Renascence Episode 26 Recap
> Renascence Recap
In the dark and pouring rain, Ye Junqing rushed out of his camp, desperately searching for Yao Mowan. Duan Ting Ting, dressed in her wedding gown, followed closely behind him, calling out, "Brother Jun Qing! Wait for me!" When Ye Junqing finally found Yao Mowan, he pulled her into an embrace, convinced she was Yao Moxin. " You're not Mo Wan. You're Mo Xin! You're Mo Xin, right?" he exclaimed.
He recalled the promise he made to Mo Xin, "If I have to choose between the empire and you, I'll marry you. No matter if you want to travel around the world or live an idyllic life, I'll follow suit. This was what I said to Mo Xin. How can you know about it?"
Yao Mowan, remembering Duan Ting Ting's earlier warning that their marriage was sealed and that "If this continues, you'll kill him," knew she had to bring Ye Junqing back to reality. She slapped him, reminding him that the Great Chu was in turmoil. " Wake up, Ye Jun Qing! Don't be impulsive and let your judgment be clouded by emotions! Do you think you're still alive for yourself? Open your eyes and look closely!
Look at the living hell of Great Chu! Look at the sufferings our people are having right now! The Ye Jun Qing I know is a man who cared and empathized with the world. Have you forgotten about the huge responsibility on your shoulders?" She then told him she was going to rest and asked him to leave. Ye Junqing, now free of the Gu poison, roared in anguish in the rain.
As the Gu poison was lifted, Duan Ting Ting, who had administered it, lost the ability to love again. Duan Ting Ting found him and expressed her pain. " Ye Jun Qing! Am I no way better than Yao Mo Wan? Why can't you spare a look at me? You jerk! She hurt you so badly! And you still love her that much?" She confessed her love despite his feelings for another. " I admit defeat. I'm not regretful.
As long as you can live, please let me keep you company. Even if we're not a true couple, I'll submit to that!" Overwhelmed, Ye Junqing collapsed in the rain. Later, Ye Junqing and Duan Ting Ting performed their wedding rites before the Southern Region King. The King congratulated his daughter, advising her to control her "spoilt temper" and be careful. He then turned to Ye Junqing with a stern warning. " Prince Su, please remember.
My child saved your life. You and I are the most important men in Ting Ting's life. I hope you can fulfill your responsibility as a husband. Use your life to love and care for her. If I hear that you did wrong to Ting Ting and break her heart, I'll definitely rip your skin and break your bones. You'll suffer till the end of your life. I never break my promise."
Duan Ting Ting quickly interjected, assuring her father that her husband was "mature and steady" and "caring," and they would "help each other in the future and be courteous to each other." The King, however, teased her for protecting her husband. With a final embrace, the King bid his daughter a tearful farewell, noting their long journey ahead to Great Chu and the uncertainty of their next meeting.
Meanwhile, Great Chu suffered from long-term war, leaving its people displaced, diseased, and scarred. As refugees passed a military camp, a hungry child was caught stealing a sweet potato from a soldier and was almost beaten. Yao Mowan intervened, scolding the soldier for his violence and giving the child food. The child recounted how his village was burned and he became separated from his parents while fleeing.
Deeply moved, Yao Mowan provided him with more food and advised him to stay with the convoy to find his family. Yao Mowan then rushed to Ye Hongyi’s tent, where she found him feasting. She implored him, "Your Majesty, after the war, disasters and calamities struck. Many citizens by the borders lost their homes. People are dying from starvation and deeply tortured by war. May Your Majesty open the granaries to relieve the poor to save the people.
If Your Majesty ignores them, in the future, the people of Great Chu will be greatly disappointed by you." Ye Hongyi dismissed her, retorting, "Did you think I haven't thought about this? We're in a catastrophe now. How can I be clueless of the torture my people are suffering from? If I open the granaries, it'll be a huge impact on the treasury. Then the whole country will suffer under the trigger of riots and disputes.
Situations will become even more chaotic. If other adherents held malicious thoughts and mixed themselves within, the Great Chu will be in danger. We have no other choices. I'll order to send the refugees to the savanna. This can be counted as the best way." Yao Mowan vehemently argued, "The savanna is now a lawless place! With dangerous landscapes and lacking resources, those refugees may not even make it through! You're killing them just the same, Your Majesty!
You ignore good advice!" Enraged, Ye Hongyi accused her, "Audacious! As my Imperial Noble Consort, you spoke rashly and trifled with national affairs! Do you still respect me? Do you care about the palace laws and customs? Guards! Take the Imperial Noble Consort back to her tent for reflection." Undeterred by her confinement, Yao Mowan sought help from Jinyi, Lord of Wanhuang City, who arrived shortly after.
She explained Ye Hongyi's plan to force the refugees into the desolate savanna, which was near Wanhuang City. Jinyi, moved by her compassion, immediately agreed to send instructions back home to care for the incoming refugees. Meanwhile, a group of frustrated refugees, turned roving rebels led by Liu Sha, discussed their dire situation. " We have almost robbed every village around here. We have not much food left now," Liu Sha said.
