Previously…
Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao started getting close to each other in The First Jasmine: Drama Recap Episodes 7 to 11. However, we know they still have their own emotional baggage. Let’s see how the drama will address their unresolved psychological trauma and painful past experiences in the episodes below!
Recap Episodes 12 to 15
Episode 12
Ye Li told Mo Xiuyao about her relationship with Mo Jingli. He was the son of the former crown prince and was sent to Lishan Academy to recuperate. When a fire broke out in the East Palace, Master Zhu and twenty Lishan Academy disciples escorted Mo Jingli down the mountain. Before they reached the capital, the late emperor (Mo Jingli’s grandfather) passed away. Because Mo Jingli was in danger, they took him to Duke Hua’s military camp with his consent. Unexpectedly, they were intercepted halfway by Marquis Mu Yang. He accused them of kidnapping the imperial grandson and plotting a rebellion.
Other ministers didn’t believe Marquis Mu Yang, so he could only detain Master Zhu and the disciples. Mo Jingli ultimately betrayed Lishan Academy under Marquis Mu Yang’s coercion. All Ye Li’s senior brothers were executed. That means Master Zhu had died, and Ye Li lied to Li Feibai! Ye Li understood that Mo Jingli, who was only 14 at that time, was scared of the marquis. But Ye Li could not forgive him. She ensured Mo Xiuyao that she and Mo Jingli had no romantic involvement.
That was only Ye Li’s side of the story. Let’s hear Mo Jingli’s side of the story. When he was sent to Lishan Academy, everyone treated him with the reverence of a royal family member. Only the warm-hearted Ye Li, who treated him normally. They became inseparable until his grandfather, the Emperor, decreed their betrothal with Ye Li’s grandfather’s agreement.
After Mo Jingli returned to the Capital, he was imprisoned by the Empress Dowager, and she placed Mo Yanqi (the current emperor) on the throne. Upon his release, Mo Jingli survived by playing the part of a harmless and submissive puppet. He severed ties with Ye Li and Lishan Academy to protect both his ambitions and Ye Li’s life. He was shocked when the Empress Dowager betrothed Ye Li to Mo Xiuyao.
Determined to seize control of his destiny and avenge his family, Mo Jingli orchestrated the murder of the loyal official Yuan Fang—who had been investigating Marquis Muyang’s corrupt weapon trafficking in Huaixi—to sow discord between the Empress Dowager and the Marquis.
After hearing Ye Li’s story about her dissociation with Mo Jingli, Mo Xiuyao trusted her more. She used the opportunity to coax and plead with him to treat his legs. It was not an easy fix. Mo Xiuyao’s injury has been neglected for eight years. The most critical and agonizing step involved breaking and resetting his leg bones. Ye Li asked Li Feibai to disguise himself as the renowned physician Yunqi to perform the painful bone-breaking procedure on Mo Xiuyao. The procedure is called the Tai Su Palm technique, which breaks the bone cleanly without injuring surrounding tissues. Mo Xiuyao underwent the painful process of reattaching his broken bones. Ye Li tended to Mo Xiuyao the whole night and stayed by his bedside.
Episode 13
They started sleeping in the same bed. Mo Xiuyao invited her to lie down on the bed when he saw her sneezing from the cold on the rainy night. While talking, they mentioned their nicknames, called by people close to them. A Li and A Yao… so cute!
Empress Dowager charges Mo Xiuyao with the task of conducting a thorough investigation on the assassination of Yuan Fang. We knew from the previous episode that Mo Jingli killed him.
While playing chess with Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao accidentally discovered that Ye Li actually knew about swords. The calloused hands clearly indicated she had spent a considerable amount of time practicing swordsmanship. Ye Li lied that the calluses on her hands were from hard work on the mountains.
If Ye Li could get away with that lie, not with this shocking lie: It was Ye Li who hired Zheng Qin of the Red Scorpion Gang to stage her own kidnapping! Zheng Qin was Lu Changfu’s man in his early years. It was Lu Changfu who sent Zheng Qin to burn the seven disciples of Lishan Academy! It is not difficult to see that Ye Li wants to use Mo Xiuyao’s hand to kill Zheng Qin.
Mo Xiuyao couldn’t believe he had been deceived and confronted Ye Li. The reason he hated liars because before his brother died, Mo Xiuwen had trusted others too easily and handed over the imperial edict, which led to him being falsely accused of entering the capital without an edict and ultimately meeting a tragic end. From then on, Mo Xiuyau didn’t want to be deceived anymore; thus, he no longer easily trusted others.
Because of the deception, the couple’s relationship was strained. Mo Xiuyao refused to accompany Ye Li to her grandmother’s birthday banquet, citing work as an excuse. Ye Li travels to the Ye Mansion alone with her third uncle, Ye Wenshen. While traveling, Ye Li saw a familiar carriage. She immediately ran out to chase it, stirring up old memories. Back then, Mo Xiuwen, Mo Xiuyao’s brother, entrusted the imperial edit to Xu Wanzhou, Ye Li’s mother. Unexpectedly, the edict was snatched away by Ye Wending, Ye Li’s uncle. Despite Xu Wanzhou’s desperate pleas, Ye Wending refused to hand over the edict, leading to Mo Xiuwen’s tragic death.
This is also why Ye Li previously said her family owed the Ding Mansion!
Episode 14
I name this episode: The Ye Family Drama!
Ye Li’s father, Ye Wenhua, had been haunted by the sound of the guqin from the dilapidated courtyard where Xu Wanzhou (Ye Li’s mother) used to live. He also saw her memorial tablet. He was shocked when finding out from Ye Li that Xu Wanzhou had been dead for eight years! Ye Wenhua called a Daoist Master to perform the cleansing ritual after his mother’s birthday.
