Episode Summary
A multi-layered plan involving a diversion, an ambush, and a fake message allows Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua to rescue Qian Mochen from the sand cave. The confrontation culminates in a fiery showdown where both the villain, Lu Yuanhua, and the self-sacrificing Qian Mochen are killed. With only a partial antidote available for a deadly poison, Shen Zaiye saves Jiang Taohua at the cost of falling into a coma. After a long period of waiting and nurturing a new antidote plant, Jiang Taohua is finally reunited with a recovered Shen Zaiye.
Spoiler Alert
The Princess's Gambit: A Final, Fiery Confrontation
The plan to rescue Qian Mochen unfolds with a clever diversion. Zhan Lu and Qingtai, disguised as guards, create a disturbance outside the sky prison. Inside, Lu Yuanhua hears the commotion and orders Cui Wei to lead a force to capture them, hoping to lure out Shen Zaiye. However, this is exactly what Shen Zaiye anticipated. As Cui Wei rushes out, Zhan Lu shouts that their goal is to buy time for Shen Zaiye, a piece of misdirection that makes Lu Yuanhua realize his true target must be the sand cave where Qian Mochen is actually held. He immediately dispatches Cui Wei to the cave, sending him straight into a trap.
Hidden nearby, Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua watch Cui Wei leave the main force and follow him to the sand cave. There, they intercept an enemy carrier pigeon and use it to send a false message to Lu Yuanhua, requesting reinforcements to the cave. This message is designed to draw Lu Yuanhua's main army into an ambush prepared by Jiang Changjue.
Inside the cave, Jiang Taohua finds Qian Mochen. He is at peace and ready to die, believing he has fulfilled his duty to the late empress. He refuses to leave, but Jiang Taohua is adamant. As she struggles with his lock, he reluctantly tells her how to open it. Meanwhile, Shen Zaiye engages Cui Wei's men, but the "Jiangtao Dan" poison in his system suddenly acts up, causing him to vomit blood. Despite the immense pain, he fights desperately to buy Jiang Taohua more time.
The ambush is sprung. Qingtai and Jiang Changjue attack Lu Yuanhua's approaching army with crossbows. To save himself, the ruthless Lu Yuanhua uses his own soldiers as human shields while attempting to retreat.
Just as Jiang Taohua finally opens the lock, Shen Zaiye cuts down Cui Wei. In the chaos of the main battle, Jiang Changjue confronts Lu Yuanhua, knocking off his mask and demanding the antidote for the poison. Lu Yuanhua refuses, declaring he would rather die than give it up, as long as he can take Jiang Taohua with him.
Lu Yuanhua escapes through a secret passage back into the sand cave, where he finds Jiang Taohua helping the weakened Qian Mochen. He orders his guard to kill her, but Shen Zaiye arrives just in time to save her. Lu Yuanhua retreats deeper into the cave. When they confront him again, he scoffs at their bond, proclaiming that power is the only thing that matters to him and that he will become the master of the world. Shen Zaiye's retort that Lu Yuanhua's rule has brought only suffering to the people of Beiyuan enrages him.
In a final act of cruelty, Lu Yuanhua sets fire to the "Yinghuo," the rare plant needed for the antidote, and traps Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua in a cage. Qian Mochen rushes forward to pull the mechanism to free them. As they escape, Lu Yuanhua fatally stabs Qian Mochen. With his last breath, Qian Mochen uses a rope to strangle Lu Yuanhua, killing them both. Amid the flames, Shen Zaiye manages to rescue a single Yinghuo plant.
Three days later, Jiang Taohua awakens. The single plant is not enough to create a full dose of the antidote for both of them. Shen Zaiye makes a choice: he gives the larger, curative dose to Jiang Taohua and takes the smaller one himself. While she is fully cured of the "Jiangtao Dan" poison, he falls into a deep coma, his body ravaged by the toxins he has endured.
Grief-stricken, Jiang Taohua watches over him. Zhan Lu brings her a Yinghuo flower seed, a final instruction from Shen Zaiye before he lost consciousness. She tearfully plants the seed in the sand cave, carefully following Meiling's instructions. She spends her days by Shen Zaiye's side and her nights tending to the precious plant, which eventually sprouts and, under the nourishing moonlight, blooms.
Even after taking the new antidote made from the flower, Shen Zaiye does not wake. Meiling explains that his body has been through too much, and it's unknown when, or if, he will recover. Jiang Taohua vows to wait for him, no matter how long it takes.
One day, while standing under a peach tree, she reminisces about telling Shen Zaiye of her dream to see the peach blossoms in her homeland of Beiyuan again. As she reaches for a flower, a hand gently pulls the branch down for her. She turns to see Shen Zaiye, awake and standing behind her. Overcome with joy, she falls into his embrace.
