Stand By Me Episode 17 Recap
> Stand By Me Recap
Emerging from the secret chamber, Qiu Yanzhi finds Yan Xiu collapsing, poisoned by Buddha's Smile. He urges her to flee before Chou Ziliang returns, but Qiu Yanzhi, lacking martial arts and suffering from a heart condition, insists she needs his help to escape. Realizing their mutual need, Yan Xiu agrees to help her. Qiu Yanzhi then reveals her grand plan to Han Yue, using a map of the Xiangqi Camp's underground complex.
She explains that the seven chambers are laid out like the Big Dipper, with two exits: Tianshu and Yaoguang. Her plan is for Xia Ziyuan to escort Prince Qi Chen to safety through the Tianshu exit, which connects to a woodshed and leads directly outside. Han Yue will take the captive Qi Yan to a safe passage via the Yaoguang exit located in her room.
She also shows him the location of a hidden cache of gunpowder, admitting she designed the entire complex with the intention of one day trapping and killing Chou Ziliang. Xia Ziyuan successfully escorts Prince Qi Chen to safety through the Tianshu exit. Meanwhile, a recovering Cheng Ruoyu tricks her guard and launches a signal flare Qi Yan had secretly given her. Han Ding, who was lying in wait on Qi Yan's orders, appears and rescues her.
Burning with a fever, she insists they must go back for the emperor. At the same time, Chou Ziliang's subordinate, Zuo Ma, reveals Qiu Yanzhi's true identity: she is Wang Ruoqing, the granddaughter of the disgraced official Wang Yang, and has been plotting revenge for years. Zuo Ma shows him the evidence he has gathered and tells him that Qiu Yanzhi is waiting in the tunnels below.
As Chou Ziliang approaches the hidden entrance, he is met not by Qiu Yanzhi but by Han Yue, who offers him a drink. Ignoring the pleasantries, Chou Ziliang demands to see Qiu Yanzhi. Han Yue declares his intention to kill him, and Chou Ziliang, still fixated on Qiu Yanzhi, promises Han Yue a swift death if he cooperates. Han Yue scoffs and lures him into the labyrinthine tunnels.
At the entrance, Zuo Ma sends for the Shen Cai Army as reinforcements. However, Yan Xiu, who had already recovered and repelled an initial group of Shen Cai Army soldiers, soon confronts Zuo Ma alongside Qiu Yanzhi. After a brief, chilling exchange where Qiu Yanzhi tells him he missed his last chance, Yan Xiu kills Zuo Ma. Deep inside the tunnels, Han Yue uses a series of traps to corner a furious Chou Ziliang in a dungeon cell.
Away from the camp, Han Ding explains the full scope of Qi Yan's plan to a shocked Cheng Ruoyu. He reveals that Qi Yan has known Han Yue's identity as the Zhenwu advisor for years; in fact, it was Qi Yan who saved Han Yue's life. A flashback shows Qi Yan and Han Ding searching a mass grave after the Chaolu Rebellion for Wang Yang's granddaughters.
They found no trace of the girls but discovered a barely living Han Yue, whom Qi Yan secretly had treated by Prince Qi Chen before sending him back to Zhenwu. Qi Yan knowingly allowed his savior to plot against him, seeing it as an opportunity to finally eliminate Chou Ziliang and pave the way for the return of Li Deyun, an official he trusted, though he distrusted Prince Qi Chen.
In another part of the tunnels, Qiu Yanzhi finds a heavily wounded Qi Yan. He speculates she is the elder sister he shot with an arrow eight years ago, expressing his relief that she survived. Qiu Yanzhi confronts him, her voice filled with years of hatred, asking if he ever regretted his actions. Qi Yan states that even if he could go back, he would make the same choice, which solidifies her resolve to see him destroyed.
Just as their confrontation reaches its peak, Cheng Ruoyu bursts in, demanding Qi Yan's release. She and Qiu Yanzhi fight until Yan Xiu intervenes and subdues Cheng Ruoyu. After trapping Chou Ziliang, Han Yue rejoins Qiu Yanzhi and insists on killing the loyal Cheng Ruoyu. Qiu Yanzhi pleads for her life, reminding Han Yue that fate once spared him as well. He relents, leaving Cheng Ruoyu in Qiu Yanzhi's custody.
Cheng Ruoyu makes a final plea, trying to convince Qiu Yanzhi that Qi Yan was forced into his past actions by Chou Ziliang and had secretly saved many lives, but Qiu Yanzhi refuses to listen, unmoved by arguments from someone who didn't experience the pain of the Chaolu Rebellion. She orders Yan Xiu to escort Cheng Ruoyu out of the capital forever. However, Han Ding intercepts them and frees Cheng Ruoyu.
Realizing they are outmatched, Han Ding devises a new plan: they will leak the news of Chou Ziliang's capture to the eunuch clique, hoping the Shen Cai Army will storm the camp to save their leader, creating a diversion for them to rescue Qi Yan. His plan in motion, Han Yue detonates the gunpowder, causing a massive explosion that collapses the Xiangqi Camp.
As the Shen Cai Army swarms the area, Han Yue realizes Qi Yan is missing from the designated escape route. Qiu Yanzhi, whose identity is still a secret, tells Han Yue to retreat while she stays to manage the chaos. Cheng Ruoyu arrives with the army, led by the aggressive Commander Wang Tongjun, who demands to know where Chou Ziliang is.
Qiu Yanzhi, disappointed that Cheng Ruoyu would resort to using Chou Ziliang's forces, coldly informs her that Qi Yan did not escape the explosion and is dead, leaving Cheng Ruoyu devastated and frantically digging through the rubble with her bare hands, crying out for the emperor. Qiu Yanzhi watches with a sigh. Commander Wang Tongjun demands the camp blueprints from Qiu Yanzhi, who claims they were destroyed in the fire.
He has her arrested on suspicion of treason and orders his men to dig for Chou Ziliang, dead or alive, while verbally disdaining her and asserting his own authority as Chou Ziliang's "grandson." When the soldiers unearth a body, it turns out to be a mere camp soldier, deepening the despair. Worried that the discovery of Chou Ziliang's body will seal her fate, Qiu Yanzhi devises a new strategy.
She decides to personally investigate the undamaged Tianshu exit to confirm if Chou Ziliang and Qi Yan are truly dead. To get away from the heavily guarded site, she tells Commander Wang Tongjun that a backup blueprint exists in the Left Chancellor's private library, and only she can retrieve it. Commander Wang Tongjun reluctantly agrees, sending two of his men to escort her, not before mocking her with a condescending "mother" remark.
