Episode Summary
Li Song'er, a princess struggling with her fragrance business, is mysteriously transported into the world of a martial arts novel after using a powerful incense to fend off assassins. In this new reality, she is mistaken for Chu Meng Die, the fiancée of a fugitive named Nan Chui Meng, by the formidable palace master, Gu Yuan. To save her own life, she lies about knowing Nan Chui Meng's whereabouts and must navigate a series of chaotic and dangerous situations while pretending to be someone she's not.
Spoiler Alert
To Get Master Episode 1 Recap: A Storybook Nightmare
A quick rundown of the premiere: Li Song'er, a princess with a failing business and a mother desperate to marry her off, finds her life turned upside down when she's pulled into the world of a martial arts novel. Mistaken for the fiancée of a wanted man, she must use her wits to survive the dangerous and powerful Gu Yuan, the story's cold-hearted antagonist.
The Full Recap
Our story begins with Li Song'er, the beautiful daughter of the Grand Princess. Her father left when she was young, leaving her with a mother whose own unhappy marriage has made her incredibly strict about finding Song'er a husband. Rejecting suitor after suitor, Song'er tries to find independence by opening the finest fragrance pavilion in the city, Ningxiang Fang, but business is a bust.
One day, her life takes a bizarre turn when a mysterious old man gives her a martial arts novel titled The One and Only. She thinks little of it until her handmaiden reads it aloud and she hears a shocking detail: in the book, her beloved Ningxiang Fang is depicted as a notorious brothel. Her anger is cut short when assassins break into her chambers that night. In a panic, Li Song'er uses a powerful knockout incense for self-defense, but its strength is overwhelming, and everyone in the room—including herself—collapses.
When Li Song'er awakens, she's no longer in her room. She's in the Sun Moon Palace, a location straight from the pages of the book she was just reading. She has fallen directly into the middle of a fight scene where the palace's formidable master, Gu Yuan, is effortlessly defeating his rivals. Amidst the chaos, a minor martial artist named Nan Chui Meng tries to slip away, but Gu Yuan is hot on his trail. Li Song'er's sudden, literal drop from the sky distracts Gu Yuan just long enough for Nan Chui Meng to escape.
Gu Yuan catches Li Song'er and his eyes lock onto the tri-color bracelet on her wrist—the signature accessory of Chu Meng Die, who happens to be Nan Chui Meng's fiancée. Mistaking her for Chu Meng Die, and believing she can lead him to his enemy, Gu Yuan coldly orders his men to bury her alive. Trapped and terrified, but realizing she's living out the book's plot, Li Song'er makes a desperate gamble: she lies and claims she knows exactly where to find Nan Chui Meng.
The lie saves her skin. Gu Yuan decides to let her "escape" so he can secretly follow her to his target. He sets up an obvious opportunity, but Li Song'er's escape is anything but graceful. She clumsily scrambles onto a roof and promptly falls right into Gu Yuan's personal bathtub. Annoyed, Gu Yuan practically has to point her to the exit, sending his guards to tail her from a distance.
Free for the moment, Li Song'er is quickly spotted by the women from the local Ningxiang Fang—the brothel from the book. They recognize her bracelet and welcome "Chu Meng Die" with open arms. Playing along, Li Song'er claims she's there to find a suitable concubine for her "husband," a perfect excuse to get some free food and a place to stay. Her plan hits a snag when, after her meal, she's stopped from leaving and pressured to perform her legendary martial arts skills for the crowd. To make matters worse, the real Nan Chui Meng is in the audience, curious to finally see the woman he was betrothed to at birth.
With no martial arts skills whatsoever, Li Song'er gets on stage and flails around aimlessly. Just as she's about to be exposed as a fraud, she spots Gu Yuan in the crowd. In a stroke of genius, she points directly at him, accusing him of causing trouble. The accusation throws the entire room into chaos, creating the perfect diversion for her to slip away, leaving a web of confusion and setting the stage for an even more complicated future. How long can she possibly keep up the act?
