Introduction
In Fated Hearts: Drama Info and Recap Episodes 1 to 8, we knew that they started working together to unravel the mysteries of who wanted both Feng Suige and Fu Yixiao dead separately, and who the spies from both sides were.
This featured image was taken in Episode 4, when Feng Suige and Fu Yixiao met Murong Yao, and Suige introduced Yixiao as his concubine to Yao. This was the first time the couple worked together to solve the palace politics mystery. He showed Yixiao to the public to lure out the assassins who wanted to kill her. I loved the way he looked at her, lovingly (she was supposed to be her concubine), while she shot daggers at him with her eyes.
As much as I liked this image, I was not fond of the face filtering. In this featured image, for example, Fu Yixiao’s face appeared plasticky, very pale, with thick whitening makeup. The excessive use of filters, especially for skin smoothing and lightening, is a common feature in modern Chinese idol romance dramas, though the level of filtering varies between productions. Heavy filters can make actors’ faces appear unnatural, which can make emotional scenes less impactful.
Enough rant and info, let’s continue the thrill in this second part of the recap series!
Recap Episodes 9 to 18
Episode 9
Poor Yixiao, she tried to get her memories back from her three comrades from Jinxiu, but to no avail. Since she lost her memory, Jingshi recorded every bit of her life into a booklet and handed it to Yixiao, hoping to help her. Jingshi asked her to take the bow called Moon-Shooting Bow away, but she refused. Her left hand was still injured, so she could no longer use her bow. After seeing Jingshi, she returned to Suige’s mansion and drank alone to relieve her sorrow. Yixiao knew that she had misunderstood Suige, so she invited Suige to drink. But Suige pretended to still be mad, so she put down a jar of wine in front of his door and left. Later, in her room, she read the booklet, but every doubtful variable started at the Battle of Pingling, but why did Jingshi only mention it in a few words?
After tracking and investigating, Lu Ke, Suige’s army liuetenant, told him that PM Zhuang had colluded with the Jinxiu Dark Guards. Now the issue was what secret did Yixiao know that made Jingshi go all the way to Susha?
Since the booklet didn’t provide the info Yixiao was looking for, she asked two subordinates, Ning Fei and Xiao Weiran. Ning Fei told her that after the victory, a guard told them that she had fallen off the cliff by accident, not by being chased. Moreover, Jingshi’s initial plan was to hold the city. But later, he got an intelligence report and set up an ambush to surround Suige’s army. Her comrades passed out before Yixiao could find more info. Jingshi came back from his negotiation with the emperor and promised to take her back to Jinxiu, but she refused. Suige arrived to pick up Yixiao and argued with Jingshi. The latter believed that Yixiao would recover her memory and return to Jinxiu with him. Suige mocked: “Are you truly not afraid when that day comes?”
Meanwhile, Xiyang made an appointment to meet with Yixiao, and said that she did not care about the past between Yixiao and Jingshi. If she married Jingshi in the future, she would treat Yixiao well. Yixiao spoke frankly. If Xiyang didn’t care, she wouldn’t have come to her today. The two strolled on the street together and met Jingshi and Suige one after another. Suige deliberately held Yixiao’s hand in front of them and pulled her away to walk. Jingshi could only watch. Suige was extremely proud, and his sister was even more secretly delighted. The brother and sister were more scheming than the other, hahaha!
Episode 10
The four stopped at an arrow shooting booth, and Xiyang wanted to win the love lock and asked Jingshi to teach her. Jingshi didn’t want to teach her hand-in-hand (that shows an intimate and romantic couple moment). Then Xiyang asked Yixiao to show her archery skills. Jingshi quickly said that Yixiao’s hand was injured, and it was inconvenient to draw the bow. Suige took the opportunity to say that he would be Yixiao’s left hand. With Suige’s help, Yixiao easily shot three arrows at the same time, hitting the bullseye and winning the love lock. She immediately gave the love lock to Xiyang, wishing her and Jingshi a harmonious marriage and a happy life together.
Yixiao accidentally caught sight of the tag on Jingshi’s waist, and the memory of the fragments before the cliff fall flooded into her mind. It was Jingshi who shot her! She took a chance to return with Jingshi on a carriage because she got a headache, but she wanted to probe for more info. Why did Jingshi want to kill her? Suige knew that Yixiao already knew about it, and asked Suige to let her go with Jingshi.
Yixiao, Jingshi, and Ning Fei went to see Physician Xueying. After checking, Xueying knew right away that Yixiao was fine, but Jingshi was not. He was poisoned! It turned out that he had been poisoned for a long time, and the antidote to relieve the poison would be sent with the wedding procession.
