Love Like The Galaxy Episode 31 Recap
> Love Like The Galaxy Recap
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During a tense confrontation, Consort Yue addressed Ling Buyi, reminding him that with his uncle having died young, he was the sole heir of the Huo family. She expressed how both His Majesty and she wished for him to marry soon and have children, ensuring the continuation of the Huo family's legacy and preventing their ancestors from becoming wandering spirits. She flatly dismissed any criticism of his future wife as nonsense.
Lady Ruyang then interjected, suggesting that Cheng Shaoshang, being young, diminutive, and from an undistinguished family, was unsuitable for Ling Buyi, while touting her own granddaughter, Yuchang. Consort Yue sharply retorted that Yuchang could forget the marriage with a grandmother who bullied those whose elders had passed away. Emperor Wen then intervened, declaring that Ling Buyi had the freedom to marry anyone he desired, and no one should force him otherwise.
He sternly warned that anyone attempting to manipulate Ling Buyi's marriage would suffer a fate worse than death. Lady Ruyang, intimidated by the Emperor's authority, immediately softened her stance, claiming she only had Ling Buyi's best interests at heart and wished for Madam Chunyu to receive proper respect. Consort Yue, stating they were about to discuss private Huo family matters, dismissed all other princes and princesses, but instructed Ling Buyi and his future wife to remain.
During the exchange, Cheng Shaoshang glanced at Ling Buyi, noticing his expression remained perfectly calm and unreadable. Lady Ruyang then questioned why Consort Yue would defend Huo Junhua, who had once nearly killed her.
Consort Yue, while acknowledging her decades-long animosity with Huo Junhua—recalling incidents where Huo Junhua splashed her with hot soup, she retaliated with nails, and Huo Junhua even lured her into a bandit ambush—insisted that despite her history with Huo Junhua, Madam Chunyu was not a good person either.
Consort Yue then cautioned Lady Ruyang against getting embroiled in trouble by defending Madam Chunyu, further threatening to publicly expose Lady Ruyang's own past misdeeds if she continued to speak on Madam Chunyu's behalf, adding that next time, she would not dismiss the royal children. Empress Xuan then stepped in to defuse the escalating tension, remarking that she couldn't interject when they reminisced about the past.
She proposed that since the meal was over, they should all proceed to Fengxian Hall to honor the entire Huo family, an invitation Consort Yue readily accepted. At Fengxian Hall, Cheng Shaoshang was tasked with arranging the tributes. She was struck by General Huo's resemblance to Ling Buyi in his portrait. The Crown Princess arrived with fragrant incense balls, which Cheng Shaoshang accepted.
As they conversed, the Third Princess appeared, haughtily mocking Cheng Shaoshang's lack of decorum and fitness for overseeing the memorial, then insulted the Crown Princess's humble family, implying the Crown Prince disliked her because he couldn't forget someone from his past. Unable to tolerate the insults, Cheng Shaoshang deliberately spilled the tribute fruits, causing the Third Princess to trip and fall awkwardly.
After the Third Princess angrily departed, vowing revenge, Cheng Shaoshang expressed her bewilderment at the princess's vulgarity, like a newly rich merchant. The Crown Princess explained that the Third Princess was raised by Marquis Yue's merchant-born wife, which instilled in her an extravagant, competitive, and vengeful nature. The Crown Princess advised Cheng Shaoshang to avoid her, but Cheng Shaoshang defiantly declared that she, too, was vengeful, and they would see who could outdo the other.
Cheng Shaoshang then inquired about the "person in the past" the Third Princess had mentioned, but the Crown Princess chose not to elaborate, stating it was a painful memory best left unspoken. Emperor Wen, Empress Xuan, Consort Yue, and their children arrived. Ling Buyi solemnly knelt and bowed to General Huo's memorial tablet.
Emperor Wen, visibly moved, decreed that all Wen family descendants must forever remember that the empire's current glory was attained through the Huo family's sacrifice, and ordered everyone to offer incense to the entire Huo clan. When it was the Third Princess's turn, she maliciously blew incense powder towards Cheng Shaoshang. In retaliation, Cheng Shaoshang subtly entangled the Third Princess's robe accessories around a candelabra. As the Third Princess rose, she pulled down the candelabra, setting her outer garment ablaze.
Consort Yue ordered her attendants to remove the Third Princess's burning robe, but the princess vehemently resisted. Consort Yue immediately understood that her daughter was hiding extravagant inner garments. Emperor Wen was enraged, chastising the Third Princess for her disrespect during the solemn memorial and for her luxurious attire, which defied the imperial decree for thriftiness. He accused her of lacking gratitude for the nation's founders.
The Fifth Princess seized the opportunity to add to the Third Princess's woes, implying her excessive wealth came from illicit sources. The Third Princess claimed it was from a joint restaurant venture. However, the Third Prince stepped forward, presenting counterfeit coins circulating in his sister's fief and revealing that an investigation traced their origin to Shouchun, Junior Lord Qian'an's fief, thus implicating the Xuan family.
The Third Princess, eager to deflect blame, pointed fingers at Junior Lord Qian'an and the Xuan family. Empress Xuan remained silent. Disappointed, Consort Yue turned and departed. Emperor Wen ordered the Third Princess to be severely beaten and assigned Ling Buyi to investigate the counterfeit coin operation. The Third Princess was severely whipped, leaving her skin lacerated. In her chamber, Consort Yue continued composing music, seemingly unconcerned.
Marquis Yue, Consort Yue's brother, complained that Emperor Wen was biased towards Empress Xuan, noting that Consort Yue was Emperor Wen's true "first wife" yet Empress Xuan held the higher position. Consort Yue sharply retorted that if he thought the punishment was insufficient, she could ask the Emperor to beat the Third Princess again until her legs broke.
