Episode Summary
In Episode 24 of "The Litchi Road," Li Shande faces mounting pressure as his mission to transport litchis is systematically blocked by bureaucratic red tape from multiple government departments. While struggling to secure funds and fend off creditors, a painful conflict with his daughter, Xiu'er, forces him to reconnect with his original motivations. Simultaneously, a dangerous subplot unfolds as A Mi Ta attempts to expose the corrupt Right Chancellor, but this places undercover operatives in the direct path of a suspicious and dangerous agent.
Spoiler Alert
The Litchi Road Episode 24 Recap & Spoilers: A Father's Promise in a Web of Lies
Episode 24: Bureaucracy, Betrayal, and a Daughter's Tears
This Episode , Li Shande’s mission hits a wall of official indifference and backstabbing, forcing him to confront the rotten core of the Chang'an government. While he fights a losing battle for resources, a dangerous political game unfolds in the shadows, threatening to expose the Right Chancellor's crimes. At his lowest point, a painful conflict with his daughter Xiu'er forces Li Shande to remember what—and who—he's truly fighting for.
Key Spoilers & Highlights:
- The Chancellor's Cover-Up: The Right Chancellor reveals his true colors, swapping a premium tribute of blood swallow nests from Lingnan with an inferior batch to avoid scrutiny, proving he values stability over integrity.
- A Debt Reprieve: A Mi Ta masterfully negotiates with the formidable Seventeenth Lady, securing a temporary halt on Li Shande's debts by framing it as a can't-lose bet on his mission.
- Official Runaround: Li Shande's desperate attempts to secure transport funds and military passage are met with a bureaucratic nightmare, as the Court of the Imperial Treasury, the Left Treasury Office, and the Ministry of War all pass the buck, culminating in a bitter betrayal by an old friend.
- Father-Daughter Fallout: Taunts from other children about her father's "suicide mission" lead to a fight and a heartbreaking confrontation between Xiu'er and Li Shande. He finally breaks through her fear by sharing treasured memories of her late mother, Jinniang.
- A Spy Game Ignites: A Mi Ta's attempt to expose the Right Chancellor is put on hold by Lu Huan of the Department of City Security, who warns her the time isn't right. Meanwhile, the suspicious Zhao Xinmin catches Zheng Ping'an meeting with the undercover operative Yun Qing, placing their secret investigation in grave danger.
Full Recap
The episode opens with a glimpse into the casual corruption of the court. The Right Chancellor has his men intercept a tribute of exquisite blood swallow nests from the "Hu" (foreign) merchants of Lingnan, replacing them with a standard-quality shipment identical to the previous year's. His concern isn't for the quality of the tribute but for the blooming schedule of the imperial peonies. His guiding principle is clear: "seek no credit, but avoid all blame." This conservative, self-serving mindset establishes him as a formidable obstacle to any venture as risky as Li Shande's.
Meanwhile, Li Shande's financial desperation becomes acute. A Mi Ta intervenes on his behalf with his primary creditor, the sharp-tongued Seventeenth Lady. In a tense confrontation in Pingkang Fang, A Mi Ta lays out a compelling argument: if Li Shande succeeds in his litchi delivery, his gratitude will ensure he repays the debt; if he fails, he will have surely set aside funds to provide for his daughter, Xiu'er. Convinced, Seventeenth Lady agrees to pause the debt collection but demands a written guarantee from Li Shande, mockingly commenting on his "good fortune with women." The encounter leaves Li Shande furious, not at the creditor, but at A Mi Ta for putting his daughter's future on the line as a bargaining chip. The two part on bitter terms.
Later, carrying a peace offering of food, Li Shande finds A Mi Ta and apologizes, and the two reconcile. Seeing the deep bond between Li Shande and Xiu'er, A Mi Ta is moved to share a painful memory of her own: she once refused to accompany her father to Lingnan out of spite, a decision that haunts her as he later died there in a fire. As Li Shande offers quiet words of comfort, tears well in A Mi Ta's eyes.
The next day, Li Shande’s optimism is systematically crushed by the imperial bureaucracy. He first presents his detailed litchi transport plan to the Court of the Imperial Treasury. A supervisor praises the plan's brilliance before casually noting it falls under the jurisdiction of the Left Treasury Office. There, the official in charge gives him the runaround until an old acquaintance, Xu Leping, appears and feigns friendship, promising to personally deliver his documents to the Ministry of War. However, when Li Shande circles back, he overhears Xu Leping mocking him as a delusional fool to his colleagues. Enraged, Li Shande snatches the papers, tears them to shreds, and storms the Ministry of War himself, only to be violently thrown out by the guards.
The public humiliation of his mission begins to affect his family. At the embroidery workshop, his daughter Xiu'er gets into a physical fight with other children who taunt her, saying the "Litchi Envoy" won't live past the first day of the sixth month. When Li Shande arrives and declares he will succeed, Xiu'er, embarrassed and terrified, drags him away. Back home, she refuses to believe his reassurances. Desperate, Li Shande invokes the Emperor's decree as his guarantee and, for the first time, speaks at length about his beloved late wife, Jinniang, sharing sweet memories of their life together. His heartfelt stories finally break through Xiu'er's fear, and she collapses into his arms in tears, their bond restored.
In the episode's parallel storyline, the covert war against the Right Chancellor escalates. A Mi Ta takes a huge risk by delivering evidence of the Chancellor's crimes to Lu Huan at the Department of City Security. Lu Huan, however, urges caution, warning her that testimony alone is not enough to topple a man of the Chancellor's power; they must wait for his operative, Yun Qing, to gather irrefutable proof. At that very moment, the Chancellor's ruthless enforcer, Zhao Xinmin, tracks a lead to a bookstore where Yun Qing is working undercover. He arrives just in time to see Zheng Ping'an giving her a gift of a fan. Zheng Ping'an's clumsy lie that the fan is for himself does little to quell Zhao Xinmin's suspicion. His cold, calculating gaze locks onto them, signaling that this secret plot is on the verge of explosive discovery.
