Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace Episode 13 Recap
> Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace Recap
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Noble Consort accused A'Rou of impertinence, mocking palace personnel, and disrespecting ancestors, before ordering her mouth to be slapped. Ruyi intervened, arguing that A'Rou should not be physically punished and offering to take her back to her own palace for discipline. However, Noble Consort rebuked Ruyi for her perceived failure in management and insisted on punishing A'Rou herself.
With dark clouds gathering, Noble Consort ordered A'Rou to kneel under the Cricket Gate for six hours, assigning Eunuch Shuangxi to guard her. She also punished Ruyi, ordering her to transcribe Buddhist scriptures a hundred times and burn them in Anhua Hall before midnight as atonement. As Ruyi prepared to leave, A'Rou tearfully begged her mistress for help. Ruyi, however, firmly told A'Rou that she must bear the consequences of her own mistakes.
Noticing the impending rain, Ruyi attempted to leave umbrellas for A'Rou and Shuangxi, but the eunuch refused, citing Noble Consort's lack of instruction. With no other option, Ruyi left, while A'Rou continued to cry out for her. The rain soon began to fall heavily, drenching A'Rou as she knelt, nearly collapsing from the cold and exhaustion. Back in her palace, Ruyi, though busy transcribing the scriptures, worried about A'Rou.
She subtly arranged for Royal Physician Xu to be summoned, claiming she herself felt unwell and needed medicine for a chill. She also instructed her maid Shuizhi to prepare hot water for A'Rou's bath, thick blankets, and warm ginger soup for her return. Suoxin noted Ruyi's concern, and Ruyi acknowledged A'Rou's years of service but also her self-inflicted troubles. Soon after, a soaking wet A'Rou stumbled back into Ruyi's palace, collapsing from exhaustion.
Ruyi's maids quickly helped her up, and Ruyi personally fed her warm ginger soup. A'Rou claimed that Noble Consort Hui had sent word allowing her to return, sparing her from completing the full six-hour punishment. Royal Physician Xu arrived and diagnosed A'Rou with a chill, prescribing medicine, and noting her knee injury was an external wound needing ointment. Ruyi then personally applied the ointment to A'Rou's knee.
A'Rou, still complaining, insisted that Noble Consort's punishment was meant to shame Ruyi, and she had only provoked Lianxin to uphold Ruyi's pride because the Empress never sided with Ruyi. Ruyi, however, sternly criticized A'Rou, asking if she was truly defending her or digging a trap for them both. Ruyi reminded A'Rou of the dangers within the harem, where a single misspoken word could lead to severe consequences.
She chastised A'Rou for always wanting to win without understanding the need for caution and retreat. Ruyi then gave A'Rou a final warning, stating that if she caused trouble again, she would not be able to save her. Meanwhile, at Changchun Palace, Empress's maid noted Lianxin had not returned, and Empress urged Lianxin to go back to her new husband, Wang Qin, as she had only married yesterday.
Lianxin, however, tearfully resisted, pleading to stay and serve the Empress, explaining she had delivered Ruyi's handkerchief and visited Second Prince. The Empress acknowledged Wang Qin's limitations as a eunuch but emphasized that he was still a proper person and Lianxin, being married to him, must endeavor to live well with him.
Su Lian further reminded Lianxin that her family's well-being depended on the Fuca Clan and the Empress, thus she must be grateful and endure any present hardships for the Empress and Second Prince's sake. Lianxin, visibly distressed, remained silent. The next morning, Ruyi completed her transcriptions. Suoxin reported that Noble Consort Hui had returned the Buddhist scriptures, deeming them shabby and insincere, demanding another hundred copies be submitted by the next day before Ruyi's morning greetings at Changchun Palace.
Ruyi knew Noble Consort's intention was simply to make her toil, not to genuinely scrutinize the scriptures. To counter this deliberate slight and assert boundaries, Ruyi decided not to transcribe the scriptures again. Instead, she penned a poem: Liu Yuxi's "Waves Scoring Sand." When Suoxin questioned this, Ruyi explained that transcribing the Buddhist scripture was a "petty trick," and this act was far more significant.
Meanwhile, after her conversation with the Empress, Lianxin, filled with fear and apprehension, returned to the eunuch's quarters. She hesitated for a long time outside the door, visibly distressed. The following morning, Suoxin, acting on Ruyi's instructions, waited at the palace gate and encountered the Emperor's carriage. She presented him with Ruyi's writing, reminding him that it was the eighteenth of "Bayue", the wave-watching day, and how Ruyi remembered his past longing for the spectacular river tides.
The Emperor was touched, recognizing the poem about river scenery. Below the poem, he discovered Ruyi's handwritten Buddhist scripture. Suoxin explained that Ruyi, concerned about people being caught in the powerful tides, had transcribed the scripture to invoke Buddha's mercy for the common folk. Pleased and moved, the Emperor ordered Wang Qin to place Ruyi's scripture in the shrine, to remain there for a month.
Later, Suoxin confirmed to Ruyi that her plan had succeeded: Noble Consort Hui, after hearing about the Emperor's appreciation for the scripture, had remained silent during Ruyi's greetings, signifying her inability to further criticize it. Ruyi simply wished to convey that there were limits to Noble Consort's provocations. Ruyi pondered whether she had spoiled A'Rou. Suoxin reassured her, reminding her that A'Rou was her dower servant and her affection was natural.
