My Divine Emissary Episode 7 Recap
> My Divine Emissary Recap
Cui Anshi had Li Mengmeng tied to a cross, demanding to know who was behind her actions. Li Mengmeng insisted there was no mastermind. Unconvinced, Cui Anshi prepared to use a small knife to disfigure her face, threatening her with Lingchi, cutting flesh piece by piece. Li Mengmeng cried out to see the Emperor. Just as Cui Anshi was about to start, Qi Yan arrived.
Cui Anshi told him the dungeon was a filthy place and advised him to leave to protect his sacred body. Qi Yan ordered him to move aside. Cui Anshi resisted, stating he was acting on the Empress Dowager's orders to interrogate the "demon." Qi Yan shouted at him to get out of the way. Qi Yan approached the weak Li Mengmeng, holding her and preparing to leave.
Cui Anshi protested again, calling Li Mengmeng a demon who practiced sorcery and could threaten the Emperor's life, reiterating his orders from the Empress Dowager. Qi Yan firmly declared that Eunuch Li was his person and the Empress Dowager's orders didn't matter. He stated that from then on, no one was allowed to touch her without his permission. At Qingyan Palace, an imperial physician examined Li Mengmeng and reported she had no internal injuries but several external wounds.
He prepared to treat them. When the physician moved to undress her, Qi Yan immediately stopped him and ordered him and all servants to leave, stating Li Mengmeng was merely startled and perhaps hadn't slept well, now resting peacefully. He left the medicine and intended to apply it himself. Li Mengmeng woke up just as he was about to start. Qi Yan saw she was awake and told her to apply the medicine herself.
Li Mengmeng asked if he now knew she was a girl. Qi Yan nodded. She then asked if he was the one who sent Steward Lu Huan to save her, and he confirmed it. Li Mengmeng touched his face, needing to confirm he was real and she wasn't dreaming again. As they spoke, the Empress Dowager arrived. Qi Yan knew he couldn't let the Empress Dowager see Li Mengmeng there.
He quickly moved Li Mengmeng into the bed and tried to hide her, claiming he had a cold and didn't want to infect her. The Empress Dowager was suspicious and pulled back the covers, revealing Li Mengmeng. Upon seeing her, the Empress Dowager was so startled she fainted. Cui Anshi seized the moment, insisting Li Mengmeng was a "demon" who had used "sorcery" to harm the Empress Dowager.
Qi Yan, however, countered that Emissary Xiao was a divine emissary sent by heaven, reminding the Empress Dowager of the day of the rain prayer when the emissary brought rainfall. He claimed he stopped Cui Anshi from harming the emissary earlier to prevent the heaven's retribution.
Cui Anshi challenged this, proposing that if Li Mengmeng (as Emissary Xiao) could cure the Empress Dowager within three days, he would believe her divine status; otherwise, she should be charged with deceiving the Emperor and executed. Qi Yan agreed to the challenge, much to the dismay of his loyal servant who doubted Li Mengmeng's ability to heal anyone. Qi Yan accepted responsibility, saying he failed to protect those around him. He then sent Lu Huan on another task.
The Noble Consort also arrived, expressing concern for the Empress Dowager and suggesting a method related to the Empress Dowager's anger over the Emperor not having shared intimacy with her. Qi Yan stopped her from saying more, attributing his actions to a fear of future regret. Later, Zhou Quan, tasked with delivering clothes to the Noble Consort, faked a sprained ankle in front of Guard Kong An outside the Noble Consort's palace.
Feigning pain and urgency about the delivery, she persuaded Kong An to deliver the clothes for her while she supposedly guarded the door. This allowed Zhou Quan to sneak inside and find Li Mengmeng, who was hiding and lamenting her fate, having gone from divine emissary to eunuch and now labeled a demon.
Zhou Quan informed her that the entire palace knew she had scared the Empress Dowager unconscious and that she had only three days to cure her illness or face beheading. Li Mengmeng was terrified, admitting she knew nothing about treating illnesses. Zhou Quan urged her to escape. Just then, Kong An returned. Zhou Quan quickly pretended her ankle still hurt, asking Kong An to help her walk back, creating another diversion for Li Mengmeng to flee.
