The Flame's Daughter Episode 17 Recap
> The Flame's Daughter Recap
Dao Liexiang sat on her wedding bed, armed with a hidden knife, intending to confront Zhan Feng. However, Lei Jinghong unexpectedly entered, removing her red veil and setting it alight. Dao Liexiang was surprised by his presence, and he explained he had come to stop her marriage, despite being on the run himself after his Thunderbolt Clique offended the government.
She clarified that her acceptance was a ruse; she planned to investigate Yin Xue's death within Flaming Manor to prevent further innocent lives from being lost and to prevent her older brothers from making further mistakes. When a group of men arrived to "disturb the bridal chamber," Lei Jinghong quickly hid under the covers. Ji Jinglei skillfully diverted the rowdy guests, ensuring the newlyweds could rest undisturbed.
Once they were alone again, Lei Jinghong playfully pinned Dao Liexiang to the bed, expressing his happiness that she did not genuinely love Zhan Feng and dismissing their marriage as inconsequential. He urged her to leave Flaming Manor, warning her of its dangers, and offered to help resolve her problems, though she remained skeptical of his ability to do so while hiding in her chamber.
Lei Jinghong then informed Dao Liexiang he would be hiding in Yu Zihan's quarters for a few days, after which she summoned her own servants. Later that night, Lie Ruge stood by the frozen lotus pond. Zhan Feng arrived, his demeanor cold and distant. Lie Ruge, despite her hidden sorrow, reminded him that he should be with his bride on their wedding night.
Zhan Feng then accused her of cowardice, questioning if she was afraid to come next to him and unable to leave him again. Lie Ruge, growing impatient with his taunts, pressed him to state his true purpose. She questioned his past relationship with Ying Yi and the sudden termination of their engagement, wondering if it was for power and status.
She pointed out that her own status was higher than Dao Liexiang's, and asked what Flaming Manor could not offer him that World Swordless City could. She then speculated that his animosity stemmed from hatred for her father, Lie Mingjing, noting a change in his attitude two years prior. Zhan Feng denied the accusation. He revealed his actual reason for coming: to bluntly demand that she "give up the sect leader position."
Lie Ruge was incensed, realizing he had abandoned his bride on their wedding night solely to deliver this warning, to which he coldly affirmed the paramount importance of Flaming Manor to him.
Meanwhile, in Jiangnan, Anye Jue, who had been masquerading as Yan Niang for nearly 20 years and had a daughter with him, revealed her true identity as the Third Sect Leader of Dark River Palace to her husband, Lei Hentian, whom she had bound with chains on a boat. She declared that good and evil could never coexist and confessed that she had never loved him, merely using him and Thunderbolt Clique's unique fire weapon for Dark River Palace's resurgence.
Anye Jue explained that with Yin Xue's death and new heavy taxes in Ping An Town, the blame had been shifted to Thunderbolt Clique, and she was meticulously destroying all evidence. Lei Hentian, accepting his grim fate, pleaded with her to spare their son, Lei Jinghong. Anye Jue agreed, stating she had raised him herself.
She then ordered her subordinates to sink the boat and disseminate a false narrative that Lei Hentian had been killed by a cunning villain, initiating a fabricated investigation to deceive the martial arts community. Lie Ruge had taken Ying Yi to hide in Bamboo Courtyard. Die Yi, having investigated Ying Yi's past through Hall Leader Zhongli, uncovered a harrowing story: Ying Yi was sold to a brothel at five, forced into servitude at eleven, and repeatedly tortured.
At fifteen, she suddenly gained martial arts prowess, the brothel was transferred to her name, and her tormentors mysteriously died overnight. Lie Ruge surmised that Ying Yi's martial arts were completely bestowed by Anye Luo. Confronting Ying Yi, Lie Ruge pressed her for the truth, promising protection if she confided in her. Ying Yi revealed that Madam Yan was none other than Anye Jue, the Third Sect Leader of Dark River Palace.
She then dropped a bombshell: Lie Ruge's father, Lie Mingjing, had allegedly killed Zhan Feng's birth parents, Zhan Feitian and his wife, years ago to monopolize Flaming Manor. Lie Ruge fiercely defended her father, believing him incapable of such an act, especially given how he had raised Zhan Feng as his own.
However, Ying Yi maintained that Zhan Feng believed this account due to the suspicious circumstances of his parents' deaths, and that this belief was the true reason he had broken off his engagement with Lie Ruge.
Ying Yi further claimed that the martial arts world secretly harbored doubts about Lie Mingjing but dared not voice them, and that Lie Ruge's father giving her the entire Flaming Manor would only solidify the suspicions that he eliminated Zhan Feng's parents to consolidate his power. Ying Yi's words deeply troubled Lie Ruge, though she clung to her faith in her father's innocence.
Early the next morning, Zhan Feng, having learned of Ying Yi's location, brought his men to Bamboo Courtyard, demanding entry. Yu Zihan blocked him, citing the manor's rules against trespassing in his private residence. A tense standoff ensued, with Zhan Feng asserting that Ying Yi was "his person." Lie Ruge arrived and intervened, instructing Die Yi to hand Ying Yi over to Zhan Feng, stating that Ying Yi wished to return and urging them to avoid further conflict.
Zhan Feng took Ying Yi to his Maple Courtyard, informing her she would spend one night in the guest room and be sent away the following day. Ying Yi, however, cautioned him against trusting anyone too easily. Meanwhile, Dao Liexiang observed Zhan Feng bringing Ying Yi back and felt a wave of relief, realizing it was Ying Yi, not Lei Jinghong, who had been hiding in Bamboo Courtyard.
Zhan Feng and Ying Yi shared a final, somber moment, acknowledging their lack of shared destiny. Lie Ruge, still deeply affected by Ying Yi's accusations against her father, discussed her concerns with Yu Zihan. While he initially suggested keeping Ying Yi for intelligence, Lie Ruge insisted on fulfilling her promise to let Ying Yi go in exchange for the truth. Yu Zihan agreed to help with the escape.
Later that night, as Die Yi rushed to report a fire at Maple Courtyard, Lie Ruge calmly told her to rest, implicitly confirming that the fire was part of her plan to help Ying Yi. With Yu Zihan's assistance, Huang Cong set Ying Yi's room ablaze and left a fabricated suicide note, suggesting she had died after a failed mission. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Huang Cong escorted Ying Yi out of the manor, providing her with money and a carriage.
Ying Yi, having lost all trust in others, refused to be taken to the original destination and instead requested to be left in Taizhou, resolute in her decision to forge a new life independently and never return to Dark River Palace. Back at Maple Courtyard, Zhan Feng's Second Senior Brother found the "suicide" note, confirming Ying Yi's supposed death.
He then reiterated his unwavering support for Zhan Feng in the impending decision regarding the Flaming Manor sect leader position, noting that the hall leaders were present, indicating the matter would soon be finalized.
