The Sleepless Princess Episode 32 Recap
> The Sleepless Princess Recap
Following his manipulation of the Emperor, Prince Xingchen confronted General Xue Yao, telling him to abandon his delusions. Xingchen pointed to the marks on Princess Chu Yue's neck as proof of their consensual love, urging Xue Yao to accept the truth and give up. Xue Yao, however, refused to believe anyone but Chu Yue herself. Later, Eunuch Gao visited Xingchen's mansion to report on the Emperor's condition.
He informed Xingchen that the imperial physician confirmed the Emperor had been poisoned and was suffering from extreme anger. Though his life was not in danger, he required quiet rest and had been calling for Chu Yue and their "grandchild" in his sleep. When asked, Xingchen affirmed his relationship with Chu Yue, claiming their childhood bond made them a natural match.
Eunuch Gao relayed the Emperor's wish that, despite his desire for an heir, the matter should be kept quiet until the child's birth due to its impropriety. He also confirmed that the city gates were sealed in a massive hunt for the fugitive Dong Shi. Meanwhile, Xue Yao sat by the unconscious Chu Yue's bedside. He confessed that while she called him her pillow, she was truly his, the one who brought him peace after his battlefield nightmares.
Seeing her by his side when he awoke from dreams of death and war made him feel he finally had a home. Though he knew he had hurt her, he was unwilling to give up. His vigil was interrupted by Naxi, who accused them of improper conduct. Xue Yao dragged her outside and exposed her deceptions. He revealed he knew she and her brother had conspired to burn his army's grain supplies.
He recounted how she had feigned guiding his army through the treacherous North Desert, intending for them to be killed by wolves, only to fall ill herself. Though he saved her with his last rations, her subsequent "rescue" of him from a wolf attack was merely a ploy. Naxi, skilled in controlling wolves, had planned to use him to assassinate her father, the King of Xizhao, so she and her brother could seize power.
He revealed her deep-seated hatred for her father, who had conceived them with a slave and later abandoned them as war captives. Naxi broke down in tears but refused to admit the truth. Xue Yao, tired of the charade, presented her with a divorce paper. In a secret audience, the Emperor revealed to Xue Yao that their previous public argument was a ruse for spies.
Worried about the strained treasury and the threat from Xizhao, the Emperor instructed Xue Yao to feign acceptance of the marriage to Naxi. This would lower Xizhao's guard, allowing Xue Yao's forces to secretly destroy their newly discovered ore mines and eliminate the treasonous Nansang metallurgists who had defected. Xue Yao pledged to carry out the mission. Armed with this new leverage, Xue Yao returned to Naxi.
He showed her a personal item belonging to her captured brother and offered a deal: sign the divorce papers, and he would release her, giving her a chance to save her brother. Defeated, Naxi agreed. Chu Yue awoke in Xingchen's mansion, temporarily blind. Xingchen explained that to protect her, he had fabricated the story of her pregnancy.
Horrified at the potential damage to his future, Chu Yue wanted to confess, but Xingchen insisted the Emperor valued a royal heir above all else. He coached her on how to act pregnant, advising her to eat sour dates, avoid cosmetics, and walk frequently, warning that Imperial Noble Consort Su would surely have them watched. As she practiced her lines, Xue Yao arrived. Mistaking him for Xingchen, Chu Yue began her act, asking for sour foods and walks.
The performance crushed Xue Yao, who believed it was real. When Chu Yue realized her mistake, she tried to explain it was an act for potential spies, but the damage was done. Xue Yao bitterly asked if the Chu Yue who wanted to elope with him was dead. She retorted that her heart was.
Enraged that she would debase herself after he had cherished her, he mimicked Xingchen’s earlier taunt about the marks on her neck being proof of their love. Overwhelmed, Chu Yue screamed at him to leave, and he departed, lamenting that their past was nothing but a dream. Elsewhere, a weakened Dong Shi, unable to use his mind-control arts again, told his disciple he would resort to a deadly poison smoke to achieve his goal of reviving his beloved Feixue.
Later, Xue Yao's aunt, Madam Xue, visited Prince Shun's mansion with a family heirloom—a sword imbued with a "murderous qi" from countless battles. She claimed it could quell the nightmares caused by Chu Yue's birthstone and help her recover her sight. She then insisted that a Xue family servant, a mute named Xiao Shengzi, must stay to guard the sword and care for Chu Yue.
After noticing only one pillow in Chu Yue's room, Madam Xue grew suspicious of her relationship with Xingchen. She privately told Xue Yao, whose marriage to Naxi was now void, to disguise himself as Xiao Shengzi and enter the mansion to uncover the truth. Though Xue Yao was reluctant to hurt Chu Yue again, his aunt's warning that Chu Yue might otherwise be consumed by the birthstone's power convinced him.
Later that night, the blind Chu Yue called for water and detected a familiar scent—the smell of blood she associated with Xue Yao. She realized the "murderous qi" of the sword was the scent from his wounds and that the mute servant was Xue Yao in disguise. Apologizing for her earlier harsh words, she invited him to communicate by writing on her hand.
