Shining Just For You Episode 2 Recap
> Shining Just For You Recap
Ye Lingshuang, a grassland girl, was raised as the adopted sister of Yebei Princess Qihai Rui. Ostracized by her tribe, including her father Ye Jingqing, who also sealed her celestial powers, Ye Lingshuang found solace only in Qihai Rui. During the Autumn Selection, a warrior (later revealed as Great Chao Emperor Yu Xiuming, disguised as envoy Xie Yuan) saved Ye Lingshuang from a Snow Wolf King she was battling to protect Qihai Rui.
After the warrior killed the wolf—a sacred animal to Yebei—tribesmen demanded Ye Lingshuang's sacrifice. Yu Xiuming, still disguised, protected her with a military token. As the Great Chao proposed a marriage alliance, Yu Xiuming specifically requested Qihai Rui, not the eldest princess Qihai Lian, who had secretly fallen in love with Jie Zhuying during her studies in Great Chao.
Realizing her affair was known to the Emperor and led to Qihai Rui's predicament, Qihai Lian ended her relationship with Jie Zhuying, prioritizing tribal duty. Ye Lingshuang desperately pleaded with Ye Jingqing to prevent Qihai Rui's marriage, but he reminded her of her fate and the amber pendant she always wore. Ye Lingshuang confronted Yu Xiuming, now revealed as the Emperor, attempting to poison him to stop the marriage.
When he remained resolute, she orchestrated Qihai Rui's escape with Yi Wuyou, who had previously tried to take Ye Lingshuang away, but she had prioritized Qihai Rui's safety. Qihai Rui, saddened to leave her parents, departed with Ye Lingshuang accompanying the marriage procession. After Qihai Rui's escape with Yi Wuyou, Ye Lingshuang was captured by the seven tribes of Yebei for her role.
Qihai Rui bravely returned to the altar, threatening to take her own life, asserting her status as the Great Chao's chosen bride, forcing Qihai Zhenyu to intervene and secure Ye Lingshuang's release. Yu Xiuming, furious, ordered Jie Zhuying to pursue the fugitives and held Ye Lingshuang responsible for any negative outcomes. Meanwhile, Jie Haitian's unauthorized deployment of the Blue Army at Qiulan Sea resulted in a devastating surprise attack by Qihai Zhenyu's Yebei forces, almost annihilating them.
Yu Xiuming dispatched reinforcements and tasked Jie Zhuying with retrieving the Mirror of Youth. At this time, Ye Lingshuang tended to the injured Blue Army General Xie Yuan. The conflict escalated as Qihai Zhenyu led Yebei in a full assault on the Great Chao, shouting "Heaven protects Yebei." Yu Xiuming personally led his army, confronting and ultimately killing Qihai Zhenyu in a fierce snow battle.
Ye Jingqing’s Hengchen Skyfire Spell proved ineffective against Yu Xiuming’s power, leading Ye Jingqing to prophesy Great Chao's downfall. During the battle, Ye Lingshuang's amber stone emitted an unusual light. After the war, Ye Lingshuang was among the captives taken by the Great Chao forces. Yu Xiuming decided to return to Tianqi, reiterating Jie Zhuying's task to find the Mirror of Youth, and ordered that Ye Lingshuang be brought back with him.
Leng Tianxi observed a newly sprouted white hair on Yu Xiuming, speculating that the Mirror of Youth's power might be weakening. Among the female captives, Ye Lingshuang bravely protected others from assault by Great Chao soldiers, killing one and revealing the military token Yu Xiuming had given her. Xie Yuan, informed of the incident, ordered thirty military strokes for each offending soldier.
Seizing this opportunity, Ye Lingshuang, aspiring to more than servitude and possessing a talent for star divination, requested Xie Yuan to take her to the Bureau of Astrology, offering to reveal the location of Vice Commander Yan's remains, which Xie Yuan had been seeking. Upon reaching Tianqi, Xie Yuan honored his promise, arranging for Ye Lingshuang to be cleansed and presented at the palace.
