A Dream Within A Dream: Drama Info and Recap Episodes 1 to 10

Introduction

This is an engaging historical fantasy drama, which explores themes of fate, self-awareness, and the heroine’s struggle against predetermined roles within a script world. Bear with me, the recaps for this first part are quite long because they laid out the plot background that covers the real world, the original script, and the dream.

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Drama Info

Drama title: A Dream Within A Dream (Native title: 书卷一梦 )
Alternative title: Shu Juan Yi Meng
Genres: Historical, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Aired: Jun 26, 2025 - July 11, 2025
Episodes: 40  |  Duration: 45 minutes
Director: Guo Hu ( 郭虎 )
Screenwriters: Ren Zhuang Liu ( 任庄柳 ) and Xia Luo Te ( 夏洛特 )
Where to watch: iQIYI, WeTV, and Viki
OSTs: Full album (fansub)
Trailers:

I found two trailers that emphasize two different views. The first trailer is called “Paper Man Awakening,” focuses more on how the scripted characters defy their written fate. The second trailer on the right is more about the leading character’s love story.

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Synopsis

Actress Song Xiao Yu is trying to rise to the top of the industry. Her life takes an absurd turn, however, when she mysteriously transports into the plot of the script she’s reading and becomes the heroine Song Yi Meng.

Because Yi Meng’s fate in the story ends in tragedy at the hands of the male lead, Nan Heng, Xiao Yu tries to change the plot. Unfortunately, no matter what she does, she seems to wake right back up where she started – in Nan Heng’s control. In a last-ditch attempt to create a better ending for Yi Meng, Xiao Yu decides to hatch a plan to kill Nan Heng.

Will this final attempt bring her the ending she wishes for, or is there a different twist in store for her?

Source: Viki

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Characters

Main Characters

Supporting Characters

I won’t detail the supporting characters, because I found two character relationship photos that will help you identify them. The first one is the English translation of the official character relationship chart.

credit: SoonSetra

The second supporting character identification is a behind-the-scenes ‘family photo’. I find the character identifications below are clearer and more straightforward than the ones on the first image.

Source: MyDramaList

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Recap Episodes 1 to 10

Episode 1

Oh my God, the drama starts with The Dream of Qingning script scene. It’s SO bad, I don’t even want to detail it here, hahaha. That’s the script that put the top actor Nan Feng, the second lead actor, and the struggling actress Song Xiao Yu together in a drama project that supposedly fans love that kinda crap. You might wonder why the no-body actress Xiao Yu is paired up with a top actor, Nan Feng. The director exhausted the long list of actresses who wanted to be a second fiddle to Nan Feng. It means, in this drama, the only main character will be Nan Feng. Even the female lead is a secondary role, unimportant. And Xiao Yu was the only one left and accepted the role.

At home, Xiao Yu studied the script, and the more she read, the angrier she was with the plot and the characterization of Song Yi Men. Even vertical dramas didn’t have such crappy plot!

Once Xiao Yu finished reading the script, she realized there was a thunderstorm. She went to close the window, but it didn’t move. Suddenly, Xiao Yu was pushed back by a strong wind, all the way to the ancient era! After seeing a lot of golden ingots, ancient furniture, and a bunch of maidservants, Xiao Yu realized she was transported to The Dream of Qingning script and became Song Yimeng! The good thing was, in this dream, she was supposed to marry his childhood sweetheart, Chu Gui Hong, not Nan Heng. Xiao Yu happily complied. However, after so many hilarious attempts, Xiao Yu still died from various causes before marrying the SML, and woke up again and again in a loop.

Episode 2

In this time loop, Xiao Yu realized that time had been turned back half a year before her wedding with Chu Gui Hong. She asked her maids about her betrothed, Chu Gui Hong. Somehow, the script forced them to tell the stories about Nan Heng and his battle glory. Instead, Chu Gui Hong made a battle mistake and was arrested by Nan Heng and executed if Song Yu De didn’t show up to interfere. Nan Heng learned that Mr. Song was the Minister of War and Head of the Six Ministers, so he wanted to marry his daughter to solidify his power. Of course, his pick was the legitimate eldest daughter Song Yi Meng.

