The Prisoner of Beauty Episode 27 Recap, Plot

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Wei Yan mistakenly thought Lan Yun was Xiao Qiao. Hearing Lan Yun's confession, he felt even more incredulous. Believing himself to be someone who truly understood Xiao Qiao, he saw her as a phoenix in the sky, someone who should not be confined like this. If the world could be unified, perhaps Xiao Qiao could be truly free. If Xiao Qiao truly longed for such a life, he would do everything in his power to help her.

Listening to Wei Yan's soliloquy, Lan Yun realized these words were not meant for her. She rushed to the portrait and looked closely, only then realizing it was a painting of Xiao Qiao, with orchids from Yanzhou below. The next morning, when Wei Yan woke up, he found Lan Yun in the room, dressed exactly like Xiao Qiao in the portrait.

Lan Yun immediately acknowledged the difference between herself and Xiao Qiao but expressed her willingness to play Xiao Qiao’s role. Wei Yan warned her not to tell anyone about his feelings for Xiao Qiao and offered a generous sum of money for her to leave. Soon, Wei Yan dismissed all the concubines in his residence. News spread far and wide.

Upon hearing this, Su Ehuang naturally guessed that Wei Yan must have fallen for Xiao Qiao, which led to such drastic actions. Xiao Qiao brought some snacks to Wei Yan, who hadn’t eaten properly for days due to the canal construction project. Xiao Qiao was worried and believed Wei Shao could accomplish the task. She also promised to wholeheartedly support Wei Yan.

Wei Yan placed Xiao Qiao on his lap and said that, according to Wei Liang, there was a pastry shop here with snacks just like those in Kang County, which Xiao Qiao would surely love. Wei Shao volunteered to buy them for her. However, when Wei Shao returned, he found Lan Yun standing at the gate and was told by her about Wei Yan’s feelings for Xiao Qiao.

Wei Shao rushed to Wei Yan’s study and saw the portrait of Xiao Qiao. He recalled Wei Yan once mentioning someone forcibly interfering. Furious, he burned the portrait and left. By the time the servants came to put out the fire, the study was already destroyed. Wei Yan learned that Wei Shao had entered the study and accidentally knocked over a candle, thus realizing that Wei Shao now knew everything.

Back at his residence, Wei Shao overheard Xiao Zao and Chun Niang organizing Xiao Qiao’s dressing box, which contained her cherished belongings, including a perfume burner that Wei Yan had given her as a festival gift. Infuriated, Wei Shao smashed the box. The hairpin he had gifted Xiao Qiao was also broken. Xiao Qiao arrived just then and didn’t understand why Wei Shao was so angry at her dressing box. Wei Shao accused her of keeping gifts from another man.

When Xiao Qiao saw him throw away the perfume burner, she reproached him for suspecting her of having an affair with Wei Yan. Angry, she lashed out at him, saying he was always paranoid and that not every man in the Wei family could win her favor. With red eyes, Wei Shao left, and Xiao Qiao lay on the bed in frustration. Chen Pang sent Chen Lie to the Wei state, offering a passage for Wei Shao.

In reality, they wanted to bring Wei Yan back. Wei Shao valued Wei Yan highly and would rather reject the route than allow Wei Yan to be taken. He ordered the envoy from Bianzhou to be expelled, only to learn that the envoy had already gone to visit Wei Yan. Wei Shao met with Wei Yan, hoping he wouldn’t agree to leave. Wei Yan, however, made it clear that Wei Shao already knew about Xiao Qiao.

He openly admitted that he did have feelings for her—feelings he should not have had. Wei Shao angrily struck him but still reminded him that if he cut off those feelings, it would be as if nothing had ever happened. Wei Yan struck back, blaming Wei Shao and Lady Xu for being overly cautious in caring for and sheltering him. He even wished they could fight more often like this.

