The Heiress Episode 6 Recap
> The Heiress Recap
Han Shiyi and Wang Zhongyu made a bet: the loser of their tree-climbing competition would have to dress as the Goddess of Lightning during the upcoming city parade. The challenge generated much excitement at the Imperial College, with most students betting on Wang Zhongyu, though Shen Chengjun remained a staunch supporter of Han Shiyi. Chen Yanyi, observing Han Shiyi, found him to be consistently peculiar.
At this time, the Second Prince was completing his dike inspection and returning to the capital. Meanwhile, members of the Weiyuan Sect, Prime Minister Wang's covert force, were discovered in the city, leading Chen Yanyi to suspect that Prime Minister Wang intended to target Han Shiyi. The competition took place in the forest of eastern suburbs, where the goal was to climb a tall tree and retrieve a hanging lantern.
Wang Xiyuan, still nursing a grudge against Han Shiyi for a past humiliation, attended disguised as a man. Wang Zhongyu resorted to cheating by using climbing hooks. Han Shiyi, not one to be outdone, skillfully borrowed a whip from her personal guard, Jinzi, using it to swing up to the lantern and claim victory. In her moment of triumph, an assassin from the Weiyuan Sect, hidden in ambush, used a concealed weapon to cut the rope Han Shiyi was using.
She began to fall headfirst, but Chen Yanyi swiftly intervened, pulling out Jiye's hairpin and using it to secure Han Shiyi's clothing to the tree, preventing a fatal plunge. Han Shiyi, mistakenly believing Jiye had saved her, looked at him with new appreciation. To celebrate her miraculous escape and express her gratitude to Jiye, Han Shiyi invited him and Chen Yanyi to Li's Glorious Pavilion for a celebratory meal.
Both Chen Yanyi and Wang Zhongyu noted suspicious details at the scene of the fall: the rope had an unusually clean cut, and a sharp hidden weapon was discovered on the ground. Before the feast, Shen Chengjun informed Han Shiyi that Wang Xiyuan had released Han Shiyi's carriage oxen and attacked her attendants. Han Shiyi, unfazed, invited Shen Chengjun to join them at the pavilion, which he accepted.
At Li's Glorious Pavilion, Chen Yanyi, Shen Chengjun, Jiye, and Han Shiyi dined together. Jiye was visibly nervous about eating with his master. Han Shiyi suggested inviting dancers for entertainment, but observing Chen Yanyi's grim expression, she remembered his dislike for women. Opting for drinks instead, Han Shiyi, boasting of being a "true man from the northern territory who eats meat with big bites and drinks wine with big bowls," was the only one to get completely drunk.
Despite others offering to help, Chen Yanyi gently took her into his arms and carried her to his carriage. On the way back to his mansion, with the unconscious Han Shiyi in his arms, Chen Yanyi found himself unwilling to release her. He was acutely aware of the historical criticism faced by emperors who had male lovers, yet he couldn't deny his feelings for her, despite noting her rascally demeanor.
Later that evening, Chen Yanyi examined the hidden weapon found at the competition site, confirming it was an assassination attempt. He ordered his attendant, Xinting, to investigate the assassin and then sent instructions to his agent, Qi Tai, to ambush the Second Prince on his return journey. The order was specific: injure him severely but do not kill him, setting a trap for Prime Minister Wang. Chen Yanyi personally brought hangover soup to Han Shiyi.
While attempting to feed her, some soup spilled, dampening her clothes. As he helped her dry off, he unfastened her garment, discovering a chest binder. With growing realization, he carefully unwrapped it, confirming that Han Shiyi was, in fact, a woman. Chen Yanyi quickly deduced that she was Han Yuanniang, who had impersonated her deceased twin brother, Han Shiyi, to assume the title of Lord Han of Duke Han.
Understanding the severe implications of this deception—a crime of treason punishable by the execution of her entire family—he decided to keep her secret and feign ignorance. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wang learned of Peng Kun's failed assassination of Han Shiyi, attributing the failure to a master-hand protecting the Fifth Prince. Undeterred, he again ordered the Weiyuan Sect to eliminate Han Shiyi. Unbeknownst to him, his son, Wang Zhongyu, overheard this conversation.
Wang Zhongyu, who wished to avoid political strife and did not want to provoke the Han family, pleaded with his father to stop. Prime Minister Wang dismissed his son's concerns, explaining that the Wang family was too deeply entangled in politics—with Wang Zhongyu's aunt as Empress, his cousin as a Prince, and his older sister as a Prince's Consort—to retreat.
He also revealed that the Emperor himself desired to curb the Han family's military power and would eventually move against Han Shiyi, justifying his own actions as necessary for the family's survival. The next morning, Han Shiyi awoke to find her clothes neatly put back on, much to her relief. She noticed a stark change in Chen Yanyi's demeanor; he was unusually solicitous, preparing a light breakfast and even serving her food.
Han Shiyi, puzzled by his newfound attentiveness, suspected he was using "courtesy before force." When her maids arrived to take her to school, she quickly seized the opportunity to leave Chen Yanyi's mansion. Concurrently, Empress Wang and Prime Minister Wang plotted to use Chen Yanyi's anticipated ambush of the Second Prince to their advantage. They decided to stage their own assassination attempt on the Second Prince and frame the Fifth Prince.
Soon after, the Second Prince was indeed ambushed on his way back to the capital, sustaining a severe arrow wound to the chest that narrowly missed his heart but deeply injured his lung, requiring at least a year and a half for full recovery. The Emperor, enraged, ordered an investigation. The captured assassin, under interrogation, implicated the Fifth Prince as the mastermind.
Back at the Imperial College, news of the Second Prince's assassination and the Fifth Prince's alleged involvement spread, sparking heated discussions. Han Shiyi, looking at Chen Yanyi's empty seat, felt an unexpected pang of sadness, realizing his absence affected her. Meanwhile, the Emperor summoned Chen Yanyi to the palace for questioning, where Mr. Dai presented an arrow, asking if it was from Chen Yanyi's mansion. Han Shiyi, contemplating the turmoil, wished aloud that they could have been children of ordinary families, living happier lives.
