The First Jasmine Episode 22 Recap
> The First Jasmine Recaps
Guided to a side hall of the armory under the guise of waiting for the Emperor, Mo Xiuyao was locked inside by a palace eunuch. Assassins quickly emerged from hiding, but despite being confined to his wheelchair, Mo Xiuyao was more than a match for them. With a swift maneuver, he used his wheelchair to strike down one attacker, causing the chair to shatter.
To the utter shock of the remaining assassins—who had assumed him to be a helpless cripple—Mo Xiuyao stood up on his own feet. Demanding to know who had sent them, he swiftly dispatched the rest of the assailants, barely breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, at the banquet's martial contest, the atmosphere grew tense. Cangbei's General Lei Tengfeng brutally defeated Dachu's warrior, Wei Heng, leaving him spitting blood. Boastful and arrogant, Lei Tengfeng declared that Dachu lacked any capable fighters.
To further humiliate the host nation, and with Princess Lingyun's permission, he proposed a wager of two hundred Cangbei war horses for anyone who could defeat him. Empress Dowager Guo Jin readily countered with a prize of one thousand forged blades. However, Lei Tengfeng rejected the blades and instead demanded the Lanyun Spear, a treasured relic of Prince Ding's Mansion, revealing that his father had been killed by that very spear at Suixue Pass.
Since Mo Xiuyao was absent, the Emperor urged Lei Tengfeng to choose another prize. Lei Tengfeng refused to back down, pointing out that even if Prince Ding was absent, Princess Ding, Ye Li, was present. Stepping forward, Ye Li calmly addressed him.
While she acknowledged his physical prowess, she boldly labeled him a turncoat who had served four different masters, rendering him entirely unworthy of the Lanyun Spear, which was inscribed with the words "Loyal" and "Brave" by the late Emperor. She detailed his clan's shameful history of betraying Prince Gun for the Narong, then shifting to Xiduo, and finally aligning with Cangbei. Crimson with rage at being publicly humiliated, Lei Tengfeng lunged to attack the seemingly defenseless Ye Li.
Just as he struck, Mo Xiuyao leaped into the arena, grabbing a nearby spear to intercept the blow. The crowd watched in absolute disbelief as the supposedly crippled Prince Ding stood tall and fought with unmatched ferocity. Lei Tengfeng was no match for the healed prince and was quickly brought to his knees, spitting blood. Defeated, Lei Tengfeng conceded, promising that the war horses would be delivered to the border.
Following the duel, Empress Dowager Guo Jin subtly expressed her displeasure at Mo Xiuyao concealing his recovery. Mo Xiuyao explained that his legs had only recently healed and were still weak, but the emergency forced his hand. He then brought forward the gravity of the situation: the intercepted Cangbei letter and the assassination attempt on his life within the palace. Zhang Hengyuan was immediately hauled before the court, loudly proclaiming his innocence and claiming he was being framed.
While Marquis Muyang offered to oversee the investigation, the Empress Dowager transferred the case to the Jingzhao Prefecture, citing that the Marquis was already stretched thin with Prince Li's case. Soon after, Duke Hua arrived to confirm that the armory storehouse was indeed littered with the bodies of palace eunuchs, and the eunuch who had guided Mo Xiuyao had been silenced in his quarters. Mo Xiuyao explained the conspiracy to Duke Hua.
Gongshu Yang, the Military Governor of Huaixi, had intercepted a secret letter from Cangbei instructing Zhang Hengyuan to assassinate Zhong Xingtong, the Vice Director of the Ministry of Works. Zhong Xingtong was the brilliant mind behind Dachu's advanced forging methods and was currently developing the "Mountain Breaker," a highly destructive and portable siege crossbow. Cangbei clearly wanted to eliminate him to halt Dachu's military advancement.
Marquis Muyang doubted that a low-ranking official like Zhang Hengyuan would have the courage to orchestrate such a massive plot, but Mo Xiuyao pointedly hinted that someone with greater influence must be pulling the strings. Amidst the shifting political tides, Qin Zheng realized the capital was becoming too dangerous. She urged the young Zhou Tianyang to return to Lingnan to visit his mother.
