Stand By Me Episode 11 Recap
> Stand By Me Recap
Cheng Ruoyu bid farewell to Qi Yan. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back and hugged him tightly, thanking him once again for saving her life. Qi Yan was taken aback by her sudden gesture, but secretly pleased. He reminded her not to forget to repay him, to which she agreed.
Cheng Xi received a report that Cheng Ruoyu had returned, and the women from Yuzhen Workshop had been safely evacuated to Jinyang, planning to infiltrate Princess Ninghe's retinue to return to the capital. Cheng Xi considered this a good plan but worried if Chou Ziliang would let Princess Ninghe live. She reasoned that if Ninghe died, all her attendants would perish for failing to protect her.
To prevent this, Cheng Xi decided they needed a way to keep Princess Ninghe alive. She concluded that if all else failed, they would reveal to Yan Zhi that Ninghe was the true mastermind behind the Zheng Wu affair, having instructed Honggu to create a series of assassinations. Cheng Xi understood Chou Ziliang's nature; if he hated someone, he would keep them alive to torment them, thus ensuring Ninghe's temporary safety.
Yan Xiu dispatched thirty Xiangqi Camp soldiers to Princess Ninghe's post station in Jinyang, but they mysteriously vanished without a trace, leaving no signs of struggle or bodies. He then tested Princess Misha's martial arts, finding her to be an expert. Yan Xiu had one of his soldiers, Zu Qi, who specialized in mimicry, demonstrate the three moves used to test Princess Misha to Yan Zhi.
Yan Xiu asked Yan Zhi to investigate Ninghe's pre-marriage relationship with Han Yue, a former bodyguard of the late emperor, noting that Misha used Han Yue's fighting style. Yan Zhi, speaking to Chou Ziliang, presented the evidence, claiming it pointed to Ninghe as the mastermind behind the Zheng Wu affair, seeking to avenge the late emperor. Chou Ziliang, now convinced, decided not to kill Ninghe but rather keep her alive to suffer a fate worse than death.
Separately, Cheng Ruoyu visited Qi Chen at his humble abode for an external wound ointment. She expressed frustration that Chou Ziliang forbade Qi Chen from making herbal medicine, but promised one day they wouldn't be threatened by the old servant. Cheng Ruoyu also thanked Qi Chen for a silk pouch he had given her earlier, though she mentioned Yan Zhi had taken it. Qi Yan then arrived, questioning Qi Chen's knowledge of Yuzhen Workshop's formation and Yu Niang's throat ailment.
Xia Ziyuan, present there, explained that Yu Niang had been assaulted and her throat slit at Cai Tavern four years prior. Qi Chen had treated her, though her voice couldn't be fully restored, and out of gratitude, Yu Niang kept his portrait. Qi Yan, realizing his suspicion, apologized profusely to Qi Chen. Qi Chen explained he had known about Yuzhen Workshop but was bound by a promise to the late emperor to keep it secret.
Qi Yan expressed gratitude for Qi Chen's loyalty. Cheng Ruoyu then asked Qi Chen about the meaning of his last "Two Children Contend Over the Sun" strategy, which she understood as bringing dissenters to Qi Yan. Qi Chen admitted it was a way to let her act freely, and commended her interpretation.
Chou Ziliang, convinced by the rumors spread by Cheng Xi that Princess Ninghe was "the third party" and responsible for the Zheng Wu affair, immediately mobilized 3,000 Shen Cai Army troops to Jinyang to escort Ninghe back to the capital, intending to make her life a living hell rather than killing her directly. Qi Yan learned of this and worried the Yuzhen Workshop women hiding in Ninghe's retinue might be exposed.
Cheng Xi rushed to apologize to Qi Yan, confessing that she had deliberately leaked information about Ninghe being the "third person" to Yan Zhi. Her goal was to focus Chou Ziliang's attention on Ninghe, thereby allowing the 300 Yuzhen Workshop women to safely return to the capital to protect Qi Yan. Qi Yan, furious, refused to accept her explanation and angrily left with Cheng Ruoyu.
Qi Chen rebuked Cheng Xi for her rash actions, lamenting that she had put Princess Ninghe in grave danger, condemning her to a fate worse than death at Chou Ziliang's hands. Cheng Ruoyu earnestly pleaded with Qi Yan, taking responsibility for Cheng Xi's actions and offering to accept punishment in her aunt's stead. She then volunteered to rescue Princess Ninghe.
Cheng Ruoyu remarked on Qi Yan's kindness and compassion, praising him for showing benevolence even to those who sought to harm him. Qi Yan, however, asserted that he was not a good person, although he vowed that Cheng Ruoyu would never regret following him, leaving her bewildered by his words.
Chou Ziliang, after a detailed report from Yan Zhi and her subordinates, reiterated his belief that Princess Ninghe was behind the recent schemes, including the Yuzhen Workshop incident, and was seeking revenge for the late emperor. Despite initial doubts, all evidence, including a sword and an Eight-Trigram mechanism found at Yuzhen Workshop—which were linked to Qi Qing's rebellion thirty years ago—and the pufferfish venom used in Zheng Wu's assassination, pointed to Ninghe.