Nan Heng and Fu Gui gave me nostalgia for Wei Shao and Wei Liang!

Nan Heng ordered his aide Fu Gui (Yay! The actors Liu Yu Ning and Wang Cheng Si were also together as master and subordinate general in The Prisoner of Beauty ( 折腰 )!) to take Song Yi Meng to the flower banquet held by Nan Heng’s mother Consort Gao. Xiao Yu knew that was the scene where Song Yi Meng met Nan Heng and fell head over heels for him. She refused to go. But no matter how hard she tried not to attend the banquet, the script dictated that she go. She met Jia Ru Ru, Song Yi Meng’s archenemy. After a scuffle with Jia Ru Ru, Song Yi Meng’s archenemy, Xiao Yu fell off the bridge into the lake.

Episode 3

And just as the script said, too, Nan Heng rushed out and jumped into the lake to save her. Xiao Yu tried hard to swim away, but in the end, she was still saved by Nan Heng and brought to shore. This incident attracted a huge crowd. Xiao remembered the iconic trope in which Nan Heng took off his robe and wrapped it around Song Yi Meng. So, when Nan Heng was about to do that, she refused him. Instead, she confronted him that he’d saved her purposely to seek her family power. Xiao Yu bid him farewell and walked away, but the script pulled her back to hold Nan Heng’s hand. She said sweetly that she wanted to marry him because he saved her life, and kissed Nan Heng. Nan Heng was confused, too, but was forced to kiss her back!

After the two were immersed for a moment, while Xiao Yu cursed the scriptwriter, Nan Heng pushed Xiao Yu away, flustered and disheveled. He ordered Fu Gui to take Xiao Yu away, but she mocked him that he was embarrassed because it was his first kiss. Everyone burst into laughter. The incident quickly spread from the palace to the public outside, revealing that Nan Heng, the God of Death, had lost his innocence.

At home, Xiao Yu calmed herself down, repeating to herself that this was just acting. At home, Nan Heng also calmed himself down, trying to find a logical reason why he kissed Song Yi Meng. He thought she must have cast a spell on him. Hearing that, Fu Gui said, “No wonder Chu Gui Hong was also unmarried until now. It must be because of Song Yi Meng’s spell!” Fu Gui then informed Nan Heng that Chu Gui Hong and Song Yi Meng had been betrothed since they were little.

Chancellor Gao, Nan Heng’s uncle, came to visit him. Mr. Gao believed that Song Yi Meng had the ancestral guide on a weapon forge method, since her fiancé, Chu Gui Hong, often wrote her a letter. During a famous battle, he sent her an urgent parcel. Knowing this, Nan Heng took the chance to launch a mission to win over Song Yi Meng. So, the next day, he sent gifts, but they were refused by Xiao Yu. The second day, he bought the whole stall of jewelry. On the third day, all the candied haws in the capital, and on the fourth day, Xiao Yu heard the Seventh Prince’s name everywhere, even the birds squawking his name! Fast forward to the tenth day, when he came with Fu Gu, Zhi Xia said her miss was sick. But Nan Heng brought medicine for every illness out there. Xiao Yu was confused because Nan Heng’s passionate pursuit was not in the script!

When Xiao Yu still didn’t want to see him, Nan Heng broke in to see her father! Song Yu De didn’t like Nan Heng. So, he said that his uncultured daughter was not a good match for the refined Nan Heng. He also mentioned that he would retire immediately, so he could not support Nan Heng politically. But most of all, of course, because Song Yi Meng had been engaged to Chu Gui Hong. Xiao Yu showed up, and she, too, sweetly refused Nan Heng, stating there was a misunderstanding because she was drunk.

