Heart of Loyalty Episode 21 Recap
> Heart of Loyalty Recap
Mo Yan struggled to mask her grief over Zhan Zhao, a fact Ning Jin keenly observed. He urged her to confront her past by accompanying him to Liao, believing it was the only way for her to truly move on. Mo Yan, however, stubbornly claimed she had already come to terms with it.
Mo Yan reported the successful capture of the Thousand-Faced Bandit, a skilled creator of masks from human skin, who was responsible for previous cases and was now in jail awaiting interrogation. After her report, she requested Bao Zheng's permission to join Ning Jin on the tribute mission to Liao. Bao Zheng, citing pressing official duties in Kaifeng City and an important case for Mo Yan in Jiangnan, denied her request.
Undeterred, Ning Jin later spoke with Bao Zheng directly, questioning his refusal. Bao Zheng admitted his concern that Mo Yan would become emotionally volatile if she were to meet Zhan Zhao, stating that it was not yet time for them to reunite. Ning Jin countered that over a year of meticulous planning had stabilized the situation in Liao, and Mo Yan’s constant distraction made him reluctant to let her continue living in such a state of despair.
Recognizing the depth of Mo Yan’s unresolved sorrow, Bao Zheng reluctantly agreed. Ning Jin then affirmed that Mo Yan would accompany him, believing that facing the past was necessary. During their journey to Liao, Ning Jin suggested they camp at Yanxie Town for the night and visit a small courtyard they had once frequented. He informed Wu Zi Chu to notify Grand Preceptor Pang of the stop and to keep a close watch on him.
Grand Preceptor Pang, complaining of exhaustion from the bumpy road, chose to remain in his carriage. At the courtyard, Mo Yan was delighted to find Su Zui awaiting them. She expressed her joy, having guessed it would be him. Su Zui shared updates on their Second Brother, noting his happy marriage to Miss Bai. He then joked with Ning Jin about finding him a suitable wife, even a princess, back in the capital.
Su Zui, however, soon urged them to return to the main party quickly to avoid arousing Grand Preceptor Pang's suspicions. Upon arriving at the Datong Boarding House, Zhao Yu greeted Ning Jin and Grand Preceptor Pang warmly. She was particularly overjoyed to see Mo Yan. Yelv Pusanu, who was secretly Zhan Zhao in disguise, was also present. Some Liao soldiers mistakenly assumed Mo Yan was Ning Jin's concubine.
Mo Yan promptly corrected them, clarifying that her husband's surname was Zhan and she was not a concubine, words that deeply moved Zhan Zhao as he overheard them. Meanwhile, Grand Preceptor Pang secretly met with Yelv Chongguang at Yelv Manor, reprimanding him for his repeated failures to instigate conflict between Song and Liao, which even led to the death of their long-standing informant, Madam Fang.
Yelv Chongguang defensively attributed his setbacks to a Song informant within his inner circle, which he claimed he was trying to eliminate. Grand Preceptor Pang threatened him, implying he could arrange a similar "accident" for Yelv Chongguang's deputy commissioner, Yelv Pusanu. Grand Preceptor Pang then issued a stern warning that with Princess Zhao Yu's wedding imminent, their meticulously planned scheme, a year in the making, absolutely could not fail this time.
Later, Zhao Yu confided in Su Zui, expressing her homesickness after seeing her uncle. She acknowledged the burden of her role, stating her need to flawlessly portray a happy princess for the sake of her loved ones. Su Zui reassured her, commending her efforts and thanking her for his companionship and protection over the past year. Zhao Yu observed that intimate relationships made deception harder and commented on Su Zui’s seemingly cold demeanor.
Su Zui explained that he had deliberately forced himself to be emotionless to prevent his eyes from betraying his true feelings. Their eyes met, and Su Zui, immersed in the moment, realized their mutual feelings and hastily looked away. Zhao Yu, seeing through his facade, told him he was not cold but merely used pretense and distance as a coping mechanism from years as an informant.
She encouraged him to embrace his true self now that he had their support, but Su Zui evaded her concern. As Mo Yan sat drinking in the courtyard, Yelv Pusanu (Zhan Zhao) approached her, urging her to let go of Zhan Zhao and accept his death, emphasizing that dwelling on the past would not make him happy. Mo Yan adamantly declared herself Zhan Zhao's wife, an unchangeable fact, and dismissed his advice, believing he couldn't understand her.
