Fake Princess Episode 11 Recap
> Fake Princess Recap
Brother Qin confided in Nong Ying, explaining that his earlier "assassination" attempt on Chang Le was a test ordered by Li Che, and due to a lack of time, he couldn't warn them. Nong Ying assured him it was understood. After praising Nong Ying’s impressive Kung Fu skills as a true heroine, Brother Qin and Nong Ying prepared for the next phase of the plan.
Soon after, Brother Qin, under the guise of an attacker, pretended to tie up Nong Ying. Meanwhile, Gongsun Mo had been using several assassins to test Chang Le, but she revealed nothing. He then decided to use a final method, instructing an assassin to create a life-or-death situation to see if Chang Le would use the Duan family's skill of running the machine, known for its lock-picking expertise.
Li Che, concerned, insisted that Chang Le should not be harmed or mentally scarred, and Gongsun Mo assured him their plan was gentle. The assassin then threatened Chang Le, who, despite offering him money for food and humorously expressing her dislike of being boiled, bravely held her ground. Just as the tension peaked, Brother Qin dramatically intervened, slicing through the ropes and saving Chang Le.
This unexpected turn left Li Che and Gongsun Mo outside the room staring at each other in surprise. At the palace, the Empress presented a Taoist priest to the Emperor. The priest revealed that the Emperor, being of an extremely fiery nature, needed to marry a woman of the water phase, specifically one born in October of the guihai year, to avert an impending disaster.
This entire prophecy was a scheme orchestrated by Prime Minister Liu Sheng, and the Taoist priest later died under mysterious circumstances. Still uneasy about Chang Le, Gongsun Mo and Li Che ordered Brother Qin to perform another "test." This time, Brother Qin was to pretend to slash at Chang Le’s neck directly, even though he was explicitly told not to truly harm her. Brother Qin showed hesitation but agreed. When Chang Le arrived, Brother Qin lunged.
Li Che, seeing the real sword near her neck, was alarmed and shouted for Brother Qin to stop. Brother Qin, feigning a hallucination, apologized profusely. Li Che angrily sent Brother Qin to escort Chang Le to rest, promising to deal with him later.
Chang Le, despite a minor scratch on her neck, deduced it was Lord Gongsun who ordered the test and reaffirmed her trust in Brother Qin, stating she knew he wouldn't truly harm her and even defended him when Li Che offered to replace him. Seeing Chang Le’s calm reaction and lack of hidden skills, Gongsun Mo concluded he might have been overthinking the situation. Li Che, frustrated by the unnecessary test, decided to comfort Chang Le himself.
Zhu Yan received a letter from Li Heng, who expressed his deep longing for her. He recounted how his mother, the Empress, had confined him to the palace for a month for his previous overnight absence, making it impossible to see her. Li Heng felt incredibly fortunate that Zhu Yan, born just a month after him in the guihai year, seemed destined for him.
He also revealed that while his mother had always urged him to contend for the throne, he felt something was missing until he met Zhu Yan. He likened his heart to a lock waiting for her to open it and vowed to persuade his mother to allow them to be together soon, so they wouldn't have to miss each other so much. Meanwhile, Li Che entered Chang Le’s chambers to apply medicine to her neck, tenderly asking if it hurt.
Chang Le dismissed it as a minor scratch, and feigned ignorance about the cause of the attack, even defending Brother Qin when Li Che offered to replace him. She then suggested it was late and he should leave, but Li Che insisted on staying to accompany her.
Annoyed by his sudden change of attitude after putting a sword to her neck, Chang Le feigned being startled and demanded that he sit at the table all night, as her father used to do when she was scared. Li Che, with no other recourse, reluctantly agreed. Later, Brother Qin met with Baishitong, a man known for never lying. Brother Qin thanked him for breaking his lifelong rule for him.
Baishitong, curious, asked what kind of person required Brother Qin's personal protection, hinting at him re-entering the martial arts world. Brother Qin revealed that the person he wanted to approach might possess the Duan family's skill of running the machine. Baishitong noted Brother Qin’s enduring hope, to which Brother Qin affirmed that even a glimmer of hope was enough to reignite his determination. Li Che indeed spent the entire night sitting by Chang Le.
In the morning, as he watched her sleep, he leaned in for a kiss, only to be interrupted by Nong Ying, who urgently informed him that the Emperor had summoned him to the palace. It turned out someone had replicated the infamous "Thief God" case, causing the theft of an imperial purple gold vase from Prime Minister Liu Sheng’s residence.
The enraged Emperor, after hearing Prime Minister Liu Sheng suggest a punishment for Li Che's perceived negligence, ordered Li Che to supervise the renovation of the Great Buddhist Temple outside the city. Taking advantage of the Emperor’s distress, the Empress once again proposed finding a water-phase woman to resolve the ongoing misfortunes, volunteering to lead the search for such a beauty—a strategic move in her own carefully laid scheme.
