A Dream Within A Dream: Drama Recap Episodes 21 to 30

Table of Contents

Introduction

In the second part, A Dream Within A Dream: Drama Recap Episodes 11 to 20, a few more characters were involved in the Nan Heng – Song Yi Meng – Li Shi Liu ‘love triangle’. In this part, eventually, Li Shi Liu’s hidden identity was revealed.

For this reason, too, I used Nan Heng/Li Shi Liu’s poster as the featured image as my remembrance of Li Shi Liu. After Nan Heng revealed to the world that he was Li Shi Liu, Li Shi Liu did not appear anymore. Which was quite sad, because Li Shi Liu was an enigmatic and charismatic character. He was down-to-earth and sensible person, because he dealt with commoners. Nan Heng, on the contradictory, was a prince and feared by people. He had a bad reputation of being arrogant and ruthless, and although that was a facade, he maintained it that way. No wonder, a lot of us didn’t like him in the beginning.

Recap Episodes 21 to 30

Episode 21

This is a filler episode, imo. So, let me summarize it:

Nan Heng found out that Chu Gui Hong’s sword was lost, and Song Yi Ting took it as leverage. He demanded that Shang Guan He get it back and promised he wouldn’t harm Yi Ting. Nan Heng easily guessed that his subordinate took a liking to Yi Ting, although the second master denied it.

Shang Guan He secretly watched Yi Ting, including her moment of heartbreak and when the noble girls bullied her. FYI, Yi Ting was not noble because she was Song Yi De’s daughter from a concubine. The noble girls gossiped that she wanted to climb the social ladder by marrying noblemen and even royal princes. But Yi Ting didn’t care about all of that. Shang Guan He, disguised as Li Shi Liu, avenged her. Yi Ting saw that Li Shi Liu cared about her, but he was wishy washy and they ended up arguing. Yi Ting asked Li Shi Liu to meet again to return her paintings and she would return the sword. Prince Nan Rui, who liked Yi Ting, saw them and was jealous.

Nan Heng asked Song Yi Meng about her sister on behalf of Shang Guan He. But Xiao Yu misunderstood that Nan Heng was concerned about Yi Ting. Xiao Yu asked Li Shi Liu (the real one) to help her with her sister’s case because she was afraid that Nan Heng would take advantage of her sister. Nan Heng advised Shang Guan He to just tell the truth to the girl he liked to avoid hurting more people. It was true because Yi Ting’s mother, Zhou Xue Yi, was angry at her daughter to the point of punishing Yi Ting’s maid and slapping her daughter. Xiao Yu advised her sister not to like Nan Heng without mentioning his name. Yi Ting thought that the man Song Yi Meng advised her against was Li Shi Liu, so the two argued.

What a mess!

Episode 22

More mess!

The scriptwriter made this Song Yi Meng-Nan Heng-Li Shi Liu/Shang Guan He-Song Yi Ting love square messier by adding the ultimate villain, Chu Gui Hong, into the square. We already knew that Chu Gui Hong admitted defeat from the love triangle to Nan Heng when the latter accepted the punishment for his future father-in-law. However, Chu Gui Hong kept probing about the Canjiangyue Guild and found out that Shang Guan He was a criminal in the past. Chu Gui Hong went to capture Shang Guan He at Canjiangyue Hall, which led to a standoff between the Night Wanderers and the Qianyu army. Shang Guan He voluntarily went with Chu Gui Hong, asking Nan Heng to help convey his message to Yi Ting.

Nan Heng, disguised as Li Shi Liu, went to meet Yi Ting, bringing the paintings to exchange for the sword. Yi Ting was completely obsessed with Li Shi Liu, determined to have him no matter what. Li Shi Liu didn’t know how to respond and asked her to wait, but she was unwilling to wait. Yi Ting poisoned Li Shi Liu, so he couldn’t move and wanted to take off his clothes. Li Shi Liu injured himself to wake himself up, since Yi Ting was about to take off her clothes and destroy her reputation and future. Li Shi Liu let Yi Ting take off his mask. Yi Ying was shocked when she saw that Liu Shi Liu was Nan Heng!

