Hilarious Family 2 Episode 11 Recap
> Hilarious Family 2 Recap
Ai Sixi reluctantly boarded a waiting carriage, feeling very unhappy. Just as the carriage began to depart, A Gui caught up, shouting for the carriage to stop. He told Ai Sixi that Jing Kan was in trouble, having been thrown into jail by the authorities. Without a second thought for her own safety or departure, Ai Sixi immediately turned back.
She instructed the carriage driver to inform Yu that she would not be going to Suzhou and to leave her luggage at Anping Bridge. Jing Kan and A Gui were imprisoned. Inside the jail, A Gui loudly lamented his fate, questioning what sin he had committed to end up in jail with Jing Kan. He complained that whether they sold tea or not, imprisonment seemed to be their destiny.
Jing Kan, deep in thought, told A Gui to lower his voice as he was trying to figure things out. Ai Sixi arrived to visit them, thanking Advisor Xia for facilitating the visit. Ai Sixi and Jing Kan looked at each other affectionately. She was immediately concerned about Jing Kan, asking if he was hurt or tortured and providing him with food, as there was none in the cell.
A Gui continued to complain, urging them to get him out, and then asked how they were arrested, but Jing Kan chose to ignore him. Jing Kan explained that a customer had reported them for not having a tea permit. A Gui, still upset, questioned the importance of a tea permit, to which Jing Kan explained its extreme gravity. He clarified that selling tea without a permit meant dealing in illicit tea, a crime punishable by death in serious cases.
Jing Kan elaborated that the government strictly controls tea trade because it's vital for national defense, used to trade for horses with border regions. Private tea dealing undermines this strategy. Jing Kan admitted his oversight. A Gui then asked if they could just get a permit now, but Jing Kan stated it was too late and predicted they would likely be exiled to Shamen Island, which A Gui found worse than death.
Ai Sixi, distraught, asked if there was no way out. A jailer implied that someone had intentionally reported them. Ai Sixi then realized who was behind Jing Kan's arrest. Ai Sixi returned home, knowing Luo Zhusi was the one who reported Jing Kan. She sought help from Xue Muyun, who expressed her disapproval of Luo Zhusi's extreme actions.
Xue Muyun feigned a desire to help, claiming Jing Kan was like her own son and that she would do anything within her power, such as sewing a quilt or making clothes. However, she claimed to have no connections with the government. Ai Sixi, desperate, promised to agree to any condition if Xue Muyun could save Jing Kan, even offering her shop in return.
Xue Muyun, seeing the opportunity, immediately agreed, but her husband quickly clarified that his uncle, who might have been a connection, had been dismissed from his official post, revealing Xue Muyun's insincerity. With no help from Xue Muyun, Ai Sixi took the advice to approach Luo Zhusi directly. She found Luo Zhusi, who openly admitted that she intended to punish Jing Kan, feeling that he needed to learn a lesson and had not shown her enough respect.
Ai Sixi knelt before Luo Zhusi, pleading for Jing Kan's life, reminding her that he carried his father's blood and had a passion for tea. Luo Zhusi remained unmoved, stating that she had never recognized Ai Sixi as her daughter-in-law and saw Jing Kan's predicament as his fate, a necessary lesson for him to grow.
Ai Sixi, however, declared that she would not give up on Jing Kan, especially with Grandmother away, vowing to prevent anyone from plotting against him permanently. Ai Sixi, after her failed attempt with Luo Zhusi, found herself lacking the funds to bribe for Jing Kan's release. Zhenzhu appeared, claiming to have connections in the yamen who could help.
She promised to use her connections, even though she usually didn't get along with Jing Kan, stating that seeing him in jail made her sad. She also implicitly reminded Ai Sixi of her promise of the shop. To conceal her true intention of only a minor punishment for Jing Kan, Luo Zhusi secretly gave Cuiying money to bribe a maid to keep quiet about it. Meanwhile, Advisor Xia approached the drunken Magistrate Meng, attempting to plead for Jing Kan.
