The Princess's Gambit Episode 6 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
After watching Yuetao leave, Jiang Taohua and Qingtai quickly followed. Because Yuetao was too nervous—and Qingtai threw a stone—Yuetao dropped the food box in her hand, revealing a double-layered case. They suspected that Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks was hidden inside. The heir insisted on taking Xiang Qingying away for discipline, but Shen Zaiye firmly refused.
While they were locked in a stalemate, Eunuch Wen, the personal attendant of King Qi, arrived with a few gifts to reward Xiang Qingying and praised her as clever and charming. Seeing this, the heir dared not push further and even said he also found Xiang Qingying adorable and wanted to give her a gift.
Shen Zaiye extended his hand for it, and in front of Eunuch Wen, the heir had no choice but to hand over the jade pendant he carried with him to Shen Zaiye. At the main gate, Jiang Taohua and Qingtai stopped Yuetao, who was trying to leave. They found Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks inside the box. Jiang Taohua quickly memorized the painting, committing it firmly to memory.
When someone tried to snatch the painting, and seeing Shen Zaiye approaching, she deliberately let go of the scroll, allowing it to fall into a brazier and burn to ashes. Enraged, Shen Zaiye tried to strangle Jiang Taohua. She told him she had memorized the painting and could recreate it, but if she died, it would be lost forever. Shen Zaiye decided to test her and asked her to reproduce the painting—she did so with perfect accuracy, shocking him.
Jiang Taohua then laid out three conditions as part of their negotiation, but to her surprise, Shen Zaiye wasn’t swayed. He calmly stated that the court had countless ways to deal with such matters and could still uncover the heir’s secrets by other means. But if he revealed her photographic memory, it would surely make the heir want to kill her. Jiang Taohua broke into a cold sweat. Later, Shen Zaiye went to see Meng Zhenzhen.
She volunteered to be dismissed from her position, but Shen Zaiye tore up the divorce papers and exposed that he already knew about her past actions. However, he sympathized with her for being a burden to her family and would not pursue the matter. From now on, she would be placed under house arrest under the pretense of illness and would no longer manage household affairs.
As soon as Shen Zaiye left, Meng Zhenzhen received a birthday gift from her brother, which moved her to tears. Everyone remembered that today was the day of Shen Zaiye’s re-wedding with the princess, but only her brother remembered her birthday. Xiang Qingying, hiding away, ate while crying. She was seen by Mu Wuxia, who thought it unbecoming for a young lady of her status to eat leftovers. But Xiang Qingying explained she didn’t want to disturb the servants’ rest.
Mu Wuxia admitted he had eaten such food too, and they chatted for a while. Just then, someone came looking for Xiang Qingying, and she panicked, tossed her food to Mu Wuxia, and ran away. The heir returned feeling triumphant. Though he hadn’t obtained the painting, neither had Shen Zaiye, so he considered himself the winner. He rewarded everyone and decided to release more forged money into circulation.
Shen Zaiye was reprimanded by King Qi for his poor handling of the matter. King Qi ordered him to hand all responsibilities over to the heir. Food and rice prices had skyrocketed, and commoners couldn’t even afford a bowl of porridge. Shen Zaiye asked for one month to investigate the fake currency, but King Qi only gave him half a month.
If he couldn’t resolve it, the entire case would be handed to the heir, and Shen Zaiye would have to plead guilty. With the painting destroyed, the heir became bolder and circulated even more fake currency. Zhan Lu suggested that they still needed Jiang Taohua’s version of the painting to investigate further. Though Shen Zaiye was reluctant, he was prepared to agree to her three conditions.
Just then, Jiang Taohua came to him, having discovered a critical clue in the painting. She had sent Qingtai to follow up, but Qingtai had not returned. Worried that something had happened to Qingtai, she asked Shen Zaiye for help and offered to give up her conditions. However, Shen Zaiye refused. Jiang Taohua reasoned that if Qingtai met with danger, it meant the direction of their investigation was correct, but Shen Zaiye remained unmoved no matter what she said.
Jiang Taohua had no choice but to find Xiang Qingying and showed her the symbol. Xiang Qingying recognized it as the emblem of a gambling house. Jiang Taohua then proposed they go check it out together and lied that Qingtai had snuck out to play. She said she couldn’t tell Shen Zaiye and begged Xiang Qingying for help. Xiang Qingying helped Jiang Taohua climb over the wall, but they were immediately spotted by Shen Zaiye and Zhan Lu.
Xiang Qingying protected Jiang Taohua and told her to run. When she turned back, Jiang Taohua had already vanished. Shen Zaiye then took Xiang Qingying back. Meanwhile, Jiang Taohua had arrived at the gambling house, wearing a mask and pretending to be a serving maid. The first floor was full of music and dancing, the second was for gambling, and the third was restricted.
Jiang Taohua intended to investigate the third floor but was stopped by a gambler who asked her to pour wine. While serving, she caught a familiar scent from a masked man—one she had smelled in Shen Zaiye’s study. She was certain the man before her was Shen Zaiye. Shen Zaiye kept winning at the gambling table, causing other players to leave one by one.
He eventually stopped playing and went to exchange his winnings for gold, but was told that only silver was given out. The weight of the silver was clearly off, confirming to Shen Zaiye that the counterfeit money was being distributed from here. Jiang Taohua carefully observed the layout and realized that she could only sneak into the restricted third floor during a shift change. When she saw several maids heading upstairs, she blended in and followed them.
After sneaking off elsewhere to investigate, she found some silver threads blocking the way, suspecting they were part of a trap mechanism. She was sure something important was hidden here. Just then, a patrolling guard spotted her, and she casually made up an excuse to avoid suspicion. Shen Zaiye secretly entered the hidden chamber and discovered that entry required a jade pendant. When he exited, he was spotted by Jiang Taohua, who teased him for walking away empty-handed.
