A Dream of Splendor Episode 24 Recap
> A Dream of Splendor Recap
On a night of heavy rain, Gao family servants found Ouyang Xu, rummaged through his bag to find the seal, and forced him to sign a repudiation of marriage agreement. Ouyang Xu, being a frail scholar, was no match for them at all. When he heard that Gao Hui already knew the truth and that Zhao Pan'er was about to marry Gu Qianfan, he completely broke down, and a wave of hatred surged within him.
After talking last night, Song Yinzhang was in a state of confusion, both caring about Shen Ruzuo's deep promises and also unable to forget Gu Qianfan. Zhao Pan'er waited by the riverside until dawn and finally picked up Song Yinzhang, but she deliberately concealed the truth, saying that she got into the wrong carriage which caused the delay.
Qi Mu ordered Commander Cui to personally interrogate the prisoner, making sure to frame Duke Anguo for the crime, so that everything would be foolproof. Commander Cui wanted to use this to bring down Xiao Qinyan to avenge his elder sister, but Qi Mu thoroughly understood the Emperor's will.
Relying solely on the 'hat demon' case was not enough to make the Emperor suspicious of Xiao Qinyan, after all, Xiao Qinyan had climbed to his current position precisely by relying on the Dao of ghosts and spirits. Moreover, Ke Zheng had always regarded himself as having noble integrity and being upright and honest. If he knew that his disciple used such methods to deal with Xiao Qinyan, he would probably die of anger halfway.
Qi Mu's reason for framing Duke Anguo was also a plan that killed two birds with one stone: it could harm Xiao Qinyan and also clear their relationship, prompting the official (emperor) to establish the crown prince sooner, thus stabilizing the foundation of the state. As long as the crown prince oversaw state affairs, there would be no need to worry about women interfering in politics, and Xiao Qinyan and others would eventually lose power.
Song Yinzhang returned to her residence and proactively boasted to Zhao Pan'er and the others about what she saw and heard at the Xiao residence, and was particularly proud of the inscription by Ke Zheng. However, she didn't receive the expected praise and attention, especially when she heard Zhao Pan'er suggest introducing fish sashimi when the teahouse business was slow, which immediately met with strong opposition from Song Yinzhang.
In Song Yinzhang's view, Half-Covered Face was a place for appreciating music and tasting tea, emphasizing elegance, so how could they easily change their original intention. Although Sun Sanniang said that what she said earlier was just a joke, Song Yinzhang was still unforgiving, repeatedly emphasizing that the three of them had already agreed that regarding the way the teahouse is operated, as long as one of them disagreed, it should absolutely not proceed.
Precisely because of this, Song Yinzhang's unprovoked troublemaking caused Ge Zhaodi's dissatisfaction. She felt that Song Yinzhang had become increasingly unfamiliar since returning from the Prime Minister's residence. Moreover, Ge Zhaodi believed that fruits and pastries were all food, so why insist on sticking to the teahouse? Perhaps a teahouse is different from a restaurant. If they were to operate a wine shop, they naturally wouldn't need to worry about costs and other issues.
When Zhao Pan'er met Gu Qianfan, she found him distracted. After asking, she learned it was due to the matter of matchmaking. Actually, Zhao Pan'er didn't care who presided over the grand wedding, but was instead interested in opening a wine shop. At that time, she wouldn't need to show her face, and it would even be beneficial to Gu Qianfan's official career, dispelling his concerns about the wine shop.
With Gu Qianfan's support, the two enjoyed the scenery on a boat together. At this moment, a monster's roar suddenly came, obviously the 'hat demon' was committing crimes again. Gu Qianfan quickly chased after to check, finding that this time the method of the crime was different from before, realizing that Tokyo was about to face great trouble, so he instructed Zhao Pan'er to be extra careful.
Commander Cui felt that something was strange and guessed it was done by Gu Qianfan, but this was refuted by Qi Mu. Then he thought of Lei Jing, after all, he was inherently a two-faced villain. After being reminded by Commander Cui, Qi Mu decided to frame the crime on the Capital Security Office. Neither Gu Qianfan nor Lei Jing could stop his great plan.
Since Song Yinzhang became famous, many listeners came specifically to hear her, but Song Yinzhang's mindset changed. She no longer wanted to play the pipa for these poor scholars, which almost caused trouble at the teahouse. Ge Zhaodi handled everyone at the entrance, while Zhao Pan'er persuaded Song Yinzhang upstairs, finally getting her to agree to play another piece. But during the performance, Song Yinzhang felt wronged.
Du Changfeng, sitting downstairs, listened so intently that he could clearly feel the sadness in the music and couldn't help but shed tears. Sun Sanniang saw this and gave a plate of fruits to Du Changfeng. Du Changfeng asked Sun Sanniang if the Gao family had made things difficult for her, and Sanniang said frankly that everything was fine.
When Ge Zhaodi passed by with ice, Sun Sanniang specifically took out a piece and handed it to Du Changfeng, telling him to mind his image. Chi Yanei heard Song Yinzhang's pipa and couldn't help but shed tears, feeling even more hatred towards Zhao Pan'er. When he learned that people from the ice shop were delivering ice to Half-Covered Face, he warned them in the name of the Tokyo Ice Shop not to deliver ice to Zhao Pan'er.
That night, Xiao Qinyan met Gu Qianfan alone and straightforwardly revealed his thoughts. The reason he deliberately spread the news that he would not bring guards to admire the moon on the river was to wait for Qi Mu's action. In fact, Qi Mu had long known Gu Qianfan's identity. This person had malicious intentions, wanting to use Gu Qianfan's hand to deal with Xiao Qinyan and watch the Xiao father and son fight each other.
Now that the 'hat demon' matter could not be concealed, Xiao Qinyan was preparing to use the plan against them, because he knew that Qi Mu wanted to use this to confirm that the treacherous minister who had just taken office died from a heavenly punishment by the 'hat demon', which was the true intention of the pure faction.
Hearing Xiao Qinyan's words, Gu Qianfan realized that the banks of the Bian River were not peaceful, and Xiao Qinyan intended to use his life to force him to make a choice. As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of men in black robes rushed forward, heading straight for the painted boat to kill Xiao Qinyan, and the scene quickly fell into chaos.
Xiao Wei rushed to protect Xiao Qinyan, but his martial arts were not enough, and he gradually fell into a disadvantage. Just at the critical moment, Gu Qianfan descended from the sky. Xiao Qinyan was greatly comforted by this, which instead made Xiao Wei extremely jealous.
