Ms. Cupid in Love Episode 2 Recap
> Ms. Cupid in Love Recap
Bo Yan fought off the playboy and his thugs. One of the playboy's men asked why Bo Yan gave him an extra punch, to which Bo Yan replied, "Because you're ugly." Shangguan Ya, impressed by Bo Yan's strength, told him she didn't expect him to be so helpful. Bo Yan warned her not to wander around again. However, in the commotion, a group of vendors whose stalls were damaged demanded compensation from Shangguan Ya, claiming she broke their things.
They insisted she couldn't leave and forcibly took her purse. Shangguan Ya protested that they were taking too much, while the vendors argued it wasn't enough before running off. Shangguan Ya, frustrated by the situation, declared to Bo Yan that he would have to pay for all the damage. The chaos in Yueyang City's marriage scene had caught the attention of the imperial court. Xu Yunchuan, the imperial censor of the Hongluan Department, was specially dispatched to investigate thoroughly.
He was given three months to curb the chaos and support the matchmaking industry. Xu Yunchuan, as the Prime Minister's son, could have avoided this difficult task. However, he ordered his servant, Xi, to buy several large boxes of gifts. Xi questioned why Xu Yunchuan would volunteer for such a problematic mission, reminding him that as a first-ranked official's son, he wasn't allowed to leave the Capital without official approval.
Xu Yunchuan explained that this marriage chaos was the best opportunity for him to return to Yueyang City, where the girl he had been thinking about for over a decade resided. Xu Yunchuan, eager to see her, told Xi they needed to reach Yueyang City in three days. A messenger from Magistrate Lu delivered the news to Shangguan Ya, informing her that an imperial censor was on his way to Yueyang City, though the news hadn't been made public yet.
Shangguan Ya learned that her friend Jing was on a distant trip and wouldn't return for some time. Overwhelmed with anxiety, Shangguan Ya confided in her father, lamenting that the marriage chaos had been discovered and the imperial court was sending officials. She explained that the Top Matchmaker would be directly affected by the rectification efforts and urged her father to take it seriously.
Her father, however, remained unconcerned, even cheerfully suggesting they rename "Top Matchmaker" to "Top Divorce Agency" as a win-win solution, imagining slogans like "You'll be free and single in just one minute." Shangguan Ya vehemently opposed the idea, arguing that their agency had a century-long reputation and could not simply follow trends by becoming a divorce agency. Her father feigned chest pain to avoid the discussion, telling her to continue working while he went to rest.
Determined not to change her business, Shangguan Ya decided to enlist Bo Yan's help, calling for him to work as a laborer. Bo Yan entered and sarcastically asked if her father had never taught her to knock. Shangguan Ya retorted that it was her home, so why should she? She told him to come to the study, but he responded with an attitude, saying he would be there in a while.
Shangguan Ya insisted he hurry and waited for him in the hall. When he eventually showed up, she chided him for being late and for not helping with the mess. Bo Yan, with his aloof demeanor, asked what the mess had to do with him, stating he didn't create it. Shangguan Ya insisted that since he lived there, he should help clean up and called him noisy. As they argued, their clothes became disheveled.
Shangguan Ya grabbed Bo Yan's clothes and belt, refusing to give them back until he helped. Bo Yan, calling her unreasonable, demanded his clothes back, but Shangguan Ya held firm, declaring she wouldn't let him leave. Hearing Shangguan Ya's loud voice, her father came to investigate. Panicked, Shangguan Ya quickly dragged Bo Yan behind a bookshelf, urging him to squat down to avoid being seen and causing a misunderstanding.
Fortunately, her father, always looking for a good deal, only noticed Shangguan Ya's fallen purse. He picked up the full purse and decided to keep it for himself, happily leaving to buy braised pork balls. Both Shangguan Ya and Bo Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but their contentious relationship seemed to deepen with each encounter. Meanwhile, the servant Lian Li overheard members of the Bachelor Club at a restaurant secretly plotting how to counter the court's policy against singlehood.
Master Wan, the scholar, had invited shopkeepers to the Bachelor Club for a discussion to address the imperial censor's upcoming visit, which sought to suppress single people and support married couples. Shangguan Ya, upon hearing this, decided to disguise herself to infiltrate the meeting and gather information. However, her maid Hongdou, accompanying her in a similar disguise, was immediately recognized by a passerby, forcing Shangguan Ya to abandon her attempt and send Hongdou home.
