Fake Princess Episode 9 Recap
> Fake Princess Recap
Lord Zhu felt utterly disgraced by the theft of his official robe. Upon hearing the news, Li Che immediately returned to the Crown Prince’s residence. His guards reported no unusual activity. Meanwhile, Gongsun Mo’s subordinate confirmed their failure to capture the thief. The masked individual's build resembled Nong Ying, but her identity remained unconfirmed. A third party intervened using a device that emitted a strong light, momentarily incapacitating Gongsun Mo's agents, and then rescued the thief.
The subordinate presented a "Nine-leaf copper lotus" dart, which Gongsun Mo recognized as a long-lost skill of the Duan family, leading him to wonder if they were involved. During a discussion about the thief's methods, Lord Zhu asserted that the identity of the thief was more important than the stolen item. He revealed that the thief had stolen his official robe and cap while he was unconscious.
He described the thief as a woman, having seen her figure and heard her voice. Lord Zhu also reported that the news of the impending theft originated from Donglai Tavern, and the Crown Princess's departure time from the residence coincided with when the news spread. Li Che, however, dismissed the accusation, arguing that Liu Yuyao, a sheltered lady who rarely left the Prime Minister's residence, could not have bypassed the heavy security of the Zhu residence to steal a robe.
He questioned the motive, suggesting if Prime Minister Liu Sheng intended harm, he would have directly killed Lord Zhu rather than resort to such a convoluted scheme. After the meeting, Lord Zhu privately consulted Gongsun Mo about the Crown Princess. Gongsun Mo acknowledged the suspicion but pointed out Li Che's strong defense and General Shen's lack of instruction.
Lord Zhu subtly suggested that subordinates should take action when their superior hesitated, prompting them to secretly agree to further investigate the Crown Princess. The Empress was furious with Li Heng for staying out all night, expressing deep concern for his well-being and how she would explain it to the Emperor. Li Heng apologized profusely, claiming he had gotten drunk with a friend outside the palace and slept at their home.
He refused to name the friend, citing a promise to protect them from the Empress's wrath. The Empress accepted his explanation but warned him against repeating such behavior. Li Heng then requested permission to leave the palace again, stating he wished to find a folk remedy for the Emperor's recurring rheumatism in Qiming City, as palace doctors had been unsuccessful.
The Empress was pleased by his thoughtfulness, noting that he was finally learning to please his father, but informed him that she had already sent someone to procure the medicine and he simply needed to deliver it to the Emperor in a few days. Li Heng praised her foresight and took his leave. Immediately after, the Empress ordered her servant, Xiao Yu, to thoroughly investigate Li Heng's whereabouts and activities the previous night.
Chang Le, seeing Li Che exhausted from working all night on the case, gently draped a coat over him. Earlier, to play a trick on him, she had added a generous amount of chili powder to his soup. Upon waking, Li Che unsuspectingly drank the soup, only to be overwhelmed by the spiciness, though he tried to downplay it. He confided in Chang Le that he had always been at odds with the Empress.
The Emperor had specifically assigned him this theft case, and if he failed to resolve it thoroughly, the Empress would use it against him, making his life exceedingly difficult. Chang Le then asked why he, as the Crown Prince, lived outside the palace and served as the president of the supreme court. Li Che explained that after his mother's death, Li Heng's mother became the Empress.
She used the pretext of "gaining experience" to have him manage the supreme court and then argued that residing outside the palace was more convenient for handling cases. Li Che admitted he understood her true intentions but also found living outside the palace much more comfortable, with fewer complications than within the palace walls. Impulsively, Chang Le declared she would protect him. Li Che, somewhat bewildered, questioned how a mere woman could protect a man like him.
He then posed a hypothetical question: if he and her grandfather, Prime Minister Liu, were ever in conflict, whom would she support? Chang Le immediately responded that she would, of course, help him. Chang Le then urged Li Che to stop rushing the investigation, confidently stating that the thief would not steal again, especially with heightened security, and might even regret her actions. Li Che found her remarks quite strange.
Later, Nong Ying observed Chang Le once again donning her night clothes to go out and began to question her, but Chang Le simply replied that Nong Ying would know by morning, then hurried away. Nong Ying overheard Gongsun Mo discussing the need to thoroughly investigate the Crown Princess with Li Che. Gongsun Mo expressed suspicion because Li Che and Yuyao did not share a bedchamber and he hadn't checked on her during the nights of the thefts.
