A Dream Within A Dream Episode 12 Recap
> A Dream Within A Dream Recap
A wanderer with a mysterious past named Li Shiliu has repeatedly become involved in court affairs. Lieutenant General Chu Guihong confronts him, questioning his motives and warning him to abandon any idea of targeting Song Yimeng. Li Shiliu replies that he has no interest in their affairs and is focused only on quickly repairing the damaged houses for the people.
Chu Guihong accuses him of using the South City renovation, dealing with Nan Heng, and involvement in an assassination plot as tricks to deceive Song Yimeng. Li Shiliu proposes a bet: they compete to see who can repair the South City better and faster, and if Chu Guihong loses, he must cancel his engagement to Song Yimeng. Chu Guihong dismisses the bet as ridiculous, stating he won't wager his marriage.
However, Li Shiliu points out the extensive damage and displaced people, noting that the allocated funds and manpower are insufficient to complete the repairs before the Beginning of Spring, which means Chu Guihong will need help from the Waning River Crescent. Otherwise, Nan Heng could use the delay against him.
Chu Guihong agrees to allow the Waning River Crescent to participate in the renovation, but warns Li Shiliu that this project concerns the lives of the capital's residents and cannot be handled with cheap tricks. He threatens severe consequences if he discovers any ulterior motives. He firmly restates that no matter what happens, he will not use his marriage to Song Yimeng as a bargaining chip.
Fugui, a subordinate of Nan Heng, approaches Song Yimeng holding a prop, attempting to scare her and asks her to explain strange terms like "protagonist" and "supporting character." Song Yimeng dismisses the attempt and compares it to Nan Heng using a knife on her. She tells Fugui to have Nan Heng ask her directly instead of troubling subordinates.
Fugui tries to gain favor by asking who is truly behind events, prompting Song Yimeng to accuse him of attempting to sweet-talk her for information. She reiterates that the assassination was her act alone, but Fugui clarifies he wants to know the real story behind the fire. Song Yimeng maintains it was a coincidence, part of the plot. Understanding he cannot get secrets yet, Fugui asks if badmouthing the Seventh Prince would help him get on her side.
He loudly insults the Seventh Prince, calling him ruthless, heartless, and a complete idiot. Nan Heng overhears this. Li Shiliu moves to intervene, but Song Yimeng stops him, warning that everyone around Nan Heng is scheming. She orders Fugui to leave and keep quiet, threatening to reveal his insults to Nan Heng if he mentions seeing her there. Members of the Waning River Crescent and the Qianyu Army engage in a strength competition with ropes.
The Waning River Crescent members easily win, frustrating Rong Hua, a Qianyu officer. Li Shiliu appears thoughtful. Song Yimeng asks if he is upset, thinking Chu Guihong might have bullied him. Li Shiliu dismisses the idea. Song Yimeng remarks on how he protected her multiple times, despite being a "supporting character" while she has "plot armor," suggesting she should protect him. She gives him something, saying "Now you have it too," implying a transfer of "plot armor."
Later, Li Shiliu tells Song Yimeng he keeps hearing about "protagonists" and "supporting characters" but doesn't understand what it means. He explains he wants to help her change things and stand against Nan Heng, but cannot if he doesn't understand her words. He asks her to explain. Song Yimeng is hesitant, saying she trusts him but fears he would be afraid if she told him everything.
She calls him her most important and only friend in this world who understands and trusts her, believing he might even change her fate. Unable and afraid to lose him, she asks to keep this one secret. Li Shiliu agrees. Children bring flatbread to Li Shiliu, thanking him for building their houses. Song Yimeng asks a child his name and learns he doesn't have one, as his grandmother says people in South City are lower-class and don't need names.
He says his father is called Passerby A. Song Yimeng asks another man his name, who says he is Passerby B. Exasperated, Song Yimeng notes that these people seem to lack individual names and names the child Passerby Pancake. She reflects that this situation confirms her feeling that everything is trapped within a fabricated script world. Nan Heng is awake late at night, reflecting on Song Yimeng's perception of him as ambitious and wicked.
