Legend of Zang Hai Episode 4 Recap, Plot

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> Legend of Zang Hai Recap

Zhuang Luyin sent people to arrest all the feng shui masters in the city and locked them in an underground palace, which was set up with layers of mechanisms modeled after the imperial mausoleum. No one had ever come out alive. Zang Hai wanted to kill Zhuang Luyin to avenge his family.

He claimed to be a feng shui master and was captured by Qu Jiao and taken to the Marquis of Pingjin’s residence, where he was also locked in an underground palace equipped with imperial mausoleum mechanisms. With meticulous thinking and superb skills, Zang Hai led everyone through one trap after another. Just as they were about to reach the exit, someone accidentally triggered the deadly bone-snapping silk mechanism. They were all killed, and only Zang Hai narrowly escaped death.

Zang Hai emerged alive from the underground palace, shocking Chu Huaiming, who suspected he might be a descendant of the craftsmen who built the imperial mausoleum. Zang Hai admitted he had used the Nine Stars Secret Method to break the bone-snapping silk mechanism. When Zhuang Luyin heard that someone had cracked the mausoleum’s mechanisms, he rushed over. Seeing his enemy made Zang Hai’s hatred boil, but he suppressed it and remained calm.

Zhuang Luyin appointed Zang Hai to preside over the Empress Dowager’s burial. Chu Huaiming, doubting Zang Hai’s background, advised Zhuang Luyin to be cautious. But with the emperor’s deadline looming, Zhuang Luyin decided to let Zang Hai try. Zang Hai deduced from the celestial phenomena that it would rain today, and the rain would naturally unlock the mechanism. Chu Huaiming found it unconvincing and invited the emperor’s close eunuch, Eunuch Sun.

Eunuch Sun came in the rain, which made Zhuang Luyin trust Zang Hai even more and urged him to fully explain his plan. Zang Hai lied, claiming that Noble Consort Li appeared to him in a dream, expressing her wish to fulfill the Empress Dowager and the late emperor’s desire for a joint burial. Zhuang Luyin was half convinced. Zang Hai brazenly said that thanks to Noble Consort Li’s blessing, he had survived the underground palace.

Using Noble Consort Li’s name, Zang Hai prevented the feudal lords from entering the capital for mourning, allowing only the King of Linzi to keep vigil. Eunuch Sun immediately returned to report to the emperor. Zhuang Luyin was still skeptical of Zang Hai’s explanation, but it was enough that Eunuch Sun believed it. Zang Hai took the opportunity to request entry into the inner hall of the mausoleum to inspect Noble Consort Li’s tomb.

Zhuang Luyin instructed Chu Huaiming to accompany him to see whether Noble Consort Li would show a sign, and he also ordered Qu Jiao to investigate Zang Hai’s background. Chu Huaiming brought Zang Hai to Noble Consort Li’s tomb. Zang Hai walked a circle around the tomb, then knelt and expressed his gratitude. Zhuang Luyin waited until noon, when suddenly Noble Consort Li’s tomb collapsed. Zang Hai firmly claimed she was helping fulfill the wish for a joint burial.

Zhuang Luyin and everyone present knelt together to thank her for her wisdom and benevolence. Zang Hai had resolved a long-standing concern for Zhuang Luyin, but instead of being grateful, Zhuang Luyin wanted to kill him to silence him. Zang Hai professed loyalty and offered to use his knowledge of architecture and geomancy to help Zhuang Zhixing. Qu Jiao found out Zang Hai’s identity: his parents had died young, and he learned carpentry from a craftsman.

He had just arrived in the capital a few days earlier. The masked benefactor who saved him had forged his identity. Zhuang Luyin fully believed in Zang Hai and agreed to let him stay in the marquis’ residence. Zang Hai officially reported to the Pingjin Residence. The steward gave him a waist token and arranged for him to stay in the Gentlemen’s Quarters. Zang Hai went to the inn to report to Gao Ming.

Gao Ming was curious how Zang Hai knew Noble Consort Li’s coffin would collapse. Zang Hai explained that when he entered the tomb, he found it was damp, and the coffin was soaked. He had secretly placed a wooden wedge underneath it. Combined with the heavy rain that night, the waterlogging caused the coffin to collapse. Gao Ming praised Zang Hai highly.

Zang Hai took the opportunity to ask about his masked master and Master Xing Dou, but Gao Ming said it was not the right time. Early the next morning, Zang Hai arrived at the Gentlemen’s Quarters, showed his waist token, and entered the residence smoothly. The advisor Huijian greeted him proactively and explained the rules and daily routines of the marquis’ residence, all set by Yang Zhen.

Chu Huaiming became suspicious of Zang Hai’s identity and warned Yang Zhen to be cautious in case Zang Hai replaced him. But Yang Zhen dismissed the concern and retorted that Zang Hai’s expertise in geomancy made Chu Huaiming's position insecure. Huijian gave Zang Hai a thorough tour, and Zang Hai finally learned that the advisors’ main job was to document and glorify Zhuang Luyin’s legacy, essentially compiling the "Zhuang Family Chronicles," with all the credit going to Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen came to meet Zang Hai and explained many rules to him. Upon learning that advisors could eventually enter court service, Zang Hai became eager for the opportunity. Zhuang Luyin sent for Zang Hai to assess feng shui. Yang Zhen, fearing Zang Hai would steal his spotlight, deliberately assigned him to repair the ancestral hall to prevent the ancestral tablets from being soaked by rain.

Zang Hai saw through Yang Zhen’s intent to keep him from meeting Zhuang Luyin, but still stayed to repair the hall and asked Yang Zhen to explain the reason to Zhuang Luyin. Yang Zhen was more than happy to oblige. Zang Hai reported the matter to Gao Ming, who worried that Zhuang Luyin might forget about Zang Hai. Zang Hai swore he would take Yang Zhen’s place.

Yang Zhen assigned Zang Hai to inventory the residence’s antiques and cultural relics with other advisors, then compile detailed records. Zang Hai discovered many of the artifacts were damaged or incomplete. In the end, Yang Zhen made Zang Hai redo the entire inventory and posted guards at the door in case Zang Hai tried to steal anything—they were ordered to arrest him on the spot.

Episode 3 Recap

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