Renascence Episode 4 Recap
> Renascence Recap
Yao Mowan wandered through the lantern festival with Ye Junqing, expressing great interest in the novelties around her. As they admired the riddles, Ye Junqing quickly solved one, but deferred to others for another, stating he would let someone else have a try. Soon, Yao Mowan found herself separated from Ye Junqing and drawn to a scene where two children were loudly begging, claiming their father had died of fever. Many onlookers were moved to donate money.
Yao Mowan, however, quickly discerned it was a scam and intervened, telling the crowd not to be so gullible and that they would thank her for saving their money. She questioned the young girl, pointing out discrepancies in her story: the girl claimed to be from Jingzhou, but wore Yunxia clothing common in the capital, not Jingzhou's famous hemp fabric.
Yao Mowan also noted that the supposed father's corpse did not exhibit the typical symptoms of fever, and its condition suggested he had been dead for some time. Furthermore, she detected a faint scent of white vinegar on the girl’s sleeves, indicating she was using it to induce tears. The little girl, realizing her deception was exposed, quickly changed her story, claiming she and her brother had been abducted and forced to beg by thugs.
When a group of villains emerged, furious that their scheme was uncovered and their income was ruined, they pursued Yao Mowan. Just as she was in danger, Ye Junqing arrived, fighting off the thugs. They were eventually cornered on a rooftop, and Ye Junqing, holding Yao Mowan, leapt off, soaring through the air. The moment of shared peril and closeness reminded Ye Junqing of Yao Moxin, prompting a faint smile.
He eventually regained his composure when the crowd below cheered, realizing he had been holding Yao Mowan for too long. He quickly set her down. Later, as they walked away, Yao Mowan asked Ye Junqing if he was angry at her for being nosy. Ye Junqing responded, observing that she and Yao Moxin were very much alike. Yao Mowan, seemingly displeased by the comparison, covered her ears, declaring she did not want to hear it.
Back at the residence, Yao Mowan pressed Ye Junqing to spend more time with her, suggesting more outings and visits to the children at Ciyou Children's Home. Ye Junqing, seemingly tired, simply stated he was fatigued and closed his door, leaving Yao Mowan outside. She muttered that he was moody and a "psycho," only for Ye Junqing to call out from within, "I heard it."
The next morning, Yao Mowan prepared breakfast for him, but Ben Lei informed her that His Highness had already left. Frustrated, Yao Mowan quickly went to follow him. She soon lost track of him and, drawing a rather ugly portrait, began asking people on the street if they had seen the man in her drawing.
A young boy eventually pointed her in a direction, but this turned out to be a ruse orchestrated by Ye Junqing, who gave the child a reward for misdirecting her. Yao Mowan, having placed her hand on a hot iron wok while hiding during her pursuit, was jokingly asked by a passerby where she had learned her "iron sand palm." Meanwhile, a group of bandits lay in wait in the wilderness, planning to ambush a carriage openly transporting gold.
The second chief of the bandits, experienced in robbery, suspected a trap, but their leader dismissed his concerns, asserting that it was their territory. The group attacked, only to be swiftly defeated by the lone traveler, Han Jinyi, the Lord of Wanhuang City, who easily disarmed them and stripped them of their clothes. Han Jinyi then demanded to be taken to their leader.
He confronted the bandit chief, accusing his men of breaking the code of thieves and deserving to pay with their lives. The terrified bandits begged for mercy. Han Jinyi granted them a chance to live, explaining that he needed their assistance in the capital to steal the Nine Dragons Cup, one of the three great treasures.
Though the bandit leader expressed apprehension about the palace's tight security, Han Jinyi revealed his plan: they were to drive wagons laden with explosives to the four palace gates—north, south, east, and west—to create a diversion and allow him to infiltrate the palace unhindered. The bandits reluctantly agreed. At the imperial palace, Ye Hongyi was still having Ye Junqing monitored.
A guard reported that Ye Junqing had been unusually relaxed and had not met with anyone since being stripped of his military authority. Ye Hongyi found this highly suspicious and uncharacteristic, ordering the surveillance to extend to Ye Junqing's subordinate, Ben Lei, as well. Ye Hongyi also inquired about the investigation into Empress Yao Moxin's poisoning.
