King is Not Easy Recap, Plot, Synopsis
King is Not Easy Synopsis
Da Xi is a bratty and pretty girl, her greatest wish is to marry a handsome man. So when she fell in love with the court guard, Shao Yong at first sight, she gave up everything to enter the palace as a court lady.
But she coincidentally swapped her soul with the king, Ji Man. Identity change brought embarrassing things constantly.
The “king” cooking personally for the palace, kissing and confessing his love for the guards, passionate dancing in the courtroom and other outlandish behavior occurred frequently.
While the “court lady” was a departure from the norm, looking cool and doing things furtively with many mistakes.
With the identity of the king, Da Xi is more convenient to approach Shao Yong, but also because of the identity, It was always difficult for her to confess love to Shao Yong every time.
Da Xi and Ji Man quarreled with each other about the problem of chasing Shao Yong, fighting with each other, and not hesitating to hurt each other.
However, during the process of getting along with each other, they went from mutual understanding to mutual appreciation and finally developed a love.
King is Not Easy Recap
Episode 1 Recap
Within the capital city of Haojing in the Great Zhou Dynasty, early in the morning, a long line of customers had already formed in front of this restaurant. A bright and beautiful young woman was hiding inside the shop, lecherously eyeing the men outside. This woman was none other than Da Xi, the owner of the restaurant and the most famous female chef in Haojing. Da Xi, over nineteen years old, was still unmarried.
Her criteria for a partner was that he had to be handsome, extremely handsome. Although many men frequented her restaurant, unfortunately, the handsome ones were all taken. Da Xi went out early to buy groceries. On the street, a handsome, tall young man appeared before her eyes. Da Xi, who was prone to infatuation at the sight of a handsome man, stared lecherously at this man, practically drooling.
Da Xi was so captivated that she forgot she had come out to buy groceries, following the man all the way to the palace gate, where she was unfortunately stopped by the guards. She learned from the guards that this man was Shao Yong, a first-rank imperial guard. To enter the palace, there was only one way: to be selected as a palace maid.
For the sake of her dream lover, Da Xi went all out and decided to participate in the palace maid selection. The palace eunuch Shen Jia led guards to bring the young women of the city to the streets. However, these women either had problems with their teeth or problems with their eyes. None of them pleased him. Helpless, he had to grab a few at random to report back.
At this moment, Da Xi ran over, bribing the guards with some silver. The guards thought she didn't want to enter the palace and allowed her to go home. Unexpectedly, Da Xi told the guards that she wanted to enter the palace. The guards looked bewildered. On the way into the palace, Da Xi and her group encountered Shao Yong again. Overjoyed, Da Xi leaned against the wall, unable to contain her inner joy and sinking into fantasy.
Unfortunately, her daydream was cut short by a slap. Upon entering the inner palace, the matron told the newly arrived maids the rules of the palace: they were not allowed to wander around at will, and those who disobeyed would be severely punished. After listening, Da Xi realized that the palace was not what she had imagined. For a moment, Da Xi was trapped in a dilemma. How could she meet her Shao Yong brother?
Late at night, Da Xi, wanting to sneak out to find her dream lover, secretly came to the palace wall. However, remembering what the matron had said during the day, she dared not go through the main gate and had to crawl out through a dog hole in the city wall. However, her head went in, but her butt couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't get through.
Could it be that she had gained too much weight recently? Suddenly, someone slapped her butt. She quickly retracted, realizing with dismay that the matron had arrived. Not knowing what to do, she saw the earrings on the matron's ears and had a flash of inspiration, saying that she was helping the matron find her earrings. However, this excuse was obviously full of loopholes. In the end, she was punished and made to kneel in the courtyard.
While kneeling in the courtyard, Da Xi heard passing palace maids saying that the Empress Dowager was selecting wives for the guards. She had a flash of inspiration, got up, and ran to find the matron.
She told the matron that since they both disliked each other anyway, and the Empress Dowager was selecting wives for the guards, if there was anyone named Shao Yong among them and she could marry him, then she and the matron would never see each other again, and both would be free. The matron thought this was a good idea and reported it to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager thanked Da Xi for her affection for Shao Yong and specially bestowed five bolts of brocade and three bronze wares as dowry. Da Xi, with a joyful face, suddenly saw the guard coming towards her. Her expression rotated 360 degrees, and she looked at this official with disappointment. How could this be her Shao Yong? The matron looked at Da Xi's expression and smiled inwardly.
To solve the immediate problem, Da Xi suddenly hugged the eunuch who came to deliver the brocade and cried, randomly recognizing him as her father. But then she thought, how could a eunuch have given birth to her? Could it be that she was adopted? Her fate was so bitter!
Da Xi cried and made a fuss, hugging the eunuch and then hugging the Shao Yong in front of her, asking if this big brother had also come to be a eunuch. After being disturbed by her like this, Shao Yong finally couldn't help but leave. At this time, the matron asked Da Xi with a wicked smile, "Isn't this your Shao Yong?" Da Xi was holding a broom, sitting on the steps, thinking about her dream lover.
At this time, the matron came out and asked her why she wasn't working, slacking off again. Just as she was about to punish her, the clever Da Xi pretended to be sad and told the matron that she had caused her so much trouble because she looked so much like her mother. Her mother had passed away early, and she was very naughty when she was young, always making her mother angry.
The reason she caused trouble was that she hoped to feel her mother's warmth when the matron scolded her. The matron was softened by her words and told her to rest well, arranging for other maids to help her with the work in her hands. However, this made the other maids unhappy. Why could Da Xi rest while they had to do her work? So, the other maids discussed how to punish her.
Before Da Xi went to the cafeteria to eat, the other maids took all the food, leaving none for her. Da Xi, whose stomach was rumbling with hunger, saw that there was still food in front of a maid. She thought it was left for her, but the maid said that the food was for the dog. She also said that if she was really hungry, she could wait for the dog to finish eating and eat the leftovers.
Da Xi had to endure and say that she wasn't hungry. In the evening, Da Xi returned to her bed and even burped. The other maids thought she had stolen food from the small kitchen, so they went to the matron to complain. Da Xi denied it. To prove her innocence, Da Xi led everyone to the pond, dug out lotus roots from the pond, and in a short time, roasted the lotus roots and distributed them to everyone.
Everyone ate and praised how delicious Da Xi made them. Inside the King's bedroom, the Consort was lying on the bed wrapped in a white robe, posing in various alluring positions, waiting for the King's arrival. Suddenly, she heard someone push the door open. The Consort eagerly ran to greet the King, but the King who came in was covered in blood, constantly shouting, "The rebels have invaded! Run!"
The Consort, seeing this, was startled and ran out, saying as she ran, "I'll go find reinforcements." After the Consort left, the King smiled bitterly, returned to normal, and called Shen Jia in. He lamented to Shen Jia, "Those women who said they would share life and death with Us, at the critical moment, didn't they abandon Us and run away?"
Da Xi was ordered to help the Empress Dowager deliver clothes, wanting to take this opportunity to find Shao Yong. Unfortunately, she broke into the forbidden area of the palace and was caught by the eunuch. The matron was furious and ordered the maids to beat her thirty times with a rod as a warning to others. In the evening, the matron came to Da Xi's side, comforted the beaten Da Xi, and gave her a map of the palace.
Da Xi was overjoyed looking at the map, feeling that the thirty lashes were worth it. Da Xi took the map and came to the palace wall, wanting to climb out with a rope. However, just as she climbed halfway, she was caught by the King. The King thought there were really rebels, grabbed the rope, and pulled it hard. Da Xi fell from the wall, landing right on top of the King.
Episode 2 Recap
Climbing over the palace wall, Da Xi was spotted by the passing king. Thinking there was a rebel, the king grabbed the rope and pulled hard. Da Xi fell from the wall, landing right on the king. At that moment, a lunar eclipse occurred, and amidst lightning and thunder, both of them glowed with golden light. They then fainted together. After the eclipse, they woke up together.
Da Xi looked at the king, wondering why he was wearing her clothes, and then touched herself, realizing she had turned into a man. The king was in the same situation, wondering why he was wearing a maid's clothes and had become a woman. Both cried out in confusion, unable to understand what was happening. Shen Jia, who was searching for the king, heard the noise and rushed over with guards.
Da Xi looked nervous, but Shen Jia addressed her as "Your Majesty." The king, however, was mistaken for a low-ranking maid. The king tried to explain, but Shen Jia accused him of insubordination and was about to arrest him. Seeing this, Da Xi felt relieved. " That's right, I've become the king now, who would recognize me? Of course, I'm in charge of this palace now."
So, Da Xi imitated the king's tone, pointed at the king, and said, "This person is insubordinate! Take him away and give him twenty lashes!" The king looked at his body, smiled wickedly, and told Da Xi, "Twenty lashes will hurt a lot, you know." Hearing this, Da Xi thought, "This is my body after all, it's me who will be beaten."
So, she changed her mind, deciding that if anyone was to be beaten, it should be the king's body, and decided to punish herself with twenty lashes instead. The king was taken to the inner palace and became a maid, doing Da Xi's work. Although in a woman's body, he exuded an aura of imperial authority. In the bathhouse, he overheard the maids discussing how the king had many consorts but few children, wondering if he had physical problems.
Hearing this, the king felt very angry and was about to stop them, but since he was now Da Xi, he had to endure it. Being with the maids, he couldn't even sleep peacefully. Our king is really suffering. The Consort saw that there were no rebels in the palace and wanted to return, but she had abandoned the King when disaster struck, so he must be very angry.
Not daring to go back directly, she sought out Shen Jia, hoping he could say some good words for her in front of the king. After the Consort's pleading, Shen Jia had no choice but to agree to help her. Da Xi was in the king's bedroom, looking around, feeling overjoyed at the sight. The Consort suddenly appeared and hugged her, scaring her and causing her to push the Consort away quickly.
Seeing that the king seemed to be rejecting her, the Consort began to undress, using seduction. But she didn't know that the king was now Da Xi, so how could she succeed with her charm? The Consort lunged into Da Xi's arms several times, but was pushed away each time. At this moment, a eunuch came in, saying that the bathwater was ready and inviting the king to bathe. Da Xi quickly took this opportunity to escape.
