Siege in Fog Episode 26 Recap
> Siege in Fog Recap
After hearing that Yi Lianshen had sent a telegram announcing he had found Yi Liankai and would soon return, Yi Lianshen's uncle expressed extreme displeasure. He argued that they had a perfect opportunity to eliminate Yi Liankai while he was missing and the Tian Meng Association was causing trouble. Yi Lianshen, however, firmly told his uncle not to speak of killing his third brother in his presence.
He declared he would never kill Yi Liankai, but he did have a score to settle with him. Meanwhile, Yi Lianshen and Min Hongyu were traveling back to Fuyuan together. Noticing Yi Lianshen's somber mood, Min Hongyu inquired if he was troubled by the political situation in Jiangzuo. Yi Lianshen denied it, stating his worries were about family matters. Min Hongyu, having left home young, confessed she sometimes envied those who could still concern themselves with such things.
Yi Lianshen lamented the nature of their family, where fathers and sons spoke in riddles, and brothers were consumed by mutual suspicion. He felt that even if one bared their heart, there was no safe place for it. Min Hongyu, in turn, observed that while ordinary people longed for wealth, the Yi family suffered from having too much. Upon their arrival at the Yi family residence, Yi Liankai immediately disembarked and inquired about Qin Sang's condition from his eldest sister-in-law.
Learning that Qin Sang was still unwell, he rushed into her bedroom. Qin Sang, surprised and overjoyed to see Yi Liankai, embraced him tightly. She poured out her heart, recounting how she had thought and yearned for him daily in Yongnan, believing she might never see him again. She confessed to having nightmares of him being murdered and how she held onto his clothes, their scent assuring her he was still alive and would return.
Yi Liankai, in turn, reassured her, asking when he had ever broken a promise to her. Their reunion was abruptly interrupted by Yi Lianshen, who, despite Yi Liankai's eldest sister-in-law's remark about their long-awaited reunion, dryly stated that reunion must be followed by separation. He announced he had official business and needed to question Yi Liankai, specifically concerning the shooting of Aide-de-Camp Song. Qin Sang clung to Yi Liankai, pleading with him not to go.
Yi Liankai gently tried to reassure her, saying he would return shortly and did not believe his second brother would harm him. However, he eventually disentangled himself from Qin Sang's grasp and followed Yi Lianshen. In Yi Jipei's study, Yi Jipei and his three sons were gathered, but without any sense of joy. Yi Jipei pressed Yi Liankai for an explanation regarding Aide-de-Camp Song's death. Yi Liankai, however, remained evasive, simply stating there was no reason; Song deserved to die.
Yi Jipei then asked that appropriate actions be taken. Suddenly, Qin Sang burst into the room, accusing Yi Liankai of still defending Yi Lianshen, despite Yi Lianshen's treacherous actions. She passionately asserted that Yi Liankai considered Yi Lianshen a brother, but Yi Lianshen clearly did not reciprocate, having deviously implicated Yi Liankai in Song's death. Yi Lianshen retorted, asking why Qin Sang hadn't brought Song back for interrogation if she had captured him, instead of killing him.
Qin Sang, agitated, insisted that Song had committed suicide and that Pan Jianchi could serve as a witness, reminding Yi Lianshen that he knew Pan Jianchi. Yi Lianshen dismissed Pan Jianchi's potential testimony, claiming that as Yi Liankai's subordinate, Pan Jianchi would naturally speak in his favor. Yi Lianshen, now realizing the source of Yi Liankai's distrust since their return from Yongnan, declared that Qin Sang had been "implementing these ideas" in Yi Liankai's mind.
Enraged, he raised his gun and pointed it at Qin Sang. Seeing this, Yi Liankai immediately aimed his own gun at himself, grasping Qin Sang's hand. He asserted that matters between men should not involve women and stated that he had been patient and held back repeatedly, imploring his second brother not to push him further. Yi Jipei, witnessing the escalating conflict, became furious.
He questioned if his sons still saw him as their father and ordered his guards to seize both brothers and imprison them. In the prison, Yi Liankai and Yi Lianshen were held in adjacent cells. Yi Liankai suggested that someone was exploiting their human frailties to sow discord, and expressed his hope that Yi Lianshen would understand his predicament and that they would not end up killing each other.
