Previously…
Pursuit of Jade: Drama Info and Recap Episodes 1 to 6 ends with Changyu’s uncle dead, and her aunt accusing her of killing her husband. What actually happened?
Recaps Episodes 7 to 12
Episode 7
I smelled a conspiracy! Despite the stab wound inconsistent with Changyu’s knives and alibi from her neighbors, Magistrate Cui still detained her. Constable Wang was tasked to search her house, and arrived on a bloody scene with three dead bodies and a ransacked house. Yan Zheng and Changning were missing! He returned to the yamen to tell Changyu and let her go to search for her husband and sis. Upon hearing there was a fight in the forest, she ran there and found Yan Zheng fighting the assassins with the frightened Changning nearby. Changning sought help from Constable Wang, who found the couple collapsed from fighting the assassins.
Yan Zheng and Changyu’s teamwork and the fighting scenes were cool, but full of slo-mo, a signature filming technique of the director.
At home, Yan Zheng examined a whistle that fell from one assassin and identified them as the Iron Suicide Warrior, the elite agents of the Wei family. They didn’t look for him, but what was hidden in Changyu’s house they were looking for?
The next morning, Constable Wang showed up with Yan Zheng’s arrest warrant for the murder of the assassins. Magistrate Cui ordered 20 leashes so Yan Zheng would confess. Yan Zheng tried to explain the law, but the magistrate schemed with his assistant. Before Yan Zheng tried to fight the guards his way, his bestie Gongsun Yin arrived. They had secretly communicated through the messenger bird. Yin brought Yan Zheng’s travel documents and stated that he was a student from the prestigious Luyuan Academy. That name was like a charm to Magistrate Cui. He declared that Yan Zheng was a law-abiding citizen, and there was not enough evidence to convict Changyu, and release the couple. But Yan Zheng was not completely healed. He passed out after spitting blood.
Episode 8
While Yan Zheng was unconscious, Gongsun Yin was informed about the marriage by Mr. Zhao and Changning. He was shocked when he found out that his bestie, whom he called Xie Jiuheng, had become the matrimonial husband of a female butcher, and that the butcher was a beautiful young girl. His facial expressions were so priceless!
When Yan Zheng woke up, Gongsun Yin probed him about the situation. At this time, let me still call him Yan Zheng, until Changyu found out about his real name. Now we know what happened to Yan Zheng. While he was secretly investigating the Jinzhou case from sixteen years ago, he was ambushed on the battlefield. His loyal guards died. Yan Zheng fell from a cliff into a river, drifted down, and collapsed in the snow, where Changyu saved him.
Yan Zheng also told Yin about the assassins from the Wei family who were looking for a mysterious item in Changyu’s house. Yin asked about what becoming to his marriage. Yan Zheng couldn’t answer, since now the national issue and his family grievance were not yet resolved.
While Yan Zheng was with his bestie, Changyu was contemplating to move out. She still thought the dead bodies were bandits, and a neighbor advised she should flee before the bandits return to avenge their dead members. Changyu was teary-eyed when she thought Yan Zheng had left. It turned out he just went to the neighbor and Gongsun Yin was the one who left. Changyu just said smoke went into her eyes. She told Yan Zheng about moving out, Yan Zheng told her that he would go with her.
When Changyu was closing her meat shop for good, an acquaintance, Chef Li asked her to meet his boss, Yu Qianqian, the owner of Yuxiang Restaurant. Yu Qianqian was very beautiful. She arrived in Lin’an years ago, pregnant, and had build a good restaurant business. She asked Changyu to do business with her, providing braised meat, with a good price. Changyu agreed because she needed to save travel money.
Later, Qianqian took her to see some dance at her restaurant. Changyu didn’t realize that she was watched by none other than Li Huaian, the man who gave her a ride earlier. He had been searching for her, not knowing they had met before. Hmmm…
Although it was a fake marriage, Mrs. Zhao wanted Changyu and Yan Zheng to consummate their marriage. She intentionally washed her bedding, that left Changyu to sleep on a chair leaning against the table. Seeing she was uncomfortable, Yan Zheng called her over.
Episode 9
Changyu knew Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were eavesdropping. Let the show begin, so the elderly couple won’t have to wait all night! At first, Yan Zhen pinned her down, but he got tired from his injury, so they changed positions. The candle was blown out, and they were left in the dark. The atmosphere became intimate. To fill in the awkwardness, Yan Zhen asked her about her parents.
This Zhao couple was so hilarious. Their silhouettes were obvious on the bright window!