Meanwhile, after Xiao Yu analyzed the plot development between Nan Heng and Yi Ting, she decided to stop the affair scene. Especially after Yi Ting’s maid, Yin Zhu, begged her to save her miss, stating that Yi Ting was planning to elope with a man. Xiao Yu ran to Canjiangyue, asking for help from Li Shi Liu. Since Li Shi Liu was not at Canjiangyue, Xiao Yu asked Chu Gui Hong for help and went to the abandoned house where Yi Ting was supposed to meet with the man she wanted to elope with. They tried to break down the door to enter. Hearing the commotion, Nan Heng knocked Yi Ting unconscious and hid his disguise. He was afraid that if Song Yi Meng saw Li Shi Liu with Yi Ting, she wouldn’t want to see him anymore. Xiao Yu, Chu Gui Hong, and his army found Yi Ting lying on Nan Heng. When Xiao Yu saw the same ‘cheating scene,’ she misunderstood Nan Heng again, although the latter lied that Yi Ting fainted after encountering bandits.

Everyone was angry at Nan Heng and misunderstood him, poor guy! Nan Heng sent his Xuanjia Army to surround the Song Mansion and didn’t allow anyone to see Yi Ting. He waited for Yi Ting to wake up at her residence and explained who Li Shi Liu actually was and who was the one she had met. They negotiated and reached a mutual agreement to temporarily keep each other’s secret. However, Yi Ting declared that Nan Heng should marry only Song Yi Meng, not her. Yi Ting also found out that the Li Shi Liu she met all the time was always Shang Guan He. Although she despised him, now that he was imprisoned, she urged Nan Heng to rescue Shang Guan He.

Earlier, Shang Guan He escaped from the prison but was captured again when he heard that Yi Ting was in trouble and wanted to rescue her. After the ‘cheating scene,’ Chu Gui Hong suspected that Canjiangyue was connected to Nan Heng. Although being severely tortured, Shang Guan He still lied that the forces behind the Canjiangyue Guild were Prince Nan Rui. Chu Gui Hong didn’t believe him and set up traps to see if Nan Heng would rescue Shang Guan He. After leaving the Song Mansion, Nan Heng went to prison to see Shang Guan He. Chu Guihong claimed that the messed-up man in front of Nan Heng was Shang Guan He. However, suddenly someone broke into the prison, injured Nan Heng, and took away the disheveled person. Nan Heng was injured, but Chu Gui Hong thought Nan Heng orchestrated the prison break.

Episode 23

It was indeed Nan Heng who orchestrated the prison break. He knew Chu Gui Hong was dying to frame the Night Wanderers, so he hired thugs to break into the prison through a child who gave them money. Meanwhile, he ordered the Night Wanderers to leave Canjiangyue, so when the Qianyu Army arrived at the place to arrest the Night Wanderers, the place was already empty.

Xiao Yu wanted to see her sister, but Yi Ting didn’t want to see anyone and would only meet Nan Heng. Their father blamed Nan Heng, but Xiao Yu declared that she wouldn’t let him harm her sister. The emperor disguised himself to see Song Yi Meng and asked her to testify against Nan Heng. She knew that the emperor hated his son, but she hesitated about whether she should inform His Majesty about Nan Heng’s ambition to get the secret weapon-forging method or not. Xiao Yu asked for an imperial decree. The emperor assumed that she wanted to stay as Nan Heng’s primary consort, told her that he had already sent an order to marry Nan Heng and make her sister a concubine, and had Song Yu De resign and accompany them to the fief. Xiao Yu quickly refused, stating that the imperial edict she sought was to annul the marriage, as she did not want any ties with Nan Hang. When asked her reason, Xiao Yu said that only by annulling the marriage could Nan Heng be prevented from bringing the Ministry of War’s influence under his control. The emperor agreed and gave her a divorce decree.

With it, Xiao Yu went to see Nan Heng. He angrily threw the divorce decree away and asked her why she didn’t trust him. Xiao Yu accused him of just scheming to win over the Song family. Nan Heng, disappointed, said that he had been wronged despite his sincere efforts and that she didn’t understand him at all. Xiao Yu admitted that she approached him only to kill him, and she would never believe him. Nan Heng listened, heartbroken and in tears, watching Song Yi Meng walk away.