Hmm… now we have found out who the culprit from Jinxiu might be. It was Xiao Weiran! He met with a masked man from Susha. The masked man asked Weiran to kill Yixiao asap. Meanwhile, the empress called the assassin from Jinxiu over and ordered him to kill Yixiao, too.
Suige wanted to keep Jingshi in Susha and marry him to Xiyang as her prince consort. That way Jinxiu wouldn’t give trouble to Susha as well as to Xiyang. Suige even drafted a letter to the emperor of Jinxiu. His father was secretly happy with his strategy and sent the letter to the Jinxiu Kingdom. However, the Empress Dowager of Jinxiu was not happy with that and looked for her son, the emperor of Jinxiu, in the brothel. He seemed to be a useless emperor, only obsessed with leisure and women.
Episode 11
Despite the empress dowager’s disagreement, Xia Jingyan said he had already agreed to the letter. As Suige had expected, Xia Jingyan doesn’t want his brother to compete with him. Jingyan would take back the military and political power from his brother.
For the next step, Suige speculated that, out of desperation, Jingshi would risk meeting with his Suisha spy. Suige sent Lu Ke to keep an eye on the Zheng Mansion. Meanwhile, Yixiao continued to hang around Jingshi to gain his full trust. If Ning Fei and Weiran were also involved, she wouldn’t not let them off either.
While having dinner with her three comrades from Jinxu, Yixiao was testing them. She immediately realized that Weiran was lying. The reason Weiran was lying was to test how much Yixiao remembered. She speculated that either Weiran or Ning Fei was lying. She talked to Ning Fei again, and learned that on the night after the battle of Pingling, a merchant had come to see Jingshi.
After gaining some info, Yixiao secretly met Suige to exchange info. Xueying covered for her that Yixiao went shopping for herbal materials and Jingshi believed it. After their meeting, she told him not to meet in the next few days to avoid Jingshi’s suspicion.
PM Zhuang was not happy that Suige wrote to the emperor of Jinxiu without authorization. He rallied the other minister to jointly impeach Suige and for his actions to be strictly investigated!
Episode 12
The emperor didn’t want to punish his son, so when the reply from the Emperor of Jinxiu stated that he was happy with the arrangement, the Emperor of Susha read it in front of the officials. Suige’s impeachment failed, and the whole kingdom heard the news that Jingshi would be marry into the Susha Kingdom.
Jingshi knew that he had practically become a prisoner now. Since he was a prisoner, he thought that Suige might put Yixiao under house arrest, and ordered Ning Fei and Xiao Weiran to rescue Yi Xiao while he would meet the Susha spy. Suige led his people to follow Jingshi to the tea house where he was supposed to meet the spy. However, he heard that Xueying’s house, where Yixiao stayed, had been broken into. He and Gu Yu went there while Lu Ke and Yun Fang stayed to spy on the tea house.
A masked man tried to assassinate Yixiao but failed and fled. Xiao Weiran and Ning Fei followed Yixiao, but Ning Fei got separated. Yixiao and Weiran chased the masked man, but she was not on guard against Weiran, and he stabbed her from behind. She couldn’t believe that Weiran had betrayed her! Fortunately, she was wearing the soft armor given by Suige. The two fought, and the sword fight broke their former comradeship. Yixiao was injured, but luckily, Suige appeared and captured Weiran.
On the other side, Lu Ke lost the spy. Jingshi met him in another tea house. The masked man told him that Weiran failed to kill Yixiao and had been captured by Suige. Weiran was found to be the mastermind of the ship fire. After all, besides Jingshi, only Weiran could mobilize the Jingxiu secret guards.
When Ning Fei learned from Suige that it was Jingshi and Weiran who wanted to kill Yixiao, he couldn’t believe it and went to Yixiao to verify it. Unfortunately, from Yixiao’s reaction, what Suige said was true. Betrayed by her own brother-in-arms, Yixiao was extremely sad, although she didn’t remember their brotherhood. The identity of the masked man who wanted to assassinate Yixiao was Xun Xiang, who was asked by the empress earlier to kill Yixiao. In the early years, his family had received help from the empress. Suige realized that this matter was inseparable from the Zhuang family.
Episode 13
The stupid princess was angry at her brother, using her marriage as a political scheme. She still wanted to marry Jingshi and even told him that after the wedding, she would ask her father to send him back to Jinxiu.
Suige tried to comfort Yixiao and told her that when he was young, his nanny and his tutor had tried to kill him. She did not expect that the dignified first prince of Susha’s life wasn’t as glamorous as imagined. She accidentally injured Suige’s hand, so she personally bandaged him as a sign of apology.
