Sassy Beauty Episode 2 Recap
> Sassy Beauty Recap
Si Yan found herself being dragged away by attendants, protesting loudly that she had done nothing wrong and that their actions were unfair. She inwardly mused about the typical "hero saves the beauty" trope of such scenarios. A flashback showed her modern-day assistant, Tong Rui, reluctantly informing Si Yan's father that replacing genuine products with fakes would ruin Si Yan's live stream. Si Yan's father, however, simply stated his desire for Si Yan to stop her live streaming career.
Another memory showed Si Yan, in her modern life, dealing with an onslaught of negative comments and vowing to fire her assistant if any more negative news surfaced about the "fake goods" incident, wondering if it was competitors or someone within her own team. Back in the ancient world, the attendants mistakenly thought Si Yan was Lady Min, but Si Yan quickly corrected them, pointing to the true Lady Min emerging from a carriage.
Lady Min asked what was happening, and an attendant explained they were expelling a maid from the Makeup Service at East Mansion for being unruly. Si Yan countered, accusing them of being unreasonable. Lady Min, observing Si Yan, commented on the East Mansion's reputation for beauty and noted that Si Yan's "Gold Leaf Makeup" was the popular Persian style that her own maid, Tong Rui, had created for her.
Tong Rui, present at Lady Min's side, subtly remarked that Si Yan's attempt at the makeup was merely superficial. Si Yan argued that while she would accept expulsion for poor skill, she wouldn't for outdated rules that deemed women too beautiful or maids prettier than their mistresses, questioning if a maid should disfigure herself if her lady was unattractive. Amused by Si Yan's boldness, Lady Min interceded, asking them to let Si Yan go.
Cui Shanggong, seemingly in charge, agreed to give Si Yan another chance but assigned her a Class C rating for insubordination. As Tong Rui left with Lady Min, she cast a glance back at Si Yan, who found the maid vaguely familiar but dismissed it, thinking all non-player characters looked alike.
Later, Si Yan overheard Lan Miao explaining that Lady Min was the only daughter of General Min, who had helped the lord quell a rebellion, and was now at the mansion to choose a husband from the princes, potentially becoming the future Lady of the East Mansion. Si Yan wondered if the game's developer, Jack, had misled her about her own role as the protagonist.
She then witnessed Hu Ying cultivating a connection with Director Hua, thanking him for his help and expressing her reliance on him in the future, confirming Si Yan's suspicion that "connections mean everything" even in this game world. Si Yan asked Jack how much money she had, only to find her balance was zero. She questioned if her father hadn't added funds or if Jack had taken them.
Jack clarified that as an awakening system, the game had no paid features, and players must earn money through quests or side missions. Determined to secure her financial standing, Si Yan decided to seek out opportunities to earn money. As Si Yan explored the market, she was drawn to a "Stone Bridge in Distress" quest, although she initially hesitated, finding the name ominous.
Jack, her AI butler who only she could see, encouraged her, explaining that such tasks could lead to hidden rewards. A distraught woman approached Si Yan, pleading for help to retrieve her mother's heirloom from a "heartless man" who had "played with her feelings, injured her leg," and given the item to his new lover. Si Yan, seeing this as a potential quest, readily agreed.
The woman pointed to a carriage, but before she could clarify that the 'heartless man' was "behind" it, Si Yan rushed ahead, mistakenly confronting Prince Yi whom she believed to be the "heartless man" as he emerged from the carriage. She tried to snatch a box from the coachman, assuming it was the stolen item, even offering him more money for his "acting."
Prince Yi emerged, demanding the box back, but Si Yan defiantly refused, expressing her disdain for "philandering rich boys." The distressed woman tried to correct Si Yan, indicating the "heartless man" was "behind" the carriage, but Si Yan was too focused on Prince Yi. In the ensuing struggle, the box was knocked from Si Yan's grasp and plummeted into the river. Prince Yi, without hesitation, plunged into the water after it.
Witnessing the guards offering a thousand tael reward for Prince Yi's rescue, Si Yan decided to jump in, thinking it an easy way to earn money in the game. She struggled to pull the heavy prince ashore, and seeing he was unresponsive, she began performing chest compressions. As she prepared for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, guided by Jack, Prince Yi suddenly regained consciousness, narrowly avoiding Si Yan's attempted kiss of life.
