Resumen del episodio 18 de The Love Lasts Two Minds
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Yuan offered Sheriff Jing a pouch, but he gently refused it. Heartbroken, Yuan's pouch fell to the ground. Just then, a constable rushed in with urgent news from junior Lord He: Xue Zhaoyi had jumped off a cliff. Startled, Yuan quickly wiped away her tears and headed to the Lord He's residence. The constable also urged Sheriff Jing to go quickly, mentioning that Princess Changle and Mr. Zhao would follow.
Before leaving, he pointed out that Sheriff Jing had dropped his pouch. Sheriff Jing picked up the fallen pouch embroidered by Yuan. He then took out another pouch, embroidered by Xiao Wan, from his clothes and placed them together, a faint smile touching his lips. He mused internally, "In her second life, why does she still remain the same? Even the mandarin ducks she embroidered look identical. She's forgotten everything, yet why does she still remember these details?"
Princess Changle and Mr. Zhao arrived at the Lord He's residence. Princess Changle expressed dismay at another death, asking who the victim was. Noticing Yuan's somber expression, she asked if Yuan was involved. Yuan confirmed the deceased was Lord He's beloved concubine, Xue Zhaoyi, explaining that they had just found clues related to Xue Zhaoyi the previous day and were searching for her when this tragedy occurred. Princess Changle realized Yuan was upset about losing the trail.
Princess Changle asked about the cause of death. Mu Beiyan replied that Xue Zhaoyi had jumped off a cliff, adding that according to the guards who found her, she appeared to have lost her mind before doing so. As Princess Changle approached the body, the strong scent of blood overwhelmed her, causing her to vomit. Mr. Zhao quickly stepped forward to assist her, and she inadvertently vomited onto his clothes.
Seeing this, Mu Beiyan promptly instructed servants to take them away to rest and change. After inspecting the body, Sheriff Jing noted its blurred features. He questioned a guard, asking if he had personally witnessed Xue Zhaoyi jump. The guard confirmed, stating she was the only one at the cliff's edge. Sheriff Jing then asked Yuan to examine the body more closely. Mu Beiyan, recalling Princess Changle's reaction, expressed concern, but Yuan insisted. "
You must have your reasons for asking me to do this, right?" she said to Sheriff Jing, before stepping forward to lift the white cloth and inspect the body. Standing behind her, Sheriff Jing watched, thinking, "If I cannot stay by your side forever, you must become stronger and more meticulous to take good care of yourself. But why do you trust me so much?" Yuan soon noticed anomalies.
The deceased's hands bore thick calluses, and there were grains of rice in her throat. She declared that this could not be Xue Zhaoyi, who, living a life of luxury, would never have done such strenuous labor to develop calluses. Yuan theorized that the victim was likely killed while eating, then dressed in Xue Zhaoyi’s clothes, had her face intentionally disfigured, and was thrown off the cliff to mislead them into believing Xue Zhaoyi was dead.
Princess Changle realized that Xue Zhaoyi had feigned her death to escape, which undoubtedly implicated her in Lord He's murder. Yuan suggested that Xue Zhaoyi might still be in the vicinity of Mount Luodiao and urged Princess Changle to focus search efforts there. Princess Changle agreed, ordering a full search of Mount Luodiao for Xue Zhaoyi.
Yuan harbored suspicions about Jin Dade, the Lord He's housekeeper, because he had immediately identified the disfigured corpse as Xue Zhaoyi after a mere glance and then burst into dramatic tears. Recognizing this unusual behavior, Yuan and Princess Changle orchestrated a ruse: they publicly discussed reassigning the guards to Mount Luodiao, hoping to make Jin Dade drop his guard. Yuan also specifically tasked Mu Beiyan with reviewing the maid's roster, effectively keeping him occupied at the residence.
They then staked out the Shuxin Clinic, a busy area where Yuan believed Jin Dade would try to slip away unnoticed. Soon enough, Jin Dade emerged, but quickly vanished. Yuan blew an eagle whistle, and Mischief immediately gave chase. Just then, Sheriff Jing arrived. Princess Changle told Sheriff Jing she was going to rendezvous with Mr. Zhao and entrusted Yuan's safety to him.
Yuan assured Sheriff Jing that Jin Dade was being tracked by Mischief, and they only needed to follow the bird. Seeing the eagle circling overhead, Jin Dade realized their cover was blown and, grabbing Xue Zhaoyi, he fled. Yuan quickly caught up, drawing her sword to fight him. Sheriff Jing soon arrived, and Jin Dade, no match for their combined skill, was swiftly subdued.
Meanwhile, at the Lord He's residence, Mu Beiyan, who had been tasked with reviewing the maid's roster, deduced that Yuan had intentionally sent him away to pursue the culprits. Furious, he rode off to join the chase. As Yuan and Sheriff Jing escorted the captured pair back, they met Princess Changle and Mr. Zhao, who had come to provide support. Suddenly, the rapid thud of hooves announced the arrival of Mu Beiyan.
Upon seeing Jin Dade and Xue Zhaoyi bound, he furiously threatened to chop the ungrateful villains to pieces with his sword. Princess Changle and others intervened, with Sheriff Jing reminding him of Zuo Yanxi's continued imprisonment. Yuan urged him to calm down, "After we found the truth and cleared Zuo Yanxi’s name, you can do whatever you want with them." Mr. Zhao echoed the sentiment, advising patience. Mu Beiyan, though still fuming, agreed to wait.
