Introduction
In the third part, Legend of the Female General: Drama Recap Episodes 17 to 26, He Yan and Xiao Jue started fighting side-by-side against the enemy attacks from the neighboring country. In this final part, they would finally tackle the enemies within. Let’s see how they would end the treason and regain He Yan’s general identity.
There were several kissing scenes in this drama. This scene was taken from Episode 34, when they were about to get married.
Recaps Episodes 27 to 36
Episode 27
It was clear that Prime Minister Xu Jingfu and the fake General He Rufei had already colluded with each other, so the evidence of their collusion was in the Capital. He Yan wanted to go to the Capital to find evidence, so Xiao Jue ordered her to go with him and Fei Nu.
You know, Chu Zhao went with He Yan and her colleagues to Rundu, right? Nah, he didn’t want to support her; he wanted to confirm her identity as General Feihong. Chu Zhao claimed that Prime Minister Xu Jingfu would not touch him. Although he respected his teachers, compared with the country of Wei, Chu Zhao would not ignore the prime minister’s behavior of colluding with the enemy and treason. He Yan reminded Chu Zhao that there was right and wrong, and she hoped that Chu Zhao would make the right decisions. After Chu Zhao left, He Yan told Xiao Jue that Chu Zhao was not an evil person, and they might be able to cooperate with him in the future, but Xiao Jue refused to comment.
Episode 28
Another cool fighting scene. While staying at an inn, He Yan, Xiao Jue, and Fei Nu were attacked by assassins. He Yan knew that these assassins were sent by her stepbrother.
He Yan fought an assassin upside down
Xiao Jue hinted to Fei Nu to ask He Yan to stay at Xiao Jue’s home; he was too awkward to ask her directly, haha. At first, He Yan just wanted to stay at an inn, but because of the attack, she agreed to stay at the Xiao Mansion. The only family members now were Xiao Jue’s brother, Xiao Jing, and sister-in-law. The first thing Xiao Jue did when he went home was to worship his parents and ancestors. He told his parents that he had found the most important person in his life. He Yan went out to buy gifts for Xiao Jing and his wife. She realized that she was being followed, so she caught the follower and told him to pass a message to his master. Sure enough, it was He Rufei who sent the servant to follow He Yan.
Episode 29
The old classmate Yan He came to the Xiao Mansion to visit Xiao Jue. He told He Yan how Xiao Jue was actually someone who cared for his friends, especially how he treated He Rufei (He Yan) differently, and secretly helped her. Although at that time, she was still a man.
Yan He left, and Xiao Jue returned with a robe for He Yan. When asked his reason for secretly helping her, Xiao Jue said that he felt they were the same and had to shoulder the family burden from such a young age.
Xiao Jue also found the pouch He Yan gave when she left for Rundu. At that time, he didn’t understand why she left him a pouch together with a note explaining her departure. By chance, he checked the inside of the pouch, and saw a moon embroidery. When they were dancing in Jiyang City during the Water God Festival, He Yan whispered to him that she liked the moon, but the moon didn’t know it. Xiao Jue realized that he was the moon. Many of Xiao Jue’s first times were given to He Yan. The two of them expressed their feelings. The two then kissed under the bright moonlight.
At the Mid-Autumn Festival palace banquet, He Yan and Xiao Jue entered the palace together and met He Rufei. Your Majesty called General Wu An, and He Yan stepped forward and bowed. Your Majesty praised her for not being arrogant or impatient, and asked her why she pretended to be General Feihong instead of General Fengyun. He Yan wisely answered that General Feihong always wore a mask in the past, so nobody knew his face.
He Yan requested to have a duel with He Rufei. Definitely, He Rufei was not a match for He Yan, even though Prime Minister Xu helped him refuse. However, His Majesty agreed with the request. The night before, Xiao Jue handed He Yan her Qinglang sword to fight with He Rufei tomorrow. The audience felt strange that General Feihong’s famous sword was in the hands of General Wu An, not General Feihong (He Rufei).
He Rufei is not He Yan’s opponent at all. She easily defeated him. Prime Minister Xu defended He Rufei and said that General Feihong was injured in the battle of Huayuan, so he lost to He Yan. No matter what, He Rufei’s face was completely lost tonight.
