Overlord Episode 27 Recap
> Overlord Recap
Li Qingliu, facing the Emperor, resolutely defended Long Aoyi, declaring that she was his beloved and an old acquaintance from Silver City. He clarified that she was not a mere dancer but the master of a gang in Silver City. The Emperor, enraged by this revelation and calling Li Qingliu an unfilial son, reprimanded him for humiliating the imperial family by revealing "bed chamber matters" in court with a lower-class bandit.
He vowed never to permit such disregard for royal status. Li Qingliu countered, praising Long Aoyi's character, highlighting her dedication to the common people and her past assistance during his time in Xinsilu, offering to bear any punishment himself to protect her. The Emperor cut him off, reiterating that the court was for state affairs.
He then ordered the Stewardess Office to finalize the selection and investiture of Li Qingliu's consort in half a month, specifically on the eighth day of the fifth month, allowing no further debate. He added that if the lower-class woman was indeed pregnant, she could not be cast aside among the common folk. Du Xiaoxian, noticing Li Qingliu’s constant presence in his study, visited him and draped a coat over his shoulders, concerned about his fatigue.
She reminded him of his past tireless work in Silver City for Xinsilu, recounting how she had prepared lotus seed soup with Osmanthus for him for ten consecutive days, only to fall ill herself. Li Qingliu acknowledged the memory. Du Xiaoxian then offered to make the soup for him again. When Li Qingliu tried to explain what had happened the previous night, Du Xiaoxian interrupted, assuming he was merely drunk and had "made do."
She surprisingly offered that if he truly cared for Long Aoyi, she would accept Long Aoyi as his concubine once Du Xiaoxian was officially married into the mansion as the Princess.
Li Qingliu urged her to think more about her own well-being, but Du Xiaoxian revealed her long-standing devotion, stating that from the first moment she saw him, she resolved to marry him and dedicated herself to becoming a worthy partner, learning accounting when he ran a silk shop and adapting when he became a Prince. She affirmed that he was the only person she ever wanted before leaving to prepare the lotus seed soup.
Meanwhile, Li Zhao arrived at the Jinjiang Hock Restaurant, where Long Aoyi had eaten her first meal in Chang'an. He ordered the same humble foods – pancakes, biscuits, and a crusty pancake – remarking that he would have never considered such "lower-class" street food in the past, but now found it palatable, demonstrating his willingness to endure the hardships Long Aoyi had faced.
Wu Lin expressed his concern, noting Long Aoyi’s relationship with Prince Jun, but Li Zhao defiantly questioned why Li Qingliu was deemed worthy of her and he was not. He declared that he could endure any suffering, even "hardships," for Long Aoyi's sake and vowed to shed his past weakness, promising to reclaim everything that should be his. Du Changfeng, having been appointed Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, initially strove to cultivate a reputation as an upright official.
He instructed his steward to reject a casket of jewels from Mr. Zhang, a gentry from the west of the city, and warned of severe punishment for bribery. He also refused a visit from a recently impeached official, emphasizing his commitment to rooting out corruption in the Ministry. His steward reported that his colleagues now praised his impartiality. Unexpectedly, Concubine De arrived at his mansion in disguise.
After exchanging pleasantries and congratulations for his promotion, she asked Du Changfeng to manage a batch of her timber stored at the Hanjiacang Warehouse in Eastern Capital Luoyang. Du Changfeng eagerly accepted, promising not to disappoint her. Once Concubine De departed, Du Changfeng immediately rescinded his previous orders, instructing his steward to accept Mr. Zhang's jewels and summon the dismissed Mr. Liu, realizing that Concubine De's visit signified he now had the formidable backing of the Pang family.
Long Aoyi had been consuming vast amounts of food and alcohol with merchants from the Qinglong Firm daily to investigate her clues, often suffering from indigestion. Noticing she and her maid were consistently followed when alone, she decided to visit Buyu Pavilion. While gambling there, Princess Shengping, who also recognized Long Aoyi as the "Jia'ermu nabobess," observed Long Aoyi experiencing nausea and openly speculated that she might be pregnant.
Long Aoyi immediately saw an opportunity, realizing that faking a pregnancy could provide a legitimate excuse to enter the Imperial Palace for her investigation. Following Princess Shengping’s report to the Emperor and Li Qingliu, the Emperor dispatched the Right Qianniu Guard and Physician Qin to Prince Jun's Mansion. Despite the mansion steward's attempts to delay them, the guards entered, and Physician Qin proceeded to examine Long Aoyi using the suspended thread diagnosis.
During the examination, Long Aoyi deliberately created the false impression of a "slippery pulse," a sign of pregnancy. Physician Qin confirmed that she indeed had a "slippery pulse," though he also noted some signs of food retention. Du Xiaoxian, returning from a visit to Concubine De, was unsettled to find imperial guards surrounding Prince Jun's Mansion. She rushed to Li Qingliu, only to overhear Physician Qin announcing Long Aoyi's pregnancy. The news left her heartbroken and reeling.
Li Qingliu, however, was overcome with a mix of surprise and joy, and quickly arranged for Long Aoyi to reside permanently in the mansion. After Physician Qin left, Li Qingliu, at a loss for words, simply told Long Aoyi to rest and exited the room. Du Xiaoxian confronted Li Qingliu, questioning the paternity of Long Aoyi's child. She cited Long Aoyi's low-class background and previous residence in a brothel, suggesting she might be promiscuous.
