The Long Ballad Episode 1 Recap
> The Long Ballad Recap
In the woods outside the city, a valiant young woman galloped away on horseback. Determination filled her eyes, and even as she reached the edge of a cliff, there was no fear in her gaze. She was Li Changge, the former Crown Prince’s daughter. Following the recent upheaval within the palace, she had narrowly escaped and was now heading to Youzhou for reinforcements.
Even if driven to the brink, Li Changge would rather charge off the cliff on horseback than surrender without a fight. In the ninth year of Wu De during the Tang Dynasty, Li Changge was once the treasured daughter of the Eastern Palace. Yet due to a palace coup, she fled the royal palace. That same year, she met Asher Sun, forming a lifelong bond.
Back then, in the bustling city of Chang’an, Asher Sun, a special envoy from the prairie tribe, arrived with his attendants. As they took in the sights of the bustling streets, Asher Sun remarked that such prosperity might not last forever. While walking through the city, they happened upon trouble caused by people from the Crown Prince’s Mansion. A dispute broke out between them and the prince’s men.
At that moment, Li Changge, disguised as a man, rode in on horseback. She saved them but left swiftly and decisively. Back in the palace, the Crown Princess spoke with Li Changge about the prairie envoys. The former emperor had once discussed marriage alliances with the prairie tribes. Now, with few suitable young women left in the palace, the Crown Princess urged Li Changge not to venture out carelessly.
Her only wish in this life was for Li Changge to live safely and peacefully in Chang’an. When Crown Prince Li Jiancheng returned to the palace, the Crown Princess—who normally treated him coldly—uncharacteristically brought pastries to his study. Before seeing Li Jiancheng, she inadvertently overheard him plotting to move against Prince Qin. She was shocked and fearful. Li Changge visited the palace to find Princess Leyan. The two girls were of similar age and equally beautiful.
But while Leyan was gentle and obedient, Li Changge had a heroic and daring spirit. Bold and willful, Li Changge learned that there would be a cuju match at the field that day and dragged Leyan along to watch. Leyan admired a graceful young man named Wei Shuyu. She had embroidered a protective charm for Li Changge and also prepared one for Shuyu. As they headed to the field, they unexpectedly saw the ruthless Hao Dou slaughtering servants.
Li Changge hurriedly pulled Leyan away, but Leyan accidentally dropped one of the protective charms, which Hao Dou picked up. At the field, when Leyan realized the charm was missing, Li Changge gave her own to Leyan and told her to give it to Wei Shuyu. The cuju match was intense and posed a serious disadvantage to Tang. During the game, Wei Shuyu got injured.
Leyan rushed to him, while Li Changge had a clever idea—she took his uniform and went on the field wearing a mask. Li Changge joined the game. Asher Sun also led the prairie team to participate. A fiercely competitive young man, Asher Sun thought victory was in his grasp, but Li Changge's skill impressed him. The match came to a tie, with the outcome riding on the final goal.
The last round was fiercely contested, and Li Changge ultimately secured victory for Tang. The crowd erupted in cheers, and she was awarded a prized ceremonial blade from the prairie tribe. Shixin Sili of the prairie tribe brought up the marriage alliance during talks with the Tang. He had his eyes on Leyan, daughter of Prince Qin. Prince Qin was unwilling to send her to the prairie for a political marriage.
However, Li Jiancheng already had intentions of eliminating Prince Qin. Seeing Shixin Sili’s interest in the alliance, Li Jiancheng invited him to the Eastern Palace to discuss further. Little did they know, the proposed alliance was actually a test set up by Asher Sun. Observing Tang’s eagerness, he assumed their military strength was lacking. With great ambitions, he aimed to conquer Tang and was merely gauging their strength by coming here.
Li Changge visited Prince Qin’s mansion to present him with the prized blade she had won. Since childhood, she had studied military formations and swordsmanship under Prince Qin, starting at age seven. Naturally, he was the first she would give the blade to. Prince Qin accepted it and sparred with her, also teaching her techniques for combat. Afterward, he told her to return home and asked her to pass on his regards to her mother.
