Rebirth For You Episode 2 Recap
> Rebirth For You Recap
Jiang Baoning, trapped in a cave, awoke to find Li Qian attempting to remove an insect from her shoulder. Mistaking his intentions, she used her self-made blinding incense as a defense, but accidentally incapacitated herself instead. Shortly after, Zhao Xiao arrived with rescuers from the Mechanism Pavilion. Observing Jiang Baoning's condition, Zhao Xiao voluntarily withdrew from the competition to escort her down the mountain. Meanwhile, Li Qian decided to continue his search for waterproof material.
Upon returning to the Mechanism Pavilion with pine resin, Li Qian was informed by the Master that Jiang Baoning had already presented her pine resin upon leaving, making her the ultimate winner of the competition. Learning that The Book of Supreme Weapons, the grand prize, was now in her possession, Li Qian decided he must find her. Elsewhere, Jiang Baoning and Zhao Xiao were celebrating her victory over a meal. Zhao Xiao seized the opportunity to request her assistance.
He revealed that he had entered the competition specifically to find someone who could address a critical flaw in the Nanmin Navy's sailboats. His father, the Governor-General of Nanmin, oversaw a fleet whose sailboats often became uncontrollable during heavy storms, leading to catastrophic losses of ships and lives. Jiang Baoning agreed to lend her expertise. Li Qian received a letter from his father, detailing an invitation to the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration.
His father instructed him to ensure the family's gift was delivered to the capital and that Li Qian himself must visit the Empress Dowager before the festivities. His subordinate, Wei Shu, reported that Jiang Baoning had checked out of her inn and her whereabouts were unknown. Li Qian, noting he still had her belongings, instructed Wei Shu to continue searching, convinced she was still in the capital and that The Book of Supreme Weapons was their only lead.
Concurrently, Jiang Baoning was located by her cousin, Jiang Lyu, the Archduke's son, who, after chastising her for her escapade, secretly brought her back to the palace. Jiang Baoning inquired about a gilding ball she made, only for Jiang Lyu to offer to replace it with better ones, a suggestion she politely refused. The next morning, Emperor Zhao Yi visited Jiang Baoning, claiming he missed her.
He saw Zhao Xiao's sailboat in her possession, accidentally broke it, and advised her to only use items befitting her royal status. Later, he summoned her to the Imperial Garden lake, presenting her with a phoenix-patterned bracelet, a clear symbol of his desire to make her his empress. Jiang Baoning subtly rejected his advances. Feigning a slip, Zhao Yi intentionally fell into the lake.
When the Grand Empress Dowager came to check on his feigned illness, Zhao Yi dramatically declared his unwavering love for Jiang Baoning and his refusal to marry anyone else. Cornered and unwilling to defy her grandmother in public, Jiang Baoning reluctantly accepted the imperial marriage decree, much to Zhao Yi's delight. To prevent Empress Dowager Cao from objecting, Zhao Yi sought and received the Grand Empress Dowager's explicit endorsement of the union.
During the next morning's court session, Lord Jian proposed a large-scale project to dig canals and connect the northern and southern waterways. Archduke Jiang Zhenyuan opposed the idea, arguing that with ongoing conflicts with Yongqing State, such an endeavor would exhaust the populace and deplete the treasury, potentially causing unrest.
While Emperor Zhao Yi initially agreed with Jiang Zhenyuan, Empress Dowager Cao, who held significant sway over the court, countered by advocating for the canal project, asserting it would benefit the people and win public support. The Emperor, under her influence, conceded to her stance. Jiang Baoning discovered that The Book of Supreme Weapons she received was fake, merely a depiction of a weapon from the Lu Book.
She also recognized the stationery used by the Mechanism Pavilion Master as coming from Qinzheng Hall, leading her to suspect Emperor Zhao Yi's involvement in the competition. Connecting this to the mysterious case of a pregnant palace maid, she decided to confront Zhao Yi. He admitted to organizing the competition solely to collect interesting gadgets for her, hoping to surprise her. Jiang Baoning then pressed him about the genuine Book of Supreme Weapons.
Zhao Yi claimed he had only ever seen it in the late emperor's collection. She then inquired about Fang Yiru, a maid who used to serve him. Zhao Yi, lying, stated that Fang Yiru had accidentally fallen from a ladder and died the same night. This only deepened Jiang Baoning's suspicion that the maid's child was, in fact, the Emperor's. She pondered that if Zhao Yi was truly so unscrupulous, her grandmother would never force her into such a marriage.
