Gone with the Rain Episode 5 Recap
> Gone with the Rain Recap
Wan Jiagui confessed to Mo Xi that he was somewhat drawn to her, but he considered their current happiness a fleeting dream from which they would eventually wake. He believed that true contentment was rare in this world, and holding on too tightly would only cause pain. Mo Xi, however, boldly declared that she would defy fate and held him close, admitting her feelings.
She recounted how her second aunt once said her foxy face, narrow shoulders, and slim waist would prevent her from marrying, and she playfully stated that if she remained unmarried, she would simply rely on him. Wan Jiagui acknowledged her immense help in getting him out of the city, promising to remember it, but he insisted on treating her like a beloved sister.
Mo Xi, deeply hurt by his words, stormed away, silently calling him a jerk and a bad guy for his insensitivity after all her efforts. Later, Mo Xi was under the watch of two maids sent by the Bai Second Madam. Mo Xi quickly realized these were actually spies from Chen Wende, sent to monitor her movements and prevent her escape. Wan Jiagui, who had been hiding, emerged.
He explained that the small amount of gunpowder in fireworks was useless unless modified for a controlled explosion in a sealed container, requiring high temperature. He recounted how he learned about gunpowder from a close military friend who was killed by rebels during the fall of Jingzhou City. Very few of their comrades from the army were still alive.
He spoke of the perilous lives of soldiers in these chaotic times, where life and death could change in an instant, which was why they dared not marry or even harbor affections for anyone. Mo Xi reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to him, stating she would stay by his side no matter what. But Wan Jiagui, unmoved, reiterated his intention to treat her as a sister.
He outlined a plan to send her to Chibei, where the court was stationed and some of his old servants resided, once they escaped Jingzhou. Seeing his firm resolve, Mo Xi resigned herself, deciding that she would patiently wait for him to change his mind, accepting the role of his "sister" for now. Mo Xi and Wan Jiagui then finalized their escape plan. With the exit permit already secured, their main obstacle was evading Chen Wende's two vigilant maids.
Mo Xi decided that on the designated grave relocation day, she would go to her father's grave early. There, she planned to use prepared drugs to make the maids drowsy and seize the opportunity to escape. She confided that her mother's ashes had long been secretly interred with her father's, defying the Bai family's wishes.
She worried that if they escaped, Chen Wende might retaliate by desecrating her parents' tomb, but Wan Jiagui reassured her that Chen Wende wouldn't stoop to such childish acts. Mo Xi then meticulously detailed their escape route: Wan Jiagui would disguise himself in a woman's dress and hide in a customized carriage. At a busy lamb shop near the official road, she would feign a stomach ache, and the maids, affected by drugged handkerchiefs, would rest inside.
Wan Jiagui would then sneak out, switch places with her behind the toilet, and ignite a fuse to create an explosion with the gunpowder, startling the horses. He would then drive the damaged carriage into a deep valley with a subterranean river connecting Panghe, simulating their deaths, while he secretly jumped out before the plunge. Mo Xi would then meet him back at the lamb shop, and they would proceed to Chibei.
Wan Jiagui was impressed by her detailed knowledge of Jingzhou City. Meanwhile, Bai Fengyao saw Mo Xi return to the mansion, excitedly carrying new clothes. Mo Xi’s cheerful demeanor, despite being forced to marry Chen Wende, made Fengyao suspect that she was secretly planning an escape. The following day, Mo Xi and Wan Jiagui, with Wan Jiagui cleverly disguised as a woman, boarded a carriage and successfully passed through the city gates using Chen Wende's permit.
At her parents’ gravesite, Mo Xi dismissed the maids, telling them to eat snacks from the carriage and freshen up. Once alone, she produced the marriage certificate Wan Jiagui had written. She explained to him that she didn't intend to hold him to it; rather, it was a promise she had made to her mother, who, due to her courtesan background, had never been properly married to Mo Xi's father and wished for an official marriage certificate before she died.