Yi Ting was very angry at her sister when she heard that Song Yi Meng had gotten a divorce decree from the emperor. Xiao Yu argued that the decree was also to save Yi Ting from becoming Nan Heng’s concubine because he was ruthless. Although Yi Ting was bound to her promise to Nan Heng not to disclose that he was Li Shi Liu, Yi Ting revealed to her sister that the man she loved was Shang Guan He and not Nan Heng, what happened at the abandoned house was a misunderstanding, and Song Yi Meng was SO stupid that she didn’t know who Li Shi Liu and Nan Heng were despite having spent a lot of time with them. Xiao Yu returned to her room and did a lot of thinking. Finally, it dawned on her that Nan Heng and Li Shi Liu were the same person!!! A big DUH…

Xiao Yu was so shocked that the script NEVER changed. The man she loved in the original script and the current script has always been Nan Heng…

Although the Qianyu Army couldn’t capture the Night Wanderers at the Canjiangyue Hall, Chu Gui Hong didn’t let them go and started posting search warrants everywhere to capture them. They went into hiding, and Nan Heng secretly came to see them and disbanded the Night Wanderers. Po Yun Long, Duan Shan Hu, and the remaining members disagreed and insisted on staying with him. Nan Heng took off his mask and was deliberately harsh to them to make them leave. He returned to Canjiangyue Hall alone, drank to his sorrow, and remembered his past with the Night Wanderers. He was unaware that Xiao Yu had arrived at Canjiangyue Hall to test him. She stabbed herself, knowing that if she got hurt, the script would make the male lead rescue her. Sensing danger, Nan Heng rushed over without putting his mask on and was face-to-face with Xiao Yu!

Episode 24

Although Xiao Yu already suspected that Li Shi Liu was Nan Heng, she was still shocked seeing Li Shi Liu without the mask. Nan Heng apologized. Xiao Yu said that believed Nan Heng had ulterior motives for getting close to her as Li Shi Liu. She expressed that she genuinely cared for Li Shi Liu, but didn’t expect to be deceived. When Xiao Yu wanted to leave, Nan Heng held her hand and Xiao Yu had to stab him to let her go. Duh, this is another Chinese drama trope that the female lead stabbed the male lead…

After Xiao Yu left, Nan Heng’s uncle, Gao Chang Yin, came over. He asked how long his nephew would keep this disguise a secret. Nan Heng knew that his uncle had embezzled disaster relief funds back then. He had also warned his uncle. For the sake of his mother, who was Gao Chang Yin’s sister, Nan Heng concealed his uncle’s corruption. Uncle and nephew ended up arguing.

Chu Gui Hong asked Song Yi Meng on how to find Li Shi Liu. He believed that Canjiangyue was a part of Nan Heng’s faction. They ended up arguing, especially Chu Gui Hong targeted innocent Canjiangyue members. They had helped the Qianyu army and saved him. Chu Gui Hong blamed Song Yi Meng, because of her feeling to Li Shi Liu, he was forced to become the bad guy.

The Canjiangyue’s case reached the emperor’s ears. Chu Gui Hong claimed to have captured Shang Guan He from the illegal guild Canjiangyue, that Nan Heng was colluding with Canjiangyue and had tampered with evidence three years ago during a case. He demanded the sealing of Nan Heng’s residence. Nan Heng submitted a memorial, stating that it was Chu Gui Hong who colluded with the people from Canjiangyue, mentioning the assassination attempt on him during the Lantern Festival. Chu Guihong, knowing he was in the wrong, explained that he was only investigating the case at that time. The two were mutually accusing each other, and the emperor intervened, ordering the immediate handling of Shang Guan He. Nan Heng’s uncle supported His Majesty and suggested that Nan Hang be appointed as the execution supervisor!

When Yi Ting found out that Shang Guan He would be executed the next day, she asked Song Yi Meng to help her rescuing her lover. Xiao Yu believed they should first investigate Shang Guan He’s old case to clear his name. Since they couldn’t ask help from Nan Heng, Chu Gui Hong, or their dad, they asked Po Yun Long and Duan Shan Hu for help. Yi Ting reminded her sister that digging up the old case would make her Nan Heng’s enemy but Xiao Yu didn’t care.