Nan Heng excused himself, but he wanted Song Yi Meng to walk him out. After dismissing Fu Gui, Nan Heng held Xiao Yu’s hand again like she did in the royal garden last time. But Xiao Yu didn’t respond. When he said she controlled him, she realized that both of them were controlled by the script. Nan Heng threatened her with a knife, so Xiao Yu concocted a story that there was this Mr. Scriptwriter, a mysterious power from the ancient east, who knew everything and controlled everything. Xiao Yu said this scriptwriter gave her dreams about him, and she recounted several of Nan Heng’s life events. When he still didn’t believe her, finally, she mentioned the ancestral guide on a weapon forge method he wanted. He let her go and counted on her as his ally. However, Nan Heng didn’t believe the so-called Mr. Screenwriter and thought she was a spy.

Episode 4

Nan Heng made a plot to kill Song Yi Meng, since she knew his secret now. He deliberately spread the news to the prison, where Chu Gui Hong was imprisoned, that Nan Heng liked Song Yi Meng. Hearing this, Chu Gui Hong planned an escape, although his ally, Prince Nan Rui, told him that the Emperor would pardon him. Chu Gui Hong suspected that Nan Heng was behind the scheme that caused his war loss.

Nan Heng let Chu Gui Hong escape to trick him. Xiao tried to create a fake forge method, but failed. She tried to run away, but was taken away by Chu Gui Hong to the forest. Xiao Yu used the chance to ask about the weapon forge method guide. Chui Gui Hong didn’t want to disclose the secret to her. Nan Heng and his guards arrived. Clearly, he trapped Chu Gui Hong and Song Yi Meng. While Chu Gui Hong was fighting the guards, Nan Heng managed to get Xiao Yu and wanted to kill her, but no matter how hard he tried, he ended up losing control of his own body and rescuing her. He thought she used sorcery. Prince Nan Rui arrived to rescue Chu Gui Hong. Nan Heng mentioned the agreement between him and Song Yi Meng. Xiao Yu tried to keep the peace, thinking this was a script change, so she said it was just a misunderstanding. Nan Rui took Chu Gui Hong away, and Nan Heng took Xiao Yu to his mansion, called “Male Lead’s Mansion”. Fu Gui explained that when His Majesty bestowed the mansion to Nan Heng, the plaque was already there, hehe!

The Emperor issued an edict to release Chu Gui Hong, who then returned home. Meanwhile, at the male lead’s mansion, Xiao Yu was tied up and ready to be killed. Fu Gui prepared many weapons of choice, but somehow Nan Heng couldn’t bring himself to kill her. Next was the poisoned food. That, too, Nan Heng asked Fu Gui to prepare non-lethal poison, just in case it would backfire on him. Sure enough, when they forced Xiao Yu to swallow the poisoned food, Nan Heng took the poison instead, which caused a swollen mouth. Frustrated, Nan Heng asked Fu Gui to chain him in the room, and Fu Gui would throw Xiao Yu into the lake. Somehow, he could break the chain and jumped into the lake to rescue Xiao Yu with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Xiao Yu broke free from the kiss and pulled herself out.

Episode 5

When Nan Heng failed in every attempt to kill Xiao Yu, she was released. Xiao Yu realized that Nan Heng couldn’t kill her. On the way home, Xiao Yu bumped into Chu Gui Hong. She told him that Nan Heng wanted to kill her but failed. Chu Gui Hong gave her his aunt’s jade pendant as a token, since his aunt was the late empress. With it, Nan Heng wouldn’t dare to harm Song Yi Meng. He only asked for his fiancée to make him more scented pouches. Chu Gui Hong was so sweet that Xiao Yu thought how scriptwriters always create nice SMLs that the audience falls for.