However, the Magistrate, annoyed and confused by the vague requests to "look after" Jing Kan, erratically threatened to behead him, then release him, then punish him first, before finally ordering his beheading and threatening Advisor Xia not to speak further. Later, Zhenzhu orchestrated a scene, pretending to be heavily drunk, having claimed to outdrink the women at the Tea Guild who shamed her.
She told her maid to fetch Ai Sixi, wanting her to witness her "efforts" in saving Jing Kan, hoping this would secure the shop deed. However, when Ai Sixi arrived, she herself was also deeply in her cups, lamenting Jing Kan's situation and her inability to help, confessing she had even written to Grandmother without knowing when she would return.
Zhenzhu, realizing her performance was wasted on a drunk Ai Sixi, went to Ai Sixi's room and, still feigning drunkenness, complained about her immense efforts. She insisted that her attempts to create "hope" for Jing Kan wouldn't succeed unless Ai Sixi immediately transferred the shop deed, claiming others viewed Ai Sixi as unreliable.
Ai Sixi, still intoxicated, agreed that the deed would be hers as soon as Jing Kan was released, to which Zhenzhu responded, "You'll give it to me anyway. Fine, it's a deal." The next morning, news spread that Jing Kan had been sentenced to death, with notices already posted. Ai Sixi confronted Zhenzhu, accusing her of making things worse instead of helping.
Zhenzhu confessed that she had not found anyone and was merely trying to take credit, having heard from Mingyue that Luo Zhusi only intended a minor punishment for Jing Kan. The shocking news also reached Luo Zhusi while she was reviewing tea production reports at her shop, the Wushen Temple Shop.
Alarmed and maintaining her composure, Luo Zhusi immediately questioned Cuiying, who confirmed she had delivered 100 taels of silver to Magistrate Meng as instructed, asking him to "look after" Jing Kan. Luo Zhusi became concerned that Cuiying's delivery or "sinister" expression might have been misinterpreted, or that the bribe was insufficient, leading to the death sentence.
She immediately instructed Cuiying to send another 200 taels of silver to the yamen to spare Jing Kan, emphasizing that no one should know of their involvement to avoid damaging their reputation. Wei Junyi, upon her return, was enraged to learn of Jing Kan's death sentence. She confronted Luo Zhusi about the situation, but Luo Zhusi argued that the matter had spiraled out of her control and that she only wanted a minor punishment.
Wei Junyi expressed her fury, accusing her of extreme measures. Separately, the Grandmother returned and discovered the plotting against Jing Kan. She immediately took charge, dismissing the attempts by Zhenzhu and others to conceal their actions by bribing maids. The Grandmother reassured Ai Sixi that Jing Kan would not die, even promising to leverage her own connections if necessary.
After Magistrate Meng sobered up, Advisor Xia once again approached him, pointing out that Jing Kan's crime did not warrant a death sentence. The Magistrate, realizing his drunken error, agreed. Advisor Xia, with his influence, managed to have the sentence commuted. He informed the messenger that while Jing Kan's life would be spared, he would still face punishment, being sent to labor at the Tribute Tea Plantation for a period. This was presented as the best possible outcome.
Advisor Xia later boasted to Cuiying about his successful intervention. Jing Kan and A Gui were eventually released, though they were sentenced to labor at the Tribute Tea Plantation. At their release, Jing Kan expressed profound gratitude to Ai Sixi for saving his life. A Gui, however, complained about having to go, asking why Jing Kan wasn't also forced to go.
Advisor Xia explained that the customer's report specifically named A Gui as the seller of the illicit tea, thus necessitating his participation. Jing Kan's Grandaunt arrived to give Jing Kan advice from his Grandmother, telling him to treat the punishment as an experience, protect himself, and not to be reckless. She also subtly warned him to be wary of those around him, hinting at A Gui's untrustworthy nature.
As Jing Kan and A Gui were led away to the Tribute Tea Plantation, Ai Sixi instructed Zhenzhu to diligently manage the shop in their absence, ensuring she memorized all tea prices. Zhenzhu, however, confessed she had been busy memorizing tea poems instead.