Shang Guan He was brought to the execution ground, and even Fu Gui, Shang Guan He’s arch enemy showed reluctance. Gao Chang Yin reminded his nephew not to hinder the execution, threatening him with his own life. Nan Heng wanted to delay the execution to allow his Xuanjia Army to ambush underground, creating chaos and waiting for the right moment to act. But just as the execution was about to take place, Shang Guan He requested to drink the execution wine. Gao Chang Yin urged the execution to proceed, but the Night Wanderers suddenly appeared, surrounding the execution ground. YAY!!!

Episode 25

Chu Gui Hong ordered his Qianyu Army to fight and kill the Night Wanderers. Seeing this, Nan Heng immediately summoned his Xuanjia Army to counter. The Song sisters rushed over to stop them and asked Chu Gui Hong if he had thoroughly investigated the case. Chu Guihong explained that the case files were damaged, and they only had the final verdict documents. Yi Ting sarcastically criticized him for being hypocritical and having ulterior motives. The sisters stayed up all night to research and finally uncovered the truth of the case. However, Chu Gui Hong had ample time and means to investigate Xiao Yu, and Yi Ting showed them the joint petition, which was signed by the people rescued by Shang Guan He. They earnestly requested the Jingzhao Prefecture to distinguish right from wrong and not to wrong their benefactor. Chu Gui Hong was puzzled, and Xiao Yu pointed the finger at Nan Heng and Gao Chang Yin. Three years ago, during a flood, Shang Guan He discovered that the court’s disaster relief funds had been embezzled. He stole the money and redistributed it to help the people. He was then caught by Nan Heng, who investigated the theft. Nan Heng covered for his uncle, who was involved in the embezzlement, but also secretly rescued Shang Guan He and the others. Xiao Yu stated that Chu Gui Hong should be investigating the Gao family instead of the Night Wanderers. Chu Gui Hong was taken aback and didn’t know how to respond. Nan Hang suggested that they first detain the Night Wanderers and report to the emperor after the matter was clarified.

When Xiao Yu left, Nan Heng stopped her, wanting to explain. Xiao Yu believed that he should explain to the Night Wanderers instead of her. He established Canjiangyue out of guilt to help people who were victims of his uncle. Nan Heng had made up his mind; he wanted to set everything back on the right track. He warned Chu Gui Hong that if any of the Night Wanderers were harmed, he would hold Chu Gui Hong accountable.

During the court session, while waiting for Nan Heng, Nan Rui and the officials discussed what had happened yesterday. They believed Nan Heng should be held accountable. Nan Heng suddenly entered and submitted the Jiangnan case files. The emperor asked Nan Heng how to deal with Gao Chang Yin, and Nan Heng answered that, according to the law, his uncle could be exiled. Chu Gui Hong accused Nan Heng of wanting to use this way to clear his name. Nan Heng knelt and confessed that he invented Canjiangyue, and he was also the leader, Li Shi Liu. Nan Heng listed his own punishment: 20 lashes for trusting the wrong person (Gao Chang Yin), 20 lashes for harboring martial artists illegally, and 20 lashes for crashing the execution ground. In addition, he would be stripped of his royal status. He only wanted to keep leading the Xuanjian Army to support the kingdom.

Song Yu De supported Nan Heng’s decision and added that the embezzlement incident was Gao Chang Yin’s fault, not Nan Heng’s. Yesterday’s prisoner, Shang Guan He, was wrongly convicted. As for the Night Wanderers, they didn’t do anything illegal but benefited the public. The Minister of Justice, therefore, stated that the punishment according to the law was as Nan Heng stated.

Song Yu De saw through Nan Heng’s character and watched Nan Heng receive 60 lashes. Afterwards, Chu Gui Hong looked for Song Yu De and asked him why he spoke up for Nan Heng. Song Yu De believed that if Chu Gui Hong pursued the matter further, it would implicate his daughter, while Nan Heng took the blame himself and quelled national trouble. Song Yu De advised Chu Gui Hong to stop pursuing his daughter, since she didn’t have a feeling for Chu Gui Hong.

Xiao Yu realized that she was too focused on the script, and things that should have happened didn’t happen. Now she would look around her, starting with her family. Xiao Yu specially prepared a sumptuous dinner for her family, bringing everyone together to speak their minds. She expressed her views on each person, cleared up the misunderstanding with her stepmother Zhou Xue Yi, and the whole family enjoyed a harmonious evening.

