Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 30 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
Chu Shaohua, unwilling to see Chu Shaozhong and his family return to Peking to suffer, had arranged for both Chu Shaozhong and Zhou Yan to work at Wen's Pharmacy and found a school for Chu Xiaobao. However, Zhou Yan was dissatisfied with her low salary. She planned to use Xiaobao to seize Chu Shaohua's assets.
Hearing that Chu Shaohua intended to send Cheng Hui abroad for studies, Zhou Yan demanded that Chu Shaohua provide funds for Xiaobao to acquire property instead of going to school. Chu Shaozhong found this suggestion inappropriate. Seizing the moment, Zhou Yan then proposed that Xiaobao recognize Chu Shaohua as his mother, reasoning that Chu Shaohua was alone and it was natural for a mother to spend money on her child.
Chu Shaohua firmly refused, stating she only had one daughter who was gone. Zhou Yan, angered by Chu Shaohua's refusal, threatened to expose her for killing Chen Ershun's entire family. Chu Shaohua defiantly challenged her to go to the police, saying she would accuse Zhou Yan of defamation, and then left in a rage. Chu Shaozhong quickly followed Chu Shaohua, apologizing profusely.
He assured her that he had never told anyone about the events of that night, not even his own mother, and that Zhou Yan's accusations were pure speculation. Chu Shaohua then revealed that she had discovered Zhou Yan embezzled over a hundred silver dollars from the storehouse accounts, a deficit she had already covered. Deeply ashamed, Chu Shaozhong decided he and Zhou Yan would resign from Wen's Pharmacy and return to their old home in Qizhou with Xiaobao.
Chu Shaohua expressed concern about their livelihood in Qizhou, but Chu Shaozhong insisted on leaving, promising to keep Zhou Yan from bothering her again. Upon returning home, Chu Shaozhong immediately began packing for their move back to Qizhou the next day. Zhou Yan vehemently opposed the idea, refusing to leave Shanghai. Chu Shaozhong accused her of being excessively greedy, not only coveting Chu Shaohua's wealth but also embezzling from the pharmacy.
Zhou Yan denied the accusations tearfully, claiming she was being framed and urging Chu Shaozhong to confront Chu Shaohua. Chu Shaozhong firmly reiterated that Chu Shaohua had no connection to the Chen family massacre, dismissing Zhou Yan's previous claims as "nonsense" uttered out of fear, and insisted they return to Qizhou. Zhou Yan, however, was determined to stay in Shanghai to make a fortune, believing she could succeed just as Chu Shaohua had.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhiqiu shared good news with Chu Shaohua. A cargo ship carrying 18 "dan" of medicinal herbs from Shanghai to Dalian had run aground, and its contents were lost at sea. Chu Shaohua correctly deduced that these were the opium shipments they had sought to intercept. Wen Zhiqiu explained that Xia Yuan was responsible for destroying the shipment.
Wen Zhiqiu also revealed he had purchased the sign of Chichun Apothecary from Xia Yuan, which was Chu Shaohua's ancestral property that Chu Shaozhong had sold to settle debts. Overjoyed, Chu Shaohua offered to buy it back from Wen Zhiqiu at double the price. Wen Zhiqiu playfully asked for ten times the price, settling for ten silver dollars, and offered to help her rebuild Chichun Apothecary.
Seizing the opportunity, Chu Shaohua requested a raise in both salary and dividends, to which Wen Zhiqiu, with feigned exasperation, readily agreed. Later, Xia Yuan confirmed that he had intentionally destroyed the opium shipment to claim a 1. 32 million silver dollar insurance payout, deeming it a worthwhile investment to keep Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua aligned with his plans. Elsewhere, Zhou Yan sought employment at Tian's Apothecary.
When the manager initially dismissed her, she claimed to have worked at Wen's Pharmacy, where her husband was an inspector and she a storekeeper. Upon hearing this, Tian Tongdao, the owner, decided to meet her. Tian Tongdao, suspecting she might be a spy from Wen's, decided to use her to gather information. During their conversation, Zhou Yan complained about Chu Shaohua, portraying her as ungrateful and lucky, not truly talented.
