Glory Episode 34 Recap
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At the banquet in the Duke's Mansion, Xue Shuyu drank heavily and repeatedly pressured Lu Jianglai to join him. Remembering Rong Shanbao’s warning to remain vigilant, Lu Jianglai remained cautious. During the feast, Shuyu treated his wife, Wan Niang, and his young son, Xun, with shocking cruelty, openly berating them. When Shuyu’s concubine, Huiqing, tried to flirtatiously toast him, Lu Jianglai coldly rejected the gesture and walked out into the courtyard.
In the quiet of the yard, little Xun followed Lu Jianglai and offered him a piece of jujube cake, noting that his uncle hadn't eaten anything. Touched by the child's kindness, Lu Jianglai accepted the gift.
Back in his room, the cake triggered a memory of his late mother, who used to make the same treats and would often stare at them with a look of profound sorrow—a look he now realized was a sign of her secret longing for the elder son she had been forced to leave behind. That night, an assassin infiltrated Lu Jianglai’s room. Lu Jianglai, who had been expecting trouble, quickly captured the intruder.
However, the assassin chose to swallow a silver needle and died instantly. Despite the shock, Lu Jianglai remained composed in front of the household, ordering the body removed and scheduling a formal investigation for the next morning. Once alone with Rong Shanbao in the study, Lu Jianglai finally let his guard down. He confessed his heartbreak, suspecting his own brother was behind the hit.
He revealed that the jujube cake Xun brought had been laced with hallucinogenic drugs and that Shuyu’s earlier display of domestic abuse was likely a calculated act to lower Lu Jianglai’s guard. Feeling abandoned by fate and kin, Lu Jianglai sought comfort in Rong Shanbao. In his vulnerability, he grew intensely possessive, demanding she promise never to leave him for other men like Cheng Guanyu or Wen Can.
She embraced him, offering the strength he needed to face the following day. The next morning, Lu Jianglai’s subordinates and a coroner examined the assassin. They discovered that a silver needle had been driven into the temple with professional precision to cause instant death without leaving a trace, confirming the killer was a high-level mercenary. Meanwhile, Wan Niang took Xun to visit the Duke, Xue Maotang.
During the visit, the child innocently mentioned that his father had instructed him to give the jujube cake to Lu Jianglai. Having already received a report that the cake was drugged, Xue Maotang realized Shuyu was involved in the plot. Furious, Xue Maotang summoned Shuyu and demanded the truth. While Shuyu admitted to sending the drugged cake, he vehemently denied hiring the professional assassin.
Despising his son’s perceived cowardice and lack of accountability, Xue Maotang ordered Shuyu to be beaten with a steel whip and doused with ice water. Lu Jianglai arrived in the middle of the torture. He intercepted a guard and poured the freezing water over the man's head instead of his brother's. He then turned his fury on Xue Maotang, condemning him for his lifelong cruelty.
He pointed out that the Duke had abandoned him and his mother years ago, and now, instead of fostering a family, he was forcing two brothers into a deadly rivalry for a title Lu Jianglai didn't even want. Lu Jianglai bitingly noted that while the Duke obsessed over family glory, he hadn't even bothered to ask when Lu Jianglai’s mother died or where she was buried.
He declared that the humble servant who had raised him possessed more honor than the Duke ever would. Stunned by Lu Jianglai’s defiance, Xue Maotang admitted that Lu Jianglai was the "alpha wolf" the family needed. He urged him to accept the succession, but Lu Jianglai ignored him, choosing instead to help his battered brother back to his quarters.
In Shuyu’s room, Lu Jianglai personally tended to his brother’s wounds and combed his hair, just as their mother once did for him. He shared stories of their mother’s enduring love, explaining that she always made two portions of cakes because she never stopped missing her firstborn. Shuyu was deeply moved, finally seeing Lu Jianglai as his brother rather than a rival.
He confessed that while he had been tempted to kill Lu Jianglai out of jealousy and fear of being replaced, he had ultimately hesitated. He swore a solemn oath that he did not hire the professional assassin, leaving the true identity of the mastermind a chilling mystery.
