Resumen del episodio 37 de A Splendid Match
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Following the raid on the Ji family, Chen Yanyun took matters into his own hands, confronting his nephew, Chen Xuanqing. Citing the Yan Legal Code, which dictates forty strokes of a staff for a son accusing his father, Yanyun delivered forty harsh lashes to Xuanqing. Despite Xuanqing's betrayal, Yanyun spared his life, acknowledging that Xuanqing had secretly had someone notify him to come to Tongzhou. He ordered Xuanqing to leave the capital, declaring they no longer had any relation.
However, Xuanqing had already consumed poison before arriving. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Yanyun desperately called for a physician, but it was too late. Before dying, a remorseful Xuanqing confessed his deep admiration for Yanyun, admitting he had ruined his own career, love, and life in a misguided attempt to imitate his uncle. Gu Jinzhao soon found Chen Yanyun, who was deeply grieved by the tragedy.
Reflecting on Xuanqing's childhood and his striking resemblance to his biological father, who was a canal bandit, Yanyun shared that his mother wished to remove Xuanqing's name from the family register. He left the final decision to Jinzhao, who quietly told him to do as he saw fit. Meanwhile, Yanyun's servant, Chen Yi, delivered the news of Xuanqing's suicide to Lord Fu.
Realizing that Yanyun would inevitably pin the blame of the tragedy on him, Lord Fu cautioned his subordinates against immediately targeting Yanyun. Since Yanyun had recently won the Emperor's favor by surrendering a decade's worth of archives, Lord Fu knew that a relentless pursuit would only antagonize the aging Emperor, whom he wished to avoid crossing unless absolutely necessary.
To protect Gu Jinzhao's maternal family from the escalating political storm, Chen Yanyun and Jinzhao decided that the Ji family should temporarily relocate to Songjiang Prefecture. Although Ji Yao’s mother expressed deep concern over leaving their lucrative businesses in the north, Madam Ji firmly agreed to the move, recognizing Yanyun's protectiveness. Rong-er eagerly wished to stay in the capital with Jinzhao, but Jinzhao refused to let him take the risk.
Feeling immense guilt for placing the Ji family in such danger, Yanyun apologized to them, swearing to protect Jinzhao even at the cost of his own life. As the family began packing their belongings, Ji Yao privately assured Jinzhao that he would return to the capital to assist her once his family was safely settled.
Hoping to find solace, Chen Yanyun and Gu Jinzhao visited Baoxiang Temple, where Yanyun carried Jinzhao on his back and apologized for failing to shield her family as thoroughly as they had doted on her. Their peaceful moment was interrupted when a monk informed Yanyun of a distinguished guest's arrival. It was His Majesty, who had secretly traveled to the temple to discuss a crisis at the border.
The second prince of the Northern Wastes had assassinated his brother to seize power, causing chaos that injured many Yan citizens. Frustrated by Lord Fu’s suspicious inaction and suspecting him of colluding with the enemy, the Emperor proposed sending a trusted envoy to investigate under the guise of congratulating the new prince.
While Ye Xian eagerly volunteered, Chen Yanyun pointed out that his own lack of an official post made him the perfect candidate, as it would not arouse suspicion at court. However, Yanyun requested the Emperor’s permission to consult Jinzhao first, knowing the mission was fraught with peril. Rather than letting him worry, His Majesty summoned Jinzhao inside to convince her.
Understanding the danger, Jinzhao cleverly used her position as an ordinary woman to make an outrageous demand, asking the Emperor for three hundred newly developed muskets from the Weapon Bureau to take on the journey. Though both Jinzhao and Yanyun knew Lord Fu would set a deadly trap at the border, Yanyun remained resolute, preferring to trust his wife and his own wits rather than divine intervention.
On the day of the embassy's departure, Lord Fu and other officials gathered to see Chen Yanyun off. In a dramatic confrontation, Yanyun publicly addressed his former mentor, recalling their first meeting and the policy essay on reform. He reminded Lord Fu of the ideal that had once guided them—acting for the people's good, with no thought of cost—before bowing to him and cutting his own robe, symbolizing a complete severing of their master-disciple relationship.
Watching from a distance, Jinzhao was filled with worry, but Ye Xian comforted her, explaining that Yanyun's public display was a brilliant strategy; if Yanyun met with any misfortune at the border, Lord Fu would immediately be suspected of vengeful retaliation. Indeed, Lord Fu's wife soon confirmed that their traps were set, prompting Lord Fu to lament that Yanyun, whom he once wished to groom as his successor, now had to die to protect their secrets.
A month later, Ye Xian prepared to leave for the Western Hills and entrusted his plump cat, Baopu, to Gu Jinzhao's care. However, their brief moment of normalcy was shattered when a secret report arrived. The embassy had been brutally attacked in Shicheng, leaving only two censors, Lin Ruhui and Zhou Chudong, to return safely to the capital, while Chen Yanyun and the rest of the mission had vanished.
Recognizing the two surviving censors as Lord Fu's loyal henchmen, Jinzhao realized that Lord Fu intended to frame Yanyun for treason and destroy the entire Chen household. Determined to save her husband's family, Jinzhao immediately asked Ye Xian to arrange an audience with the Emperor. During their meeting, the Emperor revealed that the two returned censors had produced letters allegedly written by the Northern Wastes' second prince, pointing to Chen Yanyun's collusion.
In response, Gu Jinzhao presented the Emperor with the three hundred muskets along with the massive arsenal of small and large breech-loading cannons and Dafagong cannons Yanyun had previously purchased from Haojing. She pointed out that if Yanyun truly intended to rebel, he would have delivered these weapons to the Northern Wastes rather than gifting them to the Emperor.
Convinced by this logic, His Majesty agreed that Yanyun was innocent and ordered an investigation into the two suspicious censors instead of the Chen family. With the imperial court still unstable, Gu Jinzhao decided to personally travel to the Shanxi border to search for Chen Yanyun, utilizing her business networks and resources in Pingyang Prefecture. Before departing, she visited the Second Lady, who was caring for Yanyun's bedridden mother.
Jinzhao handed over the deeds to the sacrificial fields Yanyun had acquired over the years, ensuring the Chen family would remain provided for regardless of the political outcome. The Second Lady tearfully accepted them for safekeeping, promising to return them when Yanyun and Jinzhao safely returned. After bidding a final farewell to her younger sister, Jinzhao set off on her perilous journey, determined to find her husband.
