Bloody Romance Episode 18 Recap
> Bloody Romance Recap
Wan Mei and Chang An returned to Gui Hua City to report. Cha Luo, observing them, remarked on their former unity and expressed confusion about their current estrangement. She instructed Chang An to remove Wan Mei's mask, specifically referring to Wan Mei as Chang An's "previous master." Wan Mei tried to resist, but Cha Luo insisted.
Upon seeing Wan Mei's disfigured face, Cha Luo declared her own eyes too precious to be ruined by "disgusting things" and demanded Chang An describe Wan Mei's face. Chang An stated that the left side of her face was disfigured but maintained that despite the change, she was still Wan Mei, his former master, with whom he had shared many trials.
Cha Luo then asked if Chang An would be willing to leave Liu Guang and return to Wan Mei's side. Chang An refused to give a direct answer, prompting Cha Luo to muse on the amusing complexity of the situation, labeling him "Janus-faced." Soon after, Chang An was brought before Xing Feng for leaving Gui Hua City without authorization. Chang An pleaded guilty.
Xing Feng, despite Liu Guang's intercession, pronounced the punishment of cutting his knees and kneeling on ice until it completely melted, a grueling ordeal expected to last four to six hours, with consciousness loss resulting in death. Wan Mei was assigned to supervise him. Cha Luo later confided in Xing Feng that she had chosen not to kill the disfigured and de-skilled Wan Mei directly.
Instead, she found it more entertaining to let Wan Mei and Chang An, given their obvious affections, torture each other. As Chang An endured the agonizing punishment, his knees bled profusely. Wan Mei, unable to bear watching his suffering, urged him to stop the bleeding, assuring him she would not report him. Chang An, however, insisted he deserved the punishment, reminding her that all corners of Gui Hua City were under constant surveillance.
He explained his actions were atonement for failing to protect her and not rescuing her in time, leading to her disfigurement. Wan Mei desperately sought an explanation for his actions at Zhai Xing Tower, especially why he had seemingly cut his own rope. Chang An remained elusive, stating it no longer mattered that he hadn't chosen to save her, and declared their employment relationship over.
He retracted all his past promises, stating they had not been sincere and that he had gone astray from his true path, which he was now reclaiming. Distraught by Chang An's harsh words and rejection, realizing he had betrayed the vows made to her, such as on the swing, Wan Mei left him. After his ordeal, Chang An was taken to Liu Guang's quarters. While unconscious, he mumbled in his sleep, revealing his inner conflict.
He expressed a desire not to disappoint Wan Mei, admitting he couldn't, implying a great secret prevented him from doing so. He also urged Wan Mei to survive and stay away from him. Liu Guang, observing his delirious words, was touched by his loyalty. Liu Guang then mused on Chang An's character, comparing him to a beautiful but sour grape wine.
She noted his intelligence, good looks, and loyalty to Wan Mei, confessing that she herself had never been treated with such sincerity before. Meanwhile, Yue Ying reported to the Prince on her investigation into Yue Qing Ya. While she had uncovered evidence of his subordinates' corruption and cruelties, Yue Qing Ya himself proved difficult to implicate directly, being neither greedy nor lustful, with only his information network, Zhai Xing Tower, offering a potential vulnerability.
The Prince was not in a hurry, acknowledging Yue Qing Ya's high position. He also instructed Yue Ying to covertly support a righteous officer from Yang Zhou who had written a blood letter against Yue Qing Ya's subordinates. Concerned about their dwindling funds, the Prince then ordered Yue Ying to begin taking over Han Xiu's salt industry. Yue Ying also informed the Prince that Cha Luo had not punished Wan Mei.
The Prince remarked that handicapped "rats" were often kept alive for amusement, suggesting Cha Luo's plan for Wan Mei. The Prince then sternly reminded Yue Ying that despite fulfilling her promise to bring Wan Mei back alive, she still owed Wan Mei a life. He revealed his full awareness of Yue Ying's past misdeeds against Wan Mei, including pouring out the antidote, warning her never to repeat such actions against their own kind.
Following the Prince's summons, Wan Mei arrived at Bi An Palace. Noticing a guqin, she was drawn to it and began to play, but in her emotional state, she accidentally cut her hands on the strings. The Prince entered, chiding her for injuring herself. He then ordered her to remove her mask and raise her head, observing her scarred face, and then proceeded to stroke her face and bandage her wounds.
Wan Mei, feeling weary and burdened by life's difficulties, confided in the Prince that she had changed. She recounted how Chang An had become her sole source of hope and courage in Gui Hua City, comparing her situation to seeing Lan Ruo protect You Chan in the Bloody Lotus Cult, which reminded her of how Chang An used to protect her.
Now that he had coldly severed ties, she felt lost and unsure how to live, especially with her disfigurement and crippled martial arts. She confessed that living as a "walking corpse" was worse than death. The Prince then took her to a cliff, reminding her of her past resilience when Cha Luo poisoned her.
He then led her into a stone cave and revealed his own secret: at the age of fourteen, his mother had intentionally blinded him to ensure his safety from the political turmoil surrounding him as a powerful Grand Tutor. He admitted to feeling the same despair as Wan Mei at the time, preferring death to a life of blindness. Back in Liu Guang's chambers, Chang An was slowly recovering.
Liu Guang commanded him to help her change clothes and choose a hairpin, then to place it in her hair. Chang An, ever observant, commented on her dressing style, suggesting simplicity. Liu Guang praised his taste, attributing her beauty to nature. She then provocatively asked him to compare her beauty to Wan Mei's, but Chang An remained silent. Liu Guang sighed about Wan Mei's disfigurement.
Knowing Chang An's feelings for Wan Mei, she offered him a deal: if she could heal Wan Mei's face, would he be willing to do anything for her? Chang An immediately agreed. Liu Guang then lay down and instructed Chang An to apply a bottle of floral water to her skin.
While he did so, she recounted stories of two loyal Shadows she had encountered in her life, naming her first Shadow, Yan Liu, who, despite his effeminate appearance, had sacrificed himself for her. The second was Xing Feng, whose unwavering loyalty to Cha Luo had earned Liu Guang's respect and her protection to ensure his survival. She declared Chang An the third person she had seen demonstrate such profound sincerity to his master. She then wondered aloud if she could ever compare to Wan Mei in Chang An's eyes, again lamenting Wan Mei's disfigurement.
