The Sword and The Brocade Episode 26 Recap
> The Sword and The Brocade Recap
Following their staged argument, Qiao Lianfang was pleased to hear of the rift between Shiyi and Xu Lingyi but worried he might soften. With Mingjing, the key witness to Yuanniang's death, safely out of the city, she believed Shiyi's downfall was certain. To hasten the process, she had Madam Qiao spread rumors that Shiyi was using the Marquis's name to oppress refugees at Xianling Pavilion.
The scandal damaged the Xu family's reputation and alarmed Great Madam, who, despite her doubts about the accusations, felt immense pressure to act. Pressured by his mother, Xu Lingyi reluctantly wrote a divorce agreement and had Luo Zhenxing deliver it, severing ties between the families and infuriating his brother-in-law. Overjoyed, Qiao Lianfang encountered Zhun at Banyuepan and cruelly told him that his mother, Shiyi, was a "bad woman" who would never return.
A distressed Zhun pushed her, insisting Shiyi would come back and calling Qiao Lianfang the bad one. Witnessing this, Xu Lingyi scolded Zhun and grounded him for three days. Despite Zhun's tearful pleas to bring his mother back, Xu Lingyi remained firm and ordered his attendant to clear Shiyi's belongings from her room. Seizing the opportunity, Madam Qiao urged Great Madam to appoint a new legal wife, suggesting the noble-born Lianfang.
Great Madam acknowledged that making a concubine the main wife was against tradition but agreed they could seek an imperial favor to legitimize Lianfang once she became pregnant. Qiao Lianfang was delighted, confident she would soon conceive, especially as Xu Lingyi had been treating her more warmly. Meanwhile, Concubine Wen and Concubine Qin discussed the recent events.
Concubine Wen believed that Shiyi, a mere concubine’s daughter, was no match for Qiao Lianfang’s schemes, recounting how Qiao had relentlessly framed Shiyi over the fake pregnancy and used dramatic displays to turn Great Madam against her. Overhearing this, Qiao Lianfang slapped Concubine Wen, threatening to expel her for spreading such talk. She then turned to Concubine Qin and cryptically thanked her for her current success, leaving both concubines to feign confusion.
Qiao Lianfang soon learned that Mingjing had gone missing after a Luo family carriage was seen secretly leaving the capital. When she also heard that Shiyi had been sent to a remote country villa, she suspected that Shiyi was hiding Mingjing there to prevent him from testifying. Determined to eliminate the witness, Qiao Lianfang traveled to the villa with her maids.
Upon arrival, she saw a figure tied to a pillar, assumed it was Mingjing, and ordered her men to kill him. At that moment, Shiyi appeared and confronted her about murdering Yuanniang. Cornered, Qiao Lianfang confessed that she had instructed Mingjing to poison Yuanniang’s medicine. Just then, Xu Lingyi emerged, revealing the entire scenario was a trap.
The man on the pillar was not Mingjing but a disguised Lin Bo, and with Qiao Lianfang's confession, all her crimes were laid bare. Shiyi explained that the only way to expose Qiao Lianfang was to make her confess by disrupting her own plans. This required Xu Lingyi's cooperation in staging their public argument and issuing a fake divorce agreement. Qiao Lianfang, realizing she'd been deceived, questioned why Xu Lingyi had trusted Shiyi.
He replied that he knew her character well and, as her husband, would believe in her even if the world turned against him. Unrepentant, Qiao Lianfang accused Shiyi of ruining the Xu family’s reputation with the Xianling Pavilion incident. In response, Xu Lingyi brought forward the spy Madam Qiao had planted, who confessed to being paid to incite the refugees.
Then, Mrs. Zhang was brought in and admitted Qiao Lianfang had paid her to lure away Yuanniang's guards and had also provided the sick dog that infected Zhun. With all her accomplices' confessions, Qiao Lianfang finally admitted to everything. Deeply disappointed, Great Madam withdrew her protection. Xu Lingyi declared Qiao Lianfang’s crimes unforgivable and, following family rules, ordered her to be flogged thirty times and banished to a farm to live as a nun, never to return to the capital.
Upon her return to the Xu mansion, Shiyi found her room thoughtfully arranged by Xu Lingyi. She thanked him for his quiet support of her work at Xianling Pavilion, a venture he now respected after seeing her genuine desire to help others. He encouraged her to continue and offered to cover any financial losses. When she asked why he was so kind, he replied simply that her happiness brought him happiness.
Before her banishment, Qiao Lianfang insisted on a final meeting with Xu Lingyi. She tearfully recounted her decade-long love for him and questioned why he could never accept her. Xu Lingyi remained unmoved. Qiao Lianfang admitted to murdering Yuanniang but tried to blame Yuanniang’s own scheming and claimed Shiyi was unworthy. Xu Lingyi calmly corrected her, explaining that true love is built on mutual respect and trust, not force.
He pointed out that her noble birth meant nothing with a wicked heart, while Shiyi’s kindness and integrity had earned everyone's respect, proving that character, not lineage, defines a person's worth. The next day, Shiyi formally apologized to Great Madam for the deception. Great Madam, now aware of the full truth, expressed regret for her own misjudgment and for the suffering Shiyi had endured. She gifted Shiyi a valuable ruby head-ornament from her own dowry as a gesture of reconciliation.
Although she initially advised Shiyi to focus on household duties, Xu Lingyi noted that Shiyi’s charity work had earned praise among palace nobles and stopping now would seem disingenuous. Great Madam relented, allowing Shiyi to continue on the condition that she never abuse the family's name or power. Xu Lingyi and Shiyi visited the Luo family with gifts to apologize.
Xu Lingyi confessed to Master Luo, Shiyi's father, that Yuanniang had been murdered by Qiao Lianfang, admitting his failure to protect her. Master Luo was stunned. Concubine Yang overheard and rushed to tell Madam Luo, whose already fragile health worsened dramatically from the shock, causing her to suffer a stroke. Meanwhile, after failing to find help, Madam Qiao visited Qiao Lianfang at the desolate farm.
Heartbroken, she tried to persuade her daughter to come home, but Qiao Lianfang refused, claiming she was finally at peace, her ambitions resolved. She accepted her fate, resigning herself to a life of solitude and spiritual devotion. Madam Qiao tearfully lamented that in teaching her daughter to be relentless, she had failed to teach her when to let go, ultimately causing her ruin.