Episode 26

Xiao Yu decided to leave for Jiangnan to get away from everything. Nang Heng sneaked in and apologized again. She was still angry, so she pushed him away, unaware that he was still injured. When she saw blood on her hands she was upset. She ran after Nan Heng, but he was gone.

Gao Chang Yin was sent to exile. Before that, his sister Gao Chang Rong pleaded to His Majesty to spare his life. She even said she was willing to give up her royal title, but the emperor didn’t care. All he care was for Nan Heng to give up the Xuanjia Army. Before Gao Chang Yin left, Chu Gui Hong stopped him at the gate and asked about the Pingrong War when he asked Nan Heng to help him. Gao Chang Yin admitted that he saw the letter, but didn’t want to say what happened to the letter. On the way to the exile, his cart blew up. Chu Gui Hong inspected the explosion site and believed it was the work of Nan Heng.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yu left the Capital and was ambushed on the way to Jiangnan, just as the script said. But in the script, it was Nan Heng’s plot to kill her. In this case, Nan Heng came to rescue her, but he was outnumbered due to his injury. They ran to the cliff. Xiao Yu urged them to jump, because in this world if they jump they wouldn’t die, lol. When Nan Heng didn’t believe her, she pushed him and they jumped together. They landed safely on the ground but Nan Heng passed out. She gave him the mandatory mouth-to-mouth respiration and shooked him angrily since she hadn’t forgiven him yet. Finally, he woke up.

Episode 27

After they found a safe place and set up the fire, they waited for Fu Gui to rescue them. Nan Heng confessed his love again. Xiao Yu said he wanted to kill her in the beginning. Nan Heng admitted that after the Lantern Festival (when he saw her rescuing the fake Li Shi Liu), he fell in love with her and no longer wanted to kill her. He didn’t understand why Song Yi Meng cared about Li Shi Liu but regarded Nan Heng as a bad person. Xiao Yu covered her tears and said that the two of them could not have a happy ending. Nan Heng didn’t know what Song Yi Meng was worried about. He believed that fate was in his own hands and could be obtained through his own efforts.

What Xiao Yu is worried about is that when Nan Heng gets everything, the Song family will suffer. She said that her family died in a fire. Now, she didn’t want her family to die. She couldn’t control what happened, but she could only control her heart not to fall for him. Nan Heng couldn’t understand what she was saying, thinking she was looking for an excuse to refuse him, and asked her why she still saved her. Could she really control her heart?

Nan Heng and Xiao Yu were interrupted by the search party, and Song Yi Meng was sent home. When Song Yu De learned that his daughter had been hunted down, he didn’t allow her to go to Jiangnan, not even to get out of the mansion. Yi Ting begged Nan Heng to find the assassins ASAP.

Nan Heng found out about the explosion, and the situation wasn’t good for him since people suspected he had killed his uncle.

Shang Guan He and the Night Wanderers were released from prison. Yi Ting and her maid were waiting for Shang Guan He. He was taken to the Song Mansion, and Yi Ting applied medicine on him and told him to meet her parents later, since someone had to take responsibility for what happened to her in the abandoned house last time. Her reputation was ruined because of Shang Guan He. Since she didn’t want to marry Nan Heng, Shang Guan He had to marry her, haha!

Nang Heng and Fu Gui happened to see Shang Guan He and Yi Ting in an intimate position, haha (because she pulled him when he tried to run away). So, he tasked him to stay in the Song mansion to keep an eye on Song Yi Meng. He believed his uncle didn’t die and orchestrated the attack on Song Yi Meng. Moreover, there were spies in his Xuanjia Army.

Yi Ting took advantage of Shang Guan He being at her home by employing him to be her companion in whatever she did. Not to sell his body, but his skill!

Episode 28

Nan Heng’s situation, furthermore, was unfavorable, since Chu Gui Hong found the former scout of his army who said that he was forced by Nan Heng. The scout deliberately told the eve of the Battle of Pingrong that Nan Heng didn’t want to rescue the Qianyu Army for his own military merits. Chu Gui Hong was so angry and didn’t even heed Nan Rui’s advice to investigate this matter thoroughly, since the sudden appearance of the scout was somewhat suspicious. Chu Gui Hong and the scout planned to meet in the forest at midnight, but he was killed. Po Yun Long and Duan Shan Hu, who investigated the attackers of Song Yi Meng, tracked the bandits down to the same forest and were caught by Chu Gui Hong, who believed that Nan Heng had ordered them to silence the scout.

