Rekap Episod 27 The First Jasmine
> Rekap The First Jasmine
In the prison cell of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, Han Mingxi shared the details of his recent capture with Ye Li. Recalling that he had been held near the southwestern outskirts of the capital—not far from where she had fallen off the cliff—in a bamboo grove, Ye Li deduced that his captor was Mo Jingli, and the location was his Songyue Mountain Villa.
They realized Mo Jingli was behind a massive conspiracy: Princess Lingyun's death in Dachu would inevitably spark a war with Cangbei, just as the previous assassination of Zhong Xingtong by Zhang Hengyuan was designed to sow discord. Ye Li lamented that Mo Jingli was willing to throw the common people into war for his selfish desires.
Hoping to save Ye Li, Han Mingxi offered to take the sole blame for the assassination so she could go free, joking that he owed her his life anyway and his brother would surely capture Su Zuidie to swap for him. Ye Li rejected the sacrifice, insisting they needed concrete evidence. To escape, she devised a plan: she took a sharp hair accessory from Han Mingxi's head, pricked herself to draw blood, and simulated the symptoms of Zhenyu Red poisoning.
Before feigning unconsciousness, she told the Chief Imperial Secretary that she had been poisoned and had only hours to live, claiming the only antidote was with Gu Zheng at the Jingzhao Prefecture. Han Mingxi pressured the hesitant official, warning him of the dire consequences if Prince Ding's consort died in their custody. Meanwhile, outside the capital, Mo Xiuyao was leading an operation to capture Chen Longxiang, a close associate of Marquis Muyang.
During the pursuit, they intercepted a highly suspicious rider. Mo Xiuyao ordered Ah Jin to pursue the man while Wang Suwu guarded Chen Longxiang. The Jingzhao Prefecture officers managed to halt the rider and discovered a hidden letter detailing the murder of Princess Lingyun and urging the Cangbei ruler to be notified. Before they could extract information about other messengers, the rider bit a poison capsule hidden in his tooth and died.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mo Xiuyao dispatched Wang Suwu to guard the remote passes of Mount Yan, instructed Ah Jin to mobilize their border network, and quickly rode back to the capital. Back in the city, Li Feibai approached Gu Zheng, pleading for a way to visit Ye Li in prison.
Before Gu Zheng could explain his lack of authority, a messenger arrived from the prison reporting that Ye Li was dying of Zhenyu Red poisoning and needed the antidote she claimed Gu Zheng held. Realizing Ye Li was plotting something, Gu Zheng rushed to the cells with a bottle of harmless digestive pills. Once inside, Ye Li quietly recovered and instructed Gu Zheng to closely monitor Su Zuidie at the Cangbei posthouse.
Only Ye Li knew that the crucial posthumous edict remained safely hidden under a cushion at the sealed Qingfeng Mingyue Tower. As the political storm gathered, Qin Zheng prepared to return to her homeland in Nanyi, weary of the capital's endless intrigues. Empress Dowager Guo Jin accepted her departure, ordering her attendant, Shunxi, to gift her a pot of capital orchids as a keepsake.
Before leaving the city, Qin Zheng ordered the burning of twenty-seven boxes containing her master's posthumous writings. Meanwhile, Su Zuidie sought out the Marquis Muyang, Zhou Jing. Revealing her allegiance to the Eastern Palace remnants, she admitted to murdering Princess Lingyun to incite war. She used her knowledge of Zhou Jing's years of smuggling military weapons to Cangbei—carried out by the now-missing Chen Longxiang—to blackmail him.
Su Zuidie convinced a shaken Zhou Jing that their only survival lay in framing Ye Li completely, which would destroy Prince Ding's Mansion and halt any investigation into Chen Longxiang. Determined to silence Ye Li, Zhou Jing dispatched his loyal henchman, Zhao Ting, to infiltrate the prison. Zhao Ting slipped into the cell with a blade, but Han Mingxi helped Ye Li fight back. Following a fierce struggle, the assassination failed, and Zhao Ting committed suicide.
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Li convinced the Chief Imperial Secretary to temporarily release her so she could confront the true mastermind. Ye Li tracked down Su Zuidie and systematically exposed her past—from her exile in Luozhou to her recruitment by the Eastern Palace remnants to exact revenge on Guo Jin. Cornered, Su Zuidie proudly confessed to the assassination, declaring her desire to watch the empire burn in retribution for the Eastern Palace.
When Ye Li questioned why she targeted Prince Ding's Mansion, Su Zuidie's rage turned toward Mo Xiuyao, accusing him of abandoning his betrothed to live in comfort during her painful exile. Ye Li defended Mo Xiuyao, describing his own immense suffering, the loss of his brother, and his crippled legs. However, Su Zuidie remained consumed by hatred, screaming that he deserved his fate.
At that moment, the Chief Imperial Secretary stepped out of hiding with his guards, having witnessed her entire confession. Meanwhile, Zhou Jing discovered that his son, Zhou Tianyang, had not left the capital. Instead, Zhou Tianyang had been brought back by Empress Dowager Guo Jin to keep her company in the palace. This move deeply unsettled Zhou Jing, who realized the Empress Dowager was using his son to keep him in check. With the conspiracy unraveled, the court convened.
The Chief Imperial Secretary presented the evidence, and Su Zuidie's guilt was laid bare. General Lei Tengfeng of the Cangbei delegation apologized for his previous hostility and thanked the court for uncovering the truth. Guo Jin magnanimously handed Su Zuidie over to Cangbei to face their own laws, successfully averting the threat of war.
Seizing the moment, Ye Li stood before the throne and formally accused Zhou Jing of attempting to silence her, citing the prison infiltration by his henchman, Zhao Ting. Another official supported her claim, pointing out the damning pattern of assassinations linked directly to the Marquis's closest subordinates.