Qianmian reported that three consorts had visited the Empress before she fell ill, and, more disturbingly, the medicine dregs from the five days prior to her illness had mysteriously disappeared from the palace clinic, despite regulations requiring their preservation. Ye Hongyi ordered a thorough search of all imperial concubines' chambers. Later, Yao Su Luan, the Imperial Concubine Li, visited Ye Hongyi to discuss her upcoming homecoming visit to her family.
Ye Hongyi seized the opportunity to question her about Yao Moxin's condition before her illness. Yao Su Luan confirmed she had visited, stating that Yao Moxin, then pregnant with Zhong'er, felt uneasy, so she had given her a calming incense pouch. After Yao Su Luan departed, Ye Hongyi instructed Qianmian to investigate the calming incense. Moments later, a loud explosion rocked the palace. The explosion was part of Han Jinyi's plan.
He, disguised and masked, successfully breached the palace and located the Nine Dragons Cup in the Pavilion of Treasures. Though imperial guards quickly converged, Han Jinyi, agile and swift, escaped with the Cup, leaving a message for the Emperor that he was merely "borrowing" the artifact.
Meanwhile, Ye Junqing, having avoided his own surveillance, received information that Dou Shiming, who had been appointed Governor of a border province, had secretly entered the capital in civilian clothes without official authorization a few months before Empress Yao Moxin's sudden illness. This raised Ye Junqing's suspicions. As guards pursued Han Jinyi, Ye Junqing staged a diversion, pretending to be drunk in a tavern.
Han Jinyi, seeing an opportunity, seized Ye Junqing as a hostage, forcing the guards to back down, allowing his escape. He then instructed his subordinate to carefully transport the Nine Dragons Cup back to his housekeeper in Mangyuan. Later, Yao Mowan finally caught up to Ye Junqing, confronting him about his evasiveness. She challenged his dismissiveness, asserting that his own affection for Yao Moxin was equally one-sided.
Her words struck a nerve with Ye Junqing, who abruptly walked away in a huff. At the Yao Residence, Mo Li tearfully pleaded with Prime Minister Yao to continue searching for Yao Mowan. Dou Xiang Lan, the legitimate madam, feigned concern but used the upcoming imperial homecoming visit of Ye Hongyi and Yao Su Luan as an excuse to delay the search, deeming it a more urgent matter. She also implicitly accused Mo Li of playing the victim.
Prime Minister Yao, while expressing sympathy for Mo Li, agreed that the imperial visit was their current priority but promised to resume the search for Yao Mowan afterward. Gossiping servants later noted that Dou Xiang Lan's reluctance was likely due to Mo Li's diminished standing after Empress Yao Moxin's illness, leaving her without a powerful patron. Soon after, Ye Junqing escorted Yao Mowan back to the Yao Residence.
The maids immediately recognized her as the Third Young Lady, causing Mo Li to embrace her with joy. However, Yao Mowan, suffering from amnesia, did not recognize her mother or Prime Minister Yao. Dou Xiang Lan approached, outwardly showing concern and claiming to have worried endlessly about Yao Mowan's disappearance. Concerned by Yao Mowan's memory loss, Ye Junqing requested a private conversation with Prime Minister Yao, while Dou Xiang Lan cast a strange glance in their direction.
Inside her former room, Mo Li tried to help Yao Mowan recall her past, introducing her to her two sisters: Yao Su Luan, the eldest daughter and Imperial Concubine Li, and Yao Moxin, her biological elder sister and the Empress. Yao Mowan reacted with surprise upon hearing Yao Moxin’s name, asking if she was truly her sister.
A maid brought in osmanthus cake, Yao Mowan's supposed favorite, but Yao Mowan found it unpalatable, expressing disbelief that she ever enjoyed something so "bad." She then questioned Mo Li about her past relationship with Ye Hongyi and Ye Junqing, only to be told she had never met them. Confused, Yao Mowan wondered about the memories in her head.
She then asked her mother about Dou Xiang Lan, sensing something odd about her and inquiring if she had always been kind. Mo Li quickly dismissed her suspicions, but Yao Mowan noticed numerous faint marks on her mother's hand. Upon closer inspection, she recognized them as evidence of needle torture, immediately suspecting Dou Xiang Lan. Yao Mowan declared her intent to seek justice, but Mo Li, desperate, held her back, threatening to disown her if she continued to pursue the matter.
