Resumen del episodio 18 de Unveil: Jadewind
> Resúmenes de Unveil: Jadewind
Driven by a singular desire to see Ying become the most exceptional physician of her time, the man she knew as Pei Yu—who was actually the real Xia Shisan—committed himself to removing every obstacle in her path. Years ago, after an eunuch died of illness, Ying had performed an unauthorized autopsy to study the disease. When the head of the Imperial Medical Office, Physician Song Huaiyou, discovered her secret through her prescriptions, Ying confessed.
Knowing that unauthorized dissection was a capital offense, Song Huaiyou planned for Ying to flee the palace immediately to save her life. However, Pei Yu refused to let her dreams be sacrificed. He meticulously orchestrated Song’s death by serving him a meal of lamb noodle soup combined with blood-agitating herbs like Angelica and donkey-hide gelatin. This combination, paired with the emotional stress of their confrontation, induced a stroke.
Pei Yu then submerged the helpless physician in his own medicinal steam bath, making the murder look like an accidental drowning. Ying was devastated and furious upon learning of Pei Yu’s actions and vowed never to see him again. Despite her anger, she remained consumed by her research but struggled to find a cure for the spreading epidemic. She resorted to sneaking into the mortuary at night to examine bodies, but found no clues because the corpses were too old.
Eventually, Pei Yu himself contracted the disease. He summoned Ying one last time, urging her to find a cure and insisting that she needed a fresh body to succeed. He then took his own life in front of her. Overcome with grief but driven by his sacrifice, Ying immediately dissected his body, finally locating the disease's focus and developing a prescription that would save hundreds of lives.
Reflecting on the tragedy, Li Peiyi lamented the societal prejudice that forced a talented woman like Ying into such dark corners. In prison, Ying attempted to take her own life by swallowing poison, but Li Peiyi arrived just in time to save her. Soon after, Eunuch Guo arrived with an imperial decree: because Ying’s new prescription had successfully halted the epidemic, the Emperor summoned her. At the palace, Ying confessed her crimes and begged for death.
While Minister Wei demanded her execution for the terror caused by the murders, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin stood by her. They argued that the tragedy was born from the Imperial Medical Office’s discrimination; if women had been allowed to practice openly, Ying would never have had to work in secret. Impressed by her contribution, the Emperor issued a special pardon. He ordered the medical office's regulations be revised to allow anyone, regardless of gender, to practice based on merit.
Ying was tasked with continuing Song’s legacy and training new students. Her only request was to return Pei Yu's remains to his hometown. Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin accompanied Ying to the Benevolence Hall in Wanzhou. The elderly headmaster was heartbroken to receive Pei Yu’s ashes. While the others waited outside, they were suddenly alerted that something was wrong. Entering a room, they found that Ying had taken her own life to join Pei Yu in death.
She left a final letter requesting that her medical notes be given to Physician Liu to aid her colleagues. Li Peiyi provided funds for the burial and requested a new portrait featuring both of them together as a warning and inspiration for future generations. In a final vision, Ying reunited with a younger Pei Yu in a forest of fireflies, remembering the night he gave her the name Xia Ying.
On the journey back to the Western Capital, Li Peiyi expressed her determination to uncover the truth behind her family's massacre. They detoured to Ping'en County in Mingzhou to visit Li Peiyi’s uncle, Wu Siping. The Wu estate was lavishly decorated, yet Li Peiyi noticed her uncle’s wife, Madam Wu, was strangely cold, claiming their six-year-old son was too sickly to meet guests. During dinner, Wu Siping served fresh sliced bass, a local delicacy.
Xiao Huaijin, noticing the day's elemental alignment, advised against eating fish, while Li Peiyi explained she had never eaten fish since nearly drowning during the night of her family’s tragedy. Wu Siping, who claimed to have been close with her family, seemed surprisingly ignorant of this trauma. Xiao Huaijin later followed a servant and discovered that the young son was being kept in a remote, isolated courtyard.
When questioned about his sudden retirement from the Crown Prince's Mansion, Wu Siping claimed it was due to poor health. He echoed the narrative that Li Peiyi’s father, the Prince of Duan, had succumbed to madness following his military defeats. He also confirmed a crucial detail: he had visited Li Peiyi’s home on the day of the massacre to give her new clothes, proving she had indeed been present.
That night, Xiao Huaijin shared his suspicions about the hidden child and the rehearsed nature of Wu Siping's story. The following morning, a servant discovered Wu Siping dead in his room. Madam Wu and the servants claimed to have heard nothing during the night’s heavy thunderstorm. Li Peiyi insisted on investigating the scene, but because the victim had suffered a gruesome injury to his lower body, Xiao Huaijin blindfolded her and acted as her eyes.
He described the room's arrangement, which was strictly designed for wealth. Wu Siping’s body was found suspended over his bed from a beam. Magistrate Wen Yuqing arrived to find that while no valuables were missing, the entire household had been drugged with Datura flowers hidden in the mosquito incense. Only Wu Siping had remained awake, having been given blood-activating medicine containing herbs like Szechuan Lovage and Cinnamon to ensure he bled to death in agony.
