Mengfei Comes Across Episode 18 Recap
> Mengfei Comes Across Recap
Mengfei visited the Emperor at his palace. The Emperor, believing she had come to hold him to his promise of granting her freedom, offered to take her out to play today. They arranged to meet at 11 PM where the inner walls started, to visit the night market. At the appointed hour, Mengfei arrived at the palace walls, equipped for climbing. She offered to go first and then pull the Emperor up.
After Mengfei successfully climbed to the top, the Emperor playfully shook the rope, causing her to fall. He immediately caught her and then used his martial arts skills to effortlessly carry her over the wall, leaving Mengfei astonished. They rented a carriage to the black market. The Emperor feigned not carrying any money and made Mengfei pay the driver, which made Mengfei feel dismayed.
As they explored the market, the Emperor took a liking to a heart-shaped stone at a stall named "The Story of the Stones" and asked Mengfei to pay for it. Mengfei couldn't understand why the Emperor wanted to buy this stone, especially for five taels of silver. Helpless, Mengfei reluctantly paid for the expensive stone. In front of Joy Luck Inn, Mengfei and the Emperor unexpectedly encountered Zhen Shishuang, who had just finished investigating a case.
Mengfei was delighted to see him and invited him to join them, even asking to borrow money from him. However, the Emperor, clearly jealous, immediately forbade her from using another man's money and, stubbornly, pulled her into Joy Luck Inn. Once inside, the Emperor realized it was a brothel and scolded Mengfei for not explaining it to him.
Nevertheless, he put on a brave face and sat down, with the Emperor on the left, Mengfei in the middle, and Zhen Shishuang on the right. Initially, they only drank tea. Later, a brothel lady approached and invited the Emperor to drink. He, however, insisted Mengfei drink with him. When Zhen Shishuang offered to drink on Mengfei's behalf, the brothel lady left, assuming they had a confusing relationship.
Embarrassed, Mengfei took a sip and surprisingly enjoyed the wine, proceeding to drink heavily. Soon, she was completely drunk. Zhen Shishuang, seeing her state, decided to carry her upstairs to rest, much to the Emperor's obvious displeasure. After using the washroom, a drunken Mengfei stumbled into the Emperor's room by mistake. The Emperor embraced her and spoke to her, but Mengfei had already fallen asleep. Helpless, he had no choice but to carry her to bed with him.
The next morning, Mengfei and the Emperor woke up. A servant at Joy Luck Inn offered them breakfast. After cautiously checking the food for poison, they confidently ate. Unbeknownst to them, the inn was a dishonest establishment, and knockout medicine had been secretly placed in their teacups, rendering them unconscious. The inn's boss intended to sell Mengfei off to a distant location. As Mengfei was being taken away, the Emperor timely appeared, rescuing her by incapacitating the thugs.
However, they soon found themselves lost in a bamboo forest, eventually ending up in an unknown place. The Emperor caught a rabbit for their dinner. Later that night, as they ate the roasted rabbit, Mengfei heard wolf howls and became very scared. The Emperor offered her his embrace for warmth. Mengfei, although accepting, stubbornly claimed she was merely seeking warmth and not scared. The next morning, Zhen Shishuang and his companions found the trail left by the Emperor.
Zhen Shishuang, linking it to the case he was investigating, arrived first to find the Emperor and Mengfei. Not long after, Bao Qu arrived with imperial guards, having been informed by Zhen Shishuang's messenger. Everyone then planned to return to the palace. On their way back, the Emperor went to see the Empress Dowager, who was worried about him. She chastised him.
After her reprimand, the Empress Dowager noticed Mengfei, who was still dressed in men's clothing, and inquired about her identity. Only then did the Emperor remember to introduce Mengfei as Consort Meng, instructing her to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, thus marking their first meeting as daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.
