Episode Summary
In this episode, Shaoguang firmly rejects Liu Feng, and Lin Yan decides to confess his feelings for her once his mission is over. He works with Pei Pei to gain access to crucial evidence held by the Grand Princess, only to find it's been stolen by a mole. Shaoguang uses her culinary know-how to devise a plan that exposes the thief. This allows Lin Yan to recover the real evidence, which implicates Zhao Xunzhi in a major conspiracy. The episode ends with a charged moment after Lin Yan gifts Shaoguang a handmade dishwasher.
Spoiler Alert
The Awkward Rejection
So, Lin Yan is completely distracted. He’s just staring off into space, thinking about Shen Shaoguang. His servant, Liu Chang, sees this. He basically tells Lin Yan to stop moping and just tell her how he feels. Finally, someone says it.
Then Liu Feng shows up. He apologizes for his dad being so aggressive. But he still asks Shaoguang to seriously consider his marriage proposal.
Shaoguang gives him a hard no. She tells him they are from different worlds. It wouldn't work. She says she had a college boyfriend who said similar things. They broke up anyway. She turns to go get the betrothal gifts to return them. But Liu Chang has already handled it. And who is standing right there, watching the whole thing go down? Lin Yan. The timing was just perfect.
A Dishwasher and a Moment of Truth
He Gets Her
Later, Lin Yan "casually" runs into Shaoguang. He notices she has chilblains on her hands from the cold. She explains it’s from washing dishes in the cold water.
She gets a little sad. She talks about her life back in her "hometown." She says she saved up for a long time to buy a dishwasher. It was something she always wanted. She even draws a little diagram of it for him.
This is where Lin Yan really steps up. He tells her that wanting something you never had is one thing. But having something and then losing it is much harder. He completely understands her pain. You can see Shaoguang is a little stunned. He gets her. She also remembers him saving her life on the cliff. She tells herself to stop thinking about him. She doesn't want to catch feelings.
The Promise
Lin Yan goes back to his room. He finally admits it to himself. He has feelings for Shaoguang. He decides he will tell her everything. But he makes a pact with himself. He will only confess after he clears the Cui family's name. It's a solid plan.
The Princess, The Letters, and The Thief
Operation Get the Letters
Lin Yan needs to find evidence for his case. He goes to Pei Pei for a big favor. He needs her to get close to the Grand Princess and ask some questions.
Pei Pei isn't thrilled, but she agrees to help her friend. She goes to the palace and plays chess with the Grand Princess. They make a deal. The winner of each game gets to ask the loser one question. Pei Pei cleverly loses the first few games. Then she starts winning. She asks the Princess what makes her sad. The Princess admits she was forced by her brother, the emperor, to marry Xiao Wulang.
The plan works. The Princess trusts Pei Pei. The next day, she takes Lin Yan to a sealed room. It’s where she keeps all of her comatose husband's old letters.
An Inside Job
The room is covered in dust. The Princess opens a cabinet, but the box inside has already been opened. Lin Yan examines it. The fingerprints on the lid are fresh. The letters were stolen very recently.
The mansion has tight security. Lin Yan immediately suspects an inside job. The Princess panics. She thinks her husband somehow woke up and took them. She runs to his room. He is still in a coma. She's relieved.
Lin Yan suggests they lock down the mansion to find the thief. The Princess agrees, but first, she wants some hot pot. She heard Shen Shaoguang's is the best. She asks Lin Yan to invite her over to cook.
Shaoguang Plays Detective
The Syrup and The Fingerprint
Shaoguang comes to the mansion to cook. She makes hot pot and tanghulu. The Princess loves it. While she's there, she overhears Lin Yan talking about the case. He says the thief is a man, over six feet tall. There are about a dozen servants who fit that description.
Shaoguang looks at the box with the fingerprints. Then she has a brilliant idea. She takes the leftover sugar syrup she used for the tanghulu. She carefully uses it to make a perfect mold of the thief's fingerprint.
The Trap is Sprung
Her plan is simple but smart. She announces that the Crown Prince is visiting. He is giving a string of copper coins to every servant as a gift. To collect the money, each servant has to leave a thumbprint.
The mole realizes he's been caught. He takes the money and immediately flees to Sushui City to meet his boss, the Prince of Zhao.
But he's carrying a set of fake letters. Lin Yan had already swapped them. While the mole was getting his "reward," Liu Chang searched his room and found the real letters. It was a perfect trap. The Prince of Zhao now knows that Lin Yan is onto him.
The Big Reveals
Lin Yan finally reads the real letters from Xiao Wulang. They are exactly what he needed. One letter mentions a massive conspiracy involving the illegal selling of government positions. Another letter names a key person involved in the scheme. It was Zhao Xunzhi.
Later, Lin Yan brings Shaoguang a gift. He built her a dishwasher. It's a big, hand-powered machine, but it works. She sees a cut on his hand and guesses he got it while building her gift. He tries to deny it. She looks at him with genuine concern.
He asks her point-blank. "Do you care about me?"
She denies it instantly. But her eyes tell a different story.