In the grand hall of the Qinhe County Government, Princess Changle interrogated the kneeling Jin Dade and Xue Zhaoyi. She demanded to know why Xue Zhaoyi faked her death and the identity of the woman retrieved from the cliff. Jin Dade claimed the deceased was Xiao, a maid from the Lord He's residence. He confessed to desiring her due to her beauty and attempting to force himself upon her, but she had unexpectedly jumped off the cliff to escape.
Yuan immediately dismissed this as a lie, asserting that for merely coercing a maid, Jin Dade would at most receive a beating, not face a death sentence, implying he was covering up a greater crime. She then exposed Jin Dade's true motive: Lord He, who rarely visited Xue Zhaoyi's room, had done so on the night of his murder.
There, a parrot in Xue Zhaoyi's room was heard mimicking intimate phrases and calling Xue Zhaoyi by a pet name only Lord He used. Realizing Xue Zhaoyi was having an affair, Lord He severely beat her. Jin Dade, as Xue Zhaoyi's lover, feared exposure and the grim fate that awaited him. Therefore, he resolved to murder Lord He. Xue Zhaoyi refuted this, admitting to an affair with Jin Dade but vehemently denying any intention to murder Lord He.
She tearfully explained that Lord He was prone to fits of rage due to his declining health and battle-scarred past, often lashing out at her. Jin Dade was the only one who showed her pity, which led to their illicit relationship. When she realized she was suspected of regicide, she resorted to faking her death to save herself. Yuan then countered that Xue Zhaoyi was merely trying to evade the graver charge of killing her master by confessing to adultery.
Sheriff Jing then demanded Jin Dade produce the seven "qian" of Soul-Ascending Grass he had stolen. Jin Dade denied any knowledge of it. Yuan explained that Jin Dade, highly favored by Lord He, often received the Lord’s old clothes, and their similar stature, coupled with the darkness of night, led Xin'er to mistake Jin Dade for Lord He when he broke into the Shuxin Clinic to steal the Soul-Ascending Grass.
Sheriff Jing continued, explaining that among Lord He's dishes that evening was minced fish. The cook had confirmed that Lord He typically enjoyed his minced fish chilled with ice, and that night was no exception. Jin Dade had secretly spread a thick layer of the Soul-Ascending Grass at the bottom of the plate, then covered it with ice, and finally arranged the fresh minced fish on top before serving it to Lord He.
At this point, the Soul-Ascending Grass had not yet seeped into the fish, so the tasters would not have detected any abnormality. In the warm room, the crushed ice soon began to melt. The icy water, having soaked up the poison from the bottom of the plate, slowly seeped out and contaminated the fish. Thus, Lord He was poisoned by the Soul-Ascending Grass. Shortly after, the true assassin, who had intended to kill Lord He that night, appeared.
Although Lord He attempted to fight back, he was disoriented and weakened by the poison, making him no match for the attacker. The assassin quickly disarmed him of his Mo Knife and fatally stabbed him to the ground. Yuan concluded that when junior Lord He's investigation turned to Xue Zhaoyi, Jin Dade, as the all-knowing housekeeper, panicked that their crimes would be exposed.
He immediately alerted Xue Zhaoyi to feign madness and escape, then murdered the maid Xiao, attempting to use her body as a decoy. Princess Changle asked Sheriff Jing if there was indeed an assassin that night. He confirmed there was, describing the individual as elusive with unclear motives, and connected him to a series of major cases recently occurring in Qinhe.
Princess Changle remarked that this explained the unrest in Qinhe, stating that the discovery of severed fingers could only point to a larger, premeditated scheme. Mr. Zhao concluded that two groups were involved in Lord He's murder: Jin Dade and Xue Zhaoyi, who poisoned him with Soul-Ascending Grass, and the assassin, who, unaware of the poisoning, found Lord He incapacitated and delivered the fatal blow. Hearing Xue Zhaoyi's unapologetic confession, Mu Beiyan erupted in fury.
He accused them of being ungrateful traitors, reminding them of his father's kindness in elevating them from poverty to positions of power, only for them to commit such a heinous act. He threatened to dismember them once he found more clues. Princess Changle and others intervened, reminding him that the county government would mete out justice and that losing potential leads by acting rashly would play right into the hands of the mastermind.
Mu Beiyan, though still enraged, relented, promising to tear them apart once the full truth was uncovered. With the case seemingly resolved, Mu Beiyan conceded to Mr. Zhao that Yuan was indeed not the Yuan Qingli they once knew, just as Mr. Zhao had suggested. He admitted that while the current Yuan lacked the gentleness of the original, her martial prowess made her endearing. Since Mrs. Yuan accepted her as Yuan Qingli, then she was his fiancée.
Mr. Zhao observed that if they could discern the difference in Yuan Qingli, Mrs. Yuan must also know her daughter had been switched, yet she chose to accept it. This suggested that Mrs. Yuan believed the real Yuan Qingli was safe, and perhaps the current Yuan was part of Qingli’s elaborate plan.
Mu Beiyan and Mr. Zhao also recalled how Qingli had sent them symbolic clues—a painting of plum blossoms in snow to Mu Beiyan and white peonies to Mr. Zhao—shortly before her disappearance, further hinting at her proactive involvement. Mu Beiyan pondered who, besides Li Yuan, could inspire such a drastic decision to leave. Mr. Zhao, nonetheless, affirmed his intention to continue investigating upon their return to the capital, to ensure the real Yuan Qingli's safety.
