A Love Never Lost Recap, Plot, Synopsis, Total Episodes

A Love Never Lost Synopsis

After the Gengzi misfortune, the land of China was full of devastation, and young people with aspirations rose to save their country.

Liangxiang, Yang Kaizhi, Li Renjun became the first group of progressive youths to study in the Japanese cadet school, and met the revolutionary exiles Yu Tianbai and Qiu Hong on the cruise ship, from then on the five people’s fates were closely linked.

As various tides of thought came to them, they sworn brothers, chased love, and fought for the revitalization of China.

After returning to China, Liang Xiang was ambitious to explore the way to enrich the country and strengthen the army, but he was trapped in the whirlpool of power, nowhere to show his enthusiasm , and finally recognized the direction of the times and live in seclusion for chance.

In the battle of Yanji, Kaizhi defeated the arrogance of the Japanese imperialists and was hailed as the “hero of the garrison”.

The revolutionary party, the constitutionalists and the Beiyang Army were in constant competition, and the revolutionaries fought bloodily during the Xinhai period to overthrew the old order that had existed for thousands of years.

Enlightened by the new trend of thoughts, Qiu Hong, Yang Yifan and others recognized the only way out for the Chinese nation in the midst of the ups and downs is revolutionary.

A Love Never Lost Recap

Episode 1 Recap

In the year 1990 AD, at a time of crisis in modern China, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi fled with Emperor Guangxu; the uprising of the Self-Government Army initiated by Tang Caichang and revolutionary comrades was brutally suppressed. “Forty million people weep in unison—where in the world lies the realm of China? ”Communist ideology had not yet entered China. A multitude of competing ideologies influenced the youth of the land.

Some upheld feudal autocracy, some advocated constitutional monarchy, and others yearned for more radical revolution. Various forces were entangled in fierce struggles, while the young people explored their own paths amidst the tides, striving to find a direction for China’s future on the grand stage of a turbulent history. . . In the 27th year of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing dynasty, namely 1901 AD, the revolutionary organization's base in Jingzhou, Huzhou, was discovered and dismantled.

Revolutionary Yang Kaizhi became a prisoner. The Bannermen officers had them decide their fate by casting bamboo divination blocks—two down meant death, one up and one down or two up meant release. Yang Kaizhi was lucky, casting one up and one down, narrowly escaping death. Young bannerman Liang Xiang came to the banner camp to watch the beheadings and happened to escort Yang Kaizhi out. They were the same age, both seventeen.

But Liang Xiang was different from Yang Kaizhi—he was a bannerman, born and raised to become a soldier, and could only officially serve in the banner guard upon turning eighteen. That day, Liang Xiang had skipped class and secretly returned to the school, only to be caught and scolded by his teacher. All the students covered for Liang Xiang with lies and were punished together. Each young man had to carry a bowl of water without spilling a drop.

Liang Xiang made a bet with his classmates—if he won, he’d get twenty pieces of fried dough. He balanced the bowl on his forehead and walked step by step back home, not spilling a single drop. Liang Xiang’s mother, a descendant of Prince Dorgon of the Heshou Rui lineage, knew her son was mischievous and scolded him briefly before preparing to head out.

The wife of the prefect had invited the wife of the Hubei-Hunan Salt Transport Commissioner for a banquet and asked Liang Xiang’s mother to accompany them. Surprisingly, the Commissioner’s wife was extremely deferential in front of the banner matriarch Liang, even kneeling in salute. The prefect’s wife only knew that Liang Xiang’s mother was the widow of a military officer from the banner camp and was unaware she was actually a descendant of Dorgon.

After the banquet, the Commissioner’s wife was furious that the prefect’s wife had brought Liang Xiang’s mother along and left in anger. Liang Xiang later carried his drunken mother home from the prefect’s residence. The next day, Liang Xiang’s teacher informed him that he could no longer teach him. Liang Xiang was to be sent to the Archives Office, a subordinate institution of the Imperial Academy during the Qing dynasty, mainly responsible for handling Manchu-language memorials and official documents.

An imperial decree arrived in the capital, specifically naming Liang Xiang to go to Shanghai. It was during the westward retreat of the Empress Dowager and Emperor, and the authorities had plans to rebuild Xi’an’s military strength by forming a new army. The imperial capital’s pampered nobles had become completely rotten, and no suitable talent could be found. Thus, they chose Liang Xiang, intending to send him to study military affairs in Japan to broaden his horizons.

Liang Xiang was stunned. His mother was also skeptical at first, but upon learning that the Deputy Commander himself had informed Liang Xiang, she exclaimed that a cold pot was suddenly boiling, nearly fainting from surprise. In July 1901, under the threat of imperialist diplomacy and military force, the Qing government sent Emperor Guangxu’s brother Aisin Gioro Zai Feng from Beijing to Germany to deliver a formal letter of apology.

Song Baoquan, Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, organized a grand reception for Aisin Gioro Zai Feng’s passage through Shanghai. Yang Kaizhi brought a box of promissory notes to Shanghai to deliver to Song Baoquan and made one request—that he be included among the students sent to study military affairs in Japan. Xie Shuhong, the second daughter of the Kaiwentang Pen Shop, traveled to Shanghai on the Song family’s private ship and met her brother-in-law Yang Yifan.

Yang Yifan had opened a girls' school in Shanghai but currently had no students. Business-savvy Xie Shuhong offered him some ideas.

Episode 2 Recap

At the lodging for the military students, Liang Xiang met Yang Kaizhi. After being reminded, Yang Kaizhi also recognized him. Before the commanding officer arrived, Yang Kaizhi told Liang Xiang not to reveal that they knew each other. Yang Kaizhi’s spot as a military student had been added at the last minute, and he brought with him a handwritten letter of recommendation from the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Liu Kunyi. Naturally, the commanding officer assumed he had powerful connections.

All the students changed into uniform, registered in the training room, and received their stipends. Their tuition fees were allocated according to regulations by the Foreign Affairs Office and transferred directly to the school in Tokyo on schedule. Li Renjun, who previously held the rank of "zhengmu" in the Right Division of the Wuwei Army, shared a room with Liang Xiang and Yang Kaizhi.

Li Renjun knew that Liang Xiang's ancestors were descendants of Dorgon, and that he was genuine aristocracy. But Liang Xiang said he was only a substitute. He learned only after coming to Shanghai that the court had issued a command requiring each noble family in the capital to send one heir to study abroad. The spot originally belonged to the household of King Qing.

However, fearing that studying abroad was terrifying, they looked through the clan registry and picked Liang Xiang, who was far away in Jingzhou, to take the place. Liang Xiang’s maternal grandfather’s former attendant, Zhu Laixi, now a commander in the Shanghai patrol force, enthusiastically rekindled ties upon seeing Liang Xiang and invited him to dine at Lao Zhengxing. Liang Xiang asked Yang Kaizhi and Li Renjun to come along, but Yang Kaizhi declined, saying he needed to thank Song Baoquan.

Song Baoquan had his concubine hand over 2,000 yen and gave it to Yang Kaizhi. After bidding farewell to Song Baoquan’s concubine at the Song household, Xie Shuhong returned to the Shanghai Girls’ School and found Yang Yifan and a group of men in deep discussion. Yang Yifan wanted to introduce her to some of them, but seeing the room full of men, Xie Shuhong did not go in.