Ning Fei drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Xueying brought him back to her house, but his wound had burst and he was bleeding. Ning Fei went to see his former comrade in prison, and confirmed that Weiran caused Yixiao’s fall off the cliff. Weiran argued it was for a great cause. Yixiao stood outside the cell and heard what Weiran said. She brought a roasted sweet potato, divided it into three parts, and put one part into Weiran’s hands and another into Ning Fei’s, just like what they did when they were children. After eating the sweet potato, she said that from then on, their friendship would be cut off, and Jinxiu’s cause had nothing to do with her. Yixiao would never let Jingshi succeed. Ning Fei chased Yixiao out but fainted on the ground, vomiting blood. He was poisoned by an arrow when he was dealing with Xun Xiang.
Xueying couldn’t save him and asked her father, Ling Feng, to come. After checking Yixiao, Ling Feng said that he could cure Yixiao’s wound and reconnect her broken hand tendons. Regarding Ning Fei, Ling Feng could only delay his death. However, he knew a secret place outside both countries that could do blood exchange, and Ning Fei would be better. After he came back to life, he had to work for that place and could not run away. If he ran away, Yixiao would be the guarantor. Yixiao agreed and made a contract with Ling Feng,
The angry Yixiao wanted to confront Jingshi, but Suige could talk her out of it. Yixiao was very sad and bought a coffin to tell Jingshi indirectly about Ning Fei. Jingshi didn’t want to get Ning Fei back, but asked his subordinate to rescue Weiran instead. After Weiran was brought back, Jingshi was ordered to gather troops at the border to wait for him. Jingshi would escape.
Episode 14
Suige was not surprised to learn that Weiran had escaped. He wanted Jingshi to be rescued and ran away. He wanted to cheer up people in Xueying’s house, but Yixiao was not there. She went to see Jingshi, demanding an explanation. Jingshi revealed that after the battle of Pingling, Yixiao accidentally heard him talking with the masked man about 300,000 residents of Zhennan Pass as bait to lure the Feng Battalion in. The masked man asked Jingshi to kill Yuxiao. Yixiao quarreled with Jingshi because she disagreed with the massacre. Jingshi shot her left shoulder with a crossbow at close range. The huge impact caused her to fall off the cliff. Hearing Jingshi’s explanation, Yixiao’s face was full of disbelief. Jingshi refused to tell her who the masked man was. He begged Yixiao to leave with him, but she refused and told him that Ning Fei was dead. Yixiao walked out, staggering from shock, and fell into Suige’s arms.
Suige took Yixiao vacationing at his mother’s private house in the suburbs. The atmosphere was relaxing, fitted for their blooming feelings. While there, Suige got a report that Xun Xiang, the man who tried to assassinate Yixiao, was found. Suige brought him to his father. The empress pretended not to know anything about what Xun Xiang had done. Suige openly contradicted his father and defied the imperial edict forbidding the mention of his mother. The angry emperor ordered him to be confined and not attend Xiyang’s wedding ceremony. Feng Suige did not care and left.
Episode 15
PM Zhuang deliberately spread the news of Suige’s dismissal, so everyone in the capital knew that the eldest prince had lost the emperor’s favor. Yixiao overheard the convo between Suige’s subordinates, Yun Fang and Lu Ke, and knew that Suige had angered his father to protect her. It was her turn to comfort Suige. She took him to relax on a boat. Suige poured out his anguished heart and told her about the past when his mother was framed. Yixiao said that as long as she was in the mansion, she would protect him and not let anyone hurt him. Suifeng was moved by hearing her vow; nobody else ever told him that. While on the boat, they saw river lanterns released by people to celebrate the princess’s wedding, written with their wishes. In the dark, Suige and Yixiao wished the same thing: to grow old together with each other, and hoped that each other would be safe and happy.
Yixiao recalled some clues about the merchant who met Jingshi at the battle of Pingyin. Following the clues she provided, Lu Ke went to Rongtong Escort Agency and found a portrait of a woman. Suige ordered Lu Ke to look for the woman in the city. Murong Yao visited Suige, because he heard Suige was grounded by the emperor. Somehow, Yixiao didn’t feel comfortable letting Yao see the portrait. In fact, she felt uncomfortable every time she saw Yao, although she could not tell the reason. Lu Ke found the woman’s identity. She was the top dancer in the capital, named Ruyan.
Episode 16
Suige and Yixiao went to find Ruyan together, but they separated because she saw someone who looked familiar. Suige managed to question the dancer, and she confessed that the one who ordered her to go to there was Manager Luo of Changsheng Trading Company.