Minister Xu’s daughter, who had a crush Chu Zhao, was jealous of He Yan because Chu Zhao drew He Yan in a painting. She wanted to expose her gender in front of the public. Unexpectedly, Xiao Jue had already informed the Emperor about He Yan’s gender and used military merits to exchange for His Majesty’s forgiveness for He Yan’s intentional concealment of his identity as a woman. His Majesty did not care about it. However, some guests led by Prime Minister Xu made a big deal about it.
Episode 30
Prime Minister Xu accused Xiao Jue of disregarding military discipline and hiding He Yan’s identity as a woman for his own pleasure. He Yan stood up and argued, stating that a person’s virtue should not be judged by gender. If a woman were talented and worked hard, she could also serve the Great Wei. Her words were impressive and powerful, which made the empress and other female guests admired her.
Seeing that His Majesty was full of appreciation for He Yan, Prime Minister Xu and his lackeys stood up. They argued back and forth. His Majesty asked the empress next to him about her opinion, and Her Majesty said that common soldiers were plentiful, but good generals were rare. Haha, apparently, the empress was from a military family and fought alongside His Majesty in wars. His Majesty was very pleased with He Yan’s contribution to the kingdom and promoted He Yan to the Marquis of Wu An on the spot.
Now the cute stuff. Li Su and Tao Tao both escaped from the marriage betrothal (to each other), so they didn’t dare to go home this Mid-Autumn Festival, and both stayed in the Xiao Mansion. After the Festival, she returned home and hoped that the Cheng Family would bring the engagement letter to her family. However, on the contrary, her parents went to the Cheng Family to break the engagement. Tao Tao’s feelings toward Li Su actually grew after being together since the Camp. Tao Tao went to find her parents before they returned the engagement letter, feigning sickness.
He Yan and Xiao Jue met with Chu Zhao, and she told him her past and asked him to join forces with them in fighting against Prime Minister Xu and He Rufei. After he finally agreed to help them, Xiao Jue visited Xu Jingfu and put pressure on him. He Yan, wearing women’s clothing, went to her old home to speak directly to He Rufei and her stepfather.
Episode 31
He Rufei wanted to kill He Yan with his sword, but she singlehandedly subdued him with her bare hands. She used a poison to make He Rufei and his father pass out and tied them up. Then she went looking for the evidence to incriminate He Rufei. She found a box that belonged to He Rufei. Her mother helped her escape. Later, He Yan handed the box to Xiao Jue so he could challenge Prime Minister Xu.
FYI, let me clarify the relationship between He Yan and He Rufei, as non-blood-related step-siblings. When He Yan was 3 years old, her mother married (or was forced to marry) He Rufei’s father. He Rufei was already born, but sickly at that time.
Episode 32
He Yan challenged He Rufei in front of guests during the banquet after the winter sacrifice ceremony. She asked He Rufei whether he was General Feihong. When he ignored her, she accused He Rufei of three major crimes: the first crime, substituting the real General Feihong. Li Kuang was summoned. He and other generals used to communicate with drawings with General Feihong because they were illiterate. However, He Rufei accused that Li Kuang was bought by He Yan. Second crime: to conceal his identity, he killed people. He Yan submitted a letter written by He family housekeeper to his distant relatives, the assassins who tried to kill He Yan, Xiao Jue, and Fei Nu before they entered the Capital. And the third crime was colluding with Wutuo and treason, which caused the killing of his subordinates, the seven generals of Fuyue Army.
The second crime is to cover up his identity, kill people to silence his colleagues, and kill colleagues. He Yan has a letter written by the housekeeper of He’s family to his distant relatives who are dead soldiers. He Rufei argued that since He Yan didn’t have any evidence about this, until Mrs. He, He Yan’s mother, entered the hall with a stack of letters. Those letters were evidence that He Rufei colluded with the enemies. She met Xiao Jue before the banquet to enter the palace. Mrs. He also revealed that her husband replaced his son with her daughter. Unfortunately, after this, He Yan’s mother vomited blood because she had been poisoned over the years.