At Lao Zhengxing, Zhu Laixi rambled on with empty pleasantries until Liang Xiang, impatient, interrupted him, prompting him to state his purpose. Prince Chun’s entourage would be visiting the Foreign Affairs Bureau residence early the next morning to accompany the prince on a horseback ride. Zhu Laixi suggested taking Liang Xiang to meet the prince.

But Prince Chun had only named two people he wished to meet on this trip: Governor-General Liu Kunyi of Liangjiang and Duan Fang, Governor of Hubei, who was en route to his post. So Liang Xiang’s wish to see the prince was already a tall order—bringing along Li Renjun and Yang Kaizhi was even more unlikely.

While Prince Chun, Aisin Gioro Zai Feng, younger brother of Emperor Guangxu, was riding, his horse was startled by the sound of a foreign automobile horn and began to gallop wildly. Prince Chun nearly fell off, but Liang Xiang managed to grab the reins and stop the horse, saving the prince.

Prince Chun recognized Liang Xiang and mentioned his mother, then clearly stated that during his studies in Japan, Liang Xiang must find out why the Japanese army was effective while theirs was not. Yang Yifan gave a lecture to the women at the girls’ school. The first lesson was geography. At first, no one was interested, but gradually the students became increasingly engaged. At the height of their excitement, a loud boom came from the chemistry lab next door.

It turned out chemistry PhD Wu Tianbai had miscalculated the ratio of nitric acid, causing an explosion. Fortunately, no one was injured. Yang Yifan assigned Xie Shuhong to clean up the lab, and through this she met the talented Wu Tianbai. She was drawn to his wit and humor.

Meng Fuchao, an official from the Shanghai Circuit, met privately with Liang Xiang and gave him a sum as an intelligence fee, asking him to report the activities of the rebel factions every two months. Liang Xiang was now faced with his first choice. At the Shanghai Girls’ School, Cheng Zhaofang gave a lecture on gender equality and free marriage. Xie Shuhong was completely absorbed in the class.

Afterward, she wanted to ask Cheng Zhaofang for his notes, but he said he delivered the lecture entirely from memory and had no handouts. However, he gave her his business card and said he had several books specifically about women's issues that she could borrow.

Episode 3 Recap

Sulfuric acid was running low, so Wu Tianbai went to the British Pharmacy in the foreign concession to purchase more. He disguised himself as a Japanese man and invited Xie Shuhong to wear a kimono and accompany him, thinking it would make them more convincing. Li Renjun also had Japanese yen on hand—Liang Xiang guessed it was given to him by Meng Fuchao.

Li Renjun told him to stop staring at him; among the three of them, Yang Kaizhi was the richest. Yesterday, Li Renjun saw him bring back a stack of yen—at least 2,000. While waiting for the ship to arrive, Liang Xiang and the others had to study basic Japanese. He discovered a pattern: Japanese often lacks full sentence structure, but by simply adding "I want to" to the front, one could piece together a complete phrase in almost any situation.

Wu Tianbai successfully bought 2,000 milliliters of sulfuric acid. Since Xie Shuhong couldn’t speak Japanese, Wu Tianbai had to shield her from being found out. A Japanese woman asked Xie Shuhong something, but she couldn’t understand and stayed silent, letting Wu Tianbai handle it. Xie Shuhong greatly admired Wu Tianbai for his fluency in both Japanese and English and learned a phrase in Japanese from him.

There were now three officially enrolled female students at the girls’ school, and they shared a dormitory with Xie Shuhong. Yang Yifan asked Xie Shuhong to look after them and to go to General Manager Xu if she needed anything. But Xie Shuhong was clearly distracted, and Yang Yifan looked at her with deep concern in his eyes. Liang Xiang was tasked with passing on a message to Prince Chun, asking him to attend a banquet hosted by Song Baoquan.

Unable to decline, Liang Xiang agreed. Prince Chun did meet with him, but when he learned Liang Xiang was there for the banquet, he interrupted before Liang Xiang could speak, telling him not to mention that wretched banquet again. Prince Chun had never left his residence since childhood. Ever since his elder brother became Emperor Guangxu, he had lived with extreme caution. On this trip to Germany, people flattered him endlessly simply because of his identity as Prince Chun.

But Zai Feng said he was himself, and Emperor Guangxu was Emperor Guangxu. He would never attend the lavish and wasteful banquet hosted by Song Baoquan. He warned Liang Xiang not to tell Song Baoquan that he wouldn’t be coming—he’d rather watch Song Baoquan drain his own silver reserves throwing that extravagant banquet.

When Song Baoquan heard that Prince Chun would be attending, he was so pleased that he immediately had Da Ren from the Chamber of Commerce start making arrangements—the more extravagant, the better. Wu Tianbai had finished preparing the explosives. He planned to sneak into the banquet held by the Shanghai circuit official at Yipinxiang for Prince Chun, then detonate the bomb and assassinate the visiting prince. He needed an accomplice.

Upon hearing that Wu Tianbai intended to recruit Xie Shuhong, Yang Yifan was the first to object. Wu Tianbai was unfazed and suggested that Yang Yifan ask Xie Shuhong for her own opinion. Yang Yifan went to question Xie Shuhong. From her reaction, he could tell she was already involved with Wu Tianbai. Furious, Yang Yifan, knowing full well that Wu Tianbai was a reckless man, immediately told Xie Shuhong to buy a ticket and return to Anqing, Anhui.

Before leaving, Xie Shuhong went to Cheng Zhaofang’s place to get some books, but Cheng Zhaofang wasn’t there—Wu Tianbai was. He stopped her and began a persuasive ideological pitch, convincing her to stay and join them. Naive and blinded by love, Xie Shuhong foolishly agreed. Yang Yifan later learned from General Manager Xu that Wu Tianbai had booked two ship tickets to Tokyo, Japan. Possibly fearing the consequences would implicate the school, he planned to escape.

But one ticket would’ve been enough—why two? Yang Yifan assumed Xie Shuhong had already left Shanghai, so he didn’t think much of it. Even though Prince Chun would not attend the banquet, the show had to go on. Wu Tianbai mistakenly believed Prince Chun would be present and showed up with Xie Shuhong as planned. At the banquet, Xie Shuhong saw Song Baoquan’s concubine. The two recognized each other, and Song’s concubine looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Episode 4 Recap

Wu Tianbai greeted Song Baoquan and his wife with Xie Shuhong by his side. Xie Shuhong stood stiffly—she knew the concubine had recognized her, so much so that she didn’t dare lift her head when greeting them. Soon after, Song's concubine told Song Baoquan about Xie Shuhong's identity. The banquet was packed with people. Wu Tianbai tried to calm Xie Shuhong, telling her not to be nervous.

He had placed explosives in her bag, waiting for Prince Chun to appear so he could detonate it. But Prince Chun never showed—his former superior, the Governor of Jiangsu, appeared instead. Wu Tianbai told Xie Shuhong to go wait by the carriage, then went up to the Jiangsu Governor himself, striking up a conversation. He learned that Prince Chun looked down on such banquets and would not show up at all.

With nothing left to lose, Wu Tianbai, under the guise of a hug, strapped the explosive-laden bag to the Governor and pulled the safety pin. The area was instantly filled with thick smoke and chaos. Wu Tianbai escaped, got into the carriage, and took Xie Shuhong to the Sixteenth Wharf. What Wu Tianbai didn’t know was that the bomb he had meticulously prepared never went off.

