Sword Dynasty Episode 33 Recap
> Sword Dynasty Recap
Ding Ning, having made significant advancements in his cultivation, effortlessly defeated Zhu Yuan's pursuing forces. However, during the commotion, Ye Xinhe stealthily abducted Zhangsun Qianxue. Meanwhile, the King of Heng reflected on a pivotal moment from a decade ago when he offered Ye Zhen the position of Queen. He assured her that he valued her heart more than her past, urging her to leave her past behind if she truly wished to be his queen and wife.
Around the same time, the Eleven Marquises, following the elimination of the Shang and Gongsun families who had opposed the reform, expressed a sudden eagerness to restart the reform and pledged their allegiance to Liang Jingmeng. They highlighted his close relationship with the King, his having saved the King's life, and his capacity to protect Heng. The King, sensing the shift in their loyalty, shared a toast with Liang Jingmeng.
However, this apparent alliance was shattered when an official announcement declared Liang Jingmeng an assassin, executed for attempting to murder the King. Orders were subsequently issued to either align with the King or face death. In the present, the King learned that Jiang Li and others had left Minshan before Huang Zhenwei could arrive, confirming his suspicion that Baili Suxue knew Ding Ning's true identity, and many were deceiving him.
He felt Liang Jingmeng's continued presence, even in another form, was an enduring threat. Eldest Prince Yuan Zihan returned to Fengming but was met with his father's continued favor for Yuan Zichu and a refusal to grant him an audience. Feeling slighted, Yuan Zihan coerced the palace maid Xiao Yue, threatening her family, to secretly administer a slow-acting poison to Yuan Zichu's daily meals. Xiao Yue complied, ensuring the poison accumulated without immediate detection. Yuan Zichu’s health deteriorated rapidly.
One evening, noticing his increasing weakness, Xiao Yue urged him to eat. Yuan Zichu, in a gesture of kindness, remembered Xiao Yue's past wish to visit her family and presented her with a handwritten letter granting her permission to leave the palace. Overwhelmed by his compassion, Xiao Yue broke down and confessed her crime, though she did not explicitly name Yuan Zihan as the mastermind.
Unbeknownst to her, Huang Zhenwei had already investigated and informed the King that a Jiantian Bureau official had seen Xiao Yue leaving Yuan Zihan’s chamber, strongly implicating the eldest prince. Ye Xinhe reported to Ye Zhen that while Ding Ning had escaped, she had successfully captured Zhangsun Qianxue. Ye Zhen then confronted Zhangsun Qianxue in a secluded area, demanding to know if Ding Ning was indeed Liang Jingmeng.
Zhangsun Qianxue challenged Ye Zhen's moral standing, reminding her that she herself had poisoned Liang Jingmeng. Ye Zhen retorted by recounting her sacrifices for Liang Jingmeng, including betraying her entire Xiaozhong Prefecture, only to feel that he had secretly favored Zhangsun Qianxue by teaching her cultivation and gifting her the Ninth-hell Dark Lord Sword.
Zhangsun Qianxue clarified that her relationship with Liang Jingmeng had ended a decade ago, but asserted that after Ye Zhen "killed his heart," fate had brought her and Ding Ning together. Enraged, Ye Zhen offered Zhangsun Qianxue a sword, and the two engaged in a fierce duel. Weakened by Zhu Yuan's lingering poison, Zhangsun Qianxue was ultimately overpowered and severely wounded by Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen declared that if she couldn't have Ding Ning, no one else would.
Ding Ning, upon learning of Zhangsun Qianxue's capture, immediately headed to Wutongluo, which was heavily guarded. He fought his way through the soldiers and burst into the wine shop where Ye Zhen waited. Ye Zhen, visibly overjoyed, greeted him with "Jingmeng." However, Ding Ning’s gaze remained fixed on the gravely injured Zhangsun Qianxue.
He curtly demanded her release, declaring that his return was to settle the decade-long score for the King of Heng's betrayal of him and the Bashan Sword Field. Enraged by his indifference and accusation, Ye Zhen cried out, reminding him of her ultimate sacrifice in betraying her family and state for him, only to be deceived from the start. She then aimed the Ninth-hell Dark Lord Sword at him, threatening to kill him if he came any closer.
Unfazed, Ding Ning walked directly towards her, allowing the sword to pierce his chest. With a surge of internal power, he shattered the blade. He then gently lifted Zhangsun Qianxue into his arms, reassuring her that as long as they were together, any place could be their home, and he would take her there. A heartbroken Ye Zhen watched them depart, muttering that they would not get far and Zhangsun Qianxue would not survive the day.
The King of Heng visited a weakened Yuan Zichu, informing him that Huang Zhenwei had uncovered the truth about the poisoning at Fengwu Hall and apologizing for his earlier misjudgment. Yuan Zichu, in turn, asked if the King truly harbored a deep-seated resentment towards Liang Jingmeng, given the destruction of the Bashan Sword Field. The King admitted his obsession, describing Liang Jingmeng's brilliance as a rival sun, asserting that only one could exist.
He explained that Liang Jingmeng's immense power and influence, especially when he opposed the King's reforms and garnered support from powerful families like Gongsun, posed an insurmountable threat to his rule. Yuan Zichu, still troubled, questioned why the King would eliminate a loyal subject and a brother. The King retorted by highlighting Yuan Zichu's own brother, Yuan Zihan, who had attempted to poison him.
Yuan Zichu, with his inherently kind nature, defended Yuan Zihan's actions, attributing them to the eldest prince's understandable discontent at being overlooked. The King then tested Yuan Zichu, observing his hesitation and calling him too indecisive for a ruler, emphasizing that a monarch must maintain absolute control and that he had no regrets about his past actions. Yuan Zichu, however, mused whether the King truly felt no remorse deep down, despite his outward resolve.
Shortly after, Huang Zhenwei reported that Zhu Yuan, one of Yuan Zihan's aides, was the one who poisoned the Crown Prince. Brought before the King, Zhu Yuan confessed, claiming she acted alone out of a misguided sense of loyalty to Yuan Zihan, whom she felt was unjustly neglected. The King was about to order her execution, but Huang Zhenwei quickly intervened, reminding him that Zhu Yuan possessed the antidote.
Despite obtaining the antidote, it proved to be too late; the poison had already permeated Yuan Zichu's bone marrow, destined to cause progressively longer periods of unconsciousness. As Zhangsun Qianxue lay dying, Baili Suxue’s disciples, standing outside, sensed her deteriorating condition but decided not to disturb the couple in their final moments. Inside, Ding Ning comforted her. Zhangsun Qianxue, in turn, expressed her desire to use her remaining vital energy to treat his yang hyperactivity.
When Ding Ning attempted to refuse, she gently chided him. With a serene smile, she took a broken sword, carefully cut a lock of her hair and a lock of Ding Ning's, and placed them into a small pouch. Then, with her head resting against him, her breath slowly faded away as Ding Ning held her close, weeping in profound grief. Later, the King of Heng found Ye Zhen near the deserted Wutongluo.
He remarked on the unusual quietness, hinting that she still harbored feelings for Liang Jingmeng. Ye Zhen, however, challenged him, asking if he hated or feared Liang Jingmeng, suggesting that he was the one who truly couldn't let go of the past. Their tense exchange was interrupted by Huang Zhenwei, who reported that despite the antidote, Yuan Zichu’s condition was critical. The poison had seeped into his bone marrow, leading to progressively longer periods of unconsciousness. Enraged, the King declared that if the royal doctors failed to save Yuan Zichu, everyone in the Royal Academy of Medicine would pay with their lives.
