An Oriental Odyssey Episode 20 Recap
> An Oriental Odyssey Recap
A servant was instructed to bring mulberry leaves to Ye Yuanan, as per her demands. Tian Shu found it very amusing when he heard Ye Yuanan wanted to eat mulberry leaves. Ye Yuanan happily consumed the mulberry leaves, having no recollection of Mu Le. She asked him who he was, to which Mu Le jokingly offered, "It doesn't matter who I am. Yesterday, you called me "mother".
If you would like to call me that again today, I'm fine with it." Ye Yuanan retorted, "Stop joking! You're a man and you dare say that you're my mother?" Mu Le quickly clarified, "Of course not." Mu Le then urged her to remember him, saying, "Look at who I am," and began recounting their shared history. Ye Yuanan mused, "I think I might know you. And we're somewhat close to each other. But I can't remember it."
Mu Le then recounted their shared history, reminding her of their "good relationship" and how she had treated him well. He recalled how she saved him from human traders, provided him with food and clothes, protected him, and even saved his life on multiple occasions. He reminded her of a time she got him out of prison, tricked him onto a boat, and refused to leave herself, explaining, "You said you didn't want to get your family into trouble."
Ye Yuanan, surprised, asked, "I'm that nice?" Mu Le affirmed, "Yuan'an, you're the nicest person I've ever seen." Ye Yuanan was very happy after hearing Mu Le's words, realizing she used to be so good. Suddenly, Ye Yuanan's condition worsened, and she began scratching uncontrollably, complaining, "It itches badly." Mu Le urged her not to scratch and, despite her pleas of "Let me go. It itches badly!" , he had to tie her hands to prevent her from harming herself.
He reassured her, "You must bear it. Bear it. It'll be alright. Trust me. Old Master said, after two days, it'll all be alright!" When Ye Yuanan woke again, she called out for water. As Mu Le tended to her, she mistakenly addressed him as "Lanzhi," believing him to be Zhao Lanzhi. Mu Le, heartbroken, played along. Ye Yuanan expressed her relief that he was "finally out," confident that the Empress would prove his innocence.
She then scolded him, still assuming he was Zhao Lanzhi, for being mean to her and yelling at her when she tried to save him. She spoke of his high moral standards, saying, "I know you have your moral standard. You treat your principles and the law as being the most important. But for me, your life is the most important." Mu Le, maintaining the facade, asked, "My life matters that much?" to which Ye Yuanan replied, "Of course.
What do you still have without life? Silly you." Unable to bear the pretense any longer, Mu Le changed the subject, asking, "Well, let me ask you about one person. Do you remember him?" When Ye Yuanan asked "Who is it?" , Mu Le reluctantly said, "Mu Le." Ye Yuanan seemed surprised, asking, "Why are you mentioning him?" Mu Le, probing for her true feelings, asked, "If Mu Le dies, is his life important to you?"
Ye Yuanan grew concerned, asking, "Did he offend you? Why do you say this? You shouldn't suppose like that." Mu Le pressed on, "Do you care about him?" Ye Yuanan responded, "Of course." She then elaborated on her affection for him, saying, "I like hanging out together with him. I like to see it when he feeds the horse. I like it when he eats. I love to make fun of him." Mu Le directly asked, "Do you like him?"
Ye Yuanan playfully replied, "My secret." When he pressed again, "So, do you like him?" , she avoided the question by saying, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." Mu Le, with a heavy heart, wished her, "Have a good rest. After you wake up, everything will be good." After three arduous days, Ye Yuanan finally woke up, complaining about the heat, "It's too hot. Hot." Mu Le encouraged her to "Please bear it. You'll be good soon."
Eventually, she fully recovered, declaring, "I'm hungry. I want fish and pork." Mu Le, overjoyed, asked her to recognize him. " You're Mu Le. What's up? You don't know yourself?" she replied, proving her memory was restored. Mu Le was relieved, confirming, "You really have recovered. That's great." Her father arrived, equally relieved, but Ye Yuanan noticed everyone looked unwell. Her father explained, "We've drunk coptis water for three days. How can we look good?"
Mu Le confirmed to Tian Shu that "Eighty-one silkworms came out of her ears," just as Tian Shu had predicted. Tian Shu explained that "Someone deliberately planted these silkworms that can control your mind into your body," adding that they could also induce hallucinations. He clarified that the silkworms feared fire, which was why they had "broiled" her for three days to expel them. Ye Yuanan wondered, "How did they enter my body?"