Drunk, Mo Yan stumbled, and Yelv Pusanu swiftly caught her. In his embrace, she instinctively felt it was Zhan Zhao, holding onto his hand as she drifted to sleep and murmuring for him not to abandon her. Once she was asleep, Zhan Zhao removed his mask and tenderly kissed her, silently expressing his deep longing.
A flashback revealed the truth: after being severely poisoned in the miasma forest, Zhan Zhao would have died had Su Zui not found him and, at the cost of losing all his own martial arts, expelled the toxins from Zhan Zhao's body. Zhan Zhao explained that he owed Su Zui his life and, to continue their mission of uncovering stolen money and aiding the struggling Song empire, he assumed Su Zui's identity as Yelv Pusanu.
He expressed his regret for letting her believe he was dead. The next morning, Zhan Zhao quietly left Mo Yan's room. Mo Yan awoke, reflecting on the night's events, and realized that Yelv Pusanu was indeed Zhan Zhao. She immediately sought him out, demanding he remove his mask. He refused, reiterating that revealing his identity would jeopardize their mission and again urged her to accept Zhan Zhao's death and believe he was only her Sixth Brother. Heartbroken, Mo Yan left.
Soon after, assassins (men in black) stormed the Datong Boarding House. Yelv Pusanu fought them, and Mo Yan recognized Zhan Zhao's distinctive fighting style. After defeating the attackers, Yelv Pusanu led Mo Yan into a secluded forest and removed his mask, confirming her suspicions. Overwhelmed by a mix of joy and resentment, Mo Yan bit his shoulder and cried into his embrace, pleading with him never to abandon her again.
Zhan Zhao apologized and promised that after Grand Preceptor Pang was overthrown, he would accompany her back to Shu and treat her to perch. They then shared a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, the surviving assassin leader reported his failure to Grand Preceptor Pang, confirming that the Liao man (Yelv Pusanu) had used Mo Yan's Juque Sword. Grand Preceptor Pang, now deeply suspicious, questioned if Zhan Zhao might still be alive, asking if the assassin had seen his body.
He instructed his subordinate to recuperate, hinting at further developments. Later, at a meal with Mo Yan, Ning Jin, and Zhao Yu, Mo Yan playfully revealed that Yelv Pusanu (whom Ning Jin and Zhao Yu still believed was Su Zui) had escorted her back to the Datong Boarding House and even kissed her. Ning Jin and Zhao Yu, relieved the secret was out, feigned surprise but quickly agreed such actions were "common" for a caring brother.
Mo Yan then pressed further, mentioning Yelv Pusanu had used the Juque Sword against the assassins that morning. Still playing along, Ning Jin and Zhao Yu again dismissed it as normal for a Han to possess such skills. Finally, Mo Yan dropped the act, confronting them for hiding the truth. Su Zui, who arrived at that moment still wearing his mask, was also told to stop pretending.
He explained that keeping Mo Yan in the dark was necessary because her worry would have made Zhan Zhao hesitant and distracted, jeopardizing his dangerous role as an informant, where "hesitations" or "distraction" were fatal flaws. He also revealed that Grand Preceptor Pang had already made a move and knew of the Juque Sword, making Zhan Zhao's exposure imminent. Ning Jin decided they must act before Grand Preceptor Pang could.
Su Zui then strictly warned Mo Yan not to meet Zhan Zhao privately again due to the extreme danger. Separately, Ning Jin visited Prince Hongji to discuss an urgent matter. At the same time, Grand Preceptor Pang paid another visit to Yelv Chongguang. He casually apologized for his subordinates' earlier altercation, attributing it to their youthful impulsiveness. Yelv Chongguang brushed it off as a minor family affair.
Grand Preceptor Pang then subtly suggested that Yelv Chongguang might be using private army without proper authorization. Grand Preceptor Pang, feigning a "bad habit" of being unable to proceed with "doubt in my heart," expressed skepticism about Yelv Chongguang's claim of having eliminated the Song informant. He specifically mentioned that his men observed Yelv Pusanu demonstrating "proficiency in the sword skills of Song" during the recent fight.
Yelv Chongguang quickly defended Yelv Pusanu as his trusted "right-hand man" involved in various "monetary dealings" and "gunpowder dealings with the Tibetan people," subtly implying that Grand Preceptor Pang's inquiry might be an attempt to reclaim stolen funds for Song. Grand Preceptor Pang, maintaining his pretext, then requested Yelv Chongguang to arrange a meal so he could personally meet Yelv Pusanu.
