The Song of Glory Episode 11 Recap
> The Song of Glory Recap
Prince Jing Ling, Liu Yixuan, arrived to confront Protectorate General Lu Yuan. Despite Lu Yuan’s pretense of hospitality, Liu Yixuan angrily accused him of orchestrating the private foundry, framing high-ranking officials, and attempting to murder a future imperial consort, asserting that these crimes were enough for Lu Yuan to face death. Lu Yuan feigned ignorance, challenging Liu Yixuan to produce evidence for Prince Peng Cheng. Liu Yixuan retorted that even Prince Peng Cheng was now powerless.
He threatened Lu Yuan, who then revealed his hand by implying harm to Shen Lige. Liu Yixuan realized Lu Yuan was behind Shen Lige’s poisoning and demanded the antidote. Lu Yuan admitted that he alone possessed it and provocatively highlighted that Shen Lige was Liu Yikang’s woman, attempting to sow discord by mentioning Liu Yikang’s wariness of Liu Yixuan.
Liu Yixuan dismissed Lu Yuan’s attempts to manipulate him and accused Lu Yuan of previously slandering him to the Grand Consort Dowager to gain influence. Ultimately, to secure the antidote for Shen Lige, Liu Yixuan was forced to sign a decree appointing Lu Yuan to oversee the forging of black iron. Lu Yuan then chillingly described the agonizing effects of the poison, stating it felt like a hundred bugs eating into one’s bones.
Later, Liu Yixuan played the zither to vent his frustrations, the strings eventually breaking. Wan'er, who understood him well, discerned deep sorrow, doubt, and helplessness in his music. Liu Yixuan confided that things in the world never went his way, that justice never overcame evil, and questioned what he was persisting for if everything was fated. Wan'er gently reminded him that his actions held meaning as long as they aligned with his true desires.
However, Liu Yixuan felt that if persistence yielded no results, perhaps compromise was the best choice. Meanwhile, Liu Yikang, unaware of these developments, continued his nightly vigil in his boat cabin, waiting in vain for Shen Lige, consistently returning disappointed. Shen Lige eventually recovered after taking the antidote, which her mother informed her had been sent by Prince Jing Ling. Feeling much better, she decided to visit Prince Jing Ling's manor to thank him personally.
Although Liu Yixuan refused to meet her, he discreetly arranged for her to visit her father, Shen Tingzhang, and elder brother, Shen Zhi, in prison. There, Shen Lige apologized for involving them. Her father explained that he had discovered a secret message in her room, prompting him to rush to Qixia Mountain, where they fell into Lu Yuan's trap.
Shen Zhi added that he was under orders to capture Lu Yuan but found his father unconscious at the foundry, just before Lu Yuan and the Commandant of Justice arrived. Shen Lige revealed that Lu Yuan had killed her closest friend and that she and her allies had saved many craftsmen from the foundry. Shen Tingzhang reassured her that even without her, Lu Yuan would not have spared the Shen family.
Shen Lige realized these craftsmen could testify and decided to seek their help immediately. Back at the Shen residence, Mrs. Shen worried about the family’s bleak prospects and tried to persuade Wang Zijin, who was not yet officially married into the family, to return home with her father. Wang Zijin, however, declared her unwavering loyalty to Shen Zhi and insisted on staying. Her father, Prince Wang, arrived and demanded she leave, warning of the Shen family's impending extermination.
Wang Zijin refused, asserting that her heart belonged to Shen Zhi and that she was committed to upholding the moral principle of standing by her beloved's family during their darkest hour. Despite her father's threats, she remained resolute. Shen Lige went to the mountain to find Huo Yun and the artisans, hoping they would testify. However, many of the artisans were former Black Armored Army deserters and feared a death penalty if their identities were revealed.