Li Qingliu firmly countered that after their night together, imperial Qianniu Guards had been assigned to monitor Long Aoyi, ensuring she had no intimate contact with any other man. Du Xiaoxian, however, stubbornly called Long Aoyi a manipulative "lower-class" schemer, reminiscent of the Snake Gang who stole gold threads and burned the silk shop, implying Long Aoyi was using a "wild child" for deceit. Enraged by her accusations, Li Qingliu harshly dismissed her.
Long Aoyi and her maid discussed the strategy, revealing that the method of faking pregnancy through induced indigestion combined with musk pills was an old trick taught by Feng from Wuyun Pavilion, originally used to help girls marry their chosen partners. Her maid expressed concern for Long Aoyi's health and reputation, but Long Aoyi dismissed these worries, stating that reputation was meaningless if it didn't help her achieve revenge; her priority was to enter the palace and find the murderer.
To maintain the illusion of indigestion, Long Aoyi continued to consume large amounts of food nightly. Soon after, the Emperor, following his initial order, sent messengers to summon Long Aoyi for a re-examination by the Imperial Hospital. Three imperial physicians collectively diagnosed her, unequivocally confirming her pregnancy. Despite the Emperor’s initial exasperation about a commoner carrying a royal child, he relented due to the Empress Dowager’s deep affection for Long Aoyi and the recent scarcity of new imperial descendants.
The Empress Dowager emphasized that a new dragon child would be a joyous event, especially since most recent births had been princesses, and a grandson would expand the imperial family. Concubine De, however, expressed severe doubts, detailing Long Aoyi’s journey from Silver City to Chang’an, her masquerade as a foreign dancer at a banquet, and her apparent "bewitchment" of Li Qingliu, suggesting a calculated scheme. She demanded a thorough investigation into Long Aoyi's "impure motives."
Princess Shengping sarcastically interjected, praising Concubine De’s extensive intelligence network. When Concubine De hinted at wanting to eliminate the "royal blood," Princess Shengping bluntly asked if she intended to kill the baby. The Emperor intervened, siding with the Empress Dowager on the importance of an heir. Concubine De then cast doubt on Li Qingliu and Long Aoyi's actual intimacy, citing Li Qingliu’s inebriation that night. Li Qingliu dismissed the need for details, asserting his responsibility for Long Aoyi’s compromised reputation.
Princess Shengping further pressed Concubine De, asking if she wished for Long Aoyi to reveal Li Qingliu's intimate secrets, such as a "spot on his chest" or a "mole on his thigh." At this point, Long Aoyi emerged from behind a screen, kneeling and confessing her "sins."
She then provided convincing proof: she confirmed Li Qingliu possessed a "light, birthmark-like spot" on his chest, which, she noted, had vanished the following day, likely due to an alcohol allergy, thus proving intimate knowledge of his body. Reassured, the Emperor decreed that Long Aoyi, as the bearer of a royal heir, should return to Prince Jun's Mansion to nurture the fetus, reserving any decisions on rewards or punishments until after the child's birth.
Meanwhile, Du Changfeng informed Concubine De that he had successfully taken control of the designated warehouses. He voiced concerns about his daughter Du Xiaoxian's standing in Prince Jun's Mansion, fearing that Long Aoyi's pregnancy and potential early birth of an heir might undermine Du Xiaoxian's future status. Concubine De dismissed his worries, reassuring him that Du Xiaoxian was already betrothed as the main consort and would officially become the "expectant Princess" after the upcoming ancestral worship ceremony.
She emphasized that having concubines was common among nobility and would not affect Du Xiaoxian's position. Concubine De secretly hoped that Long Aoyi's pregnancy would finally make Li Zhao abandon his affections for Long Aoyi. Unbeknownst to her, Li Zhao was drowning his sorrows in a brothel. In his drunken state, he reminisced about Silver City and Master Long, nostalgically asking the courtesans if any could gamble, weave grass animals, or disguise themselves as men, echoing Long Aoyi's unique qualities.
In a fit of despair, he declared that there was only one Long Aoyi in the world, before smashing objects around him. Li Qingliu, observing Long Aoyi's continued indulgence in greasy food, instructed his maid, Chunlan, to prepare only medicative diets for her daily, forbidding any unhealthy meals.
Despite this, Long Aoyi continued to secretly feast on rich dishes like spiced pork shoulder, complaining to her maid that Li Qingliu was "tormenting" her with bland porridges and soups, forcing her to rely on hidden "extra meals" to maintain her fake pregnancy. Li Qingliu, however, noted that her bowls of bland porridge were always empty. Catching her once again with a spiced pork shoulder, Li Qingliu confronted her, reiterating that the medicative diet was for her health.
Long Aoyi grumbled about the boredom and the unappetizing food, feeling as if he was trying to "bore her to death." In an attempt to improve her mood and promote fetal development, Li Qingliu then took her to listen to classical music for fetal education. Long Aoyi, not one for refined arts, found the slow melodies incredibly dull and almost fell asleep. She proposed they visit the palace instead, suggesting it would be more beneficial for the baby’s intelligence.
Li Qingliu reminded her of her past dislike for palace formalities and strict rules, stating that imperial family members could only enter by royal summons, and she would have to wait until after her official conferment. He insisted she endure the music.
