Ashes to Crown Episode 13 Recap
> Ashes to Crown Recaps
Xie Yanlai felt utterly devastated by Chu Zhao's misunderstanding. The painful confrontation brought back memories of his youth, when he was brutally whipped by the elders of the Xie clan for burning down the Wei Village ancestral hall. It was Xie Yanfang who had saved his life back then, offering him the clan's secret medicine as a last resort to revive the dying.
Now, realizing that this very savior medicine was actually a poison, Xie Yanlai felt his entire world crumbling in despair. Meanwhile, Grand Preceptor Deng Yi dined at the Fenglin Restaurant with his trusted associates. While they relished the food, his aides expressed deep concern over Xie Yanfang's rising influence and cunning nature, fearing the emergence of another arrogant family like the past Yang and Zhao clans.
Deng Yi, however, suggested grooming Xie Yanlai, who enjoyed Chu Zhao's favor, to trigger internal strife within the Xie family. Deng Yi was pleased by the prospect of the Xie brothers turning on each other, as a battle for status would surely fracture the clan's century-old foundation. At the same time, Xiao Xun received word that General Chu Cen was unconscious and dying.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Xun prepared to conspire with Shuomo once more to conquer Yunzhong Commandery and replace the dying general. His father, Xiao Hong, severely reprimanded him for his rashness, reminding him how his previous failure at Wangcheng had nearly ruined them. Xiao Xun defended himself, claiming he had already silenced the remaining Shuomo soldiers to leave no traces.
Rather than attempting to take Yunzhong Commandery, Xiao Hong advised his son to lead their forces to the capital instead, preparing to guard the young Emperor under the guise of protection. In the military camp of Yunzhong Commandery, scouts rushed in to report that the Shuomo royal army had already crossed Heishui Ridge and was rapidly approaching. When Zhong Changrong suggested rooting out the spy who had leaked Chu Cen's critical condition, Chu Zhao stopped him.
She remarked that searching for traitors was pointless now, as secrets always find a way out. Determined to defend their land, Chu Zhao decided to take her father's place in the upcoming battle. Stepping forward as the Grand Princess of Chu, Chu Zhao ordered Zhong Changrong to prepare her royal procession and lead the main force to confront the enemy head-on. Xie Yanlai pleaded to join the fight.
Chu Zhao coldly assigned him to lead the vanguard camp through Yingzui Valley to strike the enemy's rear, warning him that failure would result in his immediate execution under military law. Although Zhong Changrong protested that Yingzui Valley was easy to defend but hard to attack, making the task too harsh for Xie Yanlai, Chu Zhao ignored his concerns.
Standing before her soldiers, she delivered a stirring speech, vowing to defend every inch of their territory before leading them into the fray. At the pass of Yingzui Valley, Xie Yanlai and his outnumbered men fought desperately against the massive Shuomo forces. Even after Chu Zhao arrived with reinforcements, the situation remained grim. Just as the defense was about to collapse, Mu Mianhong suddenly rode into the battlefield.
The Shuomo soldiers recognized her as Alan Ruoying, the traitor their Khan had hunted for nineteen years. Chu Zhao begged her mother not to throw her life away, but Mu Mianhong declared that she understood her daughter's heart and was ready to secure her the peace she deserved. With a final, sorrowful look, Mu Mianhong charged directly into the Shuomo camp, throwing explosives to clear a vital path for the army at the cost of her life.
Spurred by her mother's sacrifice, Chu Zhao urged her troops forward. Meanwhile, the terminally ill Chu Cen summoned his remaining strength to beat the war drums, cheering his soldiers on. The thunderous drums rallied the army, successfully repelling the Shuomo invasion. However, by the time Chu Zhao returned to the camp, her father had already passed away.
Gently tying a red cloth left by her mother onto her father's hand, Chu Zhao wept for her parents, both of whom had died on the battlefield to save their country. Despite her grief, she ordered the immediate announcement of Chu Cen's death.
When Zhong Changrong worried that declaring the general's death might invite a Shuomo counterattack, Chu Zhao firmly replied that using Chu Cen's death to rally the troops' morale would turn their sorrow into an invincible force far superior to any enemy iron cavalry. For three days and nights, Chu Zhao refused to sleep, burying herself in piles of official documents. Unable to watch her destroy herself, Xie Yanlai snatched the brush from her hand. His actions unleashed her pent-up anguish.
In a fit of rage, Chu Zhao screamed that she could not close her eyes without seeing her mother's violent death and her father's unclosed eyes. She bitterly labeled Xie Yanlai a murderer, blaming his family's poison for taking away her father and leaving her entirely alone in the world. Meanwhile, Deng Yi's investigation revealed that the Xie clan's secret medicine was actually the Qianji Bloodburn Pill, a deceptive poison that briefly mimicked recovery while gradually draining the user's life.
Connecting this to Chu Cen's rapid recovery and subsequent decline after the battle three years ago, Deng Yi realized Xie Yanlai was the one who had administered the pill. He immediately ordered his subordinate, Shao You, to spread the news far and wide, hoping to turn the Grand Princess and the public against the Xie clan. Upon hearing these rumors, Xiao Xun rejoiced.
Although his own campaign had failed and he worried that Xie Yanlai might take over Chu Cen's military post, he knew the frontier soldiers and civilians held Chu Cen in the highest regard. If they believed Xie Yanlai had poisoned their beloved general, the public's wrath would tear him to pieces, allowing Xiao Xun to easily reap the benefits.
In the capital, the imperial court erupted into a fierce debate as Deng Yi openly accused the Xie clan of harboring deadly poisons. Xie Yanfang calmly retaliated, hinting that Deng Yi was illegally keeping relics of the late Emperor. As the two ministers traded sharp accusations, the young Emperor, Xiao Yu, grew incredibly irritated by the bickering, demanding to know when his sister and uncle would return.
To pacify the young ruler, Xie Yanfang requested a posthumous title and a grand national funeral for Chu Cen, which the Emperor readily approved. Back in the Yunzhong camp, Zhong Changrong sought out Chu Zhao to plead for Xie Yanlai. He explained that during the Battle of Frontier River three years ago, Chu Cen had been shot with a poisoned arrow and was on the brink of death.
Xie Yanlai had offered the secret medicine solely to save the general's life, with no malicious intent whatsoever. Even when offered the pill, Chu Cen had chosen to take the risk, declaring he would rather die on the battlefield than waste away in bed.
Their conversation was suddenly cut short by a frantic soldier, who reported that Xie Yanlai was kneeling in the public streets carrying thorny branches on his back to beg for forgiveness, drawing an angry and chaotic crowd.
