Legend of the Female General Episode 32 Recap
> Legend of the Female General Recap
After the solemn winter sacrifice ceremony concludes, the Emperor and his court officials move to Longtai Hall for a night banquet. There, He Yan approaches Yan He, who is still processing the revelation of her true gender. He admits his anger was not about her being a woman, but about being kept in the dark by her and Xiao Jue.
They watch He Rufei across the hall, with Yan He wondering how he could show his face after the disaster at Huayuan. He Yan simply remarks that it's good everyone has gathered, hinting at the confrontation to come. During the banquet, the Wutuo Chancellor, Maningbu, rises to once again push for the establishment of mutual trade markets to foster goodwill. The Emperor diplomatically defers the matter, stating it requires further deliberation.
Annoyed by the delay, Maningbu's tone becomes provocative, accusing Wei of lacking sincerity. As tensions rise, He Yan steps forward, sharply questioning if Wei's sincerity can only be proven by allowing Wutuo to gain every advantage. He Rufei foolishly interjects with a sarcastic remark, attempting to discredit He Yan by implying "she" is a turncoat. He Yan immediately accuses "him" of being a turncoat.
A flustered He Rufei scrambles to profess his unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, but He Yan seizes the moment, challenging him directly: "Are you truly General Feihong?" Ignoring his silence, He Yan formally accuses He Rufei of three major crimes before the Emperor. The first is identity theft. She summons Li Kuang, the General of Rundu and a former subordinate of General Feihong, as a witness.
Li Kuang enters the hall and, upon seeing He Yan, immediately recognizes her as his true general. He explains a secret code they used—a drawing of a jujube and a turtle, meaning "come back soon"—known only to the real General Feihong and his most trusted men, the Eight Tiger Generals. He testifies that He Yan is the genuine hero who saved Rundu. He Rufei desperately claims Li Kuang is lying out of resentment and has been bribed.
For the second crime, He Yan accuses He Rufei of murdering his comrades to protect his secret. She presents a letter proving a connection between the He family's steward and assassins sent to kill her. She holds him responsible for the deaths of the Seven Tiger Generals at Huayuan, a loss engineered to eliminate those who knew the real General Feihong. Her third accusation is treason through collusion with Wutuo. He Rufei scoffs, confident she has no proof.
At this point, military officials, led by He Yan and Yan He, collectively appeal to the Emperor to severely punish He Rufei and avenge the soldiers who died in the Huayuan battle. Just then, Madam He enters the hall, clutching a bundle of letters she stole from He Rufei's room.
She reveals the He family's dark secret: years ago, when her sickly stepson He Rufei was near death, his father He Yuansheng forced her daughter, He Yan, to disguise herself as a boy and take his place. It was He Yan who joined the army, fought bravely, and became the celebrated General Feihong. When she returned victorious, the recovered He Rufei and his father, greedy for her glory and fearing exposure, poisoned and supposedly killed her to reclaim the identity.
As she finishes her testimony, Madam He collapses, having ingested poison herself to prove her sincerity. A court physician declares her beyond saving, and she dies in a grieving He Yan's arms. With He Rufei cornered, he glances desperately at Xu Jingfu for help. The Grand Chancellor steps in to defend him, but He Yan turns her accusations on him, exposing Xu Jingfu as the true mastermind behind He Rufei's collusion with Wutuo.
She lists his long history of treason, from sacrificing the Xiao Army at Mingshui to eliminating political rivals at Yezhou, secretly aiding Wutuo in multiple campaigns in Jiyang, and allowing He Rufei to cause the deaths of the Seven Tiger Generals and the siege of Rundu at Huayuan, all for his own selfish gain. When the Emperor demands proof, Chu Zhao steps forward as a witness against his former mentor.
He presents letters between Xu Jingfu and Maningbu, obtained from a captured Wutuo spy (the former owner of Ganming Pavilion), proving the Chancellor's treasonous plans. Enraged and exposed, Xu Jingfu abandons all pretense and attempts a coup, ordering the Fuyue Army to "cleanse the court." However, the soldiers who storm the hall are not his, but the Nine Banners Battalion, led by Xiao Jue.
They had anticipated the betrayal and laid a trap, having previously obtained the Emperor's consent and disguised themselves as the Fuyue Army. Believing his rebellion was succeeding, Xu Jingfu had confessed to all his crimes just moments before. As the rebels are subdued, Chu Zhao pleads with his master to surrender, but Xu Jingfu furiously denounces him as an ungrateful traitor.
He launches into a final, self-righteous tirade, claiming his actions were for the long-term good of Wei, and that military officials are nothing but warmongers who plunge the nation into conflict for personal glory. Xiao Jue retorts that it was Xu Jingfu's greed, not a desire for peace, that repeatedly instigated conflicts and sacrificed countless lives.
The Emperor, his patience exhausted, orders Xu Jingfu and He Rufei to be imprisoned, awaiting a joint trial by the three judicial departments and subsequent execution. Maningbu is to be detained at the imperial guesthouse, his fate to be decided by the Wutuo king based on his sincerity. With the traitors dealt with, the Emperor finally turns his attention to He Yan.
He reminds her that while she exposed the conspiracy, she is still a member of the He family and party to the crime of deceiving the throne by posing as a man, leaving her future uncertain.