Song’s concubine was stunned by what happened and realized Xie Shuhong had to be involved. Wu Tianbai and Xie Shuhong rushed to the wharf, where Yang Yifan, on behalf of General Manager Xu, brought them two ship tickets. Just as Yang Yifan had suspected, Xie Shuhong hadn’t left Shanghai but had instead gotten involved with Wu Tianbai again. At the moment, escaping was most important, so Yang Yifan urged Wu Tianbai to take good care of Xie Shuhong.

If Xie Shuhong encountered trouble in Tokyo, she could write to the address on the note. With tears in her eyes, Xie Shuhong looked just like a little sister who had done something wrong. Because of a single bed, Liang Xiang and Yang Kaizhi got into an argument. Li Renjun's arrival helped ease the tense atmosphere. Wu Tianbai believed what he was doing was to awaken the people.

Now that Xie Shuhong was on the ship, they had no choice but to share the same fate. Meals were provided on board. After settling in, the three of them went to the dining hall. Although the waiters were Japanese, they spoke fluent Chinese, which made the trio—struggling with broken Japanese—look quite foolish. At the dining hall, Liang Xiang noticed Xie Shuhong and gave her several glances.

Wu Tianbai was seasick, so Xie Shuhong went to the dining hall to fetch him some miso soup. Then he asked for bread. When Xie Shuhong went out to wash clothes, she happened to run into Yang Kaizhi, who had bread in his hand. She asked him a few questions, and Yang Kaizhi readily gave her the bread and even offered to deliver it to her room.

But when he entered and saw a man there, assuming it was Xie Shuhong’s husband, his face fell, completely crestfallen. Liang Xiang was unaware of Wu Tianbai’s presence. In the laundry room, he voluntarily helped Xie Shuhong with her clothes. After drying them, he brought them back to her room, where Wu Tianbai called him out. Wu Tianbai claimed to know Takagi Sakuzō, the principal of the Japanese Army Military Academy.

Although Liang Xiang had never heard of Takagi Sakuzō, he was immediately full of respect for Wu Tianbai’s knowledge. When Wu Tianbai asked for Liang Xiang’s name, he instantly realized Liang Xiang was a bannerman. The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward, and Liang Xiang quickly excused himself. He didn’t understand why people cared so much about his imperial background. Li Renjun said that the reason the nation had reached its current state was largely because of the imperial clan.

To avoid airing family scandals in public, Song Baoquan told his concubine that Xie Shuhong had nothing to do with the Song family and that this matter should never be mentioned again. After several days at sea, they arrived in Tokyo, Japan. Before disembarking, Wu Tianbai said something that made Xie Shuhong cry—so loudly that the military students in the hallway heard her. Because of this, after disembarking, Liang Xiang began to pay more attention to Xie Shuhong.

Episode 5 Recap

There are many Chinese students studying abroad in Tokyo, with the highest concentration in the Kanda area. Wu Tianbai was clearly very familiar with Tokyo—it was obvious this wasn’t his first time fleeing there. He took Xie Shuhong directly to a place called Songzhu and chatted warmly with the proprietress, settling into one of the rooms. Tokyo was not like Shanghai, and Wu Tianbai told Xie Shuhong she would have to learn to cook for herself.

The money he brought could cover three months’ rent, but beyond that, he had no idea what would happen. After saying this, Wu Tianbai left, claiming he had to meet some old friends in Tokyo, leaving Xie Shuhong alone. Xie Shuhong was the second daughter of the Kaiwentang pen shop, someone who had never done any chores in her life—cooking was out of the question. She couldn’t speak Japanese either, and everything in Japan felt unfamiliar and overwhelming.

She crouched down and burst into tears, frightening the proprietress who had come to deliver some books. The proprietress didn’t understand Chinese and quickly called over a Chinese student to interpret. Wu Tianbai returned very late. In Tokyo, he was the only person Xie Shuhong could talk to. But all Wu Tianbai cared about were his so-called revolution and ideals—he had no regard for her feelings. At this moment, Xie Shuhong was full of guilt.

Not only had she failed to bring honor to her parents in the eyes of the neighbors, but now she had also gotten involved with a rebel like Wu Tianbai, dragging her parents and siblings into trouble. At Seijo Preparatory School in Tokyo, all the military students underwent basic physical examinations and each received a uniform. Their supervising officer was Hirata Ichiro, who was in charge of the Chinese military students studying in Japan.

Over the next six months, these students would undertake preparatory training here, cutting all ties with their past lives. From now on, they had only one identity—recruits. While Wu Tianbai was passionately discussing ideas with his friends, Xie Shuhong returned from grocery shopping and had to figure out how to cook. The whole courtyard filled with thick smoke. After some guests complained, the proprietress gently brought it up with Wu Tianbai, who then told Xie Shuhong to stop cooking.

From then on, they would continue eating meals prepared by the proprietress. Three months later, at the camp of the internship regiment on the outskirts of Tokyo, Yang Kaizhi and Li Renjun came to find Liang Xiang. In the first three months, they hadn’t learned anything. Liang Xiang had been in charge of feeding pigs, while Yang Kaizhi washed dishes in the cafeteria and Li Renjun stoked the fires at the bathhouse.

The two wanted Liang Xiang to join them in meeting the regiment commander, but Liang Xiang refused. Knowing full well that drinking was forbidden in the regiment, Li Renjun still brought alcohol, putting Liang Xiang on high alert. Just then, Sergeant Yamashita arrived. Liang Xiang quickly told them to escape through the window. Smelling the alcohol, Sergeant Yamashita attacked Liang Xiang without hesitation. Fortunately, Li Renjun and Yang Kaizhi hadn’t actually left.

They stepped in to help Liang Xiang, and Li Renjun, who knew martial arts, defeated Sergeant Yamashita. The regiment commander stormed in with armed soldiers, pointing their guns at the three of them. He ordered them to be tied up and locked in the confinement room. Sergeant Yamashita got a slap in the face, and the commander angrily scolded him for disgracing the Emperor of Japan.

The commander didn’t want to keep these three students, but Hirata Ichiro pleaded on their behalf, and the commander reluctantly agreed. However, he warned that if they violated the rules again, they would be expelled immediately. Liang Xiang came up with a solution—he requested that news of his misconduct be reported to his guardian in Japan, Duke Ayakura of the Japanese imperial family. Hearing the name, the regiment commander was stunned. Duke Ayakura took Liang Xiang back to his residence and, during dinner, began teaching him the rules of the Japanese military—especially the absolute obedience required toward a superior’s orders.

Episode 6 Recap

Liang Xiang returned to the regiment in the duke’s car and happened to see Xie Shuhong walking down the street. She had just pawned some jewelry and was on her way back. Wu Tianbai had said he would be away for three to five days and had taken most of the money Xie Shuhong got from pawning the jewelry. As for rent and food, Wu Tianbai told her to delay payment for a few days until he returned.

Xie Shuhong learned from the proprietress that this wasn’t the first or second time Wu Tianbai had skipped out on rent and meals—this time was likely no different. Troubled by the proprietress’s words, Xie Shuhong couldn’t sleep. Later that evening, the proprietress brought wine and sat with her to chat about Wu Tianbai.

The proprietress said she had liked Wu Tianbai and was drawn to his charisma, so she never charged him when he used to stay there—but Wu Tianbai never liked her in return. For several days, there was no news of Wu Tianbai. Xie Shuhong went out looking for work, but the wages offered were always too low. As a fellow woman, the proprietress sympathized with her and said she wouldn’t kick her out.

