Choice Husband Episode 14 Recap
> Choice Husband Recap
Shen Miao and Song Xiyuan spent an evening drinking, both burdened by their own sorrows. Song Xiyuan confessed that he perhaps shouldn't have married her, believing he would have been content diligently managing his family business and expanding the Song family's influence, thereby avoiding the predicament of failing to win her heart. However, he also stated that he never regretted meeting her in this life.
Shen Miao, in turn, shared that her mother deeply loved her father but ultimately died in hatred. She mused on how even grand gestures, like her father planting an entire bayberry forest for her mother, couldn't prevent her father from having many concubines and her mother dying with bitterness. Shen Miao declared that she no longer had love, only anger.
As Shen Miao succumbed to her intoxication, Song Xiyuan had not yet made any move when Pei Yanzhen appeared to stop him, subsequently bringing the unconscious Shen Miao back to Shen Residence. The next morning, Shen Miao awoke at Shen's Residence to find Pei Yanzhen there and prepared to leave. Still remembering what Pei Yanzhen had said to her, and thinking of his engagement with Qin Miuzhen, Shen Miao confronted him with a hostile attitude.
She angrily asked why he would tease her if he had no feelings for her, or why he acted as he did yesterday if he did. Pei Yanzhen clarified that she was drunk and he had simply brought her back to her residence, then reiterated his intention to leave. Shen Miao retorted, telling him to stop being sarcastic and go find Miss Qin. Pei Yanzhen, hurt, asked if she truly wanted him to marry someone else.
He regretted their divorce four years prior, lamenting how it led to their current predicament. Shen Miao, however, dismissed his "dilemma," asserting that a talented and powerful man like him could find any woman he desired. She expressed her humiliation from the previous day's events and stated that the Shen family would send a generous gift for his wedding to Qin Miuzhen, asking him not to interfere with her own prospects.
Suddenly, Shen Xiao burst in, bravely positioning himself between Pei Yanzhen and his mother, calling Pei Yanzhen the "bad man" who had hurt "Sansan" (Song Xiyuan), and then pulled Shen Miao away to check on Song Xiyuan. Shen Miao found Song Xiyuan with a bruised face.
When she questioned how Pei Yanzhen could have injured him, given her perception that Pei Yanzhen didn't know martial arts, Song Xiyuan denounced Pei Yanzhen as a "tyrannical, shameless, cruel, perverse, sinister, and cunning scoundrel" who had taken advantage of him. He hinted that he would have been a willing participant if Shen Miao had done anything to him last night. Noticing his wound bleeding, Shen Miao bandaged it.
Then, under Pei Yanzhen's watchful eye from the window, she deliberately fed Song Xiyuan porridge, a gesture Song Xiyuan willingly accepted. Pei Yanzhen, heartbroken, turned and left. Song Xiyuan then invited Shen Miao and Xiao to the Qixi Festival lantern fair that evening, suggesting they could forget their troubles. Shen Miao, fueled by defiance, agreed, proclaiming that Pei Yanzhen would be the one to regret, not her.
Later that evening, Song Xiyuan, Shen Miao, and Xiao visited the bustling lantern fair. Song Xiyuan carried Xiao on his back, making him laugh with delight. They played games, and Song Xiyuan won a beautiful cat-shaped lantern for Xiao after a blindfolded pitch-pot game, remarking it resembled the "meow meow" (cat) he gave Xiao and Shen Miao's cat. They enjoyed candied hawthorns, and Song Xiyuan wished for time to stand still, a moment of peace and happiness.
Pei Yanzhen, from a bridge overlooking the scene, watched them appear like a happy family of three, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. Soon after, an imperial eunuch arrived in Lingzhou City to publicly announce the Empress Dowager's decree, bestowing Qin Miuzhen, General Qin's beautiful niece and a relative of the Empress Dowager, upon Pei Yanzhen in marriage. Pei Yanzhen was stunned into silence, but after a moment, he accepted the imperial decree.