Changyu smelled the tangerine candy he’d eaten, so he invited her to “taste” it now. Things got hot, but as usual, there was an interruption. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming. They were assassins! Changyu jumped to chase them, and Yan Zhen dealt with a man. They were from Iron Suicide Warrior. The assassin recognized the marquis. He confessed they had been sent by Chancellor Wei to kill the Fan sisters for a letter. The assassin committed suicide. Yan Zhen collapsed, and his wound reopened.
While Changyu was dealing with several assassins, Li Huaian arrived with his men. He acted as the Zhenwei Commandant of Jizhou. He forbade Changyu from leaving the town until the case was cleared. Magistrate Cui saw the illegal memorial tablet in her house and wanted to arrest Changyu, but Li Huaian intervened. He investigated Yan Zhen and suspected he was the marquis.
Remember Chancellor Wei, who ordered his elite assassins to kill the Fan sisters, right? His incapable son, Wei Xuan, wanted to control Yan Zhen’s former army and ordered a veteran general, He Jingyuan, to help him. He also wanted to attack Chongzhou. We would see the princes of Chongzhou soon, Sui Yuanhuai and Sui Yuanqing!
Apparently, this He Jingyuan was an old friend of the Fan sisters’ father. He sent a mysterious item to Chancellor Wei, with a message that it was time to fulfill the promise to protect the girls. Meanwhile, Li Huaian returned and reported his findings to He Jingyuan, his mentor. He was aware the fights between the factions, so he asked his mentor what would happen if the marquis was still alive.
Episode 10
General He wisely replied that if Marquis Wu’an returned, it would be a blessing for the Great Yin. He was a stabilizer between the two factions power struggle, as well as Prince Changxin’s rebellion.
Changyu took her husband and sis to pray at the parent’s grave. At the same time, General He took Li Huaian to pay respect to an unknown grave. I wonder if both graves belonged to Changyu’s father? General He asked Li Huaian to promise him that if he died, Li Huaian should protect the Fan sisters and not let them get involved in the political struggle.
Their lovey-dovey scene was interrupted by the keen-eyed sis
Remember that mysterious item General He sent to Chancellor Wei? It was the Tiger Seal and military documents from the previous dynasty. Basically, General He threatened Chancellor Wei that he would reveal what happened 16 years ago if Chancellor Wei went after the Fan sisters. Well, since Chancellor Wei needed General He’s support, he stopped chasing the girls.
With the mission from his teacher, Li Huaian moved into Lin’an Town and settled in front of Changyu’s house. He lied to Changyu that the bandits were after a treasure map, which her father, the escort, had transported in the past. He stayed in Lin’an Town to investigate. Yan Zhen, who secretly listened to what Li Huaian’ told his wife, wondered why he had concocted such an elaborate lie. He and Li Huaian had known each other since young; they had been trained by General He together. Yan Zhen sent a secret message through the bird somewhere. Then he went straight to Li Huaian house to confront him, asking where his loyalty lay: the Li family or the Wei family? Li Huaian diplomatically replied that his loyalty lied to the Great Yin and its people. How about the marquis?
Why did I sense these two would be (love) rivals?
Episode 11
Yan Zhen only warned Li Huaian that, as a man, he shouldn’t be a fence-sitter, as a minister, he shouldn’t switch sides frivolously. Lil Changning arrived to call Yan Zhen for lunch, and they left, leaving Li Huaian with a smashed tea cup and a table broken in two due to Yan Zhen’s internal energy.
Ah, the secret message Yan Zhen sent? He called his subordinates from Black Robed Calvary Guard for a secret meeting. They complained about the reckless and arrogant Wei Xuan, who was now in charge of the army. Yan Zhen advised them to let him be, as he would lure out the rebel, Prince Changxin. Before they departed, Yan Zhen ordered his men to spread the rumor that the Marquis of Wu’an, Xie Zheng, was dead. The more people who believed it, the better.
Meanwhile, Changyu worked at Yixiang Restaurant, and it was super busy because her braised meat had become popular. After late-night work, Yu Qianqian insisted on taking Changyu home in her carriage. It was lucky, or unlucky, that they were intercepted by masked men. As Changyu fought the men, it turned out that one of them was her competitor butcher. He threw a powder that knocked Changyu off. Luckily, Qianqian’s scream was heard by Yan Zhen. After subduing the butcher, he took Changyu and Qianqian home and dragged the butcher behind the carriage. Yan Zhen brutally interrogated the butcher and wanted to kill him, despite Li Huaian trying to talk sense to him. He would’ve killed the butcher if Changyu hadn’t woken up and called Yan Zhen.