As Li Mengmeng left, she had a pair of sneakers hanging around her neck. Zhou Quan was curious about the shoes, and Li Mengmeng explained they were from her hometown and would help her run faster if pursued, marveling at their ability to accelerate and expressing a desire to visit Li Mengmeng's hometown.
Li Mengmeng went to a restaurant to eat and overheard two men criticizing the Emperor as incompetent and immoral, even suggesting he had cursed the late Emperor and was now cursing the Empress Dowager. Unable to stand by, Li Mengmeng slammed her hand on the table and verbally defended the Emperor, arguing with the men and citing legal repercussions for slander. The men became aggressive, but Qi Su appeared and intervened, fighting them off.
Afterwards, Qi Su asked Li Mengmeng about her future plans. She expressed a strong desire to return to her hometown, where she could comfortably watch movies, eat snacks, and binge-watch dramas. Qi Su asked if her home was truly that good, and she confirmed the comfortable life there. He suggested she could live comfortably as an imperial consort, but Li Mengmeng rejected this, stating it wasn't the life she wanted. Qi Su found her very special.
Li Mengmeng, however, saw herself as a "deserter" from her hometown, always trying to escape problems. As they spoke, they heard royal heralds posting imperial notices, offering a reward of a hundred taels for a physician who could cure the Empress Dowager. The description of the symptoms—dizziness, headache, difficulty standing—reminded Li Mengmeng of her mother's cervical spondylosis. Recalling Qi Yan's kindness and how he had saved her, she felt she couldn't abandon him.
Stepping forward, she took down the imperial notice, accepting the challenge. Qi Yan saw that the person who had accepted the imperial invitation was Li Mengmeng. He approached her and asked if she had anything to explain. Li Mengmeng confessed that the Empress Dowager had fainted because of her, and since Qi Yan had saved her, she couldn't abandon him. She admitted she was very afraid of failing and being executed but believed Qi Yan would protect her.
Knowing time was short, she stated she needed to consult with the imperial physicians about the Empress Dowager's condition and find the book depository. In the book depository, Li Mengmeng researched the symptoms described by the imperial physician, confirming cervical spondylosis along with vomiting and diarrhea, which she suspected might be a symptom of cold and deficiency based on something her mother had mentioned.
Consulting medical texts, she found that ginger could warm the middle and prevent vomiting and considered adding it to her moxibustion treatment. While she was there, the Noble Consort arrived. The Noble Consort said Li Mengmeng felt like a good friend. Li Mengmeng asked if the Noble Consort loved the Emperor. The Noble Consort replied that as the Noble Consort, she "naturally had to like him." Li Mengmeng questioned this idea of having to like someone.
The Noble Consort confided that when she was drunk last time, she kept calling out "Huaian" (Qi Yan's nickname) and asked Li Mengmeng to keep this secret. Meanwhile, somewhere else, individuals discussed how everything was proceeding as planned, mentioning they had gained the trust of the "little eunuch" and would use this proximity to target Qi Yan by destroying what he loved most, making him experience the pain of loss.
Li Mengmeng returned to Qi Yan, announcing she had figured out a treatment method. She showed him a human anatomy chart she had drawn, explaining parts of the body like the stomach, intestines, and heart, demonstrating the heart's location and how it pounds when one meets someone they like.
She then pointed to the cervical vertebrae, explaining how ancient people's habits like sleeping on high pillows and wearing heavy hair ornaments could cause issues that affect blood supply to the head, leading to dizziness and nausea like the Empress Dowager was experiencing. Qi Yan asked if she had a cure. Li Mengmeng acknowledged that chronic illnesses were difficult to cure quickly but suggested cupping and moxibustion might be effective.
She asked if they had glass, and lacking it, asked for bamboo instead. She then crafted bamboo cupping tools. The Noble Consort also sent a package to Emissary Xiao. Li Mengmeng prepared to try the tools, first testing them on Qi Yan. Qi Yan noticed her dark circles and brought her food, urging her to eat for energy. As they ate, Li Mengmeng reiterated her point about the heart beating for someone you like. Qi Yan internally questioned why he felt such stirrings for Li Mengmeng, finding the idea impossible. He suddenly got up and left, with Li Mengmeng following after him.
