Choice Husband Episode 15 Recap
> Choice Husband Recap
On the day of the wedding, as the master of ceremonies delivered blessings for a lasting marriage and abundant offspring, Pei Yanzhen stood with Qin Miuzhen, bowing to heaven and earth and their ancestors. However, when it came time to bow to their spouse, Pei Yanzhen remained still, lost in thought, remembering a past thought to Shen Miao about enduring love, asking if she could wait a few more days for him.
Looking at Shen Miao in the crowd, he declared that he could not go through with the wedding today or ever, expressing his apology to Qin Miuzhen. He revealed that his heart belonged to someone else. Though societal norms frowned upon it, and even if that person had rejected him, he found solace in simply watching her from afar. If he were to marry today, he feared even this cherished yearning would be lost forever.
Qin Miuzhen, the daughter of the General, was enraged by Pei Yanzhen's public defiance of the imperial edict. She reminded him that such an act was a death sentence, but Pei Yanzhen calmly stated that without his beloved, life held no meaning, and he would rather die. Ninth Princess intervened, questioning Qin Miuzhen's use of force on a festive day. Qin Miuzhen retorted that Pei Yanzhen's defiance shamed the Empress Dowager and the royal family.
Pei Yanzhen, however, made his decision clear, and Qin Miuzhen then ordered Du Xi to arrest him and send him to the capital to await the Empress Dowager's judgment. Shen Miao was determined to save Pei Yanzhen, despite Song Xiyuan and Shen Qian's pleas to consider the grave danger. As she left, she encountered Zhan Yue and Ninth Princess, learning that Pei Yanzhen had left something for her to read once "the dust had settled."
Shen Miao insisted on seeing it immediately, leading Zhan Yue to Pei Yanzhen's study. There, she found countless portraits of herself, revealing Pei Yanzhen's true feelings. Zhan Yue explained that for three years, Pei Yanzhen had feigned indifference and cut off contact with Shen Miao and Xiao to protect them from the powerful Qin family, who had extended their control to the Shen family.
While he navigated dangerous political waters in the capital, he entrusted Zhan Yue to safeguard Shen Miao and Xiao in Lingzhou. He had only agreed to marry into the Qin family as a strategic move to dismantle them from within. His public refusal was an unplanned act of love, wanting Shen Miao to know his heart before he died.
Shen Miao, realizing she had misunderstood him, felt a pang of guilt but also anger at his "selfish" plan to sacrifice himself. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager, angered by Pei Yanzhen's public defiance, decreed that he be beheaded the next day at noon, to make an example of him and uphold royal authority.
The Emperor argued against such a hasty decision for a high-ranking official, suggesting there must be hidden reasons, but General Qin intervened, asserting the Empress Dowager's resolve and questioning the Emperor's lingering attachment to Pei Yanzhen. The Empress Dowager reiterated that one person should not be allowed to disrupt royal family harmony. Song Xiyuan visited Pei Yanzhen in prison, correctly deducing that Pei Yanzhen's initial plan with the Emperor was to marry Qin Miuzhen to undermine her family.
Pei Yanzhen, now accepting his impending death, asked Song Xiyuan to look after Shen Miao and Xiao, and proposed a final collaboration: for Song Xiyuan to act as a spy within the Qin family, reporting their plans to the Emperor, as only by dismantling the Qin family could the Shen family truly be safe. Song Xiyuan did not immediately agree. Shen Miao tried to visit Pei Yanzhen, offering gold to the jailer, but was refused.
She soon discovered that Song Xiyuan had secretly bribed the jailers double the amount to prevent her from seeing Pei Yanzhen. Despite Song Xiyuan's continued attempts to dissuade her, citing Pei Yanzhen's past coldness and her own feelings, Shen Miao firmly declared her gratitude to Song Xiyuan as a friend but clarified that her heart belonged to Pei Yanzhen, stating, "perhaps I do take a liking to him," and insisted on seeing him.
When she finally reached Pei Yanzhen, she found him covered in wounds, clearly tortured. Distraught, Shen Miao told him that if he died, she would remarry with a ceremony a "billion times grander" than his aborted wedding, declaring she would never forgive him. Pei Yanzhen confessed his deep regrets for his past actions, especially leaving her, saying he knew she resented him.
Shen Miao countered that her resentment was towards herself for not having defied the imperial edict earlier, and reiterated that she would never forgive him if he died. Pei Yanzhen then admitted he couldn't bear the thought of her remarrying, finding that prospect worse than death. Outside the prison, Lvying was also trying to see Shen Miao, but was met with insults from the jailers. Constable Zhao intervened, defending Lvying.
Later, Qin Miuzhen visited Song Xiyuan, inviting him to spectate Pei Yanzhen's execution. She presented an opportunity for Song Xiyuan to rise from a mere court purveyor, the "lowest among the Four Occupations," to an important official in the Ministry of Revenue, replacing Pei Yanzhen, if he collaborated with the Qin family. Song Xiyuan, acknowledging that "everything comes with a price," asked what was required of him. She told him he would have to serve the Qin family.
That evening, Shen Miao returned to Shen's Residence, appearing devastated. Her son, Xiao, noticed her sadness and innocently questioned if she was upset about "Great-uncle" Pei Yanzhen, asking if her constant distraction when she saw him meant she loved him. Shen Miao simply held him and quietly promised, "I won't do it again." Later, Pei Yanzhen's mother visited Shen Miao, asking if she was willing to save Pei Yanzhen.
The next day, at the execution ground, Pei Yanzhen, brutally beaten and defiant, refused to kneel before the executioner. As the execution was about to proceed, Shen Miao arrived, presenting an Immunity Token bestowed by the Grand Emperor to the Pei family for their ancestor's service in saving the Emperor's life. Qin Miuzhen dismissed it as a fake, but Ninth Princess and Zhan Yue intervened, supported by the crowd's outcry, demanding that Shen Miao be heard.
An official confirmed the token's authenticity. Qin Zuze and the Empress Dowager in the capital soon learned of this. Qin Zuze verified the token's origin, noting that the Pei family's decline in influence had caused it to be forgotten. While the Empress Dowager suspected Pei Yanzhen had ulterior motives, perhaps coveting the Shen family's wealth, Qin Zuze assured her that Pei Yanzhen was now "battered and bruised" and no longer a threat to return to the capital.
As a result, Pei Yanzhen was spared execution, but an imperial edict stripped him of his official title, demoting him to a commoner, confiscating his residence, and ordering him to return to his hometown. Later, Shen Xiao, holding a bird he received from Song Xiyuan, confronted him, accusing him of harming "Great-uncle" Pei Yanzhen and declaring that he and his mother no longer wanted to talk to him.