During the morning court, Nan Rui proposed that Chu Gui Hong be reinstated as the commander of Qianyu Army. Nan Heng disagreed, believing that discussing this matter in court was an abuse of power, since Chu Gui Hong is part of the royal family. He requested that the Emperor summon Yao Qian, the investigating censor, as he had the memorials to prove Chu Gui Hong’s crimes. However, after they waited for a long time, Yao Qian didn’t show up. Emperor reinstated Chu Gui Hong’s position, plus became a Prefect for the Capital, Commander of the Army, and resumed leadership of the Qianyu Army. After the court session was over, Fu Gui reported that Yao Qian had been ambushed. Fu Gui continued that Song Yi Meng ran into Chu Gui Hong last night, and this morning her maid secretly visited the Chu Family. It was indeed Chu Gui Hong who did this.

Nan Heng visited Song Yi Meng. She hinted to him that she knew he couldn’t kill her. He threatened her that even though he couldn’t kill her, he would kill her maids, Ying Qiu and Zhi Xia, as the three grew up together and were like sisters. Xiao Yu then exposed the hidden arrows and asked him to undress and call her “Boss”. He undressed and threw his robe on Xiao Yu, so when the hidden arrows were triggered, he pulled her towards him. Next, she said she would undress, too. She exposed dynamite around her waist. He asked what she wanted, and she wanted to marry Chu Gui Hong.

Song Yu De instructed Chu Gui Hong to secretly investigate the Night Wanderers, a group of elite martial artists. Three years ago, a mysterious person gathered and trained them. Outside, they were the Waning River Crescent Guild that built a business network.

After talking to his future father-in-law, Chu Gui Hong visited Song Yi Meng. He was suspicious when he saw Fu Gui with the maids waiting outside. He guessed that Nan Heng was inside with Song Yi Meng. Nan Heng and Xiao Yu were quarreling inside, and they accidentally kissed again, for the third time! Nan Heng was so embarrassed, but Xiao Yu, being a modern woman, didn’t think much about it. He then threatened her that even if he couldn’t kill her, he would kill Chu Gui Hong. Give him the guide in two days, and then he will let her marry Chu Gui Hong. Nan Heng left from the back door, while Xiao Yu met Chu Gui Hong at the front door.

Episode 6

Apparently, Waning River Crescent Guild and the Night Wanderers had something to do with Nan Heng. After this, I will replace “Waning River Crescent Guild” with its Chinese name Canjiangyue, because the first name is so damn long.

Xiao Yu still couldn’t find the guide, so she wanted a blacksmith to forge the steel. But no blacksmith dared to do it. They mentioned Canjiangyue, that could be access through a black market. There, Xiao Yu and Ying Qiu were directed to meet the Third Master of Canjiangyue, Po Yun Long. He showed them the way by riding a boat to the mysterious Canjiangyue Hall. Li Shi Liu got a tip that Chu Gui Hong and his Qianyu Army had sneaked into Canjiangyue. They were investigating the Night Wanderers and Canjiangyue. He met his second-in-command, the Second Master of Canjiangyue, Shang Guan He. Shang Guan He was instructed to deal with Song Yi Meng, while Li Shi Liu would deal with Chu Gui Hong. Li Shi Liu warned Shang Guan He that he couldn’t underestimate Song Yi Meng. Shang Guan He secretly helped Xiao Yu win all the dice games.

Chu Gui Hong and his guards entered Canjiangyue and were intercepted by Li Shi Liu. Their fighting scene was awesome, but Li Shi Liu fought Chu Gui Hong just to test Chu Gui Hong’s secret weapons. When Chu Gui Hong was injured, he retreated.

After a big win from gambling, Xiao Yu and Ying Qiu ended up saving a mute dancer who was traded illegally. They were chased by the buyer of the dancer and his men. When Xiao Yu was attacked, suddenly Li Shi Liu appeared, blocking the blow. Shang Guan He, Po Yu Long, and Duan Shan Hu, the Fourth Master of Canjiangyue, were hiding to seek a chance to kill Song Yi Meng and were confused by the sudden change of the plan. Li Shi Liu was Nan Heng all along. No matter how badly he wanted the merchant and the three masters of Canjiangyue to kill Song Yi Meng, he ended up blocking all the attacks.

