Qingchuan's Veil of Vengean Episode 17 Recap
> Qingchuan's Veil of Vengean Recap
The Empress Dowager’s words frightened the emperor so much that he dared not take a step forward. At that moment, Mo Qingchuan leapt into the scene. The Empress Dowager rebuked Mo Qingchuan for her rebellion and ingratitude, saying she had just issued a decree to restore Mo Qingchuan’s name, and yet Mo Qingchuan had come to rebel. Mo Qingchuan threw the decree into the furnace and thrust her sword at the Empress Dowager.
She also noticed Su Qi quickly slipping away. Mo Qingchuan was willing to bear the charge of treason. Xia Qiguang knelt down, begging to take the blame in her place and pleaded with the emperor to release Mo Qingchuan. He said that no matter what others saw her as or whom her sword was pointed at, in his heart, she would always be the master from Qingxin Cottage—Mo Wang.
He believed that the name Mo Wang didn’t mean to never forget hatred, but rather to never forget Qingchuan. But the emperor did not heed Xia Qiguang’s plea and insisted on assigning the charge to Mo Qingchuan. Mo Qingchuan signaled Wuyou and the others to kneel and pay respect to the emperor. Only then did the crowd kneel and acknowledge the new ruler.
In the prison, the emperor came personally to see Mo Qingchuan and bowed to her respectfully, thanking her for stepping into the game for the sake of Xia. The struggle between the emperor and the Empress Dowager had long existed. Left with no other choice, the emperor sought Mo Qingchuan’s help. Mo Qingchuan advised him to kill the Empress Dowager, as only then could he reclaim power. The emperor, however, did not want to bear the crime of matricide.
Mo Qingchuan offered him a strategy, ultimately choosing to shoulder all the guilt herself. Jinchan Zhou reported back on Chu’s military deployment, confirming they were using peace negotiations as a pretext to demand money—funds that would later become war provisions for attacking Xia. Mo Qingchuan believed that killing Feng Shiye would guarantee ten years of peace for Xia. She planned to follow Feng Shiye back to Qingchuan as part of the peace marriage, and kill him once they arrived.
She told none of this to Xia Qiguang, not wanting any changes to the plan. She always believed she was the one lighting the path for Xia Qiguang, but in truth, it was Xia Qiguang who lit the way for her. Mo Qingchuan had many identities, and sometimes even she was unsure who she really was. But only Xia Qiguang had ever said that no matter who she was, in his eyes, she had only one name—Mo Wang.
The emperor told Mo Qingchuan that Xia Qiguang was already waiting outside the cell and had been appointed head of the marriage envoy to personally escort her. Mo Qingchuan made three requests: to recall Mo Qinglian and reuse him, to reform the Mo Army, and to preserve the Cicada Agency. The emperor agreed. When Mo Qingchuan walked out of the prison, she stood still. Xia Qiguang, unable to control his emotions, ran straight to her and embraced her tightly.
Mo Qingchuan’s fingers moved slightly, but she never responded. Feng Shiye came to the emperor, demanding that Mo Qingchuan be sent as the peace bride or it would be considered a breach of contract. The emperor agreed to the marriage, but on the condition that she be taken from the prison and only become his consort upon arrival in Qingchuan—since Mo Qingchuan had killed the Empress Dowager.
Worried that any delay could lead to complications, Feng Shiye had no choice but to accept. Mu Yun prepared to leave and came specifically to say goodbye to Jiang Kui, taking the sugar-coated hawthorn and bidding farewell. As Jiang Kui tried to chase after her, she bumped into Mo Qinglian, who had returned to join the vanguard battalion. Meanwhile, Mo Qingchuan’s mother was helping her bathe. Though blind, she could still feel the scars on Mo Qingchuan’s body.
As she touched the wounds on Mo Qingchuan’s back, she wept sorrowfully. She spoke of Mo Qingchuan’s elder brothers—how in the blink of an eye, the children were all gone, though they were just boys. The mother blamed herself for not being able to protect her children. Mo Qingchuan comforted her, saying in her heart, her mother was the best mother in the world. Holding her daughter’s hand, the mother pleaded with her to return to see her again. Mo Qingchuan promised she would.
