Return of the Queen Episode 14 Recap
> Return of the Queen Recap
Lu Siyu returned to Cloud Manor, having received Ye Haimeng's consent to retrieve some personal belongings. He accidentally collided with a maid, causing her to drop items. As they picked them up, Lu Siyu found an earring. The maid explained that it belonged to Ye Haimeng, who had lost one a few years ago and asked the maid to store the remaining one. The maid confirmed it was custom-made with Haimeng's initials on the back.
This jogged Lu Siyu's memory, and he quickly retrieved an earring he had kept from his room. To his astonishment, they formed a pair. A flashback revealed that five years ago in Monaco, he had witnessed Ye Haimeng accidentally drop that very earring near a wishing fountain and had kept it ever since. He then looked at a photo of Ye Haimeng, realizing he had also seen her at Lu Sinan's funeral, at the entrance of Mare Nubium.
In the present, Bai Jingmin sent her son, Lu Junxuan, upstairs with his father's photo to allow the women to talk. Bai Jingmin then declared to Ye Haimeng, "I am Lu Sinan's wife." She further stated that Lu Junxuan was Lu Sinan's only son in this world. Ye Haimeng confronted her, asking, "If you are Lu Sinan's wife, then who am I?"
Bai Jingmin clarified that Ye Haimeng was Lu Sinan's legally wedded spouse in this country, but Bai Jingmin was his "real wife." A flashback revealed Lu Sinan's earlier relationship with Bai Jingmin, where he lovingly waited for her, brought her street food, and her favorite pork rib soup from Cafeteria One.
During this time, he proposed to Bai Jingmin, suggesting they go abroad to a place where no one knew them, buy a house, build a family, marry, and have a child. He confessed his long-standing desire to escape the Lu family home, which he had despised since his mother's death and his stepmother's arrival with her sister and newborn brother. He vowed to give Bai Jingmin everything, promising eternal love for her, their future child, and their family.
Bai Jingmin accepted his proposal. The flashback concludes with Lu Sinan holding their baby. Bai Jingmin continued her story, recalling how Lu Sinan considered the two years with her his happiest, promising to protect them and never leave. However, when Lu Junxuan was two years old, Lu Sinan abruptly informed her of an urgent Lu family matter requiring his return to China. He made a one-year agreement with Bai Jingmin, promising to resolve everything and return to them permanently.
Bai Jingmin now suspected that he returned to marry Ye Haimeng. She had asked him why, and he had simply told her to trust him, asserting that he never betrayed them or loved anyone other than her, and would surely return. Ye Haimeng then inquired if Lu Sinan had maintained contact with Bai Jingmin after his return. Bai Jingmin confirmed that they had daily contact, even during Ye Haimeng's honeymoon in Monaco.
Bai Jingmin then tearfully pleaded with Ye Haimeng to disclose the circumstances of Lu Sinan's death and what had occurred between them, expressing her desire to bring Lu Junxuan to see his father, as they had been barred from both funerals. Ye Haimeng recoiled from her touch, just as Du Meiyun made her arrival.
Du Meiyun arrived, making a veiled comment about someone taking money but refusing to leave, which Ye Haimeng quickly countered, stating she hadn't taken any money and wouldn't leave. Du Meiyun then mocked Ye Haimeng, questioning if she intended to have Lu Junxuan claim his heritage. When Ye Haimeng demanded an explanation, Du Meiyun dismissively offered to recount "the romantic history of the Lu family's eldest son" or details about his "suddenly appearing son."
She then challenged Ye Haimeng, asking why she was "swaggering in front of his wife and kid" after claiming to be done with Lu Sinan. Ye Haimeng, realizing the depth of Du Meiyun's knowledge, questioned if she had known about Lu Sinan's marriage and son abroad all along, and why she allowed him to pursue and marry her. Du Meiyun then cruelly revealed that Lu Sinan had married Ye Haimeng "only because you're the Ye family's only daughter."
