Episode Summary
After being pulled off a cliff by Yang Wanqing, Jiang Taohua is presumed dead. A grief-stricken Shen Zaiye uncovers the truth: Jiang Taohua was a low-status "dead soldier" from Beiyuan, coerced into her actions because her brother was held hostage.
Spoiler Alert
The Princess's Gambit: Episode 19 Spoilers
The episode opens on a knife's edge as Shen Zaiye's sword halts a carriage in its tracks. Inside, Jiang Taohua shields Mu Wuxia, but they are forced out. Shen Zaiye arrives with his men and exposes the captor, Yang Wanqing. He notices that Yang Wanqing has bound her own hand to Jiang Taohua's. Feigning indifference to Jiang Taohua's fate, Shen Zaiye draws his bow and fires a precise two-fingered shot, severing the rope between them.
For a fleeting moment, Jiang Taohua smiles at him, believing she is saved. But as Yang Wanqing falls from the cliff, she uses her last ounce of strength to drag Jiang Taohua down with her into the abyss. Shen Zaiye sprints forward, his fingers brushing against hers for a split second before she disappears. Devastated, he orders his men to find the bodies of the two "spies" from Beiyuan, demanding they be found dead or alive, all while failing to hold back his tears.
Qingtai, loyal to Jiang Taohua, refuses to return with Shen Zaiye, vowing to go back to Beiyuan and rally forces for revenge. Shen Zaiye doesn't stop her. Publicly, he reports that two spies attempting to assassinate Mu Wuxia have fallen to their deaths. He then rounds up everyone from the Lanyi Pavilion, subjecting them to harsh interrogation. He discovers one of them bears a peach blossom mark identical to Jiang Taohua's, suspecting it's related to a poison. Recalling faint bloodstains on Jiang Taohua's clothes, he theorizes the poison had reached a critical stage. He bluffs, claiming to have found the antidote in Yang Wanqing's room. The ruse works; they confess everything. They are all "dead soldiers" from Beiyuan, and they reveal a shocking truth: far from being a cherished princess, Jiang Taohua's status in Beiyuan was lower than the most menial servant. This is later confirmed by Shen Zaiye's own spies.
More truths come to light. A frantic Mu Wuxia tells Shen Zaiye that he overheard Jiang Taohua's plan—she was trying to save him, and he angrily blames Shen Zaiye's stubbornness for her death. A letter discovered in Jiang Taohua's room confirms she has a younger brother, Jiang Changjue, who is being held hostage in Beiyuan, explaining her actions.
Overwhelmed by grief, Shen Zaiye retreats to Jiang Taohua's room, reminiscing about their time together. As he drinks alone in the courtyard, he hallucinates her sitting beside him, and tears stream down his face. His subordinate, Zhan Lu, reports that Jiang Taohua's protective amulet was found at the base of the cliff. Clutching the amulet, Shen Zaiye leads a desperate search himself, but finds no trace of her.
Meanwhile, Xiang Qingying and Mu Wuxia pray for Jiang Taohua's safe return at a temple. They are disturbed by a commotion outside and find the scholar Li Jiaohan being ridiculed. Mu Wuxia and Xiang Qingying intervene, defending him as their friend.
Shen Zaiye faces the King of Qi, who senses his subordinate's distress. In a silent act of penance, Shen Zaiye kneels and accepts a brutal caning from the palace guards. The King is impatient for a resolution regarding the princess, as her disappearance could spark a war with Beiyuan before their delegation arrives. Shen Zaiye learns that Empress Lü Yuanhua of Beiyuan intends to send a delegation to rebuild the Lanyi Pavilion. In a strategic move, he drafts a specific list of individuals he wants included in the delegation, forcing her hand. The Empress and her advisor, Qian Mochen, decide to play along while secretly adding their own agents to the group.
Convinced that Jiang Taohua might have survived, Shen Zaiye meticulously searches the city's medical records for any clue of a patient with her injuries. After a fruitless night, a detail catches his eye the next morning: a doctor from the Lin's Clinic has been making daily visits to Mu Wuyin's residence ever since the day of the cliff incident. Suspecting Jiang Taohua is hidden there, he rushes to the clinic, only to be told the doctor is already at Mu Wuyin's.
The final scene reveals the truth: Jiang Taohua is alive. She awakens to find Qingtai by her side. Qingtai explains that she found her unconscious by a river. However, Jiang Taohua has no memory of the fall or the events leading up to it; she believes she is still on the road for her arranged marriage.
