Unchained Love Episode 4 Recap
> Unchained Love Recap
Sensing her precarious situation, Bu Yinlou adopted a submissive demeanor, kneeling before Xiao Duo. She argued that it was not the right time for him to use her to win over Prince Fu, as it would create a vulnerability for the Empress to exploit. Instead, she proposed that he keep her by his side as a bargaining chip, even suggesting they form an unscrupulous alliance. When Xiao Duo was unconvinced, Bu Yinlou clung to his leg and burst into tears.
Hearing the commotion, Tong Yun rushed to the door but saw her mistress refusing to let go. Faced with her persistence, Xiao Duo reluctantly agreed. Not fully trusting him, Bu Yinlou demanded a guarantee, and he gave her his imperial-gifted thumb ring as a token of his promise. Later, Xiao Duo explained the situation to his confidant, Eunuch Sun.
He saw through Bu Yinlou’s act, surmising that she was unwilling to align with Prince Fu before he had fully consolidated power. She was making a tactical retreat, using Xiao Duo's influence to bide her time. Xiao Duo acknowledged the wisdom in keeping her as a bargaining chip, noting Prince Fu’s volatile nature made him an uncertain bet. As long as Bu Yinlou remained under his control, Prince Fu would be more cautious and less likely to disrupt his plans.
Though Eunuch Sun was wary of Bu Yinlou's manipulations, Xiao Duo was unfazed, confident he could see through her schemes and stating that the arrangement was mutually beneficial. That night, Prince Fu was tormented by a dream of his childhood. He recalled being bullied and locked in a dark room by other children who called him a "bastard" without a mother. A young Bu Yinlou appeared with a lantern, becoming a beacon of light who led him out.
As he grew, he cherished her from afar, only for fate to trap her in the palace as his sister-in-law. Prince Fu awoke from the dream, startled by a presence behind him. He summoned Eunuch Sun Taiqing, who discovered Prince Rong lying on the floor, bleeding from a fatal head wound. Xiao Duo quickly arrived and confronted a terrified Prince Fu, accusing him of killing his own nephew, the heir to the throne.
Overwhelmed with panic, Prince Fu begged Xiao Duo to save him. Recognizing the opportunity, Xiao Duo orchestrated a daring plan, ordering Sun Taiqing to follow his instructions precisely. Later that night, a palace eunuch on duty at the Futu Pagoda was horrified to find Prince Rong's body staged atop Noble Consort Shao's coffin. Rong'an Empress arrived and demanded answers. Xiao Duo reported that the cause of death was a head injury.
When questioned, Prince Fu claimed he was making lanterns and only knew that Rong had been calling for his mother in his sleep before disappearing.
The eunuch who found the body was brought forward and, under duress, recounted a bizarre tale: he saw a dazed Prince Rong enter the pagoda, after which Noble Consort Shao's coffin dropped, she rose from within, and Prince Rong called out "Mother" before fatally striking his head on the coffin, which then lifted itself back into place. The Empress dismissed the story as a trick, but the eunuch insisted the Noble Consort's spirit had returned for her son.
Seizing the moment, Xiao Duo declared that a nation cannot be without a ruler and that only one royal bloodline remained. He then knelt before Prince Fu, urging him to take charge of the realm. The assembled ministers followed suit, leaving the Empress seething with rage but unable to object. Rumors spread that Xiao Duo had killed Prince Rong, but Bu Yinlou believed otherwise, reasoning that he was too smart for such a self-defeating move.
She sensed his guilt stemmed from failing to protect the young prince as he had promised. Seeing his low spirits, she led him to a secluded tea garden and used daylilies, or "sorrow-forgetting grass," as an analogy to comfort him. She explained that like the plant, which has poisonous roots but can be cooked into a delicacy, people like Xiao Duo must adopt a tough exterior to survive in a dangerous world, yet they retain an inner sweetness.
She frankly told him that his desire for absolute control was an "illness" that needed to be cured, affirming his humanity beneath the formidable facade. Amused by her honesty and her admission that she was trying to curry his favor, Xiao Duo smiled and teased her for "stealing" the tea leaves. Meanwhile, Rong'an Empress learned her secret messenger network had been dismantled by the Zhaoding Bureau and that officials were flocking to support Prince Fu.
Furious at being cornered by Xiao Duo, she was further provoked when Eunuch Yan Sunlang falsely reported that he had seen Prince Fu secretly meeting with Bu Yinlou the night of Prince Rong’s death. Believing Bu Yinlou was the source of Prince Fu’s new ambition, the Empress decided to use her to control him. The Empress’s niece, Lady Zhang, was dispatched to lure Bu Yinlou into a trap.
She invited Bu Yinlou to a card game, revealing the guards had been sent away. Sensing the danger, Bu Yinlou feigned cooperation but then locked herself inside the designated room. From outside, Lady Zhang taunted her, revealing that Xiao Duo was out of the city and could not rescue her. Yinlou worried that the playing cards she had left as a signal would now be useless. Unbeknownst to her, the room was being filled with a potent aphrodisiac incense.
Simultaneously, a guilt-ridden Prince Fu was being consoled by Eunuch Sun Taiqing, who urged him to take the throne for Bu Yinlou’s sake, arguing that only supreme power would allow them to be together. Just then, a forged letter arrived, supposedly from Bu Yinlou, pleading for rescue from the "Ninth Hall in the southeast." Believing she was in danger, Prince Fu immediately raced to the palace.
The Empress revealed her full plan to her maid: the aphrodisiac and the forged letter would trick Prince Fu into a compromising situation with Bu Yinlou, framing him for incest and disqualifying him from the throne. With a new heir chosen from a collateral branch and the support of her clan and allies, she would regain control and punish Xiao Duo, likening him to a disobedient cat that must be declawed to learn its lesson.