The First, the Third, the Fourth, and the Second Masters of Canjiangyue

Xiao Yu was starstruck by her knight in disguise. She ended up chasing him and stopping him from flying away to thank him and ask questions about him. The other masters ran away and hid, lol! Shang Guan He tested his boss by throwing some secret weapons at Song Yi Meng, and Li Shi Liu blocked all. He then showed up to welcome Song Yi Meng. While Duan Shan Hu welcomed Xiao Yu by asking her to fill out the super-long customer registration, which looked more like a matchmaking form, Shang Guan He spoke with their boss. He already suspected that their boss couldn’t kill Song Yi Meng himself. Shang Guan He was the only Night Wanderer who knew Li Shi Liu’s real identity as Nan Heng. He also knew Nan Heng wanted the weapon forge secret from Chu Gui Hong through Song Yi Meng. He advised his boss to get close to Song Yi Meng. She might be afraid of the cold and ruthless Nan Heng, but she was starstruck by her savior, Li Shi Liu. Li Shi Liu had to take that opportunity. Therefore, Shang Guan He insisted that Li Shi Liu escort Song Yi Meng back home.

Episode 7

At home, Nan Heng was angry with all Song Yi Meng’s accusations against him. It seems the script was completely changed at this moment. Xiao Yu didn’t have any knowledge about Li Shi Liu, Canjiangyue, the masters, and the Night Wanderers. In this case, all Xiao Yu knew about Nan Heng was from the original script, and anything about Nan Heng and all that happened in this world seemed different.

After what happened in Canjiangyue, three groups hatched their plans:

Nan Heng called Fu Gui and Shang Guan He to discuss their next approach to get the weapon forge secret. Fu Gui and Shang Guan He argued in front of their boss whether Li Shi Liu should get close to Song Yi Meng to get the weapon forge secret from Chu Gui Hong. Fu Gui thought it was very risky, since Song Yi Meng was cunning, she would find out that Li Shi Liu was Nan Heng. Shang Guan He challenged that there was no other way. Besides, if Li Shi Liu could befriend Song Yi Meng, it would cause a rift between her and her fiancé.

Xiao Yu told Zhi Xia and Ying Qiu about her heroic meeting with Li Shi Liu. Apparently, that man was a celebrity in the Capital. A heartthrob for the women, the most eligible bachelor. There was even a biography of his heroic deeds. Xiao Yu was surprised she completely ignored a supporting character who was this famous. Knowing that Li Shi Liu built Canjiangyue to accept the homeless and victims of war, Xiao Yu thought that Li Shi Liu hated Nan Heng because he caused the war. She wanted to get close to Li Shi Liu to go against Nan Heng.

Nan Rui visited the injured Chu Gui. The latter was suspicious that Li Shi Liu was Nan Heng’s man. He asked Nan Rui to help him test his theory. Nan Rui sent Nan Heng a letter, asking him to meet at Canjiangyue, while Chu Gui Hong would disguise himself as Li Shi Liu and appear before the two of them to test Nan Heng’s reaction.

The operation to win Song Yi Meng’s heart began. Shang Guan He wrote a letter to Song Yi Meng as Li Shi Liu. It was so cheesy, so Xiao Yu advised him not to read cheap novels. Next, Duan Shan Hu summoned the Night Wanderers to print and publish a biography on Li Shi Liu. Of course, the story was created by Shang Guan He to create a handsome, strong, yet miserable hero! It was very dramatic that Xiao Yu cried reading it, and I cried, too, from laughing, LMAO!