Arriving at the bathhouse, the eunuchs took good care of her. After the bath, it was time for dinner. Looking at the table full of imperial dishes, Da Xi felt that this was too extravagant. " The king eats so many dishes every day!" Her stomach couldn't wait. But when she took a bite, she spat it out. " How can it be so awful? If I don't fix this, how can I eat such terrible food every day?"
So, she went to the imperial kitchen. The cooks in the imperial kitchen heard that the king had spat out all the dishes tonight and thought disaster was coming. Each of them was afraid to raise their head. Unexpectedly, after Da Xi arrived at the imperial kitchen, she not only didn't blame the imperial cooks, but also personally cooked a table full of dishes and shared them with everyone.
It has to be said, Da Xi's cooking skills were simply amazing. Everyone ate with great pleasure, praising her skills endlessly. On the way back to the palace, Shen Jia was still hiccuping. Suddenly, Da Xi had a whim and asked Shen Jia to accompany her on a night patrol, specifically asking to go to where Shao Yong was stationed. Shen Jia brought Da Xi to Shao Yong.
Seeing Shao Yong, Da Xi looked at him with a lecherous expression, and even touched him from time to time. Seeing the king's actions today, Shao Yong and Shen Jia were confused, but didn't dare to say anything. Afterwards, Da Xi asked Shao Yong to escort her back.
She thought she could spend the night with her dream lover, but just as they arrived at the palace gate, Shao Yong found an excuse to run away before Da Xi could react. Da Xi felt helpless. At the morning court, facing the ministers' reports, Da Xi felt that being the king was not so easy. But if she turned back into a palace maid, how could she see Shao Yong openly and honestly in the future?
Shen Jia saw that the king was absent-minded, and reminded the king that Minister Wang had finished his report, and it was time for the king to give his instructions. Unexpectedly, Da Xi said, "What you said wasn't very good." "Next!" Minister Wang was about to retort, but Da Xi said, "Haven't you heard that if you're ugly, shut up?" Minister Wang was helpless and had to retreat. The ministers also looked at the king with confusion, some even lowered their heads and almost laughed out loud.
Episode 3 Recap
After Minister Wang retired, a young and handsome minister stepped forward to report. When the King looked at him, her eyes immediately lit up. With a frivolous expression and a mischievous smile, she asked him for his name, age, and if he had a family. The minister was bewildered by her question but dared not say much. He then told Da Xi that he already had a family, and that the King herself had personally bestowed the marriage.
Upon saying this, he couldn't help but worry that the King might steal his beloved. As the King had been neglecting state affairs recently, the ministers came to the Empress Dowager to complain. The Empress Dowager was furious after hearing this and went to the King's bedchamber. At this time, the King was sleeping. When the Empress Dowager saw that the King was still asleep, she became even more enraged. Shen Jia, seeing this, quickly woke Da Xi.
Da Xi saw the Empress Dowager and immediately scrambled to get up. The Empress Dowager severely reprimanded him and confined him to the Ancestral Temple. After Da Xi was confined to the Ancestral Temple, the Empress Dowager ordered people to carry the memorials inside. She also issued an order: if the King did not finish reviewing the memorials, she would not be allowed to drink water or eat meals.
This made Da Xi anxious, as he had no idea how to review these memorials. He suddenly thought of the King and ordered Shen Jia to fetch her. Since the maids had tasted Da Xi's cooking last time, they insisted on dragging Da Xi to the pondside, demanding he roast lotus roots for them.
But he had no idea how to do it, so he had to make an excuse that he wasn't feeling well and would roast them next time. What was even more annoying was that his skirt got burned by the fire. Returning to the inner palace, the King, who had never done any chores, knew nothing. She would break bowls even when carrying a basin, and was severely reprimanded by the nanny for it.
The other maids, observing Da Xi's abnormal behavior during this period, were perplexed and discussed it amongst themselves. The King's Consort came to the inner palace and saw the King, who had become like Da Xi, and greatly disliked her, even threatening to punish her with two hundred strokes of the rod. Just then, Shen Jia arrived to summon her, taking the King away and thus saving her from the two hundred strokes. The King arrived at the Ancestral Temple.
Da Xi ordered everyone else out, then pulled the King to the memorials, asking her to help review them. However, the King said that she was now a palace maid, so why should she help Da Xi? The clever Da Xi threatened to review the memorials haphazardly, damaging the King's reputation. The King, left with no choice, tried to snatch the memorials from Da Xi's hand. Unexpectedly, as the two pulled and tugged, the King accidentally fell onto Da Xi.
The two had intimate contact once again. At this moment, Shen Jia and the guards outside heard sounds and thought the two were having fun. Shen Jia feigned seriousness and admonished the guards, saying that they had seen nothing and heard nothing today, and were not to spread rumors outside. Then, he secretly laughed to himself. After Da Xi and the King threatened and argued with each other, the two reached an agreement.
They decided not to harm each other anymore, but to help each other, and to enfeoff Da Xi as the King's personal maid. This would also facilitate helping with state affairs. After the King finished reviewing the memorials for Da Xi, she presented them to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was very satisfied after reading them. Afterwards, Da Xi volunteered to personally prepare a sumptuous dinner for the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager tasted a few bites and highly praised his culinary skills. The King saw that Da Xi had been getting very close to the Empress Dowager recently and was particularly unhappy. She warned Da Xi to stay away from the Empress Dowager in the future, or not to blame her if anything happened, saying she hadn't warned him. Da Xi wanted to continue asking for the reason, but the King was unwilling to tell him.
Da Xi mused to himself, "Don't think that just because you won't tell me, I won't find out." So, after returning to the palace, Da Xi pretended to be unhappy. Shen Jia saw that Da Xi was in a bad mood and invited him to play a game. As a result, Da Xi intentionally let Shen Jia lose. A loser had to accept punishment.
Da Xi offered not to punish him, but needed Shen Jia to tell him about the relationship between the King and the Empress Dowager, also claiming it was to test Shen Jia's familiarity with him. Shen Jia roughly explained their relationship. The King, who was standing nearby, having become Da Xi, angrily walked out of the main hall after hearing this. Da Xi quickly chased after her, wanting to ease the relationship between the King and the Empress Dowager. Unfortunately, the King still wouldn't listen.
Episode 4 Recap
Da Xi wanted to ease the relationship between the King and the Empress Dowager, but unfortunately, the King wouldn't listen at all and even scolded her angrily. After scolding her, the King left without looking back. Da Xi, watching the King leave, had another fit of infatuation, thinking that even the way the King scolded people was so handsome.
In order to help the King and the Empress Dowager ease their mother-son relationship, Da Xi came to the Empress Dowager's palace to pay her respects. The Empress Dowager was overjoyed to see her son becoming so filial. Seeing the Empress Dowager happy, Da Xi seized the opportunity and told her that she would definitely be a good king who was diligent in administration and loved the people in the future. The Empress Dowager was very gratified after hearing this.
Da Xi returned to her palace and, seeing that the King hadn't gone to review the memorials today, went to the King's palace. She specially went to the kitchen to cook dishes to make the King happy. After the two had eaten, the King warned Da Xi that if she continued to get too close to the Empress Dowager, he would have to keep a distance from her. Da Xi was puzzled and pressed him for the reason.
The King, seeing that Da Xi was quite concerned about him, told her the reason. It turned out that after the King's father passed away, the Empress Dowager had an affair with the Regent. Once, the two of them were together and happened to be seen by the King. Because he had contradicted the Regent, the King was punished by the Empress Dowager to kneel. Sometimes, the Empress Dowager even hit himself in order to please the Regent.
As the King grew older, his power was still in the hands of the Empress Dowager. He then made up his mind to take back the power bit by bit. So he designed to kill the Regent and ordered his head to be sent to the Empress Dowager, wanting to see her reaction and take the opportunity to regain power.
Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager stumped the King with a few questions, which meant that he couldn't take back the power yet. After hearing this, Da Xi hugged the King, promising to keep a distance from the Empress Dowager in the future and to be a good king. The two frolicked for a while, and their relationship improved further. After court, Da Xi met the Empress Dowager halfway.
The Empress Dowager wanted to share some tasks for her son, but Da Xi thought that she had promised the King to keep a distance from the Empress Dowager, so she politely refused. The Empress Dowager noticed something unusual and thought that someone had made the King angry. She wanted to order a maid to investigate. The maid saw this and enlightened the Empress Dowager, so the Empress Dowager no longer pursued the matter.
Da Xi came to the training ground and saw Shao Yong training the soldiers. That posture, that movement, she was simply mesmerized. Da Xi couldn't control herself at all and reached out to touch Shao Yong whenever she had the chance. When she touched Shao Yong's hand, she instantly felt as if her whole body was paralyzed and couldn't extricate herself. Da Xi's actions also made Shao Yong very scared.
Shao Yong seemed very resistant and found an excuse to retreat away from the King. The poor Shao Yong was even ridiculed by several guards when he returned to his palace. The next day, when he went out to train, Shao Yong was restless, still thinking about what happened yesterday. Could it be that the King really wanted to plot against him? The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became.
But the more afraid you are, the more likely things are to happen. Here comes Da Xi again. When Shao Yong saw Da Xi, he was so nervous that he didn't dare to raise his head. After reluctantly greeting Da Xi, he found an excuse to go back to the training ground to demonstrate movements for the guards. Unexpectedly, due to lack of concentration, he accidentally slipped and fell to the ground, landing flat on his face.
Episode 5 Recap
Facing Shao Yong's sudden fall, Da Xi rushed over recklessly. Halfway there, the guards suddenly burst into laughter. Da Xi stopped. Shao Yong got up and severely reprimanded the guards, then turned and apologized to Da Xi. In Da Xi's heart, Shao Yong even looked handsome while scolding his subordinates. Unable to control herself for a moment, she took out a handkerchief to wipe Shao Yong's sweat and even took the opportunity to pounce on him.
