Choice Husband Episode 12 Recap
> Choice Husband Recap
After drinking the antidote sent by Pei Yanzhen, Shen Miao survived and gave birth to a healthy son. While both mother and baby were safe, they remained weak, and due to difficult labor, Shen Miao was advised not to become pregnant again for the next five years. Both Song Xiyuan and Pei Yanzhen were present, each asserting his claim to the child.
Song Xiyuan confronted Pei Yanzhen, accusing him of bringing the Emperor and Empress Dowager to Lingzhou and causing trouble. Pei Yanzhen retorted that while the baby's paternity within the Pei family was uncertain, it would definitely not be a Song. Separately, Pei Yanzhen confided in Zhan Yue, revealing he had previously instructed the imperial physician to intentionally misreport Shen Miao's pregnancy as three months to buy time amid the clashing factions.
He expressed remorse for putting Shen Miao and "their child" in danger and asked Zhan Yue to look after them if he was forced to leave, explaining that the Empress Dowager would never let Shen Miao and the baby be if he remained in Lingzhou. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager, now recovered, realized that Pei Yanzhen's visit to watch a chess game was merely a ruse to persuade the Ninth Princess to steal the antidote.
Furious, she summoned Song Xiyuan, offering to help him claim the baby as his own and bring the child into the Song family, citing Pei Yanzhen's growing influence with the Emperor. Song Xiyuan gratefully pledged his unwavering loyalty to the Empress Dowager. Shen Miao woke up after two days in a coma.
To prevent her from overthinking the events, Shen Qian and her Aunt explained that her weakness led to an early birth, exacerbated by her lack of dietary care and wandering during pregnancy, and even suggested that a cooling fish soup contributed to her condition. Shen Miao, still disoriented, inquired about her child, who was then brought to her. Shen Qian, excited, tried to name his grandson Shen Tangyuan, then Shen Yuan, describing him as a "little rice ball."
Shen Miao, however, ingeniously suggested the name Shen Xiao, linking "tangyuan" to "Yuanxiao." She also used the opportunity to playfully boast about her "twenty years of naming skill," recalling how her own name, Miao, meant "fewer women" and her brother Shen Zai's name reflected their father's constant presence. Shen Qian adored the name Shen Xiao. A month into her confinement, Shen Miao grew restless. She tied up Lvying and secretly climbed over the wall of Shen's Residence to go out.
During her outing, she encountered the Ninth Princess, who admitted that she and Pei Yanzhen had helped secure the life-saving herbal medicine, for which the Empress Dowager had grounded her. Shen Miao noted Pei Yanzhen hadn't visited her in a month. The Ninth Princess, declaring she was giving up on Pei Yanzhen, asked Shen Miao to help her pursue Zhan Yue, whom she described as secretive but kind-hearted and not materialistic.
Shen Miao agreed to support the princess against anyone who bothered her. While they were out, they spotted Pei Yanzhen and Zhan Yue. The Ninth Princess, seizing the chance, chased after Zhan Yue, leaving Shen Miao and Pei Yanzhen alone. Shen Miao tried to express how her near-death experience had clarified many things for her and that her thoughts had been of him, but Pei Yanzhen remained distant, abruptly stating he had official duties and had to leave.
Before Shen Miao could react, Lvying rushed in with alarming news: doctors from opposing factions (the "February" and "April" parties) were loudly debating the actual length of Shen Miao's pregnancy outside the Shen's Residence, lodging complaints and demanding justice. Soon after, an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager arrived, ordering Shen Miao to appear at the yamen for a public blood test to determine the baby's paternity. At the yamen, the atmosphere was tense.
Song Xiyuan gloated, remarking on the Empress Dowager's fairness in ensuring the Song family's bloodline remained intact. The Emperor arrived, and the Empress Dowager explained the physicians' grievances and how she and the Emperor had decided on a blood test given the importance of both Official Pei and Song Xiyuan. The Empress Dowager insisted Pei Yanzhen undergo the test first, but the Emperor intervened, citing Pei Yanzhen's fragile health and deferring to Song Xiyuan.
However, the Empress Dowager quickly overruled him, ordering the imperial physician to proceed. To everyone's surprise, the baby's blood mixed with Pei Yanzhen's. The Empress Dowager, initially pleased, attempted to claim the child for herself but was interrupted. Then, the baby's blood also mixed with Song Xiyuan's. Calling the situation "absurd," the Empress Dowager suspected foul play with the water used in the test.
