Overlord Episode 18 Recap
> Overlord Recap
On the day Qinglong Firm was established, members of the Longzhu Gang gathered. Li Qingliu arrived with his attendants and materials, initiating a toast. He praised Long Aoyi, acknowledging her leadership. However, Long Aoyi humbly stated that she only pursued ventures profitable for her brothers and wasn't inherently righteous. Unexpectedly, Du Xiaoxian arrived uninvited and, before everyone, accused Li Qingliu of being ungrateful.
She recounted enduring hardships while helping him build his business from scratch, only to be kept ignorant of his secret partnership with another woman to establish Qinglong Firm. She raised a bitter toast to her own hard work and to accompanying the “hard-hearted man” he had become. Du Xiaoxian soon departed, leaving everyone in low spirits.
Li Qingliu initially didn't intend to follow her, but Long Aoyi provoked him, calling him indifferent and stating that she couldn't count on his cooperation if he lacked basic compassion. Yielding to Long Aoyi's words, Li Qingliu went after Du Xiaoxian to clarify their relationship. Du Xiaoxian confronted him, expressing her dismay that he considered her an outsider and had disregarded their past affection by forming Qinglong Firm with Long Aoyi.
She questioned his usual caution, suspecting his feelings for Long Aoyi had made him reckless. Li Qingliu firmly told her that the urgent task was the Nyuertu project and that their partnership with Long Aoyi was merely an emergency measure. He reiterated that he had always regarded Du Xiaoxian as a sister and had no romantic feelings for her.
Heartbroken, Du Xiaoxian immediately dropped a cherished gardenia sachet that contained fallen flowers from a tree where they had once planned their future. Yue’er later retrieved the sachet, but Du Xiaoxian, her hopes shattered, dismissed its significance. Xu the Incredible presented several Nyuertu designs, but the supervisor remained critical, deeming them unqualified and harmful to national customs, failing to meet imperial standards for a national gift.
Frustrated, Xu the Incredible decided to approach the design from a different angle, focusing on drawing details. Yan Bin suggested that shadow play might offer a similar solution, implying that Wuyun Pavilion could help provide real-life models for intimate scenes. Xu the Incredible selected Li Qingliu and a dancer from Wuyun Pavilion to pose. However, Li Qingliu's stiff and awkward poses failed to inspire him.
Long Aoyi found Li Qingliu as rigid as a wooden block, criticizing his unexpressive and clumsy movements. Li Qingliu grew irritated by her constant nitpicking. Their argument escalated when Long Aoyi, having misunderstood his interaction with Du Xiaoxian, accused him of "two-timing." Li Qingliu retorted by calling her a "dog." In her agitation, Long Aoyi stumbled and nearly fell, but Li Qingliu caught her in his arms.
Xu the Incredible, observing their natural embrace, immediately praised the pose and asked them to hold it so he could sketch it. At that moment, Li Zhao arrived at Wuyun Pavilion and witnessed Li Qingliu holding Long Aoyi. His face darkened, and he turned and left without a word. Distressed and unwilling to return home, Du Xiaoxian asked Yue’er to accompany her for a walk.
Meanwhile, Li Zhao was dining at a tavern when Wu Lin, returning with a pork hock from Zhouzi Zhang, spotted Du Xiaoxian and Yue’er outside. Knowing Wu Lin's affection for Yue'er and surmising Du Xiaoxian was likely heartbroken, Li Zhao instructed Wu Lin to invite them to join him for a drink. Inside, Li Zhao and Du Xiaoxian shared their sorrows over wine, while Yue’er and Wu Lin chatted by the door.
Du Xiaoxian confided in Li Zhao, sharing Li Qingliu's past: As an infant, he was brought to Silver City by his nanny. He was later adopted by a childless young couple who owned a silk shop. After his adoptive parents passed away, his nanny continued to raise him and also adopted Yan Bin, so the three grew up together.
Du Xiaoxian first met Li Qingliu at the silk shop at age six while buying clothes for a childhood ceremony, and that's when her feelings for him began. Li Zhao expressed envy for Du Xiaoxian and Li Qingliu's childhood bond, wishing he could have met Long Aoyi earlier to change their current circumstances. Noticing Li Zhao's deep feelings for Long Aoyi, Du Xiaoxian suggested they mutually assist each other in their romantic pursuits.
The next day, Yan Bin informed Li Qingliu that Du Xiaoxian and Li Zhao had been drinking all night, with Li Zhao escorting her back to the Du mansion. Concerned about Li Zhao's previous attempts to woo Long Aoyi and now his involvement with Du Xiaoxian, Li Qingliu went to confront him, warning him to stay away from both women.
Li Qingliu asserted that Du Xiaoxian was merely his business partner and a virtuous sister, and he requested Li Zhao to abandon his "romantic" habits. Li Zhao countered by accusing Li Qingliu of being ungrateful and cold-hearted towards Du Xiaoxian, who had dedicated her youth to him. He advised Li Qingliu to explicitly clarify his lack of romantic interest to Du Xiaoxian to avoid further heartbreak.
Li Zhao then declared Long Aoyi his confidante and the only woman he loved, warning Li Qingliu to stay away from her to maintain his "magnanimous status." Later, while playing chess with Yan Bin, Li Qingliu was visibly distracted and in a bad mood, especially upon learning that Long Aoyi and Li Zhao had gone out to dinner together. Yan Bin noticed his master's jealousy. Meanwhile, Du Changfeng hosted a banquet for officials, inquiring about the Nyuertu project.
Upon seeing the completed Nyuertu, he instructed Li Qingliu to immediately produce a batch of finished products. However, Xinsilu faced a severe shortage of raw silk. All other available raw silk had been forcibly acquired by the government at low prices under the pretext that Sichuan silk was inferior and would be replaced by Jiangnan varieties. The collected raw silk mysteriously vanished from the government warehouses, and officials claimed ignorance, stating it had "gone bad."
Li Zhao suspected the raw silk had been diverted to an unofficial bank. He investigated and indeed found a significant quantity of high-quality raw silk there. Although the ledger didn't specify the owner, Li Zhao deduced that only Du Changfeng had control over both raw silk and pepper in Silver City, suggesting the unofficial bank was his private treasury. Leveraging his influence, Li Zhao arranged for 200 bales of high-quality Huzhou silk to be provided to Long Aoyi on credit.
Long Aoyi was overjoyed and praised Li Zhao's loyalty, promising to take him to Wuyun Pavilion for entertainment. Li Qingliu, though present, was pointedly told that the silk was a favor for Long Aoyi, not for him, and that his own disdain for government funds meant such a small gesture wouldn't impress him. Meanwhile, Du Changfeng instructed Du Xiaoxian to prepare gifts for visiting the Grand Consort and Concubine De in Chang'an.
He told her to sell off Xinsilu quickly, bring only her money, and set her sights higher than Silver City, emphasizing that many eyes were on him during his new appointment in Chang'an and he needed a clear separation from his past affairs to avoid complications. Du Xiaoxian understood and agreed.
