Resumen del episodio 16 de Faithful
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Seven years had passed, and Meng Wan carefully cut apart each plum blossom from the embroidery, her heart a mix of emotions. Meanwhile, Li Chunfeng discovered a familiar name on the same embroidery: Tian Xiaoling. Seeing his distressed expression, Meng Wan inquired if he knew the woman. Li Chunfeng did not answer but crumpled the embroidery, intending to leave. Just then, Feng Da and Liu Xin arrived and stopped him. With no other choice, Li Chunfeng revealed the truth.
He recounted that on the Qiqiao Festival seven years prior, he had won a rabbit lantern for Tian Xiaoling, who asked him to keep it for her. He then walked her back to Yanyu Tower and watched her enter. That period was chaotic, with many girls leaving the Yanyu Tower due to the uproar over Rulan’s case. After that night, Tian Xiaoling vanished without a trace.
Li Chunfeng searched for her for seven years, holding onto that rabbit lantern, but found no news until he saw her name on the plum blossom embroidery. He realized something terrible must have happened to her after she entered the Yanyu Tower, which explained her sudden, silent departure. Meng Wan acknowledged that she also knew Ling, remembering her as a talented and reserved girl whose father was a teacher.
She assured Li Chunfeng that with seven of them working together, finding Tian Xiaoling would not be difficult, and expressed hope that Ling could be their last chance for a witness. The group began to investigate. Huang Jiaojiao approached Ms. Xing, an experienced broker, offering her silk cloth in exchange for information on the Tian family. Ms. Xing recalled the Tian family – the father was a children's teacher, and the mother ran a teahouse.
She revealed that the family had left overnight, dismissing all their servants, and Ms. Xing herself had helped find new positions for some of them. While she didn't directly have contact, she then recalled a specific nanny from the Tian family, also named Ms. Xing. Through further investigation, Liu Sannü cleverly distracted a Mr. Zhao to find Ms. Xing (the nanny), who confirmed that the Tian family had moved to the capital overnight due to some unknown trouble.
Liu Xin and Shen Mu then traveled to the capital. They found the Tian family, now running a teahouse, but Tian Xiaoling's mother, Madame Tian, denied having a daughter. Liu Xin, pretending Shen Mu was a high-ranking official, tried to intimidate her, but Madame Tian was not fooled and chased them out. Later that night, Tian Xiaoling's father, Mr. Tian, secretly visited Liu Xin and Shen Mu, apologizing for his wife's earlier behavior.
He confessed that his wife was unwilling to revisit old wounds, but he himself had always harbored doubts. Mr. Tian shared that seven years ago, when Rulan's lawsuit against Wu Lian caused a stir, he wanted to bring Xiaoling home from Yanyu Tower, but she refused. Not long after, Ms. Chen from the Yanyu Tower contacted them, insisting they take Xiaoling back, accusing her of "moral impropriety" and being entangled with a "rough man" outside the tower.
When Mr. Tian retrieved her, Xiaoling was delirious and constantly contemplated suicide. To protect her reputation, the family moved to the capital, hoping to earn enough money from a new teahouse to find a cure for Xiaoling. Mr. Tian firmly stated he never believed Ms. Chen's accusations, knowing his daughter's character. He pleaded with Liu Xin and Shen Mu to investigate and clear his daughter's name.
He then revealed that Xiaoling was not in the capital but had remained in Huaizhou Prefecture all these years, at the Qingshui Nunnery. He explained that as they left the city, Xiaoling, in her deranged state, suddenly refused to leave the nunnery where they had stopped to pray, eventually becoming a nun with the dharma name Jueming. Men were forbidden at the nunnery, so he could only visit her secretly and remotely. Meng Wan decided to visit Qingshui Nunnery herself.
The head nun, Huichen, informed her that Jueming (Tian Xiaoling) had not met any outsiders since her arrival. Meng Wan met with Jueming, and, though Jueming remained mostly silent, Meng Wan spoke of her own journey, her seven years of planning for revenge against Wu Lian, and her mission to restore Rulan's defiled innocence.
She revealed her allies – Liu Xin, who was falsely imprisoned and injured; Liu Sannü, forced into courtesan life and had a loved one persecuted; Shen Mu, a capital official seeking justice; Feng Da, an escort agency leader; Huang Jiaojiao, a shop owner; and Li Chunfeng, Jueming's old acquaintance.
