Episode Summary
A corrupt official, Wang Guodong, seizes Wen's Pharmacy's goods and demands Chu Shaohua become his concubine. Instead of running, Shaohua decides to fight back. She walks into his mansion, uncovers his criminal account books, and escapes by bluffing that she has poisoned him. She then forms an alliance with the powerful Mr. Lu to take Wang down, but the episode ends with Wang showing up at her new safehouse.
Spoiler Alert
A Corrupt Official Makes a Move
A Nasty Proposition
Things were going great for Wen's Pharmacy. They teamed up with Shouyuan Pharmacy, and their "Oriental Brain Tonic" is flying off the shelves. They even shot up to ninth place in the industry. Of course, someone had to get jealous. Tian Tongdao decided to ruin their success. He falsely reported them for selling opium. The police swooped in and confiscated a huge shipment of the tonic, worth twenty thousand silver dollars.
Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua go to see the police chief, Wang Guodong, to sort this out. They try to bribe him with gold bars. Wang Guodong takes the gold, but he wants more. He tells Chu Shaohua she has to become his eighth concubine.
Shaohua immediately refuses. She lies and says Wen Zhiqiu is her fiancé. This just makes Wang Guodong angry. He threatens to kill Zhiqiu. Zhiqiu fires back that he'd rather lose all the medicine than see her in that position. Seeing Zhiqiu in danger, Shaohua quickly backtracks. She tells the chief she will think about his offer. Wang Guodong keeps the gold and calls it an early wedding present.
The Ghost of Tang Yuelian
Their friend Kang Erniu hears what happened. She knows this is bad news. One of her own colleagues is Wang's sixth concubine and gets treated horribly. Erniu asks her friend Mu Ziru to try and talk some sense into the chief. It doesn't work. Wang is obsessed and says he won't marry anyone but Shaohua. He sends her a threatening letter. It says if she doesn't want to end up like Tang Yuelian, she'll marry him.
So who is Tang Yuelian? Kang Erniu tells Shaohua the story. Three years ago, she was a student Wang Guodong wanted. She refused him. So, he sent thugs to rape her, and she later killed herself.
Everyone wants Shaohua to run. Wen Zhiqiu and Xia Yuan plan to send her to the Northwest to hide. Mu Ziru gets a car ready to sneak her out of Shanghai. But Wang Guodong is a step ahead. He has police blocking the train stations and the docks.
Shaohua's Counterattack
Walking into the Lion's Den
Shaohua has had enough. She refuses to run. She tells her friends she has worked too hard to give up everything she's built in Shanghai. She also doesn't want to get them hurt. She decides she will face Wang Guodong herself. Her plan is to get the medicine back and destroy him completely. Her friends can't change her mind, so they agree to help.
Shaohua has Kang Erniu do her makeup. She puts on her most beautiful dress. Wen Zhiqiu and Xia Yuan drive her to Wang's mansion, with backup waiting nearby.
She walks in alone. A servant tries to search her, but she acts offended and pretends she's leaving. Wang rushes over and tells the servant not to search her. She hands her coat to the servant and follows him upstairs for dinner.
The Ultimate Bluff
Wang Guodong tries to impress her with trays of gold and jewels. She isn't interested. She tells him if he wants to marry her, he needs to offer up his entire fortune.
He takes her to a secret room filled with treasures. Shaohua spots a box of account books. He tells her not to look, but she insists on seeing all of his assets. He finally gives her the books. She reads through them and sees everything. They are the records of his opium smuggling operations with the Jufeng Company.
She promises him she can make him even more money. He is ecstatic and ready to plan the wedding. But then she gives him her terms. She must be his only, legal wife. He has to get rid of all his other concubines. He refuses.
As she turns to leave, he tries to stop her. That's when she drops the bomb. She tells him she poisoned his wine. He has thirty minutes to get the antidote from her, or he will die. He panics and calls his men to search her, but she tells them she doesn't have it on her. With the clock ticking, he has no choice but to let her walk out. Just as a frantic Wen Zhiqiu is about to storm the mansion, Shaohua walks out unharmed. He grabs her in a tight hug. Later, with only minutes to spare, she sends a messenger with the "antidote". It's just a hawthorn fruit. The poison was a total bluff.
The Aftermath
A New Alliance and a New Home
The bluff worked, but Shaohua knows she needs a real plan to take Wang down for good. She and Xia Yuan go to see a man named Mr. Lu for help. Mr. Lu recognizes Shaohua right away. She's the one who helped him turn the tables and win big at a casino. He tells her he already knows Wang has been using opium money to buy weapons. He agrees to help her, but there's a condition. Shaohua must stay close to Wang and wait for the perfect moment to bring him down. She agrees to the plan.
Worried for her safety, Wen Zhiqiu insists she move into his house in the concession area. It's a place where Wang Guodong wouldn't dare cause trouble. Zhiqiu realizes he is developing feelings for Shaohua, but she just laughs it off.
An Unwelcome Visitor
Wen Zhiqiu cooks a large meal to welcome her to his home. She praises his cooking and tells him she hopes he finds a good woman soon. He tries to get her to open up about her past, but she avoids the topic and goes to her room.
Their quiet evening is interrupted. Wang Guodong shows up at the house, demanding to see Shaohua. Wen Zhiqiu grabs a pistol he keeps hidden under a table. Shaohua tells him to stay out of it, but he refuses. She has to physically push him out of the room while Wang's men stand guard. When Zhiqiu goes downstairs, pretending to buy cigarettes, Wang's men follow him closely.
