Episode Summary
Upon returning to Chang'an, Litchi Envoy Li Shande reunites with his daughter, Xiu'er, but his mission immediately stalls when the Ministry of Revenue denies his funding request. Meanwhile, his former creditor, Seventeenth Lady, kidnaps both Xiu'er and Li Shande's companion, A Mi Ta, to force repayment of an old debt, believing Li Shande is doomed to fail. As Li Shande desperately seeks help, a determined undercover agent, Yun Qing, remains in Lingnan, and her contact, Lu Huan, arrives in Chang'an, setting the stage for their paths to cross.
Spoiler Alert
The Litchi Road Episode 23 Recap: A Hero's Unwelcome Return
After a perilous journey, Li Shande, the reluctant Litchi Envoy, has finally made it back to the capital, Chang'an. But the mission is far from over. Instead of a hero's welcome for surviving the treacherous path from Lingnan, he's met with soul-crushing bureaucracy and a dangerous creditor from his past. With the clock ticking on the lychee delivery, Li Shande finds himself in a new kind of wilderness—one made of stone walls and political games—where the stakes are higher than ever.
A Vow in the South
The episode opens with a flashback to two years prior in Lingnan. Lu Huan has traveled south to persuade Yun Qing, his deep-cover agent, to abandon her mission. He has a new life waiting for her in Chang'an's Pingkang Fang and a replacement ready to take over. But Yun Qing, having spent years trying to gather enough evidence to topple the powerful Right Chancellor, refuses to leave empty-handed. She lets a coin toss decide her fate, and when it lands in favor of staying, her resolve is set in stone. As Lu Huan departs, he begs her to be cautious, promising to bring her home to Chang'an once her work is done. This scene firmly establishes her unwavering determination, a thread that will soon weave into the main plot.
An Unsettling Reunion in Chang'an
Back in the present, Li Shande and his loyal companion A Mi Ta arrive in the bustling capital. Before facing his daughter, Xiu'er, a self-conscious Li Shande insists on getting a shave, wanting to look less like a weathered traveler and more like the father she remembers. The reunion is poignant and tearful; Xiu'er had dreamt of her father returning with white hair, and the reality is not far off. As father and daughter embrace, A Mi Ta watches from a distance, an outsider to their intimate moment.
To celebrate, Li Shande buys ten Hubing (a type of sesame flatbread), a simple luxury he's long craved. But while he savors the taste of home, A Mi Ta is anxious to find Lu Huan. The group dynamics are already strained. Li Shande gives his rented room to A Mi Ta and takes Xiu'er to stay at a local embroidery workshop. During the move, Xiu'er, perhaps a bit jealous, tests A Mi Ta by complaining about her father's stinginess. To her annoyance, A Mi Ta sees his frugality as a virtue, a sign of his dependability.
The Indifference of the Ministry
The warmth of his reunion quickly fades when Li Shande confronts the cold reality of Chang'an's bureaucracy. He arrives early at the Ministry of Revenue with his detailed lychee transportation plan, seeking an advance of 700 guàn for expenses. He finds a long line of officials already waiting, all lamenting the inefficiency of the single clerk on duty. Hearing that Li Shande is the poor soul tricked into the impossible Litchi Envoy mission, they sympathetically let him cut to the front.
Their pity does him no good. The official dismisses the plan with a series of flimsy excuses, from "messy handwriting" to an "excessive" budget request. In a final act of contempt, he mocks Li Shande's "crude appearance" and has him thrown out, leaving the envoy stunned and without a single coin for his critical state-sanctioned mission.
A Debt from the Past
Just as Li Shande hits a wall with the government, his personal history comes back to haunt him. His old creditor, the formidable Seventeenth Lady, learns of his return and the "strange woman" he brought with him. Believing the rumors that the lychee mission is a death sentence, she decides to collect her debt by any means necessary.Her men seize both A Mi Ta and Xiu'er.
In a tense confrontation, Seventeenth Lady tells A Mi Ta that Li Shande "won't live past the first day of the sixth month" and demands she pay his debt. Unflinching, A Mi Ta insists that once the funds are approved, Li Shande will succeed, and the debt will be cleared.
Desperate Measures
The episode closes with all parties on a collision course. A desperate Li Shande attempts to force his way into the Chancellery, only to be told he should try bribing the Court of Imperial Treasury first—a suggestion he angrily rejects. He heads straight for the Treasury, determined to follow the rules even when no one else will.
Meanwhile, A Mi Ta and a terrified Xiu'er are held captive. In Lingnan, Yun Qing clutches the coin Lu Huan gave her, her gaze fixed northward toward Chang'an. And at that very moment, Lu Huan's carriage rolls through the city gates. The key players are all in place, and their intertwined fates are about to violently collide.
