The Unexpected Marriage Episode 3 Recap
> The Unexpected Marriage Recap
The evening of the Lantern Festival in Fuyu city arrived, and Changsheng intended to take Yang Wulang by surprise, revealing her feelings directly and declaring she would marry no one but him. She had a backup plan involving Sheng Tiangang, leveraging the festive atmosphere to make Yang Wulang fall for her. Her ultimate goal was to make him infatuated, combined with her own tender approach, to ensure the match was settled.
However, despite all her calculations, Changsheng never anticipated Yang Wulang claiming to be ill and unable to attend, leaving all her plans in disarray. Meanwhile, Xiao Zilv was conversing with Yang Wulang. Yang Wulang offered him some soup he had made following Xiao Zilv's recipe and spoke about cherishing the person in front of you. Xiao Zilv smiled but did not elaborate.
Although Yang Wulang claimed illness to avoid seeing Princess Changsheng, Lv Jing discovered Yang Wulang's fondness for Guanshan Tea. Seizing the opportunity, Lv Jing, acting as the envoy, intentionally purchased all the available Guanshan Tea at a tea house. When Yang Wulang arrived seeking the tea, Lv Jing used this coincidence to strike up a conversation, subtly probing him for information about Fuyu, particularly its waterways given Yang Wulang's expertise as Assistant Minister of Works.
Later, Noble Consort Xian summoned the female candidates for the upcoming marriage alliance to the palace for training in Great Tang etiquette. Changsheng's carriage was delayed by traffic, causing her to arrive late. Noble Consort Xian, who already had a dislike for Changsheng, used her tardiness as an excuse to punish her, ordering her to clean the Imperial Garden thoroughly, without a single fallen leaf or grain of sand.
Xiao Jin, who had tried to cover for Changsheng during roll call, was also penalized and had to clean alongside her. Among the candidates was Princess Guangde, the Emperor and Noble Consort Xian's daughter, who was also of marriageable age. Guangde and Changsheng had a long-standing rivalry. They made a bet: whoever married first would receive one hundred taels of gold from the other, and the loser would be the one sent for the marriage alliance.
Xiao Zilv entered the palace and subtly spread rumors among the palace staff about Changsheng, causing some palace maids to whisper and point at her. Changsheng overheard the gossip but seemed accustomed to it. Just then, Lv Jing arrived with Yang Wulang.
Lv Jing had previously spoken highly of Changsheng to Yang Wulang, which likely contributed to Yang Wulang's decision to appear and agree to attend the Lantern Festival that evening with Lv Jing, accompanied by Changsheng who was tasked with receiving the envoy. Back at her residence, Lv Jing offered Changsheng well-intentioned advice, suggesting that despite his appealing appearance, Yang Wulang was not a suitable match for her.
At the evening Lantern Festival, in addition to Xiao Jin and Xie Lin, Xiao Zilv also attended. With others present, Changsheng found it difficult to get alone time with Yang Wulang. She attempted to orchestrate situations to send others away, even enlisting children to distract Xiao Zilv by offering them candy and telling them Xiao Zilv had more. She tried faking a sprained ankle to send Xiao Zilv away, then faking a lost purse to send Yang Wulang away.
However, her efforts resulted in a mix-up. Yang Wulang unexpectedly left, and Lv Jing appeared next to Changsheng instead. They happened to be near Sheng Tiangang, who, mistaking Lv Jing for Yang Wulang, began delivering a fortune reading filled with improvised declarations about their "peach blossom luck" and being "destined to be a good couple."
Despite Changsheng's increasingly frantic non-verbal cues, Sheng Tiangang failed to grasp her intention to involve Yang Wulang, not Lv Jing, and continued his performance, even trying to read Yang Wulang's fortune and stating he had "no chance." With her plans utterly derailed and stuck with Lv Jing, Changsheng gave up and suggested they meet Jin and Xie Lin at the lantern riddle area. The trio, now including Lv Jing, experienced awkwardness.
As they passed a lantern riddle stall, Changsheng wrote down a riddle. Lv Jing glanced at it and knew the answer immediately. The festival was bustling with activity, including various performances like ventriloquism, which drew large crowds. Lv Jing observed the crowd and noted the ventriloquist's skill. Just as the crowd was engrossed in the performance, assassins began to move in.
Lv Jing, keenly aware of the impending danger, realized he needed to get Changsheng away without revealing his identity by fighting. He abruptly pulled Changsheng and fled the scene. As they moved, he quickly grabbed some candy and threw it onto the performance stage, causing the crowd to rush for the sweets, which created a chaotic diversion and disrupted the assassins' plans. Using his martial arts, Lv Jing swiftly carried Changsheng away, soaring over the crowd.
Changsheng, flustered by the sudden action, warned Lv Jing not to do such strange things to her again, threatening him regardless of her status in Fuyu or Great Tang. Lv Jing, having just commented on his own courage, then reacted with visible alarm when he saw a spider on Changsheng's shoulder.
Changsheng, unperturbed, casually picked up the spider with her bare hand, questioning his fear as a grown man, while Lv Jing insisted he wasn't afraid, but "in awe" and didn't want to kill it. Changsheng let the spider go, granting it freedom. Meanwhile, Princess Guangde had also gone out for the Lantern Festival but became separated from her maids due to their slowness. Left alone, she was accosted by several drunk men.
Helpless, she was unable to fight them off and was dragged away despite her pleas for help and revealing her identity as a princess. Not far away, Changsheng heard Guangde's cries for help.
