I Will Never Let You Go Episode 1 Recap
> I Will Never Let You Go Recap
The Xue Manor was tragically massacred overnight, but the Saintess, Xue Fei, and her elder brother, Zhu Hua, managed to escape. Pursued relentlessly, Xue Fei gave birth to a daughter, Hua Buqi, in a dilapidated temple. Overwhelmed by despair and the grim fate she foresaw for her child, Xue Fei attempted to strangle the infant, believing death was a kinder end than a life of being exploited like her own.
However, Zhu Hua intervened, vowing he would never let the child suffer the same fate. As soldiers of the Seventh Prince closed in, Xue Fei urged Zhu Hua to take the baby and flee, allowing them to evade the relentless pursuit. The Seventh Prince, upon finding Xue Fei in the temple, confronted her, baffled why she refused to be by his side, even after he had willingly married her as his secondary wife despite her affair.
Xue Fei bitterly retorted that his motives were purely for Biluotian, and he had never harbored genuine feelings for her. After her death, the Seventh Prince remained determined to find the infant, convinced that this girl was the next Saintess, the key to the Biluotian treasure. Zhu Hua, now known as Uncle Jiu, lived incognito with Hua Buqi in Xizhou, resorting to begging to avoid detection by powerful forces.
Bright and resourceful, young Hua Buqi expressed a desire to use their meager earnings to start a business. Yet, Uncle Jiu strictly forbade it, insisting she must keep her face dirty and avoid close contact with others, claiming he owed insurmountable debts. Hua Buqi, however, suspected his debts were of the romantic kind and that he was her real father, given their resemblance. Secretly, she decided to pursue business anyway, masking her face to remain unrecognized.
Years passed; Hua Buqi matured into a graceful young woman, still discreetly trading with her face veiled, while Uncle Jiu's health steadily declined, plagued by a worsening cough. One day, Hua Buqi paused to listen to a storyteller recounting the heroic deeds of Lotus Robe Knight, who was said to possess incredible skills like shooting ten arrows simultaneously. Nearby, Chen Yu, the Seventh Prince's son and the Lotus Robe Knight himself, scoffed at the exaggerated tales.
Hua Buqi, mistaking him for an arrogant playboy, swiftly defended the hero's reputation. Unbeknownst to her, Chen Yu was in Xizhou to acquire medicine for his ailing father and to halt his father's relentless search for an illegitimate daughter, a pursuit that had deeply saddened and ultimately led to his mother's death.
His attendant, A Shi, suggested the Prince's illness might be psychological, and finding the daughter could be the cure, but Chen Yu remained unmoved, stating he would not bring her back even if he found her. Meanwhile, in an inn, the First Miss of Mingyue Villa revealed she had received news of a woman who might be Xue Fei's daughter in Xizhou. She ordered her subordinates to track this woman down and kill her on sight.
Simultaneously, she ordered her subordinates to intercept a shipment of medicine from Yaoling Manor, bound for Feiyun Fortress, where warhorses were suffering from a plague. Her ambition was to cripple Feiyun Fortress, one of the four prominent families, by depriving them of vital medicine, thereby enabling Mingyue Villa to absorb them. As the bandits attempted to hijack the medicine cart, Chen Yu, in his guise as Lotus Robe Knight, intervened.
He confronted the robbers, offering them a chance to retreat, as his aim was to protect the innocent rather than harm. In the ensuing chaos, Hua Buqi, unknowingly pushing a cart of wine and rice, stumbled into the skirmish. Captivated by the heroic Lotus Robe Knight, she impulsively threw a wine jar at a bandit, inadvertently drawing their attention. Lotus Robe Knight swiftly protected her while fending off the attackers.
He ultimately defeated the bandits, but his act of sparing their lives further deepened Hua Buqi’s admiration for his compassion. After giving her an ingot of silver for her damaged wine and urging her to avoid danger, Lotus Robe Knight departed. Hua Buqi, still dazed, wondered why he left so quickly, thinking she wasn't pretty enough. Chen Yu, observing her from a hidden spot, was struck by her uncanny resemblance to Xue Fei, particularly her unforgettable eyes, and her age.
He began to suspect she was, in fact, the Seventh Prince's long-lost illegitimate daughter. Back at Yaoling Manor, Mingyue Villa's First Miss angrily questioned the master about the failed medicine robbery. The master admitted to immediately spreading rumors that Lotus Robe Knight was the culprit, with the magistrate already issuing a warrant for his arrest.
The First Miss, pleased with his quick thinking, then ordered him to prepare for any potential investigations from Feiyun Fortress or Lotus Robe Knight, assuring him of Mingyue Villa's full backing. She also handed him a portrait of Xue Fei, commanding him to find the woman resembling it—Hua Buqi—and bring her back, dead or alive.
After she left, the Yaoling Manor master, deeply concerned about Mingyue Villa’s aggressive expansion and their own entanglement, confided in his son that their manor was at risk of being ruined. He realized they were too deeply indebted to Mingyue Villa to act rashly and could only seek a new powerful patron. Later, Chen Yu, still pondering Hua Buqi's identity, tracked her into town. She stopped before a public bounty poster, falsely accusing Lotus Robe Knight of medicine theft.
Outraged by the injustice, Hua Buqi passionately defended Lotus Robe Knight to the crowd and, with a sly move, secretly altered his face on the poster with a dab of ink to make him unrecognizable. Chen Yu, witnessing her cleverness, was amused. Soon after, he overheard Hua Buqi speaking with an old woman, mentioning Uncle Jiu's "lover's debts" and playfully suggesting he was her real father because of their resemblance.
Misinterpreting this, Chen Yu dismissed his suspicions, reasoning that if Hua Buqi already had a father, she couldn't be the Seventh Prince's illegitimate daughter. He then instructed his attendant, A Shi, to shift focus and investigate who had actually reported Lotus Robe Knight for the medicine theft, believing real clues lay there. Hua Buqi returned to her humble home, quickly changing into her ragged beggar attire.
She presented Uncle Jiu with medicine, claiming she had earned twenty coins through begging and even received free food from a generous nobleman. Uncle Jiu, however, sensed her deception and again cautioned her against secretly doing business, fearing her carelessness might expose their hidden whereabouts. As she moved to prepare his medicine, a silver ingot, a gift from Lotus Robe Knight, accidentally slipped from her clothes.
Thinking quickly, Hua Buqi spun a tale about the "God of Wealth" having taken pity on them and blessed them with the money, wondering if Uncle Jiu would ever believe her if she told him the truth about Lotus Robe Knight.
