Story of Yanxi Palace Episode 12 Recap
> Story of Yanxi Palace Recap
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Consort Jia grew suspicious after Fang Cao reported Noble Lady Yu's severe abdominal pain, finding the situation too deliberate. She questioned Fang Cao, realizing that the effects of the shell powder, which had been washed with dye to conceal its presence, should take months to manifest, not just over a month as Noble Lady Yu had experienced.
Fang Cao admitted that the rapid onset of symptoms, coupled with the Empress's recent closeness to Noble Lady Yu and Wei Yingluo's frequent deliveries of "pearl powder," could indicate a trap set by the Empress. To be certain, Fang Cao suggested they check Noble Lady Yu's medical records at the Imperial Hospital, as any contradiction would confirm their suspicions. Consort Jia, confident in her ability to outmaneuver them, then asked Fang Cao for a plan.
Aware that the Empress had entrusted Wei Yingluo with the care of the tribute lychee trees, Fang Cao proposed a new scheme to destroy the trees, which would not only ensure Wei Yingluo's permanent downfall but also humiliate the Empress and strip her of her prestige. Wei Yingluo, sensing something was amiss, rushed back to Changchun Palace, only to find the locks on the lychee enclosure pried open and the precious trees scalded to death with hot water.
As the other servants panicked, fearing the Emperor's wrath over the destroyed Fujian tribute, Wei Yingluo remained undaunted and declared they would fight back. She immediately instructed an attendant to send any salvageable lychees to the Royal Kitchen, informing them the Empress intended to host a lychee banquet and that they were to devise various dishes.
Critically, she also arranged for one of the ruined trees to be brought to the banquet, planning to explain that the lychees from the other trees were used for cooking, while the fruit from this last one would be picked fresh, honoring the Empress's promise to personally pick a lychee for the Emperor. During a gathering, the Empress, aware of Consort Xian's financial difficulties, subtly advocated for her.
She praised Consort Xian's thoughtful birthday gift—a pair of jade ruyi with the Heart Sutra meticulously carved onto their handles, a task so demanding it had injured Consort Xian's finger. The Empress proposed rewarding Consort Xian for her sincerity, a suggestion the Emperor, eager to please the Empress, readily approved. Consort Xian graciously accepted the much-needed funds, expressing deep gratitude. Observing this, Consort Jia scoffed, dismissing the Empress's actions as a pretentious display to win favor.
Annoyed, Consort Jia grew careless and failed to notice that her pet dog, Snowball, had run off, an oversight that would soon trigger chaos. Meanwhile, Noble Lady Yu, learning that no concrete evidence against Consort Jia had been found, was overwhelmed by fear and refused to leave her chambers. Her maid urged her to attend the lychee banquet, warning that her absence would be perceived as arrogance.
Terrified of encountering Consort Jia and Noble Consort Gao, Noble Lady Yu remained resolute until Wei Yingluo arrived. Taking a harsh tone, Wei Yingluo confronted Noble Lady Yu's fear, reminding her that hiding would not stop her enemies, who had repeatedly tried to harm her. She invoked the memory of Consort Yi's tragic end and warned that the palace was a tomb that would claim her next.
Noble Lady Yu confessed her terror, but Wei Yingluo shared a childhood story: after being bitten by a vicious dog at age eight, she spent the next day hunting it down with a rod, demonstrating that one must confront a threat with greater ferocity to scare it away. She argued that evil people prey on the weak and cower before the strong, urging Noble Lady Yu to use her perceived weakness, her tears, and the Emperor’s unborn child as weapons.
Today, she declared, was the perfect opportunity for retaliation. Moved, Noble Lady Yu agreed to follow Yingluo's plan. Following Wei Yingluo's counsel, Noble Lady Yu appeared at the lychee banquet, astonishing Noble Consort Gao and Consort Jia. After a delay, Wei Yingluo orchestrated the arrival of the lychee tree, covered in red cloth, and invited the Empress to unveil it. The moment the Empress lifted the cloth, Snowball burst out.