Confused by her sudden urgency, Zhou Tianyang pressed her for answers, demanding to know what had happened to his grandfather. Outside the palace hall, Duke Hua expressed his relief and joy at seeing Mo Xiuyao walk again. Mo Xiuyao warmly credited Ye Li's exceptional acupuncture and medicinal care, admitting he had kept his recovery quiet to avoid complications.
Duke Hua urged him to focus on resting and, turning his attention to Ye Li, praised her noble bearing, which reminded him of her grandfather. Ye Li assured him that her grandfather was living a peaceful, healthy life in seclusion, writing and gardening. When Duke Hua offered to petition the court to reopen Lishan Academy, Ye Li politely declined, stating that her grandfather preferred to remain far from the secular world.
Duke Hua smiled, glad to see the couple so well-matched. Once they parted, Mo Xiuyao urged Ye Li to return to the mansion first while he attended to the investigation. Ye Li warned him to return early for his treatment, a demand Mo Xiuyao playfully promised to obey. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager confronted Princess Lingyun with the intercepted letter.
Lingyun maintained her complete ignorance, explaining that Cangbei was currently undergoing internal turmoil after her brother's ascension, and that rogue factions likely wished to sabotage the peace talks. The Empress Dowager did not press further and instead inquired if Lingyun had found a suitor in Dachu. Lingyun admitted she had someone in mind—an old friend who was not of noble blood—and promised to introduce him when the time was right.
Later, the Empress Dowager discussed the growing complexity of the cases with her companion, noting that the eventual truth might bring great sorrow. Back at the posthouse, Princess Lingyun examined a smuggled Dachu blade made with Zhong Xingtong's forging method. She explained to Lei Tengfeng that the late Yuan Fang had been murdered in Huaixi just as he was uncovering this massive weapons-smuggling ring.
She admonished the general for his reckless behavior at the banquet, warning him that his hot-tempered outbursts and his attempt to attack Princess Ding could have entirely ruined the peace talks. During their private discussion, Lingyun's maid, Su Zuidie, was caught standing too close to the room. For her intrusion, Lingyun ordered her to kneel in the courtyard for two hours.
Later, as Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li finished their business with the princess and walked out, Mo Xiuyao delivered Lingyun's pardon to the kneeling woman. Left briefly alone with Mo Xiuyao, Su Zuidie recounted her family's tragic fate after the Eastern Palace incident—her mother's death in exile and her sister's suicide—before expressing her gratitude that his legs had been healed by his wife.
Not long after, Su Zuidie escaped further abuse on the streets and was found collapsed by Wen Ran, who was returning from her family home. Wen Ran brought her back to Prince Ding's Mansion for medical care. She petitioned Ye Li to let Su Zuidie stay for a few days to recover from her severe beatings, a request Ye Li readily granted.
Inside their quarters, as Ye Li sorted through items, Mo Xiuyao joined her and explained his past with the Su family. He revealed that Su Zuidie was the daughter of the former chief of the Eastern Palace guards and that they had been betrothed in their youth, though they had no real memory of each other. After her family was exiled, they had lost all contact.
Ye Li agreed that they had to help her, playfully handing Mo Xiuyao a bowl of sugar to deliver to their guest. To bypass the heavy government blockade on Lishan Mountain—where over two hundred soldiers from the Yingyang Battalion and Huben Squad guarded the main routes—Li Feibai scaled the steep, treacherous cliffs at the back of the mountain. Upon finally reaching Lishan Academy, he was horrified to find the entire estate in ruins, with no survivors left alive.
At the Shende Shop, Han Mingxi stubbornly refused to leave, insisting he must stay to repay Ye Li for saving his life twice, ignoring even the fact that his wages had been stopped. Meanwhile, Ye Ying was sorting through the belongings of the late Mo Jingli when she uncovered old correspondence exchanged between him and Ye Li during their youth. She immediately ordered her servant to return the letters to Ye Li. When the bundle was delivered, Ye Li opened it, staring at the remnants of her past.
