The Princess's Gambit Episode 16 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
While watching the iron fireworks, Xiang Qingying told Wei Wuxia that legend says couples who see the display together will stay together forever. She suggested they should also stay together forever. Wei Wuxia responded that only lovers stay together forever. Xiang Qingying then directly proposed they become lovers, insisting they should be together. Wei Wuxia refused, stating romance was not child's play and she should find someone else if she was just playing.
Later, Wei Wuxia found himself repeatedly thinking about Xiang Qingying's words, feeling a sense of uncertainty. Jiang Taohua's poison suddenly flared up. Having been watched closely by Shen Zaiye recently, she hadn't been able to get the antidote. She quickly went with Qingtai to retrieve it from Yang Wanqing's Lan Boutique. They found a "Closed" sign on the door, but Jiang Taohua pushed it open and slipped inside. She overheard a conversation where a eunuch was threatening a man.
Unexpectedly, the man produced Empress Lv's token. When the eunuch questioned his relationship with the Empress, the man killed him. As the man turned, Jiang Taohua recognized him as Wuyin. Blood from the killing splashed under the door and onto Jiang Taohua's face and clothes. Hearing a noise from Jiang Taohua's hiding spot, Wuyin and his men searched for her, forcing her to flee quickly to avoid capture.
Meanwhile, Wei Wuxia and Xiang Qingying were secretly looking at books in the Imperial Library's forbidden section. They narrowly avoided being discovered by guards and ended up hiding together in a large lotus pond, getting completely soaked. Wei Wuxia stared at Xiang Qingying, captivated. Xiang Qingying didn't shy away; instead, she put her hand on his shoulder and asked if he thought her figure was graceful and regretted his earlier refusal to be her lover.
Wei Wuxia became flustered and ran off, telling her a lady shouldn't speak such things. Wuyin believed the eavesdropper must have blood on their clothes from the killing. He ordered his men to search the area but they found no one. However, upon returning, Wuyin encountered Wei Wuxia and noticed he had changed his clothes. Wei Wuxia explained he had soiled his outer robe while hurrying and bought a new set. This raised Wuyin's suspicion.
Later, Wuyin encountered Jiang Taohua and saw blood on her sleeve. Jiang Taohua claimed she had accidentally dirtied it and rushed off to Lan Boutique to get medicine, stumbling as she went. When she arrived at the boutique, she coughed up blood from the poison. To punish Jiang Taohua for delivering information too late, Yang Wanqing only gave her half an antidote dose, enough to prevent death but leaving her in continued suffering from the poison.
Yang Wanqing concluded that the blood on Jiang Taohua was due to her poison flaring up, thus clearing her of the suspicion of being the eavesdropper at Lan Boutique. Wuyin then became certain that Wei Wuxia was the one who had been listening. He instructed Yang Wanqing to give Jiang Taohua Soulsever Incense, ordering her to burn it in the Wuliu Residence within the Imperial Library.
Knowing Wei Wuxia frequently visited the Imperial Library, Wuyin intended to kill him with the poisonous incense. After receiving the incense, Jiang Taohua tested it on some insects first. As Wei Wuxia left his residence, a man disguised as a peddler began following him. Unbeknownst to them, Shen Zaiye had his own men waiting.
Shen Zaiye's men intercepted the man, hoping to capture him alive, but the man bit down on a poison capsule hidden in his tooth and killed himself. Shen Zaiye was puzzled, wondering why someone who held no real power like Wei Wuxia was being targeted. To protect Wei Wuxia, Shen Zaiye had always feigned a strained relationship with him and avoided acknowledging him, even when they met.
To lure out this mysterious group, Shen Zaiye ordered Wang Xi and Zhan Lu to withdraw all covert guards from Wei Wuxia's residence, aiming to catch a larger fish. Jiang Taohua knew the incense was highly potent from her test on the insects, but she couldn't figure out who Wuyin intended to kill with it. Feeling restless, she walked into the courtyard and saw Shen Zaiye drinking. She joined him for a drink and they spoke.
Jiang Taohua recalled a time in Beiyuan during heavy snow when her mother held her while they watched the peach blossoms in the snow. She expressed her hope to return to Beiyuan someday to see the snow and the peach blossoms again. Jiang Taohua noticed Shen Zaiye was injured and thoughtfully applied ointment for him. At that moment, Qingtai arrived with dinner but was stopped by Zhan Lu, who was standing guard outside.
Qingtai saw Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye together and decided not to interrupt. She sat outside with Zhan Lu and gave him the fish soup she had brought for Jiang Taohua. Meanwhile, Yang Wanqing and Wuyin also realized their man had been killed by Shen Zaiye. They suspected Shen Zaiye had been watching Wuxia all along. Given the circumstances, Jiang Taohua was their only available asset near Shen Zaiye, and her mission could not afford any errors.
For the operation planned for the next day, Wuyin instructed Yang Wanqing to send people to assist Jiang Taohua and clear any obstacles to ensure its success. He stressed that failure would not be tolerated.