Yu Xiuming, despite Jie Haitian's objections regarding protocol, announced a grand Ceremony of Stars to honor his meritorious officials. Fan Ruhui reported on various matters during Yu Xiuming's absence, and the Emperor expressed his dissatisfaction with Jie Haitian's earlier unauthorized troop movements. At the Bureau of Astrology, Jie Haitian initially refused to accept Ye Lingshuang due to her status as a Yebei captive.
Ye Lingshuang, however, boldly declared that only she could divine the whereabouts of the Mirror of Youth, a feat Jie Haitian could not achieve even with a century of practice. She vowed to accept legal punishment if she failed, convincing Jie Haitian to allow her to stay without an official title or salary. Subsequently, Ye Lingshuang revealed the location of Vice Commander Yan's remains to Xie Yuan.
Leng Tianxi voluntarily entered the palace as a concubine, sealing her celestial powers and losing her ability to fly. Though sent by the Winged people to spy on Yu Xiuming, she pledged her unwavering loyalty to him. However, Yu Xiuming did not visit her on the night of her enthronement. Ye Lingshuang's sealed celestial powers granted her premonitions, but their timing was unreliable, prompting her to seek Jie Haitian's guidance in studying star maps.
Jie Haitian, overcoming internal dissent, appointed Ye Lingshuang to lead the Horoscope Department. He also advised Yu Xiuming to withdraw troops from Yebei, advocating for the execution of all but laborers, but Yu Xiuming insisted on relocating the entire population to Yuezhou. Suddenly, the amber stone on Ye Lingshuang's chest emitted a strange light, and a voice introduced itself as Yun Wen, a master star diviner.
Yun Wen explained that she had lost her physical body due to a flawed array and was drawn into the amber stone amidst the celestial power disruption during the Yebei war. Ye Lingshuang, initially skeptical, saw Yun Wen's reflection in a mirror. Yun Wen, acknowledging Ye Lingshuang's suppressed talent for star divination, offered to reveal the Mirror of Youth's location if Ye Lingshuang helped her regain her physical form.
Elsewhere, Xie Yuan received a heart-wrenching order to massacre the residents of Yebei. One day, Yu Xiuming found Ye Lingshuang crying. She expressed her deep grief that Qihai Rui was truly gone and stated her desire to resign from her position after completing the Unified Calendar of Chao and the astrological chart.
Yu Xiuming offered to make her Empress, grant her protection, and the highest honor, contrasting it with her past struggles in Yebei where she was unloved by her father and often imperiled, seen as a disaster star by her people. Ye Lingshuang, however, refused, stating that such titles were not true rewards, and no one in the palace had ever truly received his complete affection.
She lamented wishing she could go back to the night before Qihai Rui's marriage to accept his offer, as Qihai Rui had been her sole ray of hope in a tragic life. Yu Xiuming denied wishing Qihai Rui dead, but Ye Lingshuang blamed him for disrupting Qihai Rui's once-happy life. Yu Xiuming called her feelings an obsession, but Ye Lingshuang insisted Qihai Rui deserved happiness and would forever be her obsession.
Yu Xiuming then remarked that Qihai Rui may not have had that destiny, but Ye Lingshuang did. Ye Lingshuang reiterated her desire for freedom once her work was finished. Under Yun Wen's guidance, Ye Lingshuang began working on the Suizheng Array, a ritual designed to travel back in time. Yun Wen clarified that while the array could send her back, it required an extremely pure core of Suizheng Celestial Power, which Ye Lingshuang's current Ice Crystals couldn't provide.
Yun Wen also explained that altering the past depended on Ye Lingshuang's choices, and if key individuals made different decisions, everything would change. Ye Lingshuang wondered if returning to the past would mean Yu Xiuming would never fall for her. Yi Wuyou was informed that they had approximately eighty to ninety thousand gold beads remaining in Ningzhou. He instructed his aide to use thirty thousand gold beads to pay for recently purchased Ice Crystals.
