Lost Track of Time Episode 5 Recap
> Lost Track of Time Recap
Lu Anran and Mu Chuan were leaving a tavern when they witnessed a young woman, Holly, desperately trying to avoid being forced into prostitution by threatening to harm herself. Mu Chuan intervened, advising her to use a knife for protection, not self-destruction. Lu Anran then offered to buy Holly, outbidding another buyer with five thousand taels. Grateful, Holly insisted on becoming Lu Anran's servant, but Lu Anran gently refused, explaining she saved her for freedom, not servitude.
However, Mu Chuan observed that Holly, without a home to return to after her abusive adoptive father sold her, would be vulnerable if the pimp's client, Childe Gao, pursued her. Considering this, Lu Anran agreed to take Holly into her household. As they departed, Mu Chuan was surprised when Lu Anran correctly identified his proper title, "Rice Fragrance Hermit," leading him to remark on the rarity of finding a kindred spirit.
Back at the Lu Mansion, Lu Anran introduced Holly to Lingxi, instructing them to treat each other as sisters. Initially, Lingxi, feeling her position threatened, tried to assert seniority by detailing demanding chores for Holly. Lu Anran intervened, playfully scolding Lingxi and emphasizing that she valued them as family, not merely as servants or weapons. Lingxi then warned Holly about Second Daughter Lu and her mother, Liu Mingyu, accusing them of previously hiding poison in Lu Anran's clothes.
Both Lingxi and Holly passionately pledged their loyalty, offering to seek revenge. Lu Anran, however, reiterated her desire for them to be sisters, not "weapons," and asked them to abandon such thoughts. She then personally applied ointment to Holly's bruises, sustained from resisting the brothel. While doing so, Lu Anran noticed a distinct birthmark on Holly’s arm, prompting her to ask about Holly's past.
Holly, emotional, recounted how she was separated from her birth family during a flood and later abused by her gambling adoptive father. She remembered little of her parents' faces but clearly recalled her brother having his heart on the right side of his chest. Moved by her story, Lu Anran promised to help Holly find her family, affirming that within the Lu Mansion, they were now a supportive family.
Softened, Lingxi shared her cherished snacks with Holly, and the two began to bond. Later, as Madam Lu prepared to take her medicine, Lu Anran stopped her, still suspicious despite her mother's belief that Liu Mingyu was dutiful. Convinced that Liu Mingyu's plot could not be flawless, Lu Anran ordered Lingxi, Holly, and Yuzhu to search Madam Lu's room for any items sent by the Second Madam. After a fruitless search, Madam Lu wondered if her daughter was imagining things.
Lu Anran then spotted a Guanyin statue, also a gift from Liu Mingyu. Despite Lingxi's pleas against defiling a sacred object, Lu Anran smashed the statue, declaring her faith only in herself. Inside, she discovered pieces of achyranthes root. A doctor confirmed the herb's nourishing qualities but warned of its antagonistic interaction with certain medicines.
Upon examining Madam Lu's lung disease prescription, the doctor revealed that combining the achyranthes root with her cooling-property medicine would lead to severe coughing, trance-like states, and even death. Lu Anran was aghast, realizing Liu Mingyu's cruel stratagem: by concealing the root in a revered statue, she ensured Madam Lu's condition would worsen, while any blame for the illness's persistence would fall on medical treatments, leaving Liu Mingyu untouched.
Furious at her Second Auntie's treachery, Lu Anran resolved to replace the Guanyin statue for her mother. On the night of the Flower Festival, Lu Anran watched children release river lanterns and bought a rabbit lantern, secretly dedicating it to her son, Yu'er, who had passed away in her previous life. Mu Chuan joined her, recalling that she had spoken of someone named Yu during her drunken state and had even asked him to make a rabbit lantern.
Lu Anran, wishing to keep her past life a secret, feigned a casual explanation, claiming Yu was a pet rabbit that had drowned. Mu Chuan playfully teased her about her dedication to a pet rabbit, but Lu Anran's heart was heavy as she internally prayed for Yu'er's peaceful next life. Mu Chuan then released a lantern for his own deceased mother, prompting Lu Anran to comfort him with words he had once used to console her in her past life.
