Serenade of Peaceful Joy Episode 52 Recap
> Serenade of Peaceful Joy Recap
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Zhao Huirou tells Liang Huaiji that she doesn't truly love painting. She only wanted to get closer to Zhao Zhen by painting things she liked for him to see. She feels no connection to Li Wei and doesn't want to see his paintings. However, she sees Li Wei sending paintings to Zhao Zhen as a good thing because Zhao Zhen then sends Liang Huaiji to Yifeng Pavilion with the paintings, allowing her to spend time with Liang Huaiji.
Zhao Huirou wants to choose fur from the pelts Cao Danshu received from the spring hunt, so she goes to Kunning Palace with Liang Huaiji. Cao Danshu is grieving the death of Su Zimei and is worried about her friend Du Youheng. Zhao Zhen arrives at Kunning Palace, and Zhao Huirou doesn't understand why Zhao Zhen would demote Su Zimei, despite admiring his talent.
Zhao Zhen explains that while Su Zimei is talented, he is inflexible and must be punished for his mistakes. Zhao Huirou disagrees, believing Zhao Zhen, as emperor, could make an exception. Zhao Zhen instructs Zhao Huirou that no one can do as they please, not even the emperor.
On the way back, Zhao Huirou asks Liang Huaiji if all men desire to become officials, suspecting that Cao Ping desires a career more than her and that Zhao Zhen refuses to betroth her to Cao Ping because of it. Zhang Maoze took away Bi Tao. Since Lan Qiao is pregnant, Zhang Maoze couldn't take her to the Imperial City Division for interrogation. Instead, he says he will report the matter to Zhang Bihan at Xiangluan Pavilion.
Lan Qiao is alarmed and returns to Xiangluan Pavilion in a disturbed state. Jia Jiaoxi is startled by Lan Qiao's distraught appearance. Lan Qiao cries, fearing Zhang Bihan will not forgive her if she finds out Yao Yao's death was caused by pollen from flowers in her room, even though it was an accident. Lan Qiao knows Zhang Maoze is targeting Zhang Bihan on behalf of Cao Danshu, so she wants to seek Cao Danshu's protection.
She believes that if Cao Danshu doesn't pursue the matter, Zhang Maoze will stop his investigation. Jia Jiaoxi recalls Xia Song's instructions to anticipate Lan Qiao trying to rely on the empress and pretends to agree, telling Lan Qiao to write a statement. Zhang Maoze goes to Xiangluan Pavilion to see Zhang Bihan, stating that he found the palace maid who escaped years ago.
Bi Tao not only confessed the cause of Yao Yao's death but also revealed a voodoo doll with Zhang Bihan's name and birthdate written on it in Lan Qiao's closet. Zhang Bihan is furious and demands to know the servant responsible, but before Zhang Maoze can answer, Jia Jiaoxi interrupts, telling Zhang Bihan not to fall for Zhang Maoze's scheme and to wait for Zhao Zhen's decision.
Lan Qiao follows Jia Jiaoxi's instructions and begins writing a statement, but Jia Jiaoxi secretly poisons Lan Qiao's tea and takes matters into her own hands. To protect Zhang Bihan, she chooses to die with Lan Qiao. Before dying, Jia Jiaoxi tells Zhang Bihan the entire story, expressing that she never betrayed Zhang Bihan and asking for forgiveness.
Zhang Bihan is heartbroken and wants to beg Zhao Zhen to pardon Jia Jiaoxi, but Jia Jiaoxi refuses, not wanting to implicate Zhang Bihan. Chen Zhizhong tells Zhao Zhen that Su Zimei died before taking office. Zhao Zhen drinks with Cao Danshu, and Cao Danshu brings up that Du Youheng sent Su Zimei's last work and asks Zhao Zhen to consider Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu, and other exiled officials.
Zhao Zhen is surprised, as Cao Danshu is usually cautious, and these words could lead to accusations of interfering in state affairs. Cao Danshu is fearless, saying she is unafraid of being impeached for speaking on behalf of her friend. Zhao Zhen says these are private words between husband and wife and comforts Cao Danshu, telling her she can share her grievances and sorrows with him. Jia Jiaoxi leaves a suicide note falsely implicating Cao Danshu.
To prove Cao Danshu's innocence and feeling guilty for causing the death of Lan Qiao's unborn child, Zhang Maoze also takes poison, but he is saved. Zhao Zhen summons Zhang Maoze and says that if Zhang Maoze dies, Cao Danshu will be wrongly accused. Zhao Zhen accuses Zhang Maoze of investigating the case for personal reasons and that, although he didn't make any mistakes during the investigation, his bias caused him to harm the innocent, making him like Jia Jiaoxi.
Zhang Maoze is filled with remorse. Zhao Zhen scolds Zhang Maoze, then tells him to get up and talk to him like they did when they were children. Zhang Maoze, fearing his actions would implicate Cao Danshu after Jia Yulan and Xu Lanqiao both committed suicide, attempted to kill himself by taking poison. He wanted to resolve the matter, but he was unexpectedly rescued.
Zhao Zhen, grieving the loss of Su Zimei, discussed his feelings with Cao Danshu in Kunning Palace. Cao Danshu, entrusted by Du Youheng, pleaded with Zhao Zhen to listen to Su Zimei's last words and treat the exiled officials like Fan Zhongyan well. After Zhang Maoze was rescued, Zhao Zhen berated him, questioning whether he was truly framing Jia Yulan and Xu Lanqiao, and attempting to harm Xu Lanqiao's unborn child, as Jia Yulan claimed.
Zhang Maoze admitted that Jia Yulan and Xu Lanqiao's actions were true, and that he attempted suicide because he had gone too far, causing the wrongful death of an innocent unborn child, and asked Zhao Zhen to punish him.
Zhao Zhen criticized Zhang Maoze for acting with bias, saying that while he investigated the matter based on facts, he did so for personal gain, making his actions no different from Jia Yulan's, and he did not approve of Zhang Maoze's actions at all. After being scolded by Zhao Zhen, Zhang Maoze felt even more ashamed and began to cry loudly in front of Zhao Zhen.
