Practice Daughter Episode 3 Recap
> Practice Daughter Recap
Douzi struggled to explain the body swap to her three fathers, who finally grasped what had happened. Suddenly, the assassin Que burst into the room. She seized Douzi, demanding the Moon Spirit Pearl. Unaware of the body swap, Que believed she held Douzi. Douzi, in Mei Yushan's body, pulled out a jade pendant, claiming it was far more valuable than the pearl. Que insisted she only cared about the pearl.
She then threw a smoke bomb and escaped with her hostage. Learning it was actually Mei Yushan who had been abducted, the fathers remained unconcerned, advising Douzi to just let the situation stand since their bodies were swapped. However, Douzi, in Mei Yushan's body, was distraught. She felt responsible for Mei Yushan's safety and vowed to rescue her. Meanwhile, to investigate the recent disappearances of women and children, Nangong Yao was staking out the front of the Relief Organization.
After observing for some time, he instructed Dongxi to buy two strings of sugary hawthorn berries and tie red strings on them before knocking on the gate. When the gate opened and a man saw the sugary hawthorn berries, he invited Nangong Yao and his companions inside. The assassin Que, still holding Douzi captive, had also followed Nangong Yao and secretly entered the compound, intending to assassinate him. Mei Yushan, who was walking behind, found the gate closed.
She then climbed over the courtyard wall to get inside. Nangong Yao was led to a room filled with children dressed as vagrants. The superintendent explained they were survivors of a recent earthquake who had lost their families, assuring Nangong Yao that selling them wouldn't cause trouble. Nangong Yao asked if the authorities had investigated. The superintendent claimed the officials were preoccupied with the influx of refugees and that this service was a way to help the government.
As they spoke, Nangong Yao spotted Mei Yushan looking around the courtyard. He approached her and asked what she was doing there. Mei Yushan, in Douzi's body, hesitated to reveal her true purpose. Suddenly remembering the lost Moon Spirit Pearl, she asked Nangong Yao if he had seen a small, dark, unattractive pearl.
Nangong Yao recalled his own jade pendant and asked Mei Yushan in return if she had seen it, noting that the pendant he had carried for years had gone missing the previous night and was replaced by a pearl. Mei Yushan admitted she didn't know about the jade pendant and urged him to return the pearl. Nangong Yao insisted he would only do so after finding his pendant.
While this exchange was happening, Que, having locked Douzi in a warehouse, returned to the courtyard to assassinate Nangong Yao. Mei Yushan, in Douzi's body, coincidentally tried to soak Nangong Yao's clothes with a bucket of water, hoping to make him remove his garments so she could check for the pearl. However, both times she threw a bucket, Que's darts intercepted it.
Nangong Yao noticed the attack and lured Que towards him, then subdued her while shielding Mei Yushan behind him. Nanbei quickly investigated the Relief Organization's activities, discovering they were operating illegal human trafficking under the guise of charity, supported by officials from the Ministry of Personnel. Nangong Yao ordered everyone involved to be arrested. Meanwhile, Mei Yushan, still wandering the courtyard, found Douzi locked in the warehouse. After freeing her, the two left the Relief Organization together.
Douzi explained that the next day was the day they were to enter the palace academy. If Mei Yushan didn't go, the entire Grand Chancellor's Residence would be implicated. Since they couldn't switch back immediately, Mei Yushan had to pretend to be Douzi and enter the palace in her place, hoping to find the Moon Spirit Pearl there and eventually switch back. Douzi offered to accompany Mei Yushan into the palace disguised as her maid to ensure her safety.
Douzi's fathers overheard this and gave their opinions, but Douzi insisted on their plan to retrieve the pearl and switch back. Mei Yushan reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, making Douzi promise they would switch back and she would leave the palace immediately after finding the pearl. The next morning, the fake Mei Yushan (actually Douzi in Mei Yushan's body) bid farewell to the Grand Chancellor and his wife, eager to leave for the palace.
She even left her maid Cui behind despite Cui's tears. Douzi hid in the carriage, posing as a attendant maid. The Grand Chancellor and his wife were surprised by their daughter's unusual haste. Elsewhere, Nangong Yao visited his childhood friend Bai Ye at the Astronomical Bureau.
As the Imperial Astronomer, Bai Ye had long ago predicted that the Crown Prince would fall in love with the Princess of Shengdong and become an Emperor who would bring about the downfall of the nation. Because of this prophecy, Bai Ye had been confined to the Astronomical Bureau for sixteen years. Nangong Yao questioned the possibility of this prediction, but Bai Ye insisted it was accurate, urging Nangong Yao not to reveal it.
News of Bai Ye's prophecy and the dire prediction about the Crown Prince was already starting to spread outside the Bureau despite an imperial decree forbidding the spread of rumors under penalty of death. The Empress, aware that Nangong Yao had just raided the home of Wang Shujuan from the Ministry of Personnel upon his return to court, cautioned him against being too aggressive.
She advised him to temporarily step away from state affairs and spend time studying at Chongwen Academy with the new young ladies entering the palace. At the palace academy, Eunuch Song greeted the newly arrived young ladies. He explained that the academy was opening its doors to female students thanks to the Empress's open-mindedness. He stressed that inside the academy, status didn't matter, and strict adherence to rules was required, otherwise, they would be expelled.
He then announced the first task: having their portraits painted to be hung alongside those of the princes for posterity. The young ladies were given scholar's attire to change into and instructed to place wheat ears on either side of their heads. Mei Yushan, in Douzi's body, found the scholar's attire ugly and uncomfortable, complaining that it didn't fit. She moved around, making it difficult for the painter assigned to her.
Douzi, in Mei Yushan's body, offered to paint her mistress, recalling Eunuch Song's earlier statement that anyone could paint. Eunuch Song, surprised by the maid's forwardness and eloquence, initially hesitated but eventually allowed it, warning them about the consequences if the painting displeased the Empress. Douzi proceeded to paint Mei Yushan while Mei Yushan complained about the itching from the wheat ears and the stiffness of the clothes. Another student, Zhuang Yangyang, commented on Mei Yushan's posture.