Si Yan immediately demanded her reward, but instead, Prince Yi ordered her arrest, accusing her of ingratitude. Si Yan was thrown into a jail cell and presented with a "Guide to Torture Device," forcing her to choose her own punishment. Believing a feather-like instrument to be for tickling, she picked it, only to discover it concealed a sharp needle intended for finger torture. She frantically begged for mercy.
Director Hua arrived, and upon learning that Si Yan had pushed Prince Yi into the river, he ordered severe punishment. Just as the guards were about to proceed, the woman Si Yan had helped intervened, declaring that the incident was entirely her fault and pleading for Si Yan's release. She directly bribed Director Hua, who then agreed to take Si Yan back to the mansion for internal disciplinary action.
The woman thanked Si Yan, informed her that the stolen heirloom had been recovered, and that the "heart-breaker" had been imprisoned as a thief. As a reward, she presented Si Yan with a book titled "The Secret to Eyebrows." Si Yan was utterly disappointed, feeling that a mere book was a paltry reward for her ordeal, including falling into the river and enduring punishment, and swore never to cross paths with Prince Yi again.
Once alone, the "grateful woman" eerily peeled away a "human skin mask" from her face, revealing her true, sinister identity. Meanwhile, Prince Da was seen visiting Lady Min, presenting her with a "White Jade Makeup Box." Servants whispered, suspecting Prince Da of orchestrating Prince Yi's mishap to usurp his opportunity to meet Lady Min. Prince Yi's mother, the First Lady, anxiously inquired about her son's condition.
She was informed that he had only caught a slight cold, had received treatment from the royal physician, but had also ingested some dirty river water. Lady Min was settled in the Serenity Pavilion. Prince Yi, kneeling before his mother, apologized for his actions. His mother emphasized the critical importance of maintaining a good relationship with General Min, warning that the seemingly peaceful East Mansion required powerful allies.
She advised Prince Yi to recover swiftly, as the upcoming Flower Feast could not afford any more missteps. Prince Yi assured her he would remember her words. Back at the East Mansion, other maids gossiped about Si Yan's recent imprisonment and her audacious act of pushing Prince Yi into the river, deeming her foolish. Hu Ying commented that Si Yan seemed like a formidable character.
Lan Miao, however, offered comfort to Si Yan and agreed to share her sleeping space, while the other maids distanced themselves. Si Yan found humor in having ample room to herself, noting it was her first time in such a large communal bed. As it approached midnight, the other maids quickly fell asleep, leaving Si Yan restless.
She mused on the simplicity of the non-player characters, who slept when the night watchman announced the hour and woke with the rooster's crow. She lamented her dramatic day, from falling into the river and being jailed to sleeping on a communal bed, a stark contrast to her previous life. Stepping outside, Si Yan gazed at the moonless sky, longing to return to her real world.
Jack materialized beside her, now in ancient attire, reassuring her that completing her tasks would lead to her awakening. Startled by his sudden appearance, Si Yan noticed his new clothes. Jack explained he had changed because she found his previous tuxedo out of place. Si Yan discovered she could change Jack's outfits at will, playfully dressing him in a stylish ensemble.
She expressed disappointment that only she could see his dashing appearance, to which Jack replied that his presence was solely for her. Feeling touched, Si Yan thanked him and attempted to touch him, but her hand passed through him. Jack clarified that as her AI butler, he was composed of data and code, not an NPC, and thus could not physically interact with the world. Just before dawn, a rooster began to crow, disturbing Si Yan.
She chased it, determined to prevent it from waking everyone. She cornered the bird, intending to silence it, but then found herself face-to-face with Prince Bao, who was practicing sword techniques nearby. Si Yan quickly tossed the rooster into the air, creating a brief, awkward moment as their eyes met. Later, at the morning assembly, Lan Miao informed Si Yan that the rooster's disappearance had caused everyone to oversleep, incurring Director Hua's wrath.
Director Hua, still fuming, addressed the assembled maids, outlining the monthly performance reviews for promotion or demotion, with three consecutive failures resulting in expulsion. Qi Ran was assigned to the First Lady's Virtue Pavilion, Lan Miao to the Second Lady's Jade Pavilion, and Hu Ying also received an assignment. When Si Yan's name was called, she confidently assumed she would be assigned to the prestigious Makeup Service. However, Director Hua directed her to the less glamorous Beekeeping Site. He continued to chastise the other servants for their incompetence in losing the rooster.
