Bloody Romance Episode 3 Recap
> Bloody Romance Recap
In Gui Hua City, Shadows are responsible for training their Masters, and Masters have the right to punish their Shadows. One morning, Wan Mei looked into the mirror, smiling at her transformed self. Like a child, she happily applied the rouge gifted by the City Master. Afterward, Wan Mei went to Chang'an, her Shadow.
Chang'an diligently taught her to play the Chinese zither, instructing her on how to use it not for harmony, but to confuse and manipulate people, and to discern their weaknesses. He explained that her "enchantment," for which Lady Cha Luo named her Wan Mei, was a natural charm to lure others. He advised her to view the zither as a foe and to place each note on her enemy's weakest point.
He physically guided her hands and gently pressed her shoulders, telling her to relax her shoulders, tighten her jaw, and focus on her audience, not the instrument, while playing softly like feathers dancing or snow melting. Wan Mei's face grew hot throughout the lesson. After a day of rigorous training, Wan Mei was famished.
Chang'an, mindful of her past years of hunger and the intense Di Sha competition, prepared only a simple meal for her: a bowl of plain porridge, a few slices of egg, and a dish of stir-fried vegetables, cautioning her against overeating. The following day, Chang'an had Wan Mei practice the Seven-Merit Dance.
He tied a nine-strand bell rope around her waist, teaching her to move gracefully and showcase her unique alluring figure, which he said was necessary to compensate for her current lack of refined manners. After this second day of intense training, Wan Mei devoured the same humble meal. On the third day, the lesson was painting. When Wan Mei struggled, Chang'an took her hand and guided her brush, resulting in a beautiful piece of art.
However, that evening, seeing the same three dishes, Wan Mei was visibly displeased by the absence of meat and ate very little. The fourth day was dedicated to more painting, but Wan Mei complained of dry eyes, making it difficult to continue. By nightfall, she could not bring herself to eat the unchanging food. Later that night, she also mentioned her vision had been blurry recently, attributing it to tiredness.
Noticing her lack of progress, Chang'an decided to halt her work for the day and allowed her to rest. On the fifth day, Chang'an and Wan Mei played black and white chess. Wan Mei, unable to win through skill, cunningly swapped their pieces, challenging Chang'an to solve the puzzle she had created. That night, Wan Mei applied rouge, trying to lift her spirits.
She complained to Chang'an that he was not as obedient as Wan Xiang's Shadow, even asking if he feared being replaced. Chang'an calmly replied that obedience was not his nature, and according to Gui Hua City rules, a Shadow cannot be replaced unless they are dead, once chosen by a Master. He also corrected her, stating that no one in Gui Hua City could be considered her "sister."
Despite his sternness and warning that training would continue regardless of whether she ate, he added a peeled zongzi to her meal. Chang'an later took Wan Mei by boat to a serene, isolated lake surrounded by mountains. He abruptly ordered her to jump into the water. Believing he intended to murder her, Wan Mei haughtily threatened him with the severe repercussions for harming a Master. Unmoved, Chang'an shook the boat, sending her plunging into the icy depths.
Though Wan Mei knew how to swim, her vision blurred upon entering the cold water, leaving her disoriented and struggling to breathe. Seeing her distress, Chang'an immediately dove in and pulled her to safety. Afterward, Wan Mei developed a cold. Filled with resentment, her animosity culminated when she stabbed Chang'an in the chest with the umbrella hairpin he had gifted her.
Surviving the attack, Chang'an later explained, when Wan Mei asked about the untreated wound, that a Shadow is not permitted to treat their own injuries without their Master's consent. Wan Mei found the rules of Gui Hua City stifling, but Chang'an stated that rules are made by men, implying that if she became powerful enough to make rules, she could set herself free.
He then offered her a vial of medicine, instructing her to drop it into her ear to sharpen her hearing and awareness. Wan Mei found it refreshing until Chang'an revealed it was made from the fingernails of the girl who had fought for her name on her first day in Gui Hua City, combined with poisonous insects. Horrified, Wan Mei smashed the bottle and declared her desire to leave Gui Hua City.
Unfazed, Chang'an forced her to witness the gruesome fates of those who had tried to escape or failed their missions, displaying bodies of people whose legs had been melted with hot iron or turned to dust. He grimly informed her that once one enters Gui Hua City, there is no escape. Wan Mei was utterly terrified, collapsing to the ground, feeling as though half of her body was already in hell.
From that day on, Wan Mei trained with renewed fervor, repeatedly throwing herself into the lake and climbing out, day and night. Finally, one day, Chang'an tossed the umbrella hairpin into the lake and instructed her to retrieve it. Though the umbrella and hairpin separated upon hitting the water, Wan Mei, with her eyes closed, successfully located it and emerged from the lake.