Having had enough of Shang Guan He’s nonsense, Nan Heng sent Song Yi Meng a letter, inviting her to Canjiangyue to chat. Xiao Yu sent him a box of pear pastries as a reply. Meanwhile, Nan Heng also agreed to meet his half-brother Nan Rui to swap their signature weapons. While Nan Rui was meeting Nan Heng, Chu Gui Hong put his guards in Canjiangyue. He disguised himself as Li Shi Liu. Xiao Yu also visited Li Shi Liu in Canjiangyue with food. She and Chu Gui Hong ended up meeting, but of course, she mistook him for Li Shi Liu. Seeing how familiar his fiancée to the hero, Chu Gui Hong was sad that she might have an affair with Li Shi Liu. Meanwhile, ‘Li Shi Liu’ didn’t appear in front of Nan Rui and Nan Heng, so Nan Rui left. Nan Heng quickly disguised as Li Shi Liu and met Xiao Yu, almost bumped into the fake one, who quickly hid himself to hear the convo between his fiancée and the hero. Li Shi Liu asked what Song Yi Meng wanted.

Xiao Yu knew from the script plot that Nan Heng would set fire during the Lantern Festival. She wanted to work with Li Shi Liu to stop Nan Heng. Chu Gui Hong, in his hiding place, was surprised that his fiancée wanted to work together with the hero to be on his side. Actually, Nan Heng met his uncle four hours earlier. Chancellor Gao was suspicious that Chu Gui Hong wanted to have more control, so he needed an achievement. Uncle suspected that Chu Gui Hong would stir up chaos during the Lantern Festival and came up as a hero to save the capital. Now Nan Heng believed that Chu Gui Hong and Song Yi Meng wanted to frame him.

Episode 8

Xiao Yu, knowing the script, mentioned the Royal Autumn Hunt sixteen years ago that caused the death of Empress Chu Yu Rong. In the script, Nan Heng caused it. In this world, the Emperor blamed him, but the truth was, Nan Heng was locked up and starved. Nan Heng and Chu Gui Hong used to be friends, but because of the incident, they became enemies. Nan Heng let him be misunderstood as cold and ruthless, and rather focused on the battlefield.

Li Shi Liu refused to work with Song Yi Meng and Chu Gui Hong. He left, and Chu Gui Hong suddenly made noise in his hiding place. He was discovered and jumped out of the window. Xiao Yu was shocked to see two Li Shi Lius, and they were fighting. Shang Guan He calmly told Xiao Yu, the one who won was the real Li Shi Liu. Sure enough, Li Shi Liu managed to take off the fake one’s mask. Chu Gui Hong wanted to stab Li Shi Liu, but Xiao Yu blocked his sword. Li Shi Liu had to pull her back into his embrace or she would be stabbed. Shang Guan He, Po Yu Long, and Duan Shan Hu joined their boss, ready to fight. The scene was so cool that I had to screenshot it!

Xiao Yu didn’t want any conflict between Chu Gui Hong and Li Shi Liu. Chu Gui Hong wanted to see Li Shi Liu’s true face, but the latter lied that his face was disfigured. Chu Gui Hong wanted proof of Li Shi Liu’s innocence, that he was not on Nan Heng’s side. Xiao Yu didn’t believe Li Shi Liu was Nan Heng’s lackey, so Chu Gui Hong was willing to trust Li Shi Liu.

Shang Guan He had a chance to release Li Shi Liu from Song Yi Meng because his boss needed to change back to Nan Heng. Shang Guan He set up a banquet for Nan Rui, Chu Gui Hong, and his boss, and created a little mishap to switch Chu Gui Hong’s famous sword. Later, when the banquet was over, he changed back to Li Shi Liu to meet Song Yi Meng. Xiao Yu handed him a rabbit mask for the Lantern Festival. Jealous Chu Gui Hong pulled her away to go home.

The next day, during morning court, Chu Gui Hong was appointed by the Emperor to supervise the Lantern Festival. Yao Qian, the investigating censor, protested. He was punished and demoted by the Emperor. The news reached Xiao Yu, but she was surprised she had never read about it in the script and wondered if the script had changed.