She recalled that a Taoist priest had found a doll in her room, which Momo Zhang had bought from the street, and she had placed it by her bed before losing her memory. Tian Shu concluded, "It should be that thing then." Ye Yuanan, realizing she was targeted, asked, "Someone is scheming against me? But I did nothing. Why harm me? Who is it?" Mu Le recounted his visit to Zhao Lanzhi in prison while she was ill.
Zhao Lanzhi had recalled that Xiu, Huange's mother, was a renowned palace puppeteer who was later expelled for witchcraft. Tian Shu concurred, "That's right. A doll and silkworms, it might indeed be the doing of Xiu." Ye Yuanan was puzzled, "But why? Could she think that her son was killed by Zhao Lanzhi and I, so she came for revenge?" She reasoned that "Huange's death has nothing to do with me.
Zhao Lanzhi also didn't directly kill him," and felt that Xiu must have been used by someone. Ye Yuanan implored Tian Shu, "Shu Shu, help me to to save one more person. Please. Zhao Lanzhi. He was surely framed by someone. There must be something hiding behind Huange's death." Tian Shu agreed, saying, "Well, since I'm out now, I can spare you more time. Let's go look at the body. Let's go."
Ye Yuanan reassured her father, "Rest assured, Father," as they departed. Meanwhile, Xiu, who had been expecting Ye Yuanan's death, noted the absence of funeral sounds at the Ye Mansion. Upon seeing Ye Yuanan leave, she was astonished, exclaiming, "Impossible. How come she's still alive? Absolutely impossible." Driven by curiosity and a thirst for answers, Xiu secretly followed Ye Yuanan, Mu Le, and Tian Shu to Huange's grave. At the grave, they exhumed Huange's coffin.
Tian Shu noted, "The body is not rotted badly. The coroner even did some handling." Ye Yuanan recounted how Zhao Lanzhi had tied Huange to a tree, after which he was struck by lightning. Tian Shu pointed out the anomaly: "Something is wrong. You said Lanzhi was close to him. Based on what you said, with Zhao Lanzhi having a sabre with him, he should be the one struck by lightning, and not this lad.
Then it means that someone lured the lightning to him on purpose." Upon closer examination, Tian Shu discovered a substance in Huange's neck. He identified it as "tinstone," which, though "not poison, but more toxic than poison," is known to attract lightning. He deduced that "Someone ground it into a needle shape and shot it into his body. That's why it lured lightning toward him and he got struck to death."
Tian Shu added that the tinstone turns to powder when heated, making the killer "so smart. Double gain. But compared to me, he's still a bit short." Convinced of Zhao Lanzhi's innocence, Ye Yuanan declared, "Then it proves Zhao Lanzhi is innocent! I'll go save him!" Mu Le stopped her, pointing out, "We haven't found the killer, so how could you go save him? Who believes you?"
Tian Shu, exasperated, called her "obtuse," and Ye Yuanan conceded that with such "little clues, who would believe me?" Tian Shu prompted her to "Think carefully. This lad just came to Luoyang city and he isn't really some bad criminal. Why then would a fatal disaster befall him? In short, who would his life be a threat to? And who benefits if he dies?" Ye Yuanan quickly made the connection, stating, "He came to Luoyang to find his father.
He just got reunited with General Guo. It must have something to do with the House of General Guo." Tian Shu suggested, "Today is the wedding ceremony of General Guo's daughter. Want to go there?" Before they could proceed, Xiu, who had been secretly listening, revealed herself, saying, "Wait. Let me see him." Mu Le asked her identity, and she replied, "I'm his mother."
Addressing Ye Yuanan, Xiu confessed, "I was the one who placed those silkworms into the puppet, sent it to you, and let them go into your body. I never expected that you're this fortunate and was able to survive it." Ye Yuanan, shocked, could only utter "You. . ." She then quickly explained, "I can understand you. But. . . but I didn't kill your son. It has nothing to do with us. But don't worry.
We're going to General Guo's place now and help you find the killer." Xiu, now wishing to join them, requested, "Wait. I want to go with you." At General Guo's mansion, his daughter's wedding was underway. However, the General was somber, distraught by Huange's death and Xiu's refusal to meet him. His wife, Madam Guo, confronted him, "Husband. Today is the most important day in our daughter's life. You're going to send her away with such a look?"
General Guo expressed his despair, asking how he could "Laugh and joke?" when Xiu refused to see him despite Princess Minghui's efforts to invite her. Madam Guo, frustrated, left to greet guests. Their daughter, Xuelan, worried, asked her mother, "Mother, what is wrong with Father lately? Is he angry with me?" Madam Guo reassured her that "Nothing happened.
