Episode Summary
The princes attend a banquet hosted by Zhongli Yuan, suspecting it's a trap. Their preparations are useless when it's revealed a "gifted" sachet has poisoned Xin Jia and Chongyi Biao. Zhongli Yuan unveils the hidden human-skin drum, using it to control the soldiers, including General Lin. After a chaotic battle, General Lin sacrifices himself to help most of the princes escape. Jiang Wenhuan is captured while covering their retreat and is subsequently tortured.
Spoiler Alert
The Banquet from Hell
A Failed Escape
The princes are going stir-crazy. They're stuck in the camp, and Chongyi Biao is watching them like a hawk. Nobody can get out. Xin Jia is especially bored and desperate for a trip into town. While he's dreaming of freedom, Jiang Yiyao is busy working. She grinds up a blood crystal stone into a fine powder. She's making an antidote that will keep their minds clear for what's coming tomorrow.
Xin Jia finally makes a break for it. He sneaks out of the camp, planning to hit up the red-light district and grab some food. But Chongyi Biao's warnings keep echoing in his head. He ends up just wandering around, bored. He then stumbles upon a man bullying a woman. His first instinct is to step in and fight, but he remembers Chongyi Biao's rule about not getting into brawls. So, he backs off. But the man gets even worse. Xin Jia can't just walk away. He comes back and challenges the guy to a bet. Xin Jia wins and uses the money to buy the woman's freedom. She's grateful and gives him a sachet that she says can ward off plagues.
Later that night, Xin Jia tries to sneak back into camp through a doggy door. He gets caught instantly by Chongyi Biao. Xin Jia swears he was just getting some fresh air and didn't do anything wrong. But Chongyi Biao smells a strange fragrance on him and immediately finds the sachet. He throws it away without a second thought.
The Trap Is Sprung
The next day, the princes head to the palace for a banquet. Jiang Yiyao gives each of them earplugs and the antidote she prepared. Zhongli Yuan is hosting. He acts friendly and proposes a toast. The princes secretly take the antidote before drinking. They already know he's up to no good.
Jiang Wenhuan calls him out. He says they've searched everywhere but can't find the human-skin drum. He suspects Zhongli Yuan isn't really trying to help them. At that point, Zhongli Yuan drops the charade. He signals his soldiers to rush in and attack.
But Jiang Wenhuan was a step ahead. General Lin and his own men appear, cutting off Zhongli Yuan's soldiers. General Lin announces that while he is loyal to the state of Zhongli, Zhongli Yuan has betrayed it. Seeing his plan fall apart, Zhongli Yuan panics. He tries to stall for time by promising to confess everything.
Suddenly, Chongyi Biao and Xin Jia collapse. It turns out the sachet from the woman was the real trap. It was all part of Zhongli Yuan's meticulous plan. He pulls back a curtain, revealing the human-skin drum hidden in plain sight. No wonder they could never find it.
All-Out Chaos
Zhongli Yuan begins to beat the drum wildly. The sound is agonizing, and everyone collapses in pain. Jiang Wenhuan tries to lead an escape, but they are completely surrounded by soldiers. Gongsun Wuyu attempts to send a distress signal, but Zhongli Yuan spots him and has him arrested.
Zhongli Yuan orders his men to kill all the princes. The drum's power even controls General Lin. He loses his mind and starts attacking Kunwu. Kunwu tries to talk sense into him, but it's useless. As a last resort, Kunwu pulls out the Kun family's bronze tablet. The sight of it makes General Lin freeze. He remembers his true mission. He and his loyal soldiers form a protective circle around Kunwu, Jiang Wenhuan, and the other survivors, fighting to give them a path to escape.
They barely make it out of the palace before they're cut off again by more of Zhongli Yuan's men. To save the others, Jiang Wenhuan stays behind to fight them off alone. He is captured. Later, Kunwu and the others find a safe place in the countryside. Kunwu solemnly buries the bronze tablet, a makeshift memorial for General Lin.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wenhuan is being brutally tortured. Zhongli Yuan plans to use him as bait to lure the other princes into a trap. But Jiang Wenhuan is tough. When Zhongli Yuan realizes torture won't break him, he threatens to use Gongsun Wuyu against him. Jiang Wenhuan just laughs. He finally understands. Zhongli Yuan doesn't just hate him for being from Shangshan. He hates him because Guxi cares for him.