He Yan continued by pointing at Xu Jingfu, the prime minister of Wei. When His Majesty asked He Yan for evidence, Chu Zhao stood up and identified the crimes committed by Prime Minister Xu. Xu Jingfu rebelled at the spot, and He Rufei called out the Fuyue Army. However, the ones who showed up were the Nine Flag Battalion led by Xiao Jue. His Majesty ordered He Rufei and Xu Jingfu to be imprisoned and then executed after the trial.
Episode 33
To be honest, this episode was boring political stuff. Let me summarize the highlights for you:
- The He family was stripped of their title, and He Yuansheng (He Yan’s stepfather) was exiled to the border.
- He Yan also committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, but because of her loyalty to serve the country, she was pardoned.
- He Yan was reinstated as General Feihong, and led the Fuyue Army again.
- The Xiao family was rehabilitated. Xiao Zhongwu was posthumously named General Zhongwu and buried with honor.
- Xiao Jue was named the commander of the Xiao family army and restored the power of the Xiao family army. Note: before this, he had an army but didn’t bear the Xiao family name.
- Chu Zhao was promoted to Secretariat of the Secretariat.
Episode 34
If Episode 33 was boring, Episode 34 was annoying. Idk what was wrong with the scriptwriters…
So, basically, this Chu Zhao guy was complicatedly obsessed with He Yan, he didn’t get a hint that He Yan and Xiao Jue were dating in plain view, starting in Episode 33, when he saw them holding hands. He advised the Emperor that General Fengyun and General Feihong could not marry because both of these generals held strong armies. If they decided to take over the country with their military strength, the emperor would be toast. Of course, the emperor was suddenly worried. Chu Zhao continued, it would be better if the emperor issued an edict to marry He Yan to him!
Poor Xiao Jue, he wasn’t happy when he heard from the emperor that he couldn’t marry He Yan because of the military power. Who would get the tiger talisman? Note: The tiger talisman was the symbol of military power in the ancient Chinese emperor system. The tiger talisman is issued by the central government to the general in charge of the army. He punched Chu Zhao, and I had to put that screenshot here!
Xiao Jue couldn’t bear to break He Yan’s wings to be a female general, but the Xiao family army finally recovered.
Episode 35
That bipolar emperor issued an edict just on their wedding day!
He Yan had already put on her a wedding dress in the Xiao Mansion and happily waited for Xiao Jue to return from the palace. There were two edicts: firstly, to reward He Yan with a mansion of General Feihong. Secondly, as we all guessed, His Majesty gave the marriage to He Yan and the Minister of the Secretariat Chu Zhao. The emperor was really cruel. Not only did he break up the pair of Xiao Jue and He Yan, but he also made Xiao Jue to personally read the marriage order to He Yan. Xiao Jue refused, even if he resigned. But His Majesty threatened him with the Xiao family, and Xiao Jue was forced to do so.
Later, He Yan entered the palace to meet the emperor and asked His Majesty to take back his order. Chu Zhao was also present and promised to treat He Yan well. He Yan didn’t appreciate it. She could comply with the will and not marry Xiao Jue, but she didn’t want to marry Chu Zhao. If she couldn’t be with her beloved, she would stay single. His Majesty finally let He Yan not to marry Chu Zhao and stay single forever.
He Yan believed that Chu Zhao’s sincerity towards her was just an excuse to fulfill his ambition. She severed ties with Chu Zhao and smashed his gift to the ground, stating that he was like the second Xu Jingfu. Speaking of the late Prime Minister, his daughter came storming to Chu Zhao when she heard about the marriage edict. Therefore, when Chu Zhao said that he and He Yan wouldn’t marry, Xu Pinting mocked him. They argued and tried to stab him, his loyal maid Yingxiang blocked her and got stabbed instead, and died on the spot. Xu Pinting laughed and cried at the same time, mocked him that he couldn’t get the person he loved, and the only person who loved him, died. This was called karma! Note: I didn’t understand why a weak lady like Xu Pinting, who didn’t know how to fight, managed to deliver one stab to kill Yingxiang, a skilled martial artist?!