Mo Xi then burned the certificate over the grave, fulfilling her mother’s long-held wish. As they prepared to leave, Mo Xi mused about Wan Jiagui’s seemingly privileged background and wondered why his parents allowed him to join the army. He admitted that his parents were furious when he enlisted; his mother cried, and his father grounded him, threatening disinheritance if he ran away—which he did.
He reflected on how parental expectations often diverge from their children's desires, drawing a parallel to Mo Xi's mother's wish for a proper marriage, which Mo Xi, by burning the certificate, had symbolically fulfilled for her. Just before they left, Wan Jiagui secretly pledged at Mo Xi's parents' graves that he would protect her for as long as he lived. Mo Xi, curious, asked what he had said, but he playfully refused to tell her, mirroring her earlier secrecy.
Back on the road, Fengyao, increasingly anxious, worried if Mo Xi had been caught. She urged her coachman to follow the North Shu soldiers she saw rushing towards Mo Xi's location, praying for Mo Xi's safety. At the pre-arranged lamb shop, Mo Xi feigned a sudden stomach ache. The maids, having inhaled the sedatives in the handkerchiefs Mo Xi offered, went to rest, feeling drowsy. Mo Xi met Wan Jiagui behind the toilet. He put on a veiled hat.
Mo Xi gave him Chen Wende’s exit permit and a jade plaque from the Bai family, instructing him to pose as Bai Pengkun if questioned, as Pengkun was conveniently indisposed due to a laxative Mo Xi had given him. Wan Jiagui then entered the carriage, while Mo Xi stealthily set off a firecracker. The horses, startled by the noise, bolted, and the carriage careened away.
North Shu soldiers, led by Wu, and the maids chased after it, watching in horror as it plunged down a cliff into the valley below. As Mo Xi tried to slip away to meet Wan Jiagui, she was intercepted by Wu and his soldiers. Just then, Fengyao arrived, distraught. Seizing the opportunity, Mo Xi quickly embraced Fengyao, loudly lamenting their failed escape.
She spun a tale for Wu, initially claiming that Fengyao had hidden in her carriage and then, disguised as the driver, rode the horse off the cliff. When Wu expressed skepticism about the escapee's height, Mo Xi quickly explained it was a hired coachman wearing a dress to confuse people.
She further elaborated that the coachman had thrown Fengyao out of the carriage before dying in the fall, and Fengyao tearfully played along, accusing the soldiers of murder for their pursuit and lamenting their ruined "plan." On their way back, Mo Xi pleaded with Fengyao to maintain the fabricated story. Fengyao, understanding that the escaped person (Wan Jiagui) was extremely important to Mo Xi, reluctantly agreed, saying she must have owed Mo Xi in a previous life.
Mo Xi was then taken to Chen Wende. She remarked on the dustiness of his mansion, which he explained was a deliberate reminder against greed and a constant call to his ambition to serve the country. Mo Xi subtly accused him of being a rebel, which he denied. Chen Wende, seeing through her pretense, calmly revealed he knew she had lied about her true intentions.
He stated he was aware that her grave relocation plan was merely a ruse to escape Jingzhou City with Bai Fengyao. Mo Xi, admitting the truth, stated that she and Fengyao simply didn't want to be married off like mere objects. She bravely accepted full responsibility for the escape attempt, insisting that Fengyao was innocent. Chen Wende, to test her resolve, threatened to punish Fengyao as a warning.
He brandished a dagger, proposing to scoop out Mo Xi's "pretty eyes" or behead Fengyao. Terrified, Mo Xi screamed but quickly offered her own eyes for Fengyao's safety, reasoning that since she would soon be his wife, her eyes would belong to him anyway. Chen Wende, finding her amusing, declared he was merely joking. Mo Xi cursed him under her breath. Chen Wende then ordered his subordinate, Wu, to send Mo Xi back to the Bai mansion.
Upon her return, Mo Xi witnessed Bai Second Madam furiously beating Fengyao with a cane for running away from home. Mo Xi felt a profound sense of guilt for involving Fengyao and causing her suffering.