While having a sweet time with Chu Gui Hong, Xiao Yu asked if he was willing to give up his official position in the court when everything was over. Chu Gui Hong hesitated to answer. Suddenly, Zhi Xia ran in with the news that the Qianyu Army had been injured after being bombed by the bandits. Chu Gui Hong believed it was the work of Nan Heng. Xiao Yu couldn’t wait any longer and ran to Canjiangyue to find Li Shi Liu. There, Nan Heng was interrogating the culprit who attacked and tortured Yao Qian to reveal the mastermind. She demanded that Li Shi Liu work together, and she had already made a plan to kill Nan Heng. Upon learning that the Qianyu Army was ambushed and Song Yi Meng accused Nan Heng, Li Shi Liu asked if she had ever verified all the accusations. Xiao Yu didn’t care and even threatened him that she would report the incident with the dancer to her father and Chu Gui Hong, even though Canjiangyue didn’t organize the illegal trade.

Episode 9

We found out in this episode that Chancellor Gao was the one who injured the Qianyu Army. Nan Heng was dissatisfied and would have dealt with his uncle long ago if it weren’t for the Empress Dowager.

Li Shi Liu asked Song Yi Meng to bring a detailed plan to Canjiangyue, but her jealous fiancé saw her running to Canjiangyue, so he rushed to the place, too. The guys confronted each other again, so Xiao Yu intervened with her detailed plan to assassinate Nan Heng. After a lot of arguing and imagining (we saw the reenactment of their plans), they agreed to Li Shi Liu’s plan. Xiao Yu wanted to do the team hands-stack, but neither Chu Gui Hong nor Li Shi Liu knew how to do it.

Song Yi Meng was supposed to hide a secret dart inside her hairpin for the assassination. But accidentally, she tripped on her archenemy Jia Ru Ru. Jia Ru Ru was angry and snatched her hairpin. During their struggle, they accidentally triggered the secret weapon mechanism, and the dart flew through and hit Nan Rui’s wine cup. Nan Rui shouted, “Assassin!”. Xiao Yu was brought forward for interrogation, but Nan Heng stepped in to save Xiao Yu and took her away.

The two walked down the street, each with their own ulterior motives. Xiao Yu didn’t know how to take him to the Jade River for her plan, while Nan Heng was thinking about how to make her guide him to the Jade River. An old lantern seller sold them lanterns and told them to release the lanterns in the Jade River. Since Nan Heng didn’t want to make wishes, he gave his lantern to a child.

Episode 10

What happened in this episode was hilariously a big mess in their failed assassination plan.

As per Nan Heng’s order, Shang Guan He disguised himself as Li Shi Liu and showed up in front of Chu Gui Hong, so the latter would not suspect that Nan Heng was Li Shi Liu. However, his speech and mannerisms gave him away, so the suspicious Chu Gui Hong attacked him. Shang Guan He was no match for Chu Gui Hong, so he ran away injured, chased by Chu Gui Hong.

Xiao Yu took Nan Heng to the Jade River to make a wish. Although Nan Heng didn’t believe such superstitious things, he told Song Yi Meng he would grant her wish as long as she helped him find the secret forge method. But Xiao Yu wished for a perfect life partner, haha! Suddenly, fireworks lit up the sky, and the people were immersed in happiness. Xiao Yu pulled Nan Heng to watch the fireworks and drink wine on a boat. According to the prearranged plan, Duan Shan Hu, disguised as a waiter together with Po Yun Long, deliberately knocked over a wine cup onto her so she could excuse herself to leave. Nan Heng let her do the plan. However, just when Xiao Yu was about to leave, suddenly the fake Li Shi Liu fell onto the deck where they were, followed by Chu Gui Hong, who chased him. The plan was that after she left, Li Shi Liu would kill Nan Heng. But this fake Li Shi Liu just lay there, injured.

