Guardians of the Ancient Oath Episode 29 Recap
> Guardians of the Ancient Oath Recap
Hou Zhengze, disguised as Baili Hongshuo, arrived at the small hut for his appointment with Ji Qiu. He was still eager to learn powerful magic rather than just theoretical verses. However, Ji Qiu informed him that their time together had come to an end, and they would not meet again.
Ji Qiu gifted Hou Zhengze a treasure left by the Immortal Yan Jisheng, explaining that it would prove greatly useful in crucial moments, serving as a testament to their master-disciple bond. Hou Zhengze enthusiastically tucked the treasure into his clothes, but Ji Qiu's words reminded him that he was merely impersonating Baili Hongshuo and was not Ji Qiu's true disciple.
Earlier, Ji Qiu had patiently taught "Xiaotong" (referring to Hou Zhengze) important verses, including "North of Yan Huo, above the Red River, there is the place that keeps the key," emphasizing their profound meaning. Though "Xiaotong" found the verses difficult to memorize and questioned their meaning, Ji Qiu stressed that they embodied the will of Heaven and were the culmination of Immortal Yan Jisheng's lifelong work.
After Ji Qiu's final lesson and departure, a child, Qiu Xiaotong, approached Hou Zhengze, expressing her sadness that their master had left and asking what he had been taught. Ji Qiu then reappeared and instructed the child, Qiu Xiaotong, to return quickly after seeing him off. Meanwhile, Ba Yin harbored deep resentment that Ming Yefeng had chosen to bring Li Ruo to the ancestral rites.
Immediately after the ceremony, Ba Yin confronted Li Ruo, dismissing her princess status and calling her a "cursed wicked girl" and a perpetual "enemy of the Wolf Tribe." Li Ruo, asserting her identity as Princess Li Ruo, daughter of Princess Na Cheng, calmly warned Ba Yin that her threats were meaningless and that she was not a match for Li Ruo's fighting skills. She declared her intention to stay in Shu Chi and advised Ba Yin to accept this reality.
As Ba Yin's frustration escalated, she attempted to strike Li Ruo, but Ming Yefeng and Ming Lai arrived, preventing the altercation. Ming Yefeng sternly questioned Ba Yin's behavior, while Ming Lai intervened, asking his brother to forgive Ba Yin's immaturity. Ming Yefeng reiterated his clear stance and warned that such an incident must not recur, to which Ming Lai promised to discipline his sister. Later, Ming Lai confronted Ba Yin about her outburst.
Ba Yin expressed her indignation that Ming Yefeng, now King, had not yet made her the First Lady. Ming Lai criticized her impatience, warning that rushing could ruin their plans and provoke the King and their Bai Ze Unit. He explained that Ming Yefeng's delay in appointing a First Lady was a deliberate display of authority, demonstrating that he would not be coerced by any clan.
Ming Yefeng had fulfilled all his promises to the Bai Ze Unit, and leaving the position vacant was his way of reminding them not to be greedy and to know their place. Ming Lai advised Ba Yin that if she truly wished to remove Li Ruo, she must act intelligently and strategically, rather than with reckless emotion, which would only jeopardize her own aspirations.
He reassured her that as a renowned beauty of the prairie and Ming Yefeng being an ordinary man, she could achieve her desires if she pursued them wisely. Li Ruo felt a sense of resignation, observing that she was effectively trapped in the Wolf Tribe. She confessed to Ming Yefeng that she disliked the pressed tea cakes prevalent on the prairie, but without fresh tea, she had no choice but to accept it.
Recognizing she could not return to Great You, she resolved to make a life for herself there. Ming Yefeng promised to protect her, but Li Ruo questioned how he could offer constant protection. She assured him she could handle minor incidents on her own. Li Ruo then asked Ming Yefeng to take her to Princess Na Cheng's grave. He agreed, leading her to a humble, almost overgrown mound located just tens of Li from the You Kingdom border.
Ming Yefeng explained that he hadn't dared to engrave their names on the tombstone, opting instead for the inscription "Stay Together Forever." As Li Ruo touched the weathered stone, a wave of confusion washed over her. She called out "Mother Consort" and "Father King," only to realize with a jolt that she was thinking of Baili Haoyuan and his wife, and that she could not recall the faces of her own birth parents, plunging her into profound grief.
Li Ruo questioned Ming Yefeng about her parents' past, wondering why her mother, Princess Na Cheng, would defy ancestral rules and face such consequences given the long-standing animosity between the Wolf Tribe and You Kingdom. Ming Yefeng recounted that he had met Princess Na Cheng when he was still a boy. In a flashback, a younger Ming Yefeng, rescued by Princess Na Cheng, repeatedly asked why she saved him.
Princess Na Cheng, a kind and gentle soul, responded that saving others needed no reason, and that no one deserved such cruel treatment. Ming Yefeng shared that in his desolate youth, Princess Na Cheng was the only person who brought him warmth and made him feel alive. He clarified that Li Ruo's father was an exiled scholar from You Kingdom, powerless to protect his family.