Ruyi, however, expressed concern that A'Rou was now of marriageable age and her temperament was ill-suited for the palace. She wished to find A'Rou a good husband outside the palace, hoping to sever her ties with its complexities. She planned to ask her mother to help find a suitable match during her next visit.
A'Rou, having overheard this conversation, tearfully knelt before Ruyi, pleading not to be sent away or married off, insisting she wished only to remain and serve her mistress. After much persistent begging and A'Rou's refusal to rise, Ruyi relented, agreeing to let her stay until the age of twenty-five, the customary departure age for palace maids. A'Rou expressed profound gratitude, but as she turned away, her expression subtly shifted, hinting at a deeper, unspoken emotion.
Elsewhere, Noble Consort Hui complained to the Emperor about the old officials, particularly Naquin and Zhang Tingyu, who opposed her father Gao Bin's promotion to the Grand Council. The Emperor explained that the opposition stemmed from concerns about imperial favoritism and powerful in-laws, and that Gao Bin was currently occupied with river repairs. Noble Consort, feeling disadvantaged, lamented her childlessness, which she believed made her vulnerable to bullying.
She then boldly requested that the Emperor transfer First Prince from Ruyi's care to her own, as her father could not join the military compound. The Emperor, calling her "Xiyue," gently chided her for being flighty due to his indulgence. He then promised that once Gao Bin returned from inspecting the drought-stricken Hebei region with meritorious service, he could be legitimately appointed to the Grand Council without opposition. Satisfied, Noble Consort expressed her thanks.
Later, on her way back, Noble Consort found Eunuch Xiao Lüzi crying. He explained that his family in his hometown of Hebei was lost due to a severe drought, and Consort Xian's family couldn't help him. Noble Consort offered to help locate his family through her father, who was currently inspecting Hebei. Xiao Lüzi was immensely grateful.
Unbeknownst to Noble Consort, Noble Lady Jia's maid, Zhenshu, observed this interaction from a distance, revealing that Xiao Lüzi was a plant placed by their faction. Noble Lady Jia, visiting Noble Consort Hui, lamented her inability to conceive, while Noble Lady Mei, despite her pregnancy, arrived with a haughty demeanor, giving only a perfunctory greeting due to her alleged "pardoned" status from the Empress.
Noble Lady Mei provocatively declared herself the "mother of a precious son," prompting Noble Consort to warn her to carefully guard her pregnancy or risk losing it. Noble Lady Jia further fueled the tension, dismissing Noble Lady Mei as a mere "music entertainer." In the imperial kitchen, Eunuch Xiao Lüzi, who was responsible for feeding fish, secretly approached Moxin, Noble Consort Hui's maid, with a plan.
Later, Noble Consort Hui lamented that Noble Lady Mei, if she bore the Emperor's first son, would become a formidable threat. Moxin, echoing this sentiment, then whispered Xiao Lüzi's secret plan to Noble Consort. Empress, meanwhile, expressed her worries to Noble Lady Jia about Noble Lady Mei's worsening morning sickness, even after the first trimester.
Noble Lady Jia, implying Noble Lady Mei was merely attention-seeking, was corrected by the Empress, who confirmed that royal physicians reported the fetus was unstable and, as it was the Emperor's first heir, no mishap could be tolerated. Noble Lady Jia, reaffirming her loyalty, explained she visited Noble Lady Mei often on the Empress's behalf. Later, Noble Lady Jia's maid, Zhenshu, urged her not to rush into pregnancy, reminding her of the pregnancy-avoidance medicine she had recently stopped taking.
Noble Lady Jia confided that she had taken precautions herself, recalling how Consort Zhe had died during childbirth with Second Princess, hinting at the Empress's potential involvement and her own reluctance to bear a child too close in age to the Empress's own son. She resolved to wait for an opportune moment to present the Emperor with a cherished heir.
Noble Lady Mei, suffering from mouth sores and discomfort, stubbornly continued to consume large quantities of fish and shrimp, believing it would ensure a smart and healthy boy, as advised by Pure Consort. She hoped a strong son would silence those who belittled her. Due to the constant transport of seafood for Noble Lady Mei, Ruyi's Third Prince, Yonghuang, noticed a persistent fishy smell around Yanxi Palace.
Subsequently, Hai Changzai suggested that Ruyi and Pure Consort visit Noble Lady Mei to maintain proper decorum, especially since Noble Lady Jia was frequently calling on her. During their visit, Noble Lady Mei complained about her various ailments. Pure Consort, having raised a prince herself, suggested that Noble Lady Mei's symptoms might indicate a "body fever," which was commonly associated with a male fetus, a notion Ruyi affirmed as credible.
As Ruyi, Pure Consort, and Hai Changzai departed from Noble Lady Mei's palace and walked through the garden, they heard a sudden splash. Ruyi immediately ordered a rescue, and to their surprise, the person pulled from the water was Lianxin. Ruyi quickly brought the shivering Lianxin to the nearby Yangxin Palace Hall. When questioned about seeking death, Lianxin insisted, with visible distress, that she had merely slipped.
