Renascence Episode 10 Recap
> Renascence Recap
In the imperial prison, Yao Mowan found Ban Xia, Queen Yao Moxin's personal handmaiden. Ban Xia recognized Yao Mowan, who admitted to having lost her memory. Ban Xia told her that fate had brought them together, and she had vital information about the queen's death. She revealed that before Yao Moxin's death, she discovered issues with her prenatal medicine and instructed Ban Xia to hide the medicine dregs.
Yao Moxin suspected three concubines and even His Majesty Ye Hongyi, specifically warning Ban Xia not to trust the Emperor. Yao Mowan realized that Lady Li, previously accused, was merely a scapegoat. She learned that the maid who accused Lady Li and Consort Shu's handmaiden, Cai Die, were distant relatives, a detail few in the palace knew.
Yao Mowan pressed Ban Xia for the location of the medicine dregs, and Ban Xia revealed they were hidden in the gap of a rockery near a camellia tree. Meanwhile, Ye Junqing, having learned that Yao Mowan was nearly poisoned in prison, rushed there. Guards tried to stop him, but he forced his way in, relieved to find Yao Mowan unharmed.
Ban Xia, seeing Ye Junqing, started to plead with him to bring justice for Yao Moxin, but Yao Mowan quickly interrupted her, explaining that Ban Xia had been imprisoned too long and was unaware that justice had already been served. Lord Thousand Face then arrived and accused Ye Junqing of attempting a prison break, arresting him and taking him to Ye Hongyi. Consort Shu, overhearing the news, expressed worry to Ye Hongyi, wondering if Yao Mowan had bewitched Ye Junqing.
Ye Hongyi dismissed her concerns, noting Ye Junqing's usual composure. Before Ye Hongyi, Ye Junqing accepted his punishment for trespassing but explained his reason: a prisoner had been poisoned after mistakenly eating Yao Mowan's meal, putting Yao Mowan's life at risk within the supposedly impregnable prison walls. He questioned Lord Thousand Face about the security lapse. Lord Thousand Face admitted negligence and promised to investigate.
Ye Junqing emphasized that Yao Mowan's continued imprisonment put her life in peril, something he believed Ye Hongyi would not wish. Ye Hongyi, questioning Ye Junqing's persistent appeals for Yao Mowan, was told that Ye Junqing merely wished to repay her kindness. After considering the matter, Ye Hongyi decided to release Yao Mowan, deeming her near-death experience sufficient punishment. However, for Ye Junqing's transgression of breaking the law, he was sentenced to kneel outside the palace gate for two hours.
Ye Junqing accepted his punishment without complaint. Back at his residence, he deflected Yao Mowan's questions about his conversation with the Emperor, claiming they discussed frontier government affairs. He then playfully teased her, and she wondered if he was trying to take advantage of her, to which he teasingly asked what she was thinking. Dou Xiang Lan was enraged that Yao Mowan was safe and released.
Dou Shiming informed her that the poison intended for Yao Mowan was consumed by a eunuch instead. He warned Dou Xiang Lan that Yao Mowan might be secretly investigating past events and instructed her to closely monitor Yao Mowan's every move in the Yao Residence. Following Ban Xia's instructions, Yao Mowan went to retrieve the medicine dregs from the rockery but was intercepted by Lord Thousand Face, who demanded to search her, citing recent thefts in the palace.
Fortunately, Princess Han Yue arrived just in time, claiming Duan Ting Ting was unwell and urgently needed Yao Mowan's medical attention. Lord Thousand Face, unwilling to bear the responsibility for delaying a princess's treatment, reluctantly let Yao Mowan go. Yao Mowan, with Princess Han Yue, meticulously examined the medicine dregs. She discovered three different poisons. The poison nut extract, which had implicated Lady Li's family, appeared to be a setup.