Shao Yong was so frightened that he fled, stumbling and crawling. The flustered Shao Yong ran into a general and requested annual leave from him, using the excuse of going home for a blind date. Early the next morning, Da Xi deliberately wore sportswear and came to the training ground, but she couldn't find Master Shao Yong. A guard told Da Xi that Shao Yong had taken annual leave to go home and get married.
Upon hearing this, Da Xi despairingly dismissed the guards. She sat alone on the training ground, letting the rain beat down on her. The King saw that Da Xi hadn't returned all night, and quickly told Shen Jia to go look for her. As soon as Shen Jia left, Da Xi, soaking wet, returned. She fainted as soon as she entered the door. The guards quickly called for the imperial physician. At this moment, the Empress Dowager felt uneasy.
A maid reported that the King had fainted. Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager rushed to see the King, seeing her son unconscious in bed. The Empress Dowager slapped Shen Jia hard and blamed him for not taking good care of the King. The King, standing nearby, greeted the Empress Dowager and then told her that, for the King's condition, he requested her to come to Longde Palace. Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's face darkened with rage.
She wanted to say something but swallowed her words, instructing Da Xi to serve the King well, otherwise she would be held accountable. After the Empress Dowager left, the King stayed by Da Xi's bedside all night. He fell asleep without realizing it. When Da Xi woke up in the middle of the night, looking at the King by the bed, she couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and sadness.
Then she put on her clothes and walked towards the Empress Dowager's bedchamber. The Empress Dowager returned to her bedchamber, unable to sleep. She played the zither all night. Seeing her son arrive, she felt an inexplicable emotion. But after Da Xi saw the Empress Dowager, she turned to leave. The Empress Dowager quickly stopped her, intending to tell him (the King) everything that had happened in the past few years.
It turned out that after the late King passed away, the regent was ambitious, contacting ministers everywhere, wanting to seize power. At that time, the King was still young and naive. The Empress Dowager knew that the regent would certainly not spare the King. To protect the King, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to humble herself and approach the regent. She even went so far as to sell her own body.
At the same time, the Empress Dowager also hosted a banquet to get the regent drunk. From his mouth, she extracted information about his trusted aides and eliminated them one by one.
Episode 6 Recap
Da Xi understood everything after hearing the Empress Dowager's words. It turned out that the Empress Dowager did all that entirely for the King, to preserve the Ji family's dynasty. And with the Empress Dowager having revealed the secret in her heart, the burden she carried was finally lifted. Da Xi returned to the palace and spoke with the King alone. After all, she should tell the King everything.
Although the King was unwilling to listen, the information still reached his ears, but the King seemed to be skeptical. To let the King know the Empress Dowager's true feelings for him, Da Xi took the King out for a walk. In the garden, they encountered the Empress Dowager, who feigned a fainting spell.
She deliberately had the imperial physician announce in front of everyone that to cure the King's illness, the blood of his closest relative was needed as a medicinal primer for him to recover. Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager, without a word, drew a dagger and cut her own wrist, using her blood as the medicinal primer to save the King. The King witnessed everything, and his prejudice against the Empress Dowager gradually dissipated.
After the Empress Dowager left, the King followed her and asked why she would use her own blood to save him. The Empress Dowager's answer made the King feel a mother's love he had never experienced before. When the King learned that Da Xi had orchestrated for the Empress Dowager to use her blood as a medicinal primer to save him, to make him see the Empress Dowager's true feelings for him, he angrily went to find Da Xi.
After all, he was still worried about the Empress Dowager's health, and the method Da Xi used was too dangerous. Da Xi, upon seeing the King come to her, teased him a bit, but it was clear from their conversation that Da Xi's method was quite effective. Although the King verbally denied the Empress Dowager's true feelings for him, he had already acknowledged them in his heart.
Seeing the King's relationship with his mother soften, Da Xi remembered losing her own mother when she was very young, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. The King saw Da Xi's sorrow and embraced her. Just then, the Consort happened to pass by and witnessed this scene. Her temper instantly flared up, and she tried every possible way to make things difficult for Da Xi. This was precisely when the King happened upon them.
The King immediately saw that the Consort was teasing Da Xi. Although the Consort was relentless, the King did not punish Da Xi. To stop the Consort's mischief, the King promised to let her come to Longde Hall at Wei Shi in the future. The next day at Wei Shi, the Consort joyfully ran into Longde Hall. Da Xi took one look at her attire, which resembled that of a courtesan, and told her to go back and change. The Consort, helpless, had no choice but to go back and change her outfit. Her new attire looked much more dignified, but every word she spoke carried a flirtatious charm.
Episode 7 Recap
Da Xi painstakingly explained to the royal consort how to be a good woman, hoping to train her into the King's preferred type, but the royal consort fell asleep on the ground before she even finished half of it. After she finished speaking and sent the royal consort back, and after the royal consort left, suddenly, the King felt a stomach ache. He looked down at his crotch and saw it was stained with blood.
Da Xi took one look and burst out laughing, realizing it was her own menstruation. As a man, the King was very anxious about experiencing this for the first time, even muttering to himself if he would die from bleeding every month. Da Xi found items women use during menstruation and told him what to pay attention to during this time. Unexpectedly, this scene was witnessed by the royal consort.
While the King was absent, the royal consort fabricated a royal decree, arrested Da Xi, and threatened to ruin her appearance by holding a knife to her face. The King, who understood this concubine quite well, told the royal consort how unruly, willful, selfish, and self-serving she was in the King's heart. The royal consort didn't believe him and insisted on bringing Da Xi to the King to confront him.
When Da Xi learned that the royal consort intended to disfigure her, she severely reprimanded the royal consort and ordered Shen Jia to send her away. Shao Yong was walking on the street when he heard a woman crying for help. He saw that the young woman's horse seemed to be startled and was running wildly on the street, about to fall. Without a second thought, Shao Yong leaped into action and rescued the young woman from her horse.
A scene of a hero saving a beauty thus unfolded. As expected, the young woman fell in love at first sight with her savior. After confirming that her savior was of a similar age and had no family, she decided to offer herself to him. Just then, the maidservant behind her caught up and called her Zong Ji, only then did everyone realize that this was actually Zong Ji, the reigning King's sister.
However, Shao Yong told Zong Ji that important matters like marriage should be decided by one's parents, so he invited the princess to his home to meet his mother. Shao Yong's mother was overjoyed to meet Zong Ji, but how could Zong Ji, being a royal relative, get used to living in an ordinary commoner's home? She demanded Shao Yong renovate the house within 7 days.
Shao Yong seemed rather hesitant, but his mother, seeing such a beautiful prospective daughter-in-law, of course, wouldn't miss such an opportunity and readily agreed. After spending a few days together, Zong Ji's arrogant and conceited temper gradually revealed itself. Shao Yong also gradually couldn't stand her bad temper and no longer wanted to associate with her. After Shao Yong rejected Zong Ji, Zong Ji became very angry and wanted the King to punish Shao Yong.
However, she didn't know that Shao Yong was Da Xi's dream lover, and at this moment, the King was none other than Da Xi herself. How could she punish him? When Da Xi learned that Shao Yong had returned and not married, her heart blossomed with joy. She couldn't control herself and went to hold Shao Yong's hand again, but Shao Yong strongly resisted, threatening to die if Da Xi came near him again.
Da Xi, having no choice, reluctantly agreed. Da Xi returned to the palace, extremely excited. Upon meeting the King, she immediately asked him to help her pursue Shao Yong. However, the King refused to help in any way. But Da Xi, in order to get the King's help, meticulously tried to please him every day. What she didn't know was that, during their time together, the King had already fallen in love with her. How could he possibly help her pursue another man?
Episode 8 Recap
To curry favor with the King, the Consort tried every possible method. However, Da Xi was solely focused on pursuing Shao Yong and had no time to entertain her, so she feigned a stomachache and slipped away. Da Xi went to the King, telling him how she engaged in "those kinds of activities" with girls outside. She wanted to warn the King that if he didn't help her pursue Shao Yong, she would ruin his reputation as a virtuous king.
Hearing this, the King approached her with a wicked smile. Da Xi, seeing the King's lecherous expression, backed away repeatedly in fright. She accidentally tripped on a step and fell to the ground, instinctively covering her chest with both hands. The King chuckled mischievously, "Did you cover the wrong place? You should cover below." No matter what Da Xi did, the King refused to help her.
So, during the morning court, Da Xi used the excuse of dreaming about a dance and led the ministers in dancing in the main hall. It was clearly meant for the King to see, implying that if he didn't agree to help her pursue Shao Yong, she would use many methods to ruin his reputation. The King couldn't stand it anymore and dragged her back to Longde Palace.
He also threatened to disfigure her, hoping Da Xi would stop threatening him. Hearing the King's threat of disfigurement, Da Xi left angrily. After Da Xi left, the King also began to blame himself, thinking, "After all, she's just a girl. How can a real man argue seriously with her?" After being rejected by Shao Yong, Zong Ji felt very distressed and angry.
She wanted to ask the Empress Dowager to issue an imperial decree, forcing Shao Yong to marry her. But as soon as she reached the entrance of the Empress Dowager's chambers, she overheard the Empress Dowager and a maid discussing finding a suitable imperial clan girl to marry into a foreign tribe, but they hadn't found one yet. Hearing this, Zong Ji dared not move forward. She certainly didn't want to marry into a foreign tribe.
Zong Ji pulled her maid and ran to the training ground to find Shao Yong. Shao Yong saw Zong Ji's arrival, knew trouble was coming, and pretended to faint. Zong Ji, having no other choice, ordered her men to carry Lord Shao back. Back at his residence, Shao Yong's guards were puzzled. Back then, Shao Yong had rescued Zong Ji like a hero, and she fell in love with him at first sight. Why were they now acting like enemies?
Shao Yong sighed, saying that Zong Ji's status was noble, and he couldn't aspire to marry her. He would rather be punished than be involved with Zong Ji again. After Zong Ji returned to her manor, she was very unwilling to give up, so she summoned all the matchmakers in the capital, intending to propose directly to Shao Yong's family. But Zong Ji's demands were too high, which put the matchmakers in a difficult position.
