Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty Episode 20 Recap
> Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty Recap
In a private audience with Emperor Kangxi, Wei confirms that she took the blame to save Yinxiang. Kangxi, already aware of her innocence after comparing the handwriting on two talismans, asks why she would do such a thing. Wei explains that she understands his predicament; he knows Yinxiang is innocent but must sacrifice one son to prevent a wider, more destructive conflict among the princes.
She pleads with him to consider that Yinxiang, having already lost his mother, should not be abandoned by his father as well. Moved by her willingness to die for the man she loves, Wei's only request is that her family not be implicated. Kangxi agrees to her terms and, with a heavy heart, sentences her to be confined to the Forbidden Palace and executed at a later date. The royal decree announcing Wei’s fate sends shockwaves through the palace.
Yinzhen is furious with his brothers, condemning their selfish and despicable actions that led to an innocent woman's sacrifice. In the Imperial Clan Court, Yinxiang dreams of Wei drifting away from him. He is awakened by a eunuch who informs him he has been cleared of all charges but must transfer to the princes' quarters instead of his own mansion. Suspicious, Yinxiang questions why Wei has not come to see him, sensing that something is terribly wrong.
Wei is escorted to the desolate Yunxiu Palace, which she eerily recognizes as the place she first arrived in this era. She resigns herself to her fate, believing she was brought across time for the sole purpose of dying for her beloved. Meanwhile, Yinzhen prepares a group of loyal men for a desperate rescue mission.
His wife tearfully begs him not to risk his life and family for Wei, but Yinzhen is resolute, stating that this is a decision he will not change and that he is prepared to have wronged his wife in this life. Yinti visits Wei in her confinement, overcome with guilt. She tells him that while she should hate him, she understands he was acting according to his own position and tells him not to have regrets.
After leaving her, his remorse deepens. Fueled by alcohol and regret, he storms into Yinxiang’s quarters. He berates a confused Yinxiang for remaining idle while the woman he loves is about to die in his place, blaming him for getting entangled in the power struggle and failing to protect her. The horrifying truth dawns on Yinxiang, who, with Yinti's help, fights past the guards and races to save Wei.
As the time for her execution arrives, Wei shares her final moments with Qixiang. She asks her maid to pass on a message to Yinxiang: he must live on, even without her. An eunuch arrives with a cup of poisoned wine and a final question from the Emperor: does she regret her choice? She firmly replies that she does not.
The decree is read, stating that she will be granted suicide, her name will be struck from the royal family's records, and her death will be officially recorded as a result of madness. Just as Yinxiang’s desperate cries are heard outside, Wei drinks the poison. Yinxiang breaks through the outer cordon of guards only to be stopped at the gate, forced to watch helplessly as Wei's lifeless body is carried out.
Devastated, Yinxiang confronts his father, Emperor Kangxi, accusing him of being a heartless ruler for killing an innocent woman. He screams that if being royal means being so cruel, he would rather not be a prince or Kangxi's son. Kangxi angrily retorts that he sacrificed Wei's life to save Yinxiang's, a difficult choice that Wei understood better than his own son. The weight of this realization crushes Yinxiang, who now blames himself entirely for her death.
He flees the palace on horseback, memories of his happy times with Wei flooding his mind, until overwhelming grief causes him to collapse in front of his mansion. Unbeknownst to the others, Yinzhen has a plan in motion. He and Qixiang prepare Wei’s body for a staged cremation. Qixiang has sewn a special shroud made of fire-resistant black silk, disguised under an embroidered pattern of a phoenix and the rising sun.
News of Wei's death and impending cremation delights Yinsi and his faction. However, the ever-suspicious Ming Hui points out that with Yinzhen personally escorting the body, there could be a trick. She insists they witness the cremation firsthand to ensure Wei is truly gone. At the cremation site, Yinsi's group confronts Yinzhen. Ming Hui uses her position as Wei's sister to demand a final look at the body.
Yinzhen vehemently refuses to let them disturb Wei's rest, but to prevent further conflict, Qixiang intervenes and calmly leads them to the open coffin, where Wei lies pale and still. As they look on, Qixiang covers the body with the special shroud, explaining that its phoenix motif is a prayer for Wei to be reborn from the ashes. To seal the deception, Ming Hui personally lights the funeral pyre. Convinced that Wei is now nothing more than ash, Yinsi and his allies depart, satisfied with their victory.