Despite Li Che's protests about the impropriety of Gongsun Mo entering the Crown Princess's chambers late at night, Gongsun Mo, after a persuasive argument, received reluctant permission. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Nong Ying intercepted Gongsun Mo on his way to the chambers. After trying to dissuade him, she was forced to push him into the lake. Gongsun Mo's chronic cold disease immediately flared up, causing Nong Ying immense guilt.
A doctor confirmed that Gongsun Mo's life was out of danger, but his chronic cold disease, which the doctor could not cure, had relapsed. Li Che explained to Nong Ying that Gongsun Mo had contracted the disease in childhood after falling into an ice cave while saving him, leaving him vulnerable to cold. When Gongsun Mo regained consciousness, he demanded to see the Crown Princess, accusing Nong Ying of obstructing him because she had "something to hide."
Just as the tension mounted, the Crown Princess (Chang Le) arrived, stating she had heard the commotion and it would be rude not to check on him. Her timely appearance dispelled Gongsun Mo's suspicions. Back at the Zhu residence, Lord Zhu received his lost official robe and cap, accompanied by a letter of apology from the thief.
The letter stated that the thief's actions were merely an impulse for fun but that she now feared Li Che's thorough investigation and recognized her mistake, promising not to steal again and hoping for an end to the pursuit. Li Che presented this to the Emperor. In the court, ministers were divided: some advocated leniency, praising Li Che's effective deterrence, while others argued it was a trick to lower guards and demanded the thief's capture.
The Emperor ultimately decided against further pursuit, stating the thief's apology demonstrated remorse and that while she was not caught, she had been sufficiently deterred. He warned Li Che that any future offenses by the thief would be severely punished. Back at his residence, Li Che happily informed Chang Le of the case's resolution and proposed a hunting trip in a few days. Chang Le was delighted and inquired if she could visit her family.
Chang Le returned to Liu Sheng’s residence alone and demanded to see her village friends. Liu Sheng initially resisted but, after Chang Le's persistent arguments and implicitly acknowledging Li Che's trust in her, he agreed. Chang Le was relieved to find her "Aunt III" and Shitou safe in the dungeon. Liu Sheng then ordered new clothes for everyone from the village and that their meals in the dungeon be the same quality as those served in his residence.
Liu Sheng warned Chang Le not to forget her mission. He admitted that seeing how much Li Che trusted her, he was reluctant to kill her. He decided that in three months, he would find a way to make her willingly stay. Nong Ying advised Chang Le that to remain with Li Che, she would have to live as Liu Yuyao forever and abandon her friends.
She cautioned that an inevitable power struggle between the Liu and Shen families would occur. If Liu Sheng prevailed and Li Heng became Emperor, Li Che would face imprisonment or worse; if Li Che became Emperor, Liu Sheng would surely kill Chang Le to silence her. Nong Ying emphasized that the treacherous intrigues of the palace were not suited for ordinary people and that she and Li Che were ultimately fated not to be together.
Despite this grim outlook, Chang Le stubbornly insisted she would find a solution. Later, the Empress's agents reported that Li Heng had disguised himself as a servant to infiltrate the Zhu residence. The Empress also discovered a poem in Li Heng's study, "I'd rather lose the entire country than a smile from my beloved," which led her to realize he was infatuated with Zhu Yan, Lord Zhu's daughter. She remarked, "Lord Zhu has indeed raised a good daughter."
Before the hunting trip, Gongsun Mo declined to accompany Li Che and Chang Le, citing his lingering illness. Nong Ying quickly volunteered to stay behind to care for Gongsun Mo, feeling guilty for his condition. On their way to the hunting grounds, Chang Le asked Li Che what he would do if he were not the Crown Prince.
After a moment of hesitation, he spontaneously declared he would become a brigand, free to do whatever he wanted, "robbing the rich to help the poor." Chang Le noted his detailed knowledge of brigand life, which he attributed to storybooks. Li Che then revealed his deeper yearning for freedom from the political obligations, the quest for his mother's revenge, and his maternal grandfather's expectations, wishing he could simply do what he desired.
As Li Che and Chang Le playfully flirted during their hunt, teasing each other about their archery skills and making a pact not to shoot any animals, Chang Le "accidentally" hit something. Their playful banter was abruptly interrupted by Lord Zhu, who appeared, breathless, and urgently pulled Li Che aside for a private conversation.
