A Dream Within A Dream Episode 7 Recap
> A Dream Within A Dream Recap
On the road, Song Yimeng believed that Li Shiliu had his difficulties and expressed her understanding, cursing Nan Heng as cruel and tyrannical for oppressing women and children. Li Shiliu grew angry at her words but could only restrain his emotions and sarcastically praised Song Yimeng for her exceptional wit. Song Yimeng claimed she understood Nan Heng best and wanted to win over Li Shiliu to deal with Nan Heng together.
Unable to listen further, Li Shiliu quickly scaled walls and rooftops to leave. Back at his place, the more he thought about it, the more disturbed he felt—it seemed he had become a scheming villain in others’ mouths. Nan Rui, hearing that Chu Guihong was injured, hurried over to check on him. Chu Guihong felt that the Canjiang Guildhall was suspicious and suspected that Li Shiliu was working for Nan Heng. He wanted Nan Rui to help test him.
After returning, Song Xiaoyu told her maid about her encounter with Li Shiliu. Zhixia said he was the dream man of all the women in Great Jing, comparable to Chu Guihong. Song Xiaoyu was delighted but regretted not paying attention to the side character plot before. She hadn’t realized this person even existed in the script and guessed he might be a variable added to the plot. She wanted to learn more about Li Shiliu’s story.
Yingqiu brought out a storybook about him, which detailed various incidents from his life. Shangguan He heard that Song Yimeng had belittled Nan Heng and mocked that even Nan Heng had his day. Fu Gui disagreed with Nan Heng using Li Shiliu’s identity to form alliances, fearing people like Nan Rui would catch on. But Shangguan He argued that nothing ventured, nothing gained—it was the perfect opportunity to use that identity to their advantage.
Nan Rui sent a message to Nan Heng, deliberately inviting him to meet at the Canjiang Guildhall. Chu Guihong planned to disguise himself as Li Shiliu and appear before both of them to test Nan Heng’s reaction. Nan Rui was worried Nan Heng might not act predictably, but Chu Guihong reassured him with a calming pill. After reading the storybook, Song Xiaoyu felt that Li Shiliu was kind and brave, though the book wasn’t very detailed.
She was excited, thinking there was hope for her now. Remembering the wet nurse sheltered at the Canjiang Guildhall, she decided to make an earnest alliance with Li Shiliu under the pretense of dealing with Nan Heng. On the other side, Shangguan He offered a plan for Nan Heng to win over Song Yimeng under the guise of dealing with the Seventh Prince.
Shangguan He proposed that the first step was to write a letter to Song Yimeng and volunteered to handle it himself. After receiving the letter, Song Xiaoyu replied, saying Li Shiliu sounded too slick and advised him to stop reading trashy books. Duan Shanhu and others gathered the Night Wanderers and stayed up copying texts, constructing the tragic yet powerful persona of Li Shiliu. Po Yunlong found it ridiculous.
Reading the books, Song Xiaoyu began to sympathize with Li Shiliu’s background. Nan Heng, after reading them, scolded Shangguan He for the nonsense and decided to personally write a reply to Song Xiaoyu, inviting her to chat at the Canjiang Guildhall when she had time. Song Xiaoyu replied with a box of pear pastries. Upon seeing it, Shangguan He believed Song Yimeng had taken the bait.
Nan Heng agreed to Nan Rui’s invitation, planning to swap out the Qianyu Zhan Yue Blade. When Nan Rui met with Nan Heng, he couldn’t hide his guilt—Nan Heng had already seen through him. Chu Guihong’s men deliberately placed weapons in the Canjiang Guildhall as an excuse to enter and capture someone. Suddenly, Song Xiaoyu arrived. Duan Shanhu rushed to stop her and took her to inspect the Canjiang Guildhall’s operations, but she only wanted to see Li Shiliu.
Nan Rui resorted to nervously eating sunflower seeds to mask his tension. The shells piled up high on the table as he waited for Chu Guihong to appear. Disguised as Li Shiliu, Chu Guihong fell from the rooftop. Nan Rui raised his voice, announcing he would reveal his identity, but Nan Heng remained unfazed. Nan Heng warned him to hurry up or he’d call in the Qianyu Army from outside.
Seeing Nan Heng approaching, Chu Guihong quickly got up and left. Shangguan He came in with news that Song Yimeng had arrived. Nan Heng quickly left to change into Li Shiliu’s attire. While Chu Guihong was escaping, he accidentally entered Song Yimeng’s room. Mistaking him for Li Shiliu, Song Yimeng pulled him inside. Suspicious that Song Yimeng had something going on with Li Shiliu, Chu Guihong avoided looking at her directly.
The real Li Shiliu then arrived to see Song Yimeng, and she was shocked. Turning back, she realized the "Li Shiliu" from moments ago had vanished. Chu Guihong hid in the wardrobe, eavesdropping on Song Yimeng’s conversation with Li Shiliu. Li Shiliu claimed he had urgent matters and had to leave. Song Yimeng felt he had become distant and wanted to discuss Nan Heng with him.
As the two sat down, Song Yimeng urged him not to fear Nan Heng and tried to draw him in to oppose Nan Heng. Li Shiliu asked her to lay out the full plan. Song Yimeng then spoke about the upcoming Shangyuan Festival, during which Nan Heng would set the city ablaze—she hoped to stop him with Li Shiliu’s help.
