Resumen del episodio 10 de The Chang'an Youth
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Tang Jiuhua, hoping to uncover clues in the child abduction case, publicly announced his intention to purchase a young girl, aged seven or eight, to serve as a book attendant for his future child. While others dismissed his words with laughter, Li Mi lingered, offering to help locate suitable channels and candidates.
Meanwhile, Yang Zian attempted to gather information at the government office regarding the recent abductions in Chang’An, but he was rudely turned away by an officer who refused to disclose Lord Zhang’s whereabouts. Yang Zian then canvassed market vendors, learning that due to heightened public vigilance, with parents keeping their children indoors, no new abductions had occurred recently. The investigative team—Shen Yiyi, Yang Zian, Dugu Muxue, Tang Jiuhua, and Xiao Xinyuan—gathered to share their findings.
Yang Zian expressed suspicions of collusion between the abductors and the government, while Dugu Muxue reported observing a servant from Ningxiang Pavilion who left the premises every two days at 11:45 AM, behaving strangely in residential areas, though no concrete evidence was found. Tang Jiuhua declared that his bait, the public announcement, had worked, with Li Mi already taking the hook and mentioning child slaves for sale.
To further ensnare Li Mi, Tang Jiuhua had Han Yu’er pose as his fiancée for a meeting. During the encounter, Tang Jiuhua pressed Li Mi, emphasizing that the maid needed to be "clever and lovely" to please his "fiancée," with money being no object. Li Mi assured him that he would provide an indenture and deliver a satisfactory candidate within three days. Unbeknownst to Li Mi, Yang Zian and Shen Yiyi were already tracking him.
Yang Zian and Shen Yiyi followed Li Mi and the Ningxiang Pavilion servant to a house. Concurrently, Tang Jiuhua appealed to his father for military assistance. Initially dismissing the idea as reckless, Tang’s father was swayed when Xiao Xinyuan, revealing his true identity, vouched for the urgency and pledged to take responsibility to the Emperor. Tang’s father then agreed to dispatch troops.
To create a diversion, Shen Yiyi, disguised as a woman, knocked on the house door, claiming her cat had strayed inside. She was roughly pushed away, signaling to Yang Zian and Dugu Muxue, who then kicked in the door. During the ensuing confrontation with the criminals, Yang Zian instinctively shielded Shen Yiyi from an attack, accidentally discovering her true identity as a woman.
Tang Jiuhua and Xiao Xinyuan soon arrived with soldiers, leading to the arrest of all the culprits, including Li Mi and the Ningxiang Pavilion servant. Shen Yiyi, flustered by Yang Zian’s discovery, consulted Tang Jiuhua, who advised her to pretend nothing had happened for now and to discuss it further once they returned to Shangyi School. An interrogation of Li Mi and the servant yielded no direct answers about the mastermind, with both denying knowledge and blaming each other.
News of the hiding place being discovered reached Han Shangshu, who expressed his disappointment with Ning Xiang. Back at Shangyi School, Shen Yiyi decided to confront Yang Zian about her identity. Tang Jiuhua, however, intervened, suggesting she concoct a story: she had come to Chang’An to fulfill an arranged marriage to him but, unwilling to marry, had disguised herself as a man to enroll at Shangyi School and delay the union.
Despite Tang Jiuhua’s advice, Shen Yiyi later sought out Yang Zian, who was initially hesitant to let her into his room. Yang Zian sternly reminded her of the severe consequences of lese-majeste and urged her to maintain distance, now that he knew she was a woman. Shen Yiyi, however, downplayed the seriousness, reminding him of their previous close interactions, even sharing a room and him changing in front of her.
She insisted their consciences were clear and they could continue as before. It was during this conversation that Shen Yiyi inadvertently revealed that Tang Jiuhua was her fiancé. Stunned by this revelation, Yang Zian grew angry, sternly advising her to leave due to the late hour and their differing genders and her engagement. When Shen Yiyi refused, he declared he would leave instead, prompting her to question why they needed to separate if they were truly innocent.
As Yang Zian exited the room, he pondered to himself, "What if my conscience is not clear?" Yang Zian was later summoned by his father, who expressed concern for his son's health due to his involvement in the abduction case. Yang Zian, undeterred, shared his detailed theory about the sophistication of the abduction ring, which he believed could only be orchestrated by high-ranking court officials, explicitly naming Han Shangshu and Lord Tang as his primary suspects.
His father, while acknowledging Yang Zian’s acumen, decided to take over the investigation himself, urging his son to put his concerns aside. Meanwhile, to alleviate the anxiety among Shangyi School students regarding the ongoing cases, Shen Yiyi created a public discussion board. She proposed the topic "Females are not inferior to males." Initially, many male students expressed conservative views, asserting that women should adhere to traditional virtues and were inherently inferior.
Observing Shen Yiyi's discomfort, Yang Zian passionately intervened, citing historical examples of formidable women like Hua Mulan, Xie Daoyun, Liang Hongyu, and Zhuo Wenjun, and arguing for gender equality, which swayed many of his peers. Later, as Tang Jiuhua sketched Dugu Muxue’s sword moves, he ran out of ink. Xiao Xinyuan wished for an ink-storing brush, inspiring Shen Yiyi.
Remembering a foreign book that mentioned such an invention, she eagerly pulled Yang Zian to the library to research it, much to Tang Jiuhua’s annoyance, who was playfully held back by Dugu Muxue. In the library, Yang Zian helped her find the relevant information. That evening, Shen Yiyi confronted Yang Zian again, asking why he was still avoiding her. He reiterated his belief that, given her engagement to Tang Jiuhua, they should maintain a distance.
Shen Yiyi then confessed that she never wanted to marry Tang Jiuhua and had disguised herself and joined Shangyi School specifically to delay the arranged marriage. Yang Zian's face lit up with happiness upon hearing this. She reiterated that she and Tang Jiuhua were merely friends, and that she would only marry for love, not for wealth or family obligation, thus he had no need for such concerns.
Shen Yiyi later presented the completed ink-storing brush to Xiao Xinyuan, who was delighted. She credited Yang Zian for his help in its creation, prompting Xiao Xinyuan to thank Yang Zian. Tang Jiuhua, feeling left out, playfully complained that Shen Yiyi always invented things with others but never with him. Shen Yiyi promised to include him next time.
She also introduced another invention, a hand-cranked mechanical fan, proposing a playful rule that whoever among the five made a "mistake" (such as excessive drinking, unreasonable anger, or unshared worries) would have to operate the fan. Everyone pointed to Tang Jiuhua, though Dugu Muxue ultimately ended up cranking it. Back at Ningxiang Pavilion, Han Shangshu harshly reprimanded Ning Xiang for allowing the Shangyi School students to focus their investigation on the pavilion.
He reminded her that the abduction and bad money cases were merely diversions, and any further missteps could jeopardize his larger plans. Ning Xiang desperately pledged her unwavering loyalty, likening herself to a "footless kite" whose fate, life, and death were entirely in his hands. Han Shangshu, unswayed, warned her against any "funny ideas" and confirmed he had other tasks for her, instructing her to handle the students perfunctorily.
He then chillingly commanded her to "get rid of" the Shangyi School students if they continued to interfere. Ning Xiang meekly agreed. Separately, Censor Tu was tasked by the Emperor to coordinate efforts to capture the culprits responsible for the imperial city attacks.
Censor Tu attempted to meet with the Crown Prince at the Eastern Palace, but the Crown Prince, calling Censor Tu an "old goat," quickly arranged for a carriage to escape through a back exit to avoid the meeting.