He asks Fugui if he also believes Nan Heng only cares about power and ignores the people. Fugui struggles to answer truthfully, offering hesitant praise. Nan Heng tells Fugui to accompany him to the Song Residence the next day, stating he needs to speak with her. Nan Heng arrives at the Song Residence while Song Yimeng is helping organize renovation materials. He asks if this is how she treats the person who spared her punishment for the assassination.
He orders Song Yimeng and her servants to leave so he can speak with her alone. Song Yimeng protests, saying her servants are innocent and questioning why they cannot speak in front of them. Nan Heng's subordinate suggests it is stuffy and the servants should get fresh air. Song Yimeng also claims it is stuffy and tries to leave, but Nan Heng stops her. He asks his first question: what kind of person is he in her heart?
Song Yimeng replies he is a "truly admirable person," claiming this is the truth because he has tried to kill her many times but always let her go, displaying the "magnanimity" and "remarkable foresight" she attributes to "top celebrities." Nan Heng asks his second question: what are "top celebrity," "protagonist," and "script"? Song Yimeng feigns discomfort and a need for fresh air, stating everyone asks her this.
Nan Heng reveals he has searched all the books in the Wenyuan Library and questioned scholars in the Hanlin Academy, but no one knows about these terms. Song Yimeng dismisses it as something she said casually, asking why he remembers it. Nan Heng points out she has used these terms multiple times, referring to him as a protagonist and top celebrity, and stating their interactions follow a "script rule." He presses her for the meaning of it all.
Song Yimeng denies saying it. Nan Heng begs her to tell him her secret. Song Yimeng pushes him away, criticizing his lack of manners and roughness towards women. She then sarcastically explains "top celebrity" means top traffic and a "script" is the foundation of a show, stating he could not possibly understand as he only uses force and lacks basic knowledge.
She calls him a mass murderer who slaughters the innocent and suggests he doesn't truly want to understand the script but merely wants to control everyone because he believes she knows more and is hiding things, adding that he trusts no one. Nan Heng acknowledges that he used force against her but denies indiscriminately killing innocent people otherwise. He explains he trusts no one because no one has ever trusted him, including her.
He tells her that things are not always as they appear, and what people say is not always the truth. He describes the battlefield and imperial court as dangerous places where one must fight desperately to survive. He urges her not to use her eyes if she truly wants to understand him. Song Yimeng retorts by asking who wants to understand him.
In another development, Shangguan He is told by blacksmiths that they cannot forge the required steel blades because the fine iron ore is controlled by the royalty and the tempering method required is known only to Lord Qianyu. A master who served in the Qianyu Army for decades could not obtain the formula.
Shangguan He dismisses the blacksmiths and orders his subordinate to inform the Chief Master in South City that the mission is incomplete and they must find another approach through Chu Guihong. Meanwhile, at the renovation site, Rong Hua complains about the Waning River Crescent members, noting their speed advantage and questioning if Chu Guihong will truly break his engagement if they lose the bet.
Chu Guihong orders him to focus on their work to complete the project before next month to satisfy the Emperor and Nan Heng. Rong Hua is seen tampering with a rope by removing an inner strand to weaken it secretly, assisted by another Qianyu soldier.
Rong Hua expresses that it is better for the General to beat him than let Song Yimeng be taken by the "ruffian," pointing out that Song Yimeng only comes to see the "ruffian," not the General. He persuades the other soldier to help. Li Shiliu observes that the rope has been tampered with. Chu Guihong is using the rope when it snaps, causing the structure to collapse. Li Shiliu quickly intervenes, saving Chu Guihong.