He also promised Ye Lingshuang that he would keep her amber pendant safe. Meanwhile, Ping's wife, Yuan'er, excitedly revealed her pregnancy to him. Ping, overjoyed, immediately planned to inform Yi Wuyou and take Yuan'er away, but Yuan'er advised him to be patient and prepare thoroughly for their departure. Yu Xiuming visited Ye Lingshuang, now referred to as Director Bai, who was supposedly ill and absent from court. He informed her that he would not approve her request to resign.
Moments later, Ye Lingshuang collapsed. Yu Xiuming, in a state of distress, ordered all available doctors to be summoned, even from the common people. Chao Gao, a young astrologer, arrived and discerned that Ye Lingshuang's condition was not an illness but a curse. He quickly cast a protective array, explaining it would preserve her life for twelve hours and emit a beam of light every two hours to pinpoint the arcanist's location in Tianqi.
Yu Xiuming immediately mobilized his entire force to search every district of the city. When an official reported resistance from some noble residences, Yu Xiuming sternly declared that anyone obstructing the search would be charged with treason. Guards were seen reinforcing security around a specific courtyard, hinting at the arcanist's hiding place. As the twelve hours neared their end, Yu Xiuming was informed that the arcanist from Yunzhou was operating in the east of the city.
Yu Xiuming, without hesitation, personally led his men to confront him. He engaged the arcanist and his fifty-two accomplices, eventually capturing them all, though sustaining injuries in the process. Upon his return, Ye Lingshuang awakened. Chao Gao explained that she had been under a curse, his array had bought time, and Yu Xiuming had personally tracked down and apprehended the arcanist to break the spell. Yu Xiuming, still visibly injured, asked Ye Lingshuang if she found his current appearance appealing.
She expressed concern about his wounds, which had not healed instantly as they usually did. He claimed he had deliberately allowed the injuries to linger so she would witness his sacrifice. Ye Lingshuang questioned why he, a compassionate ruler known for his grand principles, would care so deeply for her individual well-being. Yu Xiuming confessed that despite his efforts for the people, he was inexplicably drawn to her, calling her cold-hearted and ungrateful. Ye Lingshuang fainted once more.
Yun Wen jokingly suggested a bizarre remedy (smearing her face with a mixture of earth, water, and bitter bile), which was dismissed as Ye Lingshuang quickly regained consciousness. Later, Leng Tianxi observed Yu Xiuming’s wounds and voiced her concern about his self-neglect, but he dismissed her, assuring her that he knew his own limits. Ling Yun reported on the capture of the arcanist and strongly implicated Duanmu Yan from the Bureau of Astrology in the conspiracy.
Yu Xiuming ordered the Bureau of Justice to launch a thorough investigation into Duanmu Yan. Duanmu Yan, now imprisoned, pleaded his innocence to Ye Lingshuang. He admitted only to encountering the arcanist with the intention of recruiting him for the Bureau of Astrology and unknowingly giving him some of Ye Lingshuang’s personal items, but denied any malicious intent. Ye Lingshuang, however, saw through his pretense, exposing his ambitious collusions with various officials.
Despite his deceit, she decided to overlook his direct involvement in her curse, informing him that the necessary Ice Crystals for the time-traveling passage had been acquired (though expensive and taking some days to arrive). Qihai Lian and another woman discussed selling the costly fabrics gifted by the Emperor for the wedding. Qihai Lian decided against it, fearing it would disrespect Yu Xiuming, and instead offered to use the material to make a new formal dress for the other woman.
On Qihai Lian's wedding day, Ye Lingshuang visited her, remarking that Qihai Rui would have been happy to witness the celebration. Qihai Lian expressed her hope that Ye Lingshuang would one day find her own happiness and understand the choices Qihai Lian had made.
