Introduction
In Legend of the Female General: Drama Recap Episodes 7 to 16, we knew that Xiao Jue and He Yan disguised themselves as a newlywed couple in Jiyang City. With the mission accomplished, their love also blooms. However, not without obstacles, as predicted by He Yan’s master.
I chose this featured image because in this part, Xiao Jue and He Yan started fighting side-by-side in the wars. The scene where this image was taken was not in any battle in this third part, tho. The battle scene was in the final episode. I couldn’t find any good battle screenshot of the couple, but this one. So, bear with me, let’s enjoy Part 3 of Legend of the Female General ( 锦月如歌 ) recap series.
Recaps Episodes 17 to 26
Episode 17
More sweet stuff during the Water God Festival. There was a contest called Plucking Spring. Whoever can pick flowers hanging on top of the bridge can get a big reward. The prize was a purple jade whip, which He Yan likes. Since she was now a woman, she couldn’t get it by herself, so she asked her ‘husband’ to get it. Xiao Jue easily got it for her.
The Water God Festival went into the night. There was also a lover’s bridge. It was said that lovers who could walk across the bridge together would walk together for the rest of their lives and would never be separated. The Lover Bridge was connected by countless small boats, and the lover needs to walk across this bridge together. If you don’t master the balance well, it is very easy to fall into the water. He Yan almost couldn’t stand it and kept snuggling with Xiao Jue. When Xiao Jue was approaching, he kissed He Yan’s forehead.
I like it that there was also a cute scene with Tao Tao and Li Su. They made a bet on whether they could also walk across the Lover Bridge or not, with Tao Tao being positive and Li Su being negative. Unexpectedly, the two of them could walk across the bridge together while quarreling.
Then He Yan and Xiao Jue were invited to dance wearing masks. He Yan danced around Xiao Jue, and confessed ten secrets to him. Although these secrets were not big secrets, they were all true. Xiao Jue kept calm until He Yan said that she used to be a female general and she liked the moon, but the moon didn’t know it. He Yan didn’t say what the moon was referring to, but her eyes looked at Xiao Jue sincerely.
The last romantic scene was when they were on a lover’s boat. It was her birthday today, she had to make a wish. She felt that making a wish was self-deception, she would fight for whatever she wanted. He Yan said that she had always been someone else’s substitute, before Cheng Lisu, and now Wen Yuyan. He Yan hoped that one day someone would come for her, just her, He Yan. She asked Xiao Jue to remember her name, and he said he would remember her name.
Episode 18
Time to go to work, too many romantic moments, lol!
He Yan finally reunited with her master again, in an interesting way. Liu Buwang saved a little girl, whom he said was the daughter of Princess Mengji. Since her kidnappers poisoned the little girl, Liu Buwang made an antidote for her. The girl woke up to his guqin’s song, which was awfully familiar as her mother’s song. Oops, turned out the master and the princess had a history before.
When Xiao Jue appeared with his ‘wife’ and his ‘uncle’ in front of Princess Mengji, the princess directly exposed his identity. He had to admit that he was there to find the traitor Chai Anxi and reminded her that Ji Yang was full of enemies. Although the princess didn’t want strangers to get involved in the city’s affairs, she ordered Cui Yuezhi (Xiao Jue’s ‘uncle’) to strengthen the city’s security, reserved medicines, kept Xiao Jue’s identity a secret, and ordered people to search for Chai Anxi.
Liu Buwang could see right away that He Yan liked Xiao Jue, hehe. He did a divination on them and said that their paths were hazardous, but they had to navigate through and find a passage in peril.
We got to know the backstory of the ill-fated lover. The princess ran away from marriage and was caught by some criminals. He saved her, and she fell in love with him. After spending time together, she confessed that she was a princess. He returned to Qiyun Mountain to tell his master and find a way to solve their relationship issue, and asked her to wait. But he never came back. Now, the princess wanted an explanation from Liu Buwang.
Episode 19
Luckily, Cui Yuezhi was not angry with Xiao Jue impersonating his long-lost nephew; that guy was so nice to them! In fact, he had known for sometime ago.
Although Princess Mengji didn’t like outsiders’ help for Jiyang City, they knew that the city was in turmoil, and it seemed that something big was about to happen. The princess also strengthened patrols and military defense. There was a sudden fire in several granaries in Jiyang City. Xiao Jue took He Yan to discuss countermeasures with Princess Mengji. The situation in Jiyang City was now grim. There were only 20,000 defenders in the city, and the enemy had launched an attack. The princess said that she would never retreat.
Xiao Jue wanted to help command Ji Yang’s army, but it was already a violation when he left Yezhou Camp without the Emperor’s edict. However, He Yan was willing to take a risk for the sake of the people. So he let He Yan take charge at this time and led the 20,000 soldiers in Ji Yang. Princess Mengji agreed for He Yan to lead the Jiyang army. This army had not fought for many years, but they still looked down on He Yan because she was a woman. Xiao Jue challenged them if any ten soldiers would like to fight He Yan. She won the fight. The noble girls fangirl He Yan, and even wanted to help to protect Ji Yang.
Meanwhile, Li Su and Tao Tao made a bet on who saved more people, so cute!
