Royal Nirvana Episode 49 Recap
> Royal Nirvana Recap
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Xiao Dingquan intervened as Wang attempted to brutally punish Wenxi. Although Xiao Dingquan knew Wang was deliberately trying to harm Wenxi, he managed the situation diplomatically, dismissing Wang after ensuring Wenxi would not be severely beaten. Wang, understanding Xiao Dingquan's resolve to protect Wenxi, reluctantly complied. After the crisis, Xiao Dingquan lightheartedly teased Wenxi, remarking on her skill at lying, yet failing to deceive Wang.
Wenxi retorted that she couldn't lie effectively in front of either Wang or Xiao Dingquan himself. Xiao Dingquan then mentioned the imperial pomegranates, noting that while Liangdi received only four seeds, Wenxi had consumed five. Wenxi defiantly declared it was "not enough." Xiao Dingquan jokingly offered to apply medicine to her beaten bottom. She shyly turned away, but Xiao Dingquan mischievously smiled and walked away. Wenxi, embarrassed, buried her face in the quilt.
Xu Changping sent a secret message to Xiao Dingquan, prompting him to prepare for an urgent departure from the palace. Recalling Wenxi's recent brushes with danger, he decided to take her along, urging her to quickly get ready. He playfully compared her sluggishness to Liu Ruyi, who supposedly died of laziness, then softened and allowed her to apply some makeup. Wang, observing Xiao Dingquan's favoritism towards Wenxi, secretly ordered a small, uncomfortable sedan chair for her.
Xiao Dingquan, despite his apparent irritation, was clearly drawn to Wenxi's beauty, though he jokingly threatened to beat her to death if she continued to be slow. Xiao Dingquan arrived at Gu Silin's residence to find his uncle suffering from a recurring leg ailment. He helped Gu Silin with a foot bath. Gu Silin gently chided him for visiting, noting that his old injury reliably predicted changes in weather.
Xiao Dingquan wanted to know why his uncle had refused to see him. Gu Silin explained that the Emperor was wary of their meetings. Xiao Dingquan brushed aside the political implications, stating that he was there not as Crown Prince, but simply as a nephew visiting his uncle. As Xiao Dingquan washed Gu Silin's feet, he inquired about Gu Fengen, his cousin, and was relieved to hear he was still well.
Xiao Dingquan leaned on his uncle's knees, cherishing the rare moment of familial affection. He expressed a desire to protect Gu Silin, lamenting the loss of his mother, sister, and wife. Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Xu Changping approached Wenxi, asking how she had managed to stay by Xiao Dingquan's side after her previous predicament. Wenxi, no longer a palace maid, claimed ignorance, suggesting that perhaps Xiao Dingquan valued pure emotion or kinship more than practical considerations.
Later that night, Xiao Dingquan and Wenxi were returning to the palace. He insisted she remain hidden inside the sedan, not showing her face. Wenxi complained that being confined to the sedan all day was no different from being in the palace. Xiao Dingquan offered her some snacks from outside.
Wenxi, catching the scent of osmanthus, expressed a wish to see the water lanterns at Jinmingchi, but Xiao Dingquan dismissed the idea, quoting the saying that "girls and servants are the most difficult to behave to." Soon after, he unexpectedly presented her with a large branch of osmanthus, which he admitted stealing from a garden wall. He playfully “threatened” her not to give the quail purse she had embroidered to anyone else.
As they shared a laugh, Xiao Dingquan’s expression suddenly turned grave when he heard children in the market singing a nursery rhyme: "Black iron melts, phoenix comes out, gold bell hangs, the casted bronze mirror, will the beauty turn around?" Meanwhile, the Emperor awoke from a nightmare, disturbed. His new queen attended to him, noting his poor sleep and offering him medicine she had personally administered. Still unsettled, the Emperor ordered consort Song to attend him.
Elsewhere, Xiao Dingquan's attendants confirmed that the unsettling nursery rhyme had spread throughout the inner city and could not be suppressed. In a fit of anger and frustration, Xiao Dingquan accidentally cut his hand. Wenxi noticed and quickly bandaged it. She cautiously asked if his distress was due to the rhyme, reciting "Gold bell hangs, bronze mirror cast" for him. Xiao Dingquan, grim-faced, explained the grave implications of the rhyme, connecting "Jian" (mirror) to the Emperor's taboo name.
He declared that a major event was imminent. Simultaneously, the new queen discussed the nursery rhyme with Lady Jiang. Lady Jiang clarified that the tune was not new but predated even the Crown Prince. She recounted how the Emperor, as the Prince of Su, had a close relationship with Gu Silin.
The Gu family, through Gu Yushan's daughter (Gu Silin's sister), had originally intended her for Crown Prince Min but had her married to the Emperor, helping him depose Crown Prince Min and seize the throne. Lady Jiang explained that Crown Prince Min's name was Duo, meaning "bell," and the Emperor's personal name was Jian, meaning "mirror." Crown Prince Min, the "bell," was tragically forced to hang himself, and the Emperor, the "mirror," ascended to power.
However, it was widely known that the Emperor's reign was intrinsically linked to the Gu family's influence. Lady Jiang worried that with Gu Silin's unauthorized return to the capital, the Emperor would interpret this popular rhyme as Gu Silin deliberately reminding him of the past and exerting pressure, which was an intolerable offense. Xiao Dingquan was deeply worried about his uncle. Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the day Gu Silin was supposed to depart from the capital.
Xiao Dingquan was uncertain if he could leave safely. Wenxi attempted to reassure him, believing that the chancellor would uncover the instigator and that the wise Emperor would discern the truth. However, Lady Jiang, in her conversation with the new queen, speculated that given the anonymous impeachment and Jia Yibo's refusal to return, the Crown Prince might mistakenly believe the Emperor intended to retain Gu Silin in the capital.
