A Dream of Splendor Episode 19 Recap
> A Dream of Splendor Recap
Sun Sanniang and the others were going to get Ge Zhaodi new clothes, but Zhao Pan'er happened to use checking the accounts as an excuse to stay alone at Half-Covered Face. Ge Zhaodi saw that she was meeting her lover secretly, so she privately told Sun Sanniang. That night, Gu Qianfan indeed came as promised. First, he leaned in and kissed Zhao Pan'er, then he finally mustered the courage to say his grandfather had arranged an engagement for him.
In fact, this engagement had been completely broken off as soon as Gu Qianfan entered the Capital Security Office. Moreover, Gu Qianfan had never met the other party, nor had he ever gone through the motions. It was precisely Gu Qianfan's sincerity that made Zhao Pan'er very happy. She simply told him about her past, including from when she registered her status to meeting Ouyang Xu, revealing everything without any concealment.
Gu Qianfan didn't care about any of this at all, but Zhao Pan'er hoped they could be honest with each other and dispel all suspicions. The two sat under the moon, embracing each other. Gu Qianfan took out a hairpin he had treasured for a long time. He made no secret that he had been paying attention to her from the very beginning. Now he had finally won her heart, and their relationship reached a new level.
Early the next morning, Song Yinzhang arrived at the agreed location with her pipa. She originally intended to leave after playing and not get further entangled with Shen Ruzuo. Who knew that Shen Ruzuo had prepared a 'Lonely Moon Pipa' and high-quality tea for Song Yinzhang, so that she could play without any distractions. Under Shen Ruzuo's deep affection and kindness, Song Yinzhang and Shen Ruzuo played a tune together.
Chi Yanei saw this scene and was very pleased in his heart, just waiting for the playboy Shen Ruzuo to deeply hurt Song Yinzhang. On the other hand, Zhang Haohao prepared to inform Zhao Pan'er, reminding her to keep Song Yinzhang away from Shen Ruzuo. In the following days, Zhao Pan'er and Gu Qianfan continued their deep affection and sweet relationship. They often met secretly to express their feelings.
Gu Qianfan also considered waiting until Lei Jing was brought to justice to prepare a grand and elaborate wedding for her and find elders from his clan to preside over the wedding. However, because Song Yinzhang frequently entered and exited the entertainment district, and to avoid too many prying eyes, Gu Qianfan instructed Zhao Pan'er not to reveal it for now. Sun Sanniang watched the entire process from nearby.
She was both happy for Zhao Pan'er and a little reluctant to see her go, and could only feel sad and shed tears alone after Zhao Pan'er returned to her room. Originally, Gao Hui was going to the Sweet Osmanthus Fragrance Gathering to meet the rumored Zhao Pan'er, but unexpectedly, she suddenly felt unbearable abdominal pain. It turned out her period was approaching, leaving her feeling a bit helpless.
Zhao Pan'er, who was about to go out, saw Gao Hui and immediately led her into the room to rest, and personally prepared brown sugar and ginger water to alleviate her discomfort. Gao Hui expressed her thanks and left, waiting for the people she sent to investigate to report back.
But Gao Gu knew her whereabouts and stated that he would absolutely not allow her to step out of the Gao family mansion before Ouyang Xu sent back the letter of annulment. By chance, he also saw Gao Hui wearing Zhao Pan'er's clothes. Gao Gu suddenly understood, angrily reprimanded Gao Hui, and confined her to her chambers. Chen Lian hurried to find Zhao Pan'er, but unexpectedly, he was splashed with water by Ge Zhaodi.
The two started cursing at each other and made a huge fuss, almost getting into a fight. Fortunately, Sun Sanniang appeared in time and told Ge Zhaodi to go to Half-Covered Face first to help Zhao Pan'er, only then was their conflict resolved. In May of this year, a rumor spread among the local residents, claiming it was a demonic creature shaped like a hat, often flying in the sky.
After entering homes at night, it would turn into a large wolf. The common people were terrified. And by the Yi-Si day of June, it was rumored that the 'hat demon' had entered the capital, and even incidents of people being injured occurred, causing the entire city to be on high alert. Every sunset, one could see every household with their doors tightly shut, and some even held weapons and pursued it.
The Official heard about this and immediately sent people to Tokyo to investigate, while also holding sacrifices and prayers, hoping to ward off evil and eliminate disaster. Who knew that after the sacrifices, the 'hat demon' not only didn't disappear, but became even more rampant, especially in the military camps. In the end, the Capital Security Office had to be dispatched. Gu Qianfan led his men to set up an ambush until the 'hat demon' appeared.
For a moment, the people on the street fled in panic, so much so that they bumped into Ge Zhaodi. Just as she was at a loss, Chen Lian dismounted and helped her up, then he immediately led people to chase the 'hat demon'. Gu Qianfan fought with the 'hat demon', but in the end, he was still injured. Ge Zhaodi went back and told everyone about it.
Zhao Pan'er was burning with anxiety, but on the surface, she still pretended to be calm. Sun Sanniang saw through Zhao Pan'er's thoughts and deliberately sent Song Yinzhang and Ge Zhaodi away, giving her a chance to go out and inquire about the situation. Zhao Pan'er met Gu Qianfan when she went out. Seeing that he was safe and sound, a huge weight was finally lifted from her heart.
Seeing Gu Qianfan looking weary, Zhao Pan'er told him to rest first, while she went to the kitchen to make some refreshments. It turned out that by the time she finished, she found Gu Qianfan was so tired he had fallen asleep directly. In Gu Qianfan's dream, his mother resolutely left the Xiao family with him. Then his father proactively came to find him.
In the end, he also had to face the struggle between the pure officials and the treacherous minister. He had to make a choice between them, and his heart was quite conflicted. When Gu Qianfan woke up from the nightmare, Zhao Pan'er brought a bowl of soup. So he drank the soup while telling Zhao Pan'er about the situation in the court. As the saying goes, there are no demons in the world, only troubles hidden in people's hearts.
The real 'hat demon' was just targeting the Empress's faction. Every time it appeared, it would attack the common people with gunpowder, causing large-scale casualties as usual. Thus, it spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, becoming the widely rumored 'hat demon'. Now the ministers in the court were divided into several factions. The Official was frail and sickly.
The only imperial son, Prince Sheng, was only twelve years old and could not supervise the state for the time being. It required the Empress to often review memorials on behalf of the Official, which caused dissatisfaction among many old ministers. Gradually, rumors spread that the Empress intended to imitate Empress Wu.