The Ninth Princess rushed to tell Shen Miao about the imperial decree. Upon hearing the news, Shen Miao choked on a fishbone. Her father, Shen Qian, quickly called a physician, who removed the bone but advised Shen Miao to speak as little as possible for a few days due to throat inflammation.
Through the Ninth Princess, Shen Miao learned more about Qin Miuzhen, including that she had just turned fifteen last year and that the Empress Dowager believed the rhyming names of Pei Yanzhen and Qin Miuzhen signified a destined match. Shen Miao then silently inquired if Pei Yanzhen had accepted the decree. The Ninth Princess sadly confirmed that he had, causing Shen Miao to feel a profound sense of sadness and coldness.
Song Xiyuan soon visited Shen Miao, bringing a collection of ancient weapons for her, claiming he knew she enjoyed martial arts. He also presented her with a talking myna bird, stating it could keep her company while her voice was recovering. The bird immediately squawked, "Pei is a bad man." Song Xiyuan continued to disparage Pei Yanzhen, accusing him of being a cunning opportunist who had first courted the Ninth Princess and then the Empress Dowager's niece to gain power.
To cheer Shen Miao up, he invited her and Xiao to see a new opera troupe. However, the play they attended turned out to be a celebratory performance commissioned by the Empress Dowager herself, explicitly designed as a wedding gift for Pei Yanzhen and Qin Miuzhen. The actors sang of a "wedding room cozy and lovely" and wished "Minister Pei and his wife, always united in heart, and grow old together."
Unable to speak, Shen Miao's expressions revealed her deep sadness. In the days that followed, Shen Miao tried to immerse herself in various activities. One day, while she was watching an opera in her garden, Pei Yanzhen unexpectedly arrived. Song Xiyuan's myna bird, which had been repeating lines from the congratulatory opera, squawked, "Wishing Minister Pei and Madam Pei, always united in heart, and grow old together."
Pei Yanzhen, misunderstanding this as Shen Miao's true sentiment, asked if it was indeed her heartfelt wish. He then presented her with a wedding invitation. Shen Miao, after a moment, accepted it, stating that since he had personally invited her, she had no reason not to attend. As Pei Yanzhen turned to leave, he offered her a packet of anti-inflammatory throat medicine, assuring her she would recover in three days. Shen Miao responded, "You're thoughtful."
On the day of the wedding, Shen Miao struggled to choose an outfit. She rejected numerous dresses, offering various excuses, such as needing to care for Xiao (which Lvying refuted, pointing out Xiao had multiple wet nurses) or the clothes themselves being unsuitable – one too much like a nun's habit, another too plain, and a third not durable enough. Lvying, seeing through her excuses, questioned if her hesitation stemmed from lingering feelings for Pei Yanzhen.
At that moment, Song Xiyuan arrived. He deliberately provoked Shen Miao, suggesting she couldn't bear to see Pei Yanzhen marry and implying she still harbored feelings for him. Stung by his words, Shen Miao declared that his provocation had worked. She announced her intention to wear her "ultimate battle attire" to show Pei Yanzhen what a beautiful woman he had lost.
Shen Miao arrived at the Pei residence with Song Xiyuan, looking stunning in her red dress, a favorite of Pei Yanzhen's. The Ninth Princess, who was waiting, complimented her, but also joked that others might think Shen Miao was there to "steal the groom." Shen Miao responded, "I won't lose in appearance even if I lose him." She then calmly approached Pei Yanzhen and offered her congratulations to "Minister Pei and his wife," wishing them a blessed and long-lasting marriage.
She quietly reflected that she now understood Pei Yanzhen's true feelings, and it was better this way, so she wouldn't make a fool of herself. Pei Yanzhen, heartbroken by her words, tried to draw her aside to talk in the backyard, saying she didn't understand. However, Song Xiyuan interjected, reminding Pei Yanzhen that on his wedding day, he should be with his bride.
As the auspicious time was announced again, urging the groom to proceed into the hall, Pei Yanzhen looked at Shen Miao one last time before reluctantly leaving. Song Xiyuan then offered to take Shen Miao away, but she refused, stating that her congratulations were sincere, and it was time to put an end to her entanglement with Pei Yanzhen.
