The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion Episode 31 Recap
> The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion Recap
Disguised, Fu Rong infiltrated a bandit hideout and located several heavy chests filled with extravagant jewels, confirming they were the stolen palace treasures. As she examined the bounty, Xu Jia appeared, revealing he had also traced the stolen goods to this very spot. Moments later, two burly bandits brought several kidnapped women into the room and locked them in. After the bandits departed, Fu Rong and Xu Jia quietly rescued the women.
Realizing that escaping as a large group would be too difficult, Fu Rong spotted Cheji Grass and devised a plan. Feigning to be a new girl delivering wine to the bandits, she served them the drugged beverage, quickly incapacitating the guards. Xu Jia led the women towards the hideout's entrance, but their escape was discovered.
In a desperate move, Fu Rong handed Xu Jia the palace jewels she had collected as evidence, urging him to take the women and flee while she created a diversion. Once Xu Jia and the women were safely away, Fu Rong smashed a wine jar onto a haystack and kicked over a brazier, igniting a raging inferno that engulfed the hideout. Alerted by the blaze, the Chief of Qing Feng Hideout rushed to the scene.
His eyes immediately fell upon Fu Rong, and he ordered her capture. Meanwhile, Duke An, unable to find Fu Rong at the local inns, followed the trail of the Halcyon Stone she had dropped and tracked her to Qing Feng Hideout. At the same time, Xu Jia delivered the news of Fu Rong's situation to Xu Jin. He reported that Fu Rong was trapped in the hideout and that the stolen palace materials were confirmed to be in its storehouse.
Xu Jia also revealed that he had discovered weapons from Kushui Village within the hideout, indicating a deeper conspiracy. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Xu Jin deemed waiting for reinforcements from the capital too slow. The Princess of Xihe, who was also present, offered to accompany Xu Jia to General Yuan to borrow troops, leveraging her father's past connection to the general.
As a condition for her help, she requested a personal item from Xu Jin and that he promise to return safely. With the plan set, Xu Jia and the Princess departed to secure military aid, while Xu Jin immediately set off for Qing Feng Hideout. Inside the hideout, Duke Su and Duke An encountered each other amidst the chaos. Recognizing each other instantly, they seamlessly joined forces, fighting off waves of bandits with remarkable coordination.
As the battle raged, the Chief of Qing Feng Hideout instructed his Deputy Chief to destroy all the treasures in the storehouse should anything go wrong, to prevent any secrets from falling into enemy hands. Finally, Xu Jin and Duke An found Fu Rong, unconscious and dressed in a beautiful red gown. Xu Jin gently lifted her, and the three of them fought their way out of the hideout. However, the Chief and Deputy Chief quickly led a pursuit.
During their escape, Duke An bravely shielded Fu Rong from a poison arrow, sustaining a severe injury to his right arm. Seeing Duke An's critical condition, Xu Jin entrusted Fu Rong to him, urging him to take her and flee. Xu Jin then, with a resolute heart, severed the main gate's ropes, trapping himself within the hideout to hold off the remaining bandits.
Xu Jin fought tirelessly through the night, covered in blood and utterly exhausted, yet he held on, determined to last until reinforcements arrived. Finally, the hideout's gate crashed open, and General Yuan arrived with Xu Jia and their troops. Xu Jin, having pushed past his limits, collapsed. He instructed Xu Jia to search the storehouse. Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief, following the Chief's orders, doused haystacks with wine and set the warehouse ablaze to destroy evidence.
Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba, who had been searching inside, narrowly escaped the thick smoke just as the fire intensified. At a nearby inn, Duke An's arrow wound was revealed to be severe, damaging his right arm's bone and tendons. Fu Rong, feeling responsible for his injury, promised to care for him until he fully recovered. As Duke An drifted to sleep, he still clutched her hand, and Fu Rong herself eventually fell into a light slumber.
Startled from their sleep, Duke An cried out Fu Rong's name, while Fu Rong called for Xu Jin. The following morning, Duke An's subordinate relayed an urgent message from Gu Yuan, prompting Duke An to depart immediately despite his injuries. Meanwhile, Fu Rong, who had been outside preparing medicine for Duke An, dozed off. Someone took advantage of her momentary lapse, striking her unconscious and abducting her. When Duke An returned, he found Fu Rong gone.
He immediately ordered Wen Xing to mobilize all available resources to find her. Xu Jin, still bearing his battle wounds, systematically visited every inn on the main street, inquiring about Fu Rong's whereabouts. At one inn, he finally received a crucial lead: a child had delivered a letter and Fu Rong's bracelet, instructing him to go alone to East Mountain within the hour for an exchange. Without hesitation, Xu Jin inquired about directions to East Mountain and departed in haste.
Simultaneously, Duke An, also searching for Fu Rong, encountered the same innkeeper, who described Xu Jin's visit and urgent departure. Realizing Fu Rong must be there, Duke An too headed in that direction. On East Mountain, Zhang Yan had already prepared an open grave with a waiting coffin, intending to bury Fu Rong. He revealed his deep-seated hatred, recounting the day his father, Marquis Xindu, had ushered him and his mother into a secret passage.
During their escape, his mother had knocked him unconscious and abandoned him, sealing his fate of feeling utterly alone in the world. Zhang Yan blamed Xu Jin and Fu Rong for his parents' deaths and vowed to take his revenge that day. He forced the struggling Fu Rong into the coffin and began burying her, shoveling handfuls of soil onto the lid as heavy rain poured down.
Inside the coffin, the air grew thin, and Fu Rong's desperate struggles slowly weakened until silence descended. Xu Jin finally located Zhang Yan on East Mountain. Consumed by hatred, Zhang Yan refused to reveal Fu Rong's location, instead attempting to force Xu Jin to self-harm.
In a final act of spite, Zhang Yan took a blunt dagger and stabbed himself, slowly dying and declaring that his death would ensure Xu Jin lived a life tormented by guilt, never knowing Fu Rong's fate. As Zhang Yan drew his last breath, Xu Jin's hope shattered. He screamed Fu Rong's name into the pouring rain, then forced himself to calm down and logically deduce her whereabouts. He noticed an unusual interception of rainwater and freshly turned earth.
With growing certainty and a surge of frantic energy, he began digging, unearthing layer after layer of soil until his hand struck something solid – a coffin. His heart pounded, confirming his darkest suspicions and dreading what he would find inside.