Convinced, Chou Ziliang decided to "welcome" Ninghe back to the capital in three days. Meanwhile, while feeding his horse, Ru Feng, Qi Yan discovered a blank account book left by Zuo Ma in a pouch that Cheng Ruoyu had previously carried. Cheng Ruoyu tried to reveal any hidden writing but failed. Qi Yan concluded this was another counter-intelligence ploy by Yan Zhi, meant to implicate Cheng Ruoyu.
Cheng Ruoyu complained about being used as a scapegoat, but Qi Yan, unfazed, acknowledged Yan Zhi's puzzling nature, noting that she seemed neither entirely good nor bad, often secretly helping them. To uncover Yan Zhi's true motives, Qi Yan instructed Cheng Ruoyu to continue the counter-intelligence strategy by giving Yan Zhi the blank book. He assured her that everyone, including him, would trust her.
Following Qi Yan's plan, Cheng Ruoyu apprehended Zuo Ma and presented him, along with the blank account book, to Yan Zhi. When Yan Zhi questioned her repeated infiltration of the Xiangqi Camp and why she had chased her for a seemingly worthless item, Cheng Ruoyu, remembering Qi Yan's advice, adopted a direct approach. She challenged Yan Zhi's intelligence and proposed a trade, demanding the safe return of the Yuzhen Workshop women to the capital.
Yan Zhi, surprisingly, agreed almost immediately, stating she would have brought them back anyway as she wasn't intimidated by 300 people and found weak opponents uninteresting. To formalize their "partnership," Yan Zhi offered Cheng Ruoyu tea, which Cheng Ruoyu drank without hesitation, declaring she would kill Yan Zhi if it were poisoned. An assassin attempted to poison Zuo Ma with pufferfish venom, but Zuo Ma killed the attacker.
He then covertly entered Yan Zhi's room, swapped a painting on the wall, believing it might hide her secret. As he prepared to leave, Yan Zhi and Yan Xiu unexpectedly returned, forcing Zuo Ma to hide. Yan Xiu questioned Yan Zhi's motives for assisting Qi Yan, given Chou Ziliang's dislike for him.
Yan Zhi revealed her ambition: she planned to become Qi Yan's Empress, then keep him perpetually ill through poison, allowing her to rule as a female emperor, discarding any royal princes as she saw fit. Yan Xiu expressed concern that Zuo Ma had uncovered Yan Zhi's true identity. Yan Zhi dismissed this, confident that Zuo Ma could only discover her fabricated background, not her true origins.
She decided to imprison Zuo Ma for now, rather than risk Chou Ziliang's inquiries if she killed him outright. After Yan Zhi fell asleep, Zuo Ma, initially considering killing her, decided against it, realizing her death without solid evidence would enrage Chou Ziliang and lead to his own demise. Instead, he chose to keep her alive to atone for Right Ma's death. Zuo Ma then drugged Yan Zhi and carried her away.
Later, Cheng Ruoyu returned from Xiangqi Camp, stopping to buy osmanthus cake, Qi Yan's favorite. She found Qi Yan distressed, having woken from a nightmare about Princess Ninghe's assassination, drenched in cold sweat. Cheng Ruoyu offered him the osmanthus cake and playfully likened him to it, calling him kind and simple, much to Qi Yan's amusement and bewilderment. She praised him for his compassion towards Princess Ninghe, despite Ninghe's repeated attempts to harm him.
Cheng Ruoyu boldly jumped onto Qi Yan's imperial bed. Qi Yan initially misunderstood her intentions, thinking she was offering to sleep with him, but Cheng Ruoyu merely wanted to give him a massage to ease his stress, a technique Cheng Xi used to comfort her during nightmares in her youth. At that moment, Cheng Huaizhi rushed in with an urgent message. Startled, Cheng Ruoyu quickly jumped off the bed.
Cheng Huaizhi delivered a secret report from Xia Ziyuan: Princess Ninghe had been ambushed in Jingzhou the previous night and was now unconscious. The Jingzhou magistrate was interrogating everyone in her entourage, threatening to expose the Yuzhen Workshop women. Qi Yan, distraught, wanted to go to Jingzhou himself, but Cheng Ruoyu insisted on going in his place, citing the court's need for its ruler and offering to investigate the truth.
Yan Zhi groggily awoke, realizing she had been poisoned by Zuo Ma with a concoction derived from the "Buddha's Laughing Flower," which Zuo Ma had refined into incense. Zuo Ma accused her of colluding with Qi Yan to frame Right Ma and demanded she atone for his death. Yan Zhi vehemently denied responsibility, asserting Right Ma committed suicide due to his incompetence and obsession with poisons.
Zuo Ma, enraged by her callousness, scorned her, saying he disdained Right Ma in life and did not fear him in death, and that he held the same contempt for Yan Zhi. He declared that while he could not kill her due to Chou Ziliang's concern, he would ensure she suffered a fate worse than death as retribution for injuring his hand, promising to be "very gentle" in his torment.
