Royal Feast Episode 37 Recap
> Royal Feast Recap
In Qingning Palace, Yin Ziping's frank words earned the Queen Mother's approval. She stated that she would thoroughly investigate the matter, refusing to be swayed by Wu Zhaoyi's slanders. Wu Zhaoyi, who had meticulously planned to remove Yao Zijin, was enraged by Yin Ziping's intervention.
As Wu Zhaoyi left Qingning Palace, Yin Ziping questioned why Wu Zhaoyi, who was previously devoted to the Empress, had not offered comfort during the Empress's house arrest but instead rushed to the palace, seemingly to frame someone. Rendered speechless, Wu Zhaoyi departed. Back at the Food Bureau, a palace maid secretly informed Yin Ziping that she had seen Su Yuehua suspiciously searching near a peach tree on the day the incident occurred.
Yin Ziping understood the implications and instructed the maid to keep the secret. With Yao Zijin's fate uncertain, Zhu Zhanji angrily confronted Empress Hu. Empress Hu revealed Zhu Zhanji's hidden fear: after the late Emperor's death, Zhu Zhanji had witnessed his father's beloved concubine, Guo Bianfei, being martyred, leading to his deep fear that Yao Zijin might suffer a similar fate. She then challenged him, asking if he would truly order Yao Zijin to be martyred.
When Empress Hu hesitated to answer, Zhu Zhanji coldly remarked she would not have the chance to decide. Empress Hu candidly admitted she was a "carefully crafted auspicious symbol" by the Hu family, a "beautifully wrapped tribute" sent to the royal family. She questioned why Zhu Zhanji, who disliked being controlled by destiny, was punishing her. Zhu Zhanji retorted that he had given her his trust and deep expectations, but she had betrayed him with lies.
Empress Hu pointed out his fear that his own mother, the Queen Mother, who had ordered Guo Bianfei's martyrdom, might one day order the martyrdom of his beloved. She asserted that due to ancestral family law and the scrutiny of the Queen Mother, the people, and the entire court, he could not depose her. Zhu Zhanji simply responded, "If you don't believe me, try it."
Zhu Zhanji's resolve to depose the Empress was firm, despite the Queen Mother's attempts to dissuade him. Civil and military officials knelt outside Qianqing Palace, vehemently protesting the Emperor's decision, but Zhu Zhanji refused to see them. Su Yuehua secretly went to Wu Zhaoyi's residence, questioning why Yao Zijin was still alive. Wu Zhaoyi remarked that perhaps it was Yao Zijin's destiny not to die, adding that the new concubine, once elevated, would face widespread condemnation as a "demon woman."
You Yifan, who had been tracking Su Yuehua, entered Wu Zhaoyi's residence after Su Yuehua left. He already knew Wu Zhaoyi was a covert agent for Han Wang, and they discussed their next strategic moves. Yao Zijin eventually regained consciousness, much to Zhu Zhanji's relief. He immediately ordered his palace maids to care for her well, prohibiting anything that might disturb her.
However, Chen Wu reported that numerous ministers were kneeling outside the palace gates, vehemently protesting the Emperor's decision to depose the Empress. Zhu Zhanji, incensed, swiftly returned to Qianqing Palace. Despite her recent recovery, Yao Zijin sensed something amiss and insisted on going to Qianqing Palace. In the pouring rain, she saw the kneeling ministers who were loudly denouncing her as a "demon concubine" who "seduced the lord."
You Yifan, witnessing the scene, advised her to immediately return to Yongning Palace and remain hidden until the commotion subsided. Later, in Yongning Palace, Yao Zijin knelt before Zhu Zhanji, pleading with him to revoke his order to depose the Empress. She argued that a new Empress had only recently taken her place, and such an act, without grave cause, was unacceptable and would not be approved by the Queen Mother.
Zhu Zhanji, looking into her eyes, stated that the Queen Mother had already agreed, as he had convinced her that Empress Hu was unsuitable to be a mother to the world, lacking the necessary resolve. Yao Zijin expressed concern that Zhu Zhanji would be recorded in history as a fickle emperor. The Queen Mother summoned Yao Zijin, presenting her with Empress Hu's phoenix seal and the imperial regalia used for the Empress's enthronement.
She mockingly suggested that Yao Zijin's long-held wish had finally been granted. Yao Zijin, however, met the Queen Mother's gaze directly. She challenged the Queen Mother, implying that she believed everything was unfolding according to her predictions.
Yao Zijin recounted how she had initially refused to enter the harem, but the Zhang family had insisted, how she had received the phoenix pendant from Emperor Taizong, and how the Queen Mother had thwarted her dream of becoming the Head of the Food Bureau, just when she was on the cusp of achieving it. She then publicly set fire to the enthronement regalia, asserting that she would prove the Queen Mother wrong.
The Queen Mother, secretly impressed, realized she had underestimated Yao Zijin and sent for the Emperor to witness it himself. Zhu Zhanji arrived, observed the burning regalia, and, far from being angry, was unsurprised. He remarked that his mother now understood Yao Zijin's character; if Yao Zijin truly coveted the Empress's position, she would not be the Zijin he valued.
The Queen Mother, however, saw deeper, concluding that Yao Zijin desired the loyalty and affection of the people, an ambition far grander and more potent than merely holding the Empress's title. Soon after, an earthquake struck the Forbidden City, causing widespread panic among the officials. British Public Zhang Fu vociferously claimed it was a divine warning against the Emperor's actions, condemning Yao Zijin as a "demoness" and demanding the Emperor issue a Letter of Sin.
Zhu Zhanji immediately ordered Zhang Fu to be taken out and flogged twenty times. Despite protests from other ministers, Zhu Zhanji's order stood, and Zhang Fu was dragged out of the court, still shouting warnings of divine retribution. The court began to descend into instability. You Yifan observed the chaotic state of the palace.
He prepared to send a message to his adoptive father, urging him to join Han Wang's rebellion, but then paused, realizing that Han Wang had another hidden informant within the palace who would likely make a move. Separately, Han Wang finalized his plans to rebel, drawing on support from figures like Jin Rong, the commander of Shandong, and sending Mei Qing to coordinate with British Public Zhang Fu for an inside uprising.
As predicted, Wu Zhaoyi had already dispatched a secret letter to Han Wang. She then approached Yao Zijin, noting that Empress Hu refused to see anyone, and offered a way to persuade her to relinquish her position, inviting Yao Zijin to Kunning Palace. Once there, Wu Zhaoyi presented Empress Hu with a lunch, then subtly used a special calming incense, a citrus-based formula with other tranquilizing spices, to make both the Empress and Yao Zijin dizzy.
Wu Zhaoyi revealed that she had previously tampered with Yao Zijin's food and confessed her intention to frame Yao Zijin for the Empress's death, planning to feign injury while claiming to protect the Empress. As the incense began to take effect on both Empress Hu and Yao Zijin, Wu Zhaoyi prepared to strike the unconscious Empress. Yao Zijin, though also affected by the incense, struggled desperately to stop Wu Zhaoyi from harming the Empress. Just then, You Yifan burst through the doors, disarming Wu Zhaoyi and showing clear concern for Yao Zijin's safety.
