Choice Husband Episode 28 Recap
> Choice Husband Recap
Lvying attended to Tie Niu's injury, carefully applying ointment to his back. Tie Niu initially tried to refuse her help, downplaying the severity of his wound, which he claimed was from a falling beam, not Constable Zhao. Lvying scolded him for not speaking up sooner. Constable Zhao soon interrupted, accusing them of inappropriate intimacy. When Lvying explained she was just treating Tie Niu's injury, Constable Zhao feigned multiple injuries and demanded Lvying tend to him as well.
Lvying, disgusted by his shamelessness, left, while Tie Niu noted that Constable Zhao's injuries appeared self-inflicted. Meanwhile, Ninth Princess confronted Zhan Yue, pressing him to acknowledge her feelings after he seemed oblivious to a play's romantic message. She explicitly declared her feelings, stating her love for him and her desire to marry, vowing to explain her feelings to him repeatedly, for "the entire night, the entire year, and my whole life," if he failed to understand.
Zhan Yue, however, firmly rejected her, explicitly stating that he did not like her, harbored no romantic feelings, and would not marry her. When she questioned his past kindness, including saving her life two years prior, Zhan Yue clarified that his actions were merely his duty and apologized if she had been misled.
He warned that if she continued to press him, he would report to Pei Yanzhen and leave the capital permanently, emphasizing that true love is mutual, not coerced. Heartbroken, Ninth Princess told him to leave, declaring she never wanted to see him again. Pei Yanzhen later approached Shen Miao, who immediately suspected his intentions. Shen Miao announced her plan to take Xiao to the Song family residence upon their return to the capital, but Pei Yanzhen objected.
He admitted his past deception was purposeful, but not directly aimed at her. He asserted Xiao was his child too, expressing frustration that Shen Miao had abandoned him for two years to go to Weiyang with Song Xiyuan, only to reappear now. Shen Miao insisted Xiao belonged to the Shen family and she would not allow him to be embroiled in court politics.
Pei Yanzhen countered that Xiao's identity would not be safe with Song Xiyuan, and he did not want Xiao to grow up without a father or to repeat the suffering Pei Yanzhen himself had endured. He proposed they raise Xiao together for one year, allowing Xiao to choose his future once he was older. Shen Miao negotiated the duration down to three months, which Pei Yanzhen accepted.
He promised to be truthful henceforth and urged Shen Miao to prioritize Xiao, preventing a recurrence of the tragedy from two years ago. The group eventually arrived back in the capital. Xiao settled into the Regent's Residence as agreed. Outside the gates, as Shen Miao spoke with Song Xiyuan, she spotted her father, Shen Qian, wearing a conical hat. She followed him to a secluded spot and found him with Madam.
Shen Miao was surprised they had returned from Yanlan alone and immediately asked about Shen Zai. Madam tearfully explained that they were barely alive and that Shen Zai had been captured by Pei Yanzhen. A flashback revealed that Pei Yanzhen's servants had gone to Yanlan, falsely claiming Shen Miao was gravely ill after an assassination attempt in Weiyang, to lure her family back to the capital.
During their journey, despite Shen Zai's attempt to join with Song family's arriving servants, Pei Yanzhen's men forcibly took Shen Zai. Madam and Shen Qian expressed their fears and were grateful for Song Xiyuan's men, who had provided protection on their way back to the capital. They believed a decorative bone carving, which was supposed to be with Xiao, was a counterfeit swapped by Pei Yanzhen, confirming his manipulative nature.
Song Xiyuan elaborated on his theory, suggesting Pei Yanzhen's true motive for wanting Shen Miao in the Regent's Residence was to eradicate the Shen family entirely and seize their wealth, having failed to obtain information from the original bone carving. Shen Miao, while uneasy, found his reasoning plausible. Despite her growing suspicion towards Pei Yanzhen, she rushed to confront him. Song Xiyuan intervened, cautioning her against exposing their hand.
Just then, an assassin fired an arrow at Shen Qian, but Song Xiyuan quickly shielded him, taking the arrow in his shoulder. Tie Niu pursued the attacker and discovered a token from the Regent's Residence. Meanwhile, back at the Regent's Residence, Pei Yanzhen restlessly paced, uneasy about Shen Miao's prolonged absence. Determined to uncover the truth, Shen Miao insisted on investigating within the Regent's Residence, despite Song Xiyuan's warnings about the danger and the risk of exposing her parents.
She returned to Xiao and subtly inspected his bone carving, noticing a crack she hadn't seen before. She asked Xiao who had touched the carving, and he innocently replied that both "Little Maternal Uncle" (Pei Yanzhen) and Constable Zhao had. Xiao added that Pei Yanzhen often looked at it when he missed Shen Miao. Shen Miao realized this was part of Pei Yanzhen's elaborate deception and instructed Xiao to keep their conversation private.
During morning court, the Emperor announced that a neighboring country sought alliance but, as a condition, requested to marry Ninth Princess. Pei Yanzhen, concerned, later proposed an alternative strategy to the Emperor: a trade agreement to provide the neighboring country with resources in exchange for horses and weapons, arguing it would prevent allied marriage and solve centuries of conflict. The Emperor found his proposal brilliant.
Song Xiyuan instructed Tie Niu to keep the news of the allied marriage from Shen Miao. Later, Pei Yanzhen and Song Xiyuan shared a carriage back to the Regent's Residence. Song Xiyuan had accompanied Pei Yanzhen to the Regent's Residence under the pretense of checking on Shen Zai, though his true intention was to speak with Shen Miao, and they exchanged thinly veiled barbs about each other's intentions regarding Shen Miao and Xiao.
Pei Yanzhen then informed Zhan Yue about the Emperor's plan for Ninth Princess's allied marriage, urging him to consider his feelings. Zhan Yue, after much deliberation, met Ninth Princess. He returned a paper crane she had made for him, stating he didn't lose it but felt he didn't deserve her.
He then conveyed a heartfelt apology, explaining through the metaphor of the paper crane that his 'stupid' and 'clumsy' self had falsely claimed to desire freedom because it felt undeserving of a warm embrace, and asked for her forgiveness. Shen Miao tirelessly searched the Regent's Residence for Shen Zai but found no trace of him, concluding that he was being held elsewhere. She resolved to make Pei Yanzhen confess. Recovering from his injury, Song Xiyuan was seen reading.
He instructed Tie Niu to bring his pet bird, which then spoke, "Annihilate the Song family." Song Xiyuan promptly corrected the bird, teaching it to say, "Annihilate the Shen family," a phrase it dutifully repeated. With a knowing look, Song Xiyuan revealed his true ambition, stating, "Miaomiao, I have told you. I want the entire world and you."
This exposed him as the true puppet master, intentionally manipulating events to sow discord between Shen Miao and Pei Yanzhen, aiming to claim both the empire and Shen Miao for himself.
