Different Princess Episode 36 (Ending) Recap
> Different Princess Recap
In the Grand Hall, Ji Yun poured a cup of wine for the Empress. She declined, stating she was not to drink that night. Ji Yun, aware of her deep mistrust and perhaps sensing her hesitation, remembering how she had once poisoned the Emperor in a similar fashion, then drank the wine himself. This was a gesture of thanks for all she had done for him.
He questioned why she had become so distrustful, even of him, but she feigned ignorance, asking what he meant. Meanwhile, Gong Yeqi and his men, disguised as guards, infiltrated Xuanze Hall under the pretense of a shift change, easily dispatching the existing guards. Gong Yeqi, while having a personal vendetta against Emperor Xuanqi for harming the Su family, spared his life as instructed by Ji Yun.
He provided medicine that would revive the Emperor in two days, stating he did not want his wife, Ji Wan'er, to lose her father. He then departed to join the escalating conflict. Back in the Grand Hall, Ji Chu entered, prepared to face the Empress, Hua Yunni, declaring that his hatred would only be appeased by her death. Ji Yun revealed to the Empress that he had deliberately brought her there.
She accused him of betrayal, to which he retorted that she had lost all trust, making betrayal a moot point. He recounted her past atrocities, including the murder of Feng and Imperial Consort Xian, forcing Ji Wan'er's marriage, and now moving against the Emperor. He asked if he, too, was an outsider in her eyes.
The Empress asserted that all her actions were for him to gain the throne, but Ji Yun countered that she had never truly considered what he desired. Earlier, in a conversation with Lin Xiyao, Ji Yun had expressed a longing for a life beyond the palace, similar to Ji Wan'er's desire for freedom, and felt Ji Chu was better suited to rule.
Ji Yun stepped forward, blocking Ji Chu from his mother, proclaiming that "a son must pay his mother's debts." Ji Chu accused Ji Yun of protecting the Empress and threatened to kill him first. As the two brothers clashed, the Empress attempted to escape but was intercepted by Gong Yeqi, who still harbored deep-seated resentment for the Su family's ruin. Just as Gong Yeqi moved to strike her, Ji Wan'er suddenly intervened, shielding her mother and taking the fatal blow.
She collapsed, her clothes soaked in blood. Gong Yeqi desperately tried to save her, reminding her of their future, but Ji Wan'er apologized for deceiving him and confessed she could not abandon her mother. With her dying breath, she pleaded with the Empress to spare Ji Yun and implored Gong Yeqi to abandon his hatred and live freely. Ji Chu was distraught to see Hua Qingge in the bloody scene and demanded to know what had happened.
The Empress, undeterred by Ji Wan'er's death, seized Hua Qingge as a hostage, demanding Ji Chu's life for Hua Qingge's. Ji Yun tried to reason with his mother, reminding her that Qing was her niece and questioning her role in Ji Wan'er's death. Ji Chu offered his life, but Hua Qingge, aware she was about to return to her own world and stating she wouldn't die, stopped him.
She playfully called him a "scumbag" for an earlier threat of divorce, then declared she was "divorcing" him first, adding she'd rather be a scumbag to him than be scumbagged by him. She explained she didn't want him to cry returning to her world. With her final words, she expressed her joy at meeting him, urged him to be a good man and not to become evil again, and asked him to never forget her.
Hua Qingge then fatally stabbed herself, disappearing as she died, leaving only her bracelet behind. Ji Chu, heartbroken, held the bracelet, remembering their shared moments, her playful words, and her confession of being an outsider. He cried out her name in anguish. The novelist, waking from a dream, decided to write a new ending. In this revised story, on the day of his enthronement, Ji Yun purposefully took poison to atone for his mother's sins.
He left an imperial decree for Lin Xiyao to deliver to the Empress, instructing that the throne be passed to Ji Chu. Ji Yun explained that he was finally letting go of his burden. The Empress was consumed by grief over her son's death and was confined to Fengyi Palace. Overwhelmed by her suffering, she ultimately chose to hang herself, realizing that her lifetime of schemes had left her with nothing but loss.
Fortunately, Gong Yeqi intervened and saved Ji Yun, who then chose a life of peaceful seclusion with Lin Xiyao at Melodious Serenity Abode. Gong Yeqi, however, never truly recovered from Ji Wan'er's death and often drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Under Gong Yeqi's treatment, Emperor Xuanqi was saved but remained bedridden, leading him to abdicate in favor of the third prince, Ji Chu. Ji Chu, now Emperor Xian De, ruled over a flourishing age of Liang.
He deeply missed Hua Qingge (Qing), confiding in his attendant, Xiao Yan, that his greatest wish was to quickly pass from this life so he could visit her world. Out of devotion, Emperor Xian De never took an empress and eventually died peacefully of old age. In the modern world, the novelist, Ms. Hua, submitted her script. Her editor praised it as a potential blockbuster. A secretary then informed her that the company's boss was very interested in meeting her.
Ms. Hua politely declined, citing a new laptop purchase that left her broke and another appointment. As she left, she encountered the boss, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Ji Chu. He called her Hua Qingge and asked if she intended to abandon him, confirming that Ji Chu had indeed followed her to her modern world.