They expressed doubts that Shen Lige could find evidence now that the foundry was destroyed and the black iron gone, and begged her to leave. Despondent, Shen Lige went to the boat cabin, where Liu Yikang eventually found her. Overwhelmed with grief and helplessness, she broke down and cried in his arms. After he comforted her, they discussed the case.
Liu Yikang apologized for missing their previous appointment, but Shen Lige reassured him that she understood he had his reasons and that she believed in him. They reviewed the water route clues, confirming the trail went west, and agreed they needed to stall for time. Liu Yikang believed Huo Yun would ultimately make the right choice and that as long as General Shen did not confess, a verdict could be delayed.
On the day of the trial, Shen Lige paced anxiously outside the Ministry of Justice. Inside, Shen Tingzhang and Shen Zhi steadfastly refused to plead guilty, with Shen Tingzhang reaffirming his twenty years of loyal service to Emperor Gaozu. Lu Yuan presented confiscated ledgers, unauthorized seals, and correspondence as proof of their guilt. When the Shens continued to deny the charges, Lu Yuan ordered them to be beaten with twenty army staffs to extract a confession.
The Commandant of Justice intervened, halting the torture and declaring that he would not permit confessions obtained through violence. Lu Yuan accused him of delaying the case, but the Commandant of Justice retorted that Lu Yuan was using his public office for personal revenge. Just as the situation escalated, Huo Yun and the artisans arrived, led by Shen Lige. Huo Yun announced that General Shen had been framed and that the foundry was actually owned by Lu Yuan.
He explained the hazardous conditions of forging black iron and asked the Commandant of Justice to verify the artisans' distinctive wounds, confirming their identities and their repeated sightings of Lu Yuan at the foundry. Lu Yuan immediately recognized Huo Yun as a deserter from the Black Armored Army and demanded his arrest. However, the Commandant of Justice intervened again, asserting that Huo Yun was a crucial witness and could not be dismissed.
He ordered Huo Yun and his group to be held under tight security within the Ministry of Justice. Hearing the news, an overjoyed Liu Yixuan, in front of all the court officials, issued a decree granting the Commandant of Justice fifteen days to question the new witnesses and investigate the case. Liu Yikang approved the extension, emphasizing the need for caution in a case involving a high-ranking official.
With the fifteen-day extension, Liu Yikang instructed Xu Zhan to gather more clues. Intelligence revealed that ships departing from Zhuque Port had arrived in Wuchang County, unloading some cargo before distributing the rest to Xin'an, Yuzhang, Xiangyang, and Baling. Liu Yikang meticulously compared an old map with these locations, realizing their names corresponded to the pentatonic scale. He concluded that Wuchang, a critical strategic location, was the ultimate destination for the remaining cargo and ordered a discreet investigation.
Meanwhile, Shen Lige suspected an insider had planted the incriminating evidence in her father’s study. Wang Zijin recalled seeing Shen Leqing near the study, and Mrs. Shen mentioned that Shen Leqing had lured Shen Tingzhang into Shen Lige’s room where the secret message was found. Remembering the warning about her poisonous jade bracelet, Shen Lige sneaked into Shen Leqing’s room and placed it near her.
Waking to find it, Shen Leqing frantically ordered her maid to remove it, revealing she knew it was poisonous. Caught, she admitted her actions, driven by bitterness over Shen Lige stealing her position, her parents’ affection, and the marriage to Prince Peng Cheng. Shen Leqing denied planting the ledgers, but Shen Lige warned her that Lu Yuan could not protect her.
Sparing her only out of respect for their mother, Shen Lige slapped Shen Leqing and ordered her to stay in the manor, eat vegetarian food, and pray daily for their father and brother's safe return. Later, Shen Lige and Liu Yikang discussed the disheartening betrayal. They lamented the incomprehensible cruelty and jealousy that could exist even among the closest kin, attributing it to the heartlessness of the world. Despite drinking to ease their sorrow, they acknowledged that their worries remained and that the situation for the Shen father and son still needed to be resolved.
