Episode Summary
After being rescued from an assassin by Shen Zaiye, Jiang Taohua returns to Mu Wuyin's residence to continue her investigation, hiding her identity. Mu Wuyin reveals he is the master of the Lanyi Pavilion and gives her an antidote, securing her as a pawn. Jiang Taohua later discovers Mu Wuyin and Lord Yuanhua torturing her maid, Qingtai. In a desperate rescue attempt, she and Qingtai are nearly killed but are saved by Shen Zaiye's men. The near-death experience causes Jiang Taohua to regain her lost memories of Shen Zaiye, but she conceals this to return to Mu Wuyin's side. Meanwhile, Shen Zaiye uncovers a case of plagiarism involving Meng Huairui and the murder of a talented scholar, Li Jiaohan. He uses the scholar's death to publicly ignite a movement demanding the reinstatement of the imperial examinations to challenge the corrupt hereditary system.
Spoiler Alert
The Princess's Gambit: Episode 23 Spoiler
With trembling hands, Shen Zaiye lifts the worn-out mat, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees the body isn't Jiang Taohua's. At that moment, Jiang Taohua awakens elsewhere, spotting a figure in black nearby. Her attempt to flee is quickly noticed. She tries to reason with the attacker, but he is relentless. Just as he is about to strike, a sword flies through the air—Shen Zaiye has arrived to save her. The masked man quickly escapes.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Shen Zaiye rushes to Jiang Taohua and holds her tightly, as if she might vanish if he lets go. He is simply grateful that she is alive. However, a flash of memory—a past intimate night with Shen Zaiye—causes Jiang Taohua to abruptly push him away.
The masked man, an assassin sent by Meng Zhenzhen, reports back that Shen Zaiye rescued Jiang Taohua without hesitation, confirming she is alive. This leaves Meng Zhenzhen wondering why Jiang Taohua has been staying at Mu Wuyin's residence. Despite her gratitude, Jiang Taohua knows she must return to Mu Wuyin's estate to investigate the connection between him and Lord Yuanhua. Seeing that her poison is taking effect, Shen Zaiye has no choice but to let her go, secretly vowing to find the antidote and a way to rescue her brother, Jiang Changjue, to free her from being controlled.
Back at the residence, the poison flares up. Mu Wuyin visits, claiming to have brought a doctor. Jiang Taohua cleverly plays along, pleading with him to keep the secret that she survived and stressing her devotion to her brother, for whom she would sacrifice anything. Realizing he can still control her, Mu Wuyin gives her the antidote. He then reveals his true identity: he is the master behind the Lanyi Pavilion and intends to rebuild it, a task for which she will be useful.
Meanwhile, Shen Zaiye learns that the elite assassins he dispatched were ambushed by Lord Yuanhua's men during their retreat. To protect their identities, they all committed suicide. Shen Zaiye orders that their families be compensated and decides to stay away from Jiang Taohua to avoid bringing her more trouble.
Worried about her maid, Qingtai, whom she hasn't seen, Jiang Taohua recalls a servant mentioning a second courtyard owned by Mu Wuyin. Under the guise of going out to pray for blessings, she gets permission to leave the estate. She then uses the excuse of buying new clothes to slip away from her trackers by jumping out of a window while trying on outfits. Anticipating that her trackers will report to Mu Wuyin, she follows one of them and discovers the secret courtyard. There, she witnesses a horrifying scene: Lord Yuanhua and Mu Wuyin are together, brutally punishing Qingtai.
Heartbroken, Jiang Taohua sets a fire in the woodshed to create a diversion. Fearful of being exposed, Lord Yuanhua and Mu Wuyin flee, but not before ordering Qingtai to be killed. A guard stabs Qingtai and throws her into a lotus pond. Jiang Taohua watches in horror before diving in to save her maid, only to faint from exhaustion in the water. Fortunately, Shen Zaiye had sent men to watch over her; they arrive just in time to rescue both Jiang Taohua and Qingtai, taking them back to Shen Zaiye's residence.
As Shen Zaiye performs emergency resuscitation, pressing on her chest and breathing air into her lungs, the action triggers a flood of memories. Suddenly, Jiang Taohua remembers everything about her past with Shen Zaiye. When she awakens, her first concern is for Qingtai. Nearby, Shen Zaiye's aide, Zhan Lu, is also fraught with anxiety, begging the doctor to save Qingtai.
To continue her investigation, Jiang Taohua knows she must return to Mu Wuyin's side. She hides the fact that her memory has returned, fearing Shen Zaiye would never let her leave if he knew. It is her only chance to get close to Mu Wuyin again. Shen Zaiye watches her depart, his heart filled with helplessness and sorrow.
The next day, Shen Zaiye and Mu Wuxia are summoned before the King of Qi to review a policy proposal by Meng Huairui. Both men immediately recognize it as a plagiarized work, nearly identical to one written by a commoner scholar named Li Jiaohan. Instead of exposing him outright, Shen Zaiye points out its flaws and suggests Meng Huairui revise it before receiving any reward, a suggestion the King of Qi accepts.
Meng Huairui later meets with Meng Zhenzhen, who furiously confronts him about the plagiarism. She demands he clean up the mess, warning that if the truth comes out, the Meng family will not spare him. She forces him to promise to obey her every command from now on.
Shen Zaiye and Zhan Lu go to visit Li Jiaohan, only to find him hanging in his room. Upon inspection, Shen Zaiye discovers it was not a suicide but a murder. The tragic death of such a talented scholar reminds Shen Zaiye of his own father, Xie Guanyu, who had passionately petitioned the King of Qi to reinstate the imperial examinations to give commoners a path to serve the country, a reform that was blocked by Meng Zhongyan. Inspired by his father's memory, Shen Zaiye vows to use Li Jiaohan's death to force the revival of the examinations.
The following day, Li Jiaohan's body is found hanging from a memorial archway in the street, his policy proposal attached. The public display turns him into a martyr. Believing he died to protest the injustice, scholars and commoners rally together, their impassioned cries demanding an end to the hereditary system and the return of the imperial examinations. Watching from the crowd, Shen Zaiye looks at the body, hoping Li Jiaohan's spirit can see that his death has paved the way for a new future for all scholars.