Now that the grand plan had failed, Nan Heng pretended that he was angry because his ‘date’ with Song Yi Meng was interrupted. Chu Gui Hong said that this person was a thief. Nan Heng mocked Chu Gui Hong’s incompetence and wanted to take the ‘thief’ away for interrogation. Xiao Yu intervened, begging Nan Heng to release the injured thief. Chu Gui Hong disagreed, wanting to take the ‘thief’ to the prefecture office to interrogate him. Nan Heng agreed with Chu Gui Hong but wanted to take the ‘thief.’ Suddenly Duan Shan Hu, the ‘waiter,’ chimed in, coaxing Xiao Yu to insist on releasing ‘his master’ (he didn’t know that was a fake Li Shi Liu), since Chu Gui Hong cannot be trusted. Seeing the disagreement between Chu Gui Hong and Song Yi Meng, Nan Heng gave an eye signal to Shang Guan He. Shang Guan He suddenly jumped and took Nan Heng as ‘hostage.’ He whispered to Nan Heng to cover him while he jumped off the boat. But the other ‘waiter,’ Po Yun Long, summarized that everyone here was their people, BUT Nan Heng (he also didn’t know Nan Heng was their boss). Might as well have everyone attack the enemy, right? Duan Shan Hu and Po Yun Long rushed towards Nan Heng, but Nan Heng right away exchanged the hostage situation, and now Li Shi Liu was under Nan Heng’s hostage. Chu Gui Hong challenged Nan Heng to execute Li Shi Liu on the spot. Xiao Yu begged Nan Heng to release Li Shi Liu. Nan Heng used the disagreement between the two to accuse Chu Gui Hong of attempting to kill him.

This hilarious, murky situation became even murkier when the Xuanjia Army, led by Fu Gui, and the Qianyu Army, led by Rong Hua, tried to outdo each other, rushing to the scene. Nan Heng and Shang Guan He used the crowd to cause chaos. Shang Guan He pushed Nan Heng and ran away. Both armies immediately clashed with each other. However, Xiao Yu immediately pulled Li Shi Liu’s hand and ran away with him. She released him in a safe place so Li Shi Liu could escape.

Then it dawned on Xiao Yu that since Li Shi Liu failed to assassinate Nan Heng, the fire, according to the script, would happen. Xiao Yu ran towards the place where the fire supposedly happened. On the way, she bumped into her fiancé, but she no longer cared about him; together, she and Mr. Li would change the world, lol. Xiao Yu went to every stall with fire and put all the fires out, hahaha!

Meanwhile, Nan Heng, after reprimanding Chu Gui Hong to explain the incident, changed into Li Shi Liu. Shang Guan He, who finally escaped from Song Yi Meng, asked why Nan Heng did it. Nan Heng was contemplating what Song Yi Meng said about the fire. He wondered, since the Emperor would blame Chu Gui Hong, who was responsible for the security of the Lantern Festival, then who would benefit from the fire?

Would the fire actually happen, just like the script said? Yes. Who caused it? We could say Nan Heng caused it indirectly. Yao Qian, the former investigating censor who was demoted by the emperor, was drunk in sorrow, lamenting his bad life. He fell onto the ground and bumped into a merchant, who bumped into a boy with the lantern. That was the boy whom Nan Heng gave the lantern to. The lantern fell onto a puddle of oil and caused a huge fire. Xiao Yu was busy helping and saving people left and right, and nearly lost her life if Li Shi Liu had not rushed out to save her from the fire.

Another drunk person started the fire! It was Prince Nan Rui, who was drunk after being rejected by Song Yi Ting, Song Yi Meng’s half-sister. He casually tossed a spark over close to the warehouse full of fireworks, resulting in another explosion in the city, causing houses to burn down and collapse.

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Conclusion

How would this odd love quadrangle between Nan Heng split Li Shi Liu, Song Yi Meng aka Xiao Yu (two different personalities) and Chu Gui Hong continue? See when the collision between the script and the dream gets messier in the second part: A Dream Within A Dream: Drama Recap Episodes 11 to 20!