Although the attack seemed to aim at Changyu, the butcher confessed he wanted to sell her to the bandit, Qianqian had worried about her son. She ordered people to increase the safety around her home… and the underground secret room where her son Bao’er stayed. Hmmm… I wondered why Qianqian was so paranoid about her son’s safety. Who was the father?
Two (complicated) new romances (?) were introduced in this episode:
In the past, Yan Zhen’s bestie, Gongsun Yun, met a chess playmate at a temple. After playing back and forth remotely, they were bound spiritually. Then he found out that his playmate was a princess. Yi chose to sever their friendship and stop the chess play due to a huge social status difference. He gave her a bracelet through the monk. The princess was Princess Royal Qi Shu, half-sister of the current Crown Prince Cheng De and the daughter of the current Emperor Qi Shen. Through their spiritual connection, Qi Shu also fell for Gongsun Yin. When she found out that Yin was the headmaster of Luyuan Academy, she sneaked in, disguised herself as Scholar An. Yin not only found out that this new scholar was a woman, but also a princess. Although he didn’t know she was the one he used to play with. He sent a message to her mother to fetch the rebel princess back. Yin gave copies of the chess strategy to her as a parting gift. With tears in her eyes, Qi Shu threw the copies in the air with a flair. Later, she returned the bracelet, so Yin knew Qi Shu was the one playing chess with him at the temple. Her mother planned to betroth her to none other than Li Huaian, the grandson of Grand Tutor Li Jing.
The second romance, probably, you could guess, was between Qianqian… with whom? A business partner visited Yixiang Restaurant to introduce a merchant from the capital named Mr. Qi to Qianqian. Hmmm… he was introduced as Qi Min, but wasn’t he Sui Yuanhuai, the son of Prince Changxin, the rebel? Qi Min seemed a flirt, holding her fingers when she gave him the teacup, and holding her fan when she excused herself. Aaand… Deng Kai was hella sexy in silver hair!
Episode 12
Changyu and Qianqian were bullied at the restaurant. Changyu’s former MIL, Mrs. Song, dined with her hi-so friends to boast about her new daughter-in-law. When she saw Changyu, the vile woman bullied her in front of her friends. Because the situation escalated, Qianqian defended Changyu. Of course, this didn’t go well for Qianqian. Now the bully moved to Qianqian, the women talked about her being an unwed mother with a child of an unknown father. Now Qi Min found out about the child! Was he the father? Later, Qi Min sent masked men to teach a lesson to Mrs. Song. He suspected the child was hidden somewhere in the restaurant.
During the New Year celebration, a male customer bullied Qianqian. While she defended herself, the customer lunged at her with a knife. Qi Min suddenly appeared to rescue her. Although safe, Qianqian was even more terrified of Qi Min. He behaved like someone she had known, but his voice was different, and he didn’t have scars.
When the two women found out that the children, Changning and Bao’er, were missing, they were panicked. Especially Qianqian, since she thought Qi Min abducted Bao’er. The kids were just falling asleep after playing hide-and-seek. Qianqian’s reaction was so over-the-top that Changyu started suspecting that her friend harbored a dark past.
The real childhood sweethearts?
Qi Min pursuit was getting worse when he booked the entire restaurant for ten days. Qianqian wanted to drive him away, so she gave her a very high rental price, but Qi Min complied with that. Qianqian was terrified, so she closed the restaurant and went into hiding. She finally told Changyu about Qi Min. Changyu guessed that Qi Min just liked Qianqian, but Qianqian thought that it was more than “liking”. She wanted to get rid of Qi Min. Then Qianqian proposed something shocking to Changyu.
TL;DR
- The death of Changyu’s uncle seemed just natural, but her aunt took advantage to blame it on her as a “jinx”.
- New important characters entered the arena, and new likely love stories emerged, making the drama even more chaotic.
- Assassins… assassins everywhere! The Fan sisters were the target.
- Yu Qianqian was not just a beautiful and savvy businesswoman. Confining her son in the hidden room was yet her biggest secret.
That Qi Min, or Sui Yuanhuai (?), is handsome but creepy as hell! I didn’t blame Qianqian for taking drastic measures to get rid of her pesky “suitor”. And I think I knew what the proposal was. Let’s continue to Part 3!
逐玉, Zhang Linghe, Tian Xiwei
