Till the End of the Moon Episode 24 Recap
> Till the End of the Moon Recap
Tantai Jin confronted Ye Bingshang, acknowledging that Xiao Lin had risked his life to assassinate him and lure away guards, all to help her escape, a display of loyalty that even he found moving. He asked for her feelings on the matter. Ye Bingshang, however, emphatically denied any connection to Xiao Lin, stating that whatever he did was irrelevant to her. She declared her heart was solely devoted to Tantai Jin and would remain so for life.
Ye Xiwu, surprised by this, asked Xiao Lin why Bingchang would say such a thing, given their previously good relationship, but he could not answer. Ye Qingyu informed Tantai Jin that he had witnessed an argument between Pian Ran and Ye Bingshang at the Vermilion Bird Gate, where Pian Ran was on the verge of hitting Ye Bingshang. The dispute, he explained, was about a "love thread."
Pian Ran, when questioned, said that beings with spiritual intelligence have love threads, enabling them to love, but that she had lost hers. When asked by Tantai Jin to explain, Ye Bingshang feigned ignorance. Tantai Jin then ordered Nian Baiyu to retrieve a newly developed demonic poison from the Moonshadow Guards, threatening to administer it to Ye Bingshang if she refused to speak, explaining that it would make her reveal all secrets before a painful death.
Ye Bingshang protested, reminding him of her "merit," but Tantai Jin stated that merits and faults were separate and that her life would be spared only if she cooperated. Under duress, Ye Bingshang confessed, detailing events from seven years prior when she was sixteen. Feeling insignificant in the Great General's flourishing mansion, she had encountered a mortally wounded Jiang Rao in the woods.
Realizing he would not survive, he asked her to deliver his love thread to his beloved, Pian Ran, who lived in Orchid Alley. Jiang Rao conveyed a message of eternal gratitude for Pian Ran's love and his regret at being unable to spend his life with her, wishing her future happiness. After Jiang Rao's death, Ye Bingshang found Pian Ran, and, overwhelmed by envy for Pian Ran's beauty and her devoted lover, she impulsively took the love thread.
She described a powerful, enchanting sensation that clouded her judgment, leading her to keep the thread. Subsequently, her beauty blossomed, captivating all men in the capital. She admitted her greed and foolishness in taking something she didn't understand. Ye Xiwu expressed her shock at Ye Bingshang's true nature. Tantai Jin condemned Ye Bingshang, pointing out that she took the love thread out of selfishness and heartlessly withheld the news of Jiang Rao's death from Pian Ran, branding her truly despicable.
As Tantai Jin moved to extract the love thread, Ye Xiwu, fearing for Ye Bingshang's life, cried out for him to stop, reminding him that the thread was stolen and should be returned. Unrepentant, Ye Bingshang then turned to Xiao Lin, bitterly claiming that the love thread only brought her fleeting attention and admiration, and that even his heartfelt vows were merely an effect of the thread.
She then lashed out at Ye Qingyu and Ye Xiwu, accusing them of always having everything while she had nothing, and now even what little she had was being taken away, leaving her with nothing. Tantai Jin, now understanding what a love thread truly was, realized that Ye Xiwu had caused a similar thread to blossom within his own heart, teaching him the profound feeling of love. He then returned the love thread to Pian Ran.
Following this, he ordered Xiao Lin to be imprisoned and stripped Ye Bingshang of her title as Mrs. Xuancheng, condemning her to serve as a slave in the Palace Prison starting the next day. Later, Ye Qingyu joined a heartbroken Pian Ran, who asked if he was there to persuade or pity her. He offered to simply keep her company for a drink, just as she had comforted him when he was sad.
Over drinks, Pian Ran recounted how she first met Jiang Rao by a river, mistaking him for a peeping Tom and slapping him repeatedly. She lamented that the river was so close to Sheng Kingdom's capital, yet he died so near, unknowingly. She expressed her sorrow at having waited for him for over a thousand days, only to later search for his body at Jiaguan for years with no news, while he had died quietly outside the city.
Ye Qingyu acknowledged her long wait, his heart aching for her. Later that night, as they lay in bed, Ye Xiwu mused to Tantai Jin, wondering if Ye Bingshang's fate would have been different if she hadn't been a concubine's daughter and had received more love at home. Tantai Jin questioned why she was still awake thinking about Bingchang. Ye Xiwu retorted, asking him what he was thinking about.
Tantai Jin confided that he believed his former emotionless state was due to not having love threads. He pondered aloud what it would truly feel like to possess them. Ye Xiwu tenderly replied that it was likely the very feeling they were sharing at that moment, then kissed him goodnight. Meanwhile, Tantai Minglang received an update from Fu Yu.
