Episode Summary
Shen Shaoguang's attempts to get close to Lin Yan escalate from selling pancakes outside his office to a full-blown dinner trap. When her family gets arrested for searching a "drunk" Lin Yan, she saves them by revealing she knows his secret identity and claiming to be his long-lost fiancée. She blackmails him into letting her entire family move into the mysterious Yunshui Garden, but Lin Yan remains suspicious, as he believes his betrothed was from a different family.
Spoiler Alert
The Pancake Plan
A Failed First Impression
So, Shen Shaoguang’s grand plan begins. She runs right up to Lin Yan. She introduces herself and asks for his forgiveness. This is for the whole price-gouging thing. But there's a problem. Her brother, Shen Shaojie, already sold her out. Lin Yan knows she was the mastermind. He tells her to cut it out. If she keeps making a scene, she'll get publicly flogged. Not a great start.
Later that night, Shaoguang finds out her brother snitched. She is not happy. She gives him a piece of her mind.
Operation: Get Noticed
Her first attempt to get close to Lin Yan was a total bust. She needs a new strategy. She decides to set up a food stall right in front of his office, the Jingzhao Prefecture. Her goal is to grab his attention. For days, she's out there selling pancakes. Lin Yan walks in and out of the building several times. He's way too busy to even glance at her.
While this is happening, we see a little side action. An official named Pei Pei needs some documents from Minister Zhang. Zhang completely blows him off. Lin Yan happens to be passing by. He steps in and mentions the documents are important for his own department's work. Suddenly, Minister Zhang is happy to help. Lin Yan then invites Pei Pei over for dinner. Pei Pei is super grateful. This tells you Lin Yan knows how to play the game.
After dinner, Lin Yan tries to get into a place called Yunshui Garden. His father had forbidden him from ever going in there. A strange, complicated lock from a foreign land stops him cold.
The "Drunk" Dinner
The Invitation
Shaoguang decides she's done playing small. She makes a ton of flyers for a free meal. She folds them all into paper airplanes. Then she launches them over the walls into the Jingzhao Prefecture courtyard. It's a paper airplane invasion.
Lin Yan finds one of the flyers. He reads the offer for a free pancake tasting. He starts connecting the dots. The whole Shen family has been acting really strange. It feels like they are deliberately trying to get his attention. He decides he needs to figure out what their deal is.
At the same time, Pei Pei is trying to figure out how to repay Lin Yan for dinner. He doesn't have much money. He finds one of Shaoguang's flyers. He suggests they go check out her food stall. It's perfect. The Shen family finally gets what they wanted. Lin Yan is coming to their place. They are so excited they just keep pouring him drinks.
The Trap is Sprung
Lin Yan is no fool. He pretends to get completely wasted. The moment he's "out," the Shen family gets to work. They start searching his clothes. They're looking for the key to Yunshui Garden. Shaoguang gets impatient. She shoves her hand right into his shirt to feel for it.
Bad move. Lin Yan's eyes snap open. He grabs her wrist. His guard, Liu Chang, who was waiting outside, immediately bursts in. The entire Shen family is arrested. They're all dragged back to the Jingzhao Prefecture for a little chat. Shen Shaojie starts to panic. He remembers his grandpa saying Lin Yan used to be a cold-blooded guy. Lin Yan pulls out a few torture instruments. Shaojie takes one look and faints.
The Big Reveal
An Offer He Can't Refuse
Lin Yan demands to know why they're stalking him. Everyone is too scared to talk. He draws his sword. He threatens to kill one of them to get the others talking.
Shaoguang's brain goes into overdrive. She remembers her family's genealogy records. She blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. She claims she is his fiancée.
This actually makes Lin Yan pause. Shaoguang knows she hit on something real. She pushes further. She says he is from a place called Qingyang. And his real name is Cui Che. Lin Yan is stunned. Nobody in the capital knows his real name or where he's from, except for his loyal guard Liu Chang.
Shaoguang builds the story. She says his family, the Cui family, was wiped out when he was eight. He only survived by changing his name. Her family was the one betrothed to his family long ago. That's how she knows his secret. She promises she'll never tell. After all, if his true identity gets out, her family would be dragged down with him as his in-laws.
Moving On In
Lin Yan seems to buy it, or at least he's willing to play along for now. Shaoguang sees her chance. She demands to move into Yunshui Garden. She says they can just pretend to be his country cousins. Lin Yan says no.
So, Shaoguang starts yelling. She makes a huge scene about the great Jingzhao Prefect abandoning his poor, helpless fiancée. She even calls for Pei Pei to come and serve as a witness. The problem is, Pei Pei is passed out drunk in the corner, snoring. She threatens to take her act outside for the whole city to hear. To shut her up, Lin Yan finally agrees.
The Shen family moves into Yunshui Garden. The first thing they do is apologize to a portrait of their ancestor. Outside, Liu Chang is eavesdropping. He hears them talking, but it's weird. They use a lot of modern-sounding words. Shaoguang even speaks a few sentences in English. Liu Chang has no idea what they're saying.
He reports everything to Lin Yan. Lin Yan thinks it over. He remembers his parents arranging a marriage for him. But it was with a family named Zheng, not Shen. He tells Liu Chang to watch them. Very, very closely.