She then told the Third Princess that her stupidity and superficiality were to blame, expressing gratitude to Cheng Shaoshang and the Third Prince for exposing her daughter's misdeeds, which prevented greater disgrace to the Yue clan. Marquis Yue persisted, arguing that Consort Yue, who had been with Emperor Wen from the start and whose family provided the initial troops for the rebellion, was overlooked, while Empress Xuan, whose family's wealth and troops were utilized later, became Empress.
He questioned the fairness of Emperor Wen severely punishing the Third Princess while only revoking Junior Lord Qian'an's mine, implying favoritism towards Empress Xuan. Consort Yue sternly reminded him of her previous warning against discussing these matters. She explained that Empress Xuan had sacrificed all her wealth to help Emperor Wen secure the empire, and the Huo family had been completely annihilated, whereas their Yue family had at least survived.
She also pointed out that her co-equal status as Consort was unfair to the Empress and to the mentally unstable Huo Junhua. Consort Yue concluded that she had everything she desired and held no interest in the power Marquis Yue craved, warning him for the last time not to cause trouble using her name, or she would disregard their kinship. Ling Buyi went to Xinghua Courtyard to visit Huo Junhua, asking about her historical feud with Consort Yue.
Huo Junhua, lost in thought, suddenly recalled the horrific events of Gu City and her brother General Huo's tragic death, realizing with anguish that neither the Yue family army nor Lord Qian'an had come to their rescue. Outside, Ling Buyi's subordinates, the Liang brothers, discussed Cheng Shaoshang's shrewdness in exposing the Third Princess's lavishness, admiring her vengeful spirit.
They affirmed that Ling Buyi's strategy of subtly informing the Third Prince about the counterfeit coins had successfully provoked the prince into exposing his sister. They lamented that Emperor Wen chose to downplay the severity of the counterfeiting operation to avoid implicating the Third Princess and Marquis Yue, which would force him to dole out lenient punishments to all involved for the sake of fairness.
Ling Buyi acknowledged that he had repaid the late Lord Qian'an's kindness by ensuring his children escaped a death sentence. He noted that Emperor Wen still protected Marquis Yue despite his obvious involvement, concluding that they needed Marquis Yue to commit a more significant transgression.
The Liang brothers then presented an intercepted letter from Madam Wen Xiu to her son, Wang Long, instructing him to lead a bandit suppression campaign to restore the Qian'an family's reputation and secure funds for his uncle, Marquis Yue. Ling Buyi scorned Madam Wen Xiu as a fool for prioritizing trivial matters over investigating her own father's suspicious death.
He ordered his men to deliver her letter to Wang Long untouched, while also secretly alerting the bandits that Emperor Wen's forces were coming for a decisive victory. His intention was to have Wang Long captured, leading to his dismissal from office, which Ling Buyi believed was a better outcome than allowing such an incompetent official to commit greater, nation-threatening errors in the future. Emperor Wen announced his decision to entrust Cheng Shaoshang with organizing Empress Xuan's upcoming birthday banquet.
Despite Cheng Shaoshang's clumsy attempts at embroidery and her protests that she was too new to palace etiquette to handle such a grand event, Emperor Wen insisted, stating it was good practice for her future role as Ling Buyi's wife. Shortly after, the Crown Prince requested an urgent audience. Cheng Shaoshang and Empress Xuan withdrew and soon heard Emperor Wen's furious shouts from within the hall. Empress Xuan appeared deeply troubled.
Cheng Shaoshang tried to reassure her, praising the Crown Prince's benevolent nature and predicting he would become a kind and magnanimous emperor. Empress Xuan, however, disagreed, revealing that Emperor Wen was enraged because Wang Long had, without authorization, led troops to suppress bandits and was now trapped. The Crown Prince had attempted to conceal Wang Long's transgression, even suggesting deception to save him.
Ling Buyi had previously advised the Crown Prince that Wang Chun should retire to save his son, but the Crown Prince was unwilling. Ling Buyi had also cautioned the Crown Prince against favoritism and deceiving the Emperor, emphasizing that a Crown Prince must prioritize the welfare of the nation over personal relationships. Empress Xuan confessed that her son was weak, indecisive, and biased, just like her.
She lamented that while these qualities might be admirable in an ordinary person, they were utterly unsuitable for a Crown Prince. She wished he were merely an ordinary child, and she an ordinary mother. Later that night, Cheng Shaoshang sat alone in a long corridor. Xiao Yuanyi found her and chided her for not wearing a cloak. Cheng Shaoshang asked her mother if she had ever imagined what kind of person she would become before her birth.
She then shared Empress Xuan's wish for the Crown Prince to be an ordinary person, living a happy and safe life away from court intrigues, and asked if Xiao Yuanyi had harbored similar hopes for her. Xiao Yuanyi admitted that she had. Cheng Shaoshang, misinterpreting her mother's sentiment, commented that she knew her mother disliked useless people and preferred someone obedient like Cheng Yang, feeling that she had disappointed her. She then excused herself to go to bed.
Cheng Shi attempted to comfort his distressed wife. Xiao Yuanyi explained that Cheng Shaoshang, having heard Empress Xuan's words, was for the first time empathizing with the burdens of parenthood, though it was for the Empress, not for them. Cheng Shi remarked that it was good for Cheng Shaoshang to learn from others and understand parental struggles, rather than remaining ignorant her whole life. Xiao Yuanyi seemed a little jealous but brushed it off. Cheng Shi then playfully asked if she would make him sleep outside.
