The Vendetta of An Episode 19 Recap
> The Vendetta of An Recap
Yan Fengshan questioned Xie Huaian on why he had spared Yang Chuhao, the man who had once betrayed Xie's father. Xie Huaian explained that Yang had merely been a neutral bystander and did not deserve to die; he had intended for the man to live out his remaining years in safety. However, Yan Fengshan could not tolerate any form of betrayal. Unbeknownst to Xie, Yan had already compromised Yang’s most trusted companion, a young man named Su Changlin.
Though Su appeared to be a devoted servant, he was actually a master of disguise driven by a deep-seated vendetta. As a child, Su had seen a high-ranking official's horse trample his father to death, and that official was Yang Chuhao. Su Changlin played the part of a loyal "son" to Yang Chuhao with chilling perfection.
Before they fled the capital, Su even stopped at a local shop to buy snow-pear tonic and red beans for Xiaoqing, the girl he admired at the medical clinic. Yang Chuhao, believing he was escaping with his most faithful ally, spoke of his vast business empire and promised to increase Su's wages. He was unaware that Su was only waiting for a moment of vulnerability. While they were on the road, Su brutally murdered Yang Chuhao with a stone.
Xie Huaian was deeply shaken by the news; despite Yang’s past, he was a man Xie had known since childhood, someone who had run a dumpling shop where Xie often ate. Xie had risked his own life to help Yang escape, never imagining that Yan Fengshan had planted a spy so close. Meanwhile, Gu Yu prepared to leave for the north to rally the Baiwenhu Army.
He knew the remnants of Yan's forces in the capital remained a threat and intended to retake the city to ensure the dynasty's future. Xiao Wenjing and Ye Zheng supported this mission, though they were concerned that Xie Huaian had left them no specific strategy before falling into Yan Fengshan’s hands. Late that night, Ye Zheng discovered a food box containing sweets left at the clinic door for his junior sister, Xiaoqing.
Recalling that Su Changlin had feelings for her, Ye Zheng realized it was suspicious for Su to be in the capital while his master was supposedly fleeing. Driven by suspicion, Ye Zheng followed Su Changlin into the night. Although Ye Zheng was a master of the sword, Su Changlin proved to be a lethal opponent. Following a fierce struggle, Su returned to Yan Fengshan’s side, his clothes stained with blood.
He presented Ye Zheng’s sword as a trophy of his merit, claiming that the man’s body would be found in the streets before dawn. Xie Huaian picked up his friend’s weapon, overwhelmed by silent agony. To distract Yan Fengshan and mask his intentions, Xie spoke of how he frequently saw visions of his deceased sister, Bai Guan.
He claimed that when one is truly heartbroken, the dead appear by their side, and he asked Yan if he ever saw his own adopted son, Wang Pu. Wang Pu had been raised by Yan for twenty-five years before dying right in front of him, and Xie suggested that Yan’s urge to kill would eventually turn him into a madman.
Believing that Xie Huaian was now a broken and delusional man, Yan Fengshan relaxed his guard and allowed him to leave for his ancestral home to die. After Xie departed, Yan caught sight of a figure in the courtyard that looked exactly like Wang Pu. Consumed by the memory of the boy he had raised and his own growing madness, Yan followed the shadow, thinking he was finally experiencing the same visions Xie had described.
He approached the figure with a sense of longing and joy, but as he embraced the man, he was stabbed repeatedly in his vital organs. As he collapsed, Yan Fengshan realized with horror that the person before him was not a ghost or a hallucination, but a real assassin who had used his grief to get close enough to strike.
