Episode Summary
A royal decree is stolen, sending the young lord Jiang Wenhuan on a chaotic chase through the city. He accidentally gets a clever slave named Kunwu involved. After the thief destroys the decree and escapes, Jiang Wenhuan faces his angry older brother. The episode ends when Kunwu is kidnapped and brought before a sickly man who is his exact double.
Spoiler Alert
A Royal Mess
The King of Shangshan is on his last legs. He needs an elixir of life to keep his dynasty going. A diviner says the secret to this elixir is a "fated person." This person is one of the young lords from the various states. So, the king's advisors cook up a plan. They'll use the annual War God Festival as an excuse. It's a perfect way to gather all the young lords in one place.
Brotherly Love
We meet Jiang Wenhuan. He’s the son of the Marquis of Dongwu. He’s supposed to be receiving a royal decree. Instead, he’s hiding and watching his older brother, Jiang Wenfeng, lose his mind trying to find him. Wenhuan even mimics his brother's angry words perfectly. He clearly knows how to push his buttons. Wenfeng is the responsible one. He eventually gives up and goes to receive the decree himself.
The Decree Gets Snatched
Things go south fast. As Wenfeng kneels to accept the scroll, an assassin strikes. The messenger is attacked. The killer grabs the decree and vanishes into the crowd. Jiang Wenhuan sees the whole thing. He immediately runs after the thief. He gets wounded during the chase but doesn't stop. The thief escapes the city gates and tries to disappear into a group of his allies. But Wenhuan is sharp. He gets onto a rooftop and spots his target in the crowd below.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
The chase leads to a refugee camp. The thief pulls a fast one. He swaps clothes with another man to create a decoy. Wenhuan falls for it. He grabs the wrong guy, who turns out to be a runaway slave. He’s annoyed at his mistake. But his sharp eyes quickly find the real thief again. He takes him down in a few moves.
Just then, the slave's master shows up. He starts whipping the slave he just got back. The master is so angry he throws a valuable necklace into a fire. A nearby pot of boiling water starts to tip over. It's about to fall right on the slave. Wenhuan doesn't hesitate. He lunges forward and pulls the slave to safety. He feels bad about the mix-up. So, he buys the slave from the furious master.
The Chase Continues
The messenger wasn't killed, just badly injured. Wenfeng's men report that people saw Wenhuan chasing the thief. Wenfeng is not happy. He orders the city gates locked. He wants his brother and the thief found.
Wenhuan's rescue of the slave gave the real thief a chance to escape again. But the slave is clever. He points to a trail of sewage. He says the thief must have gone that way. Wenhuan is impressed. He thinks the money he spent on this slave was worth it.
The trail leads them right to the thief. But the thief just tears the royal decree to shreds in front of everyone. He then jumps on a horse to make a getaway. The slave acts fast. He cuts the thief off from the other side. He leaps onto the horse and starts fighting the thief directly. The thief is a better fighter, though. He gets away. But he drops a weird-looking bronze strip in the chaos.
Family Business
Wenhuan goes home with the slave. He plans to set him free. The slave says he wants to stay and serve him instead. Wenhuan's servant, Xiao Ding, runs up with bad news. Jiang Wenfeng is enraged. He knows about the destroyed decree and that Wenhuan bought a slave.
Wenhuan knows he's in for it. He tells the slave to leave and goes to face his brother. Wenfeng demands the decree. He doesn't know it's already been destroyed. Wenhuan says he thinks the whole War God Festival is suspicious. Wenfeng just sees his irresponsible little brother making trouble again. As the elder brother, he prepares to administer family punishment. Just as he's about to strike, their master, Gongsun Wuyu, shows up and stops him. This saves Wenhuan from a beating.
Later, we see Wenfeng delivering a birthday gift for someone named Shi'er. She has been in a coma for years. He hopes she will wake up soon. Gongsun Wuyu also brings a direct order from the Emperor. The War God Festival must proceed as planned.
The Doppelgänger
The next day, the slave finds the bronze strip the thief dropped. While looking for clues, he runs into his old master. The master starts insulting him again. The slave remembers what Wenhuan told him. "No one is born a slave." He finally fights back. He takes off his mask and says his name is Kunwu.
Kunwu gets chased by his old master's men. At the same time, Jiang Wenhuan is out looking for him. Kunwu sees Wenhuan and is about to call out. But someone knocks him unconscious from behind. He's thrown into a carriage and taken out of the city.
He wakes up in an unfamiliar room. A man wearing fine clothes is standing over him. This man looks exactly like Kunwu. The only difference is that this double is extremely sick and weak.