When Suige finished questioning Ruyan and came out, Yixiao had not returned. Suige felt worried and went to look for her. Yixiao followed Wuying, whom she knew from Jinxiu, to a death camp full of children. However, Wuying deliberately led her there and subdued Yixiao with a poisonous incense. Jingshi set up the death camp to train young men and women to be his killing machines. Yixiao thought that Jingshi had eliminated the death camp a long time ago. Wuying then burned the death camp. Yixiao wanted to save the children, but she failed because the incense weakened her. Luckily, Suige came at the right time and rescued her.
Now both Suige and Yixiao understood that no wonder Jingshi came to Suisha without a single soldier. It turned out the death camp was his secret soldiers.
Lu Ke reported to Suige that Manager Luo of Changsheng Trading Company had died ten days ago, having fallen into the river. It was obvious that the other party had been prepared a long time ago.
That stupid princess Feng Xiyang finally married the lurking enemy Xia Jingshi. Suige only saw the wedding procession from afar. Because the capital was full of festivity, Suige and Yixiao were influenced by the joy and went shopping together. They went to a clay-making workshop together. Yixiao made a figurine look like Suige, but Suige made a wolf statue. Yixiao was disappointed that he didn’t make a figurine like her, but Suige explained that in his eyes, she was like a wolf, smart and intelligent. He gave the clay wolf to Yixiao. This was the first time in his life that he gave a gift to a woman, and he did not allow Fu Yixiao to refuse. Awww!
Episode 17
Suige expressed his feelings to Yixiao that sounded like a love confession, but Yixiao didn’t dare to believe it. She thought he was being sentimental because of the romantic atmosphere from the royal wedding. She told Suige to save those sweet words for his wedding night. Suige agreed, “It’s a deal, then!” Hahaha. Some running children bumped into Yixiao. Suige held her hands and didn’t want to let them go. Cue to romantic fireworks.
Speaking of the wedding night, Jingshi didn’t want to touch his bride at all. So, Xiyang took out her father’s token she stole from him in the previous episode. She said she could help him escape from the Suisha Kingdom. So they left the capital that night.
In the morning, Lu Ke reported Suige that his sister had left Suisha with her husband. The emperor ordered him to stop the newlyweds. Before he went, he gave his mansion token to Yixiao and asked him to wait for him to return home. Realizing that Suige might be in danger, Yixiao didn’t obey Suige but went after him. She was right, Suige and his men were ambushed in the forest. Jingshi and his entourage were able to pass the border, thanks but no thanks to his foolish wife, who showed the imperial token to the guards.
Suige and his men were able to intercept Jingshi and his people, but Xiyang threatened to kill herself and forced Suige to leave. Yixiao arrived in time and shot Jingshi. Unfortunately, the arrow was blocked by Xiao Weiran. Yixiao was shot by Jingshi’s crossbow, and her hand was injured. Yixiao and Suige rested on the way and waited until dawn to continue their journey. Although the situation was serious with her injured hand, the couple couldn’t help being lovey-dovey. Yixiao confessed her feelings at this time, and Suige kissed Yixiao.
Episode 18
Suige and Yixiao went to see the father and daughter Ling to treat her injured hand. They did a surgery to open her hand and reconnect the tendons. Suige waited for the surgery that he had forgotten to report to his father.
The emperor was actually sick (did the empress poison him?). Suige reported that his daughter took her husband to escape from the Suisha Kingdom with the imperial token, which was a great blow to him. However, in front of Suige, the emperor held on, so Suige did not find anything wrong with his father. Once Suige left, the emperor vomited blood and fell into a coma. When Suige heard about his father’s condition, he asked Ling Feng to come with him to the palace. Empress Zhuang Jingyuan and her father PM Zhuang made things difficult for them, but apparently, Ling Feng was someone the emperor trusted. Every year, he would invite the physician to the palace to take his pulse. The emperor was still sick. Luckily, Ling Feng was able to stabilize the emperor’s condition at this time.
Feng Suige and his half-brother Feng Chengyang
Yixiao and Xueying were walking on the street when she saw the woman who had met with Wuying that day. Yixiao chased after her and saw a familiar carriage. The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a person wearing a mask could be vaguely seen sitting inside. She suddenly remembered that this was the person in the carriage that she wanted to shoot before she fell off the cliff!
Conclusion
Yay… their romance has bloomed in this part. So fast! What next remains to be told? A lot! Of course, the main palace politics is still ongoing, both internal conflicts in the royal family and external war with the Jinxiu Kingdom.
The emperor’s illness is a common plot device in Chinese dramas that serves as a catalyst for political intrigue, succession struggles, or romantic entanglements. In Fated Hearts ( 一笑随歌 ), it creates a power vacuum, leading to conflicts between leaders, scheming officials, and the emperor’s family as they all vie for control. Would the Emperor of Susha be cured or not? If he dies, who would be his successor? We’ll see in the third part!