On the eve of war, finally, the old lovers played zither to each other, but Princess Mengji didn’t want to meet Liu Buwang. We found out that Liu Buwang was imprisoned by his master because the old man didn’t agree for him to be with the princess. So, he was unable to meet the princess. I don’t see they would have a happy ending…
Xiao Jue’s final command to He Yan before stepping into war was to come back alive.
Episode 20
This episode is epic with the war scenes. You must watch it!!! Eventually Ji Yang won. Here were some highlights:
He Yan, disguised as the city leader Princess Mengji, lured the leader of the enemy to fight in the river. She knew that this enemy’s weakness was water battles. Eventually, the leader died. He Yan also fell into the water, but before drowning, Xiao Jue saved her. She was embarrassed when she remembered he did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on her.
Li Su and Tao Tao, were busy taking care of wounded soldiers. Tao Tao suddenly saw Li Su in a different light. He was no longer a good-for-nothing man, but skillfully handled the wounds and comforted the soldiers. When they won, he hugged her first, then she hugged him, too. So cute!
Liu Buwang, He Yan’s master and Princess Mengji’s former lover, fought by himself outside the secret passage. He knew about it from her a long time ago. Unfortunately, because he was a solo-fighter, no matter how strong he was, he eventually died from a poisoned weapon. He held a pair of silver bracelets, their love token. Princess Mengji knew that, till he died, he didn’t forget her. She regretted that she didn’t meet him last night. Her master’s departure was very painful for He Yan, since he was one of the few people who cared for her in this world. During the vigil night, Princess Mengji advised He Yan to cherish the one she liked and didn’t repeat the same mistake she and her master did.
During the battle, Xiao Jue saw the wanted man, Chai Anxi. He tasked Fei Nu to find him. Now Li Su was treating him in the royal palace. Chu Zhao went to visit Chai Anxi. Xiao Jue didn’t trust Chu Zhao, so he instructed Fei Nu to strengthen the guards in the courtyard to prevent those who are interested from taking advantage of the situation.
Episode 21
Chai Anxi finally woke up and spoke to Xiao Jue. He told Xiao Jue that he hated his father, Xiao Zhong Wu, because of what happened to his family members, but he never betrayed the Wei. Thus, he didn’t expect the loss of the Ming River Battle. Xiao Jue explained what actually happened. Chai Anxi was in great pain, he finally realized that he was blinded by hatred, did something wrong, and killed Xiao Zhongwu. He also confessed about what he did. He mentioned He Rufei (the actual one, not He Yan) had been his contact, but there was also another power figure at the Capital who was involved in this. He Yan was suspicious that the real He Rufei was also involved in the battle loss. Fortunately, that Xiao Jue and Chai Anxi cleared up each other’s burden, since after that, Chai Anxi was killed. Let’s say Chu Zhao was the one who ordered the killing, although he had an alibi.
The Chai Anxi saga was finally over. Xiao Jue and He Yan returned to Yezhou Camp. They would pass Chonghuai. The magistrate there was Yang Mingzhi. He was the son of Minister of War, and was once Xiao Jue’s good friend. In fact, Xiao Jue, Li Su, and He Yan (as He Rufei) were once classmates at Xianchang Academy.
Episode 22
He Yan had every legitimate reason to dread going to Chonghuai. Indeed, in this place, her identity as He Rufei was finally found by Xiao Jue. He tested her sword skills. The sad thing was, He Yan gave a complete explanation about her identity, but all Xiao Jue asked was if the person who came late on Ming River Battle was her. He Yan admitted that it was her, but she also said that there was a conspiracy at that time, but Xiao Jue didn’t want to listen.
Xiao Jue only asked He Yan to stay in Yezhou Camp, and she was not allowed to leave the army until he found the truth. They are now suddenly distant because of the secret of her identity. He Yan kept practicing like crazy every day. Although her martial arts skills were getting better and better, she outdid her physics. He Yan knew that he was angry, so she no longer took the initiative to talk to Xiao Jue anymore. There seemed to be an insurmountable gap between the two.
Episode 23
Both parties were investigating He Rufei’s past and present movements. Xiao Jue sent Fei Nu, and He Yan asked her colleague Jiang Jiao to gather info. Meanwhile, He Yan made up her mind to hone herself and wait for the opportunity. Meanwhile, the real He Rufei, heard that a female general was born in the Yezhou Army, who killed the enemy’s commander Huyat with her own strength in the battle of Jiyang City. He had an intuition that the person might be his stepsister, He Yan. He wanted to lure He Yan to meet her previous generals and then kill her.
Meanwhile, this Chu Zhao was so annoyingly cunning. Because Prime Minister Xu Jingfu had already known Chu Zhao had known his secret, so he had the intention to kill Chu Zhao. Chu Zhao was so cunning that he told the prime minister that Xiao Jue went to Jiyang City without permission and could cause His Majesty’s dissatisfaction of the Xiao family. Let His Majesty rule Xiao Jue for his unjust punishment. Chu Zhao expressed his loyalty to Xu Jingfu, so Xu Jingfu did not kill him.