The maid took out silver and told the matchmakers that Zong Ji had taken a liking to Madame Shao's only son. Whoever could make this happen would get the silver. All the matchmakers eagerly went to Shao Yong to propose, but Shao Yong would run away whenever he saw them. Zong Ji knew that inviting matchmakers was useless, so she devised a plan to capture Shao Yong, intending to force herself upon him.
But Shao Yong refused to yield even unto death. Due to Shao Yong's fierce struggle, the bed curtains fell to the ground. The high and mighty Zong Ji saw this and became very angry, thinking, "How can I consummate my marriage in such a dilapidated place?" Shao Yong also took this opportunity to escape from Zong Ji's clutches. Shao Yong, Da Xi, and Zong Ji passed by the training ground at the same time.
When Da Xi saw Shao Yong, she couldn't control her inner ecstasy and confessed her feelings to Shao Yong in front of everyone. Everyone looked at the King with incredulity, and Zong Ji was so angry her face turned green. At this moment, the King, who had turned into Da Xi, also felt a pang of jealousy. He walked over, pulled Da Xi, and walked forward.
Episode 9 Recap
Ji Man watched Da Xi confess to Shao Yong and was very angry. At the same time, he blamed Da Xi for ruining his reputation in public. He walked over and pulled Da Xi away. Wu Shuang Zong Ji, who was on the side, also felt uncomfortable. Ji Man pulled Da Xi to the corridor. Seeing that there was no one nearby, he questioned her why she did this. The two argued with each other and started to quarrel.
In the end, Ji Man had no choice but to agree to continue helping Da Xi pursue Shao Yong, while also requiring Da Xi not to ruin his reputation in the future. Shao Yong, feeling uneasy, returned to his residence, but was ridiculed by his companions. Shao Yong was very angry and wanted to go out for some fresh air. Before he could leave, Da Xi walked in with Ji Man.
When Shao Yong saw Da Xi, he firmly told her that if the King continued to pressure him like this, he would rather die. Da Xi quickly explained that she was actually confessing to him on behalf of her palace maid, Da Xi, because Da Xi was virtuous and beautiful, so she wanted to help her achieve a happy marriage. After hearing this, Shao Yong felt much relieved.
According to the King's will, Shao Yong took Ji Man to the courtyard for a walk, while Da Xi secretly followed behind to eavesdrop. Shao Yong had never been alone with a girl before and didn't know what to talk about. In his nervousness, he asked Ji Man what she usually liked. Ji Man told him that she liked martial arts, so the two started sparring. Ji Man knocked Shao Yong to the ground.
Da Xi saw this and quickly ran out, looking very angry at Ji Man, and demanded that Ji Man apologize. Ji Man had no choice but to apologize first, and told Da Xi that it was her first time being a girl, and she didn't know what girls should do when they were with each other. After hearing this, Da Xi began to teach Ji Man how to become a gentle woman, but Ji Man seemed unwilling to cooperate.
Early the next morning, Da Xi came to Ji Man's room to dress her, wash her face, and give her a massage, and told Ji Man to do the same for Shao Yong, while also teaching her how to create a romantic atmosphere and cultivate feelings with Shao Yong. Ji Man asked Da Xi why she liked Shao Yong.
Da Xi told him that men are all potential unfaithful people, so it's better to find a handsome one than an ugly one. Ji Man held his chin, thinking that he was quite handsome, so why didn't Da Xi like him? Da Xi told him that he had Ni Shang, and a lot of Consort Jin and Consort Yin around him, so he was an out-and-out unfaithful man. Ji Man came to the training ground and saw Shao Yong.
He apologized for hurting Shao Yong last time. Da Xi was worried and still followed behind to spy. Seeing that Ji Man had stabilized Shao Yong, she felt particularly happy. At the same time, Ji Man gave her a victory gesture. Suddenly, Da Xi was hit from behind by someone and fainted. When she woke up, she found herself tied up in front of the Empress Dowager.
She thought her identity had been exposed, but she didn't expect Wu Shuang Zong Ji to be here as well, and it was she who reported to the Empress Dowager about the confession to Shao Yong last time. The Empress Dowager thought Da Xi had a problem with her sexual orientation, so she arrested her and locked her in the Ancestral Hall.
When Da Xi was locked in the Ancestral Hall, there were all kinds of women, beautiful, ugly, fat, and thin. Seeing her come in, they pounced on her like hungry wolves. Ji Man was walking with Shao Yong, trying several times to hold Shao Yong's hand, but Shao Yong dodged it every time. Ji Man asked Shao Yong what kind of girl he liked, and according to Shao Yong's answer, he drew a picture of the girl on the wall.
It was exactly like Wu Shuang Zong Ji. Ji Man didn't understand. Shao Yong clearly liked Wu Shuang Zong Ji, but why did he reject her? Shao Yong told his inner thoughts. Wu Shuang Zong Ji had been pampered since she was a child, and she was high above the ground. She couldn't stand hardship and was particularly concerned about face. He felt that she was like a master, not a wife.
Ji Man told Shao Yong that if he liked Wu Shuang Zong Ji, he could tolerate everything about her. Don't look at Wu Shuang Zong Ji's high and mighty appearance, but her background is actually very pitiful. It turned out that when Wu Shuang Zong Ji's father, Dongling King, passed by a forest, he encountered her mother, Xuehu, being bullied by a group of hooligans. He stepped forward to drive away the hooligans and saved Xuehu.
The two fell in love at first sight. Dongling King brought Xuehu to the mansion and married her. But as soon as Xuehu was pregnant, Dongling King went to the battlefield because of the war, and he was gone for several years. When Dongling King returned in triumph, Xuehu was dead, leaving only a lonely Wu Shuang Zong Ji.
Episode 10 Recap
Because her parents were not around, Wushuang Zongji was often bullied. When the King of Dongling found out, he was furious. How could the daughter of the King of Dongling be bullied? He ordered Wushuang Zongji to change her situation and show the dignity of a princess. From then on, Wushuang Zongji was trained to become an arrogant and willful person. After hearing this, Shao Yong’s view of Wushuang changed drastically, but changing her personality was extremely difficult.
Seeing Shao Yong’s concern, Ji Man promised to help Wushuang Zongji get rid of her bad temper. On the way back to the palace, Ji Man overheard several eunuchs gossiping that the King had been locked in the Ancestral Hall and was surrounded by all kinds of beautiful women. Upon hearing this, Ji Man hurried to the Ancestral Hall, where the Empress Dowager was already standing outside.
The maid opened the door, and Da Xi came out holding several women in her arms. Standing before the Empress Dowager, Da Xi declared that she still preferred women. At that moment, the stone in Wushuang Zongji’s heart was finally lifted—the King had returned to normal, and no one would compete with her for Shao Yong anymore. Ji Man was furious at the scene before him.
He had guarded his virginity for so many years, intending to give it wholeheartedly to the woman he loved, yet it was now gone just like that. When Da Xi learned that Ji Man was still a virgin, she couldn’t stop laughing. Ji Man continued to question her about what had happened inside the Ancestral Hall. Da Xi told him that nothing had actually happened—after all, she was a woman, and a woman seeing another woman felt no desire.
Instead, she had reached some kind of agreement with those women, making them follow her arrangements. Da Xi eagerly asked Ji Man how things were progressing between him and Shao Yong. Ji Man told her that things were going quite well. So Da Xi began to teach Ji Man how to kiss Shao Yong. During their practice, Da Xi’s lips accidentally touched Ji Man’s, and both immediately felt awkward, then went their separate ways.
Back in her chamber, Da Xi looked at Ji Man’s body in the mirror, thinking that the King’s body was indeed quite good-looking. Comparing Ji Man’s body with Shao Yong’s, she found Shao Yong even more handsome. Gradually, she became intoxicated by the charm of both men and began dancing in delight, startling Shen Jia, who stood nearby, utterly puzzled.
To help Wushuang Zongji change her current arrogant and willful behavior and to bring about her marriage with Shao Yong, Ji Man asked Da Xi for assistance. Using the excuse that Wushuang Zongji had slandered the King, they imprisoned her among the slaves and pretended that it was to help Da Xi pursue Shao Yong.
Da Xi thought that if Wushuang Zongji were locked away, no one would compete with her for Shao Yong, so she agreed with Ji Man’s plan. After Wushuang Zongji was imprisoned, both the guards and the slaves there held great resentment toward her. They made things difficult for her at every turn, forced her to do hard labor, sometimes denied her food, and even physically bullied her.
During her time in the prison, Wushuang Zongji gradually became gentle, courteous, and kind. Seeing her transformation from outside, Shao Yong felt pity for her and asked Ji Man to release her, but Ji Man told him that the time had not yet come.
Episode 11 Recap
Ji Man told Shao Yong that he wanted Wu Shuangzong Ji to feel grateful to him before releasing her. Shao Yong was very worried about Wu Shuangzong Ji and pestered Ji Man to quickly find a way. Da Xi saw Shao Yong and Ji Man pulling and tugging, mistakenly thinking that the two had developed an ambiguous relationship. She was especially happy and wanted to thank Ji Man, so she made something delicious for him.
The two ate happily together, feeding each other a bite. Passing maids saw this and were envious, gossiping about it behind their backs. The Empress Dowager summoned the King's four consorts to understand whether the King had recently spent the night with any of them. She asked the four consorts some questions. After the Q&A session, the Empress Dowager was very angry with the four consorts' answers.
She didn't expect these four consorts to be so useless, none of them were able to capture the King's heart. She warned the four consorts that if they failed to win the King's heart again, they would be expelled from the palace. After speaking, the Empress Dowager got up and returned to her palace. On the way, she encountered several maids gossiping about Da Xi and the King's relationship.
The Empress Dowager ordered someone to investigate Da Xi's background, and found out that Da Xi was an orphan and a cook. The Empress Dowager disliked Da Xi's background, but under the guidance of a palace maid, she agreed to Da Xi as a candidate for consort, but needed to train her.
She summoned Ji Man and asked Ji Man to come to Phoenix Palace at mao shi (5-7 am) every day to learn the rules until he passed the test. On his first day of learning the rules at Phoenix Palace, Ji Man was late. Qiu Shui reminded him that punctuality was a must. She hit Ji Man's palm a few times with a ruler to show the punishment for being late.