An unlikely hero showed up; that was Prince Nan Rui. He started to become worried about his cousin Chu Gui Hong because he was obsessed with Nan Heng’s downfall beyond reason. In Nan Rui’s eyes, Chu Gui Hong became terrifying; he was no longer the same as before. Luckily, Nan Rui had his loyal aide by his side, Ji Xiang. Ji Xiang advised him to do whatever he wanted to do.

Nan Heng’s suspicion that Gao Chang Yin orchestrated his death was true. We saw in the outskirt countryside that Gao Chang Yin ordered the gang that ambushed Song Yi Meng to kill the scout and blame the death on the Night Wanderers. He wanted to use Chu Gui Hong for his game to destroy Nan Heng.

Chu Gui Hong came to see Song Yu De, the Ministry of War, and forced him to change the file to identify Nan Heng’s fault in the Battle of Pingrong. Song Yu De refused; he believed an official cannot use public interest for personal gain. When Chu Gui Hong wanted to take the files by force, Xiao Yu came over, hearing all the shouts. She asked him to stop, but he thought she was siding with Nan Heng again. Song Yu De did not want to argue with Chu Gui Hong, saying that the Song family had no intention of getting involved, and told him not to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of War. Song Yi Meng also told Chu Gui Hong that she didn’t side with anyone; she just didn’t want her family to get caught between Nan Heng and Chu Gui Hong’s dispute.

Nan Rui went to see Nan Heng. There was a clarification that Nan Heng never received the help request Chu Gui Hong sent in the Battle of Pingrong. Nan Rui begged Nan Heng to admit that it was his fault for not sending help. He would even give up the throne just to save his cousin, whom he regarded as his brother. Brotherhood was more important than the throne. Nan Heng was shocked to hear that Nan Rui didn’t even regard the blood tie between him and Nan Heng. But he was not interested in the throne, and most importantly, he didn’t want to admit to something he didn’t do.

With the plot thickening and everything seeming to go south for Nan Heng, we have a lighthearted situation with Song Yi Meng and Shang Guan He, who were both house arrested at the Song Mansion by the crazy geniuses: Song Yi Ting and Nan Heng! After having to cater to Yi Ting’s hobbies, Shang Guan He went hiding at Song Yi Meng’s place. The latter couldn’t do anything because of house arrest and just indulged herself with food and beauty care. From Shang Guan He, Xiao Yu also learned that Nan Heng sent him here to watch over her!

Episode 29

Yao Qian, the investigating censor, was tied up and found that Gao Chang Yin was still alive. He handed over a fake evidence, that was not on Nan Heng’s favor, for Yao Qian to publish the evidence.

Nan Heng went directly to the Ministry of Justice. He was supposed to be interrogated, but in fact, he brought evidence of Chu Gui Hong torturing and forcing confession from Po Yun Long and Duan Shan Hu. He took out the two to the clinic for treatment. Nan Heng and Chu Gui Hong went back and forth with their arguments.

When Xiao Yu learned from her sister that something happened to Nan Heng, she quickly looked for evidence from the letters Chu Gui Hong wrote to Song Yi Meng back then. Finally, she found evidence that Nan Heng was under surveillance and could not collude with outsiders. They hurried to the Ministry of Justice to overturn the case.

Xiao Yu beat the justice drum and insisted to enter the court. She took out the letter written by Chu Gui Hong, but he denied it and tore it apart. Chu Gui Hong forced the Minister of Justice to quickly decide the case.

Remember our unlikely hero, Nan Rui? He begged his father to do justice for Nan Heng. If there is no evidence Nan Heng should not be convicted. The emperor said he was helping him to the throne, but Nan Rui didn’t want such help. He didn’t want to get the throne and lost the hearts of the people.

Yao Qian beat the drum and said that he had found evidence of Nan Heng’s correspondence with the enemies. Chu Gui Hong was excited and wanted to imprison Nan Heng in prison. However, Eunuch Liu suddenly came and read out the imperial edict to imprison Nan Heng. Xiao Yu was worried and told him not to plead guilty.