Afterward, Chu Guihong gives Li Shiliu medicine for his injuries, expressing surprise that he knows the Qianyu Army's method of applying it externally. Li Shiliu casually mentions it is available on the black market, deeply unsettling Chu Guihong about military supplies being leaked and his subordinates disregarding his orders. Li Shiliu offers Chu Guihong wine, noting that Chu Guihong wouldn't dare poison him as it would result in the demise of the entire Waning River Crescent.
Chu Guihong comments on Li Shiliu's sarcastic manner, which Li Shiliu reciprocates. Chu Guihong admits his past misunderstandings and tentatively believes Li Shiliu is a good person, acknowledging he wouldn't have gone to such lengths if he wasn't genuinely concerned for the South City residents. Li Shiliu thanks him for his tentative trust. Chu Guihong offers a favor for the rope incident, which he attributes to the Qianyu Army's actions. Li Shiliu asks for the forging method.
Chu Guihong states that coveting the forging method is a serious crime and intended for Great Jing's defense. Li Shiliu argues that if the method were shared, fewer soldiers would die at the border, potentially saving lives in battles like the Pingrong Battle. Chu Guihong understands but counters that if the method falls into the wrong hands, many innocent people could be killed. He believes the person with ulterior motives Li Shiliu is referring to is Nan Heng.
Li Shiliu affirms that Nan Heng is not a good person and advises Chu Guihong not to pursue the forging method anymore as his father is dead, and the truth about the secret is gone. Chu Guihong then shifts the conversation back to Nan Heng, asking why, during their initial meeting, Li Shiliu was prepared for Chu Guihong's investigation of the Waning River Crescent.
Li Shiliu explains that Waning River Crescent members are people of the martial arts world from various backgrounds and are used to receiving information to survive, stating that Chu Guihong's public investigation made it easy to receive news. Chu Guihong then asks why Li Shiliu was absent on the night the three of them had planned to assassinate Nan Heng.
Li Shiliu admits he was scared, being merely a nobody from the martial arts world compared to Chu Guihong and Song Yimeng who come from high official families. He adds that assassinating a prince could cost him his life and he needed a backup plan, noting he would have been captured by Chu Guihong that night if he hadn't been cautious.
He expresses that Chu Guihong still doesn't trust him and questions why a prince would conspire with someone like him if even Chu Guihong doesn't trust him. Li Shiliu suggests Chu Guihong, being born into a noble family and sheltered from reality, thinks things are too simple. He recalls a friend telling him the same thing, reminding him that haste makes waste, and true strength is forged through trials.
A flashback depicts a young Nan Rui, young Chu Guihong, and the Emperor on a hunting trip. The Emperor praises Nan Rui's compassion but is disgusted by the "excessive killing" and "reeking of blood" of hunting, calling it absurd. Young Nan Rui asks to play elsewhere. The Emperor praises young Chu Guihong's bravery as a son of a military family, and young Chu Guihong carries the Emperor.
Later, on the way back to the palace, Empress Chu Yurong asks young Nan Heng to ride in her carriage. She tells him to display the "right expression" and reminisces about her own carefree youth of riding and hunting, warning that worries age a person. She mentions the Emperor is being childish, competing with High Official Gao. She offers Nan Heng food and says she will hunt a bigger rabbit to make a scarf for his mother.
Nan Heng realizes the path does not lead to the palace. Chu Yurong lies about hunting rabbits, and Nan Heng calls her out. She threatens to starve him if he doesn't eat. The scene shifts to a cold palace. Nan Heng is imprisoned. Someone opens the door, and Nan Heng demands the return of things he gave them. The person says they burned them and asks if Nan Heng believes he didn't kill their aunt (implied Chu Yurong).
Returning to the present, Li Shiliu comments on Chu Guihong and Nan Heng's shared history as fascinating and regrettable. Chu Guihong replies that those who abandon him and disturb his heart are obstacles not to be clung to. Li Shiliu notes they had just reconciled, but Chu Guihong states there was no true reconciliation, only a temporary pause before becoming strangers again. He adds that the Emperor constantly reminds him that when two tigers fight, one must perish, and if he doesn't win, he will die.