After the punishment, Qiu Shui began to teach Ji Man palace etiquette, but just as she started, Ji Man remembered that he had an appointment with Shao Yong, so he said he had an appointment and had to leave. But Qiu Shui didn't let him go, saying that he could only leave after learning the rules. Ji Man briefly did some palace etiquette, and even did some things that Qiu Shui hadn't even taught yet, very standardly.
Qiu Shui was very surprised after seeing this, after all, she didn't know that Da Xi was Ji Man at this time, so she let Ji Man leave. After Ji Man left Phoenix Palace, he came to see Shao Yong and told Shao Yong that only the King's pardon could free Wu Shuangzong Ji from the slave labor.
What he needed to do now was to find a way to get the King to pardon Wu Shuangzong Ji, and also make Zong Ji feel that Shao Yong had pleaded for her. Suddenly, a guard came to report that Wu Shuangzong Ji had been injured in the slave labor. Da Xi and Shao Yong rushed to the slave labor.
Shao Yong saw Wu Shuangzong Ji lying on the ground and wanted to help her work, but Wu Shuangzong Ji refused. Shao Yong had no choice but to ask the warden to take care of Wu Shuang, but the warden said he needed money to bribe him before he would help. Shao Yong felt his body and had no silver on him. He thought of borrowing from Ji Man.
In order to test Shao Yong's heart for Wu Shuangzong Ji, Ji Man pretended to have no money, and also gave Shao Yong an idea, asking Shao Yong to help the eunuchs and maids with their work to earn monthly money. But no matter what Shao Yong did, Ji Man deliberately made things difficult for him, making him unable to do it well.
After several tests, Ji Man determined that Shao Yong was a reliable person and felt relieved to hand Wu Shuang over to him. At the same time, he also arranged for people from the slave labor to help take care of Wu Shuang. At night, Wu Shuangzong Ji saw Shao Yong's conversation with the slaves and learned that this was all a set-up deliberately set by Shao Yong to help her change her savage character.
At this time, Ji Man came over and told Wu Shuangzong Ji that Shao Yong went to work hard for her, regardless of everything. After hearing this, Wu Shuangzong Ji's tears couldn't help but burst out. Ji Man called Shao Yong to the training ground. Ji Man walked to Da Xi's side and offered her a plan, asking Da Xi to compete with Shao Yong in riding, and then pretend to fall off her horse.
Shao Yong would definitely save her. In order to repay Shao Yong's life-saving grace, she would promise Shao Yong a condition. Shao Yong would definitely ask the King to betroth Da Xi to him. Wouldn't Shao Yong then be easily obtained? Da Xi was very happy after hearing this and agreed to Ji Man. But as a result, Shao Yong's request was not what Ji Man said, but to release Wu Shuangzong Ji and betroth Wu Shuangzong Ji to him.
Da Xi wanted to refuse, but Ji Man walked over and added, "A king's words are final, you can't go back on your word." Da Xi had no choice but to agree. Seeing that the plan was successful, Ji Man and Shao Yong made a gesture of success, which happened to be seen by Da Xi. Da Xi angrily returned to Longde Hall.
Episode 12 Recap
Ji Man came to the Longde Hall, wanting to explain to Da Xi, but at this time, the angry Da Xi couldn't listen at all. Ji Man had no choice but to leave. As soon as Ji Man left, the Empress Dowager summoned Da Xi to the Fengluan Hall, wanting to betroth Da Xi to Ji Man. Because of Da Xi's humble birth, although she couldn't be the Queen, it was still possible to be named a Consort.
However, the King's other Consorts disagreed, saying that Da Xi was talentless and incompetent, so how could she be named a Consort. In order to appease the people, the Empress Dowager summoned Ji Man and asked the Consorts to compete with him. If Ji Man lost in any competition, the matter of naming Da Xi a Consort would be dropped. Ji Man won every battle, and everyone dared not say anything more. However, Da Xi stood up and disagreed.
In a fit of anger, the Empress Dowager threatened that if Da Xi didn't agree, she would kill her. Da Xi had no choice but to agree for now. In this way, Da Xi and Ji Man inexplicably got married. After the ceremony, Shen Jia asked the two of them to go to the bridal chamber. Obviously, Da Xi was very unwilling. Shen Jia reminded Da Xi to take care of herself and then withdrew.
After Shen Jia left, Da Xi questioned Ji Man about what he was up to, but Ji Man said that Da Xi was the one up to something. Then, Ji Man gave Da Xi an idea: if she didn't want Shao Yong to go to Wushuang, she could make things difficult for them, such as issuing an order for Shao Yong to marry Da Xi.
If Shao Yong didn't agree, then she would withdraw the decree of betrothing Wushuang to Shao Yong. If he agreed, then Da Xi could be with Shao Yong. Although Da Xi felt that this was very shameless, in order to marry Shao Yong, she still asked Ji Man how to do it.
Ji Man told Da Xi the method and demanded that Da Xi demote him to a palace maid; otherwise, how could she bestow her own Consort to someone else. The next day, Da Xi summoned Shao Yong and demanded that Shao Yong marry her, but Shao Yong refused. Despite the tempting conditions that Da Xi offered, Shao Yong would rather die than marry Da Xi.
Seeing Shao Yong's infatuation with Wushuang, Da Xi wanted to make a bet with Shao Yong to confirm whether Wushuang was equally loyal to Shao Yong. If she was, then she would agree to their marriage; otherwise, Shao Yong would have to marry Da Xi. Shao Yong agreed to make this bet with Da Xi. Da Xi brought Wushuang and four handsome men, and asked Wushuang to choose one. But Wushuang didn't choose any of them.
The King had clearly betrothed her to Shao Yong, so how could he go back on his word? Da Xi threatened Wushuang that she had to choose one, whether she wanted to or not. Shao Yong must be Da Xi's husband; otherwise, Shao Yong would be killed. After hearing this, Wushuang was particularly nervous for Shao Yong and said that as long as Shao Yong lived, she was willing to do anything.
After hearing this, Da Xi agreed to give Shao Yong another chance. For the sake of Shao Yong, Wushuang Zongji reluctantly advised Shao Yong to give up on her and choose Da Xi, even threatening Shao Yong with her life. But no matter what, Shao Yong was unwilling to give up Wushuang. Da Xi and the King were deeply moved by this scene.
Da Xi also saw that Shao Yong didn't have her in his heart at all and couldn't help but shed tears. Ji Man came to find Wushuang, telling Zongji that as long as Zongji was alive, Shao Yong would not give up. At the same time, he handed the prepared poison to Wushuang. For the sake of Shao Yong, Wushuang decided to sacrifice herself, took the poison, and drank it.
Not long after, she vomited blood and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Da Xi immediately ran over and blamed Ji Man for killing Wushuang. Ji Man took the opportunity to exploit the situation, saying that Da Xi had said that she would marry Shao Yong at any cost, but now she was afraid. Da Xi ran back to Longde Hall in a panic, muttering that she didn't intentionally kill Wushuang.
Shao Yong heard Da Xi's words and ran out in grief. Seeing Wushuang's body, he felt heartbroken and told Ji Man to tell the King that even if he died, he would not marry Da Xi. After speaking, he picked up the remaining poison that Wushuang had drunk and drank it all.
Episode 13 Recap
Wu Shuang and Shao Yong both fell to the ground due to the suspended animation drug. Da Xi mistakenly believed that it was because of her that the two lost their lives, feeling extremely remorseful. She held their bodies and pleaded with Ji Man to save them, declaring that she would no longer pester Shao Yong to marry him. Seeing his goal achieved, Ji Man took out the antidote and had them swallow it.
After taking the antidote, Shao Yong and Wu Shuang awoke from their state of suspended animation, embracing and pouring out their hearts to each other. Ji Man explained that all of this was merely to test their feelings. The two happily supported each other as they departed. Da Xi then realized she had fallen into Ji Man's trap. She angrily slapped Ji Man and ran back to her bedchamber.
Ji Man chased her back to the bedchamber, persuading Da Xi to give up Shao Yong and find her true happiness. Da Xi, however, felt that with the palace full of eunuchs, where could her own happiness be? Unexpectedly, Ji Man confessed his feelings to her. Da Xi was momentarily at a loss. Ji Man did not force Da Xi to respond to his feelings, but instead gave her enough time to process his emotions.
Ji Man, in Da Xi's body, offered blessings to Shao Yong and Wu Shuang, inadvertently mentioning that he also wished to find his one true love in this life. Ji Man had said this very sentence to Wu Shuang when she was a child. Wu Shuang then formed a bold conjecture: she suspected that Ji Man and Da Xi had swapped bodies. Shao Yong heard her conjecture and laughed aloud.
He suspected Wu Shuang was too tired and experiencing delusions, so he didn't take it to heart. Consort Ni Shang, who was secretly eavesdropping from the shadows, couldn't help but take it to heart. Da Xi went to the cold palace alone and encountered Ji Man. She mistakenly thought she had seen a ghost and quickly covered her head in fear. Only after confirming it was Ji Man did she feel relieved.
Ji Man told Da Xi that this place was riddled with traps, and one careless move could be fatal. After he finished speaking, Da Xi heard a sound and asked Ji Man if he heard anything. Ji Man seized the opportunity to scare her, telling her she had stepped on a trap and that once triggered, it would be irreversible. Hearing this, Da Xi was so terrified that she quickly begged Ji Man to save her.
As they pulled and tugged, they accidentally fell to the ground together, and this scene was witnessed by Consort Ni Shang. After Da Xi returned to the palace, Consort Ni Shang went to Longde Palace to test Ji Man. Da Xi's responses were full of loopholes, which further fueled Consort Ni Shang's suspicions. Ji Man tried to help her respond from the side, but Consort Ni Shang had him imprisoned for usurping authority.
Consort Ni Shang was not willing to let it go. The next morning, she falsely issued a royal decree, claiming Ji Man was gravely ill, and invited all ministers to Longde Palace to report on state affairs. Although the ministers harbored doubts, they still dared not defy the royal command and came to Longde Palace. Fortunately, Ji Man had previously informed Da Xi of some of Longde Palace's rules, enabling Da Xi to respond calmly and avoid embarrassment.
