Story of Yanxi Palace Episode 70 (Ending) Recap
> Story of Yanxi Palace Recap
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
Empress Nara, disheveled and distraught, confronted the Emperor, declaring she had betrayed Prince Hong Zhou's affections all to prove her unwavering love for the Emperor. She asked if he had thought of her even for a moment when their boat was in danger. Highlighting her injured hand as a mark from her desperate attempt to save him, she confessed she felt no pain, only the desire to die with him if she couldn't save him.
She bitterly accused Wei Yingluo of being treacherous and manipulative, caring only for herself. Empress Nara criticized the Emperor for cherishing someone who didn't love him while neglecting her. She admitted that since her father's death, she understood the importance of power and had collected secrets on many officials to make them subservient to her. She defiantly declared her ambition to become a second Empress Dowager Xiao Zhuang upon his death.
The Emperor condemned her actions as treason, but she insisted she did it for self-protection. Despite having countless opportunities to kill him, she revealed she could not bring herself to harm the man she loved, even as she admitted her intense hatred for him, Aisin-Gioro Hongli. In a shocking act of defiance, Empress Nara then cut her hair, a grave offense in Manchu tradition symbolizing a curse upon the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
The Emperor, calling her insane, ordered her removal. Prince Hong Zhou immediately stepped forward, trying to claim all responsibility before being taken away. Zhen, realizing Yuan Chunwang had deceived her, attacked him with a hairpin, but he swiftly killed her. Yuan Chunwang then knelt before the Emperor, claiming he had been coerced by the Empress and offered to reveal the names of bribed officials in exchange for his life. However, Wei Yingluo exposed him as the true orchestrator.
She explained that his own stories about a father who refused to acknowledge his high-born son had prompted her to send investigators to his supposed hometown, Mount Taihang. Upon hearing the mention of Mount Taihang, the Empress Dowager dismissed everyone and asked Wei Yingluo for a full explanation. Wei Yingluo confirmed that Yuan Chunwang was the son of the farmer's daughter who had sheltered the late Emperor Yongzheng, adding that her investigator had brought back a witness.
No longer hiding, Yuan Chunwang revealed his deep-seated hatred. Claiming to possess Aisin-Gioro blood, he blamed the late Prince Lian for his castration and entry into the palace. He confessed to instigating Prince Hong Zhou and pressuring Empress Nara, intending to use Hong Zhou to assassinate the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Afterward, he planned to betray Hong Zhou and expose his crimes, thus eliminating everyone he resented.
He bitterly contrasted his life as a lowly eunuch who transported commodes and manure with the Emperor's life of luxury. Wei Yingluo then confronted him about switching the physician's medicinal maggots intended for the Fifth Prince. Yuan Chunwang confirmed they were Burmese carrion beetles, which become extremely lethal upon contact with flesh and blood. He gloated that by saving the Fifth Prince with her bare hand, Wei Yingluo had inadvertently poisoned herself.
Upon seeing her poisoned hand, the Emperor demanded the antidote, but Yuan Chunwang chillingly declared there was none. The Empress Dowager immediately refuted Yuan Chunwang's claims, asserting that the late Emperor had no illegitimate son. Yuan Chunwang vehemently denied her words, citing a royal attire left by Emperor Yongzheng as irrefutable proof.
The Empress Dowager then explained that Lady Qian had swapped clothes with the late Emperor to help him escape bandits, implying that a bandit, not the Emperor, had assaulted the farmer's daughter. She lamented that this lie had tragically altered his life, leading him to become a eunuch. Enraged, Yuan Chunwang called her a liar and cursed everyone before the Emperor, incensed, ordered him to be torn limb from limb.
However, the Empress Dowager intervened, urging the Emperor to spare his life. As Yuan Chunwang was dragged away screaming that he was an Aisin-Gioro prince, it became clear the Empress Dowager had lied to cover up the royal scandal; Yuan Chunwang was, in fact, the late Emperor's son. The Emperor was distraught over Wei Yingluo's critical condition.
Gravely ill, she instructed Zhenzhu to tell her children, if she were to die, that their mother had gone traveling and found them too much of a burden. Miraculously, Wei Yingluo awoke to find Hailancha at her bedside. He explained that they had defeated the Burmese army and he had returned with the truce memorial. He also brought the antidote: a pill made from the sacred heart plant, found in the swamps of Burma. Wei Yingluo eagerly asked about Fuheng.
With a heavy heart, Hailancha explained that while collecting the sacred heart plant, Fuheng had contracted malaria but stubbornly insisted on continuing to command the battle, declaring a commander could only die on the battlefield, never retreat. Hailancha tearfully confessed that Fuheng's body had already been transported back to the Forbidden City. He then relayed Fuheng's final question: "Wei Yingluo, I've spent my whole life protecting you. In the next life, could you protect me?"
After Hailancha implored her to give Fuheng some hope, Wei Yingluo requested to be left alone and softly whispered, "Alright, I promise you." Empress Nara was confined to her palace, stripped of her title and attendants, but her provisions remained unchanged. Her new maid, who had once served Consort Dowager Yu, informed her that Prince Hong Zhou, under house arrest, had sent his regards. When Wei Yingluo visited, Empress Nara questioned why she had interceded on her behalf.
Wei Yingluo reminded her of a past kindness: when she was gravely ill, Empress Nara had sent a physician to save her. Wei Yingluo stated that with this, they were even. Empress Nara then accused Wei Yingluo of knowing Yuan Chunwang's scheme all along and allowing it to unfold to finally eliminate Prince Hong Zhou. For twenty-four years, she asserted, Wei Yingluo had never forgotten her sister's death and sought to make Hong Zhou pay.
Wei Yingluo neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. Empress Nara then asked her final question: how had Wei Yingluo won the Emperor's heart, something she had failed to do in decades? Wei Yingluo calmly replied, "Why must you say it out loud? The person who speaks of love first, loses." Later, Hailancha delivered poisoned wine to Prince Hong Zhou, an order from the Emperor to stage a death by illness and preserve royal dignity.
Acknowledging the Emperor as the most ruthless person in the world, Hong Zhou stoically drank the wine. Yuan Chunwang descended into madness, constantly proclaiming himself a prince. Observing him, Wei Yingluo told a bewildered Zhenzhu that whether his claims were true or not no longer mattered, hinting that some truths were best left unexamined. Wei Yingluo was then elevated to Imperial Noble Consort.
As she received the bows of other consorts, the Emperor asked what she had to say to him. She initially said "nothing," prompting him to call her an ingrate. She playfully countered that he must be too invested in her to give up now. The Emperor retorted that even when she was dying, his kingdom came first, as he was an emperor who didn't understand love.
When he demanded a serious answer to his initial question, she called him a tyrant for demanding her utmost love while prioritizing his kingdom. She concluded, "I don't have an answer right now, but I will spend my entire life answering you. You will have to wait patiently."
