Episode Summary
In Episode 4, court entertainer Zheng Ping'an is hired by the Left Chancellor, where he feigns drunkenness to observe the court's inner workings. Meanwhile, Li Shande's mission to transport lychees is deliberately obstructed by local official He Youguang, who suspects Li is a spy. Zheng attempts to help Li but becomes entangled in the local political power struggle. In a tense meeting, the cunning He Youguang demands that Zheng murder Li Shande in exchange for his political allegiance. Faced with this deadly ultimatum and unable to secure aid, Zheng convinces the defeated Li Shande to abandon his mission and leave Lingnan for his own safety.
Spoiler Alert
The Litchi Road: Episode 4 Recap & Spoilers
The episode opens by introducing Zheng Ping'an, a man of noble lineage from the once-great Zheng Clan of Xingyang. After his family fell from grace by offending the powerful Right Chancellor, he was cast out. Now, Zheng Ping'an has carved out a new life in the capital as a charismatic court entertainer, a master of song, dance, and witty conversation. His charm has won him friends in every corner of society, from the city's underbelly to the highest echelons of government.
His talents are on full display at a lavish banquet hosted by the Left Chancellor. Hired for the evening's entertainment, Zheng Ping'an effortlessly navigates the complex social currents of the gathering. The Left Chancellor introduces him to Lu Huan, the Vice-Director of the Department of City Security, before Zheng launches into a captivating performance of a Hu Xuan dance, a vigorous and joyful dance characterized by its distinct spinning movements.The Chancellor, thoroughly impressed, rewards him with fine wine, and Zheng, feigning drunkenness, soon collapses, seemingly unconscious.
Meanwhile, the central plot thread tightens around Li Shande, the unfortunate official tasked with an impossible mission: transporting fresh lychees from the southern region of Lingnan to the capital.The local bureaucracy, however, proves to be a formidable obstacle. Zhao Xinmin, the chief secretary to the Lingnan Prefect He Youguang, reports that the Emperor's men are in the area for the lychee shipment. He speculates to his superior that Li Shande must be on a mission to enrich himself, otherwise, no sane man would accept such a suicidal task. When Li Shande arrives at the prefect's office seeking assistance with the lychee procurement, Zhao Xinmin coolly informs him that Prefect He is away raising funds. Instead of help, Li is handed a worthless authorization slip and a grand, mocking title placard for the "Lychee Supervisor," leaving him to fend for himself.
Returning to his quarters, a frustrated Li Shande is greeted by Zheng Ping'an and a sumptuous meal. Zheng is all smiles and flattery, but he has an agenda. He needs Li Shande to corroborate a story: that he is a man named Ma Guiyun and, more importantly, that he knows nothing about the death of a man named Pan Bao. Li Shande, his patience worn thin, demands to know the real identity of this "Ma Guiyun." Zheng ominously warns that knowing the truth could get Li killed within hours, a threat that only piques Li's curiosity further. After some back and forth, and an appeal to their shared connection through Li's daughter, Xiu'er, Li agrees to vouch for him without pressing for more details.
The political games in Lingnan intensify. Prefect He Youguang and his secretary Zhao Xinmin are walking a tightrope between the rival Left and Right Chancellors. When they receive an inquiry about Ma Guiyun's identity, they grow more suspicious. He Youguang is tempted to immediately pledge his loyalty to one faction to gain a "military fish tally"—a powerful symbol of military authority used in the Tang Dynasty for authenticating orders—but Zhao Xinmin urges caution, reminding him that the circumstances of Pan Bao's death remain unclear.Just then, an invitation arrives from Zheng Ping'an, who announces his intention to leave Lingnan the next day and invites Zhao Xinmin for a farewell drink. Seeing an opportunity, He Youguang dispatches his secretary to the dinner, ordering him to convince Zheng to stay.
At the dinner, Zheng Ping'an plies Zhao Xinmin with alcohol, who feigns drunkenness while secretly observing every word and gesture exchanged between Zheng and Li Shande. Fueled by wine, Li Shande laments his fate, explaining the bitter reality of his mission: the lychees will spoil in three days, making the journey to the capital impossible. He has already accepted that he is a dead man. In his drunken state, he also lets slip a crucial piece of information: men working for the Right Chancellor were responsible for destroying one of the Emperor's prized peony trees. Pan Bao, who drowned after a bout of drinking on the same day, became a convenient loose end. The Right Chancellor, not wanting to draw attention to the peony incident, suppressed the details of both events. Zheng Ping'an pointedly tells Zhao Xinmin to consider the implications of Li's words. He then reiterates his plan to leave, but Zhao, now armed with new intelligence, convinces him to stay one more day by promising that Prefect He will return tomorrow.
Under the cover of a torrential downpour, Zheng Ping'an goes to meet Prefect He Youguang directly. He lays on the charm, hoping to finalize his own mysterious deal. But He Youguang, far from the fool he sometimes appears, reveals his cunning. He declares that he is being targeted by the Left Chancellor and accuses Li Shande of being the Chancellor's spy, sent to frame him for Pan Bao's murder. Using Li's drunken words from the previous night as "proof," He Youguang makes a shocking proposal: he will write the letter of allegiance and hand over the military fish tally if Zheng Ping'an murders Li Shande.Zheng, wary that the Left Chancellor may have other agents in play, counters by offering to simply persuade Li Shande to leave Lingnan, a proposal He Youguang accepts.
Zheng Ping'an leaves the meeting in a cold sweat, shaken by the prefect's sharp and ruthless mind. He finds Li Shande and admits that his plan to secure funding from the prefect has failed. He confesses that He Youguang is not going to help and desperately pleads with Li to leave Lingnan immediately to save his own life.
Defeated, Li Shande finally packs his belongings. Before his departure, he sits down to write a letter to his daughter, Xiu'er, putting on a brave face and falsely assuring her that he is being treated well in Lingnan—a familiar pattern of shielding her from his hardships.