The Emperor, confiding in an eunuch, expressed his deep concern for Li Che, his beloved son from Empress Yu Jun, and wondered if Li Che truly understood the Emperor's intentions. Back in the Crown Prince's residence, Nong Ying initially accused Chang Le of stealing the imperial purple gold vase from Prime Minister Liu Sheng's residence, leading to Li Che being scolded by the Emperor. Chang Le denied any involvement, stating she hadn't left her room all night.
Nong Ying then concluded that someone was using Chang Le's reputation to cause trouble and framing her. At a meeting, Li Che’s advisors suspected Chang Le, citing her past display of archery skill. However, Li Che adamantly defended her, revealing he had been in her chambers all night. This declaration appeased the suspicious officials. Gongsun Mo, however, surmised that Prime Minister Liu Sheng was likely behind the theft, using it to turn the Emperor against Li Che.
Upon hearing this, Li Che decided he needed to immediately inform his grandfather. Concerned for Chang Le's safety amidst these escalating events, Li Che decided to assign Brother Qin to protect her alongside Nong Ying, despite Chang Le's initial reluctance. Chang Le, seeing Li Che unjustly reprimanded by the Emperor, took matters into her own hands.
She infiltrated Prime Minister Liu Sheng's residence and poured an excessive amount of salt into the water supply, making all the food and drink inedible. Not content with that, she collected all of Liu Sheng's prized teapots—including a precious white marble pot, a purple gold sand jade pot, and a purple jade phoenix-carved teapot—and pasted their bottoms onto his main gate. Liu Sheng was devastated and furious, weeping over his ruined and defiled treasures.
He then found a letter left by Chang Le, which taunted him for framing her and warned him to confess his wrongdoings to the Emperor. Realizing this "thief" was working for Li Che and possessed the ability to freely enter and exit his mansion, Liu Sheng saw the capable people in the Crown Prince's residence as a grave threat.
Fearing that the next prank could be poison instead of salt, he resolved to assassinate Li Che while the Crown Prince was away supervising the Buddhist temple project. Meanwhile, Li Heng shared his admiration for Pingle City with Zhu Yan, mentioning its famous Qiqiao locks and many talented individuals. He lamented his strict mother, the Empress, who made it difficult for him to even leave the palace to see her.
Zhu Yan then told him that her father had been invited to a royal banquet in a few days, and she would be attending. Li Heng seized this as a perfect opportunity to ask the Emperor for their marriage to be officially sanctioned, declaring he would face any scolding from his mother if it meant they could finally be together. Later, Nong Ying confronted Chang Le, asking about her actions at Liu Sheng’s residence.
Chang Le admitted to her pranks, including the salt and the destroyed teapots, secretly pleased that she had hit Liu Sheng where it hurt most. Nong Ying then reported to Liu Sheng, assuring him that Brother Qin was not a skilled fighter and posed no threat, and that Chang Le was behaving normally within the Crown Prince’s residence. Liu Sheng then summoned Lord Xie, revealing his plan to assassinate Li Che the following day during his journey to the temple.
He sought Lord Xie’s advice on how to lure Li Che to a secluded location. Lord Xie, hoping to achieve a high-ranking official position, had already betrayed Li Che to Liu Sheng. He suggested waiting until Li Che arrived at the Buddhist temple to avoid suspicion, then outlined a detailed assassination plot. Liu Sheng, pleased with the plan, promised Lord Xie the promotion and instructed his son, Sansi, to recruit skilled assassins for the mission.
These assassins were to be fearless, carry poison, and commit suicide if they failed, ensuring their families would receive a substantial reward of one hundred gold. Nong Ying, having secretly overheard their entire conversation, rushed back to Chang Le. Nong Ying immediately burst into Chang Le’s chambers, breathlessly informing her that Liu Sheng was planning an assassination, seeking killers with one hundred gold to lie in wait at the Great Buddhist Temple.
Chang Le, hearing that someone intended to kill Li Che, quickly dismissed her past grievances, declaring it was a matter far more serious than their "domestic" disputes. She insisted that she had to warn him, even as Nong Ying, trying to calm her, suggested it might not be Li Che whom Liu Sheng intended to kill. Chang Le retorted that with assassins waiting at the Great Buddhist Temple, it could be no one else.
Nong Ying then pointed out that since Chang Le had not left the residence, she shouldn't be the one to deliver the message, and wondered if Li Che would even believe her. Chang Le, however, was overcome with urgency, declaring she couldn't care about such details and urged Nong Ying to go inform Li Che immediately.