Additionally, she found Suqingfeng herb, a potent toxin not native to Chu, suggesting a separate perpetrator. She reasoned that it was unlikely a single individual would use two entirely different poisons. The third substance was aconite gum, which is harmless on its own but causes immediate miscarriage in pregnant women if taken in excess. Yao Mowan concluded that the poisoning involved at least two, possibly three, different groups.
Considering the presence of an abortifacient, Princess Han Yue suggested that Ye Hongyi was the most probable culprit. Princess Han Yue then recounted the story of Yao Moxin and Ye Junqing's fateful night. Yao Moxin had gone alone to Ye Junqing's camp because Ye Hongyi was besieged by several princes. She desperately pleaded with Ye Junqing to save Ye Hongyi.
Though saddened that she came for another man, Ye Junqing listened as Yao Moxin explained her desire to protect not only Ye Hongyi but also the Chu dynasty and its people. She knelt, imploring Ye Junqing, the "God of War" of Chu, to support Ye Hongyi's ascension, vowing to remain with her husband through life and death.
Ye Junqing promised to protect Yao Moxin for life and agreed to help Ye Hongyi, but on the condition that she grant him a request: to stay the night in his camp while he painted her portrait. That night, she remained, and he completed the painting. Upon her return to the palace, Yao Moxin became pregnant, and rumors began to spread. Ye Hongyi grew suspicious, angrily questioning Yao Moxin about her night with Ye Junqing.
Yao Moxin insisted they merely completed a painting and challenged him, asking if he would still be on the throne if she truly had an affair. Eventually, Ye Hongyi claimed to believe her and told her to rest. Yao Mowan, deeply affected by the story, felt an inexplicable empathy for her sister. Princess Han Yue, who had once placed a "Southland Treasure" on Yao Moxin, revealed that she still sensed Yao Moxin's "breath" emanating from Yao Mowan.
She presented two astonishing possibilities: either Yao Mowan herself was Yao Moxin, or Yao Moxin was not dead. Yao Mowan found this hard to believe, but Princess Han Yue asserted that given the mystical nature of the ancient treasure, these were the only logical conclusions. Yao Mowan recalled that Ye Hongyi had previously denied her the chance to see Yao Moxin's body, citing his grief.
Unbeknownst to her, Ye Hongyi was secretly preserving Yao Moxin's body in an icehouse, filled with regret. This, combined with Han Yue's revelation, further solidified Yao Mowan's suspicions about the true circumstances of her sister's death. Confused and distraught, Yao Mowan returned to the Yao Residence. She spoke with her mother, Mo Li, about the evidence of the Dou Family's corruption and financial malfeasance, which she believed could bring them down with a specific ledger.
Mo Li vaguely recalled Yao Mowan mentioning a ledger before her disappearance and agreed to help find it. Later that night, Mo Li successfully retrieved the ledger. However, Dou Xiang Lan, who had secretly followed Yao Mowan and overheard their plan, confronted her. Dou Xiang Lan cruelly admitted to killing Mo Li by giving her a poisoned "ginseng tonic," mockingly stating that Mo Li's "lowly life" meant she "couldn't use such noble things" and thus "died just like that."
Yao Mowan discovered Mo Li's lifeless body. Enraged, she confronted Dou Xiang Lan, who openly boasted about the Dou Family's deep roots in the palace and her daughter's impending ascension to empress. Dou Xiang Lan taunted Yao Mowan, claiming that Ye Junqing was "unable to protect himself," leaving Yao Mowan without any support.
Overcome with grief, Yao Mowan collapsed beside her mother's body and pretended to be mad, cradling Mo Li and telling her father, Yao Zhenting, that Mo Li was merely sleeping. Heartbroken, Yao Zhenting was filled with self-reproach. He lamented his past mistakes, including abandoning his first wife for his career, enduring a lifetime of subservience to the powerful Dou Family, and now, as Prime Minister, being powerless to protect his wife and daughters.
He wished only for Yao Mowan to live safely and vowed to bring justice for Mo Li and Yao Moxin. Yao Mowan, emerging from her feigned madness, assured her father not to worry, as she would personally ensure justice was served.
