Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 13 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
Chu Shaohua, having rekindled her romance with Xia Chu, agreed to leave for France in three days. She began to settle her affairs at the apothecary, distributing shares to her mother, mother-in-law, and the shop's employees. She also entrusted the full management of the apothecary to Mr. Jiang and Mr. Wang, explicitly forbidding Chu Shaozhong from interfering with its operations. When Zhou Yan learned of this, she was furious. She came to the apothecary to confront Chu Shaohua.
Chu Shaohua firmly sent her away. As Zhou Yan left, she noticed where Chu Shaohua kept money, sparking a devious plan to drug Chu Shaohua and steal the cash. Later, Zhou Yan returned to the apothecary, using Chu Shaohua's mother-in-law as an excuse to invite Chu Shaohua home for a farewell dinner. Chu Shaohua, occupied with the handover of the apothecary's business, replied, "Go back and tell Mother I'm tied up and can't get away."
She promised, "Tell Mother I'll be back tomorrow. I'll bring Mr. Wang and Mr. Jiang, and we'll settle the ledgers, the stock, and the silver, face-to-face. But we'll skip the dinner." Zhou Yan then feigned concern, saying, "Right, Shaohua, before I left, Shaozhong mentioned his head was aching. Is he all right? Need to fetch a physician?" Chu Shaohua dismissed the need for a doctor, and Zhou Yan suggested, "I was thinking you could just dispense some herbal medicine.
That should put him right." Chu Shaohua agreed and went to prepare the remedies. As Chu Shaohua was busy, Zhou Yan secretly poured a substance into a teapot. Chu Shaohua then gave Zhou Yan the medicine, instructing that one was for internal use and the other external, and advised to see a physician if the pain didn't subside.
After the apothecary closed for the day, Shuangxi was preparing for his night shift when a fellow worker rushed in with urgent news. " Shuangxi. Your mother just sent word saying your father's fallen ill and she wanted you back home right away." Shuangxi expressed surprise, noting his father was fine just yesterday. The worker insisted, "Old people are more fragile. An illness can hit like a ton of bricks. Come on, hurry.
It'll take four hours to get to your place." Shuangxi offered to inform the Young Mistress, but the worker, seemingly helpful, urged him not to. " No, forget it. I'll take the night shift and tell her about this. Go ahead." Shuangxi, grateful, departed quickly for his home. Unbeknownst to Shuangxi, the worker deliberately removed the door bolt, leaving an entrance for Chen Ershun.
Chen Ershun, having witnessed Chu Shaohua divide the apothecary's shares and transfer management to Mr. Jiang and Mr. Wang, was unwilling to accept this outcome. He concocted a vile scheme to keep Chu Shaohua by having his mother, Mrs. Chen, slip a sedative into her chicken soup, intending to sexually assault her and force her to stay with him.
Late that night, Chen Ershun, having dressed carefully and consumed a large amount of alcohol for courage, prepared to go to the apothecary. His mother, Mrs. Chen, tried to dissuade him, asking, "Why are you drinking so much? Where are you going this late?" He brushed her off, telling her, "Just go to sleep." She pressed further, "Ershun. Maybe you shouldn't go."
But Chen Ershun, consumed by rage and desire, assured her, "Mother, don't worry," and quietly headed to the apothecary. In the apothecary's back courtyard, Chu Shaohua had just put Xuan to sleep, with Xuan lovingly telling her, "Mommy, I love you." Chu Shaohua replied, "Good girl. Sleep tight. Close your eyes." Chu Shaohua considered drinking the chicken soup Mrs. Chen had brought earlier.
However, she suddenly remembered Mrs. Chen's anxious demeanor when delivering the soup, particularly her odd warning that "Xuan mustn't have any" because "She has diarrhea. Chicken soup is not good for her." Chu Shaohua now suspected the soup was tainted. Feeling uneasy, she went to find Shuangxi, who was supposed to be on duty. Chu Shaohua arrived at the front hall, calling out for Shuangxi, but found the apothecary's main door ajar.
She quickly secured the door bolt but remained uneasy. For safety, she placed a weapon for self-defense under her pillow before drinking a cup of tea and lying down to rest. Meanwhile, Zhou Yan roused Chu Shaozhong, ordering him, "Why're you still in bed? It's time to get to the apothecary. Go pick up the money. The powder should be kicking in." Chu Shaozhong was aghast, "You slipped Shaohua that? Have you lost your mind? That's my sister."