She ordered Jingde to test it, and his blood did not mix, confirming the water was untainted. Shen Qian then tearfully appealed to the Emperor, requesting that Shen Miao and her child remain with the Shen family, pledging the family's eternal gratitude and service in return. The Emperor agreed, much to the Empress Dowager's chagrin, who stormed out. Pei Yanzhen and Song Xiyuan exchanged a knowing glance, and Zhan Yue realized they had formed an alliance.
Later, Song Xiyuan, having witnessed Pei Yanzhen's martial arts skills, confronted him, demanding answers about his true identity and intentions toward Shen Miao. Pei Yanzhen revealed he was the Sixth Prince, the target of the Empress Dowager's long-standing pursuit, explaining why the child's existence put them all in grave danger.
He then disclosed their scheme for the blood test: they had applied alum to their hands, which would cause any blood to mix with the baby's, creating ambiguity about paternity and protecting the child from either of them being definitively named the father and subsequently targeted. Zhan Yue, upon learning the truth, commented on Pei Yanzhen's cunning.
Back at the palace, the Emperor confronted the Empress Dowager, accusing her of profiting from her visit to Lingzhou and ordering Jingde to poison him and frame him. Jingde was immediately dragged away, pleading with the Empress Dowager for help. In a move to compensate for the injustice to the Shen family, the Emperor proposed granting them the tea-selling license. However, the Empress Dowager vehemently opposed this, demanding it be given to the Song family instead.
The Emperor, seeking peace, reluctantly conceded. Back in Lingzhou, Shen Miao prepared a meal for Pei Yanzhen as a gesture of gratitude. However, Pei Yanzhen maintained a cold demeanor. He informed her that he had been promoted to the Ministry of Revenue and would be leaving Lingzhou the next day with the royal cavalry to assume his new post in the capital.
He asserted that this separation was for their own good, as his continued presence only made Shen Miao and her family a target for the Empress Dowager. Heartbroken, Shen Miao returned to Shen's Residence, where she saw Song Xiyuan dotingly holding Shen Xiao, acting like a loving father. While she should have been happy, she couldn't help but weep, her reasons known only to herself. Three years passed swiftly.
Ma Tianbao returned to Lingzhou, still hoping to find a gentle and virtuous woman from Jiangnan to marry. To his astonishment, he found Lingzhou had transformed into a city where women held significant power. He witnessed a man being physically disciplined by his wife and learned that Shen Miao had actively promoted women's independence during these three years.
She had developed the rouge and silk businesses, taught various crafts to women, and even established martial arts classes for ladies to learn self-defense. The local man attributed the city's "yin overcoming yang" imbalance to Shen Miao, accusing her of "brainwashing all the ladies and doing harm to the whole city." Ma Tianbao, grateful that he hadn't married Shen Miao years ago, decided to bid Lingzhou farewell.
Meanwhile, at Shen's Residence, Shen Miao found her father, Shen Qian, teaching her brother Shen Zai how to swim in a pond and how to use disguises as escape skills, a precaution he felt necessary after what happened to the Lu family. Shen Miao, however, admonished her father for his teaching approach. Aunt mentioned that Pei Yanzhen was now a high-ranking official, the Minister of Revenue, and would surely protect the Shen family.
But Shen Miao, bitter over his three years of silence and lack of letters, called him ungrateful, believing the Shen family would have been ruined if they had relied on him. Her son, Shen Xiao, now three, was observed to be weak and constantly immersed in books. Shen Miao tried to coax him to play in the mud or climb trees, complaining that other children his age were "demolishing houses" while he was stuck "memorizing sour essays."
Shen Xiao, however, politely refused, preferring to continue reading, which prompted Shen Miao to note how much he resembled Pei Yanzhen. She then asked Lvying about the martial arts teacher she had hired. Concurrently, in the capital, the Emperor and Pei Yanzhen reflected on their progress over the past three years. They now controlled most government ministries, with two out of three cabinet ministers supporting them.
Pei Yanzhen, however, warned the Emperor that the Empress Dowager's three years of "laying low" likely meant she was planning a formidable counterattack, advising caution. The Emperor acknowledged Pei Yanzhen's sacrifices, lamenting that he couldn't return home or see his child because of his loyalty. The Emperor then mentioned that the Ninth Princess had been making frequent trips between Lingzhou and the capital, seemingly for Zhan Yue, and offered to arrange a marriage between them. Just then, a court attendant announced that General Qin had returned from his campaign.
