. The director, Liu, is livid but sees a perfect scapegoat.
Meanwhile, Li Shande is a man with a simple dream. A widower with a young daughter, Xiu'er, he's financially ruined after paying for his late wife's medical care. He sold his family home to cover the costs, and now, by a stroke of luck, it's back on the market. He scrapes together his life savings and, after a tense negotiation with a loan shark and a reluctant loan from his brother-in-law, Zheng Ping'an, he finally buys back his home. For a brief moment, he allows himself to imagine a happy future, moving back in with his daughter to the admiration of his neighbors.
But Li Shande has a brother-in-law with bigger problems. Zheng Ping'an is pulled into a dangerous political game by the Jing'an Si (Department of City Security). He's tasked with spying on the powerful Right Chancellor, who is suspected of taking a massive bribe from a southern governor in exchange for a military tally—a token that grants control over regional troops. For Zheng Ping'an, success means being welcomed back into his prestigious family clan; failure is not an option.
These two worlds are about to collide. Hearing that Li Shande has just taken on a huge debt to buy a house, Bureau Chief Liu sees his chance. He lures the unassuming Li Shande into a rare office banquet, plies him with wine, and flatters him for his horticultural knowledge. In a drunken haze, Li Shande is goaded into signing a document, accepting the role of "Lychee Envoy" to the cheers of his backstabbing colleagues.
The horrifying truth dawns on him as he stumbles home. He drops the official scroll, and a fleck of ink comes off a single character. What he thought read "preserved" lychees (荔枝煎) now clearly says "fresh" lychees (荔枝鲜). The blood drains from his face. One is a logistical challenge; the other is a death sentence.
He rushes back to confront Bureau Chief Liu, who plays dumb, claiming the order was always for fresh fruit and accusing Li Shande of tampering with an imperial document. As Li Shande's dream turns into a nightmare, his brother-in-law's mission takes a bloody turn. While spying on the Chancellor's agent, Ma Guiyun, Zheng Ping'an is discovered. A desperate fight breaks out, and Zheng Ping'an kills Ma Guiyun, trading a political conspiracy for a murder charge.
The episode ends on two notes of despair. Li Shande, checking the official archives, confirms the order is indeed for fresh lychees, sealing his impossible fate. Miles away, Zheng Ping'an stands over a dead body, trapped in a different, but equally deadly, predicament.