Li Ruo countered, arguing that her parents' mutual love and sacrifices indicated her father was far from useless. Ming Yefeng acknowledged their love but lamented the fate that befell them. He revealed that after years of being hunted, they found refuge in a hidden village near the border, a place ignored by both nations, where they lived their happiest years.
However, the village was later razed by the old King, who deemed Princess Na Cheng a "person of misfortune," leaving Ming Yefeng and Li Ruo as the sole survivors. While Ming Yefeng blamed Li Ruo's father for their plight, Li Ruo firmly believed that the true culprit was the deep-seated hatred between the Wolf Tribe and Great You, which led to her family's destruction and her parents' tragic deaths.
Ming Yefeng then pointed to the necklace Li Ruo wore, suggesting her mother left it as a reminder of her true identity. Li Ruo questioned how her mother could still hold any hope for the Wolf Tribe after they had abandoned and pursued them. Ming Yefeng argued it was not an illusion but an unseverable family tie; Princess Na Cheng could not forget her homeland.
He concluded that the prairie was Li Ruo's true home, the Wolf Tribe her real family, and that "blood is thicker than water," a truth that could never change. Late that night, Tao Shen attached a secret message to an eagle's leg, instructing it to tell Ming Yefeng to meet him at an old rendezvous point. He then personally departed with Baili Hongxuan's confidential letter. En route, a cloaked figure, Ling Jun, materialized to block his path.
Tao Shen, utterly defenseless, was effortlessly subdued and rendered unconscious by Ling Jun. Meanwhile, the newly appointed Minister of Defense, He Yao, was celebrating his promotion with his trusted subordinates. In a drunken revelry, one subordinate comically pretended to be Baili Hongxuan, enduring He Yao's mock insults and begging for mercy. As the celebration deepened into widespread intoxication, Ling Jun forcefully roused He Yao.
He presented He Yao with a "gift"—the unconscious Tao Shen and the incriminating personal letter from Baili Hongxuan. He Yao, delighted to have seized Baili Hongxuan's vulnerability, exclaimed that Heaven was on his side. In the Marquis of Northern Defense Manor, the sudden late-night arrival of Eunuch Chen from the palace stirred apprehension among the household. Sensing danger, Baili Hongxuan, under the pretext of changing clothes, discreetly instructed Jin Yang.
He told her that if he did not return within three hours, she was to immediately burn the third volume of scrolls on his study desk, adding that some matters were better left unknown to her. Jin Yang, reassuring him of his safe return, pledged to manage the manor in his absence, a weighty responsibility Baili Hongxuan entrusted to her. Upon entering the imperial palace, Baili Hongxuan found only Baili Haohe awaiting him.
He performed a kneeling salute, but Baili Haohe maintained a silent, unmoving posture, subtly asserting his dominance and pressure. Baili Haohe inquired about Baili Hongxuan's recent thinness, to which Baili Hongxuan attributed it to his grief over his sister's death. Baili Haohe then probed, mentioning He Yao's new appointment as Minister of Defense and subtly asking if Baili Hongxuan was displeased. Baili Hongxuan denied any resentment, assuring the Emperor of his loyalty and commitment to the state.
Baili Haohe then shifted the conversation to the search for Li Ruo, asking if Baili Hongxuan's men had found any trace of her along the river. Baili Hongxuan maintained his previous account: there was nothing. Baili Haohe pressed further, asking if Baili Hongxuan had personally witnessed Li Ruo's suicide by drowning. Baili Hongxuan affirmed he had, reiterating the story of Li Ruo choosing death over humiliation from Ming Yefeng.
At that moment, Empress Dowager He and He Yao dramatically entered the hall. He Yao, with a sneer, noted Baili Hongxuan's remarkably consistent story, sarcastically commenting that it was "exactly the same as what you said last time." Empress Dowager He, claiming to have arrived during Baili Hongxuan's "storytelling," accused him of deceiving the Emperor.
He Yao escalated the attack, asserting that Baili Hongxuan's unverified account of Li Ruo's "sacrifice" was merely a convenient fabrication given the absence of her body. Baili Hongxuan accused He Yao of slander. Unfazed, He Yao declared that Li Ruo was, in fact, alive and well, directly challenging Baili Hongxuan's claims. When Baili Hongxuan attempted to refute him, He Yao, with a triumphant smirk, produced Baili Hongxuan's personal letter to Ming Yefeng.
He began to read it aloud, revealing Baili Hongxuan's congratulations to Ming Yefeng on his enthronement, his expressed delight that his "second sister" (Li Ruo) had found her real brother, and his hope for her kind treatment. The letter further cautioned Ming Yefeng about the You Kingdom's outrage over the situation and specifically advocated for the elimination of He Yao, presenting it as a solution to Ming Yefeng's troubles and the Marquis manor's predicament. As He Yao finished reading, he mockingly asked Baili Hongxuan if he needed him to continue, leaving Baili Hongxuan exposed before the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
