Resumo do episódio 22 de A Splendid Match
> Resumos de A Splendid Match
Chen Yanyun visited Gu Jinzhao to discuss the rumors circulating about their relationship. Believing that everyone in the Gu household was already aware of their private meetings, he proposed that the most effective way to silence the gossip was for him to formally propose marriage. Gu Jinzhao, however, felt that such a move was far too sudden and insisted on having more time to think.
Despite his concern for her reputation, Chen Yanyun agreed to wait for her word before departing for the palace. Shortly after, a confrontation broke out when Gu Lian’s staff tried to forcibly take away a young maid named Xiao Tang, claiming she was being sent away to learn a lesson. They were stopped by Gu Jinzhao’s own staff.
Gu Lian remained defiant, telling her mother, the Second Lady, that she was seeking revenge because Gu Jinzhao had taken her money and she refused to cover up Gu Jinzhao's "ugly deeds." Gu Lian boasted that she did not fear Chen Yanyun because she had the support of her brother Wenxiu and the Yao family. The Second Lady attempted to persuade the family matriarch, Old Lady Gu, that a private apology would suffice.
However, the grandmother feared that the Second Master’s political future would be ruined by such reckless behavior. Gu Jinzhao then brought Xiao Tang before the family, where the maid confessed that Gu Lian had specifically ordered her to spread rumors about Gu Jinzhao and the scoundrel Wang Zan at the Baoxiang Temple.
In response, the grandmother sentenced Gu Lian to twenty strikes on the palm and three days of kneeling in the ancestral hall, while Xiao Tang was beaten and permanently exiled from the capital. Despite the punishment, Old Lady Gu took Gu Jinzhao aside and delivered an ultimatum. She argued that Gu Jinzhao’s reputation was beyond saving and that Chen Yanyun was likely only treating her as a mistress.
To protect the marriage prospects of the other children in the house, the grandmother insisted that Gu Jinzhao must marry Wang Zan. Gu Jinzhao refused, subtly hinting that she knew about the Second Master’s past bribery. Furious at being defied, the grandmother ordered Gu Jinzhao to be locked in the woodshed, though the guards were hesitant to act against her.
The tension was interrupted by the arrival of Ji Yao, who came with over ten carts of lavish gifts to propose to Gu Jinzhao. His offering of two thousand taels of gold and fifty thousand taels of silver greatly impressed the Fourth Master, Gu Dezhao. When Gu Jinzhao later questioned Ji Yao, he admitted he had come on his own initiative to protect her from Wang Zan.
Gu Jinzhao thanked him but turned him down, explaining that she wished to marry for a deep, sincere love that would make her heart race and keep her awake at night. Ji Yao was left pondering her words, realizing he did not yet understand such passion. Meanwhile, Chen Yanyun was informed of a crisis at the Daxin Granary. Two hundred thousand dan of relief grain intended for the drought-stricken Pingyang Prefecture had been replaced with worthless wheat bran.
The Granary Director, Sun Shitao, had disappeared, and the transport documents had been forged using Gu Dezhao’s official seal. Chen Yanyun had Gu Jinzhao brought to him secretly to explain the situation. He revealed that this was a trap set by Wang Xuanfan to topple the Cabinet official Fan Chuan by targeting his corrupt brother-in-law, Zhao Jichang. Because Chen Yanyun oversaw the Ministry of Revenue, he would likely face imprisonment once the scandal broke.
Chen Yanyun urged Gu Jinzhao to use her resources to buy up as much grain as possible from other regions to prevent a famine-induced riot, while also finding a way to delay the legal proceedings until Sun Shitao could be found. Gu Jinzhao immediately mobilized her agents, instructing them to buy grain from Shaanxi, Henan, and Jiangnan, and to prepare medical supplies and soup kitchens for the refugees.
As the political storm intensified, an official named Zhang Ling decided to settle a personal score. He ordered Ye Xian to lead agents to arrest every male member of the Gu family, not just Gu Dezhao. Ye Xian warned Gu Jinzhao of the situation, assuring her that he would look after her father and her brother, Gu Jinrong, while they were detained.
As the men were led away, Gu Jinzhao comforted her family, telling them to stay strong and remain calm. Back at the residence, the grandmother begged Gu Jinzhao to seek Chen Yanyun’s help. Gu Jinzhao explained that he was also being targeted and would soon be in custody. She realized that by saving her father, she was also helping Chen Yanyun.
She began gathering all of her father’s ledgers and correspondences, eventually finding a letter detailing a long-standing grudge Sun Shitao held against him dating back to the 35th year of Jingning. In court, Chen Yanyun refused to defend himself, admitting to an "oversight" regarding the grain swap to protect his own strategy. He was subsequently detained at the Bureau of Justice.
As Fan Chuan’s political faction began to crumble, word reached the Grand Secretary that Gu Dezhao’s daughter had filed a formal petition at the Shuntian Prefecture. They recognized her as the woman who had competed against Chen Yanyun in archery, realizing she was now fighting a legal battle to clear her father's name.
