Lost Track of Time Episode 16 Recap
> Lost Track of Time Recap
Lu Qingzhou arrived in Hanjing and immediately struck Lu Anran, expressing his profound disappointment. He declared that if he had known she would resort to such despicable means to protect the Lu family, he would have risked his own life to prevent her from straying. Though a merchant, Lu Qingzhou prided himself on living honorably and earning money with clean hands. Lu Anran, however, insisted that circumstances had left her with no other choice.
Hearing Lu Xinran's deranged cries from afar, Lu Qingzhou wished Lu Anran had retaliated directly rather than disgracing her and ruining her reputation. Lu Anran countered that if Lu Xinran didn't care about her own virginity, why should she cover it up? She asserted that continuing to indulge Lu Xinran would lead the entire Lu family to ruin, a fate she would never permit. She declared she had no regrets about her decision.
Displeased with her reasoning, Lu Qingzhou ordered Lu Anran to kneel in the courtyard for reflection until she understood her errors. A heavy rainstorm began, and Lu Anran remained kneeling until nightfall. Eventually, she collapsed from exhaustion into Mu Chuan's arms. Lu Anran's mother, Madam Lu, tending to her daughter as she rested, found Mu Chuan in the room. He explained he had come to check on the grapes in the courtyard, which he had planted for Lu Anran.
Madam Lu, sensing the deep affection between them, excused herself, leaving Mu Chuan to care for her daughter. Lu Qingzhou, also concerned, was informed that Lu Anran's sudden illness was due to prolonged preoccupation and exhaustion, which had allowed evil qi to enter her body, and that rest and conditioning would restore her health.
Madam Lu, though unsure of the exact cause of the argument between father and daughter, recognized that Lu Anran constantly worried for the Lu family, always putting others first and neglecting her own well-being. She wished Lu Anran would think of herself more, noting that her mind held too many things except herself. Lu Anran awoke to find Mu Chuan by her side.
She told him that once all current matters were resolved, she would return to Su City and never come back, feeling that the Lu family's fame had become a burden, and perhaps the present situation was the most fitting conclusion. Mu Chuan promised to find her in Su City after the water conservation projects had spread across Great Han, and invited her to his spring ploughing ceremony the following day. The next morning, Lu Anran dressed with care.
Madam Lu, noticing her daughter's eagerness, commented that she never expected Lu Anran to dress up for an admirer. Lu Anran openly admitted she was going to meet her "boy" and had no fear of gossip, having wasted too much time in life to be coy. Admiring her daughter's forthrightness, Madam Lu gave Lu Anran the hairpin her husband had given her when they were married, encouraging her to seize her own happiness.
She suggested Lu Anran invite Mu Chuan for dinner that evening, as she and Lu Qingzhou were returning to Su City tomorrow. At the spring ploughing ceremony, Lu Anran saw the new rice Mu Chuan had cultivated, which he called "An Assuring Rice." She guessed its meaning: "Enjoy an assuring life without worrying about famine," a sentiment that was indeed the lifelong pursuit of many commoners.
Mu Chuan confirmed her interpretation but then revealed the deeper, more personal meaning: the first "An" in the rice's name was from "Anran." He reminded her that the wider world was her true place, but she remained trapped in Hanjing. He explained his childish hope that by spreading this rice across Dahan, it would be as if her footprints graced every inch of the nation. He admitted that the name "An Assuring" was truly born from his own private intentions.
Mu Chuan acknowledged the Lu family's precarious situation but declared his indifference to power and fame, viewing them as transient. He stated unequivocally that Hanjing was not his destination, but Lu Anran was. Meanwhile, a servant reported to Madam Lu that two groups were causing chaos at the wharf, both claiming the same batch of goods with valid bills of lading.
With Lu Qingzhou away on business, Madam Lu decided to handle the "trivial thing" herself, instructing the servant not to bother Lu Anran, as she needed to prepare dinner. At the wharf, Madam Lu attempted to restore order, insisting on adherence to rules. However, the crowd, perceiving the Lu family's weakening influence, ignored her, mocked her as just a woman, and violently scrambled for goods. In the ensuing riot, Madam Lu was tragically killed.
At the spring ploughing ceremony, a family member rushed to inform Lu Anran and Mu Chuan of the disaster. Lu Anran was overcome with shock and a sense of horrifying déjà vu, remembering her mother's death in her previous life on her wedding day. Rushing back to the Lu family estate, she found a memorial hall already set up for her mother, Shen Lanxi.
Refusing to believe her mother was truly gone, she frantically ordered her maids, Holly and Lingxi, to summon doctors from all of Hanjing, and even the entire Great Han if necessary. Lu Qingzhou tearfully confirmed that Madam Lu had passed away. Overwhelmed by grief, Lu Anran, seeing her mother's memorial tablet, tearfully urged Mu Chuan to leave. In prison, Cai Wangjin learned of Madam Lu's death.
He sent a message to Mu Ze, along with an old dagger given to him by Mu Ze many years ago, and a severed finger, requesting a meeting. A flashback revealed a younger Mu Ze encountering Cai Wangjin, who was then a desperate beggar attempting to steal food from a corpse.
Mu Ze gave him a dagger and inspired him to reclaim his dignity and earn his own way, a kindness Cai Wangjin never forgot, dedicating his life to serving Mu Ze ever since. Now, in prison, Cai Wangjin told Mu Ze he sought not forgiveness, but to warn him about Lu Anran. He suggested that ever since Lu Anran allied with them, all their plans had mysteriously failed, implying sabotage.
Though he had no direct evidence, Cai Wangjin argued that this only proved Lu Anran's meticulousness, leaving no trace. He cited various incidents: the mysterious disappearance of the "barefoot doctor" who had cured Lu Anran, Chai Guang's impossible escape from prison (his chains cut by a tool he couldn't have possessed), and the annihilation of Mu Ze's secret guards by the Qinghe Gang with evidence of mine bombings, all pointing to Lu Anran's indirect involvement.
Mu Ze questioned Lu Anran's motive, given their intertwined fates. Cai Wangjin theorized that Lu Anran had orchestrated Lu Xinran's marriage to Prince Qing, and all her subsequent actions were ultimately designed to extricate the Lu family from its political quagmire. Lu Anran wept before her mother's coffin, questioning why her strenuous efforts to change the past had still failed to save her mother, and what was the purpose of all her struggles.
Mu Chuan found her, offering comfort and assuring her, "All of it is not your fault." Lu Anran lamented that while many lived "in beds of roses," she alone suffered "a bed of thorns," questioning why God would punish her family for her mistakes. Mu Chuan gently held her, promising that "It will get better." Despite her anguish, questioning how much harder she needed to work to make things right after all her endeavors, he reaffirmed, "It will definitely get better."
