Story of Yanxi Palace Episode 34 Recap
> Story of Yanxi Palace Recap
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Disregarding the advice of his ministers, the Emperor insists on a nationwide tax reduction to aid his struggling subjects. Palace maids working outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation remark on the Emperor's diligence, noting he works longer hours than they do. Wei Yingluo overhears their conversation, and her perception of the stern but dedicated ruler begins to change. Later, the Emperor spots her at work and feels a pang of remorse, wondering if he has been too harsh on her.
Wei Yingluo continues to visit the comatose Empress daily, tending to her in hopes of her recovery. This provokes the jealousy of Yuan Chunwang, but Yingluo placates him by explaining her debt of gratitude to the Empress and affectionately promising she would care for him the same way, which pleases him. Meanwhile, under orders from Consort Chun, Nanny Liu from the Xin Zhe Ku sneaks a cursed doll, bearing Noble Consort Gao's birth details, into Yingluo's room.
Yuan Chunwang witnesses this but pays it no mind. Elsewhere, Er Qing's jealousy intensifies after seeing Yingluo and Fu Heng meeting secretly, and she begins plotting to separate them. The Emperor, having softened towards Yingluo, tells the unconscious Empress he plans to pardon her. Er Qing overhears this and, in a fit of envy, deliberately leads the Emperor to witness another secret meeting between Yingluo and Fu Heng. Seeing their intimacy, the Emperor is consumed by jealousy and storms away.
Ming Yu realizes Er Qing’s treachery and confronts her. Er Qing confesses that she acted out of jealousy and bitterness over Fu Heng, begging Ming Yu to keep her secret. Ming Yu reluctantly agrees. Nanny Liu reports the supposed witchcraft, and guards discover the cursed doll in Yingluo’s quarters. The Emperor, who is with Consort Xian discussing the Fourth Prince, is informed of the incident and decides to personally oversee the interrogation.
Nanny Liu presents the doll as proof, claiming Yingluo sought revenge for past mistreatment by Noble Consort Gao. Though there are doubts about the case, the Emperor’s personal jealousy over her relationship with Fu Heng leads him to convict her on the spot. Yuan Chunwang learns of Yingluo's arrest and rushes to inform Fu Heng.
He stops Fu Heng from immediately pleading with the Emperor, warning that such an act would only confirm the Emperor's suspicions about their relationship and seal Yingluo's fate. Unable to appeal to the Emperor, a desperate Fu Heng goes to the Empress's bedside, praying for her to awaken and intervene. Seizing the opportunity, Er Qing suggests to Fu Heng that the only way to save Yingluo is for him to marry her, thereby dispelling the Emperor’s suspicions.
As she speaks, the unconscious Empress sheds a single tear. In custody, Yingluo calmly examines the doll and exposes the frame-up by pointing out that the knot used on it is different from her own distinct tying method. With Nanny Liu’s plot unraveled, she is dragged away for interrogation. Yingluo urges Consort Xian to find the mastermind behind the scheme.
However, even though she is exonerated from the charge of witchcraft, the Emperor, unwilling to let the matter go, imprisons her on a new charge: having an illicit affair with an imperial guard. Fu Heng kneels outside the palace for a day and a night, but the Emperor refuses to relent, declaring he will never allow Fu Heng and Yingluo to be together.
Realizing the depth of the Emperor's resentment is personal, Fu Heng makes a devastating decision to save Yingluo's life: he agrees to the Emperor's old wish and asks to marry Er Qing. Delighted, the Emperor releases Yingluo and immediately issues a decree for the marriage. Back at the Xin Zhe Ku, Fu Heng informs Yingluo of his betrothal and returns the tassel she had given him.
Heartbroken, Yingluo accuses him of being a coward who abandoned their love—a love she was willing to be punished for. She throws the tassel into a pond, severing their ties. After she leaves, a grief-stricken Fu Heng wades into the water to retrieve it. Yingluo is devastated, and Yuan Chunwang comforts her, keeping the truth of Fu Heng's sacrifice a secret. The two promise to rely only on each other from now on.
When Yingluo asks why a man as capable as him ended up in the Forbidden City, Yuan Chunwang recalls his tragic past. He reveals he is an illegitimate son of the late Emperor Yongzheng. After his adoptive parents died, he traveled to the capital with only a string of prayer beads to prove his identity.
However, his Eighth Uncle, who had lost the succession struggle to Yongzheng, took revenge by having him castrated and sent into the palace as a eunuch. Forced to serve as a slave while watching his father dote on other children, Yuan Chunwang's heart filled with a deep-seated hatred and a burning ambition for power.
