Jun Jiu Ling Episode 3 Recap
> Jun Jiu Ling Recap
After more than a month at the Fang family's estate, Jun Zhenzhen had met most of the female relatives but not the rumored young master. One day, by the Clear Lotus Pond, she discovered fifteen-year-old Fang Chengyu, the legitimate son of the Fang family, sitting in a wheelchair with disheveled hair, meticulously folding white cranes. She then understood the widespread gossip about the "Fang family curse."
For three generations, the family's male heirs had died in their prime, forcing the women to manage the family's business. Fang Chengyu, the sole male heir of his generation, was born frail and rumored to not live past sixteen. He was immediately unwelcoming, informing Jun Zhenzhen that the pond was his private area and rudely dismissing her, stating that a well-bred young lady should understand the principle of "out of sight, out of mind."
Intrigued, Jun Zhenzhen had her servant Liu'er inquire about Fang Chengyu and learned he fell gravely ill at five, with doctors predicting he would not live past sixteen—less than a year away. Determined to help, Jun Zhenzhen approached him in the library. When an irritated Fang Chengyu accused her of being a nuisance, she retorted that he was the one who was sick and insisted she could treat him.
After taking his pulse, Jun Zhenzhen realized he was not suffering from a strange illness but had been slowly poisoned for many years. Later, Dowager Fang summoned Jun Zhenzhen and forbade her from approaching Fang Chengyu again, fearing false hope would only lead to greater despair. Jun Zhenzhen countered that he was poisoned, not ill, which surprised the Dowager.
When pressed, the Dowager and Fang Chengyu's mother confessed that at age five, the only way to save him from a fatal illness was a toxic remedy prescribed by a now-deceased doctor, which he had taken daily for ten years. Jun Zhenzhen explained that while the prescription might have seemed like a remedy, its long-term use had become a slow-acting poison, and that someone had deliberately misled them to harm the Fang family's male lineage.
Convinced, Dowager Fang allowed her to try a new treatment. Fang Chengyu's mother retrieved the original prescription box, inside which Jun Zhenzhen found not only the old formula but also the pattern of a unique seal, deepening her suspicions. Dowager Fang instructed Jun Zhenzhen to create a temporary, similar-looking formula to avoid alerting the hidden perpetrator and swore her and the mother to secrecy.
Pondering the connection between the Fang family, the seal, and a past conspiracy involving official funds, Jun Zhenzhen suspected the culprit was an insider. She questioned Steward Gao about the capital and Prince Huai, but he grew wary of discussing royal affairs and reported her inquiries to Dowager Fang. Anticipating the summons, Jun Zhenzhen explained her questions away as sentimental curiosity stemming from her past friendship with the late Princess Jiuling.
While Dowager Fang accepted the excuse, she sternly warned her against ever discussing royal matters again. Jun Zhenzhen then cleverly obtained permission to go shopping for medicinal herbs with her cousin Fang Yuxiu, framing it as a normal outing for young ladies. Meanwhile, Zhu Zan and his companion Baotang were staking out the Fang residence, hoping to see Jun Zhenzhen contact her father.
They watched as her shopping trip with Fang Yuxiu was interrupted at a jewelry store by Ning Yunyan, who was still bitter about the canceled engagement and the 5,000 taels Jun Zhenzhen had claimed. Ning Yunyan tried to humiliate her by bidding on the same hairpin, but Jun Zhenzhen turned the tables, proposing an auction that resulted in Ning Yunyan paying 150 taels for a hairpin worth only five.
Later, Ning Yunyan confronted Jun Zhenzhen on the street, stomping on her newly purchased herbs and publicly accusing her of fraud. Unfazed, Jun Zhenzhen loudly recounted how the Ning family willingly paid 5,000 taels to void the engagement contract. She further shamed them by sarcastically remarking that if the capital's top courtesan was worth 3,000 taels, then the talented Ning Yunzhao was surely worth the 5,000 taels his family paid.
Zhu Zan and Baotang witnessed the entire exchange, with Zhu Zan finding her unexpectedly interesting. Upon returning home, Jun Zhenzhen spoke with Fang Chengyu, who believed his only purpose was to produce an heir. She gently countered that life's value isn't in its length, comparing a brief but brilliant firework to long-lasting but decaying wood. At the Ning mansion, a furious Ning Yunyan complained to her mother, only to be chastised for creating a public spectacle.
Her brother, Ning Yunzhao, having just returned, calmly advised her to drop the matter to prevent further gossip. Meanwhile, Jun Zhenzhen focused on preparing Fang Chengyu's medicine, and his attitude towards her had noticeably softened after their conversation. Growing impatient, Zhu Zan decided on a more direct approach. He and Baotang staged a scene where Baotang pretended to harass Jun Zhenzhen, allowing Zhu Zan to heroically "rescue" her.
He then requested a private conversation, confessing his close bond with Princess Jiuling and vowing to protect her. He urged Jun Zhenzhen to reveal her whereabouts. Seeing her chance to end his search, Jun Zhenzhen told him the princess did not die of illness but perished in a great fire.
When Zhu Zan admitted his group had attempted a rescue but arrived too late, she fabricated a story that a fire had mysteriously broken out where the princess was held, and she died in the flames. Zhu Zan vehemently refused to believe her. To make her lie more convincing, Jun Zhenzhen directed him to a cliff where, she claimed, her father Jun Yingwen was buried after falling to his death while being pursued after the failed rescue.
She asserted that the princess was truly gone, hoping to finalize the story. Distraught, Zhu Zan returned to his room and held his arm over a candle flame, trying to comprehend the pain the princess might have suffered. Baotang found him and tried to stop the self-torment, but Zhu Zan, consumed by grief and denial, insisted the princess was alive and waiting for him, vowing to find her no matter what.
