A Girl Like Me Episode 40 (Ending) Recap
> A Girl Like Me Recap
At the auspicious time, Ban Hua and Rong Xia completed their wedding ceremony in the Moon Palace. Shi Jin watched with a smile, glad that Ban Hua had found happiness. After the couple shared the cross-cupped wine, the Empress, Suyue, remarked to the Emperor how Ban Hua’s rouge had colored Rong Xia’s lips. With the ceremony concluded, Ban Hua proceeded to the bridal chamber. The Emperor then called for a banquet, during which Princess Anle quietly excused herself.
Shi Jin also left the hall to order intensified patrols, noticing the uneven steps of a palace servant delivering dishes. At the banquet, a heavily intoxicated Count Xie and Ban Huai argued boisterously before being helped away by their sons. As Rong Xia stood to accept a toast from the Emperor, he suddenly collapsed, having been poisoned.
Princess Anle urgently found Ban Hua, revealing that the Empress had plotted to harm Rong Xia and urged Ban Hua to flee for her own safety. Refusing to abandon Rong Xia, Ban Hua grabbed a sword and returned to the main hall. There, under the Empress's instructions, the Imperial Doctor misled everyone, suggesting Rong Xia was poisoned by the cross-cupped wine, which had been tainted by Ban Hua’s rouge.
Court officials immediately speculated that Ban Hua had poisoned her new husband because his refusal of the throne prevented her from becoming Empress. They demanded the Ban family be summoned for questioning and that Ban Hua be examined for poison to prove her guilt or innocence. Suyue had the Emperor forcibly escorted to his bedchamber and then ordered the Imperial Guards to apprehend Ban Hua. While attention was diverted, Du Jiu quietly moved the supposedly poisoned Rong Xia to safety.
Meanwhile, assassins disguised as palace staff delivered poisoned food to the Ban family's estate under the guise of an imperial edict, but the family grew suspicious and subdued them. Shi Jin confronted Suyue, pleading with her to stop, but she had embraced the same ruthless ambition as her late sister, Shi Feixian. Suyue then led the court officials to the Empress Dowager, seeking her authority to resolve the crisis.
Having sobered up, Ban Huai rushed to the palace to defend his daughter, joined by Count Xie, who stood ready to fight alongside him. The Empress Dowager ordered the Imperial Guards to arrest the Ban family. Just then, Rong Xia and the Emperor appeared, both completely unharmed, leading their own contingent of guards. It was revealed that the entire incident was Suyue's scheme to poison Rong Xia, frame Ban Hua, and destroy the Ban family.
However, Rong Xia had learned of her plot in advance and worked with the Emperor to turn the tables on the conspirators. The Emperor ordered the guilty parties to be taken to the Court of Judicial Review for judgment. Upset by Rong Xia's deception, Ban Hua stormed off. Shi Jin escorted Suyue away, lamenting that she had become just like her sister, willing to do anything for power.
Rong Xia followed an angry Ban Hua to the bridal chamber and apologized for deceiving her. Though Ban Hua was stubborn, Rong Xia knew her heart and, after a tense but tender exchange, pulled her into his arms and carried her to the bed. The red curtains fell, signifying the lovers’ union at last.
In the time that followed, Du Jiu and Softy married and had a child, while Xie Wanyu also became pregnant, with both women going into labor on the same day. Ban Huai and Yin Shi retired from the capital's luxuries to live a simple life in the countryside, where Akeqi fell for Rocky and persistently tried to convince her to return to the prairie with him. The struggle for power had driven Jiang Luo to insanity.
Princess Anle found peace in a nunnery, where Ban Hua sent her favorite flower tea every year on her birthday. Shi Jin remained a solitary general; when a young female soldier asked him to teach her the Ban family's spear techniques, he demonstrated the moves, recalling the day Ban Hua first taught them to him. Ban Hua also finally understood the source of her prophetic dreams.
While her visions may have been a blessing for saving a holy man during a temple fire, she realized the more profound truth: she was the one who controlled her own destiny and forged her own extraordinary life. As winter arrived, Ban Hua and Rong Xia stood together beneath a tree adorned with red prayer ribbons. He asked what she had wished for when they first stood there.
She confessed her wish had been for him: for Rong Xia to live a life of happiness and find his true love. As the first snow began to fall, they embraced, a perfect portrait of a talented scholar and a beautiful lady. Having endured countless challenges, they were finally ready to spend the rest of their lives together.