He flatly refused, saying, "I'm not going." Zhou Yan berated him, "If you wait any longer, Shaohua will wake up." When Chu Shaozhong responded, "All the better," Zhou Yan became enraged, yelling, "What do you think you're doing? Get up. On your feet. You just have to lock horns with me, don't you? Why did I get stuck with the likes of you? Chu Shaozhong, what kind of man are you? You ran Chichun Apothecary into the ground!
Huashun Apothecary would rather hand its shares to strangers than leave them to you. And you didn't even squeak, you gutless worm! I've paved the way for you. Yet you still refuse to borrow the money. What are you afraid of? Just go!" She then threatened, "If you won't go, I'll take Bao away. Let's just call it quits." Worn down by her incessant abuse and threats, Chu Shaozhong finally conceded, "Knock it off. I'll go, alright?" and left reluctantly.
Chen Ershun, emboldened by alcohol, entered Chu Shaohua's room. He advanced on her, declaring, "Shaohua. I'm your dear Ershun. I've been waiting forever for this day. I'm crazy about you, Shaohua. I really like you, Shaohua. I've waited for this day for too long." Chu Shaohua, despite being under the influence of the drug, tried to resist, crying, "Stay back. You scoundrel. Scumbag. Hands off me! No, scum.
No." The commotion woke Xuan, who bravely tried to push Chen Ershun away from her mother, screaming, "Don't bully my mother! Let go! Let go of her!" In a fit of panic, Chen Ershun grabbed a pillow and cruelly suffocated Xuan to death. Chu Shaohua screamed in agony, utterly distraught. As Chen Ershun failed to return home, Song Ping, uneasy, went to Mrs. Chen's room, calling out "Mother" several times.
Mrs. Chen, startled and unable to sleep from fear, retorted, "When did you get here? I've been in here for a while. I kept calling out, but you didn't respond. I was starting to think something was wrong. You really scared me." Mrs. Chen, projecting her own terror, snapped, "You scared the life out of me! What's wrong with you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Song Ping explained, "It's so late, and Ershun's still not home. I just came to see if something had happened to him." Mrs. Chen unleashed her fury, "You have the gall to ask me? Useless fool! You good-for-nothing. You can't even keep your own man in line. And you have the nerve to ask me? All you ever do is eat and sleep. You're completely useless.
If you could have just given our family a child, do you think I would end up like this? I'm not scared." As the sedative slowly wore off, Chu Shaohua gradually regained her senses. She saw Xuan, motionless, and frantically tried to rouse her, calling out "Xuan" repeatedly, "Xuan, wake up. Mother's here. Wake up." Overcome with unbearable grief, she realized Xuan was dead. Chen Ershun, kneeling before her, begged for forgiveness. " Shaohua. I went too far.
I was wrong. But it's because I love you. I want you so badly, Shaohua. Will you please be with me? I'll divorce Song Ping tomorrow and marry you. I'll treat you so well. We'll have kids if you want to. As many as you want. Okay, Shaohua? I really love you. Will you forgive me? Please, just forgive me, Shaohua. I beg of you." He claimed he had accidentally killed Xuan out of love for Chu Shaohua.
In a surge of uncontrollable fury, Chu Shaohua immediately killed Chen Ershun. Unable to rest, Mrs. Chen went to the apothecary late that night. Upon entering, she discovered Chen Ershun's lifeless body, screaming in terror. " Ershun! No matter what he did to you, you can't kill him! Ershun! Darling! Ershun, my son! You killed him! Mother's here! Ershun! My goodness! How could you kill him? Ershun! Darling! He was the last hope of our family!"
As Chu Shaozhong arrived and witnessed the horrific scene, he fled in fright. He then saw Baldy, a leader of the Sanshou Gang, leading men to loot and vandalize the apothecary, prompting him to hide immediately. Baldy led his men into the back courtyard. He confronted Chu Shaohua, saying, "We've met again, you wretch. You're being so disrespectful. Tie her up." One of his men then brutally killed Mrs. Chen.
As the bandits seized Chu Shaohua and prepared to put her on a horse, with Chu Shaohua screaming, one bandit ordered, "Make her shut up!" They then proceeded to steal money. Meanwhile, Chu Shaozhong, mustering his courage, untied the horse's reins and slapped its flank. As the horse carried Chu Shaohua away, Chu Shaozhong called out "Shaohua" repeatedly. Baldy's men reported, "She got away! Don't chase her. We're in town and can't stay for long."