If Xie Shuhong felt uncomfortable about staying for free, she could help clean guest rooms or assist in the kitchen. The proprietress left food for Xie Shuhong in her room. As she ate, tears streamed down her face. At the regiment, the sow Liang Xiang had been raising successfully gave birth to eleven piglets. Sergeant Yamashita announced that starting tomorrow, Liang Xiang would officially join infantry squad training and no longer have to feed pigs.

The infantry training was far more intense than he had expected. After a 24-kilometer march, Liang Xiang was utterly exhausted and had no strength left during field exercises, while the other Japanese soldiers had already finished digging their trenches. Sergeant Yamashita told Liang Xiang to go ask Yang Kaizhi for advice and figure out what went wrong.

Liang Xiang approached Yang Kaizhi, who explained that the spots assigned by their sergeant were much easier to dig, while the area assigned by Sergeant Yamashita to Liang Xiang might have been rocky terrain. Liang Xiang received a letter from his mother in China, which he read with great care. Though life was hard for Xie Shuhong, she didn’t give up.

Day after day, she continued searching for work until she finally met a benefactor—Cai Guangqi—who helped her secure a job at Songyuntang Stationery Shop with a daily wage of thirty-five yuan. That evening, Wu Tianbai returned. When he found out Xie Shuhong had gotten a high-paying job, he suspected she was being deceived and refused to let her go to work.

But Xie Shuhong no longer listened to him—she had been deceived by him too many times and had developed immunity. Wu Tianbai tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Knowing Xie Shuhong was also awake, he spoke to her through the door. Wu Tianbai was an idealist, passionate about revolution, believing that China was undergoing an unprecedented upheaval. There was nothing wrong with that, but his revolution had no footing in China’s current reality.

Xie Shuhong, on the other hand, was more grounded. She needed to first solve her immediate struggles to survive before she could find the time and energy to understand the revolution Wu Tianbai so often talked about. After some time of training, Sergeant Yamashita and Sergeant Kawashima discussed and decided to select three Chinese military students to compete with three soldiers from the Inukai regiment in a shooting contest.

Liang Xiang was responsible for picking the other two, and as expected, he chose Li Renjun and Yang Kaizhi. In the end, Liang Xiang’s team won the contest, and the three of them stood taller with pride. During their evening break, while bathing, Yang Kaizhi suggested they go out and relax. A few court officials who had just returned from the Osaka Industrial Exposition wanted to meet Liang Xiang. That Yang Kaizhi actually knew officials surprised Liang Xiang.

Episode 7 Recap

Leading the group was Prince Qing's son, Beile Zai Zhen, followed by the Chinese minister to Japan. Although Liang Xiang had come to Japan as a military student by taking over the quota originally assigned to Prince Qing's family, he didn’t know Beile Zai Zhen at all and had no intention of getting close to him. He went to a small restaurant to eat by himself. Li Renjun didn’t go either; he went with Liang Xiang to the restaurant.

Yang Kaizhi had made his own bed, so he could lie in it himself. Liang Xiang truly didn’t understand why Yang Kaizhi wanted to get involved in court affairs. Li Renjun told him that Yang Kaizhi was not only connected with court officials, but also had dealings with Liang Qichao. Just last month, Yang Kaizhi had tried to take Li Renjun to meet Liang Qichao, but since Li Renjun was aligned with Yuan Shikai, he naturally refused.

Even back in Shanghai, Yang Kaizhi had already been blacklisted by the court. Somehow, he had managed to get close to the Governor-General of Liangjiang and had the backing of Song Baoquan, the Vice President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce. Without that support, Yang Kaizhi wouldn’t have been able to qualify as a military student in Japan.

Liang Xiang didn’t want to meet Beile Zai Zhen, but to his surprise, Yang Kaizhi brought Zai Zhen to the small restaurant to find him and even brought the funds his father had entrusted him to give Liang Xiang as a means to win him over as a military talent. Beile Zai Zhen told Liang Xiang that from now on, he should consider himself a future military leader of the court.

The court needed fresh military talent, and Prince Qing needed him. —On her first day, Xie Shuhong reported to the Wan Shan Toy Store and then began her work. The first person she looked for was Mr. Zhu Wentong, an elderly man with graying beard and sideburns. He was initially unwilling to draw anymore, but Xie Shuhong had a sweet tongue and some background in painting and calligraphy. She praised Mr.

Zhu’s crane painting endlessly, and he agreed with a smile to paint another one. Liang Xiang was performing well in the Inukai Regiment, but his brow was clouded with worry. When Duke Ayakura asked about it, Liang Xiang said his mother’s asthma had flared up again. Duke Ayakura thought for a moment and said that Liang Xiang’s mother could come stay in Tokyo for a month or two—he happened to know a doctor who specialized in treating asthma.

Liang Xiang then asked Zhu Laixi to buy a ship ticket for his mother. He arranged for her to stay at Songlin, in a room diagonally across from Wu Tianbai and Xie Shuhong. Soon after, Liang Xiang’s mother arrived in Tokyo, and Liang Xiang settled her into Songlin before returning to the regiment that night—he had to go on a training exercise the next day.

There were many Japanese people living in Songlin, which would make things easier for his mother in the future. The next day, Liang Xiang’s mother saw that Xie Shuhong was Chinese and asked her to help bring over breakfast. She also looked for a small stool, but the proprietress Daizi said it couldn’t be used. So Liang Xiang’s mother quietly asked Xie Shuhong in Chinese whether she could sit on it after Daizi left. Xie Shuhong couldn’t help but laugh.

—Wu Tianbai wanted to counterfeit money and tried to persuade Xie Shuhong, who worked at the stationery shop, to find a top-notch fine-line painter to recreate the figure designs on the banknotes. Xie Shuhong was swayed by his words and began to waver. During the holidays, Liang Xiang took his mother to the hospital. Just as he was about to pay the bill, he learned that Duke Ayakura had already paid for everything.

Liang Xiang’s mother had no problems with her lungs, but smoking could trigger asthma attacks, so the doctor advised her to quit smoking. Liang Xiang’s mother asked Xie Shuhong to buy meat for her. As she was helping stoke the fire to cook the meat, Liang Xiang arrived, and Xie Shuhong left when she saw him. Liang Xiang explained to his mother that he had met Xie Shuhong on the ship.

He said Xie Shuhong and Wu Tianbai were quite sensitive about his imperial family background, but his mother didn’t mind. The military students gathered at Songlin, creating a lively atmosphere. Xie Shuhong delivered the payment for Mr. Zhu Wentong from Wan Shan Stationery. Following up on his painting, she asked if he could paint the portrait for a banknote. When Mr. Zhu learned that she was asking on behalf of revolutionaries, he repeatedly said it was a pity. Then he returned the payment to Xie Shuhong, saying it was a donation to the revolutionary party.

Episode 8 Recap

Wu Tianbai’s revolutionary reasoning and emotions didn’t work on everyone. He kept going on by himself, so Xie Shuhong simply went to fetch water to wash his feet. Liang Xiang’s mother brought some plain boiled pork for Xie Shuhong to eat. The next day, when Xie Shuhong went to return the plate, she didn’t see Liang Xiang’s mother but instead ran into a well-dressed Liang Xiang.

