Episode Summary
The Mid-Autumn Festival creates tension as Lin Yan avoids the Grand Princess and obsesses over a stalled case. A Shen family dinner implodes when Shen Jianshe and Li Fengxia have a bitter fight about their marriage. Afterward, Shen Shaoguang and Lin Yan share a vulnerable moment, confessing their deepest insecurities to each other, which leads to a surprise kiss. The next morning, a guilt-ridden Shaoguang is relieved when Lin Yan pretends to have forgotten the kiss, but she then develops a fever, which she sees as punishment.
Spoiler Alert
An Awkward Holiday
It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival. This should be a happy time. But for our main characters, it’s mostly just complicated.
Lin Yan's Work Woes
The Grand Princess keeps trying to get Lin Yan to hang out. She invites him over for drinks and moon-gazing. He turns her down. This is the third time he has rejected her. His subordinate, Cheng Hu, jokes with him about it. He asks what kind of woman Lin Yan is even looking for.
Later, Li Fengxia brings mooncakes to the government office for everyone. Each cake has a little paper fortune inside. Lin Yan gets one that says he will "find a good wife." He quietly tucks it into his sleeve. He’s clearly thinking about it.
He’s not in a festive mood for another reason. It has been two months since he took over the Jingzhao Prefecture. The Cui family murder case is completely stalled. He has no new leads. The lack of progress is eating him up. He sends his assistant, Liu Chang, home for the night. He stays late, poring over the case files alone. He gets a little lost in thought. He remembers celebrating the festival with his own family when he was a kid.
A Family Dinner Goes Wrong
The Shen family knows Lin Yan is working through dinner. So they just bring the entire meal to his office. It’s a nice gesture. But during the meal, Lin Yan gets quiet again. He’s thinking about his parents. Shen Shaoguang notices his sad expression and asks if he’s okay. Liu Chang quickly jumps in and changes the subject.
Then Shen Jianshe starts talking. He gets all sentimental about the past. He remembers when the family had no money. He praises Li Fengxia for never complaining. He says she managed the household perfectly. Now that they have money, he buys her lots of jewelry. He seems to think their marriage is better than ever.
Li Fengxia does not agree. At all. She tells him he only cared that she was frugal. He never respected her as a person. And now that he has money, he’s become arrogant and unbearable. The argument gets heated. They both say some harsh things. The dinner ends with them storming off in opposite directions.
A Backyard Confession (And a Kiss!)
After that disaster of a dinner, things get interesting. Shen Shaoguang and Lin Yan go for a walk in the backyard to get some air.
Trading Secrets
They find a large decorative screen and sit down. They are on opposite sides, so they can’t see each other. Shaoguang starts venting. She feels completely embarrassed by her parents’ fight. She admits to Lin Yan that she used to be ashamed of them. She thought they were undignified.
Lin Yan tells her he wasn't laughing at them. He says the Shen family has always treated him like one of their own. He never feels like an outsider with them.
Then it’s his turn to talk. He tells her about the immense guilt he carries. His father was framed and died in disgrace. All these years later, he still hasn't been able to clear his name. The failure weighs on him constantly.
After he finishes, Shaoguang gets up. She walks around the screen. She gives him a hug. She tells him not to blame himself. His parents would want him to live a happy life. Then she gives him a special five-nut mooncake she made just for him. He loves it. They start debating about mooncake flavors. They find it easy to talk to each other. Shaoguang thinks that if he wasn't technically her "uncle," he would be a perfect friend.
The mood shifts. They are standing face-to-face. They've both had a little to drink. And then they kiss.
The Morning After
The next day, Shaoguang wakes up sober. The memory of the kiss hits her. She is horrified. She feels she has been deeply disrespectful to her ancestors. She runs to find Lin Yan. She immediately starts bowing to him over and over, apologizing.
Lin Yan plays it cool. He pretends he has no idea what she’s talking about. He says he only remembers them venting to each other. And that he ate a really good five-nut mooncake. Shaoguang is so relieved. She believes him. She vows to herself that she will never get drunk and do something so out of line again.
The Aftermath
Shaoguang goes back to her room, but she isn't okay. She starts running a high fever.
A Convenient Fever
Her parents, Shen Jianshe and Li Fengxia, immediately start arguing again. This time, they fight over how to treat her fever. He wants to bundle her up in blankets to sweat it out. She disagrees.
Shaoguang just lies in bed. She thinks the fever is her punishment for kissing Lin Yan. But she can't tell her parents the real reason she's sick. Her parents try to give her medicine, but she refuses to drink it because it's too bitter.
Her brother, Shen Shaojie, has an idea. He suggests that Lin Yan should give her the medicine. Because of Lin Yan's senior position in the family, Shaoguang wouldn't dare refuse him.
So, Lin Yan walks in with the bowl of medicine. He sits by her bed. Before he can even say a word, Shaoguang snatches the bowl from his hands. She drinks the entire thing in one gulp. She refuses to even look at him.