As Shangguan Ya muttered about Hongdou's unreliability, a falling signboard nearly hit her. Fortunately, Bo Yan, who happened to be passing by, saved her. He revealed that he had spent the morning searching public notice boards for clues about his identity. Shangguan Ya reviewed the various posters he had collected, dismissing the possibility of him being a chef due to his obsession with cleanliness. Bo Yan countered that while memories fade, habits remain.
Shangguan Ya then jokingly suggested he might be a butcher, noting a "big nose" resemblance in a picture, while Bo Yan insisted his nose was "prominent." Despite the physical differences, Bo Yan acknowledged that the butcher's profession shared some similarities with his instincts, indicating he would pursue that lead. Unable to enter the Bachelor Club without an invitation, Shangguan Ya found Bo Yan, who used his qinggong to pull her onto the roof.
Shangguan Ya, however, misstepped and fell into a dog kennel below. She screamed for help, but Bo Yan refused to descend, stating he disliked "furry things." Attracted by the commotion, Wan Yuanming and other Bachelor Club members arrived. Wan Yuanming immediately began to mock Shangguan Ya, calling her unethical and unprincipled for holding secret matchmaking events and "leading people astray."
Shangguan Ya defended herself, arguing that promoting marriage was no different from his promotion of singlehood, as both were free choices. Wan Yuanming retorted that she was being unreasonable. He then highlighted her perceived hypocrisy, pointing out that she, a matchmaker who preached "love leading to marriage," had been single for twenty years. The Bachelor Club members joined in the ridicule, accusing her of being a hypocrite who couldn't even manage her own love life.
Incensed, Shangguan Ya returned home with a limp, angrily confronting Bo Yan for not rescuing her from the dog kennel. She called him cold-blooded, unsympathetic, inhuman, and someone who ate her family's food for nothing, vowing to make him pay. The next morning, Shangguan Ya declared to Bo Yan that since her establishment was merely a matchmaking agency, she had no right to keep him.
She expressed her extreme dissatisfaction with his recent actions and the losses he caused, telling him to leave. To her surprise, Bo Yan readily agreed, saying he would pack his things immediately. Just as he left, Lian Li rushed in to announce that Wan Yuanming had arrived with members of the Bachelor Club, causing trouble at the Top Matchmaker.
Wan Yuanming accused Shangguan Ya of being heinous and selfish for promoting marriage while remaining single herself, then presented a "Transfer of Ownership" agreement, demanding she sell the agency. Shangguan Ya refused, asserting that the Top Matchmaker had committed no crimes or illegal operations. She questioned his motives, suggesting he was after her family's property, which he dismissed.
Wan Yuanming argued that she lacked integrity, offering her a chance to either sign the agreement and leave Yueyang City, or change her ways and join the Bachelor Club to align her words with her actions. Shangguan Ya scoffed at his suggestion, declaring he could "dream on."
As the Bachelor Club members chanted for the Top Matchmaker to get out of Yueyang City, Shangguan Ya, in a moment of desperation, defiantly declared that she was not single and had already been betrothed. The members were shocked and skeptical, demanding to see her fiancé and the engagement contract. Just as things escalated, her father unexpectedly stepped forward, corroborating her claim. He proudly announced that his daughter, Shangguan Ya, had indeed been betrothed since childhood through an infant betrothal.
After a frantic search, he produced an old engagement contract. He then whispered to a shocked Shangguan Ya that the fiancé named on the contract, Chu Ye, was actually her cousin who had passed away when she was three. Publicly, her father explained that Chu Ye lived "a place far. . . far, so far away," which was why he had hesitated to let his daughter marry so far. Wan Yuanming, seeing through their attempt to buy time, was unconvinced.
He stated that enough time had passed for the engagement to become questionable. Capitalizing on their predicament, he issued an ultimatum: Shangguan Ya's fiancé, Chu Ye, must appear within three days to fulfill the marriage contract. If Chu Ye failed to appear, the Top Matchmaker would forfeit its ownership to the Bachelor Club, and the Shangguan family would be forced to leave Yueyang City entirely. Shangguan Ya was at a loss, wondering how they would resolve the issue.
Her father, however, was quick-witted and suggested they find someone to impersonate Chu Ye. Shangguan Ya was skeptical, asking where they could find such a person on short notice, especially since everyone in the city knew their family's background. Just then, her father spotted Bo Yan walking past their gate. Without hesitation, he declared, "That guy. He will be Chu Ye."
