Fake Princess Episode 14 Recap
> Fake Princess Recap
Chang Le and Brother Qin cautiously made their way into the dungeon, where Brother Qin inadvertently triggered a mechanism. Fortunately, Chang Le, skilled in mechanical arts, quickly disarmed it, allowing them to escape unharmed. Their escape led them by chance into the room where Li Heng was confined. Li Heng, seeing the unconscious guards Chang Le had subdued, seized the opportunity to change into a guard's uniform and discreetly depart.
The Night Kingdom's Third Princess, Arietty, having journeyed to Pei country, arrived with her heart set on seeing Li Che. Back at the Crown Prince's residence, Chang Le and Brother Qin discussed the extreme difficulty of Liu Sheng's Heaven's Secret Twelve Palaces dungeon, noting its twelve constantly shifting prisons made rescuing anyone nearly impossible. Brother Qin remarked that only the legendary Dao Sheng could navigate such a maze, whose master resided in Rong City.
However, Li Che stated that going to Rong City without a plausible excuse would instantly arouse Liu Sheng's suspicion, suggesting they needed a more thought-out plan. As Li Che went to retrieve medicine for Brother Qin’s injury, Brother Qin pressed Chang Le about her mechanical skills, finding them strikingly similar to someone he knew.
Chang Le explained she learned from a female master who also taught her techniques like light body and shadowless hands, as well as transfiguration, though she found the human skin masks too disgusting to learn the latter. Brother Qin then asked if her master's name was Duan Nian'er, but Chang Le only knew her as "Master." When her attempt to draw a portrait proved unrecognizable, Chang Le revealed her master had passed away.
Brother Qin was stunned, refusing to believe it, and demanded to know where she was buried. Chang Le provided a confusing set of directions, mentioning "Qingyu City," "Xiaotu Mountain," and "the No. 5 locust tree," explaining these were names she and her master had affectionately given to places, making it clear only she could find the exact spot. Exasperated and emotionally wounded by the news, Brother Qin left, his frustration palpable.
Li Che took lychees from Nong Ying, intending to personally deliver them to Chang Le, who was in a private room meticulously maintaining her Nine-leaf copper lotus machine in preparation for a potential trip to Rong City. Chang Le impulsively suggested they simply leave for Rong City without seeking permission, but Li Che cautioned against such recklessness, citing the delicate political situation.
Their conversation was interrupted by Nong Ying, who announced that Liu Sheng had summoned Chang Le back to his residence. Li Che, suspecting Liu Sheng's true motives were linked to the previous night's events, urged Chang Le to be extremely cautious. Meanwhile, Liu Sheng was enraged by Li Heng's escape. His guards reported that two unknown assailants had brutally knocked them out, allowing Li Heng to steal a uniform and flee.
Liu Sheng's son fretted over their derailed plans, which had involved their own people "rescuing" Li Heng to track him to Zhu Yan. Liu Sheng, however, deduced from Chang Le's recent behavior that Li Heng was not in her custody, confirming the prince had indeed escaped on his own. He ordered an intensive search for Li Heng, stressing that their larger scheme could not proceed without him.
He also linked Li Heng's escape to Lord Xie's recent death, suspecting the involvement of General Shen and Chang Le. At Liu Sheng's residence, Chang Le was confronted by Liu Sheng, who dismissed his son to speak with her alone. Liu Sheng challenged her loyalty, asking if she was now working for Li Che. Chang Le vehemently denied it, claiming her increasing intimacy with Li Che was merely a successful execution of their original plan to gain his trust.
Liu Sheng was unconvinced, ordering her to assassinate Li Che within three days as proof of her allegiance. Chang Le protested, citing Li Che's heightened security following previous attempts and the risk of exposing herself. Unmoved, Liu Sheng resorted to blackmail, threatening to execute her village friends—Shitou, Auntie Zhang, and Zhang Meng—one by one, until Li Che was dead or all her people were gone, unequivocally questioning her loyalty.
Later, Liu Sheng confided in his son, noting that Chang Le’s refusal to use Li Heng as leverage confirmed the prince was not with her and had indeed escaped independently. He reiterated the critical importance of finding Li Heng to advance their grand strategy. Back at the Crown Prince’s residence, Li Che acknowledged Liu Sheng’s deep suspicion of Chang Le. His aide suggested spreading false rumors of Chang Le’s defection, but Li Che dismissed it as too transparent.