Wei Shao then expressed his deep bond with Wei Yan—regardless of his nationality, he was still his brother—but said the decision ultimately lay with Wei Yan. With a bruised face, Wei Shao returned home and found Xiao Qiao lighting candles. He went up to her and apologized, blaming himself for losing his temper the past few days. He feigned being pitiful and asked Xiao Qiao to look at his wounded cheek.

He knew she and Wei Yan had no romantic involvement; he had only spoken harshly in a moment of anger. Seeing Xiao Qiao’s blank expression, he even offered to slap himself to make amends. When Xiao Qiao saw the wound, she felt a bit of heartache and reached out to touch it, but Wei Shao pretended it hurt and asked her to hug him instead. Xiao Qiao fell into his arms, and both of them smiled sweetly.

Lady Xu quickly learned about the fight between Wei Shao and Wei Yan. Unbelieving that it was merely horseplay, she summoned Xiao Tan and Zhu Quan to inquire about the cause. The next day, when Wei Shao and Xiao Qiao went to pay respects to Lady Xu, she saw the bruises on Wei Shao’s face. He claimed they were from a fall. Wei Yan, also summoned, arrived with a similarly bruised face and gave the same excuse.

Lady Xu brought up the study fire. Wei Shao promptly admitted fault and said he had taken the chance to repair Wei Yan’s residence. In private, Lady Xu told Wei Yan that he could freely ask Wei Shao for things to renovate the house, but not everything—especially not the things Wei Shao cherished most. She reminded Wei Yan that a friend’s wife must not be coveted. Wei Yan understood.

Back home, Wei Yan sat in the burned-out study and gave a bitter smile, as if finally making up his mind. He realized that human emotions extended beyond romantic love and that he could sever such attachments. Qiao Ci visited Da Qiao and Bi Zhi’s residence. Da Qiao seized the opportunity to ask if Qiao Ci had heard Xiao Qiao mention Bi Zhi. Qiao Ci didn’t know about the missing invitation but explained that delivering messages had been inconvenient.

This made Da Qiao begin to harbor resentment toward Xiao Qiao. Behind the scenes, Su Ehuang stirred trouble by spreading rumors that Wei Yan was in love with Xiao Qiao. Wei Yan planned to bring snacks to Lady Xu, but Zhu Quan stopped him, worried that he might hear the gossip outside. Zhu Quan wanted to arrest the rumor spreaders, but Wei Yan believed that rumors flowed like water—it was better to channel than block them.

He believed the matter could be covered up, and only by doing so could the rumors be quelled. He decided to shift all blame to Bianzhou, claiming that external rumors from Bianzhou had forced him to go there. To that end, he summoned Chen Lie and agreed to return with him to Bianzhou. Before leaving, he asked Chen Lie to handle the cover-up. That night, Wei Yan brought snacks to Lady Xu and told her he was leaving.

Lady Xu sensed that he would not return and was moved to tears. Wei Yan, having made up his mind, feared he might bring harm to his family. He did not want to ruin Xiao Qiao’s reputation, tarnish Wei Shao’s dignity, or make things difficult for Lady Xu. She said she couldn’t bear for him to go and forbade him from leaving, but Wei Yan knelt to bid farewell.

He asked her to treat it as if he were going on a casual trip, and to let go of feelings that didn’t belong to him or cling to the people before his eyes. As she watched his departing figure, Lady Xu cried out and chased after him, accidentally falling off the steps at the doorway. Wei Shao, hearing the rumors among the people, ordered a thorough investigation.

Su Ehuang came to provoke him, suggesting that he send Xiao Qiao out of the city to avoid the gossip. But Wei Shao sternly declared that since his wife had been slandered, it was his duty to arrest and punish those spreading rumors. Su Ehuang dared not speak further. Wei Shao’s men arrested the rumor-mongers and discovered they were from Bianzhou. Wei Yan came forward to protect them, saying he would take them away.

When Wei Shao got the news, he rushed over, afraid that Wei Yan’s true identity would be exposed. He let the Bianzhou spies go and again declared that Wei Yan would always be his cousin. But Wei Yan whispered in his ear that no cousin should ever love his younger brother’s wife.

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