Love Through a Millennium Episode 21 Recap
> Love Through a Millennium Recaps
Gong Ming, having risked his life by stabbing himself in an attempt to return to the modern era, awoke from what he realized was merely a dream. His mentor, who had found him unconscious for days and bleeding severely, informed him that the jade pendant was now useless. The mentor warned Gong Ming against harboring any more "delusional thoughts" of returning to the future.
However, Gong Ming decided he could not bear for Lin Xiangxiang to wait for him in vain. He planned to smash the jade pendant, believing it would erase everyone's memories of him in the modern world. Fearing he might forget everything himself, he resolved to write down his feelings on letter slips. He expressed his undying love for "Qing Qing," acknowledging their separation by "thousands of years and thousands of miles," like "dreams and dew."
He conveyed his profound sorrow and an unfulfilled promise of spending their lives together. He hoped that if she were to read his words in the future, she would forget him and live a happy, worry-free life. He vowed to miss her until death, whether there was an afterlife or not. After reluctantly receiving his mentor's promise to help him remember if he forgot, Gong Ming hardened his heart and destroyed the jade pendant.
With its destruction, all traces of his existence and events in the modern world vanished from memory. Three years later, Lin Xiangxiang's career had soared. She had become famous for her role as Empress Xu in her debut film, "New Zhao Feiyan," which earned her a Best Actress nomination and established her as a top-tier actress praised for her natural acting.
Despite her success, her agent, Jin Jing, often urged her to adopt a more "elegant and proud" celebrity persona, though Xiangxiang preferred to remain herself, known for being easygoing. During this time, her friend and former manager, Wu Tianxiu, had left his career as Han Yufei's manager to get married and become a stay-at-home father. Jin Jing, who had once been infatuated with Tianxiu, planned to confess her feelings to him at Xiangxiang's wrap party.
However, before she could, Tianxiu announced that he had found someone he liked and reconciled with his ex-girlfriend, Yang Qin. To save Jin Jing from embarrassment amidst the crowd, Xiaonan, a crew member, stepped in to pretend to be her love interest. Director Yang, witnessing the scene, playfully celebrated their "relationship," which Jin Jing and Xiaonan reluctantly played along with.
Later, Han Yufei, still active in the industry, introduced his new, young executive manager to Jin Jing, who quickly moved on from Tianxiu and expressed keen interest in the newcomer, as she had decided to "seize" this handsome guy. Han Yufei himself flirted with Xiangxiang, asking if she was jealous of his recent "scandal" with a female model and playfully offering to be her boyfriend, but Xiangxiang dismissed his advances.
Jin Jing expressed concern that Xiangxiang, despite her success, had not pursued any romantic relationships since Gong Ming's disappearance and was perhaps wasting her youth. Lin Xiangxiang was later approached by Director Yang to be a guest narrator for a documentary titled "The Secret History of Empress Xu." Xiangxiang, excited by the "high-end" project, readily accepted. The documentary focused on a remarkable archaeological discovery: ancient bamboo slips from the late Western Han Dynasty, preserved with unusual Chinese herbal medicine techniques.
These slips contained a love letter addressed to "Xiangzi" from an unknown individual named Gong Ming, who was unrecorded in historical texts. Scholars speculated that this Gong Ming was a confidant of Empress Xu who had aided her restoration plans and was believed to have died by an arrow due to a conspiracy. The documentary aimed to explore Gong Ming's rumored love for Empress Xu, offering a new, albeit academically unconfirmed, perspective on history.
Meanwhile, years had passed in the Western Han Dynasty. Gong Ming lived a secluded life, looking haggard and weathered. He meticulously preserved the very letter slips he had written to Lin Xiangxiang, clinging to his memories of their love. During this period, Emperor Cheng neglected affairs of state, and the Wang family's power grew unchecked. However, Wang Mang was widely respected by the populace for his integrity. Gong Ming returned home one day to find Wang Mang waiting for him.
They played a game of chess, resolving old grievances. Wang Mang, having regained the Wang family's trust by exposing Empress Xu's sister, Xu Mi's, bribery, informed Gong Ming that Emperor Cheng had decided to sentence Empress Xu to death. Gong Ming lamented his ultimate inability to change history. Wang Mang, now ambitious and trusted by the Emperor, declared his intention to single-handedly reverse the Han Dynasty's decline.
Gong Ming urged Wang Mang to abandon his "futile ambitions," even appealing to their shared past and the memory of Ying Yue. However, Wang Mang coldly stated their paths diverged and vowed to forget both Gong Ming and Ying Yue, saying, "my confidant Gong Ming already went with Ying Yue when she died." With that, Wang Mang departed, leaving Gong Ming to advise him to "look after himself."
Back in the modern era, as Lin Xiangxiang narrated the documentary, she felt an inexplicable wave of sadness when reading Gong Ming's love letter, her heart filled with confusion. During a dubbing session, she was overwhelmed by the thought of Gong Ming's unrequited love for Empress Xu, wondering if Empress Xu had ever known his feelings. Her manager suggested she was getting too immersed in her role.
Xiangxiang had recently moved into a new house near the bridge where she and Gong Ming had once met, feeling an unexplained fondness for the location. Later, while on set for the documentary, which was filming near what was believed to be Gong Ming's ancient dwelling, Xiangxiang wandered off to a nearby bridge. There, she heard the melody of a song that resonated with her memories of Gong Ming.
At that very moment, separated by a thousand years, Gong Ming stood on a bridge in his own time, gazing into the empty air, yet he seemed to perceive Lin Xiangxiang. Overcome with grief and a sense of enduring connection, Gong Ming stood rooted to the spot, weeping silently.
