Resumo do episódio 21 de A Splendid Match
> Resumos de A Splendid Match
Madam Wang visits the Gu family accompanied by her grandson, Wang Zan. Madam Gu introduces her three granddaughters, and Wang Zan presents a gift to Gu Jinzhao, arrogantly suggesting she call him "Brother Wang" from now on. Noticing the grandmothers' approval of the match, Jinzhao remains cold, but Madam Gu insists that she take the young man for a stroll through the garden while the elders speak privately.
As they enter the garden, Gu Lian and Gu Lan make a quick excuse to leave, intentionally leaving Jinzhao alone with Wang Zan. Thinking he has already won her over, Wang Zan grows increasingly bold, admitting he brought his grandmother specifically to propose marriage. He tries to get physically close to her, but Jinzhao dodges his advances, causing him to lose his balance and tumble into a pond.
Seeing her father, Master Gu, approaching with Chen Yanyun, Jinzhao leads the drenched Wang Zan to the guest quarters to change. Once they are away from prying eyes, Jinzhao pulls a dagger on him, threatening to kill him if he ever dares to marry her. Terrified by her intensity, Wang Zan flees. Master Gu is anxious about hosting a high-ranking official like Chen Yanyun and asks Jinzhao to help receive him.
Jinzhao refuses to meet him directly in the front courtyard to maintain propriety but offers to oversee the meal from the kitchen instead. Recalling Chen Yanyun’s preferences for heavy flavors, she instructs the cooks to significantly increase the salt and oil in the dishes. The salty food forces the guests to consume jar after jar of Sangluo wine to quench their thirst.
As the night grows late, Master Gu offers to let a seemingly intoxicated Chen Yanyun stay over, and he is settled into the Cuizhu Residence. Hoping to avoid a late-night encounter with Chen Yanyun, Jinzhao takes a detour home but accidentally overhears a private conversation between Madam Gu and her second uncle, Gu Deyuan.
She is shocked to learn that Gu Deyuan once took a bribe of 20,000 taels from the Vice Minister of Works, and when the official was caught, Madam Gu had to borrow money from Jinzhao’s late mother to cover the embezzlement. When Gu Deyuan hears a noise and investigates, Jinzhao flees and inadvertently runs toward Chen Yanyun’s quarters. Chen Yanyun shields her from her uncle's pursuit and asks what she heard.
He explains the current political landscape, noting that her uncle has no hope of attaining the vacant position of Vice Minister of Personnel. Shifting to personal matters, he reveals he has officially ended the possibility of a match with Xue Qinglan. He asks Jinzhao to set aside the logic of advantages and simply tell him if she is willing to be with him.
He encourages her not to retreat from their difficulties but to face them together, and Jinzhao eventually agrees. However, Gu Lian happens to see Jinzhao leaving Chen Yanyun’s room in the middle of the night. She immediately informs her mother and Madam Gu, delighting in finally having leverage over her sister.
The Second Lady is horrified, fearing that Chen Yanyun intends to keep Jinzhao as a mistress rather than a legal wife, which would ruin the family's reputation and the other sisters' marriage prospects. Madam Gu forbids anyone from speaking a word of this to avoid the wrath of a Grand Secretary.
Disregarding the warning, a vengeful Gu Lian instructs her maid, Tang, to spread the rumor but replaces Chen Yanyun’s name with Wang Zan’s to protect the family from Chen's influence. The rumor spreads rapidly through the capital, claiming Jinzhao and Wang Zan had a secret affair and that he stayed the night at the Gu mansion. While visiting a shop, Jinzhao encounters a group of women gossiping about her.
She confronts them by citing the legal code, which punishes slanderers with one hundred strokes and exile. She bluffs about being so heartbroken that she might hang herself, which would upgrade the legal punishment for the gossips to beheading. The panicked women quickly blame Wang Zan, claiming he was the one who publicly admitted to the tryst at a nearby restaurant.
Before Jinzhao can confront him, she sees Ye Xian and suspects his involvement, but a steward from the Wang family soon arrives to offer a formal apology. A battered Wang Zan follows, publicly confessing that he fabricated the entire story out of resentment because Jinzhao had rejected his proposal. Back at the Gu residence, Madam Gu realizes Gu Lian was behind the modified rumors and slaps her for her stupidity.
Later, Chen Yanyun meets with Jinzhao and reveals how he forced the Wang family to clear her name. He holds leverage over Wang Zan's father regarding a bribe the man took years ago while serving as a magistrate in Wanping County. When Jinzhao asks how he uncovered such secrets, he remains mysterious, telling her he will explain another time.
