Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace Episode 87 (Ending) Recap, Plot

> Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace
> Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace Recap

Emperor Qianlong was away at Mulan for the autumn hunt with his consorts, leaving Ruyi in the palace. One day, Ruyi, accompanied by Rongpei, chose to walk instead of taking a carriage. She instructed Rongpei to wait, then walked alone to the city wall, a place where she and Hongli had shared joyful moments in their youth. As she looked down at the endless palace from the wall, she began to recall her entire life.

As night fell, Ruyi sat in the courtyard, inviting Rongpei to sit and share tea with her, an act Rongpei initially deemed against the rules. Ruyi insisted, noting that Rongpei had served her whole life, always standing or kneeling, and it was time for them to sit together. Ruyi reminisced about first meeting Rongpei on Long Road, admiring her upright and bold questioning of a eunuch.

Rongpei, deeply moved, vowed she would never forget that day, crediting Ruyi's kindness for her good fortune after growing up without anyone to depend on. Ruyi, in turn, considered having Rongpei her own good fortune.

Ruyi's thoughts then drifted to many other memories within the palace: her first time entering to meet her aunt, observing the tall red walls and green tiles; hearing the opera "Heads Over the Wall" when she first saw Hongli; escaping with him to play on the city wall where he promised she would always be at ease with him by her side.

She recalled the night she married into the Prince Manor as a Ce'Fujin, the way he lifted her veil, and how she walked by his side, step by step, all the way to becoming Empress, when he had spoken of his loneliness atop the world and his dependence and trust in her. Rongpei sensed Ruyi's thoughts were still constantly of the Emperor. Yet, Ruyi now declared that she no longer missed those past events.

She reflected on the many people who came to mind recently—her aunt, A'Rou, Xiyue, Lanhua, Xinyue, Liyun, Yuyan, Yihuan, and even Wei Yanwan. Ruyi lamented the endless palace struggles and the numerous lives lost for imperial favor or kinship, questioning if it was truly worth it. She wished that Yonghuang and Yongqi were still alive and well, and that Jingsi and Yongjing had grown up.

Imagining a different past, she wondered if they would all be sitting together, drinking tea and chatting, perhaps even with Qianlong. As they continued to drink, Ruyi found the tea too weak and asked Rongpei to fetch a fresh pot. Remaining alone, Ruyi gazed at the withered green plum tree Qianlong had once given her, and peacefully passed away. Upon Rongpei's return, she discovered Ruyi's quiet departure and knelt in sorrow.

Meanwhile, at the Mulan hunting grounds, Qianlong received the devastating news of Ruyi's death and Rongpei's loyal martyrdom. Jinbao informed him that Ruyi had suffered from severe tuberculosis for a long time, had stopped taking medicine, and had died peacefully at the zishi hour.

Jinbao's careless remark about Ruyi forsaking her life to anger the Emperor ignited Qianlong's fury, and he ordered Jinbao out of his sight, asserting that Jinbao had no right to comment on his relationship with the Empress. Alone, Qianlong agonized over Ruyi's death, recalling seeing her before he left the palace, seemingly fine. He questioned why she had kept her illness a secret and refused medicine. In Yikun Palace, various consorts gathered to mourn.

Ying Fei expressed sorrow that Ruyi had passed away just when she should have been able to enjoy peace after Lady Wei's downfall. However, Consort Rong offered a different perspective, suggesting there was no sadness, as Ruyi was now with the lover of her youth. Qianlong paused at the entrance of Yikun Palace, hesitant to enter.

At that moment, Yongji, the Twelfth Prince, approached, asking if his mother was truly free, as she had claimed in a letter she gave him. Qianlong took the letter, which conveyed Ruyi's message to Yongji: she was ill but had found freedom from her suffering. Her only wish was for his life to be safe and smooth, and that he too would be at ease, never forced to do what he didn't want to.

Qianlong instructed Fujia to take Yongji inside and then left alone, without entering the palace himself. Qianlong later examined the half-destroyed portrait of himself and Ruyi. Li Yu confirmed Ruyi's tuberculosis had been beyond saving and that she had passed peacefully, going out with Rongpei during the day, visiting the fortress wall, and dying while drinking tea with Rongpei that night, as if falling asleep.

Besides the letter for Yongji, only the withered green plum tree was found by her side. Li Yu also confirmed that Ruyi herself had cut away her half of the painting and burned it before her death. Qianlong then summoned Master Lang Shining, the artist, and ordered him to restore the painting to its original state. Lang Shining, however, explained his inability to do so.