She learned that he had just completed his enlistment training and bid farewell to the Inukai Regiment, ending his half-year period as a new recruit. Liang Xiang’s mother was quite fond of Xie Shuhong. Plus, the landlady mentioned that Xie Shuhong and Wu Tianbai were teacher and student—they lived together but each had their own room—so she thought it might be possible between her son and Xie Shuhong. Liang Xiang hurriedly told his mother not to play matchmaker.

Nine out of ten people in Tokyo were revolutionaries, and who knew—maybe one day he would change too. Hearing this, his mother’s expression changed immediately, and Liang Xiang quickly tried to smooth things over. As soon as enlistment training ended, Yang Kaizhi cut off his braid. Liang Xiang and Li Renjun refused to cut theirs. Instructor Hirata Ichiro said that their upcoming studies had nothing to do with hair length—it was just a joke, and everyone laughed.

Hirata Ichiro was in charge of teaching horseback riding to all the military students. Yang Kaizhi had never learned to ride before and didn’t know how to handle the reins. Once he got on the horse, he fell off, injuring both himself and the horse. —Liang Xiang used a traditional Bannerman healing method to treat him—treating the person first and then the horse. Both treatments involved ritual prayer.

Li Renjun watched in astonishment as the injured horse, during Liang Xiang’s ritual, voluntarily walked out of the stable—clearly already healed. Yang Kaizhi’s leg also recovered for the most part, with only a slight lingering pain. When Hirata Ichiro learned that it was Liang Xiang who had helped both the man and the horse recover quickly, he admitted that Liang Xiang’s ancestors were quite extraordinary—but said such things didn’t work anymore. Liang Xiang was upset and troubled by this.

His mother comforted him, saying that while such words sounded harsh from others, he shouldn’t mind being scolded a little. Liang Xiang needed the determination to endure hardship and persevere. Before going to Duke Ayakura’s residence, Liang Xiang went to Songyuntang to commission a large painting by Cai Guangqi. He had just left when Xie Shuhong returned after picking up a landscape painting.

The boss of Wanshan told her about Liang Xiang’s request and even showed her the sketch Liang Xiang had drawn to convey his requirements. The painting wasn’t cheap, so Xie Shuhong asked for a raise. The boss of Wanshan happily agreed. —At Duke Ayakura’s residence, mother and son had a meal. The duchess took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and asked Liang Xiang’s mother whether it was from the palace.

One glance, and Liang Xiang’s mother said it wasn’t. The duchess looked embarrassed and quietly slipped the bracelet under the cushion. On the way back, Liang Xiang’s mother didn’t say a word. The truth was, that jade bracelet was from the palace. Japan had taken many things from China and still claimed cultural kinship—there was no way she could acknowledge it. Wu Tianbai had a Japanese technician draw the ten-yuan note issued by the China Commercial Bank.

His counterfeiting plan was about to be set in motion. The only state-run Chinese-capital bank was losing money. A Japanese bank offered to invest, but Sheng Xuanhuai refused. Da Ren wanted to persuade Song Baoquan to talk Sheng Xuanhuai into agreeing, but Song Baoquan believed Sheng Xuanhuai was right. Someone from the Yokohama Specie Bank found Wanshan and specifically asked for counterfeit Chinese banknotes. Wanshan claimed that another customer had the same idea.

The other party cut straight to the point, saying there was no such customer—Wanshan just wanted to raise the price. As long as the price wasn’t outrageously high, the Yokohama Specie Bank could accept it.

Episode 9 Recap

Liang Xiang received a notice to report to the military academy's kendo dojo. He changed into a kendo uniform and sparred with Hirata Ichiro. Hirata Ichiro believed that traditional Chinese soldiers neither had exaggerated masculine traits nor a culture of dueling. Their ideal was the Confucian general. He told Liang Xiang to abandon this notion, as the First Sino-Japanese War had already proven that the Confucian general was useless. From now on, Hirata Ichiro would teach Liang Xiang Japanese swordsmanship.

Yang Kaizhi said he would take Liang Xiang to Tokyo Imperial University the next day, where a group of interesting people wanted to meet him. At first, Liang Xiang wasn’t interested—until Yang Kaizhi mentioned a wealthy young lady from Korea. At that, Liang Xiang immediately perked up and agreed to go to Tokyo Imperial University with him the next day.

But when he sat in the classroom and listened to the professor's lecture for a while, Liang Xiang considered it reactionary and left without saying a word to Yang Kaizhi. Yang Kaizhi told the professor about Liang Xiang’s aversion to revolutionary propaganda. The professor asked him to continue working on Liang Xiang’s thinking, as recruiting a young noble from the Qing imperial family to the revolution would be extremely valuable.

The wealthy Korean girl Yang Kaizhi mentioned did exist—her name was Lee Joo-hee. Some students saw Liang Xiang being picked up by a Japanese duke’s carriage and suspected the duke had ulterior motives for getting close to a Qing noble. Yang Kaizhi believed that if someone like Liang Xiang were to become a key figure in the Qing government, then China under Qing rule would surely bow to Japan.

He proposed that the student association publish a revolutionary journal to clearly express their stance, highlight their cause, and unify their ideology. Everyone unanimously agreed. Liang Xiang went to the Wanshan stationery store to pick up the painting and unexpectedly saw Xie Shuhong working there. Both were surprised. Liang Xiang was generous and paid 1,700 yen in full. When she got home, Xie Shuhong told Wu Tianbai that it was Liang Xiang who had bought the large painting.

Wu Tianbai told her to find a chance to invite Liang Xiang over—he wanted to rally all the military students to the revolutionary cause. Liang Xiang delivered the painting to Duke Ayakura’s residence. The duke’s daughter seemed to like him. Realizing this, Liang Xiang quickly made up an excuse and left. At the officer school, there was a clear distinction between Japanese and Chinese military students.

Liang Xiang questioned and challenged this treatment, but Instructor Hirata said that in the Japanese army, there were no explanations. In the heat of the moment, Liang Xiang blurted out a comment that angered Hirata, who ordered him to report to the kendo dojo in one hour. Liang Xiang was a Bannerman, raised as a soldier from birth, and had a foundation in martial arts—so naturally, he was also skilled in swordsmanship.

Hirata Ichiro allowed him to use any technique he could to win, but a coach is still a coach—Hirata defeated Liang Xiang. Afterward, he explained Liang Xiang’s doubts: the Japanese would never teach others all their winning techniques. In other words, they would never give their all when teaching Chinese military students. Back in the dorm, everyone worried that Liang Xiang had been badly beaten by Hirata. Just then, Liang Xiang stormed in, furious—but still rational.

The military was not like school—petitions and strikes were absolutely unacceptable. Since that was the case, they would have to learn whatever the officer school was willing to teach, and learn it better than the Japanese students. Xie Shuhong had a meal at Liang Xiang’s home. Liang Xiang’s mother treated her very well, subtly asking about her background and why she came to Tokyo. Aside from the last question, which Xie Shuhong avoided answering, she responded to all the others.

Counterfeit banknotes suddenly appeared in Shanghai. Da Ren rushed to report the matter to Song Baoquan. What had happened in the morning was already known to all the money houses in Shanghai by the afternoon, throwing the public into panic. They brought all the China Commercial Bank’s notes and demanded immediate redemption in silver. Song Baoquan hurriedly told Da Ren to notify Sheng Xuanhuai. Then his concubine also came in, flustered, and told him that not only had ten-yuan counterfeits appeared, but there were now five-yuan fakes as well.

