Weaving a Tale of Love Episode 30 Recap
> Weaving a Tale of Love Recap
The nun led Zhuo Jinniang and Deng Qiniang to the main hall, where Kudi Liuli's memorial tablet was enshrined. Zhuo Jinniang eagerly opened the box in front of the tablet, which contained the golden needle she had dreamed of. Zhuo Jinniang wished she could immediately claim it as her own and pressed the nun hard about her relationship with Kudi Liuli. Pei Xingjian had once saved the nun's life.
He had previously entrusted Deng Qiniang to find the nun and explain the situation, promising to send the nun away from the capital after the matter was settled. The nun lied, claiming that eleven years ago, she had taken in Kudi Liuli, who had narrowly escaped death, at the entrance of the nunnery. Kudi Liuli had a persistent high fever and died shortly after. The nun found the golden needle on her.
Zhuo Jinniang pressed hard for the whereabouts of the clothing secret manual, but the nun knew nothing, and Zhuo Jinniang believed her. Pei Xingjian woke Kudi Liuli up. Kudi Liuli's anger had not subsided, and she forbade Pei Xingjian from interfering in her affairs again, then walked away. Zhuo Jinniang unexpectedly got the golden needle, but she still couldn't be happy. Remembering the person who worshipped An that night in Yixin Palace, she still harbored doubts about Kudi Liuli's identity.
Sun Decheng, as Pei Xingjian had instructed, came to Zhuo Jinniang to retrieve the Mortuary's Waist tag, falsely claiming that he had worshipped An that night in Yixin Palace to make up for his guilt of burning An's body eleven years ago. Zhuo Jinniang immediately looked flustered, not wanting to mention the incident eleven years ago. She lied that she had not seen Sun Decheng's Waist tag and hurriedly left.
Pei Xingjian deliberately had Sun Decheng come forward to completely eliminate Zhuo Jinniang's suspicion of Kudi Liuli. Deng Qiniang specifically waited for Kudi Liuli at the dormitory entrance, wanting to explain the whole story to her. Kudi Liuli didn't want to listen; she just couldn't let it go and went back to her room without saying a word.
Just as Deng Qiniang was about to follow, Pei Xingjian quickly pulled her back, telling her to let Kudi Liuli calm down by herself. That night, Kudi Liuli couldn't sleep, unable to believe that the people she trusted most had all been hiding things from her. The more Kudi Liuli thought about it, the sadder she became. Pei Xingjian sat on the rooftop playing the flute to comfort her, but Kudi Liuli stubbornly covered her ears, refusing to listen.
Early the next morning, Zhuo Jinniang had Minister Lin gather all the embroiderers for the needle worship ceremony. She proudly declared herself An's only disciple, stating that the golden needle was An's legacy and rightfully hers to inherit. Zhuo Jinniang even proclaimed herself the new generation's best embroiderer under heaven. Kudi Liuli publicly challenged her, questioning Zhuo Jinniang's lack of skill, deeming her unworthy of the imperial golden needle and the title of best embroiderer under heaven.
She openly challenged Zhuo Jinniang, who, enraged, ordered Kudi Liuli to be dragged away. Kudi Liuli sought Minister Lin to preside over justice. Minister Lin, knowing that Kudi Liuli was deeply favored by Li Zhi and Cairen Wu, immediately decided to let Kudi Liuli and Zhuo Jinniang compete. The competition was set for three days later, divided into three parts: dyeing, embroidery, and making.
The palace concubines would serve as judges, and if Kudi Liuli's skills were found lacking, she would be punished for two offenses. Zhuo Jinniang gritted her teeth in anger, verbally lashing out at Kudi Liuli. Kudi Liuli retorted sharply, and Zhuo Jinniang threatened to make Kudi Liuli lose badly. Deng Qiniang came to Pei Xingjian for help, reporting Kudi Liuli's actions to him, worried that Zhuo Jinniang might take the opportunity to retaliate against Kudi Liuli.
Pei Xingjian told Deng Qiniang to keep a close eye on Kudi Liuli and report back to him immediately if anything unexpected happened. Kudi Liuli dyed fabric first. She tried using shellac many times, but the dyed red cloth had a dull color. Kudi Liuli finally discovered that all the shellac she had received was damp, so she went to the material room to get new supplies.
The attendant lied, claiming that the Warehouse had no shellac, that the last remaining batch had all been taken by her, and that new stock would not arrive for a long time. Deng Qiniang saw this scene and knew Zhuo Jinniang was playing tricks behind the scenes. She had personally seen shellac in Zhuo Jinniang's room, so she took shellac from the attendant under Zhuo Jinniang's name.
She wanted to give it to Kudi Liuli, but Kudi Liuli did not appreciate it at all. Kudi Liuli remembered her mother using garden balsam to dye her nails during her lifetime. Inspired, she went to the Eastern Palace to ask the Crown Prince for grapes. The Crown Prince was not there, so Retinue Wang gave her grapes. Kudi Liuli then modulated the grape juice to a red color. Today was the first round of the competition.
Minister Lin specifically invited the Two concubines to judge. Kudi Liuli, worried that Zhuo Jinniang might play tricks, suggested a blind selection of the fabrics they had dyed. The Two concubines both agreed to this suggestion. Li Shimin had a persistent high fever. Cairen Wu sent someone to inform Li Zhi. Li Zhi was sparring with Pei Xingjian but rushed to visit Li Shimin without a word. Retinue Wang reported Kudi Liuli and Zhuo Jinniang's competition to him.
Li Zhi asked Retinue Wang to convey a message to Kudi Liuli, telling her to compete freely and promising to ensure fairness for her. Pei Xingjian volunteered to deliver the message for Li Zhi. Pei Xingjian walked to the entrance of the Wardrobe Service and saw the Two concubines emerging, repeatedly praising the dyed red cloth for being like the morning glow. Pei Xingjian hurried in to check and learned that Kudi Liuli's dyed red cloth had won.
Zhuo Jinniang gritted her teeth in anger. Kudi Liuli publicly exposed Zhuo Jinniang's collusion with the attendant in the material warehouse, using damp shellac for her dyeing. Kudi Liuli had to use grape juice to dye the fabric. Minister Lin highly praised Kudi Liuli's approach and reminded Zhuo Jinniang to prepare well for the next round, or she would suffer an embarrassing loss. Zhuo Jinniang was furious, cursing at Kudi Liuli, and Pei Xingjian saw it all.