He explained that the person who tried to kill him was an adjutant sent by Yi Lianshen, and before Aide-de-Camp Song died, he had called out Yi Lianshen's name, which is why Yi Liankai had forced him to commit suicide. Yi Lianshen, equally incensed, accused Yi Liankai of speaking eloquently while betraying him.
He asked if Yi Liankai truly believed he didn't consider him a brother, recalling how he fought Li Chongnian to save Yi Liankai when he was trapped in Zhishan, and how he searched for him in Yongnan when his whereabouts were unknown. Yi Lianshen concluded that they were pure brothers, but Yi Liankai's trust was swayed by Qin Sang.
Hidden nearby, Yi Jipei overheard the heated argument, contemplating with a heavy heart if brotherly feuding was indeed an unavoidable fate for the Yi household. Following this, Yi Jipei questioned Pan Jianchi about the circumstances of Aide-de-Camp Song's suicide. Pan Jianchi recounted the events truthfully. After Pan Jianchi left, Yi Lianyi remarked that with Aide-de-Camp Song dead and no witnesses, neither Yi Liankai's refusal to explain nor Pan Jianchi's testimony held any weight.
He suggested the resolution depended solely on Yi Jipei's decision. Yi Jipei, however, stated that family matters defied simple logic; what truly needed to be addressed was the origin of the intent for brothers to harm each other. Later, Qin Sang and Fan Yanyun visited the imprisoned brothers. Qin Sang embraced Yi Liankai tightly. Fan Yanyun, however, approached Yi Lianshen, inquiring about Yi Liankai's well-being.
Seeing her concern for his brother, Yi Lianshen angrily released Fan Yanyun's hand and told her to go visit Yi Liankai instead. Separately, Fan Yanyun had knelt before her deceased father's portrait, lamenting that his greatest fear of sibling rivalry had come true. She recalled her father's words that only she could avert this disaster but regretted that he never told her how to face both brothers if Yi Lianshen truly went against Yi Liankai.
Qin Sang then confronted Fan Yanyun, expressing her long-standing curiosity as to why Mr. Fan, Fan Yanyun's father, had betrothed her to Yi Lianshen yet seemed to favor Yi Liankai. Fan Yanyun merely stated it was her father's secret, now gone with him. Qin Sang then pleaded with Fan Yanyun for help for Yi Liankai, affirming that he harbored no desire to compete with anyone, yet was constantly targeted.
Fan Yanyun dismissed Qin Sang's pleas, stating that Yi Liankai and Yi Lianshen had promised her father they would only argue and never harm each other, implying Qin Sang was making assumptions. Fan Yanyun firmly refused to help, declaring she was now Yi Lianshen's wife and her loyalty was to him, and that she now cared for someone else more important than Yi Liankai. Yi Jipei sought counsel from his second brother at the Yi family ancestral tomb.
His brother, having retired to guard the tombs years ago due to his unwillingness to witness the power struggle between Yi Jipei and their sixth brother, sighed at the recurrence of family feuds. Yi Jipei, admitting his cluelessness as a father, asked for advice. His brother suggested that while they might be grown, they were still like children fighting, not merely for squabbles but for the Yi family's heir.
He then suggested that Yi Jipei, who loved to use scales to weigh things, should place Yi Lianshen and Yi Liankai on a scale. Back in his study, Yi Jipei was indeed fiddling with a set of scales when Yi Lianyi entered, bringing soup specially prepared by Murong Qian, who was concerned about Yi Jipei's exhaustion. Yi Lianyi asked if visiting the ancestral tomb had provided a solution.
Yi Jipei then instructed Yi Lianyi to immediately telegraph Gao Peide, Zhang Xikun, and Jiang Jinyi to return to Fuyuan and conduct a private trial for Yi Lianshen and Yi Liankai. Yi Lianyi questioned the involvement of outsiders in their family affair. Yi Jipei, echoing his second uncle's wisdom, stated that the truth was less important than deciding who would receive the most "weights" on the scale of being the family heir.
On a train to Fuyuan, Gao Yuxuan discussed the Yi family case with his father, Gao Peide. Gao Yuxuan pressed his father for details, but Gao Peide rebuffed him, explaining the case was too complex and cautioning him against meeting Yi Liankai in Fuyuan. Gao Peide elaborated that Yi Jipei had summoned them not merely to judge a case, but to ascertain their true loyalties.
