The Legend of Xiao Chuo Episode 48 (Ending) Recap
> The Legend of Xiao Chuo Recap
The military powers of the imperial clans had all been transferred to the court, with only the Guo A Nian military power remaining under Hunian's control. Longxu expressed his frustration to Xiao Yanyan and Han Derang about Hunian's indulgence of Talan Abo, who was living openly in Yanchang Palace and causing rumors. Talan Abo's recent disrespectful conduct in court further fueled Longxu's desire to reclaim the Guo A Nian military power.
He suggested granting Hunian the best mansion and land in Shangjing so she could live out her days peacefully with Talan Abo. Han Derang concurred with the need to reclaim power, noting the growing discontent among other tribes whose Ordos had already been reorganized, which made the Emperor's position difficult. Longxu himself, however, felt the current timing was not right for such a direct move and decided to think about it further.
Xiao Yanyan, on the other hand, decided to consider other approaches to retrieve the Guo A Nian military power, unwilling to escalate conflict with Hunian. Later, Xiao Yanyan visited Hunian, only to find her preparing to leave Shangjing. Hunian accused Xiao Yanyan of only caring about power, claiming she was called back solely for her military authority.
Xiao Yanyan tried to explain the political pressures from the eight tribes who had already reorganized their Ordos, and Longxu's generous offer to grant Hunian a mansion to settle her and Talan Abo as a compromise. Hunian adamantly rejected any compromise, recalling how King Taiping (Yansage) and Wuguli had warned her about Xiao Yanyan before their deaths. She stated that the Guo A Nian was her last reliance, bequeathed by Yansage, and she would never surrender its military power.
Hunian declared her intention to take her troops back to the North, asserting that no one would stop her. Just then, a servant reported that Talan Abo, using the pretext of arranging troops, had infiltrated the palace and stabbed Longxu, and was now imprisoned. Xiao Yanyan and Hunian rushed to Zhangmin Palace, where Longxu assured them his injury was not life-threatening.
Hunian, however, pleaded with Longxu to spare Talan Abo, insisting his actions were a momentary lapse, not a deliberate assassination attempt. She offered to surrender the Guo A Nian military power and suffer any punishment in his stead, saying she would give anything to keep him alive. Xiao Yanyan called Hunian's plea absurd, reminding her of Talan Abo's grave crime against the Emperor and the Xiao family's honor. Longxu, enraged, declared Talan Abo's crime unforgivable and dismissed Hunian's entreaties.
Hunian then hurried to the imperial prison, where Talan Abo was being brutally tortured and interrogated. He firmly denied Hunian's involvement, insisting his actions were his alone, and challenged his tormentors to execute him swiftly. As the executioner moved to behead Talan Abo, Hunian burst in, rescuing him just in time. Talan Abo, still defiant, told Hunian to leave, calling her useless and expressing his disdain. But Hunian insisted they leave together, declaring they would return to Kedun City.
A subordinate warned that news of their prison break would soon reach Xiao Yanyan, urging them to escape quickly. Fighting their way out of the city with the help of Guo A Nian soldiers, they fled. Upon hearing the news of the prison break, Han Derang surmised they were headed North and immediately dispatched Xiao Jixian with troops, ordering him to pursue and capture Hunian alive.
Xiao Yanyan, heartbroken, resigned herself to the painful realization that she was truly losing her eldest sister this time. Hunian and Talan Abo reached Kedun City, where Talan Abo's wounds were attended to. Soon after, Xiao Jixian's army arrived at the city gates. A messenger announced that Xiao Yanyan had decreed that those who surrendered would be spared. Hunian, feeling Xiao Yanyan's ruthlessness, refused to surrender.
She ordered the Guo A Nian to ascend the city walls for battle, telling Talan Abo to wait for her, to which he promised he would. A fierce battle ensued. Xiao Jixian's forces were overwhelming, and the Guo A Nian were quickly outmatched. The city was overwhelmed by the sounds of war. Hunian, unwilling to concede, remained on the battlements, but Gaoliu and Fuhui urged her to escape.
Gaoliu made a final stand to buy Hunian time, fulfilling his late lord King Taiping's trust. Hunian rushed back to Talan Abo, only to find Xiao Jixian's soldiers already inside the city. Talan Abo, seeing that everything had happened because of him, offered to surrender himself, but Hunian insisted they could not be separated. As soldiers moved in, Talan Abo shielded Hunian, was struck down, and died in her arms.
Devastated, Hunian promised Talan Abo she would live on, though a deep hatred for Xiao Yanyan festered in her heart. Xiao Yanyan came to visit Hunian, who was holding her military tally and Talan Abo's belongings. Hunian, devoid of sisterly affection, rejected Xiao Yanyan's attempts at reconciliation. She coldly stated that she no longer had a younger sister like Xiao Yanyan.
Hunian recounted how she had always doted on and indulged Xiao Yanyan, but that King Taiping (Yansage), Wuguli, and now Talan Abo had all died because of her. She accused Xiao Yanyan of disregarding family ties and caring only for the empire, and still not acknowledging her own mistakes. Xiao Yanyan, in turn, revealed the immense pressure she faced, with stacks of memorials demanding Hunian's execution, insisting she was fighting everyone to save Hunian's life.