The powerful formation they were creating would be completed in three days, after which no living creature would remain in the southern border. Fu Yu also reported that the warlocks had tirelessly refined over ten thousand Nether Puppet Soldiers for him. Finding this number insufficient, Tantai Minglang demanded they accelerate the production of demon soldiers, stating he could not wait any longer. Fu Yu promised to find solutions. Ye Xiwu visited Xiao Lin in his prison cell, bringing him clothes.
He reassured her that Tantai Jin was not mistreating him and urged her to leave quickly. However, Ye Xiwu pressed him for his plans regarding Pang Yizhi and the remaining Sheng troops. Xiao Lin confessed that he had lost all will to live. He explained his plan: Pang Yizhi needed six days to return to the remnant troops. If Xiao Lin had escaped after his assassination attempt, he would have led the troops to rescue Jing's prisoners and flee south.
But now, imprisoned, he wanted Pang Yizhi to leave with the refugees without waiting for him. He believed Sheng Kingdom could have generals who died in battle but not a crown prince who surrendered. He further explained that as long as he lived, the last elite army would continue fighting, but with Sheng Kingdom's decline and Tantai Jin's capable rule, its people could enjoy peace. His death, by shattering any hope of restoration, would finally end the war and bloodshed.
Ye Xiwu, deeply concerned by his resolve, promised to find a way to help him escape with the Sheng army within six days. Xiao Lin, who had suspected her true identity since their parting at the Mohe River, acknowledged that she was not the Ye Xiwu he knew, as the real one would never risk her life for others or for him, but he promised to keep her secret. Ye Xiwu then vowed to return to save him.
Tantai Jin questioned Nian Baiyu about Ye Xiwu's visit to Xiao Lin, learning she was there for about fifteen minutes. Nian Baiyu admitted he couldn't hear their conversation due to the distance, but he described Xiao Lin placing his hand on Ye Xiwu's face and Ye Xiwu tugging at his clothes before leaving. Frustrated by Nian Baiyu's poor observation skills, Tantai Jin was consumed by jealousy. A guard led Ye Bingshang to a visitor, her grandmother.
Her grandmother explained that she was only able to visit because Ye Xiwu had interceded for her. She assured Ye Bingshang that while punishment for her mistakes was just, the family would not abandon her. Ye Bingshang expressed remorse for her greed in taking the love threads. Her grandmother brought her food and clothes, along with a special hand ointment that Ye Xiwu had specifically asked her to deliver.
Ye Xiwu had mentioned that Tantai Jin's imperial doctors had prepared it for chilblains. Ye Bingshang then asked her grandmother to speak with Ye Xiwu to beg for Tantai Jin's mercy, hoping to be allowed to leave the palace to attend her birth mother's upcoming death anniversary. Her grandmother agreed to try speaking to Ye Xiwu about it. Pian Ran grew suspicious of Ye Qingyu's frequent, secretive leaves from duty and followed him.
She found him at Jiang Rao's tomb outside Sheng Kingdom's city. Ye Qingyu, pouring wine, respectfully honored Jiang Rao as a valiant son who died for his country. She overheard him express envy for Jiang Rao, whose soul not only resided in his homeland but also eternally in Pian Ran's heart.
He dismissed fleeting thoughts of also dying in battle to be permanently etched in her memory, declaring his desire to live, to stay by her side, loving and protecting her. He promised Jiang Rao's spirit that he would care for Pian Ran and pledged his lifelong, exclusive love to her. Pian Ran then emerged, having overheard him. She playfully chided him for not speaking such tender words directly to her.
She thanked him for finding Jiang Rao's resting place, as her own attempts had failed. At the tomb, Pian Ran affirmed to Jiang Rao's spirit that she was now happy and had found someone to spend her life with. Tantai Jin granted Ye Bingshang permission to return home for her mother's memorial, but he instructed Ye Xiwu to keep a close watch on her to prevent any escape.
Ye Xiwu, with Xiao Lin's six-day deadline looming, returned to the Ye mansion and decided to cook sweet porridge for Tantai Jin as part of her plan. Unaware of Ye Xiwu's intentions, Ye Bingshang saw this as an opportunity. While Ye Xiwu was occupied cleaning up some spilled medicine for their grandmother, Ye Bingshang secretly added poison to the sweet porridge.
She then took a bowl, deceptively telling her grandmother it was a night snack from Ye Xiwu and urging her to finish it. Later, back in the palace, Ye Xiwu presented the sweet porridge to Tantai Jin, unaware of Ye Bingshang's meddling, but still intent on her own plan to help Xiao Lin. She had added knockout drops to the porridge, hoping to incapacitate Tantai Jin long enough to facilitate Xiao Lin's escape.
Tantai Jin told her to eat first while he finished some reports. Ye Xiwu excused herself to rest, reminding him to eat the porridge while it was warm. As Tantai Jin began to read, he noticed a dead moth floating in the porridge, immediately realizing Ye Xiwu's hidden agenda.