He reminded Qianlong how, when the painting was originally created, the Emperor and Empress had only eyes for each other, holding hands naturally, a true expression of their sentiment. Lang Shining mused that while paintings are thought to last longer than people, they are sometimes the most useless things, as the most beautiful and unforgettable memories reside in the heart.

He asserted that a damaged painting is forever damaged, and even if he tried to repaint it, he could not restore it to its original form. Deeply troubled, Qianlong walked to the city wall, the place of so many shared memories with Ruyi. He recalled moments from their youth, his promises, and her unwavering companionship, until their eventual estrangement. Overwhelmed with regret, he broke down in tears. Descending from the wall, Qianlong ordered Li Yu to issue a decree.

Due to the Empress's "madness" before her death, her funeral ceremony would not follow the Empress's rites but would be conducted as an Imperial Noble Consort. Furthermore, all historical records, portraits, and relics of her in the palace were to be erased, and the world was to be informed that "Lady Ula-Nara has died." The Empress Dowager confronted Qianlong about his actions, noting the widespread rumors and questioning his intentions.

She pointed out that Ruyi was the Empress, yet he had altered her funeral rites and publicly referred to her by her maiden name, asking if he intended to depose her. Qianlong defended his decision, recalling the Empress Dowager's past caution against deposing an Empress, but stating that it was Ruyi who no longer wished to be his Empress.

He cited her refusal of the returned decree and seal, her refusal to take medicine despite severe illness, and her destruction of her half of their portrait as evidence. The Empress Dowager found Qianlong's actions, including interring Ruyi in Imperial Noble Consort Chun's tomb without a tombstone and erasing her records, to be excessive. Qianlong explained his considerations: Ruyi's public act of cutting her hair and her repeated defiance had undermined his authority and reputation.

He governed the world by rules, and if everyone behaved like Ruyi, he argued, he could not control the people or the harem. The Empress Dowager, remembering her own words that Ruyi cared nothing for status, honor, or power, finally understood that Qianlong's intention was to grant Ruyi her freedom. She observed Qianlong drawing in his Plum Pavilion and wisely cautioned him that what one tries to forget often becomes harder to forget.

Nine years later, Emperor Qianlong sat in the Plum Pavilion within Yangxin Hall, staring blankly at Ruyi's withered green plum. The Empress Dowager sent for him, discussing the succession. Yongyan, the Fifteenth Prince, had married and been conferred a Prince of the First Rank, proving himself to be the clear choice for Crown Prince. She noted that Yongyan's future was settled, and his sisters had married, but Wei Yanwan remained alive, albeit in a state of madness.

Acknowledging that Wei Yanwan's condition was self-inflicted and deserving of punishment, the Empress Dowager nevertheless suggested that with Yongyan grown, it was no longer appropriate for his mother to remain in such a state, indicating that her life should be ended. Qianlong agreed. Later, Wang Chan brought a bowl of soup to Wei Yanwan, who was now aged and disheveled from years of torment.

Believing it to be ordinary soup, Wei Yanwan drank it, only to be informed by Wang Chan that it was arsenic broth. Wei Yanwan succumbed to the poison, ending her nine years of suffering. In Qianlong's fortieth year of reign, Imperial Noble Consort Wei died and was posthumously conferred as "Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi." Qianlong then wrote the decree appointing Yongyan as Crown Prince.

He felt both a sense of relief and unease, wondering if his own father had felt the same when he had chosen Qianlong as his successor. Reflecting on his life, Qianlong felt that he had lost much of his marital affection, consort's obedience, parental love, and children's blessings, concluding that he was ultimately just a solitary man in this world. In the fourth year of Jiaqing's reign, the elderly Qianlong, now Taishang Huang, requested a box containing Ruyi's cut hair.

He carefully opened it, cut a lock of his own white hair, and placed it alongside Ruyi's. Soon after, a young eunuch noticed that the green plum tree in the hall had sprouted new buds. He turned to share the joyous news with the Taishang Huang, only to find him deceased, still clutching the silk box holding their intertwined strands of hair. In 1799 CE, Emperor Qianlong passed away at the age of 89. From his reign onward until the end of the Qing Dynasty, no woman from the Ula-Nara clan ever again entered the palace to become a consort.

Episode 86 Recap