The Legend of Xiao Chuo Episode 5 Recap
> The Legend of Xiao Chuo Recap
In prison, Xiyin declared his deep affection for Wuguli, lamenting that his actions had brought her misfortune. He affirmed that everything he did was out of willingness, vowing to live up to her love if they survived. Li Hu, seeing Wuguli as their only hope, also praised her as a good girl and entrusted Xiyin to her care. Soon after, Taiping King Yansage arrived, acknowledging Wuguli's innocence but blaming Li Hu and Xiyin for her predicament.
Yansage took Li Hu away for interrogation, prompting Xiyin's distressed calls for his father. Li Hu, defiant, mocked Yansage, asserting his experience with such situations. Yansage, wanting to avoid torture, urged Li Hu to tell the truth. Li Hu, however, scoffed, confessing freely and implicating Xiao Siwen, Han Kuangsi, Hu Gu, and Wuzhi as his co-conspirators. He explained that everyone in Liao desired their downfall, hinting at his motive to drag others into his plight.
Though Yansage didn't fully believe Li Hu's confession, he was compelled to threaten Li Hu with Xiyin's life to extract the truth. When Yansage questioned Xiyin's involvement, Li Hu retaliated by appealing to the Yelü clan's tradition of sparing descendants, asking if Yansage intended to kill Xiyin, his only child. Alarmed by Wuguli's situation and its potential to implicate their father, Xiao Hunian urgently summoned Xiugo, Dalin, and Han Derang for a meeting.
She voiced concern for Wuguli, who had been pampered since childhood and was now enduring hardship. Dalin revealed that Li Hu had named many people in his confession, including the Xiao and Han families, as his accomplices. Han Derang explained that Li Hu, facing certain death, sought to either force the emperor to execute everyone or compel them all into rebellion, exploiting the emperor's suspicious nature to ensure their ruin.
They learned that a report had been sent to Taiping Palace and was on its way to Youzhou, placing Prime Minister Siwen in grave danger. Xiao Yanyan proposed intercepting the secret letter, confident that her swift horse, Cloud Snow, could outrun the messenger. Xiao Hunian, however, dismissed her, sending her to rest and have her watched.
Undeterred, Xiao Yanyan secretly left a note stating that speed was of the essence and she would intercept the letter before heading to Youzhou to inform her father. When Xiao Hunian discovered her absence and the note, she expressed anger but also deep worry. Han Derang, acknowledging Xiao Yanyan's decisive action, promised to bring her back safely and immediately set off to find her.
Han Derang dispatched his subordinate to Youzhou to warn Prime Minister Siwen while he headed to the inn where he believed Xiao Yanyan would be. At the inn, Xiao Yanyan created a diversion by causing a commotion and setting a fire, attempting to seize the messenger's bag. In the ensuing chaos, she was struck by an arrow. Han Derang arrived just in time, rescuing her from her pursuers.
Despite her injury, Xiao Yanyan was determined to continue pursuing the secret letter, but Han Derang firmly insisted she prioritize her healing, assuring her they would find another way in Youzhou. As he carefully tended to her wound by a lake, Xiao Yanyan blamed herself for failing to retrieve the letter, for alerting the enemy, and for involving Han Derang. He gently reassured her, praising her courage for acting swiftly and decisively.
He told her that politics was a cruel and ruthless world, unsuitable for a young girl like her, and that it was not her fault she couldn't cold-bloodedly kill. Xiao Yanyan reflected on her father's stories about power struggles, realizing they were not just tales but brutal realities. Han Derang affirmed that she had done well and was the bravest girl he knew.
As night fell, Han Derang set up a tent and encouraged Xiao Yanyan to rest inside while he kept watch outside. Feeling the cold, Xiao Yanyan insisted he join her, brushing aside his concerns about propriety, noting only Cloud Snow was there to witness. Reluctantly, he joined her. Unable to sleep, Xiao Yanyan initiated a conversation, asking if her eldest sister would be angry about her impulsive departure.
Han Derang confirmed her sister would be upset but, as a maternal figure, was primarily worried. Xiao Yanyan then inquired about his preferences, asking if he liked mature women like her eldest sister or smart and beautiful ones like her second sister. Han Derang, understanding her underlying question, smiled and admitted he liked brave women.
He then earnestly asked her to promise she would never again embark on such reckless endeavors, recounting his fear of losing her while searching for her earlier. Xiao Yanyan promised to protect herself, wishing the night would linger longer so she could spend more time with him.