Episode 10 Recap

A large group gathered in front of the Tongshang Bank, demanding silver redemption. Da Ren finally brought good news: Chairman Sheng Xuanhuai had sent a telegram from Beijing. He had already contacted several Western banks such as HSBC and Citibank, and these banks would help Tongshang Bank through the crisis. If the bank’s cash reserves were insufficient, they could borrow from the Western banks.

The counterfeit currency wave in Shanghai was executed by Wu Tianbai in collaboration with the Japanese underworld group Black Tiger Society and Wanshan. However, Wanshan later violated the agreement, unilaterally printing and distributing the fake notes, making a fortune in the process. It wasn’t until this morning that Wanshan found out Xie Shuhong was living with Wu Tianbai. He asked Xie Shuhong to take the first share of the profits back to Wu Tianbai.

Wu Tianbai felt extremely proud of his counterfeit currency plan. Since Tongshang Bank was the only state-run bank under the Qing government, he believed that striking it was equivalent to striking the Qing government itself. However, he was furious with Wanshan’s actions, feeling as though his original idea had been plagiarized and stolen. Through analysis, it was determined that the domestic market was incapable of producing counterfeit bills of such quality.

The biggest beneficiary of the counterfeit currency wave was Japan, so it was certain that the culprits in Shanghai were Japanese. These fake bills were most likely from Toyo in Japan. With help from British staff at HSBC, the foreign settlement police quickly apprehended four Japanese ronin, who confessed that they had smuggled the counterfeit bills from Tokyo to Shanghai.

Subsequently, the police also seized a warehouse stocked with large amounts of counterfeit bills and firearms, which led them to trace the source back to Japan. When Wu Tianbai saw the news in the morning paper, he immediately dragged Xie Shuhong to move out. Madam Liang saw them leaving in a rush, unable to say a word, and her suspicions grew even deeper.

Not long after Wu Tianbai and Xie Shuhong left, Japanese soldiers came to the Matsubayashi residence to arrest someone. Finding no one, they confiscated all the items Wu Tianbai had left behind. Duke Ayakura intended to cultivate a Chinese military leader who would be friendly toward Japan, so his care for Liang Xiang far exceeded what a guardian should do. He even introduced many important figures to Liang Xiang. Duke Ayakura invited Mr. Cai Guangqi to attend a dinner party.

Liang Xiang took the initiative to greet Mr. Cai and asked about Xie Shuhong’s whereabouts. Wu Tianbai took Xie Shuhong and fled to Osaka, Japan, where they lived in poverty. Wu Tianbai traded his leather shoes for ten yen, but local thugs robbed him and beat him severely. Xie Shuhong came to his aid and drove the thugs away. She then found work at a tailor shop and began learning how to make clothes.

When Wu Tianbai heard the boss was an old man, he immediately suspected him of having bad intentions, just like last time, and flatly refused to let Xie Shuhong go learn tailoring. But Xie Shuhong made a reasonable argument, and since Wu Tianbai wasn’t unreasonable, he fell silent and quietly helped her repair the old sewing machine. Xie Shuhong started working at the tailor shop. Wu Tianbai was uneasy and secretly went to check on her several times.

That evening, Xie Shuhong returned home and told him that she had successfully helped the boss sell four sets of clothing. Yoshino, the shop owner, was pleased and officially hired her, even giving her a half-month salary in advance. Yoshino had started teaching her how to cut fabric and told her to replicate a piece exactly. Wu Tianbai, being skilled with his hands, helped her cut the fabric into all the necessary parts of the clothing in just one night. The boss was very impressed with her skills and praised her, saying she would be able to take on jobs independently in less than half a month.

Episode 11 Recap

Xie Shuhong had a beautiful face and figure, which caught the eye of Boss Yoshino. He made her a model for trying on new clothes and photographing them for a housewives’ fashion magazine. Yang Yifan arrived in Tokyo, Japan, bringing with him a sum of money from businessmen to support the revolutionary group in Tokyo. A member of the group mentioned that the recent counterfeit currency turmoil in Shanghai was related to Wu Tianbai.

Yang Yifan had also heard that Wu Tianbai was hiding in Osaka, but he had no one to help him find Wu Tianbai, so he went to the Army Officer Academy to seek help from Yang Kaizhi, who turned out to be his cousin. Boss Yoshino, though an old man, coveted Xie Shuhong’s beauty. However, he still maintained some decency and didn’t take any inappropriate actions.

He simply spoke bluntly, stating that he was a widower and wanted to find a woman to help him run the shop and become his wife. Yoshino said he could dress Xie Shuhong in the trendiest clothes from the shop, feature her in fashion magazines, and easily make big money. Yoshino wasn’t in a hurry for an answer—Xie Shuhong could take the night to think it over and give him a reply the next day.

Back at their place, Xie Shuhong looked distressed. Wu Tianbai sensed something was wrong and pressed her for the reason. Xie Shuhong told him that Yoshino wanted her to marry him. Wu Tianbai naturally objected and immediately threw the cut fabric aside. The next day, Xie Shuhong simply didn’t go to work.

A week later, Yang Kaizhi went to Yoshino’s clothing shop to inquire about Xie Shuhong’s whereabouts, but not only did he fail to get any information, he was also threatened by the boss into handing over 200 yen. Later, Yang Kaizhi finally found Xie Shuhong, who was selling flowers, and through her, he met with Wu Tianbai, conveyed Yang Yifan’s message, and gave Wu Tianbai some money.

On this trip, Yang Kaizhi was also to take Xie Shuhong back to Tokyo. After the incident in Shanghai, the Shanghai authorities had gone to Anqing in Anhui. Xie Shuhong’s sister, Xie Xueqing, had a miscarriage from the fright. Because their father had good connections in Anqing, the investigation by the Shanghai authorities was brushed off and not pursued further. The Xie family’s stationery shop was still operating, but business was no longer as good as before.

Xie’s father entrusted Yang Yifan with a sum of money, hoping that Xie Shuhong would not return to China and instead stay in Tokyo to study. Yang Yifan had already arranged for her to enroll at Aoyama Practical Women’s School, and the principal had agreed to admit her. Soon, Xie Shuhong ended her wandering life with Wu Tianbai and took a train with Yang Kaizhi to Tokyo, Japan.

Officer Gu Maichen came from a farming family and had always felt inferior. Hirata Ichiro mercilessly reprimanded and humiliated him in front of everyone, which stirred strong resentment in Gu Maichen’s heart. Liang Xiang comforted him, and then Li Renjun took Gu Maichen to the red-light district to restore his confidence. Hirata found out Liang Xiang was trying to win people over and issued a reprimand about the matter.

Unexpectedly, Gu Maichen, after drinking heavily, rushed at Hirata Ichiro with a gun, intending to kill him. Liang Xiang held him down tightly. The bullet missed Hirata, but Liang Xiang’s hand was cut by the blade on the gun. The school expelled Gu Maichen, reducing the number of Chinese military students from 52 to 51.

Wu Tianbai secretly came to Tokyo with the intent of meeting a few people, but he had no money, so he went to the girls’ school to find Xie Shuhong. Xie Shuhong gave him some money. Their whispering exchange had already been noticed from a distance by Principal Shimoda Utako. Yang Kaizhi introduced Lee Ju-hee, daughter of a wealthy Korean merchant, to Liang Xiang and Li Renjun. Not only Lee Ju-hee but also his cousin Yang Yifan were present. However, they were unaware that they were already being watched.

