A Dream of Splendor Episode 40 (Ending) Recap
> A Dream of Splendor Recap
Gu Qianfan insisted on bringing Ouyang Xu to justice and using this case to clear Zhao Pan'er's name of rumors and slander. The Empress still needed to use Ouyang Xu to bring down Qi Mu, so she did not agree to Gu Qianfan's terms. However, as soon as he said this, Gu Qianfan held a dagger to the Empress's neck, hoping that the Empress, seeing that they were both women, would restore Zhao Pan'er's chance for a fair trial.
In order to make the Empress change her mind, Gu Qianfan explained the whole story, including how Zhao Pan'er, even risking the crime of deceiving the Emperor, tried every means to make the Emperor believe that the Night Revels painting was actually a forgery, which helped the Empress escape a terrible disaster.
In fact, Zhao Pan'er helped Empress He also because she remembered that she was also from the musician class and could understand the feeling of not being in control of oneself. It was precisely because of this that the Empress was moved. After some thought, she went to see the Emperor by herself. Gao Gu heard about Zhao Pan'er's situation at the Dengwen Drum Court and was filled with admiration.
He sent someone to deliver the miraculous medicine bestowed by Emperor Taizong upon the Gao family's ancestors. Sure enough, shortly after taking it, Zhao Pan'er gradually regained consciousness. Early the next morning, accompanied by everyone, Zhao Pan'er supported her weak body and went to the Dengwen Drum Court. Unexpectedly, the court had appointed another official to handle the case.
Just as Zhao Pan'er was preparing to endure the unfinished caning from the previous day, a eunuch suddenly arrived with an imperial decree, publicly announcing that the Emperor, using the occasion of his birthday celebration, had ordered that from this day forward, any caning punishment for women below a certain level could be redeemed with money.
Therefore, with funds raised by many common people and musicians, the court official allowed Zhao Pan'er to redeem the fourteen strokes of flogging with thirty "guan" of money. Ouyang Xu maliciously slandered Zhao Pan'er's reputation and repeatedly denied the engagement. Zhao Pan'er presented a document on which was written the other party's three generations of ancestry and birth information, thereby proving the intimate relationship between the two, and it only needed to be submitted to the court registry for verification.
Not only that, but Zhao Pan'er also accused Ouyang Xu of defamation and fraud. Immediately after, she produced the pawn ticket for the inkstone, and people like Chi Pan came forward to testify. According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, anything over five "guan" should be punishable by execution. However, the court official, considering that Ouyang Xu still held an official position, found it truly difficult to make a decision and coughed twice.
The Emperor, sitting behind the screen, signaled the court official to impose a heavy penalty. The Empress also realized her mistake, but she still did not want to let Qi Mu off easily. The Emperor stated that when he disregarded opposition to establish Liu Wan as Empress back then, it was because he valued her ambition and capability, which compensated for the traits he lacked.
Therefore, he instructed the Empress that she could completely do as she pleased, as long as she could withstand the scrutiny of the world. Upon hearing this, the Empress was deeply moved. Ouyang Xu was caught off guard by Zhao Pan'er's counterattack today. But he hadn't thought that if it weren't for yesterday's verbal humiliation, how could Zhao Pan'er have understood that legal statutes and practicality were two different things?
To bring Ouyang Xu to justice, she had to have serious charges against him. Unexpectedly, Song Yinzhang suddenly appeared with evidence, further adding that Ouyang Xu knowingly broke the law, confirming that he had harmed Uncle De and Ziming. Finally, Ouyang Xu was unable to refute, protesting loudly like a madman, and even attempted to attack the court official, coincidentally hitting the screen and seeing the Emperor and Empress emerge.
With irrefutable evidence presented, the Emperor ordered Ouyang Xu to be sent to the Capital Security Office to be personally interrogated by Gu Qianfan. The death penalty was already unavoidable. Watching the bailiffs escort Ouyang Xu, the onlookers outside cheered and threw rotten vegetables at him. The Emperor granted Zhao Pan'er, Sun Sanniang, and Song Yinzhang one wish each.
Sun Sanniang wished to marry in a phoenix coronet and a robe of office, Song Yinzhang suggested that the Dengwen Drum Court waive the caning for overstepping jurisdiction, and as for Zhao Pan'er, she longed for the world to no longer have prejudices of status, believing that people of low status were not necessarily low in character. These words resonated deeply with the Empress and the eunuch.
Everyone present was moved to tears, kneeling and begging the Emperor to show great benevolence and free generations of musicians, artisans, and official and private servants from the suffering of low status. Although the Emperor intended to change this, it could not be achieved overnight.
Therefore, he promised that all those among musicians, artisans, servants, etc., who were outstanding in their abilities, could enter the Inner Court Service and Hanlin Academy, and be granted the position of 'Gongfeng' (attendant), thus also gaining respect. After everything settled down, Yong'an Tower was still packed with guests, just to witness Song Yinzhang's charm, including Chi Pan, who had already developed feelings of admiration for her. Sun Sanniang's wish also came true.
Wearing the phoenix coronet and robe of office bestowed by the Emperor, she married Du Changfeng amidst everyone's blessings and gazes. Gu Qianfan and Zhao Pan'er, having gone through many hardships, were also connected heart to heart. From then on, they were no longer alone and jointly built a family that belonged to them.