Seizing the opportunity, Noble Lady Yu feigned terror, crying for help and accusing Snowball of attacking her again. She recounted the incident a month prior in the Imperial Garden, which had traumatized her so severely she required calming medicine, and tearfully implored the Emperor for justice. Consort Chun immediately supported her, implying Noble Consort Gao had orchestrated the attack.
Gao vehemently denied it, but the Empress sharply confronted her for allowing her dog to repeatedly terrorize Noble Lady Yu and for ruining the banquet. She connected the destruction of the lychee tree—a precious gift from the Emperor—to Noble Consort Gao's resentment, suggesting she was using the dog to defy the Emperor's authority. As the Emperor's anger grew, Noble Consort Gao tried to blame the "animal," vowing to have it skinned.
Wei Yingluo stepped forward and boldly quoted, "The tiger and the rhinoceros got out of their cages, and the tortoise shell and jade offerings got destroyed in their containers. Who is to blame?" She argued the guardian was at fault, noting that while Snowball had run loose during the tree's transport, no one dared stop it because it was Gao's pet.
Admitting her own failure in guarding the tree, Yingluo accepted punishment but then pressed the matter, asking who was responsible for "destroying" the tribute. Under pressure, Consort Jia confessed, claiming she was supposed to be watching Snowball and had been careless, insisting Noble Consort Gao was innocent. The Emperor, infuriated that his gift to the Empress was ruined, reminded her that Noble Consort Gao, as the head of her palace, still bore responsibility.
The Empress then dismissed the ruined banquet as trivial but declared that Noble Lady Yu's trauma and the risk to the imperial heir were grave matters. She directed Consort Jia to apologize to Noble Lady Yu. Humbled, Consort Jia did so. Finally, Noble Consort Gao admitted fault for not controlling her pet. Disgusted, the Emperor declared he never wanted to see Snowball again.
The Emperor delivered his judgment: Consort Jia was demoted to Noble Lady and confined to her chambers for three months, while Noble Consort Gao was fined one year's allowance and ordered to reflect on her actions. One of Gao's attendants lamented that all outstanding debts—destroying the tribute, ruining the banquet, and harming Noble Lady Yu—had now been settled at their expense.
Later, Wei Yingluo recounted the entire scheme to the Empress: how she turned the destruction of the lychee trees to their advantage by using Snowball to frame their enemies. The Empress, while astonished by Yingluo's cleverness, noted that since Noble Consort Gao had previously used the dog to frighten Noble Lady Yu, this retribution was just. Impressed that Yingluo could quote the Analects, the Empress lamented that such a sharp mind had been denied a formal education.
She resolved to personally instruct Wei Yingluo in reading and etiquette, a gesture Yingluo gratefully accepted. Meanwhile, Consort Chun visited Consort Xian, admitting she had informed the Empress of Xian's financial need. Chun insisted she only mentioned it casually, but Xian deduced that Chun, knowing she would refuse direct aid, had deliberately engineered the situation, leaving her no choice but to accept the Empress's public reward.
Resolved to repay the debt, Xian immediately instructed her servant to deliver the silver to her family. Following the Emperor's decree, Guard Suolun was tasked with executing Snowball. Eunuch Li tried to pass off the duty, fearing Noble Consort Gao's retaliation, but Suolun scoffed at his cowardice. Wei Yingluo intervened, requesting to take Snowball to vent her anger for the trouble it caused her before killing it.
Suolun, reasoning it was better to let the existing animosity between the two palaces absorb any fallout, handed the dog over, telling her to provide evidence of its death for his report. Later, the Emperor, recalling the state of the tree, realized Snowball could not have destroyed the higher-hanging fruit. He deduced that Wei Yingluo had deliberately placed the dog in the cart to frame her enemies.
Infuriated at being manipulated by a palace maid, he initially ordered her arrest but quickly rescinded it, realizing that retracting his judgment would undermine his authority and that Noble Consort Gao's faction was indeed culpable. Though he found Yingluo’s cunning hateful, he chose to let the matter rest for the Empress's sake.
Later, when Guard Suolun inquired about the dog, Wei Yingluo claimed she had beaten it to vent her anger, then killed and buried it, presenting its fur as proof to close the matter.