It has nothing to do with you," urging her to marry well and promising, "If you ever encounter anything disadvantageous to you, you have me and your Sister Minghui to fix it for you." Ye Yuanan, Mu Le, Tian Shu, and Xiu arrived at General Guo's mansion, realizing they needed invitations to enter. Tian Shu suggested, "Four people would attract attention. We have to act separately. We can enter from the back door or climb over the wall.
See you later." While climbing a wall, Ye Yuanan and Mu Le inadvertently landed close to each other, causing Ye Yuanan's heart to flutter. General Guo, alone with his thoughts, gazed at the puppet stage. A servant informed him that his daughter, Xuelan, had requested a puppet play from the Chang'an puppeteer group. Xiu, watching from afar, felt a sense of destiny, remarking, "I can do this. It's God's will."
She then approached General Guo, who initially did not recognize her. Xiu hinted, "Do I look quite familiar? Like an old friend?" She lamented, "Nineteen years have gone past. We haven't seen each other for a long time. You've forgotten all those happy moments we spent together." General Guo finally recognized her, calling out "Xiu." She acknowledged her changed appearance, saying, "I've turned old and ugly. I don't blame you." He confirmed her identity, to which Xiu replied, "Yes.
It's me. I'm Xiu. Xiaotian, after so many years, we finally met." General Guo asked why she had come, given her previous refusals to meet him. Xiu explained, "Our son was killed. I'm dispirited. I came here because. . . Isn't today your daughter's wedding day? My best skill is performing puppet plays. Let me bring some happiness to your manor." Just then, a servant announced the arrival of an important guest.
General Guo told Xiu, "Xiu, I have to greet the guests. Wait for me here. I have so much to tell you. Talk to you later." As he departed, Xiu seized the moment to covertly implant a mind-controlling silkworm into his ear, now fully consumed by her desire for revenge. The Empress graced the wedding with her presence, and General Guo informed her that a puppet play was scheduled, which she eagerly anticipated.
During a private moment, the Empress offered words of encouragement to General Guo, acknowledging his grief but urging him not to remain "depressed for a long time for your son's death," reminding him of his duty as a "loyal and capable general." Xiu, performing as a puppeteer, manipulated a puppet to narrate Huange's tragic story, lamenting, "My poor Huange. At such a young age. . . It was unfair! Unfair!"
General Guo, visibly disturbed, tried to stop her, exclaiming, "You crazy old woman! Leave." Ye Yuanan emerged from the shadows and appealed to the Empress, stating, "Your Highness, the death of General Guo's son is fishy. The killer may be here tonight. So we hope that you may give us justice and find out who the killer is."
Madam Guo immediately interjected, protesting that the wedding was "not some judiciary court" and such an investigation would ruin her daughter's special day. The Empress, agreeing that the occasion was unsuitable for an inquiry, declared her intention to leave, saying, "I'm tired. I don't want to watch anymore. Back to the palace." As the Empress prepared to depart, Xiu, using the implanted silkworm, caused General Guo to fall into a trance, shouting, "Please stay for a moment, everyone.
This matter must be clearly explained right now." He began to speak in Huange's voice, pointing at Ye Yuanan and accusing, "It was Zhao Lanzhi. It must be Zhao Lanzhi who killed me." Ye Yuanan countered, explaining, "That night, Zhao Lanzhi only tied you to the tree. You were killed by the lightning. So everyone thought he killed you by accident. But we've checked your body. Inside your neck, there was a needle made of tinstone.
That needle attracted the lightning which killed you. Hence, Zhao Lanzhi didn't accidentally kill you. Someone did it on purpose." The possessed General Guo then lamented his miserable death while his "father" celebrated his daughter's wedding, before grabbing Xuelan, his bride-to-be, and threatening her. Seeing her daughter's life in peril, Madam Guo, distraught, confessed, "It was I. It was I who had Huange killed!" She revealed that she initially suspected her husband was dwelling on his past affair.
Her fears were confirmed when Madam Ye warned her about Huange's true identity, saying, "If the result of the investigation of Zhao Lanzhi is true, that boy is really General Guo's son. Then you must be careful." Madam Guo then secretly followed General Guo and witnessed his tearful reunion with Huange at Daming Restaurant. Consumed by fear of losing her status, she resolved, "I can never allow the General to take him back home.
Even if he brings him here, I'll eliminate the grass from its roots." She concluded her confession by stating, "If so, it's better to just take action early. This way, I won't be implicated," confirming her premeditated murder of Huange.
