The Rise of Phoenixes Episode 2 Recap
> The Rise of Phoenixes Recap
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Prince Yan Ning Sheng summoned Ning Cheng, Prince Chu Ning Yi's attendant, bestowing gold and silver upon him while expressing feigned concern for Ning Yi after his eight years in the Imperial Clan Temple. Ning Cheng, outwardly grateful, remained loyal to Ning Yi.
After his departure, Prince Yan remarked to his aide that he needn't worry about Ning Yi; if the past eight years hadn't softened his tough younger brother, Crown Prince Ning Chuan and Prince Zhao Ning Yan would surely keep him in check. Prince Yan planned to let them vie for power in the capital while he feigned retreat.
Once news of the Great Cheng royal orphan's appearance in Yanzhou became public, he would request an imperial decree to quell the matter in his fiefdom. Meanwhile, Prince Zhao Ning Yan complained to Minister Ge about being rebuked by the Emperor for advancing his own salary to aid disaster victims, while Ning Yi received lavish rewards for simply weaving cloth.
He lamented that he did all the hard work while the Crown Prince took the credit, leaving him with the blame. The capital was abuzz with news that the Bloody Buddha Sect had assassinated a Golden Feather Guard. Xin Ziyan, already part of the scheme, met with Crown Prince Ning Chuan. He confessed to planting the unique hand dart—a design of his master, Tianjizi—to make the sect's reappearance more convincing.
He reasoned that the entire conspiracy was aimed at destabilizing the Crown Prince's position. The Crown Prince, however, was far more panicked by a report from his own men: the Ninth Prince of Great Cheng, whom he supposedly killed years ago to secure his title, had been found in Yanzhou. If this Ninth Prince were real, he feared being accused of deceiving the Emperor.
Although Xin Ziyan advised calm, Ning Chuan worried his father was only feigning ignorance to test him. An invitation then arrived from Ning Yi, inviting all the princes to a banquet at his mansion. Xin Ziyan deduced that Ning Yi was the key to this conspiracy and urged the Crown Prince to attend, while he himself would investigate secretly.
At the Qiu Mansion, Feng Hao attempted to steal some of the betrothal gifts, arguing that his sister Feng Zhiwei's marriage into wealth should benefit him. Feng Zhiwei angrily kicked him, causing a hairpin to fall from his clothes. Though he claimed he found it, she recognized it as belonging to Zhuyin, a courtesan she had recently befriended. Ning Cheng delivered a letter from Xin Ziyan to Ning Yi and reported on his meeting with Prince Yan.
Ning Yi wryly commented that the Crown Prince seemed to have had a harder eight years than they did. He instructed Ning Cheng to use the gifted money well and to prepare a "generous gift" in return for Prince Yan, one so significant it would prevent him from leaving the capital. At the Lanxiang Court, Zhuyin reported to Ning Yi about her time at the Qiu residence, mentioning she had met an "interesting person" with a strange connection to him.
Just then, Feng Zhiwei burst in looking for Zhuyin. Startled, Ning Yi hid behind a screen, only to knock it over. Seeing him holding scissors, Feng Zhiwei protectively shielded Zhuyin. To cover his identity, Ning Yi awkwardly snipped a loose thread from Feng Zhiwei's clothing, claimed to be a tailor, and quickly fled. A curious Feng Zhiwei followed him, asking about Prince Chu.
Playing along, Ning Yi described the prince as an odd man who would rather weave than engage in princely pastimes. Amused by her persistence, he teased that she must be infatuated with the prince. Later, Zhuyin privately told Ning Yi that Feng Zhiwei is likely the real Qiu Yuluo, recalling that someone had called her "princess," a revelation Ning Yi found highly entertaining.
In the Qiu Mansion, Fifth Madam falsely complained to Madam Xu that Feng Zhiwei, arrogant about her impending marriage to a prince, had bullied her. To prove Zhiwei’s cunning, she recounted how years ago, a young Feng Zhiwei had forced the Qiu family to take in her destitute mother and brother by kneeling in the street and creating a public spectacle. Fifth Madam warned that Zhiwei was not to be trusted.
Elsewhere, Zhiwei's mother, Qiu Mingying, consulted Master Zong, torn by a difficult decision. When Feng Zhiwei found her mother in tears, she offered to go through with the marriage to please her. Qiu Mingying, filled with guilt, tearfully refused her daughter’s sacrifice. Ning Cheng confirmed to Ning Yi that the real Qiu Yuluo was spoiled and cruel, entirely different from Feng Zhiwei. That evening, Zhiwei, disguised as an entertainer, snuck into Prince Chu's banquet.
Ning Yi met her, playing along with her calling him "tailor." Knowing the real Qiu Yuluo's father would never agree to the match, Ning Yi planned to substitute Feng Zhiwei. On the pretext of testing her courage, he blindfolded her and locked her in a lakeside pavilion, determined not to let this "unruly cat" disrupt his plans for the evening. As the banquet began, Crown Prince Ning Chuan, Prince Zhao, and Prince Yan gathered, each with their own agenda.
Ning Yi, acting the part of a disheveled idler, rebuffed the Crown Prince's invitation to his palace, claiming he only wanted to weave. Trapped in the pavilion, Feng Zhiwei realized she had been tricked and jumped into the lake. As the princes were about to leave, Ning Yi shouted that an assassin was in the water.
The Crown Prince rushed to the lake, but Ning Yi, realizing it was Zhiwei, signaled Ning Cheng to handle the rescue while he steered the Crown Prince back inside. Back in the hall, Ning Chuan pressed his brothers about the Bloody Buddha Sect. Ning Yi, feigning extreme drunkenness, loudly declared that he had personally seen Ning Chuan shoot the Great Cheng orphan. He slurred that if the orphan were alive, Ning Chuan's claim as Crown Prince would be void.
Though furious, Ning Chuan dismissed him as a drunkard and left. The moment they were gone, Ning Yi's drunken demeanor vanished. Upon learning Feng Zhiwei was safe, he went to see her. He brought her a change of clothes, and she, still wary, hid behind a screen, only changing after he blew out the candle.
