Song of Youth Episode 1 Recap
> Song of Youth Recap
In the bustling ancient town of Jiangnan, Lin Shaochun navigated the crowded streets and bridges, her sole focus on finding Sun Yulou. After a mistaken sighting on a passing boat, she followed a group of children to a shadow play performance. There, a man behind a curtain was narrating the tale of Wang Bao Chuan, "The 18 Years' Waiting with Loneliness and Miserable." However, the audience was bored, complaining about the repetitive story and demanding refunds.
Recognizing the performer as Sun Yulou, Lin Shaochun stepped forward, proclaiming that he indeed had more stories to tell. Their eyes met across the space, and the audience, their clamor quelled, settled back down. Lin Shaochun then quietly slipped away. Sun Yulou, the shadow play performer, then began to narrate a significant period from his own life, starting when he was eighteen years old. That year marked a pinnacle for the Sun family.
His eldest sister, Sun You Zhen, had become an Imperial Noble Consort in the palace, enjoying the emperor's singular affection among three thousand beauties. This imperial favor led to their father, Sun Xun, being appointed as Senior Grand Secretary, a highly esteemed position. Their mother, Shen Shi, a kind vegetarian who devoted herself to daily Buddhist prayers, was paradoxically feared by Sun Xun's concubines.
By Sun Yulou's eighteenth year, most of these concubines had passed away, leaving only Aunt Mei, who, despite her own seemingly difficult demeanor, was always in awe of his mother. His eldest brother, Sun Shijie, a man of great knowledge and talent, was married to Wu Yuehong, the only daughter of General of Agile Cavalry Wu Da. Their marriage had been arranged between their fathers as a childhood pact. Yet, Sun Shijie harbored little affection for his wife.
Wu Yuehong, eager to win his approval, often attempted to mimic the graceful Luo Shen from a painting her husband admired. One day, after dressing up, she asked him how she looked, only for him to curtly question her attire. She explained her efforts to embody Luo Shen's elegance, but Sun Shijie dismissed her as merely "aping the beauty" and walked away.
Later, Wu Yuehong, contemplating the painting, decided that the only difference was the color of her lipstick, instructing her maid, Shi Jian, to change the painting's lips to crimson. Sun Yulou's second brother, Sun Junhao, had married Su Yingxue, renowned as the capital's most talented woman. Soon after their wedding, Sun Xun transferred his military authority to Sun Junhao. With his second brother often away on army duties, the couple experienced prolonged separations.
Su Yingxue would spend her days playing the zither, her melancholic melodies often heard throughout the Sun Residence. His third brother, Sun Jinge, was notoriously lazy and frequently indulged in visits to pleasure houses. His wife, Xu Fengqiao, daughter of the Secretary of the Grand Secretariat Xu Yunhe, had been raised almost like a boy due to her family's scarcity of male heirs. She governed Sun Jinge strictly; he lived in constant dread of her.
On one occasion, upon his return with tell-tale lipstick marks, he desperately tried to explain it away as residue from spicy food. Unconvinced, Xu Fengqiao forced him to consume an entire tub of chilies as a "cleansing ritual." Sun Jinge, in searing agony, fled from her pursuit, begging for mercy. Sun Yulou recalled his older sisters, Sun Youde and Sun Yourong, who had both married and moved far away during his childhood, their faces now indistinct in his memory.
Consequently, his youngest sister, Sun Xiaoxian, was his only consistent companion for many years. Sun Yulou himself was deeply fond of shadow play. One day, Sun Xiaoxian informed him that their father was expecting him at his birthday banquet, adding that Lady Yu, the capital's most celebrated Pipa player, would be performing. This news piqued Sun Yulou's interest, and he agreed to attend.
Sun Yulou later mused that fate truly played a hand when he met "that girl" at his father's birthday banquet. He was instantly captivated by her, a moment that transformed his entire life. During the festivities, a veiled woman appeared to play the Pipa. Her beautiful music enthralled Sun Yulou; in that moment, he felt an undeniable connection, knowing she was the one he desired.
Applause erupted from the guests, but a sudden gust of wind lifted the performer's veil, revealing her youthful face. An official, having seen Lady Yu before, recognized her as an imposter, claiming the real Lady Yu was nearly forty years old. The young woman explained that she was Lady Yu's apprentice, sent to perform because her master was unwell. Despite her explanation, other officials voiced their dissatisfaction.
