Royal Feast Episode 7 Recap
> Royal Feast Recap
The Emperor explained to Zhu Zhanji that he heavily utilized the Royal Guards to keep officials on alert, preventing them from exploiting the common people. He saw them as his eyes and ears for both the court and the harem, arguing that he could not afford to harbor seemingly weak women who might be spies. Zhu Zhanji voiced concern over rumors of severe torture staining the Emperor's reputation and suggested punishing only the main culprit.
However, the Emperor dismissed the rumors as baseless, refused to differentiate between the accused, and instructed Zhu Zhanji to focus on his studies. That night, the Royal Guards harshly interrogated all suspects. A severely beaten Yu Meiren adamantly insisted that the Crown Prince had instigated her to kill the Emperor. Meanwhile, Yao Zijin and Yin Ziping snuck food and water to Zhuang Fei's chambers.
They passed her a bamboo tube of fried rice, which Yao Zijin explained was not easily perishable and advised her to keep on her person. Zhuang Fei pleaded her innocence, asking them to tell the Crown Princess that she had no part in any plot. She mentioned that while she had always been kind to Yu Meiren, Yu had become easily angered and seemed like a different person over the past two months.
The two maids left quickly as guards approached. Back at the Food Bureau, Yin Ziping complained to Yao Zijin that the snacks she made while covering her shift had been rejected, earning her a reprimand. At the same time, a frustrated Zhu Zhanji, feeling he couldn't persuade the Emperor, found the snacks sent to him perfunctory. He ordered them remade and demanded that Yao Zijin deliver them personally.
Soon after, an attendant urged Yao Zijin to change into brighter clothes and go to Zhu Zhanji's study. However, as she arrived with the food, she saw him rushing out with his subordinates due to an urgent matter at the East Palace. The Crown Prince, Zhu Gaochi, had heard the rumors and, in despair, believed the Emperor would trust the Royal Guards over him. When Zhu Zhanji arrived, he found his father attempting to hang himself.
Weeping, Zhu Gaochi lamented that his twenty years of diligent service as regent meant nothing against a false accusation. He vented his frustration that his father favored his second brother, Han Wang, and criticized the Emperor's reliance on the Royal Guards, predicting it would lead to a cruel and slanderous regime. After Zhu Zhanji calmly persuaded him to come down, Zhu Gaochi admitted his dramatic act was to ensure the Emperor heard his plea of innocence.
Leaving his father's residence, Zhu Zhanji immediately ordered an investigation into Yu Meiren's recent activities. He returned to his study to find Yao Zijin gone, but she had left a note on his desk with the single character "Yu," which he understood as a prompt to focus on Yu Meiren. Later, Royal Guards arrived at the Food Bureau. You Yifan, citing Yu Meiren's confession, arrested Meng Ziyun and two other female officials.
Meng Ziyun argued that as a court official, she should be detained by Gong Zhengsi, but You Yifan asserted the case was beyond their jurisdiction. He also rejected Wang Zhangshan's offer to be detained in Meng Ziyun's place. After they were taken, Yin Ziping worried that they had been unable to deliver food to Zhuang Fei for three days. Yao Zijin devised a plan to get the guards drunk by offering them wine.
However, as she approached Zhuang Fei's chambers, You Yifan appeared and arrested her. He sarcastically remarked on their repeated encounters before ordering her taken to Zhen Fu Si Prison. To coerce a confession for the next day, he had her intimidated with vicious dogs but did not physically torture her. The next day, You Yifan presented Yu Meiren and Yao Zijin to the Emperor, claiming the latter's confession confirmed the plot.
Yao Zijin immediately knelt, declaring her confession was forced by the threat of torture. Arguing that as a new palace maid she couldn't have conspired with Yu Meiren, she instead suggested that Yu Meiren's recent diet, particularly her increased intake of sweets, indicated she might be terminally ill. Yu Meiren then dramatically confessed, accusing the Crown Prince of wanting the throne.
However, she revealed her true motive: tired of a life of neglect, she wanted to drag everyone down with her. She also blamed the Crown Prince's concubine, Guo Cefei, for bullying her, which fueled her desire for revenge against the East Palace. The Emperor summoned the imperial doctor, who diagnosed Yu Meiren with a terminal heart condition, explaining that her craving for sweets was a symptom of heart failure.
As Zhu Gaochi argued that he would never use such a volatile, dying woman in a plot, Zhu Zhanji arrived with evidence. He revealed that a jar of gold had been delivered to Yu Meiren's family, with witnesses identifying the deliveryman as Han Wang's chief attendant. Pointedly, Zhu Zhanji asked Han Wang to name the mastermind. Han Wang knelt, vehemently denying the "naked fabrication" and arguing he would never be clumsy enough to leave such obvious evidence.
Seeing the truth, the Emperor ordered Zhuang Fei and the Food Bureau staff released. As they left, Zhu Zhanji told You Yifan he found it suspicious how easily the evidence had been found, as if it were waiting for him. Infuriated by the frame-up, Han Wang confronted You Yifan at the grave of a woman named Zheng Shi. He called You Yifan by his birth name, "Zhanli," confirming You Yifan is his illegitimate son.
Han Wang acknowledged his son's transformation, his faked death years ago, and his swift rise in the Royal Guards. He expressed regret for beating You Yifan's mother, Zheng Shi, to death over a false adultery accusation years ago. You Yifan bitterly reminded Han Wang of his mother's suffering and how he had refused to listen to her defense. He sarcastically asked Han Wang if he now understood what it felt like to be wrongly accused.
That night, You Yifan visited Yu Meiren in prison. He confirmed he had fulfilled his promise: her younger siblings, cast out by their stepmother, were now safely fostered. Relieved, Yu Meiren succumbed to her illness, but not before asking why he had used her to frame Han Wang. You Yifan smiled and replied that his goal was "to return to my beloved father's side."
