Episode Summary
Lin Yan is gravely wounded, and Shen Shaoguang performs a risky surgery to save his life. While he recovers, he confesses his unwavering love for her. The Prince of Zhao, spurred on by Li Ang, finally launches his coup during the Dragon Boat Festival. He traps the emperor and attempts to frame the Crown Prince for treason. The Shen family tries to rescue Shen Yangyang from the palace but is stopped, while inside, the Crown Prince is saved from Li Ang at the last second by Liu Chang's forces.
Spoiler Alert
A Desperate Surgery
Liu Chang gets Lin Yan out of there. He rushes him back to Yunshui Garden on horseback. Lin Yan has lost a ton of blood. He's barely conscious. Shen Shaoguang keeps shouting his name. She's terrified he'll pass out for good.
The wound is horrifying. You can literally see his organs. The doctor shows up and basically says there's nothing he can do. But Shaoguang remembers something she read in her history books. She knows an anesthetic called Mafeisan existed in this era. She tells the doctor to find it so she can stitch the wound.
The doctor has no idea what "stitching" is. He just stands there, useless. Lin Yan, barely awake, tells Shaoguang he wants her to do it. Shaoguang hesitates. Her brother, Shen Shaojie, chimes in that he knows how to sew clothes. But Lin Yan is looking at Shaoguang. So she decides to do it herself.
She sterilizes a sewing needle in a candle flame. She uses salt water as a disinfectant. Then she gets to work and sews up the wound. After a while, the bleeding finally stops.
Trapped and a Confession
Lin Yan gets a little bit of his strength back. He grabs Shaoguang's hand and refuses to let her leave. She could easily pull away. But she stays. She starts making small talk to fill the silence.
Shaoguang tells him to focus on getting better. She says that one day, another woman with the last name Shen will marry him. They'll have a respectful marriage and continue his family line.
Lin Yan is not having it. He tells her he doesn't care about morals. He doesn't care about betraying his ancestors. He is going to be with her, and that's final.
Later, Shen Shaojie tries to bring Lin Yan some food. But Cheng Hu is standing guard at the door. He won't let anyone in or out. This means Shaoguang is still trapped in there. Shaojie is outside, worrying about his sister.
The Prince's Plot Thickens
Lin Yan eventually leaves to meet with Zhao Xunzhi. Zhao Xunzhi takes him to a deserted house. He confesses that his conscience has been eating him alive since the Cui family's downfall. He's been secretly maintaining a memorial tablet for Cui Rangzhi.
He also drops a bombshell. The Prince of Zhao forced him to recruit promising scholars. Once they finished their studies, they would be absorbed into the prince's faction. Zhao Xunzhi wrote everything down. He gives Lin Yan the records. He hopes this will help clear his name someday.
Lin Yan goes back to Yunshui Garden. Shaoguang tells him she doesn't like the old folktale about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. He just gives her some clothes he had hidden away for her. Soon after, Shaoguang finally walks back into her family's restaurant. She tells everyone she was just taking care of Lin Yan for a few days.
The Coup Begins
Li Ang is furious about the scar Lin Yan gave him. He thinks it's a massive dishonor. This pushes the Prince of Zhao to finally make his move. He gives the order to act.
Lin Yan goes to the palace to see the emperor. A new official he's never seen before stops him. The official says the emperor is sick and can't see anyone. Lin Yan has to leave.
On the way back, he can't shake a bad feeling. The emperor's main eunuch is always Qin Zhonggui. If he's busy, one of his trusted assistants takes over. This new guy was a total stranger. It's not normal. He then runs into Pei Fei. Pei Fei was trying to bring food to the Grand Princess. He was told she went to the palace early for the Dragon Boat Festival. This is also weird. She always goes in the afternoon.
Lin Yan gets back to Yunshui Garden. He knows something has gone wrong at the palace. This is a huge problem. Shen Yangyang is at the palace for her studies. Shen Shaojie starts to panic. Shaoguang, however, remembers her grandfather's history lessons. He never mentioned this coup being a big, bloody event. She figures it probably won't get too out of control.
A Trap at the Palace
Inside the palace, the Prince of Zhao is already acting like he's in charge. He's sitting on the imperial carriage. It's a Dragon Boat Festival tradition to shoot arrows at green rice balls. His plan is to "accidentally" kill the Crown Prince during the ceremony. Then he'll frame the Crown Prince for treason. He gets to look like a hero who was just "cleansing the court."
A Desperate Rescue
Back at the restaurant, Shen Shaojie can't just sit around. He decides he has to go to the palace to save his daughter. The rest of the Shen family agrees to go with him. They don't even have time to think it through. But the second they step outside, a group of soldiers blocks their path.
Inside the palace, Li Ang is trying to force the Crown Prince, Li Xu, to write a confession. The Grand Princess tries to talk sense into Li Ang, but he just threatens her. Just as Li Xu is about to start writing, Shen Yangyang runs out and stops him. Li Ang loses his patience. He raises his sword to kill her. The Crown Prince grabs the blade with his bare hand to save her.
Right then, Liu Chang and his men burst in to the rescue.
Elsewhere, Pei Fei is wearing Lin Yan's official robes as a decoy. He leads a group of soldiers away from the main action. They corner him in a forest. Just when it looks like it's over for him, Yu San appears and saves him.
Back in the throne room, the Prince of Zhao has no idea his plan is falling apart outside. He's still busy trying to bully the emperor into giving him the imperial seal and the army's command tally.