Baldy, not wanting to create further complications, confirmed, "Did you get all the stuff?" and when told, "Yes! That's about it," he ordered his men to set the apothecary ablaze before making their escape. Chu Shaohua fell from the horse and stumbled deep into the woods. Apothecary workers, rushing to the scene, fought tirelessly to extinguish the raging fire, yelling "Hurry up! Get some water! Be quick! Fetch water. Hurry! What's going on? Where's Young Mistress? Put out the fire!
Douse the flames! Hurry!" They eventually succeeded. Chu Shaozhong, disoriented and distraught, returned home. Unable to get any coherent information from him, Zhou Yan hurried to the apothecary to see the devastation for herself. Xia Chu arrived to find the apothecary burned to ruins. He learned that Xuan, Chen Ershun, and Mrs. Chen were dead, and Chu Shaohua had been abducted by the Sanshou Gang.
An officer, discussing the tragedy, confirmed, "I heard they found three bodies in the shop, but none of them was hers. They say she was captured by the bandits. She's not going to make it." Desperate, Xia Chu immediately sought out Yi Dajin, demanding money to ransom Chu Shaohua.
Yi Dajin informed him that the combined funds from Chichun Apothecary and their shop amounted to only "about 3,000 or so" silver dollars and that "a lot of it is tied up in accounts," making it impossible to gather such a sum quickly. Xia Chu, undeterred, insisted, "Then go borrow it. You must help me raise 3000 silver dollars within four hours. No, make that 5000."
Yi Dajin tried to calm him, suggesting they first send a message to the Sanshou Gang to appeal for mercy, stating, "Our first priority is to keep her safe, isn't it?" Xia Chu immediately asked if he could contact them. Yi Dajin explained that various local businesses paid protection fees to the Sanshou Gang and that "the messenger is an old lady, and she's very sly. She only contacts people she knows or has designated.
She will not meet with any new faces, so if you go, you're sure to mess things up." Xia Chu then urged him, "Then hurry and get her to send a message to them. Tell them money is not a problem. We'll pay whatever it takes, as long as Shaohua is safe." Yi Dajin promised, "I'll make sure you get the money, alright?" and entrusted others to look after Xia Chu while he went to make arrangements.
The apothecary's employees helped bury Xuan, Chen Ershun, and Mrs. Chen. However, Chu Shaohua soon returned, determined to retrieve Xuan's body. She painstakingly dug open the grave with her bare hands, saying, "Xuan. You're not staying here. I won't leave you with them. I'm taking you away. I'll take you with me. I'm getting you out of this place," before finding a new, solitary place to re-inter her daughter.
Meanwhile, Chu Shaozhong fell gravely ill from the shock, his mother diligently tending to him. Zhou Yan relayed the harrowing details of Chu Shaohua's ordeal to Chu Shaozhong's mother, who was deeply distraught. Chu Shaozhong's mother lamented the loss, and Zhou Yan, in a callous remark, added, "Mother, if she had just given all the money to Shaozhong, none of this would have happened, would it? Seriously! Now the bandits got it all for nothing."
Chu Shaozhong's mother then described his feverish state, saying, "But he keeps saying 'There's been a murder.' He's talking nonsense." Zhou Yan, hearing this, darkly responded, "Mother, what he's saying might be true." All the while, Chu Shaozhong kept muttering, "Run, run." The Chen family clansmen summoned Third Elder to decide Song Ping's fate. Third Elder, addressing Song Ping, said, "Ping.
By our ancestors' rules, this property belongs to the Chen family and can't be given to anyone from another family name. Am I right?" Song Ping assented. He continued, "You are indeed reasonable. Since that's the case, each branch should divide it according to the number of people. Just go back to your family's home. If you choose to remarry later, we will not object at all."
Song Ping inquired about her share of the assets, "But what about the fields and houses?" to which Third Elder coldly replied, "You haven't had any children, and you're not a Chen. What business is any of that of yours? You just agreed to that. Someone, give Song's things to her and let her go." Knowing her own family would not take her back, Song Ping pleaded, "I'm not going back. My family won't take me back like this.
I have nowhere to go now. I can't go back. Third Elder, I'm begging you. Please let me stay!" Despite her desperate pleas, the clansmen forcibly expelled Song from the Chen household. Yi Dajin falsely informed Xia Chu that "The Chen family's Young Mistress had quite a temper. On the way after being abducted by the Sanshou Gang, she jumped off a cliff." He then led Xia Chu to the supposed cliff-jumping site. Xia Chu, heartbroken, asked, "Was it from here?" and Yi Dajin confirmed, "It seems to be right here."
