Episode Summary
Chu Shaohua goes to court against Xia Yuan and wins when Gao Qianyi exposes Xia Yuan's forged contract. Gao Qianyi then reveals that Xia Yuan was behind her family's downfall years ago. Following an assassination attempt that injures Kang Erniu, Shaohua decides to go into hiding. She entrusts the secret Wanlingdan formula to Kang Erniu, who is then revealed to be a secret agent working for Xia Yuan all along.
Spoiler Alert
The Truth Comes Out in Court
The Hunt for the Real Contract
Chu Shaohua knows Gao Qianyi is a decent man. He isn't a profit-hungry shark like Xia Yuan. She goes to him, trying to understand why her mother would have sold the secret formula years ago. Gao Qianyi is clearly conflicted and can't say much. He just tells her to find Xia Yuan.
So, Shaohua heads back to her hometown in Qizhou. She asks her brother, Chu Shaozhong, what he remembers about the sale of their family business, Chichun Tang. He recalls the exact amount. Their mother sold the shop's sign for 160 silver dollars. That's not the 180 Xia Yuan claimed. More importantly, Shaozhong is certain their mother never sold the formula for the Wanlingdan pills.
They search the house for the original sales contract but can't find it. There were three copies made. The third copy was held by the middleman, a man named Lei Yuting.
Shaohua and her brother go to the middleman's old office. They learn Lei Yuting passed away a while ago. The gatekeeper lets them into a room full of old documents. He casually mentions that someone else was there recently, looking for something. Shaohua doesn't think much of it at the time. They dig through the files and finally find the contract. It's the proof she needs. Shaozhong agrees to return to Shanghai with her and testify.
Gao Qianyi Saves the Day
The trial begins. Shaohua presents the contract she found in Qizhou. It should prove that Xia Yuan's version is a forgery. But Xia Yuan is slick. He immediately claims the signatures on her contract are fakes. His lawyer demands the court verify the signatures and fingerprints right then and there.
That's when it hits Shaohua. She remembers what the gatekeeper said. She realizes she walked right into a trap. Xia Yuan must have gone to Qizhou first, found the real contract, and replaced it with a forgery for her to find.
Xia Yuan's lawyer is smug. He thinks he has the case won. But then, Gao Qianyi stands up in the courtroom. He confesses everything. He tells the court that Xia Yuan stole the original contract. Then, Xia Yuan forced him to sign the fake one that Shaohua found.
Xia Yuan's Past Sins Are Exposed
The Full Story of Chichun Tang's Downfall
With the trial over, Shaohua wins. She thanks Gao Qianyi for finally doing the right thing. He doesn't stop there. He unloads years of secrets about Xia Yuan's schemes.
Gao Qianyi reveals that Xia Yuan had always wanted to own Chichun Tang. He intentionally started a conflict between the Qizhou Gang and the Guandong Gang. He did this by swapping the Guandong Gang's real astragalus with a fake batch. Then, he arranged for someone to sell the real, stolen astragalus to Chu Shaozhong.
Shaohua's brother took out a massive loan to buy the herbs. Once he had them, Xia Yuan bribed a member of the Guandong Gang to have Shaozhong arrested for possessing the stolen goods. With her family in crisis, Xia Yuan swooped in and bought the Chichun Tang sign for cheap. Shaohua is floored. She had no idea Xia Yuan was the architect of her family's ruin.
Gao Qianyi says he is leaving town. He can't work with Xia Yuan anymore, especially now that Xia Yuan is in business with a Japanese man named Komura Moriichi.
New Dangers and a Shocking Attack
An Attempt on Shaohua's Life
Komura Moriichi believes a war between Japan and China is inevitable. He orders Xia Yuan to get the Wanlingdan formula before the conflict begins.
At the same time, Ma Juncai has his men tailing Shaohua. She's sharp and notices them following her. One evening, she's out eating wontons with Kang Erniu. Wen Zhiqiu is also at the restaurant, but he leaves quietly when he sees them.
As Kang Erniu gets up to grab some cilantro, she sees a man get out of a car. He's pointing a gun directly at Shaohua. Without thinking, Erniu lunges for the man and tries to grab the gun. In the struggle, she is shot.
Shaohua rushes a bleeding Kang Erniu to the hospital. After a tense wait, the doctors announce that Erniu will survive. Wen Zhiqiu hears about the attack and hurries to the hospital to check on them.
Ma Juncai is furious with his men. He only wanted them to intimidate Shaohua, not shoot anyone. He calls Shaohua, pretending to be concerned about Erniu's condition. He warns her to be careful. Shaohua immediately guesses he was behind the attack. He then tries to pitch her on a business partnership, but she hangs up on him.
The Ultimate Betrayal
Kang Erniu's True Allegiance
Things get even messier. Xia Yuan sends his wife, Xu Shufen, to the hospital to cause a public fight with Kang Erniu, forcing Erniu to leave. Immediately after, Xia Yuan demands a divorce from his wife. Having seen his true, cruel nature, she signs the papers and leaves with their child.
Kang Erniu is recovering well and is about to be discharged. Shaohua, feeling threatened from all sides, decides she needs to go into hiding. She entrusts the secret formula for Wanlingdan to Kang Erniu. She tells Erniu to only open the envelope after she is dead.
The moment Kang Erniu has the formula, she makes a phone call. She calls Xia Yuan.
It was all an act. The public fights, the divorce, all of it was a carefully constructed plan. Xia Yuan and Kang Erniu were never enemies. She has been his spy the entire time, working her way into Shaohua's inner circle. The episode ends as Xia Yuan arrives at the hospital to pick up his loyal mole.
