A Love So Romantic Episode 17 Recap
> A Love So Romantic Recap
Cheng Qianyu concluded her visit to Physician Ru's clinic, expressing her gratitude for his kindness but declining his offer to escort her home. Physician Ru, however, decided to follow her anyway. As he caught up, they witnessed a young prince harassing Cheng Qianyu on the street. Physician Ru quickly intervened, pretending to examine the prince's pulse and dramatically claiming he was gravely ill, insisting on taking him back to his clinic for immediate treatment.
The prince vehemently denied being ill, stating that his imperial physician had declared him fit, and dismissed Physician Ru's alarming diagnosis of a rotting internal body as absurd. He struggled to break free, still intent on pursuing Cheng Qianyu, but by the time he managed to turn around, she had already vanished. Frustrated, the prince ordered his guards to find out Cheng Qianyu's name and address by the end of the day.
Meanwhile, Ziqian was approached by a friend who urgently requested him to substitute for Huzi in the upcoming Cuju competition, as Huzi had been injured. Ziqian was hesitant, explaining that his mother was currently ill and needed his care. However, his friend insisted that Ziqian was the only viable replacement and eventually convinced him to join. Ziqian subsequently joined his teammates for practice, where he took a fall during a scrimmage.
Xiao Ya, who secretly harbored feelings for Ziqian, watched from a distance with concern as he was helped back up by his teammates. At the Gu Mansion, Gu Yanxi had completed the tiara, but as the delivery date was still some time away, he instructed his staff, Hualun and Yuanbo, to store it in the storeroom for safekeeping. Separately, Yuan He reported to Gu Yanxi the results of his investigation into the past.
He had discovered an oil refinery in the city that, ten years prior on April 28th, had sold ten barrels of burning oil. The transaction amount matched the records, and the shop owner, recognizing Ma Xiaoliu from a painting, confirmed that he was the buyer. The owner remembered this particular sale clearly because it was an unusually large order during the off-season, which was after the Qingming Festival.
Yuan He noted that the timing of the purchase in the afternoon aligned with Gu Yanxi's visit to his mother that morning, and the subsequent fire in the side chamber that night. Later, Yuan He informed Su Xiaowan that Gu Yanxi had gone alone to the side chamber. Concerned, Su Xiaowan immediately went to find him. At the dilapidated side chamber, Gu Yanxi stood contemplating his mother's unjust death.
He quietly pledged to his mother's spirit that he would make those responsible pay. He expressed his frustration that with Ma Xiaoliu dead, there was no direct witness, making it incredibly difficult to bring Lady Ru to justice. Observing his somber demeanor, Su Xiaowan approached him and offered a comforting embrace, despite his initial request to be left alone to mourn.
Whispers began to spread throughout the Gu Mansion about the former madam's ghost appearing, particularly after a kitchen maid named Qinglian claimed to have seen it in white clothes with long hair. The servants murmured that it was a vengeful spirit, noting that the incident coincided with the former madam's upcoming death anniversary. Lady Ru, visibly unsettled by these rumors, tried to dismiss them as baseless gossip.
Her servant, Lianxin, reminded her about the approaching death anniversary and the need to prepare offerings and meet the monk for the ritual. Although Lady Ru suspected someone was "plotting something" by stirring up these rumors, her anxiety was evident as she privately questioned Lianxin if the numerous ghost-warding amulets she had burned would be enough to keep the ghost away. Su Xiaowan, upon hearing of Lady Ru's fear, instructed her own maid, Qiuxiang, to investigate.
Qiuxiang soon reported back, confirming that Lady Ru had consistently purchased many ghost-warding amulets around the former madam's death anniversaries for years, confirming Su Xiaowan's suspicion of a guilty conscience. Gu Yanxi acknowledged the difficulty of finding physical evidence, especially since Lady Ru had destroyed old records and Ma Xiaoliu was dead. Su Xiaowan then proposed that since physical evidence was scarce, they should instead trick Lady Ru into confessing the truth herself.
Gu Yanxi agreed, seeing it as their only recourse. That night, Su Xiaowan, disguised as the former madam's ghost, appeared in Lady Ru's room, terrifying her. Lady Ru, in a fit of fear, pleaded with the "ghost," confessing that she had not intended to kill her. She only wanted to drive her insane and confine her to the side chamber to secure her position as the legitimate wife.