Realizing their desperate methods were unsustainable and that the imperial court had decided to "ignore our life and death" by forcing refugees to the savanna, Liu Sha declared, "We can only act against them!" A rebel informed him that the Chu army, likely with the emperor, was nearby. Separately, Ye Junqing also pleaded with Ye Hongyi not to abandon the people. " We've plunged the people into misery and suffering with war. Plenty of refugees might enter Great Chu.
If we give up on them now, people may rage against us. Revolution will arise. It'll be too late when roving rebels emerge." Ye Hongyi, noticing the similarity between Ye Junqing's and Yao Mowan's concerns, grew annoyed and accused Junqing of implying he did not care for his people. Just then, a messenger reported that "many of the refugees became roving rebels ahead. They burnt, killed and looted. All villages nearby were harmed."
Ye Hongyi, furious at this lawlessness, ordered immediate capture and execution for all who committed such crimes. Ye Junqing then took his leave. As Ye Hongyi's royal procession passed through Qi City, the magistrate reported the town was desolate due to roving rebel activity. Yao Mowan, seeing the suffering, defied a guard's order to stay within the magistrate hall, claiming the residence was too stuffy for her and she would bear any responsibility for leaving.
She went out to treat the sick. Ye Junqing, who had been following her, observed her medical expertise, which strikingly reminded him of Yao Moxin. He confronted her, "Yao Mo Xin! Tell me who you are. You're Mo Xin, aren't you?" Yao Mowan, maintaining her facade, rebuked him for his "indecorous behavior" in following her. " My sister has passed away. I am Yao Mo Wan. I'm the Imperial Noble Consort of the Emperor. Besides, you're married.
Don't forget about it, Prince Su." At that critical moment, Ye Hongyi arrived, questioning their presence together. Duan Ting Ting quickly intervened, claiming she had sent Ye Junqing to seek a prescription from Yao Mowan for her own "cold." Yao Mowan corroborated, confirming Duan Ting Ting was "perfectly fine" with rest and warmth. Duan Ting Ting then feigned illness to leave, much to Ye Hongyi's lingering displeasure. Later that evening, Yao Mowan thanked Duan Ting Ting for her quick thinking.
Duan Ting Ting, however, clarified her motives. " I'm not doing it for you. His Majesty feared upon Jun Qing's existence. I don't want to see him jump into a fire pit without a doubt even when he sees one. So, no matter what, I'll hold onto him." Yao Mowan responded with a simple "thank you," while Duan Ting Ting, still distant, dismissed her, saying she was tired.
That night, Yao Mowan heard cries for help from refugees outside her residence. Despite the guard's restrictions, she slipped out. An old woman pleaded for her help, as her child's fever had returned. Yao Mowan promised to help and told her to wait in an alley. In the alley, Yao Mowan was ambushed and captured by Liu Sha's rebels, who intended to use her as a "chip to negotiate" with the emperor for food.
Meanwhile, early that morning, Ye Junqing frantically searched for Yao Mowan. Yin Xue appeared, ready to rescue her, but Yao Mowan signaled her to stand down. " I overheard the conversation of these two guards. They don't have a good life. It's a pity that they underestimated the matter. I refuse to see them die in vain. Stand down for now. I want to speak with them." She then confronted Liu Sha, "You're their leader?
I am afraid, but you can't kill me now. If you do, you'll lose the chip to negotiate with Ye Hong Yi. I'm worried that you and your brethren might die in vain for overestimating yourselves." She proposed a wager: "Liu Sha, do you want to have a bet with me? If you lose, you must heed to all of my requests in the future." Liu Sha, intrigued, asked, "What are we betting?"
Yao Mowan replied, "We'll bet whether Ye Hong Yi will save me." Upon learning of Yao Mowan's disappearance, Ye Hongyi demanded answers and dispatched his troops. Ye Junqing also frantically searched for her, eventually coercing a refugee woman and her child to reveal Yao Mowan's location after they initially tried to hide it out of fear of the rebels. The woman confessed that Yao Mowan was captured by rebels at an abandoned tower.
A messenger quickly confirmed this to Ye Hongyi: "Your Majesty. Her Highness was held captive at the abandoned tower. They said if you don't open the granaries, they'll kill Her Highness!" Ye Hongyi led his army to the tower. Liu Sha, holding a blade to Yao Mowan, called out, "Darn emperor! If you care for your people, then spare a path for us refugees! Open the granaries and help the poor!
If you refuse to do so, I'll kill this beauty! I'll show the world that the great ruler of Chu is such a useless man who can't even protect his own woman!" Yao Mowan cried out, "Save me, Hong Yi!" As a guard asked, "Your Majesty, should we rescue her?" Ye Hongyi stood in agonizing indecision.
