A Dream of Splendor Episode 9 Recap
> A Dream of Splendor Recap
Records involving Zheng Qingtian had long piled up like mountains. The Capital Security Office had always been responsible for investigating cases, and once all confessions and investigations were accurate, they would be directly handed over to the local authorities for handling, which meant their return to the capital was not far off. Gu Qianfan's intention was not to return to the capital, but he was concerned about the owner of the hairpin.
Unfortunately, he had not heard from Zhao Pan'er for many days, which left him bewildered. As the saying goes, officials have two mouths, speaking both human and ghost words, but it was Du Changfeng's previous remark "Thirteenth Master" that was equivalent to riding roughshod over Chi Yanei's head. Chi Yanei was feeling stifled; he was not qualified to join the army, nor was he qualified to become an official.
He even had to maintain propriety, unable to frequent brothels and pleasure quarters at will. Moreover, all he had, at most, was his generous spending and vast wealth; there seemed to be nothing else worthy of praise. After venting in his mansion, Chi Yanei accidentally learned that He Si had encountered Zhao Pan'er, so he immediately rushed over. As expected, he saw He Si leading everyone shouting slogans outside the door.
Seeing He Si like this, he immediately told his subordinates to investigate Zhao Pan'er's residence, deciding to teach her a lesson. At this time, Ouyang Xu in the room upstairs was anxious listening to the slogans outside, fearing that the matter would escalate, and prepared to go out to negotiate with the other party, but was stopped by Uncle De.
Originally, Ouyang Xu was quite dissatisfied with Uncle De, scolding him for repeatedly acting on his own, not at all like a loyal servant of the Ouyang family, but clearly the Ouyang family's ancestor. Uncle De was so scared that he quickly knelt on the ground, repeatedly slapping his face fiercely. Suddenly, he heard the noise outside stop, followed by voices echoing through the streets and alleys.
Ouyang Xu seemed to have made up his mind; he personally wrote a letter and handed it to Uncle De, instructing him to exit through the dog hole in the backyard and make sure to deliver it to the other party. He Si firmly believed that Zhao Pan'er was skilled in mysterious arts and refused to listen to Chi Yanei's orders, continuing to shout loudly at the door.
In a fit of anger, Chi Yanei ran to the Sanyuan Inn, followed the sound of the pipa to the second floor, and saw Song Yinzhang at first glance, which made him feel like ants were crawling in his heart. When he came back to his senses, he only felt that the person before him was radiating brilliance, this woman seemed like a celestial being descended to the mortal world.
Precisely because Chi Yanei's behavior was too frivolous, and he was pulling and tugging at Song Yinzhang, even reaching out to snatch her pipa, Song Yinzhang accidentally injured Chi Yanei with the pipa during the struggle, which allowed her to escape. Chi Yanei was furious and sent his subordinates to grab Song Yinzhang. Zhao Pan'er and Sun Sanniang stepped forward to protect Song Yinzhang, recounting his past wrongdoings in detail.
But Chi Yanei simply acted shamelessly, insisting that Song Yinzhang play a tune as an apology, otherwise he would absolutely make it impossible for the three of them to stay in Tokyo. Even with Chi Yanei's various threats, Zhao Pan'er still did not give in, stating directly that Song Yinzhang was the best pipa player south of the Yangtze River.
While introducing her family background, she also demanded that Chi Yanei must pass the three challenges of literary and martial arts, and made a wager with the other party on the spot. Chi Yanei readily accepted the challenge. The first challenge was composing poetry, and although his lines were very unrefined and vulgar, he at least managed to get through it. The second challenge was comparing knife skills. The Sanyuan Inn's shopkeeper and guests curiously gathered around to watch.
Seeing Sun Sanniang publicly demonstrate cutting tofu, and the amazing scene of the tofu being as thin as hair, they were immediately amazed. After tying the two challenges, Chi Yanei requested that he would set the third question. Zhao Pan'er agreed to his request, but she didn't expect the so-called third challenge to be throwing dice. Sun Sanniang and Song Yinzhang exchanged a knowing smile, clearly very confident about this round.
However, Chi Yanei was also quite capable; at least all six dice were six points. But Zhao Pan'er had secretly cut one die beforehand with a diamond, so in the end, she had one more point than Chi Yanei, forcing him to endure the loss and admit defeat. According to the three-challenge wager, if Zhao Pan'er won against Chi Yanei, he would have to let his subordinates continue shouting slogans energetically.
Chi Yanei, being a local tough guy in Tokyo, was actually bullied by three women, so he immediately ran to the Earth God Temple and bawled loudly. In contrast, Zhao Pan'er and her sisters sat in the pavilion drinking and celebrating. She couldn't help but think of Gu Qianfan, so she went to Wang's Blacksmith Shop alone, but unfortunately, the red banner was not hung.
Song Yinzhang learned from Sun Sanniang about Zhao Pan'er redeeming her status, feeling guilty and sad, only thinking that she was truly useless and had implicated Zhao Pan'er, causing her to be humiliated by Ouyang Xu. But the reason Sun Sanniang told Song Yinzhang the truth was also because she hoped she could understand and no longer hold onto illusions about Ouyang Xu, because he had already changed his original intention.
Gu Qianfan, accompanied by Chen Lian, returned to Zhao's Teahouse in Qiantang. Although it was already dilapidated, every part of it made him feel nostalgic. Hearing Chen Lian speaking highly of the Xiao family behind him, Gu Qianfan, to avoid Chen Lian trying to associate with the Xiao family, stated that he and Xiao Qinyan were not on the same path and would only be chance acquaintances hereafter. The last time he sought help was out of necessity.
Chen Lian was extremely smart and immediately guessed that Gu Qianfan disliked the Xiao family, so he quickly expressed his loyalty to him and listed the Xiao family's wrongdoings. Moreover, Xiao Qinyan was already notorious, known throughout the court as a treacherous minister who stopped at nothing to eliminate opponents and even allied with the Empress Dowager's faction against old Minister Ke. Gu Qianfan listened with a heavy expression, sitting on the stairs lost in thought. Unknowingly, he fell asleep. Seeing this, Chen Lian decided not to disturb him further.