Da Xi realized this was Consort Ni Shang's scheme and ordered Consort Ni Shang to be imprisoned for a month and receive fifty strokes with a rod. When Ji Man returned in the evening, he ate the dinner Da Xi had personally prepared, feeling very happy. He couldn't help but kiss Da Xi. Da Xi's heart pounded. She shyly ran to the side of the bed. Ji Man mistakenly thought she was angry and was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, Da Xi called out to him, and only then did he realize Da Xi was not angry. Happily, he bumped into the table. After receiving her punishment, Consort Ni Shang was not willing to give up. She went to the Empress Dowager's palace and informed the Empress Dowager that the current King was not the true King. The Empress Dowager was very shocked.
Consort Ni Shang then laid out all her suspicions, stating that the current King knew nothing about the palace, whereas Da Xi was intimately familiar with palace affairs. Although the Empress Dowager dared not believe it, she still decided to test the two.
Episode 14 Recap
Ji Man realized that Ni Shang had discovered the unusual circumstances between him and Da Xi. To ensure their safety, Ji Man pulled Da Xi out of bed early in the morning and explained some palace affairs and things she needed to understand to her. Da Xi did not expect that the Empress Dowager would really believe Ni Shang's one-sided story and summon her and Ji Man to Fengluan Palace.
Although the Empress Dowager did not directly reveal her suspicions, she asked Da Xi several questions. Da Xi was not the real Ji Man, so naturally, she could not answer them perfectly. In the end, Ji Man hinted to Da Xi to feign a faint, and she was sent back to Longde Palace. But all this had aroused the Empress Dowager's suspicion.
The Empress Dowager sent people to find a sorcerer to exorcise evil spirits and ward off evil, and ordered Qiushui to guard the palace gate, forbidding anyone to leave. After returning to Longde Palace, Ji Man dismissed the palace servants and woke Da Xi up. Both of them were now in a dangerous situation, and the best option was to leave the palace to avoid the limelight.
So Ji Man had Da Xi order a secret tour, but they were stopped by Qiushui at the palace gate. Ji Man fought with the guards with Da Xi. Both of them fell to the ground together. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a golden light passed. The two of them actually swapped bodies back at this moment. Da Xi happily hugged Ji Man's arm.
Ji Man was very happy internally, but to save face, he stubbornly put on a proud and aloof demeanor. Ji Man's aura made Qiushui feel that this was indeed the King, and wondered why Concubine Ni Shang would be suspicious of the King. Ji Man did not delay and rushed straight to the Empress Dowager's bedchamber with Da Xi. The Empress Dowager pressed him on why he wanted to take Da Xi on a private tour out of the palace.
Ji Man explained that it was to observe the people's conditions and also to help Da Xi alleviate her homesickness. To verify his identity, the Empress Dowager asked three questions, and Ji Man answered all of them. Only then did the Empress Dowager believe that Ji Man was her son and ordered Ni Shang to be confined to the Cold Palace. Ji Man returned to Longde Palace with Da Xi, dismissed everyone else, and happily hugged Da Xi.
He could finally embrace the complete Da Xi. Da Xi did not expect that the usually proper Ji Man would act like a rogue. Ji Man playfully caused Da Xi to fall onto him. Their eyes met, and everything was unspoken. Ji Man pulled Da Xi into his arms and passionately kissed her. Ni Shang was confined to the Cold Palace but still pounded on the doors and windows, clamoring to see Ji Man and the Empress Dowager.
After being refused by the eunuch guarding the Cold Palace gate, she then said she wanted to see Da Xi. The eunuch of the Cold Palace accepted a bribe and conveyed the message to Da Xi. After his morning court session, Ji Man received snacks brought by his subordinates. He heard that Da Xi had gone to the Cold Palace to see Ni Shang.
As Ni Shang was probably sinister and cunning, he worried that Da Xi might suffer, so Ji Man rushed to the Cold Palace without even eating. On the way, he met Da Xi returning from the Cold Palace. After confirming that Da Xi was not injured, Ji Man finally felt relieved. Ji Man pressed her on what Ni Shang had said, and Da Xi revealed a portion of Ni Shang's words.
Da Xi knew that Ni Shang had not given up the palace's luxurious life, and even less so, given up Ji Man. But although Da Xi sympathized with Ni Shang, she would not hand over her man, especially since this man was Ji Man, whom she liked.
Episode 15 Recap
Da Xi has always been puzzled by one thing: why does Ni Shang always feel that Ji Man is biased against her? Ji Man then explained the matter in detail. It turned out that he would conduct a test on every concubine he took. That day, he pretended that there were rebel soldiers invading and wanted to take Ni Shang away, but Ni Shang actually ran away by herself, which caused Ji Man and Da Xi to switch bodies.
As for why there is such a test, it has to start from that year. When Ji Man was sixteen years old, he was taken to a brothel by the regent. Under the regent's arrangement, Ji Man fell in love with a brothel woman named Ru Mei at first sight. Ji Man's love sprouted, and the next day, he ran to the Empress Dowager and said that he wanted to take a concubine.
After learning of Ru Mei's identity, the Empress Dowager did not show disgust or opposition, but just told Ji Man that this brothel woman had seen countless people and was very thoughtful, so Ji Man must not be deceived. Ji Man confidently stated that he and Ru Mei were in love with each other. Ji Man ran to the brothel to tell Ru Mei that his family had gone bankrupt and his father had been hunted down.
He now had nothing, but he would definitely redeem Ru Mei. Ji Man naively thought that Ru Mei would definitely leave with him. Unexpectedly, after only a few days, when he came to redeem Ru Mei with money, Ru Mei had already hooked up with a wealthy Young Master Wang. Ji Man pulled Ru Mei outside the door and questioned Ru Mei about the reason.
Ru Mei claimed that she had had enough of days without money, and she didn't want to suffer with Ji Man. She wanted to live a wealthy life without worrying about livelihood. Ji Man was completely heartbroken, and left the waist plate representing his identity and left. Seeing the waist plate, Ru Mei realized how stupid she had done, but she had no chance to turn back.
Later, Ji Man never returned to Lechun Garden, and never saw Ru Mei again. The Empress Dowager had told Ji Man that people like Ji Man could not get pure love, because he inherently had too many additional factors. Ji Man always felt that the Empress Dowager's words were too decisive, so he always wanted to find an exception. Ji Man felt that the luckiest thing he had ever done was meeting Da Xi.
While the two were bickering, they encountered the women of the harem coming to pay their respects. Da Xi took the concubines to a palace and told them that in order to reduce the expenses of the harem, Ji Man planned to streamline the number of people. If anyone voluntarily asked to leave, then they could take away all their property.
However, these women were nominally Ji Man's women, and they enjoyed a life of unearned income in the palace and did not want to leave at all. Shen Jia knew that these women were difficult to deal with and asked Da Xi if she needed to report the situation to the King. Da Xi refused, she confidently said that within three days, she would definitely make these people leave voluntarily.
Consort Jin secretly met with her lover and was caught by Da Xi on the spot. She ordered people to take the adulterer away, leaving a bottle of medicine, and asked Consort Jin to end her life by herself. Consort Yin used carrier pigeons to transport property outside the palace for resale and was caught by Da Xi red-handed. Both the person and the stolen goods were seized, and she was thrown into prison.
With the examples of Consort Jin and Consort Yin in front, Consort Tong and Consort Mu took the initiative to resign early the next morning. Ji Man agreed and sent Shen Jia to prepare luggage for the two to leave. Shen Jia also fed Consort Jin the antidote and was released from the palace. Ji Man was gracious and even bestowed a marriage between Consort Jin and her lover. Consort Yin was also arranged to leave the palace.
From then on, the harem was clean. As for how outsiders talked about Da Xi, Da Xi didn't care at all. So what if she was jealous? She just didn't want others to surround her man. Ji Man also guaranteed to Da Xi that he would never take any more concubines into the harem.
Episode 16 Recap
Ji Man was paying his respects in the Empress Dowager's bedchamber when he received an urgent report sent by Shen Jia's subordinate. It turned out that envoys from the Queen Mother of the West Tribe were coming to Haojing for an audience and had already entered the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, expected to arrive in Haojing late tomorrow.
The Empress Dowager pondered, the Queen Mother of the West Tribe had developed rapidly in recent years, and she wondered about the purpose of their visit this time. The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered that Ni Shang was sent by the Queen Mother of the West Tribe to foster good relations between the two parties.
Although Ni Shang had made mistakes, under the current circumstances, the only way was to release Ni Shang to appease the Queen Mother of the West Tribe. Ji Man agreed. After Ni Shang was released, she became arrogant. Upon encountering Da Xi, she used the pretext of maintaining the proper conduct of the main palace to punish Da Xi, ordering her to kneel in place for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Da Xi guessed that the Queen Mother of the West Tribe must have made a move, otherwise Ji Man would not have released Ni Shang so easily. Ji Man returned to Longde Hall and did not see Da Xi, only Ni Shang, dressed in a palace maid's attire. He was greatly alarmed. Ni Shang cried, asking Ji Man to give her some face in front of the envoys, promising that she would never make mistakes again.
Ji Man disliked Ni Shang's entanglement, so he agreed and turned to leave Longde Hall. Unexpectedly, as he left, a military deployment map fell out, which Ni Shang picked up. Excitedly, Ni Shang took the map back to her bedchamber. A San, one of the envoys from the Queen Mother of the West Tribe, came to Ni Shang's bedchamber. They had already learned of Ni Shang's loss of favor, so A San's attitude was very cold.
Ni Shang knew that for someone born into a royal family, when they were no longer useful, death was the only way out. However, she now possessed a secret weapon. Ni Shang handed the military deployment map to A San. She had no idea that this would become the accelerator of her death. The Protector Lord was very excited after seeing the deployment map.
This was a treasure worth a thousand pieces of gold, adding great convenience for attacking the Great Zhou Dynasty. A San felt they would have no legitimate casus belli, but the Protector Lord said with a sinister smile, "Don't we have one now?" That night, the Protector Lord sent people to infiltrate Ni Shang's palace.