Hunian, however, did not forgive Yanyan, and believing Xiao Yanyan's visit was only for the military tally, she contemptuously threw it at her. Hurt, Xiao Yanyan asserted that the tally was not more important than Hunian in her heart, reminding her of their childhood pact that the three sisters would always be united. She swore she would not let anyone harm Hunian. Hunian's reply was chilling: "You're the one who has hurt me. You might as well kill me, too.
I don't want to see you again. You just go back." Later, Han Derang found Xiao Yanyan asleep at her desk, surrounded by memorials, all calling for Hunian's execution. Upon waking, Xiao Yanyan confessed that all her courtiers were demanding her sister's death. Han Derang gently advised her that for the sake of public opinion, it was time to make a decision. Though reluctant to order Hunian's death, Xiao Yanyan, heavy-hearted, issued an imperial decree.
Imperial Consort Dowager Hunian, for her attempted rebellion and self-establishment, was declared guilty of unpardonable crimes. However, in consideration of her past merits and their sisterly bond, she was exempted from the death penalty but was to be imprisoned in Huaizhou for the remainder of her life, never to be released. In the twenty-seventh year of Tonghe, Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan officially relinquished her regency to Emperor Sheng of Liao, Longxu.
Now aged and frail, Xiao Yanyan still fretted over state affairs. Shuanggu urged her to follow the doctor's orders and drink her medicine, but Xiao Yanyan refused, believing it futile. As she attempted to take a walk, her steps faltered, and she collapsed on the stairs. When critically ill on her deathbed, Xiao Yanyan repeatedly called out for Hunian. Longxu, Han Derang, and other children gathered around her, comforting her.
Xiao Yanyan, unafraid of death, confided in Han Derang that there was one final matter that weighed on her heart. Han Derang understood her unspoken concern and promised to handle it for her. In Huaizhou City, Hunian, a solitary figure, practiced her wooden sword in the falling snow. As her wooden sword broke, Han Derang appeared.
Hunian immediately deduced the reason for his visit: Xiao Yanyan's health was failing, and she feared Hunian might become an uncontrollable threat to Longxu's rule, thus necessitating this visit. Han Derang affirmed that neither Xiao Yanyan nor he could risk the stability of the Liao Dynasty. Hunian reflected on her youth, recalling how she once worried endlessly about her sisters, and now found herself the object of Xiao Yanyan's concern.
She commented on Han Derang's unwavering protection of Xiao Yanyan, calling him an "idiot" for his selflessness, to which he replied, "I'm willing to do it." Han Derang suggested that people often make sacrifices for those they love, just as Hunian had for Talan Abo. Hunian expressed a profound envy for Xiao Yanyan, whose beloved companion had remained loyal and by her side throughout her life, a fortune she herself had not experienced.
Encouraged to speak freely, Hunian revealed a long-held secret. Before Xiao Yanyan's entry into the palace, she had told her father she would marry into the imperial family in Yanyan's place, ostensibly for Yanyan's happiness. But looking back, she admitted it was not true; her ambition was no less than Yanyan's, but she had always suppressed it, behaving outwardly in a disciplined manner, believing it had ceased to exist.
Born of a princess mother and a royal clan prime minister father, and betrothed to the Grand Prince from a young age, she had always held herself to the standards of a "woman who could handle the imperial power," yet her life had taken an unexpected turn. She lamented the terrifying, inescapable vortex of power.
Hunian mused about an alternate history, wondering if things would have been different had Yansage taken power at Black Mountain, asserting she would have been a better regent than Xiao Yanyan, and would never have allowed Wuguli to die.
Han Derang countered that if Yansage had ruled, he would not have implemented the Han System reforms, altering the entire civil and military structure of Liao and precluding the Chanyuan Treaty – a Liao Dynasty he would not have wished to see. He pointed out the fundamental difference between them: he and Hunian had always been too passive, too focused on the "big picture," while Xiao Yanyan had always known precisely what she wanted.
Hunian mused that her father, who called her emotional, had been right. She, who had always prioritized the greater good, had been damned by one moment of indulgence, while the willful Xiao Yanyan had possessed the power to remain willful her entire life. Assuming Han Derang had come to "see her off for the last ride," she expressed her gratitude.
Han Derang, however, dispelled her somber thoughts, stating that Xiao Yanyan merely wanted him to convey her heartfelt sentiment: that she was incredibly lucky to have Hunian as her sister in this lifetime. On Yanyun Terrace, Xiao Yanyan stood for a long time, gazing upon the people of Youzhou, lost in thought until Han Derang joined her. She recalled how, at eighteen, Hunian had brought her back from this very terrace, intertwining her destiny with the land and its people.
She spoke of the loneliness of an emperor, lamenting the loss of all her loved ones, with only Han Derang remaining by her side. Han Derang reminisced about their journey south, when they witnessed widespread destitution, contrasting it with the present era of peace. He affirmed that they had both lived lives worthy of the Liao Dynasty.
He added that he had no regrets in his own life, having had the honor of accompanying Xiao Yanyan in achieving her great endeavors. In December of the twenty-seventh year of Tonghe, Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan passed away from illness during a hunting at Black Mountain. Her son, Longxu, posthumously honored her with the revered title "Sagacious, Virtuous, Divinely Strategic, Provident, Enlightening, Heaven-Inheriting Empress Dowager."
Fifteen months later, Han Derang died of illness and was laid to rest beside Xiao Yanyan's tomb in Qian Mausoleum. Throughout their lives, they remained true to each other and to the Liao Dynasty.