Sun Yulou immediately rose to her defense, questioning whether the quality of the music, which everyone had enjoyed, was less important than the performer's identity. He pointed out that no one had noticed the impersonation until her face was revealed. He urged his father to reward, rather than punish, the talented young lady. Sun Xiaoxian also pressed their father for a decision.
Sun Xun, after a moment's consideration, stated that Lady Yu had indeed informed him beforehand about her apprentice filling in, and he praised the young woman's performance as superior to her master's. He then ordered a reward be bestowed upon her. The apprentice expressed her gratitude to Master Sun. The day after the banquet, a smitten Sun Yulou visited Lady Yu's establishment, hoping to meet her apprentice.
He expressed his admiration for the young woman's Pipa performance and his desire to make her acquaintance. Lady Yu, however, deceptively claimed that her apprentice had caught a severe cold the previous night and tragically passed away, her body already buried. Sun Yulou left disheartened. In truth, the young performer was Lin Shaochun; she had incapacitated Lady Yu, taken her Pipa, and performed at the Sun Residence.
Upon returning to her troupe, Lin Shaochun shared her reward money with her fellow performers, who celebrated her cunning and skill. However, her master, Liu Sanjue, reprimanded her sharply. He accused her of being impetuous and arrogant, reminding her that his teachings were for honest stagecraft, not for deceitful acts. Lin Shaochun argued that she had merely tested her skills and achieved recognition and a reward, asking if that wasn't enough.
Liu Sanjue, perceiving her impatience and eagerness for quick results, declared he had nothing more to teach her and expelled her from the troupe. Lin Shaochun protested the injustice of his decision. Later, as Sun Yulou walked home, still troubled by the news of the musician's "death," he saw Lin Shaochun standing on a bridge. Believing her to be a ghost, he murmured "Ghost."
Yet, his affection for her superseded his fear, and he resolved that her nature—human or spirit—mattered not. He bravely approached her, asking if she was "the spirit of her." Lin Shaochun, amused by his apparent gullibility, played along, declaring herself a ghost and challenging him if he was afraid. When he calmly stated he was not, she invited him for a drink.
Lin Shaochun then cryptically invited him to join her in the "Jaws of Death" and leaped into the river. Sun Yulou immediately plunged in after her, calling out for her, but found nothing. Lin Shaochun had quietly swum to the opposite bank, muttered "Idiot," and vanished into the night. Lin Shaochun returned to her nanny, who noticed her wet clothes. Lin Shaochun brushed it off as falling into a pond.
Her nanny expressed concern for Lin Shaochun's strenuous schedule of learning opera during the day and studying at night, especially with the imperial examination approaching. Lin Shaochun then revealed her expulsion from the Bai Theatrical Troupe. Her nanny was distraught, urging her to beg Master Liu for forgiveness, emphasizing the importance of completing her training for the examination.
Lin Shaochun, however, adamantly insisted she could achieve success on her own, dismissing her nanny's worries about the grave danger of a girl impersonating a man to take the imperial examination. She believed her years of learning provided sufficient disguise, accepting that if she failed, it would be her destiny.
In a somber room, Lin Shaochun studied portraits and notes describing influential officials: Jiang Cheng, an ambitious assistant commander who abused his power; Qian Ning, a cunning and trusted Senior Grand Secretary; and Li Chong, a straightforward yet volatile Commander of the Imperial Guards. These were the powerful figures involved in her family's downfall. She remembered the imperial edict that falsely accused her father, Lin Daoyuan, the Deputy Minister of Revenue, of corruption.
He was sentenced to eighty lashes, had all his family’s property confiscated, and his entire household banished. Her father died from the flogging, and her mother took her own life. When officers came to arrest them, her loyal nanny, out of profound gratitude to the Lin family, bravely presented her own daughter, Xiao Ya, as Lin Shaochun, sacrificing her to save Lin Shaochun from banishment.
The nanny brought Lin Shaochun warm ginseng soup, reaffirming her deep affection and sense of responsibility for Lin Shaochun. She acknowledged the hardships Lin Shaochun had endured and stressed the critical need for no mistakes as they neared their goal.
When the nanny asked about her future plans after being expelled from the troupe, Lin Shaochun's mind drifted back to an earlier time when she had knelt, pleading with Liu Sanjue to accept her as an apprentice, only to be told she was too old to begin learning opera.