A flashback confirms Ye Haimeng's suspicions: Lu Sinan and Du Meiyun had a covert agreement. Du Meiyun would help Lu Sinan conceal his wife and son from Lu Changdong, his father, if Lu Sinan successfully acquired all of the Ye family's wealth. Upon completion, Du Meiyun would transfer fifty percent of the assets to Lu Sinan's secret overseas account, enabling him to leave with his wife and child. Lu Sinan agreed, sealing the deal.
When Du Meiyun asked if he would feel guilty seeing Ye Haimeng, Lu Sinan coldly responded that he had no feelings for her. In the office, Ling Ke was attempting to unlock a USB drive, suspecting it contained secret ledgers. She argued that the archived records, which Ye Bochen claimed showed no discrepancies, were "too perfect" and therefore suspicious.
She then pointedly criticized Ye Bochen, accusing him of having a "people-pleasing" personality, a trait she suggested stemmed from his status as an adopted son, constantly seeking approval to secure his place in the Ye family. Ling Ke implied that this compliance was actually a form of "weakness" that prevented him from confronting issues directly.
Feeling targeted and deeply hurt by Ling Ke's relentless investigation into the Engineering Department's past finances, which he felt unfairly implicated him as its former manager, Ye Bochen declared he was quitting, stating he didn't care about her investigations. Ling Ke tried to stop him just as her phone rang. It was Jie, informing her that he had lost track of Ye Haimeng. Ling Ke quickly conveyed the urgent news to Ye Bochen, and they drove off together.
Concurrently, Lu Siyu received a phone call from Ye Bochen, who informed him of the situation. Lu Siyu immediately headed to the pharmacy. There, Jie apologized for losing Ye Haimeng, explaining she drove away too quickly. Ling Ke and Ye Bochen were surprised to see Lu Siyu, who then inquired about any leads and if Ye Haimeng had answered her phone. Ling Ke noted that Ye Haimeng usually hides and avoids contact when upset.
After confirming she wasn't at Cloud Manor, her own home, or Mare Nubium, Ling Ke suggested checking her archery club. However, Lu Siyu then declared, "I know where she went." Ling Ke speculated that Ye Haimeng might have sought solace in the mountains, a place she frequented when feeling vulnerable. The group hastened there, and Lu Siyu, using a flashlight, found Ye Haimeng sitting in front of the withered tree her mother had planted, waiting for shooting stars.
He noted the thick fog obscured any stars but asked if she wished to make a wish. Producing the pair of earrings, he offered them as "a star falling by the fountain of wishes." Ye Haimeng recognized her lost earring and realized Lu Siyu was the young man she had bumped into at a wishing fountain abroad five years prior.
Lu Siyu explained he had kept the earring, pinning it to his archery armor as a "lucky star" that brought him success in competitions. Ye Haimeng reflected on their early connection, noting it predated her relationship with Lu Sinan. She then asked Lu Siyu if he now knew everything about her past with Lu Sinan. He confirmed he did.
Ye Haimeng expressed a sense of relief, realizing there was no true love, marriage, or affection in her relationship with Lu Sinan; she was merely "the prey in his hunting plan and the stepping stone for his escape" to acquire the Ye family's Mare Nubium. Though not sad, she felt a profound sense of liberation.
When Lu Siyu offered to listen to her pain or for her to direct her anger towards him, she told him it was not his fault, but the "cost of my blind trust and foolish infatuation." Ye Haimeng then admitted to Lu Siyu, "It hurts so much," explaining she didn't take bitter medicine. Recalling his previous comforting words about candy for life's bitterness, she asked if she could have one. Lu Siyu offered her a candy.
As she ate it, he tenderly asked, "Is it sweet?" In that raw and emotional moment, Ye Haimeng, feeling warmth and kindness from Lu Siyu that contrasted sharply with Lu Sinan's deceit, pulled him closer by his collar and kissed him.
