Mengfei Comes Across Episode 13 Recap
> Mengfei Comes Across Recap
Bu Meng, furious about being unjustly imprisoned, loudly proclaimed her innocence and demanded justice, insisting she did not kill anyone. The palace guards explained that the Emperor had her confined to a luxurious cell not as punishment, but to protect her and deflect public gossip. Unfazed, Bu Meng tasked the guards with purchasing the popular "Mengfei Comes Across Comics" for her.
Later, Bu Meng was joined in her cell by Consort Yan, Qu Xiao, and Noble Lady Xiao for a game of mahjong. During the game, Bu Meng reflected on the events that led to her predicament. She recalled a heated confrontation with Noble Lady Xian, who had relentlessly provoked her, calling her a "jinxed woman" and accusing her of poisoning the Emperor.
When Bu Meng suggested Noble Lady Xian seek a court doctor, Noble Lady Xian, enraged, declared she would "add some colour" to Bu Meng's face. The argument escalated into a physical fight, during which Bu Meng accidentally scratched Noble Lady Xian’s face. Noble Lady Xian then wailed about losing her mother and wishing to die. Soon after, Noble Lady Xian was found dead, and Bu Meng’s hairpin was discovered at the scene, making her the prime suspect.
Bu Meng maintained her innocence. Consort Yan informed Bu Meng that the Emperor had summoned Zhen Shishuang, the renowned "Perfect Memory Sleuth" from Dali Temple, to investigate the murder. She explained that misfortune often befell those associated with him. Bu Meng recalled memories of Zhen Shishuang from their youth, before she entered the palace. During his vacation, Zhen Shishuang was solving a murder case, initially believed to be accidental.
He discovered traces of poison in the soil beneath a chamber pot, leading him to deduce that the victim died from inhaling poisonous gas released by an exotic snake. This snake, not native to the region, led him to conclude it was murder. He learned that days prior, a local snake handler had flirted with the victim's wife and was beaten by the husband. Zhen Shishuang confronted the snake handler, who confessed to planting the poisonous snake out of revenge.
After solving the case, Zhen Shishuang received an urgent imperial summons to the capital upon learning that Lady Consort Meng was the primary suspect in the new murder investigation. Back in her prison cell, still lost in thought, Bu Meng wondered about Zhen Shishuang.
She remembered his extraordinary memory and sharp deductive abilities—how he effortlessly exposed a man's lie about visiting a theatre when he had actually spent the night at a brothel, or how he could instantly locate her lost items. Others found him odd, but Bu Meng admired him. She recalled his peculiar habit of eating the bad grapes first, saving the good ones to savor slowly. She had asked him to be her teacher, a request he seemed to evade.
When her family prepared to move to the capital, she asked him to see her off, but he refused, leaving her disappointed. Suddenly, a guard announced the Emperor's arrival, alongside Zhen Shishuang. Bu Meng and her friends hastily hid their mahjong tiles. Consort Yan, Qu Xiao, and Noble Lady Xiao greeted the Emperor, while Bu Meng theatrically feigned sorrowful tears. The Emperor cut short her act.
With jealousy in his tone, the Emperor reminded Zhen Shishuang that Bu Meng had once claimed they were childhood sweethearts discussing marriage, a statement Bu Meng quickly corrected to "just classmates." Consort Yan and the others observed the tense atmosphere. Bu Meng apologized to Zhen Shishuang for inadvertently affecting his reputation, but he dismissed it, stating the Emperor was merely teasing. The Emperor directly asked Zhen Shishuang for his opinion on the evidence pointing to Bu Meng as Noble Lady Xian’s murderer.
