Lost Track of Time Episode 29 Recap
> Lost Track of Time Recap
Prince Qing, Mu Ze, learned from his subordinate that Prince Yi was making extensive preparations for the Lantern Lighting Ceremony, with a particularly suspicious amount of phosphorus powder being moved into Prince Yi's residence. Mu Ze deduced that Prince Yi intended to use the ceremony to assassinate the Ninth Prince, Mu Chuan, and decided to exploit this scheme for his own ends.
Meanwhile, with Xiao Jingque's position as Princess Consort existing in name only, Mu Ze entrusted the household's account books to Lu Anran. On New Year's Eve, despite having to attend the Emperor, Mu Ze arranged for the residence to be adorned with rabbit lanterns, knowing her fondness for them. He expressed his desire for Lu Anran to consider the residence her home and him her family, asking her never to betray him and promising that their good days were imminent.
He confessed to feeling despised by the Emperor and abandoned by Mu Chuan, making his dependence on her loyalty clear. Lu Anran diligently reviewed the account books, noting an unusually large purchase of ten "dan" of honeydew melons from Myanmar by Prince Qing's residence half a month prior. Given Mu Ze's usual frugality, this seemed highly suspicious.
Her maid, Shanyue, corroborated this, reporting that dock workers had also mentioned Prince Yi buying a substantial quantity of the same type of melon for the Lantern Lighting Ceremony. Alarmed, Lu Anran investigated further, checking the fireworks stored in the residence. She discovered that all the gunpowder had been removed from the fireworks.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, she concluded Mu Ze was planning a rebellion and rushed to Xiao Jingque, demanding her palace entry permit to warn the Emperor. At the Lantern Lighting Ceremony, as planned by Prince Yi, a subordinate confirmed that poison had been secreted into the lantern Mu Chuan was to light. The poison was designed to be inhaled, ensuring Mu Chuan's death within the hour.
Prince Yi, watching Mu Chuan, anticipated the candles burning down, igniting the phosphorus powder, and incinerating the entire lantern array, thus destroying all evidence of the poisoning. Elsewhere, Mu Ze's preparations were also complete. As the ceremony commenced, ministers lit their individual lanterns, followed by Mu Chuan lighting the main lantern, the "lantern's eye." Suddenly, the lanterns' ropes snapped, causing them to fall and ignite a fierce fire, sending officials and palace staff fleeing in panic.
The Emperor, however, refused to retreat, determined to see what was truly transpiring. Mu Chuan rushed towards the Emperor to protect him but was intercepted by Mu Ze. Mu Ze revealed that Prince Yi had indeed intended to poison Mu Chuan by placing poison and phosphorus powder in his lantern. However, Mu Ze had secretly swapped the poison.
He then shockingly confessed his true intention: to use Prince Yi's plot to trigger a larger explosion, killing both the Emperor and Prince Yi, along with many others, ensuring no witnesses remained to his ultimate objective. Mu Chuan, horrified, asked why Mu Ze saved him if he intended such a heinous act. Mu Ze replied that he had promised never to let anyone harm Mu Chuan, including himself.
With the palace in chaos and the Emperor and Prince Yi presumed dead, Mu Ze, amidst his armed guards surrounding the ministers, announced the Emperor's passing due to an "unexpected incident" and declared the necessity of supporting a new sovereign to maintain the nation's foundation. Minister Wu, swayed by fear and opportunism, proclaimed Mu Ze's noble qualities and urged him to accept the throne for the stability of the realm.
Just as ministers began to pledge their allegiance, another contingent of imperial guards stormed in. The Emperor, far from dead, appeared, denouncing Mu Ze as an audacious rebel and regretting sparing his life earlier. Mu Ze, unrepentant, accused the Emperor of constant humiliation, forcing him to poison his beloved, and treating him like a beggar. He insisted that his actions were forced upon him by the Emperor's favoritism towards Mu Chuan and his disdain for Mu Ze's own efforts.
As the confrontation escalated, Lu Anran arrived, distraught. Mu Ze seized her, using her as a hostage. The Emperor, infuriated, ordered Mu Ze's immediate execution. Mu Chuan, however, knelt and pleaded with his father, affirming his unwavering desire to protect Lu Anran at all costs. Moved by Mu Chuan's plea, the Emperor relented, ordering his guards to allow Mu Ze and Lu Anran to leave.
Later, it was revealed that the Emperor's survival was due to an earlier, seemingly innocuous dinner invitation to Mu Chuan. When Mu Chuan tasted the sweet melon prepared by the imperial kitchen, he detected a faint gunpowder residue. This discovery initiated an investigation, uncovering both Prince Yi's plot to poison Mu Chuan and Mu Ze's more ambitious plan to use the chaos to assassinate the Emperor. Mu Ze returned to his residence, intending to take Xiao Jingque with him.
Lu Anran confronted him, accusing him of bringing ruin upon himself. Xiao Jingque defiantly refused to flee and live as a branded rebel. She declared that the Xiao family, known for its loyalty, would never disgrace its ancestors. She scorned Mu Ze's sudden concern for her and their unborn child, accusing him of trampling her affection and only feigning kindness when it suited him.
With a final declaration that witnessing his failure brought her peace, Xiao Jingque tragically took her own life with a sword. Mu Ze escaped with a bound Lu Anran. He revealed that he had known about her secret meeting with Mu Chuan at the cloth shop, having tortured the shopkeeper for information. He confessed that the account books he gave her were a test, designed to see if she would risk everything to save Mu Chuan in a crisis.
He expressed deep anguish that she had proven his suspicions correct. He questioned why she chose to marry him if she loved Mu Chuan, asserting that she could have easily eloped with Mu Chuan. Lu Anran retorted that her cherished family had been destroyed by him, accusing him of constant scheming against the Lu family and mocking his expectation of sincerity from her.
She proclaimed him unfit for the throne, a pathetic man who cast aside Xiao Jingque's genuine love like trash while desperately seeking affection from those who despised him. Enraged by her words, Mu Ze angrily threatened her, declaring that while he might never possess her heart, her body would be his. Later, Mu Chuan presented the Emperor with items he found in Mu Ze's secret chamber at Prince Qing's residence.
Among them were a private mourning altar dedicated to Mu Ze's birth mother, carefully concealed, as well as evidence of corruption against various officials that Mu Ze had meticulously collected, initially for official submission but later possibly for blackmail. Most significantly, Mu Chuan displayed Mu Ze's childhood calligraphy practice copybook, bearing the Emperor's own handwritten comments, and all the commendation documents the Emperor had issued to Mu Ze over the years.
Mu Chuan pointed out that these items revealed what Mu Ze truly cherished in his heart: the recognition and love of his imperial father. Realizing the depth of Mu Ze's unspoken longing and his own past coldness, the Emperor was deeply moved. He ordered Mu Chuan to find Mu Ze and bring him back, promising to grant him an opportunity to speak.