Mu Chuan affectionately called her a "wise old woman" and confirmed he had carved a rabbit lantern for Yu. He offered to retrieve it from his inn, asking Lu Anran to wait for him. While waiting, Lu Anran overheard a boatman explain that all the boats had been booked for the night by an "honored guest."
When she inquired if the guest's surname was Mu, the boatman confirmed it, adding that the booking was orchestrated to facilitate a special meeting with a girl. This realization struck Lu Anran forcefully: her past "fated" encounter with Mu Ze was no coincidence, but a meticulously planned deception, confirming his current presence nearby. Locating Mu Ze, Lu Anran overheard him discussing his machinations with Mr. Cai.
Mu Ze proudly explained how he had used Lu Anran's Second Uncle to manipulate her, asserting that once a woman falls in love, she becomes malleable. Hearing this, Lu Anran's heart ached with the painful truth that in both her previous life and this one, she had been a mere pawn in Mu Ze's calculated schemes. He had never truly loved her; their relationship had been an elaborate hoax from the start.
Rather than passively await his next move, Lu Anran resolved to seize the initiative. She deliberately recreated their past "fated" meeting by jumping into the river. As she was rescued by Mu Ze, she failed to see Mu Chuan, who arrived with the rabbit lantern, searching for her.
Following her staged rescue, Mu Ze was visibly impressed by Lu Anran's intelligence when she demonstrated to a child how to fold a paper boat that wouldn't sink, explaining the principles of naval architecture. He lauded her leadership of the Lu family and suggested she apply her talents to designing wheeled boats and warships for Great Han, promising the nation's gratitude. Lu Anran, seeing through his thinly veiled ambition, gracefully declined.
She stated that such projects required immense national resources, beyond the scope of a businesswoman whose primary responsibility was to the Lu family. Undeterred, Mu Ze accompanied her to the God of Love Temple. When Lu Anran repeatedly drew "luckiest tokens" from the fortune stick cylinder, she shrewdly confronted Mu Ze about her uncharacteristic luck.
Mu Ze, caught red-handed, openly admitted to rigging the sticks to win her favor, declaring his belief that "man can conquer nature" and that one must use all means to achieve one's desires. Lu Anran, now fully aware of his manipulative nature, declared her willingness to give him what he wanted, agreeing to marry him and become Princess Qing. Delighted, Mu Ze presented her with an ancestral jade pendant as an engagement token, vowing to spend their lives together.
Accepting the pendant, Lu Anran made it clear that their union would be a pragmatic partnership, devoid of any emotional attachment. Mu Ze accepted her terms and promised to formally propose the next day. Later, Mu Chuan visited Mu Ze, bringing rice cakes from his farm and playfully questioning why Mu Ze was not in Yizhou attending to official duties. Mu Ze praised the cakes and acknowledged Mu Chuan's dedication as "Rice Fragrance Hermit."
Mu Chuan then inquired about Mu Ze's reason for being in Su City. Mu Ze revealed it was a personal matter and announced that Mu Chuan would soon have a Second Sister-in-law. When asked for her identity, Mu Ze proudly named Lu Anran, the eldest daughter of the Lu family.
He explained that her mastery of Great Han's river transportation could help them achieve their shared dream of a peaceful and prosperous world, and praised her as a broad-minded woman worthy of a Princess. Mu Chuan, visibly shaken, nearly dropped his rice cake, asking if this was Mu Ze's sole reason. Mu Ze affirmed it. Trying to compose himself, Mu Chuan attributed his distress to his "fear of being hungry."
Mu Ze invited him to join the formal proposal the next day, but Mu Chuan declined, citing unfinished work in the farmland. That night, Mu Chuan sat alone in a field, clutching an unworn silver bracelet meant for Lu Anran. Tears streamed down his face. In despair, he flung the bracelet into the rice field, but unable to bear the loss, he retrieved it moments later.