The Princess's Gambit Episode 2 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
Shen Zaiye rushed to the post station to deliver the imperial edict but was stopped outside by Mu Wuyin. Mu Wuyin bluntly asked if they intended to send the princess back to Beiyuan and blamed Shen Zaiye for committing a mistake yet letting a woman bear the consequences. He hated these schemes but didn’t want others to suffer because of them.
Mu Wuyin wanted to go to the palace to plead with the King of Qi, but Shen Zaiye scolded him for acting like a child. At that moment, they heard cries from the room—the princess was attempting to hang herself. Mu Wuyin rushed in and rescued her, blaming Shen Zaiye for everything. Shen Zaiye offered to treat her, claiming he had medical skills. After some hesitation, Mu Wuyin agreed.
Shen Zaiye used a silver needle to pierce Jiang Taohua's Renying point. Qingtai was alarmed and reminded him that it was a fatal point, but Shen Zaiye believed even a death point could be used to save someone. Whether she lived or not would depend on fate. He then pierced another acupuncture point that could cause paralysis to test her. Jiang Taohua had no choice but to wake up.
She covered her face to hide her embarrassment, which Shen Zaiye saw as pretension. Jiang Taohua met the King of Qi and proposed to follow through and marry Shen Zaiye. Shen Zaiye immediately objected, but Jiang Taohua said that all she cared about was peace, regardless of who she married. Mu Wuyin also supported the idea. Shen Zaiye then argued that marrying as a concubine would be beneath her, but Jiang Taohua declared she didn't mind.
She knelt down and stated that if the engagement could continue, she would no longer pursue the matter, and the peace negotiations would remain unchanged. The King of Qi agreed on the spot. Shen Zaiye had no choice but to accept the decree. Mu Wuyin suggested a thorough investigation, but the king declined and instead rewarded him with a plaque and allowed him to move out of the palace to establish his own household.
Shen Zaiye didn’t understand why Jiang Taohua insisted on marrying him, a mere subject. Jiang Taohua claimed she had fallen for him at first sight, which only made Shen Zaiye scoff. Their first meeting had involved her pressing a hairpin to his neck, yet she now pretended to be meek and adorable. Shen Zaiye warned her that he already had concubines and many women outside. Jiang Taohua smiled and said she could accept that.
Shen Zaiye didn’t believe she was truly willing—he knew she had survived the Cold Palace, and she couldn’t possibly be as she appeared now. After returning, Jiang Taohua was captured by eunuchs sent by Empress Lv and scolded for marrying Shen Zaiye without authorization. Though Jiang Taohua explained her reasons, the eunuchs had no counterargument. Still, they let her suffer the effects of her poisoning without giving her the antidote—as punishment for acting on her own.
Peng Si died in prison. Zhan Lu, following Shen Zaiye’s orders, had been monitoring everyone in contact with him and uncovered several names. To Shen Zaiye, Peng Si’s death was not in vain. He immediately ordered investigations based on the list and also commanded the search for Xue Ran’s Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks. Mu Wugou also coveted Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks.
Afraid someone else might find it first, he blamed his subordinates for failing to kill Xue Ran and, in a rage, killed the incompetent one. Meng Huaijin stopped him just in time, urging him to calm down and reminding him that the priority was to find the painting before it ended up in Shen Zaiye’s hands. Mu Wugou realized this and ordered a full-scale search to find Xue Ran.
At the tailor’s shop, Yang Wanqing came to take Jiang Taohua’s measurements for her wedding clothes. Eunuch Ren had previously instructed that under no circumstances should anyone notice signs of poisoning on her body, or Jiang Changjue’s life would be in danger. So, though Jiang Taohua was in pain, she forced herself to go through with the fitting.
Yang Wanqing saw a peach blossom mark on her arm and asked about it—it was actually a symptom of the poison, but Jiang Taohua lied and said it was a birthmark. Yang Wanqing, noticing her weakness, suspected poisoning and offered to introduce a divine physician to help detoxify her. Jiang Taohua declined. When Yang Wanqing kept pressing, she realized he had been sent by Empress Lv.
She warned him that if he pushed further, he would lose his life and fail to complete his mission for the empress. Impressed by her intelligence, Yang Wanqing promised to deliver the antidote on time every month and relayed Empress Lv’s order to search for Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks. Back at Shen’s residence, Shen Zaiye’s two concubines—Qin Jieyu and Duan Yunxin—were chattering incessantly before the primary wife, Meng Zhenzhen, demanding that no red decorations be put up.
Even if Jiang Taohua was a princess, she was the one who had insisted on marrying into the household. Meng Zhenzhen ignored Shen Zaiye’s instructions and ordered red decorations to be hung and the doors to be opened to welcome the bride. The two concubines made a scene, demanding the decorations be torn down because concubines were not allowed to use red or enter through the main door.
They wanted to give Jiang Taohua a harsh welcome and remind her she had no say in the household. As Jiang Taohua’s bridal sedan arrived, several servants intentionally made things difficult. Qingtai couldn’t stand it and taught them a lesson. Qin Jieyu then came out and slapped Qingtai, prompting Jiang Taohua to apologize in person. Shen Zaiye, observing all this from his room, made no move to intervene, thinking Jiang Taohua had brought this upon herself.
Qin Jieyu had assumed Jiang Taohua would wear red, planning to deny her entry because of it, but Jiang Taohua stepped down in a pink dress instead. When a servant suggested she use the side entrance, Jiang Taohua slapped him through Qingtai, serving as a warning. Qin Jieyu had no choice but to stay quiet. Shen Zaiye, upon hearing what happened, thought Jiang Taohua's patience was indeed admirable.
Upon entering the house, Jiang Taohua served tea to Duan Yunxin and Qin Jieyu. Qin Jieyu planned to overturn the cup but was held tightly by Jiang Taohua, leaving her no choice but to return the courtesy as tradition required. When facing the primary wife, Jiang Taohua had to kneel to offer tea. But the moment she knelt, she found the cushion had needles in it. Jiang Taohua endured the pain and knelt anyway. Shen Zaiye, aware of the situation in the residence, thought if Jiang Taohua could get through this, then she truly had ability.
