The Princess Wei Young Episode 10 Recap
> The Princess Wei Young Recap
At a celebratory banquet held by the Crown Princess in Li Changle's honor, Li Weiyoung publicly challenges Changle's supposedly flawless disaster relief plan. Weiyoung voices concerns that its many layers of implementation could lead to corruption, especially if lower-level officials exploit the disaster for personal gain. The Crown Princess angrily accuses Weiyoung of questioning Great Wei's governance and implying the Emperor is incompetent.
However, Tuoba Jun defends Weiyoung, stating that his own private investigations revealed widespread corruption among local officials, validating her concerns and highlighting the need to supervise them. Later, Li Changru's mother, the Second Madam, admonishes her daughter for siding with Weiyoung and offending the First Madam, Chiyun Rou. She warns Changru that Chiyun Rou will undoubtedly seek revenge.
Changru explains that continued submission to Chiyun Rou and Changle will only worsen their lives, and that she acted not only for Weiyoung but also for the thousands of potential disaster victims. As the Second Madam is cautioning her daughter, Chiyun Rou storms into their courtyard, slaps the Second Madam, and orders her servants to seize Li Changru. When Li Weiyoung intervenes, Chiyun Rou orders both women to be captured, vowing to make an example of them.
Chiyun Rou declares her intent to subject Changru to family discipline by shaving her head and sending her to a monastery for life. The Second Madam sends for the Old Madam, but Chiyun Rou dismisses the matriarch's intervention and begins to cut Changru’s hair. Weiyoung breaks free and shields Changru, and in the ensuing struggle, Chiyun Rou accidentally stabs Weiyoung in the back with the scissors.
The sight of blood, combined with the timely arrival of Prime Minister Li Xiaoran, forces Chiyun Rou to stop. After the ordeal, Changru's maid questions if offending the First Madam for Weiyoung was worth it. Changru recalls that when she spoke up for Weiyoung, Prince Tuoba Yu had looked at her with appreciation for the first time. She reflects that for that one look, she would endure any suffering to keep his gaze on her.
Meanwhile, Tuoba Jun successfully petitions the Emperor to halt the disaster relief plan. Furious, Li Changle complains to her brother, Li Minfeng, who assures her he has a plan to prove the plan's effectiveness. He secretly implements it within the Chiyun family's territory, but it backfires, causing riots and numerous casualties, an incident which quickly reaches the Emperor.
Learning of this, an enraged Li Xiaoran confronts Li Weiyoung, blaming her for the catastrophe and demanding she devise a solution for Li Minfeng to present to the Emperor. Weiyoung agrees to provide a solution but refuses to be a ghostwriter, insisting she must present it to the Emperor in person. Desperate, Li Minfeng manipulates Weiyoung's maid, Ziyan, by seducing her with the promise of making her his concubine.
Ziyan then gets Weiyoung drunk and coaxes the details of the new plan out of her. On the day of her audience, Li Changle visits Weiyoung, bringing a dress and making veiled threats about her safety. Unfazed, Weiyoung decides to wear white to the palace, secretly renewing her vow of vengeance against the Emperor. At court, before Weiyoung can present her solution, Li Minfeng and Li Changle arrive.
They brazenly claim Weiyoung stole their plan and present Ziyan and their own notes as evidence. Ziyan falsely testifies against Weiyoung. As Tuoba Yu warns Weiyoung that deceiving the emperor is a capital offense, she calmly proposes that since the plans are identical, both parties should explain the strategy in detail, allowing the Emperor to judge who is the true author.
Given permission, Weiyoung fearlessly declares that the ultimate responsibility for the chaos lies with the Emperor and his flawed system of officials. Shocking Li Minfeng and Changle with her audacity, she eloquently argues that a great ruler should tolerate unpleasant truths. She then outlines a detailed plan for reform: establishing a merit-based system to assess officials, linking promotions to disaster relief contributions, dispatching censors to punish corruption, and empowering citizens to report official misconduct.
She further suggests executing officials who embezzle more than 100 taels from relief funds while simultaneously recruiting new talent to fill their posts. The Emperor is deeply impressed by her strategic thinking, and Tuoba Jun watches her with profound admiration.