Concurrently, Li Qian entered the palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. As he passed through, he observed a herald entering without the usual security check, which piqued his suspicion. Later, during his audience with the Empress Dowager, the same herald, who was in fact an assassin disguised as a messenger, attempted to stab her while delivering a false report of victory against Yongqing. Li Qian, having already noticed the herald's ill-fitting uniform and suspicious belt, was prepared.
He quickly disarmed and captured the assassin, revealing that he had anticipated foul play and had his subordinate, Wei Shu, identify and apprehend the assassin's palace accomplice. Empress Dowager Cao, immensely impressed by Li Qian's quick thinking and bravery, confirmed the assassin was indeed from Yongqing and unrelated to the Emperor. In light of the recent assassination attempt, palace security was significantly heightened. Jiang Baoning learned from Lord Cheng’en Cao Xuan that Li Qian had saved the Empress Dowager.
She observed her friend, Bai Su, showing interest in Cao Xuan. Jiang Baoning subtly warned Bai Su that Cao Xuan, as Empress Dowager Cao's nephew, represented an "external relative," whose status could become precarious if the Emperor eventually gained full control, potentially leading to the Cao family's downfall. Empress Dowager Cao, confirming that the assassin was from Yongqing State and not linked to the Emperor, was greatly impressed by Li Qian's valor.
To secure the support of the powerful Li family against the increasingly assertive Emperor, she issued an edict promoting Li Qian to a Third-Rank Armed Guard of the Imperial Guards. Seeing the palace guards redirected due to the assassination, Jiang Baoning recognized this as an opportune moment. She quickly changed into a uniform for an assistant physician and snuck into the medical record room.
Her search for Fang Yiru's records yielded nothing, but she found an entry for a maid named Xiao Rongniang, who had been prescribed abortion prevention medicine six months prior. Knowing that no royal family member had been pregnant during that period and that such a prescription required imperial command, Jiang Baoning deduced that someone had falsely used Xiao Rongniang's name. She realized finding Xiao Rongniang was crucial to uncovering the truth.
Just as she was about to leave the medical record room, she encountered Li Qian, who was there to have his wound dressed after the scuffle with the assassin. Mistaking Jiang Baoning for an actual assistant, he asked her to help him with his dressing. While applying the medicine, Jiang Baoning's veil accidentally fell, revealing her true face to Li Qian. Recognizing her, Li Qian immediately pursued, but Jiang Baoning, familiar with the palace's intricate pathways, easily evaded him.
Shortly after, she met her cousin, Jiang Lyu, who had brought her favorite food. She then enlisted his help to locate Xiao Rongniang outside the palace. Li Qian, still processing her identity, recounted his encounter with "the girl" to his subordinate, noting she was disguised as an assistant physician. He expressed regret at not stopping her but was confident he would meet her again now that he was an Imperial Guard.
Later, while Jiang Baoning was playing with a friend, Li Qian spotted her. He confronted her, using the name "Jiang Xian," and expressed his disbelief that she was Commandery Princess Jia’nan, as he had checked the palace records for a maid by that name and found none. He then revealed his true identity as Li Qian, son of the Governor-General of Bingzhou, explaining that "Zhang Qian" was an alias used for convenience during the competition.
He pressed her about The Book of Supreme Weapons, but Jiang Baoning's maid interrupted, stating that Jiang Lyu was looking for her urgently, giving Jiang Baoning an excuse to leave. As Li Qian left the palace later, he noticed a disguised Jiang Baoning in a carriage. Intrigued, he followed her to an embroidery workshop.
Inside, Jiang Baoning and Jiang Lyu, feigning the need to repair a "peacock feather gold thread cape" (a gift from the Grand Empress Dowager), asked for a specific embroiderer. The shopkeeper recommended Xiao Rongniang, who used to work in Funing Hall, confirming Jiang Baoning's suspicion that Xiao Rongniang was indeed there. Upon seeing Xiao Rongniang, Jiang Baoning discreetly confirmed she was not pregnant, thus verifying that someone had fraudulently obtained abortion prevention medicine under Xiao Rongniang's name.
Li Qian overheard this conversation. Although he did not expose Jiang Baoning's identity as the princess, her actions in disguise and her inquiries left him deeply puzzled about her true intentions, resolving to question her directly.
