The Princess's Gambit Episode 10 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
Meng Huaijin learned from Meng Zhenzhen that Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye had been missing for five days and immediately realized it must be related to the heir. He felt sorry that Meng Zhenzhen was under house arrest and promised to persuade Shen Zaiye to lift her confinement as soon as possible. However, Meng Zhenzhen did not feel aggrieved; instead, she found it more freeing than ever.
As a daughter of the Meng family, she believed she should bear such burdens. On the heir’s side, after five days of searching without finding Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua, he became furious and was about to strangle a servant when Meng Huaijin arrived. The heir ordered his men to extract 500,000 taels of silver within five days, but Meng Huaijin advised against such aggressive mining. The heir ignored him, telling him not to meddle.
In his eyes, Meng Huaijin was fine in every respect, except for being too soft. Seeing the heir's temper, Meng Huaijin wanted to mention Shen Zaiye but refrained. Mu Wuxia and Xiang Qingying, upon hearing about the villagers disappearing due to forced labor, wrote a petition on their behalf and went to report it to the local magistrate, Zhou Xuanlin. Zhou Xuanlin lived in a thatched hut and was known among the people as someone devoted to their well-being.
It was said that he would remain in the hut until the people's problems were resolved, and because of this, he was greatly beloved. Mu Wuxia trusted that he was a good official and believed justice would be served. On their way back, the two encountered Zhan Lu, who was looking for Shen Zaiye. They brought him to meet Shen Zaiye, and upon hearing they had filed a complaint, Shen Zaiye quarreled with Mu Wuxia.
From Shen Zaiye’s perspective, officials protect one another. Filing such a complaint would only bring trouble, and in a vast empire, such issues couldn’t be managed comprehensively—it wasn’t a fundamental solution. But Mu Wuxia believed every injustice should be addressed individually to uphold the law. Shen Zaiye said no more. Zhou Xuanlin then visited the heir to claim credit, reporting the forced labor complaint and presenting sketches of Xiang Qingying and Mu Wuxia.
The heir grew fearful, worried the matter would reach Prince Qi, and asked Meng Huaijin to come up with a solution. Meng Huaijin blamed him for being disobedient—the gambling house affair should have ended already, but the heir insisted on revenge, driving Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua to Tianshui Village, which brought them dangerously close to the forged money scandal. Now even Mu Wuxia was involved, turning it into a dead end.
Yet Meng Huaijin still couldn’t bear to see the heir struggle and suggested sending men to wipe them all out. Jiang Taohua noticed that Mu Wuxia hadn’t eaten since returning, so she brought him taro. This reminded Mu Wuxia of his childhood—his mother used to cook taro for him, but now he could no longer taste it. Jiang Taohua often ate taro in Beiyuan as well, and seeing Mu Wuxia brought her a sense of familiarity.
Mu Wuxia felt the same and hoped Jiang Taohua would see him as a true younger brother. Jiang Taohua praised Mu Wuxia’s reasoning about reporting the issue to officials, but deep down, she agreed with Shen Zaiye’s view and feared the collusion among officials. At that moment, Shen Zaiye was eavesdropping nearby. Mu Wuxia spoke of his cousin, whom he admired as a genius and lifelong role model.
As a child, his cousin always said that only through a sound legal system and rule by virtue could the country be peacefully governed. His cousin came from a scholarly family of generations of loyal officials. But due to his mother’s case, the whole family was executed, and his cousin disappeared. Jiang Taohua hadn’t expected such a story and sensed Shen Zaiye nearby, but when she looked up, he was already gone.
In the bamboo forest, Shen Zaiye saw Xiaolian captured and being used to lure him out to be killed. Suddenly appearing from behind, he killed two men and left one alive, forcing poison into his mouth to threaten him into leading him to the labor camp. Terrified, the man agreed. Shen Zaiye approached Xiaolian with a dagger, causing her to collapse to the ground in fear.
When Xiaolian didn’t return for a long time, her grandmother grew frantic searching for her, while Shen Zaiye remained indifferent. Jiang Taohua noticed blood on Shen Zaiye’s clothes and assumed he had killed Xiaolian in vengeance. She arranged to confront him in private, but Shen Zaiye did not deny it. He even warned Jiang Taohua to remain loyal, or she might meet the same fate. He also accused her of acting, pretending to cooperate while hiding half of the painting.
Jiang Taohua tried to explain, but Shen Zaiye cut her off. When Jiang Taohua returned, she found Xiaolian eating—turns out Xiang Qingying had taken her to town. Realizing she had misunderstood Shen Zaiye, Jiang Taohua apologized that night and swore she had her reasons for keeping half of the painting but would never endanger Shen Zaiye or anyone else. She vowed that if she were lying, she would never see her loved ones again.
Shen Zaiye, recalling how much Jiang Taohua cared for Qingtai and remembering how she cried out for her mother while unconscious, understood it was the harshest vow she could make and forgave her. Knowing Shen Zaiye had an operation planned that night, Jiang Taohua offered to join him. Shen Zaiye didn’t refuse. After regrouping with the poisoned man, they headed toward the mine but were ambushed along the way.
Fortunately, Shen Zaiye had planned in advance—he instructed Xiang Qingying and Zhan Lu to evacuate the villagers at the first sign of trouble and told Mu Wuxia of a location that could shelter them all. Since Xiaolian’s grandmother hadn’t returned after searching for her grandson’s belongings, Mu Wuxia told Xiang Qingying to take the villagers first while he went back to find the old woman.
Meanwhile, Shen Zaiye originally intended to cover Jiang Taohua’s escape, but she was struck into the water. Her legs got entangled in weeds, rendering her immobile, and soon she stopped moving altogether.
