The First Jasmine Episode 23 Recap
> The First Jasmine Recaps
Su Zuidie, appearing frail and sickly after catching a cold, had a brief encounter with Mo Xiuyao. Despite her tearful and pitiable demeanor, Mo Xiuyao remained unmoved, his heart now solely devoted to his wife, Ye Li. Meanwhile, Ye Li organized a box of old letters once exchanged between Mo Jingli and herself before joining Mo Xiuyao for dinner. At the Jingzhao Prefecture prison, Zhang Hengyuan remained stubbornly silent under interrogation, shouting that he was being framed.
Furious that the assassination attempt on Mo Xiuyao at the weapons depot had failed because Mo Xiuyao's legs had healed, Marquis Muyang (Zhou Jing) vented his anger on Qin Cang. However, because Qin Cang was still useful to him, the Marquis quickly changed his tone. He tasked Qin Cang with a dangerous new mission: to infiltrate the Jingzhao Prefecture prison and silence Zhang Hengyuan.
As an incentive, the Marquis promised that after the job was done, Qin Cang could flee to Yunchuan, and once things settled down, he would officially bring him back to the capital as his adopted son. Deeply moved, Qin Cang pledged to go through fire and water for Zhou Jing. Unbeknownst to him, Zhou Jing secretly ordered Zhao Ting to follow him, instructing that if anything went wrong, "leave no survivors"—implying he wanted Qin Cang silenced as well.
Zhou Tianyang, overhearing this, asked his father if "no survivors" included Qin Cang, pointing out that Qin Cang was also his son. Zhou Jing evaded the question, warning Tianyang not to get his hands dirty with blood and reminding him that he was his only son. Under the cover of night, Qin Cang infiltrated the Jingzhao Prefecture prison and set a fire to distract the guards before entering the cell and stabbing Zhang Hengyuan to death.
As he tried to escape, his identity was exposed, and he was cornered by the guards. Severely wounded, Qin Cang managed to flee the prison. Zhao Ting arrived under the guise of assisting him. Just as Zhou Tianyang suddenly appeared and warned Qin Cang to run, Zhao Ting stabbed Qin Cang in the chest with a dagger and knocked Tianyang unconscious. Qin Cang died in shock, unable to believe his own father's betrayal.
Anticipating that Marquis Muyang would put on his usual act of "asking for punishment" in front of the Empress Dowager, Guo Jin summoned Consort Dowager Qin Zheng to witness the spectacle. True to expectations, the Marquis barged in and admitted to the prison murder. Guo Jin criticized his growing arrogance and foolishness, pointing out that he had acted recklessly for eight years under the guise of loyalty. Qin Zheng realized that the Empress Dowager and the Marquis were drifting apart.
Later, Qin Zheng asked Lin Tinglan for her assessment of the Marquis, to which Lin Tinglan replied that he was nothing more than "rotting bones in a tomb," useless for the long term. Hearing that Lady Yusheng was in trouble, Ye Li immediately rushed to Xiangqi Pavilion with Han Mingxi to assist her. Noticing that Ye Li had not returned late into the night, Mo Xiuyao grew anxious and mobilized everyone in the residence to search for her.
When Ye Li finally returned, she honestly admitted she had gone to a brothel. Disappointed and concerned by her secrecy, Mo Xiuyao expressed his frustration, but Ye Li humbled herself and offered a sincere apology, which he quickly accepted. That night, haunted by a recurring nightmare of being left all alone on a dark, deserted road, Ye Li was comforted by Mo Xiuyao, who promised to never abandon her and to face life, death, fortune, and misfortune together.
Ever since Mo Xiuyao had rescued her years ago, Ye Li had subconsciously harbored feelings for him, though she was too young to understand love at the time. Driven by a burning question she wanted to ask him, she had once secretly traveled all the way from the capital to the Changding county camp, only to miss him because his army had already departed.
Now, standing by his side, she finally asked him the question that had lingered in her heart for years: on the day they first met, with so many people around, why did he pull only her onto his horse, and did he already like her back then?
