Fated Hearts Episode 25 Recap
> Fated Hearts Recap
Enraged that Fu Yixiao echoed Wei Qingyu's sentiments about leadership and family, Emperor Feng Pingcheng screamed at Feng Suige to kill her, asserting that she spoke the exact same words as his late mother. Feng Suige remained unmoved, kicking aside the succession decree. He shielded Fu Yixiao when Feng Pingcheng ordered, "Shut this wretch up!" Fu Yixiao retorted, telling Feng Pingcheng he had already ruined the first half of Feng Suige's life, and she wouldn't let him ruin the rest.
As Feng Pingcheng continued to demand her death, Feng Suige pulled Fu Yixiao out of the hall. Outside, Fu Yixiao apologized for her outburst. Feng Suige assured her not to take his father's words to heart and thanked her for defending him, acknowledging that her words were very similar to his late mother's. Fu Yixiao playfully suggested he might want to call her "Mother," then confessed she wouldn't mind being like his mother.
She became emotional, attributing her tears to a "sandstorm," which Feng Suige lovingly dismissed, promising to shield her from all future "sandstorms." Meanwhile, Ling Feng confronted Feng Pingcheng, expressing his disappointment over Feng Pingcheng's treatment of Feng Suige and his shock at learning of Wei Qingyu's death. He declared their ties severed, adding that he had only dedicated his medical skills to saving Feng Pingcheng's life all these years because Wei Qingyu had asked him to.
Separately, Zhuang Shen instructed his daughter, Zhuang Jingyuan, to take Feng Chengyang out of the palace for safety. Zhuang Jingyuan, unwilling to leave, pressed her father for an explanation. Though Zhuang Shen initially hesitated, he eventually revealed the truth: Feng Pingcheng had murdered Zhuang Jingheng, framing him for treason to diminish the Zhuang family’s power and fueled by lingering resentment over the late empress's death.
Zhuang Jingheng had sacrificed himself by taking all the blame, thereby safeguarding the rest of the Zhuang family. Overwhelmed with disbelief and tears, Zhuang Jingyuan struggled to accept this revelation. Seeing her refusal to leave, Zhuang Shen stopped pressing her. He told her she didn't need to harbor hatred, as he would personally avenge Zhuang Jingheng. He instructed her to stay in the palace with Feng Chengyang, to ask no questions, and to await his victory.
Once Feng Suige was eliminated, Feng Chengyang would ascend the throne, ensuring the Zhuang family emerged as the ultimate power. Zhuang Shen also met with his nephew, affirming that his primary motivation was revenge for Jingheng, not merely a struggle for power, and promised him future leadership of the Zhuang family and immense influence in Susha if he helped kill Feng Suige. That night, Xia Jingshi awoke from a dream.
He saw a woman's back that reminded him of Fu Yixiao and spoke to her tenderly, but his expression instantly changed upon realizing it was Feng Xiyang. She confessed to lying about meeting the Emperor in the Library, explaining her willingness to do anything for him, even sacrifice her royal dignity to impersonate Fu Yixiao. Unmoved, Xia Jingshi reiterated that he couldn't offer her the love she sought.
Feng Xiyang, overwhelmed by his indifference and his continued obsession with Fu Yixiao, lashed out, accusing Fu Yixiao of playing him and branding her a "bitch." Xia Jingshi warned her that she had no right to insult Fu Yixiao, then slapped Feng Xiyang across the face. Stunned, Feng Xiyang vowed that she would never forget this humiliation. Elsewhere, Murong Yao found and rescued his father, Murong Zhong.
To his father's horror and pleas, Murong Yao ruthlessly ordered the killing of the innocent mountain couple who had been guarding Murong Zhong. Murong Zhong was shocked, realizing that Fu Yixiao's warnings about his son becoming a ruthless killer were true. Murong Yao defended his actions, explaining his alliance with Zhuang Shen. He believed that once Feng Chengyang ascended the throne, the Murong family would be granted the title of "kings of a different surname" of Susha.
Murong Zhong vehemently called his son foolish, asserting that Zhuang Shen would dispose of Murong Yao once he was no longer useful. He then seized an opportunity to knock Murong Yao unconscious, instructing the four female assassins to return him to the Marquis's Mansion and keep him under strict guard. Murong Zhong, the old Marquis, declared that as long as he was alive, he would bear the responsibility.
He decided to seek an audience with the Emperor, carrying thorny branches to publicly confess his son's transgressions and seek punishment. That night, Fu Yixiao, restless with worry for Feng Suige, was about to go check on him when she found him outside her door. They both admitted they couldn't sleep because they were worried about each other, and shared an intimate night together.
Returning to the palace, Feng Pingcheng ignored Zhuang Jingyuan's pleas for an audience, lost in his own sorrow. He mused on Wei Qingyu's request to Ling Feng to save him, feeling that even after all his efforts, he had ultimately lost to her. Dropping his royal pretense, he reflected on how his life had been shaped by the harrowing experience of his father starving to death and his mother fighting for scraps of food in a refugee camp.
This brutal upbringing instilled in him the belief that one must fight and seize everything to survive, justifying his ruthless path to secure the empire for his son. The next morning, they shared another tender moment. Fu Yixiao playfully declared she was a vengeful person who would only hold grudges against him. Feng Suige agreed, telling her that she, in turn, should only hold grudges against him and not let the harm caused by others stay in her heart.
They then lovingly combed each other's hair, reciting traditional proverbs and making vows for a future of harmony once Feng Suige avenged his mother. Their moment was interrupted by Lu Ke, who, having been unable to find Feng Suige in his own chambers, knocked on Fu Yixiao's door. Lu Ke was visibly stunned when Feng Suige himself answered.
He quickly reported that the elite Feng Battalion and the Qiongqi Unit, led by Dog, had assembled at the city gates, ready for action. Elsewhere, Feng Xiyang confronted Xia Jingyan, who then informed her that he had deliberately set up her lie to Xia Jingshi. Enraged, Feng Xiyang lashed out, calling both Xia Jingshi and Xia Jingyan "sick," labeling Xia Jingshi "heartless" and Xia Jingyan a "madman."
To her surprise, Xia Jingyan's eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of Xia Jingshi being "heartless." Back in the palace, Zhuang Jingyuan continued to kneel, hoping to gain an audience with Feng Pingcheng, but he steadfastly refused to see her. At the same time, Murong Zhong began a penitent journey, kneeling with thorny branches on his back from the palace gates all the way to Changchun Palace, where Feng Pingcheng resided, to atone for his son's actions.