He stressed the profound difficulty of the trial, noting that it wasn't just about fairness, but about ensuring the Chief Marshal's continued support for their own families. Gao Peide starkly warned that in this case, the loser must suffer a complete defeat, even death, otherwise the judges themselves would face dire consequences. Upon arriving at the Yi family residence, Yi Jipei handed Gao Peide the case files, emphasizing the need for a secret trial.
Gao Peide then directly asked Yi Jipei about the consequences for the losing party. Yi Jipei initially stated the loser would simply "never be used." Gao Peide, however, countered that if that were the case, he couldn't take on the trial, even at the cost of his own wealth and position. He bluntly stated that the loser must be killed, for if not, the three judges themselves would surely die.
Prior to the trial, Gao Yuxuan met with Qin Sang and informed her that his father, along with Zhang Xikun and Jiang Jinyi, would preside over the case. Qin Sang grew anxious upon hearing Zhang Xikun's name, knowing him to be biased towards Yi Lianshen. Gao Yuxuan acknowledged Zhang Xikun's bias towards Yi Lianshen, but also noted Jiang Jinyi's favor towards Yi Liankai, and assured her that his father, Gao Peide, would remain neutral.
He promised that his father would ensure Yi Liankai's innocence, but then grimly warned that if Yi Liankai were cleared, Yi Lianshen might face a "shameful death," leaving Qin Sang stunned. The trial commenced, with Pan Jianchi called to narrate the events of that day. Pan Jianchi explained that upon his arrival, Yi Liankai's horse had already gone mad. He discovered that Aide-de-Camp Song had tampered with the horse. When Song resisted, Pan Jianchi subdued him.
When asked how Song was killed, Pan Jianchi insisted Song had shot himself. Yi Lianshen, disbelieving Pan Jianchi's claim of single-handedly subduing Song, his top general, challenged Pan Jianchi to a duel to prove his prowess. Pan Jianchi accepted. During their duel, Yi Lianshen managed to take Pan Jianchi's gun, but Pan Jianchi in turn retrieved the bullets, after which Yi Lianshen conceded and accepted his testimony.
Pan Jianchi then revealed that as they were leaving the mountain, he saw Aide-de-Camp Song suspiciously pat Yi Liankai's horse's ear twice. While Song usually cared for the horse and patting could calm it, patting the ear struck Pan Jianchi as unusual. After the horse fell, Pan Jianchi specifically checked its ears and discovered a blister beetle, a bug whose poison can cause extreme excitement, leading the horse to lose control.
Hearing this, Yi Lianyi suddenly recalled the day ten years ago when he himself had fallen from a crazed horse, breaking his leg, and fainted from the shock. Upon regaining consciousness, Yi Lianyi, dismissing his worried wife Murong Qian, requested to speak with Yi Jipei alone. He explained that his forthcoming words were too "vicious" for Murong Qian to hear. He recalled how the old incident of his broken leg had always been a source of inner turmoil.
He pressed Yi Jipei, stating that ever since Yi Liankai displayed his talents at Zhishan, troubles had been relentless. Yi Lianyi acknowledged that either Yi Lianshen or Yi Liankai could be responsible for the horse-tampering incidents, with one using the tactic to harm the other, or one framing the other. He concluded that until the case was resolved, no definitive conclusion could be reached.
Yi Lianyi saw this power struggle and fraternal hostility as a "weird circle," the inevitable fate of a family holding immense power. He admitted that while he had initially found Gao Peide's method of "killing the loser" too harsh, he now viewed anyone who had resurrected this old case as his enemy. Distressed, Yi Jipei then visited the Yi family villa, which Yi Liankai had given to Min Hongyu.
Min Hongyu, surprised by his visit, explained the manor was now hers. Yi Jipei expressed his dismay that Yi Liankai would even give away his own mother's home. He then asked Min Hongyu if he could borrow a place to view Yun Jixue's (Yi Liankai's mother's) tapestries. As he gazed at the intricate weaving, Yi Jipei's emotions ran complex.
He wished Yun Jixue were still by his side to offer solutions and comfort him, lamenting his increasing loneliness despite decades of building an empire and guarding his three sons and vast family.