Meng Wan passionately argued that they should unite to bring down Yanyu Tower and make Wu Lian pay for his crimes, emphasizing that he had lost the backing of the Duke's mansion and his powerful financial connections. She confessed that while her actions were partly for justice, they were also deeply personal. Jueming, however, only responded, "There is no Tian Xiaoling, only Jueming. You've mistaken me for someone else. Please leave." As Meng Wan left, Abbess Huichen intercepted her.
Huichen acknowledged Meng Wan’s perseverance but questioned the appropriateness of her relentless pursuit. She asked Meng Wan to consider if her actions were truly for justice or primarily for personal revenge, and whether she was truly considering the feelings of the victims, who might not wish to relive their past traumas. Huichen revealed that Jueming, upon entering the nunnery, had frequently suffered from nightmares and eventually wrote a letter detailing her past, which Huichen read and then burned.
Huichen advised that pursuing justice at the cost of harming others defeats the purpose of justice. Before leaving, Meng Wan requested the abbess's understanding if a man were to visit the nunnery that night. Huichen replied that if one's worldly attachments remained, no walls or years of seclusion could truly block out such thoughts. That night, Li Chunfeng indeed snuck into Qingshui Nunnery, carrying the old but still glowing rabbit lantern, singing a familiar song outside Tian Xiaoling's room.
He called out to her, reminding her of his seven years of waiting and searching, and how he never moved, fearing she wouldn't find him. He spoke of the precious memories they shared, and the riddle's answer, "butterfly," which once symbolized their hopeful future but now seemed to reflect their tragic separation. He promised to wait for her outside the nunnery and never leave her if she would just step out.
Tian Xiaoling remained hidden, eventually weeping in her room after he left, leaving the lantern at her door. Later that night, Wu Lian paid a visit to Madame Xu's (Meng Wan's) residence, bringing new Yanyu Embroidery samples. Meng Wan, composed, thanked him. Wu Lian, however, stated it was merely a return gift, implying her earlier "gifts" to Yanyu Tower (likely referring to her strategic moves).
He then presented an embroidery piece; Meng Wan immediately recognized it as her own unfinished work from seven years ago, though she quickly regained her composure. Wu Lian, attempting to provoke a reaction, revealed that Madame Xu's real name was Meng Wan and that she had once studied embroidery at Yanyu Tower. However, Xu Zhiyang calmly declared that he was well aware of Meng Wan’s past and identity.
He even explained that he had instructed her to falsely claim kinship with the Gu family to protect her reputation, as she was transitioning from a concubine to the main wife. Meng Wan seized the opportunity to express her profound happiness and gratitude for Xu Zhiyang's kind heart and understanding. Frustrated by their unwavering bond, Wu Lian departed.
Outside the residence, Wu Lian confronted Meng Wan, mocking her transformation from a humble student to a formidable woman who had turned Huaizhou Prefecture upside down. He accused her of sending people to cut the plum blossom embroidery. He then delivered a chilling piece of news: Madame Zheng, a former Yanyu Tower embroideress whom Meng Wan's allies had attempted to persuade, had poisoned herself and was gravely ill, directly blaming Meng Wan's interference.
Meng Wan, unflustered, counter-accused Wu Lian of seducing innocent embroideresses, colluding with the Minzhou Foreign Trade Bureau in smuggling and tax evasion, and bribing lawyers to frame innocent people, reminding him of Wang Liulang. She asserted that they would not kill him but would ensure he paid a heavy price for his evil deeds, and that his day of reckoning was approaching.
Wu Lian defiantly declared that within three days, he would rise to even greater heights, and Yanyu Tower would flourish. Just then, Liu Xin, Feng Da, and Huang Jiaojiao emerged from the shadows, having come to check on Meng Wan after seeing Wu Lian's visit. Meng Wan thanked them but admitted her worry for Madame Zheng.
Lancui, one of Meng Wan's maids, offered a thoughtful analogy about her mother's guilt over a doctor who died while trying to save her father, musing that sometimes even doing what seems right can lead to unintended harm. The group retired for the night, pondering the complex moral dilemmas of their quest for justice.