In the attempt to free Nan Heng further more, Xiao Yu wrote his achievement leading the Xuanjia Army, knelt outside the palace, and asked the emperor for the audience. The emperor did not want to see her and wanted to see how long she lasted. The snow fell heavily in the sky.

After Nan Heng was imprisoned, Gao Chang Yin appeared in the prison. He revealed that he indeed faked death and placed his people both in Qianyu Army and Xuanjia Army and appeared again as a fake death. He believed that Nan Heng was now forced to a desperate situation and could only turn the tables on his back. He wanted Nan Heng to rebel. Nan Heng asked him whether the death of the first empress was related to him. Gao Chang Yin said that only in this way can the Gao family be paved.

The conversation between the two was heard by the emperor. His Majesty finally learned the truth. Everything was done by Gao Chang Yin and had nothing to do with Nan Heng. It turned out, Nan Heng met his father yesterday and asked the emperor to cooperate with his acting and set up a plan to lure Gao Chang Yin out. If he failed to lure out his uncle, he was willing to give his Xuanjia Army to the Emperor.

When Xiao Yu finally see the Emperor, he was with Nan Heng. He was released and Gao Chang Yin had confessed. Xiao Yu was VERY angry upon learning that Nan Heng’s arrest was an act play by he and His Majesty. Nan Heng said that when she showed up during the interrogation, he was surprised that she really cared for him. Xiao Yu snapped and told him not to see her again, not until she calm down! Muahaha!

Episode 30

Gao Chang Yin was executed by drinking poisonous wine and his party members were removed from their official positions and exiled to the north. On the night before execution, Nan Heng went to see his uncle for the last time. Gao Chang Yin asked him to take care of his mother and regretted introducing her sister to the palace for the sake of the Gao family. Nan Heng said that he would protect his mother and the Gao family, kowtowed to his uncle, and left.

The emperor issued edict for proper burial with the highest honor of the 20,000 Qianyu soldiers. The capital put up memorial lanterns for them. The case was closed, but Chu Gui Hong still accused Nan Heng as the culprit, despite of Nan Heng’s promise that he would make amend of what his uncle had done.

What the amend should be came quickly. Nan Heng went to see his father to give him the Xuanjia Army token. However, the emperor made him keep it, since the plan to trap Gao Chang Yin suceeded and he was executed, so there was no need for Nan Heng to let go his army. Not only that, he was promoted to be a crown prince! His Majesty said that Nan Rui went to see him last night and suggested that Nan Heng should be the crown prince instead. Nan Heng objected, stated that the pure heart Nan Rui would be a benevolent king. The emperor said if he wanted to make amend for Gao Chang Yin to the Great Jin and the country, he should be the CP.

Nan Rui visited Nan Heng to apologize. He also said that Nan Heng cut out to be a CP, he wasn’t. Nan Rui could be silly, but his speech that came out of his heart was touching. He asked if he could call Nang Heng with his name instead of his status name. The two made toast and laughed.

When Xiao Yu heard that Nan Heng was promoted to CP and she would marry him, she remembered the script and decided to escape. Shang Guan He quickly reported to Nan Heng. He knew that Song Yi Meng had a soft spot for Canjiangyue, so he made a trick to put Canjiangyue for sale. The Night Wanderers would be disbanded since he was promoted to be a CP. At first, Xiao Yu didn’t buy it, thanks to her clever maid Yin Qiu. But Nan Heng, or Shang Guan He to be exact, was cleverer. He pulled Yi Ting to act, saying the he would be homeless and penniless after the disbandment, and couldn’t give Yi Ting a good life. Yi Ting even kissed him, hehe! When Xiao Yu heard it, she believed that Canjiangyue would be disbanded. Xiao Yu ran to the Canjiangyue Hall to inquire. Seeing her coming, Duan Shan Hun and the Night Wanderers put up their act crying that their Chief has abandoned them. Xiao Yu wanted to talk to Nan Heng.

Conclusion

Aww, although we missed Li Shi Liu, things got better with Nan Heng. How would Nan Heng be able to convince Song Yi Meng to marry him? Let’s continue their paper journey of A Dream Within A Dream ( 书卷一梦 ) in final part!