A Love Never Lost Episode 22 Recap
> A Love Never Lost Recap
The commanders and officers of both the northern and southern armies sat at the same table eating Western food. Commander Zhang deliberately made things difficult for Liang Xiang, asking why the train track gauge was 4. 85. Liang Xiang couldn’t answer, but Yang Kaizhi, being knowledgeable and well-traveled, easily explained it in a few words, enlightening everyone present. Though the two armies had yet to clash, the atmosphere was already tense.
Fengshan reminded Liang Xiang that if Manchu generals wanted to command Han troops effectively, they needed to absorb more of Han culture. Han culture emphasized flexibility, not rigidity. Liang Xiang’s calligraphy was exactly the latter. Fengshan's words carried a clear implication, which Liang Xiang understood. Following Wu Tianbai’s instructions, Xie Shuhong withdrew overseas donations in batches and split them into multiple parts.
Wu Tianbai told her not to touch the portion intended for Zhangde for now—it was meant as compensation for Wang Han’s family. Xie Shuhong was quite surprised to hear this. Wu Tianbai, however, was indifferent; to him, dying for the revolution was a worthy cause. On the day Wang Han made his move, it was pouring rain. He had expected Liang Xiang and Yang Kaizhi to take a carriage, but they rode on horseback instead. The assassination plan failed.
As Wang Han turned to leave, he was spotted by soldiers. He pulled the pin, threw the bomb, and took the chance to flee back to his hotel. Soldiers chased him all the way to the inn. When the innkeeper opened the door, Wang Han had already jumped into the well. The lead soldier fired several shots into the well, and before long, the water turned red with blood.
Liang Xiang went to inspect the northern army and found that the soldiers all had their leather shoes hanging around their necks. Puzzled, he asked Li Renjun. Li Renjun explained that the new quartermaster, the Commander-in-Chief’s brother-in-law named Qide, had likely embezzled a significant sum, issuing the soldiers shoes that were all too narrow. Liang Xiang was furious and remarked that Qide’s name should be “Qude” (which sounds like “lack of virtue”).
Three hours later, Commander Zhang of the southern army finally arrived. Two artillery units reached their designated positions, and the Commander-in-Chief gave the order to begin. Commander Zhang, originally an artilleryman, had trained the southern army’s artillery well, while the northern army’s performance was much worse. Liang Xiang noticed discontent among the northern troops. The results of two artillery rounds seemed suspicious, but Fengshan did not share that view.
As the Chief Referee, Liang Xiang believed he couldn’t condone the northern army’s dismissive attitude toward the court’s autumn exercises. He wanted to curb the arrogance of the Beiyang Army. Yang Kaizhi advised him to turn a blind eye, but Liang Xiang didn’t listen. Fengshan informed Liang Xiang that a bomber had set off an explosion in Zhangde the previous day, and the intended target was Liang Xiang.
The attacker came from Shanghai, and the police had already contacted the Shanghai Dao for assistance in the investigation. After Wang Han’s incident, the police in the foreign concessions traced him to the Nanyang Hotel. The hotel staff recognized Xie Shuhong, who immediately went to inform Wu Tianbai. Wu Tianbai decided to have Xie Shuhong convert all the money into cash at the bank, then go with him to Hangzhou.
As for the child, he would be left in Xue Qing’s care. When Xie Shuhong withdrew the money, she lied and said it was for buying stocks. Coincidentally, Song Baoquan was passing by and recommended two stocks to her. Before she could decline, Song Baoquan had already instructed the teller to make the transactions for her.
Additionally, he had the teller take out 200 in cash for Xie Shuhong because Song Chen had written him a letter complaining about being broke and mentioned he still owed Xie Shuhong for some photos. Xie Shuhong smiled and silently accepted the money. On West Lake in Hangzhou, Xie Shuhong inadvertently overheard Wu Tianbai talking with Gu Hongming and learned that Liang Xiang was the target of Wang Han’s assassination attempt.
That night, she argued with Wu Tianbai, and they parted on bad terms. Wu Tianbai planned to meet a strange figure named Sun Jingchao and was willing to pay bribes to get into the prison. Duanfang came to see Liang Xiang to act as a mediator for Yuan Xiancheng. Liang Xiang didn’t know whose side to take.
His mother told him to focus on his own path, saying many people weren’t content being supporting roles—she could tell Yang Kaizhi was one of them. Wu Tianbai finally secured a visit to Sun Jingchao, the leader of the White Cloth Party, in the Hangzhou prison. Before leaving, he told Xie Shuhong to wait there. If anything happened to him, she was to return to Shanghai. If everything went smoothly and he walked out alive, she was not to be surprised.
