The Princess's Gambit Episode 16 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
Among those watching the molten sparks were also Xiang Qingying and Mu Wuxia. Xiang Qingying said that those who witnessed molten sparks together would stay together forever. But Mu Wuxia believed that kind of "forever" was something that belonged to lovers. Xiang Qingying blurted out that she wanted to be in a relationship with Mu Wuxia, but he rejected her. However, after returning, Mu Wuxia couldn’t stop thinking about her words and began to feel uncertain in his heart.
Suddenly, Jiang Taohua’s poison began to take effect. Since she had been closely watched by Shen Zaiye recently, she hadn’t had a chance to retrieve the antidote. Now, she could only go with Qingtai to get it. However, they discovered that Yang Wanqing’s Lan Boutique had a "Rest Day" sign hanging outside. Jiang Taohua pushed the door open and snuck in.
Inside, she overheard a eunuch attempting to blackmail a man, but the man unexpectedly pulled out a waist token belonging to Empress Lv. The eunuch questioned his connection to Empress Lv, only to be suddenly killed by the man. When the man turned around, Jiang Taohua realized it was Mu Wuyin. The eunuch’s blood had even splattered onto her face and clothes through the door gap. The noise she made alerted those inside, and she fled to avoid being discovered.
Meanwhile, Mu Wuxia and Xiang Qingying were sneaking into the library to read books and were almost caught. They had no choice but to hide inside a lotus basin, soaking themselves completely. Mu Wuxia stared at her in a daze, while Xiang Qingying showed no embarrassment. Instead, she placed her hand on his shoulder and teasingly asked if he regretted rejecting her now that he could see how graceful her figure was.
Mu Wuxia ran off in a fluster, scolding her for saying such things as a young lady. Mu Wuyin believed the eavesdropper must have blood on their clothes, so he ordered a thorough search but found nothing. On his way back, he encountered Mu Wuxia, who had changed into a new outfit. Mu Wuxia explained that he had dirtied his clothes and needed to change, but this raised Mu Wuyin’s suspicion.
Later, he ran into Jiang Taohua and noticed blood on her sleeve. Jiang Taohua claimed she had gotten it accidentally and stumbled toward Lan Boutique to get the antidote. As soon as she arrived, she vomited blood. To punish her for passing the message too late, Yang Wanqing only gave her half a pill—enough to keep her alive but let her suffer the full agony of the poison.
Yang Wanqing believed the bloodstains on Jiang Taohua’s clothing were from her poison flare-up and thus dismissed her as a suspect in the eavesdropping. But Mu Wuyin was convinced it was Mu Wuxia and asked Yang Wanqing to give Jiang Taohua some poison and have her set a fire in the library. Since Mu Wuxia had been frequenting the library, Mu Wuyin wanted to use the fire to kill him. After receiving the poison, Jiang Taohua tested it first herself.
Just as Mu Wuxia stepped outside, a man disguised as a street vendor began tailing him. Unexpectedly, Shen Zaiye had been watching from the shadows. He intended to capture the man alive, but the assailant bit down on a poison capsule hidden in his teeth and committed suicide. Shen Zaiye couldn’t figure out why someone who had always stayed out of political affairs like Mu Wuxia would be targeted.
To protect Mu Wuxia, he had never revealed their connection and had even pretended to be at odds with him. In order to lure out the masterminds, Shen Zaiye ordered Wang Xi to withdraw all surveillance posts and let the enemy make a bigger move. Although Jiang Taohua already knew the poison was deadly, she still couldn’t figure out who Mu Wuyin intended to kill. With nothing else to do, she wandered into the courtyard and saw Shen Zaiye drinking.
She went over and drank with him, reminiscing about a snowy day back in Beiyuan, when her mother held her in her arms to watch peach blossoms blooming in the snow. She said she hoped to return to Beiyuan someday—to see the peach blossoms again. Jiang Taohua noticed that Shen Zaiye was injured and gently applied ointment to his wound. At that moment, Qingtai came with food but was stopped at the door by Zhan Lu.
Seeing Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye being close, Qingtai didn’t want to interrupt. She sat outside with Zhan Lu and gave him the fish soup she had brought for Jiang Taohua. Meanwhile, Yang Wanqing and Mu Wuyin realized one of their men had been killed by Shen Zaiye and suspected that he had been secretly watching them all along. At this point, the only person they had left close to Shen Zaiye was Jiang Taohua, and nothing could go wrong. For their plan tomorrow, Mu Wuyin instructed Yang Wanqing to have someone eliminate all obstacles—absolutely no mistakes could be made.
