Story of Yanxi Palace Episode 56 Recap
> Story of Yanxi Palace Recap
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Wei Yingluo confronted Yuan Chunwang, who admitted he had been planning his revenge since she left the Summer Palace for the Forbidden City. He accused her of betraying their promise to spend their lives together. When Yingluo asked when he began serving the Empress, he revealed he had approached the Empress on the day he decided to enter the palace. Yingluo expressed her deep disappointment, feeling betrayed by someone she had considered a brother.
The Empress, amused, announced that she admired Yuan Chunwang and would make him the new Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Department, replacing Wu Shulai. Yingluo argued that Wu Shulai had served for thirty years to earn his position, whereas Yuan Chunwang lacked the qualifications. The Empress countered that Yuan Chunwang had proven his capability and, more importantly, Wu Shulai had exposed Yingluo’s use of contraceptive soup.
This revelation would forever be a thorn in the Emperor's side whenever he saw Wu, making him unsuitable to continue in his role. With the Empress's backing, Yuan Chunwang's promotion was assured. Realizing the depth of the Empress's scheme, Yingluo calmly conceded defeat, stating she had achieved her revenge and had no regrets. As she left, the Empress called her the most graceful loser she had ever seen, to which Yingluo retorted that the Empress was the most patient hunter.
Afterward, Yuan Chunwang pledged his undying loyalty to the Empress. Having lost imperial favor, Wei Yingluo and the servants of the Palace of Everlasting Joy faced hardship, receiving inferior supplies. When Ming Yu went to the Imperial Household Department for curtains, she was cornered by Imperial Concubine Shu, Nalan Chunxue. Still bitter over their past rivalry, Nalan taunted Ming Yu and scratched her face, telling her to warn Yingluo to await retribution.
The Imperial Bodyguard Hailancha intervened, advising Nalan not to antagonize an imperial aide. He then privately warned Ming Yu that Nalan was currently favored by the Emperor and that she and Yingluo should be cautious. Back at the palace, Ming Yu tried to hide her injuries. Despite their difficult situation, Yingluo kept their small household in order, teaching Ming Yu embroidery and her eunuch and maid, Xiao Quanzi and Zhenzhu, to read and write.
She noticed Ming Yu’s injuries and discreetly sent Xiao Quanzi to investigate, soon learning of Nalan's attack and rising status. Ming Yu admitted to the neglect from the Imperial Household Department but professed contentment with their quiet life. Meanwhile, an indignant Hailancha tried to speak to the Emperor about the mistreatment of the Palace of Everlasting Joy. The Emperor reacted furiously, fining Hailancha a year's salary and forbidding anyone from mentioning Yingluo's palace again.
Displaced by Yuan Chunwang, Wu Shulai drank heavily, lamenting his downfall. A junior eunuch suggested he seek help from the Empress Dowager. Drunk and emboldened, Wu Shulai boasted that he held a secret over the Empress Dowager. Yuan Chunwang, who was listening nearby, had Wu Shulai seized and forced him to reveal his leverage: a deathbed letter from Madam Wenshu, the Emperor's wet nurse, which he believed was a powerful secret.
Later, while Nalan Chunxue and other consorts visited the Empress Dowager, Wei Yingluo arrived with a sutra she had copied in her own blood as a prayer for the Empress Dowager's health. Nalan tried to belittle the offering by pointing out the ordinary paper Yingluo used, contrasting it with her own expensive gift. However, the Empress Dowager praised Yingluo's sincerity.
When asked how the blood in her writing remained pure, a quality typically seen only in sutras copied by high monks, Yingluo explained that she had maintained a vegetarian diet to show her piety. The Empress Dowager dismissed Nalan’s extravagant gift as wasteful and, impressed by Yingluo's devotion, invited her to accompany her to Huayan Temple. Afterward, Nalan angrily cursed Yingluo for manipulating her way back into favor. Overhearing her, Yingluo confronted Nalan.
She declared that even in her current state, her rank was far superior to Nalan's and delivered a sharp slap, warning her against future disrespect. The Empress Dowager, recognizing the Empress's ambition in swiftly replacing Wu Shulai, intentionally supported Yingluo to create a counterbalance of power in the harem. Meanwhile, Yuan Chunwang presented Madam Wenshu's letter to the Empress. Preferring to remain detached, the Empress decided to use Prince He, Hongzhou, to get the letter to the Emperor.
On the anniversary of his mother Elderly Concubine Yu's death, Hongzhou was due to pay respects at her former residence. The Empress had the letter planted among his mother's old belongings. While sorting through the items, Hongzhou discovered the letter and was stunned by its contents, believing it explained why the Empress Dowager had suppressed his mother for years. He resolved to show it to the Emperor immediately.
Hongzhou presented the letter to the Emperor, who was admiring a painting of a devoted mother. The Emperor, confident that nothing could harm his relationship with the Empress Dowager, agreed to read it. The letter was a confession from Madam Wenshu, claiming the Emperor was not the Empress Dowager's biological son but was born to a Han woman of the Qian clan from Jiaxing, and that the Empress Dowager's Niohuru clan had stolen him.
Though he dismissed it as nonsense, the Emperor was deeply unsettled. An investigation of the imperial records yielded no discrepancies, but suspecting they could have been falsified, the Emperor confronted the Empress Dowager directly. He presented the letter and demanded the truth. After initially denying it, she buckled under his pressure and confessed that his birth mother was indeed the Qian clanswoman. She explained that his mother had been a lowly maidservant in his father's mansion.
A fortune teller had predicted the Emperor's grand destiny but warned that being raised by a woman of humble birth would hinder it. Thus, he was taken from his mother at birth and given to the Empress Dowager to be raised as her own. His birth mother, weakened by childbirth, died a few years later. Unbeknownst to them, Wei Yingluo, arriving to deliver another sutra, overheard the entire shocking confession.