Episode 12 Recap

The five of them chatted and drank in a private room. Yang Yifan expressed his disapproval of China’s imperial examination system. Afraid that Liang Xiang might detect Yang Kaizhi’s political stance, Yang Kaizhi quickly changed the subject. After the gathering ended, as they walked to the entrance to take a carriage, a few men suddenly rushed out and pinned them down without warning. Liang Xiang turned around and questioned who they were, and the other party claimed to be from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Liang Xiang immediately fell silent.

The four of them were detained at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, held in the same room, where they discussed reform. Yang Yifan advocated for shifting from the mandate of heaven to following the will of the people. Liang Xiang steered the topic toward cultural and military reforms: the former referring to legal reforms and the latter to revolution. So, which one did Yang Yifan support? Yang Yifan didn’t answer directly and tossed the question back to Liang Xiang. As for Liang Xiang, he believed military reform was not viable and that China could only undergo gradual reform.

The Tokyo police required them to find guarantors for bail before they could be released. Yang Yifan asked Xie Shuhong to be his guarantor. Since the others were from the military academy, their guarantor was naturally Instructor Hirata Ichiro. Hirata Ichiro and Xie Shuhong arrived at the police station almost at the same time. When Liang Xiang saw Xie Shuhong again, he was extremely surprised, and his own predicament made him feel ashamed. After meeting Xie Shuhong’s gaze, he quickly looked away.

Hirata Ichiro returned and scolded the three of them, then kept Liang Xiang behind alone. He knew Liang Xiang was taking the blame for someone else and was willing to hear his explanation. Liang Xiang was puzzled as to why the Tokyo police, clearly knowing that only one Chinese man had dealings with a Korean woman, still implicated his classmates. Hirata Ichiro explained it was because they weren’t wearing uniforms at the time and were still sporting ridiculous queues. Liang Xiang said no more, stormed back to the dormitory, and, ignoring Yang Kaizhi and Li Renjun’s attempts to stop him, resolutely cut off his braid.

Hirata didn’t fully understand the effort needed to reshape the Chinese spirit, so he went to visit Duke Ayakura. After a conversation, Hirata took the duke’s teachings to heart. Lee Ju-hee transferred from the University of Tokyo to Aoyama Practical Women’s School, where she met Xie Shuhong, who was also studying there.

Wu Tianbai was tricked into coming by the owner of the Yokohama Specie Bank, who discovered that the check Wu had pledged to the bank was forged. Wu Tianbai was severely beaten and almost lost his life. Only then did he confess that the forged check was made by Wanshan from the Black Tiger Society. The bank owner let him go and even expressed willingness to invest in revolutionaries like Wu Tianbai.

Upon learning that Xie Shuhong knew Yang Kaizhi, and that Yang Kaizhi’s cousin was Xie Shuhong’s brother-in-law Yang Yifan, Lee Ju-hee was delighted and took Xie Shuhong to sneak out of school for a meal. Wu Tianbai arranged to meet Wanshan, but Wanshan didn’t trust him and specifically requested to speak with Xie Shuhong, and no money was to change hands between them.

When Xie Shuhong and Lee Ju-hee returned, Principal Shimoda Utako had already been waiting for them for two hours. Shimoda Utako spoke to Xie Shuhong privately and said that the security police had come, and there was nothing she could do—Xie Shuhong had to be expelled. Just then, Wu Tianbai came to find her, waiting at the school gate. Carrying her luggage, Xie Shuhong followed Wu Tianbai back, dejected.

Xie Shuhong moved back in with Wu Tianbai, and both of them were secretly happy. With Xie Shuhong acting as a go-between, Wanshan readily agreed to cooperate with Wu Tianbai and decided to take over the pastry shop below Wu Tianbai’s place and turn it into a stationery store to distribute for him. Wanshan had already drawn up the agreement and was just waiting for Xie Shuhong to sign it.

Episode 13 Recap

The agreement drafted by Wanshan was ready; as long as Xie Shuhong was willing, she could sign it immediately. After the incident at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, although Lee Ju-hee had been transferred to Aoyama Practical Women’s School, Yang Kaizhi had not cut off contact with her and continued writing letters. Yang Kaizhi warned Li Renjun not to tell Liang Xiang about this, or Liang Xiang would give him another long-winded lecture.

Yang Yifan met with Yang Kaizhi and asked if he was still entangled with Lee Ju-hee. Yang Kaizhi lied and denied it. Yang Yifan believed Liang Xiang was a talent worth winning over. Yang Kaizhi candidly said that the Qing Dynasty was grooming Liang Xiang to become a military leader for the court. Judging by this, it wasn’t Yang Kaizhi who needed to win over Liang Xiang—it was the other way around.

Not just for him; anyone short on money would receive financial aid from Liang Xiang. Previously, Liang Xiang had cut off his queue, something unheard of among the imperial clan descendants. Yang Yifan told Yang Kaizhi that if Liang Xiang wanted to recruit him, he should follow Liang Xiang—this was the best opportunity to infiltrate from within. At the library, Liang Xiang was reading, often observed by Hirata Ichiro, who advised him to learn from his mistakes.

Yang Yifan went to the shop and went upstairs to meet Wu Tianbai. Wu Tianbai remained a steadfast revolutionary, committed to overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and sabotaging its rule. But Yang Yifan took a broader view, believing that what kind of country should be built after the fall of the Qing was even more important. Due to her concealed identity, Wu Tianbai suggested to Yang Yifan that Xie Shuhong could help smuggle weapons.

At dinner, Wu Tianbai brought up the matter to Xie Shuhong. After just a few words, she agreed. But she had one condition: Wu Tianbai had to work as her assistant. On the 23rd day of the twelfth month of the 29th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign—February 8, 1904—the Japanese navy, without a declaration of war, suddenly attacked the Russian fleet stationed at Lushun in China. The Russo-Japanese War broke out. Liang Xiang was summoned to Duke Ayakura’s residence.

The Duke asked him a question: if Liang Xiang were Yuan Shikai now, holding all the military elite in his hands, what stance would he take on the war that broke out yesterday? The news was published in the newspapers, and Liang Xiang flew into a rage, venting his anger on the noisy Li Renjun. Yang Kaizhi remained calm, believing this was a good opportunity to study how the Japanese army conducted real combat.

Wu Tianbai handled detailed negotiations with Wanshan. Familiar with firearms, Wu couldn’t be fooled, and Wanshan was willing to cut the price by another five yuan. When Xie Shuhong learned of this, she firmly disagreed. She believed the discount should be at least ten yuan. Since a war had broken out, armament factories would increase production, and with more soldiers dying, more guns would become available, leading to oversupply.

As the Russo-Japanese War escalated, the Qing government’s neutrality deeply pained every Chinese person. Liang Xiang decided to study military strategy diligently and to help the court recruit talent. He finally realized that his stance was irreconcilable with those who supported the revolution, and a fierce struggle was bound to come. The Tokyo security police assigned a fiancé to Lee Ju-hee.

She was unwilling to comply and went to Yang Kaizhi, proposing that they escape Japan together and go to China. However, Yang Kaizhi didn’t want to leave Tokyo just yet and tactfully declined her. When the security police arrived, Lee Ju-hee lost her chance to escape. Liang Xiang walked into Xie Shuhong’s stationery store. He didn’t buy anything—he simply wanted to invite her to dinner. Xie Shuhong agreed, saying she would go change her clothes and be right over.