He Yan found out that her stepbrother had colluded with Prime Minister Xu Jingfu. She was so angry that she practiced martial arts like crazy, broke wooden stakes, and scratched her face. He Yan didn’t care at all, but Xiao Jue could see clearly from upstairs. At night, when she was asleep, Xiao Jue quietly put down a bottle of medicine and tucked the corner of her blanket. During the day, he pretended to turn a blind eye to He Yan, but he actually paid great attention to her. The next day, when she woke up and saw the medicine bottle, she knew that Xiao Jue had put it there for her.
Episode 24
This sly Chu Zhao was promoted as Director of the Ministry of War by the Emperor. He told His Majesty about He Yan’s merit, so His Majesty sent him to the Yezhou Army to promote He Yan to a general, Wu An. But for Xiao Jue, since he ignored left his post without His Majesty’s permission, he would be punished 20 strokes. He Yan knew in her heart that this clearly showed that someone wanted to alienate the relationship between her and Xiao Jue. Chu Zhao told He Yan, that the prime minister suggested Xiao Jue to be punished, but He Yan be promoted. He invited He Yan to join him to make a breakthrough, but He Yan did not accept his offer.
He Rufei went to battle with the Fuyue Army and won, BUT the Fuyue Army’s seven generals (who were He Yan’s subordinates) were lost. He Yan suspected foul play, because she knew the her generals were not able to be captured so easily. But He Rufei colluded with the enemy. The enemy gave him the defense map in exchange for the generals. He Rufei won the battle to ensure his reputation (or He Yan’s reputation) was not damaged. When He Yan learned that the seven Fuyue Army’s generals were killed in the battle, she was so angry that she almost vomited blood and vented in the training ground. Xiao Jue went over to calm her down, took her back to the tent, and tended to her wounds.
Apparently, the King of Wei was not personally angry at Xiao Jue. He was invited to go to the palace to play chess with His Majesty. Meanwhile, His Majesty let He Rufei, who had asked for an audition, wait, and then didn’t want to see him.
He Yan found out that one last general, Li Kuang, was left by He Rufei to defend himself against the Wutuo army in Rundu. She knew that He Rufei would eliminate this general, too, so he wouldn’t come to the rescue. He Yan decided to rescue her subordinate and went out of the camp while Xiao Jue was away. She left Xiao Jue a note and took her Qinglang sword.
Episode 25
When He Yan was about to leave the Yezhou Camp, her colleagues Wang Ba, Jiang Jiao, Huang Xiong, and Xiaomai had been waiting for her. They said they wanted to accompany her to Rundu; they couldn’t let a woman go by herself. What??? They already figured out that she was a woman when they saw her in women’s clothes and went to Jiyang. The funny thing was, Chu Zhao also showed up with his horse. Although he couldn’t fight, as the Director of the Ministry of War, he should be in charge of military affairs. Oh well, they rushed to the Rundu battlefield overnight.
Tribute to He Yan’s colleagues (from left to right): Huang Xiong (Fan Lin Feng), Xiao Mai (Wu Hao), Wang Ba (Zhang Yi Long), and Jiang Jiao (Liu Jun). He Yan’s future generals???
The Wutuo army already surrounded Rundu, so He Yan and her team used a secret passage dug by Li Kuang at her (He Rufei’s) order. At first, Li Kuang thought General Feihong had come, but this person looked unfamiliar. Chu Zhao had to come forward and tell him that he was the Director of the Ministry of War. Li Kuang didn’t respect He Yan until she used General Feihong chokehold on him. He Yan lied that she was General Wang Qi’s subordinate, and that the secret passage and capture hands were told and taught by General Wang Qi. When asked about Wang Qi’s current situation, He Yan did not say it at the beginning. It was not until Li Kuang said he would guard the city and wait for He Rufei to come to rescue him that He Yan told him that Wang Qi and the other six generals were all killed in battle, and He Rufei would not come to rescue him.
Li Kuang finally followed He Yan’s order and military plan. Weapon-wise, Rundu lacks in supply, while Wutuo had plenty. She used some tricks to fool the Wutuos. They even rescue some Wei women captured by the Wutuos. Then, He Yan put on a mask. The Wutuos thought that she was General Feihong and were frightened.
When Xiao Jue returned to Yezhou Camp, he got the note and quickly went to Rundu with the Nine Banner Battalion.
Episode 26
Another cool battle. At this time, Xiao Jue and He Yan fought side by side. Xiao Jue also invited his friend from school, Yan He (who at school came always came in second place, while Xiao Jue came in first place), to help them with his army. While giving his gratitude, Li Kuang was choked, because He Yan was like his old friend he used to have (he meant General Feihong). He didn’t know she was his general all along!
Xiao Jue also apologized to He Yan because he was furious at her before, despite her explanation. After investigating, he found out that her late arrival to help his father was a scheme by Prime Minister Xu. He meant to apologize to her after his trip to the Capital, but she had gone to Rundu. Fei Nu also apologized to He Yan, because he was also angry at her before. All was good, misunderstandings were cleared.
Conclusion
Yay… now everything was cleared up between Xiao Jue and He Yan. Time to tackle the enemies in this drama in the final part!