That night, Chang'an knelt by Wan Mei's bedside, informing her that the Di Sha election was scheduled for the following day. Still nursing her resentment, Wan Mei initially ignored him. Chang'an then revealed the true nature of the rouge she had received from the City Master: it was poisoned with the corpse powder of a poisonous winter cicada, designed to blind her upon entering water, especially cold water.
He deduced that Lady Cha Luo intended to make the test exceptionally difficult and thus, the election would be held in the chill water. He explained that he had deliberately kept the truth from her and made her hate him, believing that this intense animosity would ignite an unimaginable, raw power within her. Wan Mei realized his true intentions, her resentment transforming into a sense of understanding and gratitude.
Chang'an further clarified that he acted for his own safety and that her primary goal should be to survive and demonstrate her value to the Lady. The Di Sha election was held at the chill water, with Cha Luo presiding from a high seat. Xing Feng announced that being a beauty was not enough to survive and the competition was a test of endurance and observation, not a beauty contest or intellectual combat.
He explained that beneath the cliff lay the ancient chill water, which existed before Gui Hua City was founded, and was once used by Empress Wu Zetian's secret agency. The task was to jump into the deep water and retrieve a stone tablet with four characters carved on it, which represented Gui Hua City's original name. The first to report the characters correctly would be promoted to Di Sha.
Wan Xiang immediately leaped into the water and found a tablet inscribed with "Chong Er" (虫二), also noting "Zang Qin Cliff" (葬琴崖) carved on the cliff face. Wan Mei, relying on her sense of touch due to her blindness, also located "Chong Er" but insisted on searching for the other two characters, making her the last to emerge from the water.
As Cha Luo, who was openly biased, prepared to declare Wan Xiang the winner, Wan Mei, leveraging Chang'an's lessons in discerning people's intentions through sound, interjected and correctly stated the four characters as "Feng Yue Wu Bian" (风月无边), which was the symbolic meaning of "Chong Er". Xing Feng highly praised Wan Mei, confirming that only she and Lady Cha Luo had ever provided the complete and correct answer in the history of the Di Sha election.
Afterward, back at Yun Jing Mansion, Wan Mei happily recounted her bold deduction to Chang'an, profusely praising his strategic mind. Chang'an, however, soberly pointed out that with both Wan Xiang and Wan Mei as candidates for a single Di Sha position, it was likely that only one of them would survive, which instantly dampened Wan Mei's spirits. Meanwhile, Cha Luo and Xing Feng held a private conversation.
Cha Luo, frustrated by Wan Mei's unexpected success, asked Xing Feng to devise another task for the two candidates. Xing Feng proposed assigning them the task given by the Prince. This, he reasoned, would not only fulfill the Prince's request but also provide an opportunity to eliminate Wan Mei without offending the Prince. Cha Luo accepted the idea. At Ting Zhu House, the Prince was being served medicine by Yue Ying when he sensed an intruder outside his window.
He swiftly launched a hairpin, previously used to draw his heart's blood, which instantly killed the unseen individual. The Prince, though blind, deduced that the intruder was sent by Cha Luo, who had long coveted the position of Gui Hua City Master. He reflected on how his mother had helped Cha Luo become Lady but had ruined Xing Feng, causing Cha Luo to resent his mother.
Despite this, Cha Luo had been unable to act against his mother, who had the support of the former emperor. Now, with his mother missing for years and him as the Chief of Gui Hua City, Cha Luo saw her chance and frequently sent people to test his capabilities. Yue Ying expressed her concern, but the Prince stated that while he wasn't as powerful as his mother, he would ensure Cha Luo knew her limits if necessary.
Chang'an then escorted Wan Mei to Bi An Palace. As Shadows were not permitted inside, he advised her to remain silent, refrain from asking questions, and simply follow Yue Ying's instructions. Inside, Wan Mei and Wan Xiang were presented with white umbrellas by Yue Ying. Yue Ying explained that the umbrellas would transform into "Red Evil Umbrellas" once the "ensete lasiocarpum" bloomed on them, a sign of successful kills.
Wan Mei observed many red umbrellas hanging high above and inquired if they belonged to no one. Yue Ying gravely replied that their masters were "long gone." The revelation deeply shook Wan Mei. After receiving their umbrellas, they were instructed to leave and check their assigned missions. Back at Yun Jing Mansion, Wan Mei and Chang'an reviewed her first task: to kill the great doctor Shen Mo and retrieve the Guajian herb.
