The Princess's Gambit Episode 11 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
Jiang Taohua, entangled by the underwater weeds, gradually lost consciousness. In that fading moment, she recalled how her mother had been persecuted to death and, before dying, had warned her never to trust anyone and to learn to rely on herself in times of danger. But now, her strength was gone, and she had no ability to save herself. Slowly, she gave up struggling—just then, Shen Zaiye plunged into the water and rescued her.
When Jiang Taohua woke up, she was already in front of Xiaolian, who told her that it was Shen Zaiye who had saved her. Although Shen Zaiye was mean, he treated Jiang Taohua very well—he had watched over her ever since bringing her back. At that moment, Shen Zaiye entered the room, acting aloof and scolding Jiang Taohua for their so-called cooperation, saying he was the only one doing the saving. He demanded she recover quickly to serve him.
Just then, Xiaolian's grandmother was brought back, covered in blood and barely clinging to life. Xiaolian blamed Mu Wuxia and Xiang Qingying for failing to protect her grandmother, saying they had promised to bring her back safely but didn’t keep their word. Her grandmother comforted her, saying that if not for Xiang Qingying and the others fighting desperately, she wouldn’t have lived long enough to see Xiaolian again.
Xiaolian was devastated, and Shen Zaiye turned away, unwilling to witness such grief. The villagers prepared for a cremation for Xiaolian’s grandmother. Xiaolian, crying and screaming, clung to Shen Zaiye and bit his arm fiercely to stop him from burning her grandmother. She blamed him for everything, believing it was his involvement that led to this tragedy. Shen Zaiye, in that moment, recalled how his own family had been falsely accused and wiped out.
He sent Mu Wuxia away, telling him to live well. Nearby, Mu Wuxia witnessed this and was reminded of his childhood but didn’t recognize Shen Zaiye as his long-lost cousin. Grief-stricken, Mu Wuxia went to drink alone. Xiang Qingying came to comfort him, but he was filled with guilt. If he hadn’t insisted on reporting to the authorities, Xiaolian’s grandmother wouldn’t have died. He felt he had let everyone down—especially Xiaolian.
Xiang Qingying reassured him, saying that even if he hadn’t reported the incident, those people would have found another way to do harm. Shen Zaiye stood nearby, deep in thought as he watched Xiaolian angrily kick a ball. Jiang Taohua wrapped his wounded arm with a handkerchief. Shen Zaiye then went to play ball with Xiaolian, promising that if she won, he would help her take revenge.
He kept blocking her shots, until a group of children pulled him away to give Xiaolian a clear chance. Shen Zaiye collapsed onto the ground, letting the rain soak him. Xiaolian scored, winning the game. Jiang Taohua stepped forward and offered her hand to Shen Zaiye, pledging to seek revenge for Xiaolian’s grandmother together. Shen Zaiye grasped her hand and smiled faintly.
Jiang Taohua took Shen Zaiye to the top of a mountain and used a sword to sketch out the Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks. She asked Shen Zaiye to look up and confirm that the scenery matched the painting. Though it spoke of a thousand peaks, there were only seven mountains, forming the pattern of the Big Dipper. The two of them deduced which mountain was used for minting coins.
A blank space in the painting caught Shen Zaiye’s attention, though its meaning remained unclear. Zhan Lu discovered that there was a hunting ground nearby, which the heir had gotten Prince Qi’s approval to establish, claiming it was for horse training. Shen Zaiye reasoned that this meant carts could enter and exit freely under the guise of transporting provisions, but in reality, something else might be moved.
Jiang Taohua suddenly felt cold, and Shen Zaiye, noticing, draped his coat over her shoulders. On their way back, Shen Zaiye was about to help Jiang Taohua down from the carriage when Qingtai suddenly appeared and joyfully caught Jiang Taohua. Shen Zaiye quickly withdrew his hand and turned away awkwardly. Jiang Taohua went to find Yang Wanqing and handed her the complete painting. Yang Wanqing, however, gave her a task: to identify the location in the painting.
Jiang Taohua feigned ignorance to probe Lv’s intentions, but Yang Wanqing exposed her ulterior motive—going off with Shen Zaiye for days—and nearly strangled her. She also gave Jiang Taohua a letter from Jiang Changjue, which served both as comfort and threat. Though Jiang Changjue claimed in the letter that he was doing well in the military, Jiang Taohua knew that wasn’t true—the seal in the letter was weak, revealing his suffering.
She realized Lv was using Jiang Changjue’s life as leverage, pressuring her to hurry with the task, though once the task was completed, they would all be eliminated. For now, Jiang Taohua believed she must first uncover Lv’s true objective. While Shen Zaiye and Zhan Lu were discussing their plans, Xiang Qingying suddenly barged in, insisting Shen Zaiye take her to the spring hunt. He refused to see her or take her along.
Enraged, Xiang Qingying drew an arrow and threatened to shoot a guard to force him out. At that moment, Jiang Taohua arrived. The arrow shot toward her, causing Shen Zaiye to panic. Luckily, it only severed a strand of her hair. Xiang Qingying quickly apologized. Jiang Taohua soothed her emotions and quietly promised she would find a way to convince Shen Zaiye to take her to the hunting grounds.
The heir planned a spring hunt, and Jiang Taohua thought it was a perfect chance to investigate the forged currency operation. Shen Zaiye agreed and began devising a detailed plan. Zhan Lu noticed that Shen Zaiye now discussed matters with Jiang Taohua, a sign he had started to trust her—but Shen Zaiye still refused to admit it. This time, the second young master brought everyone to the hunting ground.
When the heir heard this, he didn’t believe the second young master had that kind of influence. Meng Huaijin suspected Shen Zaiye was the one behind the scenes. The heir, fearing exposure, asked Meng Huaijin to come up with a plan. Meng Huaijin advised shutting down all the mines and keeping things quiet for now. He also wrote a letter to the Right Chancellor and another to Meng Zhenzhen, instructing her to keep an eye on Shen Zaiye. Once everything was arranged, the heir and Meng Huaijin awaited the arrival of Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye, vowing that this time, they would never return.
