Story of Yanxi Palace Episode 52 Recap
> Story of Yanxi Palace Recap
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The episode opens with Noble Lady Yu vehemently accusing Wei Yingluo of poisoning the Fifth Prince, Yongqi. She claimed that because she had allied herself with Consort Chun, Wei Yingluo held a grudge, repeatedly insulted her, and when Yongqi defended her, Yingluo retaliated by poisoning the boy.
An imperial physician then testified that Yongqi was suffering from wolf's bane poisoning and that Wei Yingluo's residence, the Palace of Everlasting Joy, was the only place outside the imperial pharmacy known to have the herb, as it was an ingredient in an ointment for her recent injury. With the evidence seemingly stacked against Yingluo, Consort Chun urged the Emperor to enforce palace rules and punish her severely for harming a royal heir.
The Empress, however, advised caution, noting that possessing the poison didn't prove guilt and questioning Yingluo's motive. Undeterred, Noble Lady Yu escalated the drama, threatening suicide if the Emperor did not deliver justice for her son. Amid the chaos, Yingluo remarked to the Emperor that her favor alone made her a target for schemes. Denying her guilt, she declared she had a witness and summoned Physician Ye.
Feigning medical ignorance, Yingluo asked Physician Ye for the standard treatment for ingesting something poisonous, to which he casually replied "emesis." She then confronted Imperial Physician Liu, Yongqi's attending doctor, who admitted he had not induced vomiting due to the prince's weakness. The Emperor, trusting Yingluo, allowed Physician Ye to administer a mild emetic to Yongqi, despite protests from Consort Chun and Noble Lady Yu.
The examination of the vomit revealed not wolf's bane, but a large quantity of undigested ginseng slices. Physician Ye explained that an overdose of ginseng in a healthy youth could obstruct energy flow and cause unconsciousness, matching Yongqi's symptoms. Under pressure, Physician Liu confessed that Noble Lady Yu had insisted he use the ginseng and then misdiagnose the symptoms as wolf's bane poisoning.
The Empress astutely pointed out that Noble Lady Yu would never have used a truly lethal combination on her own son, deducing that she had bribed Physician Liu to frame Yingluo with a false accusation. Cornered, Noble Lady Yu confessed but revealed that Consort Chun was the true mastermind who had provided the ginseng and orchestrated the entire plot, a claim verifiable by procurement records.
The Emperor, also recalling Yingluo's suspicious fall from her horse, ordered Consort Chun confined to her palace and Noble Lady Yu detained. As she was led away, Noble Lady Yu tearfully instructed a crying Yongqi to listen to Wei Yingluo in the future. The Empress then interrogated Consort Chun's maid, Yu Hu.
By threatening Yu Hu's family, the Empress extracted a shocking confession: years ago, Consort Chun had bribed a palace supervisor to replace the charcoal in the late Empress's palace with a sparking, explosive type and sabotage the fire rescue mechanisms. This act of arson led directly to the death of the Seventh Prince, Yong Cong. Ming Yu, who had once served in Consort Chun's palace, corroborated the testimony, recalling how she was abused after stumbling upon the conspiracy.
Horrified to learn the truth behind the death of his beloved son with his late wife, the Emperor stripped Consort Chun of her title, demoted her to Attendant Su, and confined her to the Cold Palace. The Emperor was left deeply disturbed, reflecting on how he never knew the cruelty hidden beneath Consort Chun's gentle facade and suspecting Wei Yingluo had manipulated the situation to exact revenge for the late Empress.
Later, the Fifth Prince knelt outside, begging the Emperor to spare his mother, but the Emperor refused, declaring her unworthy of motherhood. Desperate, Yongqi pleaded with the Empress Dowager, who was moved by his devotion and agreed to consider his request. That night, a restless Wei Yingluo felt that events had unfolded too easily. In the Cold Palace, the Empress visited the disgraced Attendant Su. Su, having pieced everything together, bitterly accused the Empress of being the true puppet master.
She laid out how the Empress had manipulated her jealousy of the late Empress and her lingering resentment towards Fuheng, subtly guiding her to murder the Seventh Prince and, by extension, drive the late Empress to her death. The Empress dropped her facade, confessing her deep-seated hatred for the late Empress and confirming she had handed Su the "dagger" to eliminate her rivals. Knowing the Empress had come to silence her, Su accepted her fate.
The next morning, news spread that Attendant Su had been brutally killed in the Cold Palace, strangled with a kite string. The Emperor, suspecting Wei Yingluo's involvement as revenge, ordered the matter suppressed. Wei Yingluo herself was shaken, but after recalling Noble Lady Yu’s final words to Yongqi—to listen to her—she finally understood the truth. Noble Lady Yu had deliberately sacrificed herself to create an opportunity to expose and destroy their common enemy, Consort Chun.
Wei Yingluo rushed to see Noble Lady Yu, only to learn that the Empress Dowager had already sent her away to a nunnery. Facing the direction she had gone, Wei Yingluo bowed deeply, silently thanking her for the unexpected and decisive alliance.
