I've Fallen For You Episode 23 Recap
> I've Fallen For You Recap
He Zhen and Sanqi were ambushed and captured by the Old Lord and Zhao Cuo in their wedding chamber. The Old Lord, aware of He Zhen's actions, accused him of poisoning his medicine. He Zhen admitted his guilt, confirming the Old Lord's knowledge of the poisoning. A servant discovered blood, evidence of a prior struggle.
The Old Lord, despite revealing He Zhen wasn’t his biological son, appealed to their years of shared life and affection, promising leniency in exchange for cooperation. He Zhen agreed to answer their questions. Sanqi, having uncovered the truth, led the interrogation. He Zhen revealed he had no original name, only being known as He Zhen since his selection.
Sanqi explained she discovered his true identity by noticing his injured right arm, matching the wound inflicted on the man in black in Shifang Village by Zhao Cuo, and his suspicious reluctance to let her investigate further. He Zhen admitted his oversight.
Though initially hesitant to betray his master due to past suffering and abuse, longing for a life beyond his master's shadow, the Old Lord’s appeal to their father-son bond convinced him to reveal the Deputy Lord as the mastermind. The Deputy Lord was not only the Deputy Lord of Taoyuan City but also the leader of the men in black and the master of both He Zhen and Wumeng.
He Zhen detailed the Deputy Lord's plan, which started when the Old Lord sent young Zhao Cuo to Shifang Village to escape the war. The Deputy Lord exploited this, aiming to kill Zhao Cuo and replace him with a look-alike – a scheme known as "a stranger replaced the young lord." He Zhen was chosen and trained to perfectly imitate Zhao Cuo.
He recounted being told his “parents” were the Lord and Lady of Taoyuan City and his time observing Zhao Cuo in Shifang Village. He confessed to envying Zhao Cuo's carefree life and friendship with Sanqi, contrasting it with his own shadowed existence. Sanqi realized this explained He Zhen’s knowledge of the grimace totem, the name ring, and Zhao Cuo's forgotten promise to give her "fireflies as fireworks."
He Zhen revealed he, not Zhao Cuo, had caught fireflies with Sanqi that night due to Zhao Cuo's illness, and it was He Zhen, wearing a veil, who made the firefly promise. This was the happiest moment of his life. Zhao Cuo confirmed his illness and memory loss. Sanqi observed that a fake always has flaws, explaining He Zhen's eventual exposure; Zhao Cuo jokingly blamed his amnesia for not uncovering the deception sooner.
Sanqi inquired about the discovery of Zhao Cuo's true identity. He Zhen explained that before his planned succession, the Deputy Lord had the body of the fake "young lord" exhumed from Shifang Village. A congenital coccyx deficiency confirmed the body wasn't the real young lord. This led them to focus on Sanqi's investigations to find the real Young Lord. He Zhen mentioned Wumeng initially kept her actions secret from him.
This led to their plan to eliminate Zhao Cuo, Bai Yifei, Sanqi, and the eighteen-year-old youths in Shifang Village to eliminate witnesses. The Old Lord condemned the Deputy Lord's cruelty. He Zhen also revealed the Deputy Lord had systematically poisoned him and cultivated a network of loyalists in the court and army, with their names documented in letters hidden in a bookcase. Commander Zhang was tasked with retrieving these.
The Old Lord, seeking a peaceful resolution to avoid civil war, offered He Zhen a chance at redemption. He proposed that He Zhen lure the Deputy Lord to the Old Lord's resting place the next morning without arousing suspicion. The Old Lord asserted He Zhen wasn’t inherently evil, citing his earlier choice not to kill Zhao Cuo in the southern city. He Zhen, initially resentful, refused, believing his suffering stemmed from his birthright, not Zhao Cuo.
The Old Lord insisted his suffering was the Deputy Lord's doing, urging him to seize the opportunity for freedom. He Zhen agreed to bring the Deputy Lord at dawn. Before departing, Sanqi privately thanked He Zhen for the "fireflies as fireworks" memory. She encouraged him to embrace his own identity and live his own life after the crisis, emphasizing that he didn't need to be Zhao Cuo to have value. The Old Lord then confirmed to Zhao Cuo that he was his long-lost son, leading to a joyful reunion with his family. With war imminent, they anxiously await the dawn.