He revealed his perilous counter-plan: he would stage a "real" assassination attempt on himself to provide Liu Sheng with a convincing "sweetener" and shield Chang Le. After gently putting his overprotective aide to sleep with a pressure point, Li Che instructed Gong Sun to meticulously arrange the fake assassination, emphasizing that he needed to appear to "lose half his life" to make it credible.
Simultaneously, Lord Zhu arrived at Liu Sheng's residence, expecting an audience with the Empress, but was met by Liu Sheng instead. Liu Sheng presented an empty gift box, a thinly veiled reference to Zhu Yan’s disappearance, implying that just as the box was empty, so too was Zhu Yan gone. He demanded Lord Zhu's cooperation in locating Li Heng, threatening to expose Zhu Yan's absence to the Emperor and implicate the entire Zhu family, leading to their destruction.
Liu Sheng then revealed a captured eunuch, a messenger for Li Heng, and instructed Lord Zhu to find Zhu Yan's own messenger to uncover their whereabouts. He further introduced Xiao Bai Sheng, a master of vocal mimicry, and ordered Lord Zhu to arrange for Xiao Bai Sheng to hear Li Che’s voice for an hour to perfectly imitate it.
Lord Zhu, horrified by this treacherous plot against the Crown Prince, protested vigorously, but Liu Sheng reiterated his threat against Zhu Yan to ensure compliance. Meanwhile, Li Heng anxiously brought a feverish Zhu Yan to a doctor. The doctor quickly diagnosed a common cold, simply recommending ginger water. Li Heng, overly concerned, offered extravagant sums for the ginger, much to the doctor's amusement. Li Che took Chang Le to his Peach Blossom Town to relax.
Chang Le expressed profound guilt, feeling her inadequacy was forcing Li Che to risk his life. Auntie Luo, an elder from the village, reassured her, explaining that men handled external affairs while women managed the home, and that Li Che was capable of solving any problem. Chang Le confided in Li Che, telling him he was the kindest person she had ever known. Li Che corrected her tenderly, promising to be the kindest person to her for her entire life.
After drinking excessive amounts of peach blossom wine, a tipsy Chang Le wished Li Che could come to her village so she could protect him. As Li Che leaned in to kiss her, Brother Qin burst in, announcing an urgent summons from Lord Zhu for Li Che to meet him at the Zhu residence immediately.
At the Zhu residence, Lord Zhu engaged Li Che in seemingly innocuous conversation, feigning concern about Li Che's past assassination attempt and subtly probing about Chang Le's public behavior, including her drunken escapade. Unbeknownst to Li Che, Xiao Bai Sheng, disguised as a servant, diligently listened to and absorbed every nuance of Li Che's voice.
Back at the Crown Prince’s residence, Gong Sun outlined the plan for Li Che’s "assassination": a secluded tavern by a forest and river, with a hidden boat for his escape. Gong Sun offered Li Che a whistle for emergency rescue, but Li Che refused it, determined to make his escape appear genuinely unassisted to avoid implicating Chang Le with Liu Sheng.
Simultaneously, Chang Le returned to Liu Sheng’s residence and, pretending to be still slightly drunk from the previous night, "revealed" that Li Che frequently slipped out alone to drink, without guards, and planned to do so again that very evening. Though still somewhat skeptical, Liu Sheng found the information convincing enough to proceed with the assassination. Following the staged plan, Li Che entered the small forest near the tavern.
He was immediately ambushed by assassins who severely wounded him in a fierce struggle. He managed to escape to the waiting boat, but the assassins pursued relentlessly. To further protect Chang Le from suspicion, Li Che, in a moment of crisis, intentionally discarded the emergency whistle into the forest. At this critical juncture, Princess Arietty of the Night Kingdom dramatically intervened, rescuing the badly injured Li Che.
Upon learning of the failed assassination, Liu Sheng's son reported Princess Arietty's unexpected intervention. Liu Sheng approved of his men's decision to retreat, acknowledging the severe international repercussions of harming a foreign princess. He then meticulously analyzed the timing, concluding that the princess's arrival from the Night Kingdom was too sudden for Li Che and Chang Le to have orchestrated. He ultimately attributed Li Che's survival to extraordinary luck, deeming him "not meant to die."
Convinced that Chang Le had not betrayed him and had, in fact, earned Li Che's deep trust, Liu Sheng decided to continue utilizing her. He instructed his son to ensure Chang Le’s village friends were treated well, confirming Chang Le had passed his test and was allowed to return.
