Moonlit Order Episode 20 Recap
> Moonlit Order Recap
Gu Qianfu, Feng Zuoren, and Jia Xun discussed Grand Tutor Zhou's suspicious actions. Feng Zuoren pointed out that Xue Youshou had been conspiring with imperial chefs to poison the Emperor. They deduced that Grand Tutor Zhou's haste to execute Jia Xun, while keeping Xue Youshou close to the Emperor, was part of a grand conspiracy.
Their plan was likely to assassinate the Emperor; with Jia Xun eliminated, there would be no legitimate heir, paving the way for Grand Tutor Zhou to install Xue Youshou as the supposed crown prince and seize power. Realizing the extent of the ambition, Feng Zuoren and Jia Xun wanted to stop the plot. However, Gu Qianfu tried to dissuade them.
He reminded Jia Xun of the persecution he had suffered under the Emperor and how Xue Youshou had impersonated him and nearly stolen Feng Zuoren. Gu Qianfu suggested that Jia Xun should simply wait for the Emperor to be poisoned, after which Jia Xun could reveal his true identity and claim the throne, killing two birds with one stone. Jia Xun, still grappling with his newly recovered memories, expressed confusion and an inability to think clearly.
Feng Zuoren empathized with his past hardships and pledged her unwavering support, no matter his decision. Gu Qianfu then urged them to find a safe place to hide, and Jia Xun agreed to go with him while Feng Zuoren handled the situation at the palace. Feng Zuoren went to intervene in the poisoning plot but was ambushed and captured by Grand Tutor Zhou, who brought her before the Emperor.
Grand Tutor Zhou immediately accused Feng Zuoren of attempting to poison the Emperor and conspiring with the Xue family. Feng Zuoren vehemently denied the accusations, questioning why the Emperor's health was deteriorating despite long-term medication. A minister reported that while the medicine itself was untainted, the Emperor's pulse was abnormal. Grand Tutor Zhou used this to further frame the Xue family, claiming they harbored Jia Xun and had tampered with the Western herbs they supplied.
He highlighted Feng Zuoren's marriage into the Xue family as proof she had been bribed to rebel. As Feng Zuoren tried to defend herself, Gu Qianfu appeared wearing a mask. He reinforced the claims, revealing that a sachet Feng Zuoren carried contained the same herbs, framing it as evidence. A flashback showed Gu Qianfu giving her the sachet, claiming it contained calming herbs.
Gu Qianfu coldly stated that Feng Zuoren, willing or not, would ultimately help him, and branded her a traitor. The Emperor, swayed by the accusations, stripped Feng Zuoren of her command of the Xue Guardians, transferring it to the Jing'an Bureau, and ordered her and the entire Xue family imprisoned. Feng Zuoren's loyal subordinates refused to comply, ready to defend her.
Feng Zuoren initially considered purging the treacherous Grand Tutor Zhou, but she realized that resisting would confirm the rebellion charges, implicate all her followers, and leave the Emperor vulnerable. Recognizing it was a trap, she complied, ordering her subordinates to obey the decree and trust that the truth would eventually emerge. Meanwhile, soldiers arrested the entire Xue family at their mansion.
Grand Tutor Zhou brutally interrogated and tortured Feng Zuoren, demanding to know Jia Xun's whereabouts, but she refused to speak. He then had Feng Zuoren confined with the Xue family in prison, hoping his manipulative accusations would cause them to turn on each other. However, the family remained united. Feng Zuoren confessed to them that the Emperor had sent her to investigate if they were harboring the former Crown Prince and to eliminate them if they were.
She explained that she hesitated after experiencing their family's warmth, but upon finding the prince's portrait and the ledger, she knew her mission's conclusion was grim, yet she could not bring herself to harm them. Xue Fugui's mother comforted Feng Zuoren, accepting her as family. At that moment, Gu Qianfu appeared in the prison and confronted his father, Xue Fugui, recounting his painful childhood.
He reminded Xue Fugui of the incident when he was seven: he had accidentally pushed Jia Xun into a lake and fallen in himself, but Xue Fugui had prioritized saving Jia Xun. Gu Qianfu bitterly expressed how Xue Fugui then allowed Jia Xun to take his name, effectively stealing his identity, before exiling him to the south. He vehemently asserted that he was the "real" Xue Hexu and blamed Xue Fugui for the family's current predicament.
Fueled by years of resentment, Gu Qianfu declared his ambition: since everyone believed he was the former Crown Prince, he would embrace this misconception and seize the throne himself, reasoning that if Emperor Jia Ji could rule, so could he. He claimed this was for the family's good, so they would no longer have to live in fear. Horrified, Feng Zuoren condemned him for his elaborate deceit and for hiding his identity from the beginning. Gu Qianfu, unrepentant, retorted by calling her a "monster with hands drenched in carnage" and coldly ordered her to join the "fake Xue Hexu" in the underworld.