She inadvertently revealed that her husband was Chu Shaohua's elder brother, making her Chu Shaohua's sister-in-law. Tian Tongdao, still believing she was a spy, ordered her to be thrown out. As she was being removed, Zhou Yan furiously lashed out at Chu Shaohua, accusing her of being heartless and even murdering her own brother-in-law, Chen Ershun. This caught Tian Tongdao's attention, and he immediately called her back to press for details about Chen Ershun's death.
Shortly after, police officers arrived at Wen's Pharmacy to arrest Chu Shaohua. Wen Zhiqiu tried to intervene, but Chu Shaohua calmly agreed to accompany the officers for investigation. When Chu Shaozhong learned of Chu Shaohua's arrest, he confronted Zhou Yan, suspecting she was the informant.
Zhou Yan vehemently denied it, instead boasting about her new job as a manager at a prominent medicinal herb company in Shanghai, with a salary five times higher than her previous one, and a generous settling-in allowance. She even offered to arrange a position for Chu Shaozhong. He remained skeptical, accusing her of selling out Chu Shaohua's past for money.
Cornered, Zhou Yan admitted to leaking the information, justifying it by claiming she merely repeated what Chu Shaozhong had told her about Chu Shaohua killing Chen Ershun's family. She then mocked him for his inability to provide for their family. Enraged, Chu Shaozhong retaliated by beating her and forcibly throwing her out of their home, declaring he could no longer tolerate her betrayal of his sister. Reporters published stories about Chu Shaohua's alleged involvement in Chen Ershun's death.
Wen Zhiqiu, Sun Longyin, and Kang Erniu met with lawyer Lin to strategize. Lin revealed that official archives stated the Chen family deaths were due to bandits, but a new witness had prompted the case's reopening, claiming Chu Shaohua was the real killer. Kang Erniu then admitted to them that Chu Shaohua had indeed killed Chen Ershun.
Wen Zhiqiu and Lin later visited Chu Shaohua, advising her not to plead guilty and to claim memory loss due to the passage of time. However, Chu Shaohua declared her intention to speak the truth in court, stating she was tired of hiding and ready to face any consequences. Wen Zhiqiu expressed concern about public backlash and her enemies using the situation against her.
Chu Shaohua then revealed that the new witness was not a bandit, but Zhou Yan, her sister-in-law, who likely heard details from Chu Shaozhong. Despite the increased complexity, Chu Shaohua remained resolute in her decision to reveal the truth, accepting whatever storm lay ahead. Xia Yuan proposed killing Zhou Yan to eliminate the witness, but Wen Zhiqiu opposed it, fearing police investigation and the added burden it would place on Chu Shaohua, who sought to live without secrets.
Instead, Wen Zhiqiu suggested approaching Chu Shaozhong. He visited Chu Shaozhong, who expressed guilt over Shaohua's arrest and admitted Zhou Yan had been gone for days. Wen Zhiqiu offered Chu Shaozhong a sum of money from Chu Shaohua, intended to help him and Xiaobao settle in Qizhou and provide for Xiaobao's education.
Chu Shaozhong, feeling remorseful, admitted Zhou Yan was beyond persuasion but promised to testify in court that Zhou Yan was not present during the incident and that her statements were fabricated. Wen Zhiqiu, Kang Erniu, and Xia Yuan tracked Zhou Yan, discovering her leaving Tian Tongdao's residence. This immediately clarified to them Tian Tongdao's involvement.
Kang Erniu approached Zhou Yan with a counter-offer, presenting her with 4,000 silver dollars upfront and promising an additional 2,000 if her testimony led to Chu Shaohua's acquittal. Zhou Yan, swayed by the offer, seemed to agree, but advised Kang Erniu that Chu Shaohua's lack of generosity was why the current situation had arisen. The trial for Chu Shaohua's murder case commenced.
The prosecution presented testimonies from former Huashun Apothecary workers, Wang Shuangxi and Song Dawei, who claimed Chu Shaohua was involved with a man and planned to elope before the incident. They also presented a testimony from Mrs. Song, sister of the deceased Mrs. Chen, asserting that Mrs. Chen opposed Chu Shaohua's remarriage, leading to a hostile relationship.
Based on this evidence, the prosecution argued that Chu Shaohua murdered Mrs. Chen, Chen Ershun, and Chen Xuan to remarry, then staged a bandit robbery and fire to cover up the crime. Chu Shaohua vehemently rejected these allegations as nonsense.
