Episode Summary
Fei Wendian returns home for his wedding to discover his fiancée, Ning Xiuxiu, has been kidnapped. While Xiuxiu manages to escape her captors with the help of others, her father refuses to sell his land for the ransom and instead forces his younger daughter, Ning Susu, to take her sister's place at the altar. Fei Wendian unknowingly marries Susu, a deception that his astute sister-in-law, Fei Zuoshi, uncovers in private after the ceremony.
Spoiler Alert
This Thriving Land Episode 2: The Wedding Switch
Fei Wendian arrives home in high spirits, ready to marry his beloved, Ning Xiuxiu, only to find a strangely empty house. His sister-in-law, Fei Zuoshi, tries to cover it up, but the truth is far more sinister: Xiuxiu has been kidnapped by bandits from Rooster Ridge.
The kidnapper, a bandit leader named Big Nose Du, demands a hefty ransom. However, Xiuxiu's father, Ning Xuexiang, is unwilling to sell his land to save her. This decision causes a rift in his family, as his wife and other daughter, Ning Susu, desperately plead with him. Meanwhile, Xiuxiu's brother, Ning Kejin, attempts a rescue but is easily defeated by a bandit named Hu San.
Upon learning the truth, a furious Fei Wendian grabs a knife, intending to rescue Xiuxiu himself, but is stopped by Fei Zuoshi, who convinces him to wait.
Inside the bandit camp, Xiuxiu hasn't given up. She tries to bribe a guard for water with her hairpin. Her situation becomes more perilous when a bandit named Lao Jiu drunkenly tries to assault her, but she is saved by another man, Second Brother Guo. He knocks Lao Jiu unconscious and helps Xiuxiu escape by giving her the bandit's clothes. At the same time, a man named Big Foot Feng, who had been scouting the camp, locates Xiuxiu and helps her flee down the mountain.
The situation in the camp grows more complicated with the arrival of Du Chunlin, an old friend of the bandit leader. He tries to persuade Big Nose Du to form a self-defense force. However, the reckless Hu San insults the guest. After Du Chunlin leaves, Hu San, acting on his own, ambushes and kills him and his men. Big Nose Du is enraged by the murder of his childhood friend and punishes Hu San by confining him to the mountain for a month. This punishment prevents Hu San from pursuing the now-escaped Ning Xiuxiu, much to his fury.
With the midnight deadline for the wedding approaching and Xiuxiu still missing, her father, Ning Xuexiang, makes a shocking decision. He sends his younger daughter, Ning Susu, to marry Fei Wendian in her sister's place.
Fei Zuoshi immediately realizes the deception when the bride arrives, but she plays along to avoid a public scene. The wedding proceeds, and Fei Wendian, unaware of the switch, marries the veiled Ning Susu. Later, in the bridal chamber, Fei Zuoshi sends her brother-in-law away to greet the guests. She confronts Ning Susu, who tearfully explains her father's plan: she is to be a temporary wife until Xiuxiu is rescued, at which point the sisters will be swapped back. Fei Zuoshi, seeing the difficult position Susu is in, allows her to stay.
