The Sleepless Princess Episode 18 Recap
> The Sleepless Princess Recap
Following the confrontation at Lingxi Garden, Xue Yao cornered one of the assassins on a mountain path, offering to spare his life in exchange for information. The assassin noted Xue Yao's striking resemblance to his brother, Xue Mu, especially in his manner of speaking, which had caused the assassin to mistake him for Xue Mu during their first encounter. He then taunted Xue Yao, asking if he was not curious about his brother's death.
As other assassins emerged to engage Xue Yao, Chu Yue was left dangling by a rope over a precipice. The captured assassin, a "dead man" whose family was held hostage, remained defiant, stating that Xue Yao would get no information as any captured member of their group would already be dead. When Xue Yao pointed out that leaders of the Qingyun clan bear a loyalty totem, the assassin slashed the mark from his own chest.
Xue Yao questioned if their fierce loyalty was to the Emperor, to which the assassin gave an ambiguous reply before severing Chu Yue's rope. Xue Yao immediately leaped off the cliff after Chu Yue, and both landed safely below. A distraught Chu Yue blamed herself for the attack, calling herself a "broom star" who brings misfortune to others. Xue Yao, however, apologized, reminding her that she had saved his life at Guoxi Pavilion.
As they made their way through the wilderness, Xue Yao was bitten by a venomous snake while protecting Chu Yue. She quickly sucked the poison from his hand before he collapsed. Finding a cave for shelter, Chu Yue used the last of the medicine given to her by Dong Shi on Xue Yao's wound.
As he shivered with a high fever, she held him close to keep him warm, comforting him and singing a lullaby until he fell into a restless sleep. Meanwhile, Xu Xingchen led a desperate search for Chu Yue, refusing to let the heavy miasma deter him. To aid in her rescue, Chu Yue put on the foot chain with a bell that Xue Yao had once given her, hoping the sound would guide her rescuers.
Her situation grew dire when Xue Yao began coughing up blood and slipped into a feverish hallucination. In his delirious state, he dreamed of the Emperor betrothing Chu Yue to Xu Xingchen. Believing Xu Xingchen had come to take her away, Xue Yao clung to Chu Yue, attempting to kiss her and hysterically forbidding her from leaving or calling Xu Xingchen "brother." Chu Yue struggled to calm him, explaining that the snake venom was causing him to see things.
To soothe him, she repeatedly called him "Brother Xue Yao" as he demanded. Momentarily lucid, he declared she was "his, always," and when she promised to stay, he murmured, "Only you are my wound." Holding him, Chu Yue whispered, "You are my wound, but you are also my medicine." Remembering how Chu Yue had risked everything for him, Xu Xingchen resolved to defy all societal norms and elope with her, believing that even becoming Emperor would be meaningless without her.
His thoughts were interrupted by the faint sound of a bell. He followed it and found Chu Yue by a stream. After seeing her undisguised affection and hearing how Xue Yao had risked his life for her, Xu Xingchen realized her heart belonged to another. Conceding defeat, he told Xue Yao that he would give up his pursuit of Chu Yue, on the condition that Xue Yao never betray her, vowing to never forgive him if he did.
On the carriage ride back to the capital, Xue Yao tried to remove the foot chain, but Chu Yue refused, calling the bell a symbol of their shared destiny. She confessed that while he once used it to keep her from escaping, she now never wanted to leave his side, willingly choosing to "draw a circle on the ground and treat it as a prison" for him.
She admitted that after all they had been through, she saw him as her home. Touched, Xue Yao asked for one more month. He explained that he needed time to investigate his brother's death, expressing his hope that it was not connected to her or the Emperor, before he could fully commit to a life with her. Chu Yue agreed to his terms.
Upon their return, Chu Yue prepared a meal for Xue Yao, while he received a report from Bai Liqi. All the captured assassins had died from a time-activated poison. Bai Liqi also reported a suspicious event: King Shun had requested imperial troops to aid in the search for the princess, but the Emperor had refused, showing a disturbing lack of concern for his daughter's safety. Separately, Xu Xingchen, suspicious of the attack, interrogated the manager of Lingxi Garden.
He learned that on the day of the birthday banquet, security had been inexplicably lax in key areas. Given Xue Yao’s usual caution, Xu Xingchen deduced that the lack of security was intentional and that Xue Yao had been prepared for the assassins' arrival, concluding the celebration was a premeditated trap.