He Yan had convinced His Majesty that she would neither marry Xiao Jue nor Chu Zhao. Xiao Jue declared that He Yan was his only wife, regardless of whether there was any marriage or not. There was no need for those formalities, as long as they had each other in their hearts, it was enough.
The only thing that was fun to watch in this episode was the wedding between Tao Tao and Li Su. He Yan personally dressed up her best friend and reminded her not to forget that whether she was a wife or a mother in the future, she was herself first. Tao Tao agreed that she aspired to write medical books, whether Li Su would be with her or not.
The wedding procession itself was hilarious. The custom was for the bride to step on a horse saddle for a good omen. Usually, there was just a saddle on the ground. But the saddle was on a horse standing in front of them, and Tao Tao was worried, since neither she nor Li Su could ride a horse. Not sure how Li Su, who was usually weak, got the strength to throw Tao Tao over a horse and was caught by a bunch of maids on the other side, lmao! Li Su made a funny performance for the procession to make Tao Tao laugh. So unconventional!
When He Yan saw Tao Tao and Li Su’s fun wedding intro, she couldn’t help but envy them. Xiao Jue held her hand. In fact, there were so many lovers in the world who didn’t get married. Now, he could hold her hands and grew old together.
Episode 36
The looming war. The Wutuo declared war on Wei and attacked two cities. He Yan and Xiao Jue were summoned to the palace. His Majesty ordered Xiao Jue to lead his army to defend Mingshui, and ordered He Yan and Chu Zhao to Rundu to back Li Kuang defending the city. He Yan knew His Majesty was purposely separating them because he was still wary with her and Xiao Jue.
He Yan left 5000 elite soldier to help Li Kuang defend Rundu and led the rest to Huayan to assist the other general, Yan He, their former schoolmate. Unfortunately, Yan He died, leaving his pregnant wife who delivered a premature daughter at the time Yan He fell to the ground. He Yan scolded Chu Zhao. If he hadn’t made stupid suggestions to the emperor, he would have intentionally separated the army, causing Yan He to defend Wutuo alone for several days and die.
After arranging for her subordinate Jiang Jiao to stay and help Yan He’s deputy general in Huayuan, He Yan led her soldiers to support the Xiao family army, who were fighting hard in Mingshui. Xiao Jue and He Yan fought fiercely and the two killed the Wutuo’s leader together and won the victory of the Battle of Mingshui.
Chu Zhao, the Vice Director of the Secretariat, was banished by the emperor to the borderland, because he repeatedly slandered the Wei’s army, which divided the forces of Wei and caused the Wutuo to take advantage of the division.
The emperor finally put aside his guard against Xiao Jue and He Yan and issued an order to marry the two. He Yan and Xiao Jue looked at each other, thanking His Majesty for his grace. They finally waited for this imperial edict, and lovers could finally get married.
After so many setbacks and difficulties, they could finally be together forever. THE END.
Conclusion
Sigh… despite it being a happy ending for the main couple and the secondary couple, I was dissatisfied. Firstly, the drama should end in Episode 33, with the revelation of the fake and the real General Feihong and the punishment of Prime Minister Xu and He Rufei. The so-called rebellion of the prime minister in Episode 33 was a joke, considering he was supposed to be the most powerful man after the emperor and the top villain. The whole ‘court’ scene when He Yan disclosed her stepbrother’s and the prime minister’s crimes was like a farce. Secondly, why introduce a character, General Yan He, so late in the last few episodes, Episode 29 to be exact, only to be killed dramatically later since his wife was pregnant with their first child? It was like the drama needed a scapegoat to kill. The actor who played Yan He, Peter Sheng/Sheng Yi Lung, was quite well-known; his role in this drama was underperformed. And finally, the emperor was like a bipolar person, wise at one time and stupid at the other time. The tiger talisman’s issue was a worry in the first place, but the same issue was dismissed the second time?
The last few episodes were a mess!!!
Let’s just forget the drama and go enjoy the moon together with Xiao Jue and He Yan for the ending of Legend of the Female General ( 锦月如歌 ).
