The Sleepless Princess Episode 1 Recap
> The Sleepless Princess Recap
A group of enthusiastic children gathered around Mr. Guanshan, eager to hear the last of the three hundred and sixty-five stories he promised to tell his ailing wife, believing it would finally wake her. In the southern land of Nansang, lived Princess Chu Yue, an unfavored royal with a peculiar condition: she could not sleep at night and could only rest during the day.
One night, desperate to avoid a forced marriage to the lecherous Marquis Beize, Chu Yue attempted to hang herself. Her servants, having witnessed her theatrics for hours without the Emperor's intervention, urged her to reconsider, certain the Emperor cared little for her. Chu Yue, aware of her father’s indifference—evidenced by her living in the Cold Palace—nearly met a tragic end by accident.
To her delight, a maid arrived with a document bearing the imperial seal: the Marquis Beize had agreed to annul the engagement. Chu Yue was overjoyed, though she scorned the Marquis's right to break off the marriage, particularly after learning he had heard rumors of her sleeplessness and deemed her to have an incurable disease.
Later that night, eunuchs patrolling the Cold Palace whispered nervously about a figure resembling the deceased Concubine Yun, said to roam near Guoxi Pavilion during full moons. Their fears turned to shock when Princess Chu Yue, accompanied by her maid Tao Yao, suddenly appeared, startling them. Chu Yue calmly explained she was merely out for a walk, unable to sleep. Chu Yue, longing to travel the world like Mr. Guanshan, was reading when masked assassins suddenly burst into her chamber.
In the ensuing chaos, one assassin plunged a dagger into her. This horrific event was, in fact, merely a dream. However, Chu Yue's dreams, if she slept during forbidden hours, had a dangerous peculiarity: they would come true. Realizing the peril, she frantically tried to escape her chambers to alter the impending reality.
Chu Yue's unique affliction stemmed from her childhood, when she accidentally came into possession of a birthstone once belonging to the Great National Division—her biological father—who used it to predict the future. From that day forth, any disaster she dreamt of while sleeping at night would materialize in reality. Furthermore, if she attempted to alter a dream, she would undergo a physical transformation.
To cope, she feigned illness, spending every night wandering alone like a ghost until dawn, when she could finally catch up on sleep. Desperate to escape the assassins, Chu Yue and Tao Yao devised a plan to split up and seek help. Tao Yao instructed Chu Yue to run towards the Phoenix Palace, where more guards were stationed, while she would head west. Chu Yue fled to Guoxi Pavilion, where she detected the faint scent of blood.
Unbeknownst to her, General Xue Yao of the Nansang State was already there, hidden. Assassins soon converged on Chu Yue, intending to capture her alive. Xue Yao emerged, saving her, but Chu Yue was severely wounded by a poisoned weapon. Recognizing the urgency, Xue Yao used his mouth to extract the venomous blood.
As she drifted in and out of consciousness, Chu Yue implored him to tell her brother, Xu Xingchen, that she would care for him in their next life. Just as Xue Yao finished, the Emperor arrived with his soldiers and mistakenly shot Xue Yao with an arrow, believing him to be an assailant. Xue Yao, despite his injuries, managed to escape.
Back at the palace, the Emperor, already wary of Xue Yao's rising popularity after his victory against Xizhao, consulted his ministers. One minister suggested testing Xue Yao’s loyalty by arranging a marriage between him and Princess Chu Yue. Under law, a general who became a royal son-in-law would be stripped of his military command. If Xue Yao refused, it would expose his disloyalty, providing a pretext for his removal.
If he accepted, he would effectively become a pawn in the Emperor's court. The Emperor found this plan brilliant. Meanwhile, a wounded Xue Yao was being attended to. His strategist, Bai Liqi, advised him to be cautious and not to provoke the Emperor further by rashly investigating the palace. Xue Yao, however, was more interested in the mysterious princess, Chu Yue.
He learned she was the orphaned daughter of the Great National Division, adopted by the Emperor but always out of favor, with only Prince Shun, Xu Xingchen, showing her kindness. Xue Yao revealed that he had found a half-written letter among his deceased brother's belongings, indicating that the assassins were connected to his brother's death and that Chu Yue was a crucial clue.
Summoned by the Emperor, Xue Yao feigned a desire to return home and care for his aunt, offering to return his military tally. The Emperor, seizing the moment, proposed a "warding-off" wedding with the still-unconscious Princess Chu Yue, suggesting it would cure her illness. Xue Yao, seeing an opportunity to keep the princess close to investigate while allaying the Emperor's suspicions, shrewdly agreed.
He later confided in Bai Liqi, affirming his decision to let Chu Yue remain in his mansion, viewing her as both a possible spy from the Emperor and a valuable lead in his brother's case. On the day of the wedding, the unconscious Chu Yue lay in her sedan chair. Prince Xu Xingchen, having learned of the arranged marriage, rushed to her side, desperate to wake her.
He picked up her favorite book, "Chronicle of Guanshan," and began reading aloud from it, hoping the familiar words would rouse her, but she remained unresponsive. He argued fiercely with Xue Yao, trying to prevent the marriage, insisting that his sister was unfit to marry and that no one was worthy of her. He vowed to ask their father, the Emperor, to annul the decree.
As the argument intensified, Xue Yao decisively took Chu Yue from the sedan chair and carried her into his mansion. As he did, she briefly regained consciousness, wondering if he was the husband from her dreams. Declaring her his wife, Xue Yao entered the mansion, leaving Xu Xingchen outside. Realizing the wedding was irreversible, Xu Xingchen reluctantly accepted Bai Liqi's advice to retreat and plan a long-term strategy.
Once inside Xue Yao's mansion, as midnight approached, Chu Yue felt an unbearable itch and the unsettling sensation of her teeth growing. With a sudden sneeze, her body contorted, and she transformed into a mouse.
