A Dream of Splendor Episode 12 Recap
> A Dream of Splendor Recap
Due to his heavy workload recently, Gu Qianfan didn't have time to visit Zhao Pan'er, so he asked Chen Lian to take a portion of his salary and rewards for the house rent and the trio's daily expenses. Just then, Military Advisor Hu Yuan of Kaifeng Prefecture requested an audience, but Gu Qianfan was too busy to spare the time, so he instructed Chen Lian to make sure he monitored Ouyang Xu's movements.
Before leaving the capital, Ouyang Xu specifically instructed Uncle De that after he left, he should go to the entrance of the Gao residence more often to attract Gao Hui's attention as much as possible, in preparation for his return to Tokyo. The next day, Ouyang Xu left the city by carriage, brushing past Gu Qianfan again. He secretly swore in his heart that he would be as successful as him someday.
Considering the significant investment required for the teahouse, Zhao Pan'er entrusted Chen Lian to help her liquidate her savings. This way, she could repay Gu Qianfan and have sufficient capital. As for Song Yinzhang's savings, Zhao Pan'er didn't touch a single cent, but Song Yinzhang decided to liquidate all of hers, meaning the three women's fortunes and lives were tied to Tokyo.
Zhao Pan'er was happy to learn that Gu Qianfan had been promoted to Deputy Envoy of the Capital Security Office, feeling that having established his career, it was time for him to marry. Chen Lian originally wanted to hint to Zhao Pan'er to cherish the person right in front of her, but he couldn't find an opportunity to speak.
On the contrary, Zhao Pan'er was completely disheartened with Ouyang Xu and wished for his career to be difficult and full of setbacks until he was willing to return what he owed. His uncle Qi Mu heard that Gu Qianfan had returned to the capital and came to the Southern Bureau at night to meet him and examine the evidence of Lei Jing's collusion with officials in Jiangnan.
Now that Gu Qianfan was rising through the ranks, it was not in vain that he had been undercover near the eunuch faction for many years. Unfortunately, now was not the best time. After all, Lei Jing had served the Emperor for over thirty years and still had imperial favor and rapport.
The Emperor had already dealt with many people in the Zheng Qingtian case and would likely not expand it further, so they had to continue to wait and see. After a period of preparation, the Zhao Family Teahouse finally opened smoothly, but no customers were willing to enter and sample. Fortunately, He Si brought people to patronize and drum up business for them.
In the blink of an eye, the seats were full, and after tasting the tea drinks and pastries, everyone was full of praise. Gu Qianfan saw Ouyang Xu's appointment letter and realized that he had been relocated to the Western Capital, feeling puzzled and thinking the matter was related to Zhao Pan'er. Chen Lian didn't know how to respond.
Just as he was about to leave, his colleagues were talking about the Zhao Family Teahouse again, which forced him to tell Gu Qianfan the truth. Taking advantage of the quiet at the Southern Bureau, Gu Qianfan went to the teahouse to investigate. His intention was to warn Zhao Pan'er to avoid attracting the Gao family's attention and getting into trouble. However, Zhao Pan'er felt that to survive in Tokyo, they needed a source of income.
Even if Gu Qianfan was willing to support them, it was ultimately not a long-term solution. Furthermore, Zhao Pan'er and Gu Qianfan were unrelated, and relying on him so much seemed overly ambiguous, almost like he was keeping an outside mistress. Gu Qianfan couldn't persuade Zhao Pan'er, so he simply made a bet: they would look at the teahouse's profit and loss after a month to decide whether to continue operating it.
Meanwhile, Song Yinzhang saw Gu Qianfan and was about to go greet him but was stopped by Chen Lian, who said the two were arguing. Zhao Pan'er personally poured tea for Gu Qianfan, thereby discussing the old debts from Qiantang. Song Yinzhang misunderstood that Gu Qianfan was pursuing Zhao Pan'er's past mistakes and quickly rushed out to apologize and take all the blame.
Gu Qianfan expressed concern for Zhao Pan'er through his response to Song Yinzhang, reminding Zhao Pan'er to take better care of herself so that next time she was bullied, she wouldn't just complain. Song Yinzhang felt that Gu Qianfan was hinting at her, suggesting that the Gao family would come looking for trouble sooner or later and that they needed to find another solution. Precisely because of this, Song Yinzhang thought of Zhang Haohao.
Perhaps she could rely on her pipa skills to gain the Emperor's appreciation as much as possible, and then she would have nothing to fear from anyone else. With a preliminary plan in place, Song Yinzhang claimed she was feeling unwell and didn't go to help at the teahouse. Instead, she took her pipa and a handwritten letter from Xu Yong and went to the Imperial Music Bureau to meet Venerable Envoy Yuan Changhe.
At first, everyone was busy with their own affairs and completely ignored Song Yinzhang, making her feel somewhat lost. She could only play her pipa in the courtyard. Her pipa music attracted everyone's attention. Yuan Changhe followed the sound, his eyes lighting up. He greatly cherished Song Yinzhang's talent. With Governor Xu Yong's recommendation, he immediately kept her on as a head instructor.
Director of the Bureau of Writings, Shen Ruzuo, was smitten with Song Yinzhang at first sight and offered to be her guide, showing her around the various departments of the Imperial Music Bureau.