Episode 14 Recap

Xie Shuhong knew the proprietress of a seafood restaurant, where she could get a discount on meals, so she and Liang Xiang went there to eat. During their conversation, Xie Shuhong remarked that if Liang Xiang weren’t a descendant of the imperial clan, he’d actually be a handsome young man. Liang Xiang was immediately displeased—he didn’t think of himself as merely a boy and was even more unwilling for Xie Shuhong to see him as an immature youth.

Xie Shuhong was deeply influenced by Yang Yifan and Wu Tianbai, but she held firmly to one belief of her own: no matter when a war breaks out, business must go on—one must survive. Outside the seafood restaurant, there was a bustling crowd. Xie Shuhong went to ask the proprietress and learned that a Chinese exchange student named Zhang Yanmin had committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

On the white clothes he wore was a protest against the Japanese government. Liang Xiang fell silent, not knowing what to say for a moment. Xie Shuhong returned and told Wu Tianbai about it. Wu Tianbai was stunned for several seconds—he knew Zhang Yanmin. Without saying a word, Wu Tianbai put on his pants and rushed out to find Yang Yifan. Yang Kaizhi was upset and sorrowful over Lee Ju-hee.

Liang Xiang comforted him, urging him to let go of romantic entanglements and focus on his military studies. As future military leaders, there was much work waiting for them upon returning to China. Yang Kaizhi came to his senses and decided to focus on his studies and earn his diploma from the military academy. Liang Xiang worried that the Tokyo police might harm Yang Kaizhi because of Lee Ju-hee, so he sought help from Hirata Ichiro.

Hirata Ichiro agreed to try contacting some acquaintances but also warned Liang Xiang to be cautious when dealing with people like Yang Kaizhi. The Shanghai Dao’s informants in Tokyo discovered a secret channel for smuggling military weapons to China. They ordered Li Renjun to find the channel and determine how these weapons were being transported from Tokyo to Shanghai. But this time, Li Renjun refused to do it and declined to accept any more intelligence funds from the Shanghai Dao.

Yang Kaizhi took a delivery receipt to notify Xie Shuhong of the pickup location. He instructed her to board a ship with the receipt and find the second officer—an Irishman. The ship was the American Princess Marguerite, docked at Tokyo Port’s Pier 3. That night, Xie Shuhong, Wu Tianbai, Zunian, and Linjiang went to Pier 3. When Xie Shuhong entered the port with the receipt, Wu Tianbai and Linjiang took a sampan to receive the goods.

Japanese guards at the dock spotted the sampan and opened fire. Wu Tianbai was shot in the waist but managed to survive. Because of the incident during the pickup, the supplier refused to ship more goods. Although the money was in the bank, they couldn’t touch it. Xie Shuhong told Wu Tianbai to stop worrying—she would figure something out.

Yang Kaizhi learned from Li Renjun that someone had been caught smuggling weapons via an American cruise ship at the dock the previous night. He rushed to find Xie Shuhong. Given the current tight security, Xie Shuhong told him to stop coming by so often. The bullet had damaged the main nerve in Wu Tianbai’s lower body. From then on, he could only move with a wheelchair. Xie Shuhong went to see Wanshan.

She was willing to take on Wu Tianbai’s debt, but she asked whether the supplier could unfreeze the money deposited in the Citibank account. But Wanshan said the shipment didn’t belong to him, so there was nothing he could do. Xie Shuhong went to Citibank and learned that without a unified second-party company, the funds in her account could not be unfrozen. Since she couldn’t unfreeze them, she decided to use the funds as a loan guarantee.

The bank clerk said she could borrow $1,500. Just then, Shimoda Utako happened to be at the bank handling some matters, and Xie Shuhong chatted with her briefly.

Episode 15 Recap

Xie Shuhong completed the loan application, but the bank clerk said there was a problem with her guarantor. Just then, a foreign manager passed by. Xie Shuhong asked him about it and learned that Shimoda Utako could serve as her guarantor. As the principal of the Practical Women’s School, she was a reputable figure. With Shimoda Utako’s guarantee, Xie Shuhong successfully secured a \$1,500 loan from Citibank. She brought the money home, and Wu Tianbai was overjoyed.

Xie Shuhong planned to use the money to recoup their losses. She noticed that cured meats like sausages were in high demand on the market, with the military purchasing them in bulk. She took the money to the countryside to buy large quantities and then sold them to the military. Hirata Ichiro used the morning exercise session as a chance to bid farewell to all the military students—he was about to head to the battlefield.

That evening, he spent some leisure time at an entertainment venue and invited only Liang Xiang to join him. When Liang Xiang saw him flirting with many women, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for Miss Yoshiko of the Ayakura family. The military cadet graduation ceremony was approaching. When everyone learned the date in the cafeteria, they clapped and cheered—it meant the end of their military academy life was near.

Hirata Ichiro wrote a letter from Lushun, which one of the cadets read aloud to the group. Yang Yifan showed Wu Tianbai the photos of the cadets he was currently contacting and those he had already drawn in. Wu Tianbai emphasized that those already contacted must be kept completely confidential to ensure control over military power upon returning to China. Yang Yifan agreed.

The next day, representatives of Zhang Zhidong and Duan Fang were hosting a reception in Tokyo to recruit these talents. Yang Yifan told Wu Tianbai to attend and asked Xie Shuhong to accompany him. Xie Shuhong had become quite formidable—she was now doing business with the Japanese military supply department. First, she exchanged U. S.

dollars for yen, then converted yen into military scrip, then used that to obtain surplus military supplies from the military department, and finally resold those supplies on the civilian market. In less than three months, she patched up the financial hole left by the Q purchase and even made a solid profit. At the reception, Xie Shuhong chatted with Liang Xiang. Wu Tianbai grew jealous, upset that Xie Shuhong didn’t tell Liang Xiang that he was her man.

Li Renjun could see that Liang Xiang liked Xie Shuhong. Judging from Xie Shuhong’s tone and expression when she spoke to Liang Xiang, Li Renjun was sure she liked him too. Whether or not Li Renjun’s guess was right, Liang Xiang felt happy when he heard it. Beile Zai Zhen, while attending the reception, told Liang Xiang that he would return directly to Beijing, where the Empress Dowager would decide his future.

Therefore, Liang Xiang didn’t need to look for new connections at the reception like the other cadets. Li Renjun’s words lingered in Liang Xiang’s mind, and he wanted to consult Yang Kaizhi on how to interact with women. But Yang Kaizhi wouldn’t tell him. That night, unable to suppress his emotions, Liang Xiang ran to Xie Shuhong’s shop.

He drank the entire bottle of liquor in his hand and smashed it on the ground with a “crack,” then walked into the shop with a do-or-die resolve and forcibly had his way with Xie Shuhong. Upstairs, Wu Tianbai was awakened by the noise. He witnessed the scene but did nothing to stop it. When Liang Xiang returned to the dormitory, he realized that something from his neck was missing—likely left behind at Xie Shuhong’s shop.

Xie Shuhong didn’t see herself as any man’s plaything, yet she had been bullied by men like Wu Tianbai and Liang Xiang, who appeared to be gentlemen. Wu Tianbai, her first man, had become disabled. For the sake of the revolution, he didn’t dare lay a hand on Liang Xiang, a nobleman of the Qing court. The most pitiable person was, in fact, Xie Shuhong.

Related Posts