She admitted that when the former madam regained consciousness, she had felt compelled to kill her to prevent exposure. Outside the room, Gu Yanxi, the Old Madam, and a clerk listened intently, with the clerk meticulously recording Lady Ru's words. After Lady Ru's initial confession, Gu Yanxi deemed it sufficient, and he, the Old Madam, and Su Xiaowan entered the room, with Su Xiaowan revealing her true identity.
Lady Ru, realizing she had been tricked, frantically tried to recant her confession, claiming she had been drugged and was speaking nonsense. However, the Old Madam firmly stated that every word she had spoken was recorded and served as undeniable evidence. The Old Madam gave Lady Ru a limited time to confess truthfully, emphasizing that even if she didn't care for herself, she should consider Ziqian's future, promising to ensure his well-being in the Gu Mansion if Lady Ru cooperated.
Seeing no other choice, Lady Ru finally agreed to make a full confession. Later, as Gu Yanxi and Su Xiaowan reviewed Lady Ru's written testimony (referred to as Song's testimony), they learned the full extent of her crimes. Lady Ru revealed that after entering the Gu Mansion with Ziqian, she quickly won Master's favor. However, as long as the former Madam remained the legitimate wife, Lady Ru could not control the household.
Fearing that Ziqian would be vulnerable if anything happened to her, she resorted to sewing a sachet containing a non-fatal poison into clothes she presented to the former Madam. This poison was designed to cause insanity, not death. When the former Madam succumbed to the poison, Lady Ru convinced Master to divorce her, claiming she was mad. To Lady Ru's dismay, Master only confined his wife to the side chamber, rather than divorcing her outright.
Nonetheless, Lady Ru gained control of the household and enjoyed the power, which she believed secured Ziqian's status. She initially intended to stop there, but over time, the poison's effects wore off, and the former Madam regained her sanity, discovering the sachet's secret. Lady Ru's testimony further detailed that when Gu Yanxi visited his mother in the side chamber, his mother warned him not to let anyone touch his clothes.
This conversation was overheard by a guard and reported to Lady Ru, who, fearing exposure, ordered Ma Xiaoliu to set fire to the side chamber, killing the former Madam. She also arranged for Gu Xiaowan, who had witnessed Ma Xiaoliu's actions, to be taken away and eliminated. Lady Ru had believed that after the former Madam's death, Master would finally make her the legitimate wife.
However, Master soon died in depression, and Lady Ru, despite her power, remained only Lady Ru of the Gu Mansion, never fully recognized as the legitimate wife. Reading the confession, Gu Yanxi was overwhelmed with guilt, believing his mother's death was his fault. Su Xiaowan comforted him, assuring him that his mother had sacrificed her life to protect him, and that Lady Ru was the true culprit.
She explained that Gu Yanxi's memory loss had inadvertently saved his life, as Lady Ru no longer perceived him as a threat. The Old Madam, filled with remorse for bringing Lady Ru into the family and causing such a tragedy, left Lady Ru's fate entirely in Gu Yanxi's hands. Considering Ziqian, Gu Yanxi decided against further harm to Lady Ru.
Instead, he ordered her confinement to the side chamber, never to leave until her death, so she could experience the very suffering his mother had endured. Lady Ru's servant, previously tasked with stealing the tiara, managed to deliver it to Lady Ru in the side chamber by bribing the guards under the pretense of bringing food.
Lady Ru, having confessed and now imprisoned, initially told her servant that she no longer had the heart for revenge against Gu Yanxi or avenging Ma Xiaoliu. However, her servant passionately argued that the tiara was immensely valuable to the Gu Mansion and could be bartered for Lady Ru and Ziqian's freedom. The servant urged Lady Ru to reconsider, stating that "as long as you're alive, it's not the end of the world."
Though Lady Ru initially dismissed her servant's advice, citing her lack of understanding as she was not a mother, the servant's heartfelt plea resonated. She suggested that all of Lady Ru's machinations in the Gu Mansion were for Ziqian, but questioned if this was truly what he wanted. The servant proposed that Ziqian would likely prefer a simple, free life with his mother over wealth and status in the Gu Mansion. This argument swayed Lady Ru, who then instructed her servant to find Ziqian immediately so they could leave the mansion together.