The following morning, as they prepared to depart for Youzhou, Han Derang reassured Xiao Yanyan that Yansage could not harm Wuguli without the emperor's decree, expressing hope that Prime Minister Siwen might already have a plan to save her. Meanwhile, Xiao Hunian was plagued by nightmares about Wuguli's suffering in prison. The next morning, she went to Taiping Palace to plead for her sister. Yansage welcomed her, noting her improved appearance and teasing her about her sisters.
Xiao Hunian humbly took responsibility for Wuguli's actions, attributing them to her sister's youth and her own failure to guide her. Yansage countered, questioning if children were now permitted to commit treason. He reminded Hunian of his past promise to fulfill any request but explicitly excluded acts of rebellion. Xiao Hunian insisted Wuguli was innocent and too young to intentionally rebel.
Yansage then revealed that Wuguli had not only used their father's token to join a conspiracy but had also sworn an oath in prison to live and die with Xiyin, suggesting she might eventually become their enemy. Xiao Hunian vehemently denied this possibility. Yansage pressed her, asking if she was willing to pay the price for vouching for Wuguli, including facing a death sentence for treason.
Xiao Hunian tearfully affirmed her readiness to sacrifice her own life for her sister, citing her role as an elder sister, akin to a mother. Moved by her distress, Yansage comforted her and then shared his own loneliness since his primary wife passed away five years prior. He expressed his desire for Hunian to be his wife, lamenting that many who sought his hand only desired his status as Taiping King.
Xiao Hunian candidly admitted that she too had only seen his title, not the man himself. Yansage embraced her, speaking of the transient nature of power and his longing for a reliable, warm embrace in a world where he could be a powerful king one day and a condemned prisoner the next.
He asked her to share even a fraction of the genuine affection she held for her sister with him, promising to risk his life for her in return and to protect anyone she held dear. Xiao Hunian's immediate question was if he would save her sister, and Yansage vowed that as long as he lived, no one would dare harm the family or loved ones of his future consort. To ease her mind, he took her to see Wuguli.
In prison, Wuguli desperately begged for release, asking Xiao Hunian to save Xiyin as well. This infuriated Xiao Hunian, who reminded Wuguli that Xiyin's schemes had implicated their father in Li Hu's rebellion. Xiao Hunian declared her hatred for Xiyin and stormed out, leaving Wuguli pleading behind her. As Xiao Hunian departed, Yansage advised her not to make decisions in her current emotional state, suggesting she rest and reconsider.
In a silent gesture, Xiao Hunian handed him the bracelet her mother had left her, which he promised to cherish. Meanwhile, Han Derang and Xiao Yanyan arrived in Youzhou, where they overheard citizens lamenting the stalemate in the war. The local people spoke of the southern emperor leading his troops valiantly while their own emperor indulged in drink and frivolity in his temporary palace, sending many soldiers to their deaths in perilous mountain searches for Imperial Physician Xiao Gu's medicine.
Xiao Yanyan, shocked, questioned if the emperor truly disregarded his people's lives, but Han Derang cautioned her against speaking such thoughts publicly. Upon meeting Xiao Siwen and Han Kuangsi, they confirmed they had failed to intercept the secret letter. Xiao Siwen expressed concern but noted that since he was still free, the emperor had not yet seen the incriminating report. Xiao Yanyan, despite her father's warnings that this was an adult matter, suggested they try to steal the letter.
Han Kuangsi arranged for Han Derang to stay at the mansion of his friend, Li Jizhong, the Treasury Chancellor. Xiao Yanyan insisted on accompanying Han Derang, and Xiao Siwen, unable to refuse his youngest daughter and knowing Li Jizhong had a daughter, Li Si, reluctantly agreed. At Li Jizhong's residence, Han Derang introduced Xiao Yanyan to Li Si.
Seeing Xiao Yanyan's injuries, Li Si offered to re-dress the wound, remarking that Han Derang might not have been meticulous enough in his bandaging. During their conversation, Li Si casually mentioned that she had pulled an arrow out for Han Derang and nursed him back to health in the past, causing Xiao Yanyan a pang of jealousy. Li Si then offered Xiao Yanyan some Han Chinese clothing since her own attire was torn, which Xiao Yanyan happily accepted.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Yanyan, Li Si's mother was already planning to approach Han Kuangsi about the marriage of Li Si and Han Derang once the siege was broken. Li Si herself held deep affection for Han Derang, vowing to wait for him until he was ready to marry, respecting his ambitions.