They incapacitated the guards at the entrance, strangled Ni Shang to death while she was bathing, and then made it look like a suicide by hanging. The envoys hadn't even left, yet Ni Shang was dead. Ji Man, upon learning of the matter, was at a loss. Da Xi was awakened and pressed Ji Man about what had happened. To prevent Da Xi from worrying, Ji Man concealed Ni Shang's death.
During the morning court, A San led his men into the main hall, demanding to know Ni Shang's current situation and whereabouts. Ji Man realized that all of this was a trap set by the Queen Mother of the West Tribe, but because he had no evidence, he could not expose the conspiracy. However, Ji Man had not anticipated that overnight, multiple border strongholds would fall, and their soldiers would be routed.
The successive battle reports filled Ji Man with anxiety. The Queen Mother of the West Tribe repeatedly provoked them. To boost the morale of his warriors, Ji Man decided to personally lead the expedition. Although Ji Man had made up his mind, he didn't know how to tell Da Xi about it. He even considered keeping it a secret from her. Although Da Xi was usually carefree, at times like this, she could still understand Ji Man's anxiety.
She proactively brought up the matter, expressing that she understood his thoughts. Da Xi stated that she was willing to go on the expedition with Ji Man; even if the battlefield was unpredictable, she was willing to die alongside him on the battlefield. Ji Man emotionally embraced Da Xi. On the eve of the expedition, the Empress Dowager personally saw Ji Man off. Ji Man bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and led his army mightily towards the front lines.
Not long after the army departed, they were stopped by Shao Yong and Wushuang. It turned out that the two had heard about the border emergency while they were away and rushed back overnight to join the fight. Ji Man felt proud to have such generals and went to the battlefield with Shao Yong. Ji Man had not expected the situation of the border guards to be worse than he had imagined.
The Queen Mother of the West Tribe seemed to know all the border defense maps, which caused the border warriors to waver and contemplate retreat. Ji Man's passionate speech stirred the morale of everyone, and they all declared that they would stay at the border and live or die with the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Episode 17 Recap
Looking at the border defense map, Ji Man was full of worries. He hadn't expected the situation to be so bad, and he himself was a little scared. After Da Xi heard this, she quickly encouraged him, which made Ji Man regain his confidence. Ji Man looked at the border defense map and saw Wucheng (Fog City) on it.
He found a general and learned that Wucheng would be shrouded in thick fog in the morning, which would only dissipate at noon. He then had a plan in his mind. The general realized that Ji Man had an idea and was very happy. Since Da Xi couldn't help with the military matters, she used her cooking skills to prepare a lot of delicious food for the soldiers, hoping they would be full and have the strength to fight.
Ji Man had just thought of a brilliant plan, and then he watched Da Xi busy herself, smiling with great satisfaction. The next day, Ji Man led his soldiers to raid the Queen Mother of the West's tribe, attempting to conquer it in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother of the West's tribe was brave and skilled in battle. They were defeated by the Queen Mother of the West's army and fled.
Ji Man led his troops to a cliff near Wucheng, where thick fog obscured the path. Ji Man led his soldiers to pull on vines and hide beneath the cliff. The Queen Mother of the West's army pursued them to the cliff. Several soldiers fell off the cliff due to the thick fog obscuring the path. The Queen Mother of the West's general left two soldiers to guard and then withdrew with the rest of the troops.
Ji Man led his army up from the cliff, killed the two soldiers, and escaped from the predicament. Da Xi came to find Ji Man but was stopped outside the camp. She unexpectedly overheard soldiers saying that the King had fallen off a cliff. Da Xi refused to believe it and desperately ran to Wucheng to check, calling out Ji Man's name.
The Mountain God appeared, moved by the love between Da Xi and Ji Man, and specially pointed out the way for her. Under the guidance of the Mountain God, she found Ji Man and his team, and seeing Ji Man safe, she finally felt relieved. Ji Man hadn't expected Da Xi to come to such a dangerous battlefield just to find him. The two embraced tightly.
Da Xi complained that he shouldn't have kept her in the dark, but Ji Man felt that the fewer people who knew about such matters, the better. This made Da Xi very angry; she cared about him so much, yet he didn't appreciate it. Da Xi left in a huff by herself, only to be captured by the Queen Mother of the West's soldiers.
Ji Man saw Da Xi leave in a fit of pique and didn't expect her to encounter danger. He thought she was just having a minor tantrum and didn't go after her, returning to camp with his generals and soldiers. It wasn't until night that Ji Man still hadn't seen Da Xi.
Ji Man was getting anxious when he received a letter from the enemy, stating that they had captured Miss Da Xi and would only return her if Ji Man went alone. Upon learning that Da Xi had been captured, Ji Man was furious and decided to go alone to rescue her.
The general heard that the King was going to the enemy camp to rescue Da Xi, knowing it was an enemy ploy, strongly objected and ordered soldiers to guard the main tent, forbidding Ji Man from leaving. The next day, on the battlefield between the two armies, the general of the Queen Mother of the West's forces brought out Da Xi, who was bound tightly, to threaten Ji Man.
Ji Man and Da Xi looked at each other with tears in their eyes. To ensure Da Xi's life, Ji Man deliberately showed indifference towards her. Ji Man raised his bow and arrow, shot and killed a soldier standing next to Da Xi, and then commanded his army to engage in a great battle with the enemy. Seeing the bravery of the Great Zhou army, the Queen Mother of the West's army hastily retreated with Da Xi.
Although the Great Zhou dynasty achieved a great victory, Ji Man could not be happy. Da Xi's whereabouts were unknown, and Ji Man's heart was filled with worry. He ultimately decided to launch a night raid on the Queen Mother of the West's tribe to rescue Da Xi. Shao Yong understood Ji Man's feelings, so he did not try to stop him further, letting Ji Man do what he wanted to do.
Ji Man arranged the military affairs, handed over the army to Shao Yong, and infiltrated the Queen Mother of the West's camp alone. He knocked out a soldier, changed into their uniform, and managed to discover that Da Xi was imprisoned in a cave. He rushed to the cave to rescue Da Xi.
Ji Man killed the soldiers guarding the cave, wounded the chief protector who was trying to persuade Da Xi to surrender inside the cave, and rescued Da Xi. As the two were escaping, they encountered more Queen Mother of the West's soldiers. Ji Man was injured in the fight, but with his last breath, he pulled Da Xi onto a warhorse to make their escape.
Episode 18 Recap
Ji Man took Da Xi and fled to a forest. Due to his injuries, he was physically weak and fell from his horse. Da Xi saw Ji Man lying on the ground and quickly dismounted to check on him. Ji Man was only injured, not in mortal danger. Seeing the urgent situation, Ji Man knew he was severely wounded. If Da Xi took him with her, she wouldn't be able to escape safely, so he told her to go first.
But Da Xi told him that if they were to go, they would go together; if they were to die, they would die together. This deeply moved Ji Man. Ji Man asked Da Xi if she liked him because he was handsome. Da Xi seriously told Ji Man that she liked him simply because he was Ji Man, and it had nothing to do with his appearance. The sound of the pursuers grew closer.
Ji Man saw a hornet's nest on the big tree he was leaning against and knew he wasn't destined to die. He knocked over the hornet's nest with a stone, pulled Da Xi, and ran. The pursuing enemies were stung by the hornets, causing chaos and disarray. The general learned from Shao Yong that Ji Man had gone alone to rescue Da Xi and was very worried. Finally, early the next morning, Ji Man returned with Da Xi.
Seeing Ji Man injured, Shao Yong quickly had him carried into the main tent for treatment. Da Xi felt very guilty seeing Ji Man injured because of her. She felt she had dragged Ji Man down. At this time, the soldiers, because their King had almost died for Da Xi, collectively urged the King outside the main tent to prioritize the nation and execute Consort Da Xi, even threatening with their own lives.
This put Ji Man in a very difficult position. Da Xi also heard the commotion outside. She had not expected that she would cause Ji Man to be forced to such an extent. Da Xi understood the feelings of those soldiers, but she didn't want to die, nor did she want to leave Ji Man. However, she couldn't push Ji Man into a difficult situation, and no matter what decision Ji Man made, she would fully support him.
Ji Man asked Da Xi to lie with him for a while, and she unknowingly fell asleep. But when she woke up, she found herself in the cave where she had been imprisoned yesterday. At this moment, the Protector entered and said that they hadn't known Da Xi's true identity, and thus might have offended her. She was the true leader of the Queen Mother of the West, and she should return to preside over the overall situation.
This made Da Xi very confused. The Protector then explained the reason: Towards the end of the Shang Dynasty, Wu Geng encountered danger while fleeing and was rescued by He Sang of the Feather Tribe. For revenge, Wu Geng exploited He Sang's feelings and gradually lost himself. Seeing Wu Geng sink deeper and deeper, He Sang sacrificed herself for righteousness, hoping to exchange her own life for Wu Geng's rationality and kindness. After her death, the Feather Tribe never recovered.
To survive, all newborn Feather Tribe infants had their wings plucked, their eyes covered, their memories sealed, and lived a difficult life among humans. Da Xi was one of them. The Feather Tribe was hunted by humans. To ensure the safety of the Feather Tribe descendants, the Protector demanded that all infants born within thirty days have their wings torn off and their eyes covered with cloth. Those who disobeyed the order would be executed.
Just like that, the young Feather Tribe lost their wings. The Feather Tribe was in dire peril. To revive the Feather Tribe, the Protector felt helpless. She didn't know how to protect her people, so she went to the tribal chief's grave, hoping the chief would grant her strength to lead the Feather Tribe out of their predicament. At that moment, a strange flower, named Da Xi, suddenly bloomed on the chief's grave.
The Protector found the woman named Da Xi, placed her on the chief's throne, and entrusted the future of the Feather Tribe to her. Da Xi promised to do her best to protect the safety of the Feather Tribe, and the Protector stated that she would assist her with all her might. Not long after, mortals were stealing food in the Feather Tribe's territory.
Da Xi was very angry upon learning this, led soldiers to stop the looting, and drove the mortals away. Ji Man heard his soldiers say that their brothers had been harmed by demons, so he led his troops to attack the Feather Tribe.
Da Xi went out of the city to meet them in battle, pointing out that the Great Zhou soldiers were injuring people and looting in the Feather Tribe's territory, yet they were turning around and slandering the Feather Tribe. Ji Man's soldiers, enraged, started a war against the Feather Tribe. Relying on their numerical superiority, Great Zhou defeated the Feather Tribe and captured Da Xi. Ji Man demanded Da Xi surrender, but she refused.
Ji Man then ordered the killing of the Feather Tribe soldiers. At this moment, countless birds flew across the sky, and the Protector seized the opportunity to rescue Da Xi. After Da Xi regained consciousness, she felt very guilty. She had not expected that the Feather Tribe would be destroyed in her hands.
The Great Protector knew that there was a huge disparity in strength between their tribe and the Great Zhou Dynasty; only by using clever tactics could they succeed. It turned out that the Feather Tribe possessed a secret art—the Art of Illusion. By using the Art of Illusion to enter Ji Man's dream and control him with their will, they would succeed as long as Da Xi dominated Ji Man's dream.
However, this magic had a drawback: any member of the Feather Tribe who entered the dream would forget everything that happened before. For the sake of the Feather Tribe, Da Xi thus entered Ji Man's dream. The Protector cast a spell, making Da Xi the most famous cook in Great Zhou. What happened next unfolded step by step, until Da Xi fell in love with Ji Man. After hearing the Protector's account, Da Xi couldn't believe it was true.
The Protector told Da Xi that she woke up because the spell had worn off, and it was also because of the spell that she had lost her past memories. Now their plan had succeeded. Ji Man's heart was now full of Da Xi. The Protector hoped that Da Xi would go to Ji Man tomorrow and have him kill the troublesome soldiers, causing him to lose the army's morale.
Then, things would be easy, and revenge for the Feather Tribe would be within reach. However, Da Xi believed that Ji Man was wholeheartedly devoted to her, and she couldn't do such a thing. The Protector and the soldiers threatened her with their lives, so Da Xi had no choice but to agree. The next day, Da Xi came to the Great Zhou army camp and was discovered by soldiers.
Seeing that the soldiers were going to kill her, Da Xi took off running. The soldiers came to surround and attack Da Xi. Ji Man heard the commotion and came out to stop the soldiers. Da Xi did not follow the Protector's arrangement to have Ji Man kill the soldiers; instead, she pulled him aside, intending to tell him the truth.
Episode 19 Recap
Da Xi revealed that she was the leader of the Queen Mother of the West's tribe, and had come to the Great Zhou Dynasty merely to save her people by assassinating Ji Man. However, Da Xi also stated that she had now fallen in love with Ji Man, and if Ji Man agreed to withdraw his troops, both sides could coexist peacefully.
Fearing Ji Man wouldn't believe her, Da Xi even specifically had the soldiers hiding in the dark reveal themselves. However, no one expected that Ji Man had also brought troops. It turned out that Da Xi's amnesia had another hidden reason. Back then, Ji Man was not confident in fighting against the Queen Mother of the West's tribe, so after a secret visit, he learned about the art of illusion.
To break the art of illusion, Ji Man specifically sent people to find a method and eventually met an immortal. The immortal taught Ji Man the art of illusion; as long as Ji Man mastered it, he could not only break illusions but also control the opponent and trap them in a dream. The sudden truth made Da Xi disbelieve.
Could it be true, as Ji Man said, that all of this was just a ploy, and Ji Man had never loved her? After the shock, Da Xi bowed to everyone from the Queen Mother of the West's tribe. She felt very guilty, thinking that it was because of her personal affections that the Feathered Tribe had fallen to this state.
Ji Man claimed that as long as the people of the Queen Mother of the West's tribe no longer appeared before him, he would not pursue the matter, and he would also deal with those people from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Da Xi stopped the Grand Protector's words, telling her to take the people and leave first, while she stayed behind to bid farewell to Ji Man.
She had not expected to carry so much, including the perfect happiness she had imagined, which was nothing but a bubble. From now on, "may the mountains be high and the waters long, and may you be well." The two bid farewell with red eyes; there were too many unbridgeable gaps between them. Da Xi told herself that it was just a dream, and she should let go once she woke up.
Ji Man returned to the palace safely, and the Empress Dowager was very happy. During their conversation, when Da Xi was mentioned, the Empress Dowager looked bewildered, as if she suddenly couldn't recall Da Xi. At this moment, a woman claiming to be Consort Fang appeared, but Ji Man had no impression of her at all; he could only attribute it to his own fatigue.
During dinner that evening, Ji Man faced a table full of dishes but found them exceptionally unappetizing. Shen Jia quickly apologized, saying it might be due to different ingredients. Ji Man didn't know why he felt the taste was off. He left the palace and went to the restaurant Da Xi had opened before entering the palace, but unexpectedly didn't find Da Xi. Moreover, from conversations with others, Ji Man realized that no one remembered Da Xi.
Every day, Da Xi would stand on the mountaintop playing her flute; the melody was exceptionally melancholic. She gradually began to recall past events, but she still couldn't let go of Ji Man. Da Xi wanted to return to Ji Man's dream to see him one last time, to bid him a final farewell, but the protector disagreed, saying it was too risky.
Ji Man didn't know when he started to suffer from sleepless nights; even when he picked up a brush, he would inadvertently sketch Da Xi's appearance. Consort Fang appeared before Ji Man, dressed up as Da Xi. Ji Man was furious and sent her away. He left his sleeping chambers alone and called out Da Xi's name in the empty imperial palace. Ji Man saw an illusion of Da Xi, sitting helplessly on the ground, murmuring Da Xi's name.
Ji Man missed Da Xi too much; he wanted to use the art of illusion to see Da Xi, but he couldn't succeed no matter what. Unable to use the art of illusion and unable to find the immortal elder, Ji Man decided to summon the Queen Mother of the West. The next day, Shao Yong reported that the Queen Mother of the West's tribe was nowhere to be found, with no trace whatsoever.
Ji Man had not expected that he couldn't find Da Xi. Did Da Xi truly detest him to the point of not wanting to meet him? But he was still unwilling to give up; he swore he would find Da Xi. While Ji Man was out hunting, he unexpectedly discovered Da Xi's figure. Ji Man had not expected to be able to see Da Xi again; he happily embraced Da Xi, telling her not to leave him.
Ji Man did not want to only see Da Xi in his dreams; he wanted to be with Da Xi. However, Da Xi was unwilling to believe him, recalling that day when Ji Man had unequivocally said he didn't love her. Da Xi was unwilling to gamble with the lives of her tribesmen again.
Episode 20 (Ending) Recap
Ji Man, however, was unwilling to go their separate ways. He loved her, so why didn't Ji Man believe it? Da Xi said that unless he lost his memory, everything would start anew. Ji Man said that as long as he could be with Da Xi, he would do anything. So the Grand Protector immediately cast a spell, and by the time Ji Man woke up again, it was three days later.
Shen Jia mistakenly thought it was Da Xi's departure that caused Ji Man to fall into a sorrowful coma, but Ji Man asked with a blank expression, "Who is Da Xi?" Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and finally the Empress Dowager spoke, saying, "If he forgot, then he forgot." As soon as Ji Man regained consciousness, he left the palace with Shen Jia. Ji Man was walking on the street and accidentally bumped into Da Xi.
The two met without recognizing each other, yet they found each other pleasant, so they agreed to go to the flower fields on the back mountain together. The Grand Protector and the Immortal Elder were behind them, watching their figures walk away hand in hand. Will they pass the test of the Illusion Art? Let's wait and see. Modern Section At the reader meet-and-greet for "The King Is Not Easy," Author Bai Lu received significant attention.
However, readers had no idea that the intelligent and beautiful Author Bai Lu was being pressured by her mother to go on blind dates. On Saturday morning, Ji Man, dressed in ancient attire, fell from the sky, damaging a fruit stand, and was currently running through the streets, evading the pursuit of the crowd. Meanwhile, Bai Lu was at a café meeting her blind date.
Ji Man mistook Bai Lu, who looked just like Da Xi, for Da Xi, asking her why she was dressed so strangely. Bai Lu did not recognize Ji Man and mistakenly thought he was deliberately approaching her to make her pay for his damages. The fruit stand owner's wife said that if they didn't pay, she would post photos of the two of them online to expose them.
Out of helplessness, Bai Lu had no choice but to pay the money for Ji Man, but Ji Man still refused to leave. Here, he didn't recognize anyone except Bai Lu. As Bai Lu was about to drive him away, a thought flashed through her mind—dimensional travel. She then wiped Ji Man's face in front of her blind date. Ignoring her blind date's unpleasant expression, Bai Lu left the café with Ji Man.
Bai Lu thought it was an illusion caused by working too hard on her manuscript recently, but Ji Man's reactions made her have to believe. Feeling utterly overwhelmed, Bai Lu walked home, and Ji Man followed her all the way. When they reached the elevator door, Ji Man still thought it was a mechanism and hesitated to enter. To prevent Ji Man from looking too out of place, Bai Lu took him to get a haircut.
In the evening, back at her residence, Bai Lu still couldn't believe the facts. She thought it was a crazy fan trying to trick her. But facing a face identical to the one in her own comic, Bai Lu felt a bit lost. Ji Man was not a modern person and was full of unknowns about modern life. He trusted Bai Lu the most.
Bai Lu clearly knew that bringing Ji Man home would be trouble, but for some reason, she just couldn't bear to leave him. She gave him instant noodles to eat, clothes to wear, and familiarized him with everything he was unfamiliar with. Bai Lu originally intended for Ji Man to sleep on the sofa, but Ji Man kept falling onto the floor.
Unable to bear it, Bai Lu let Ji Man get into bed, and the two slept on the same bed. Bai Lu felt a little uneasy inside. She worried that it was all a dream, and that there would be nothing when she woke up. Ji Man hugged her and told her that he would not leave her. After the two fell asleep, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside. Suddenly, a golden light appeared. . . The next morning, the two discovered they had swapped bodies. . .