Although Mo Xiuyao didn’t come to the party, Mo Jingli came with Ye Ying. He even played the qin to entertain guests. People whispered about his grand intention, that he came for the sake of his wife. In fact, while playing the nostalgic song, his eyes were fixed entirely on Ye Li!
The party crasher was Mr. Wang, who had looked for Uncle Ye Wenshen in connection with an accusation of an affair with his wife. He publicly accused Ye Wenshen of seducing his wife. Ye Wenshen refused to admit it, so Mr. Wang immediately took out his knife and attacked Ye Wenshen. Luckily, another uninvited guest entered. He was A Jin, Mo Xiuyao’s attendant. He subdued Mr. Wang and brought him back to Jingzhao Prefecture. Before A Jin returned, though, he presented a birthday gift from Mo Xiuyao: a precious jade treated with healing herbs according to a legendary prescription!
Uncle Ye Wenshen went with A Jin to Jingzhao Prefecture to settle the conflict with Mr. Wang. Ye Li also wanted to leave, but Uncle Ye Wending and her stepmother, Madam Wang, urged her to stay over. After the party, Ye Li walked alone to her late mother’s courtyard. She remembered a painful memory when Uncle Ye Wending broke into her mother’s courtyard and snatched away the imperial edict. Her mother fell sick at that time and was locked up in the courtyard. Unable to deliver the imperial edict, Xu Wanzhou sent young Ye Li to go to the execution ground to apologize to Mo Xiuwen and offer whatever help they could—a debt she owed to the Prince Ding’s Mansion.
Ye Li’s reflections were interrupted by a noise nearby. She found Mo Jingli, drunk, and he was about to mutilate himself. Ye Li stopped him. Mo Jingli thought he was dreaming and started pouring his heart out to Ye Li, but she had no feelings for Mo Jingli.
Luckily, Mo Jingli would no longer cause a problem for Ye Li while she was in the Ye Mansion. He received a secret message from his spy planted in the Jingzhao Prefecture and left immediately. Mo Xiuyao made progress in Yuan Fang’s case. They deduced that the assassins who killed Yuan Fang were still hiding inside the city. One of the assassins is known as Red Fox. The spy sent a secret message to Mo Jingli at the Ye Mansion that Jingzhao Prefecture had discovered Red Fox.
Although Mo Jingli left the Ye Mansion, his jealous wife was still there. She was very angry at Ye Li and accused her of seducing her husband. Ye Li calmly redirected Ye Ying’s attention to her murder attempt on her. Under the Chu State Law, hiring assassins to murder a princess consort fell under the Ten Abominations, a crime unforgivable even by imperial amnesty. Ye Ying was so angry that she launched at Ye Li. Ye Li dodged Ye Ying, and Ye Ying fell into the pool. Ye Ying was horrified to discover a human skeleton under the water!
I assumed it was Mo Jingli, disguising himself as the masked man in black, who rescued Red Fox when the Jingzhao Prefecture was just about to capture Red Fox. Mo Xiuyao ordered an immediate lockdown of the area and commanded the city guards to search the canals thoroughly, insisting that the fugitives be found, dead or alive.
Episode 15
The Ye Family Drama continues…
The Ye Family had a skeleton in the closet (=embarrassing/shameful secrets from the past that they actively keep hidden to avoid public disgrace or damage to their reputation) with a real skeleton! The guests suggested that the Ye Family report the skeleton to the police, but Uncle Ye Wending refused. Ye Li realized whose skeleton it was after watching her father’s scared look. Ye Li stepped forward and revealed that the skeleton belonged to Yan Lu, Xu Wanzhou’s personal maid from back then. Back then, Ye Wending led people to barge into the courtyard, injured Yanlu, who tried to block them, and took away the edict. Later, her father and uncle said they would take Yanlu away to treat her injuries, but apparently they killed her and sank her body into the pond. Ye Li pointed out that the bracelet on the skeleton’s wrist was a gift from Xu Wanzhou to Yanlu. Ye Li confronted her uncle, claiming that it was he who killed Yanlu and drove the sick Xu Wanzhou out of the Ye Mansion, causing her to die on the way back to Lishan Academy.
While they were arguing, suddenly they heard the sound of a guqin coming from Xu Wanzhou’s dilapidated courtyard. They all went there. The one playing the qin was Madam Wang’s personal maid, who appeared possessed. Once Madam Wang snatched the qin from the maid’s hand, the possession seemed to move into Madam Wang. She said something to her husband, and he passed out in fear. Luckily, the Daoist Master arrived and restored Madam Wang consciousness. Under the guidance of the Daoist Master, Ye Wenhua was led to write a letter detailing what actually happened that year.
Apparently, the possession and the Daoist Master were all Ye Li’s plan! In Episode 11, Ye Li sent Li Feibai to Madam Wang asking for a ‘favor’. Madam Wang couldn’t reject because Ye Li blackmailed her stepmother with her knowledge of Madam Wang’s affair with her ex-lover. The ‘Daoist Master’ gave the letter to Ye Li. However, nothing was written on the paper! Ye Li chased her father all the way to Xu Wanzhou’s courtyard. Ye Wenhua finally confessed that he had given the edict to Qin Zheng, who was now Dowager Consort Qin! In Episode 12, we know that Dowager Consort Qin secretly worked together with Marquis Muyang!
After his confession, Ye Li was just about to leave her father when her grandmother suddenly appeared. She was not senile at all! She accused Ye Li’s mother of having a negative influence on the Ye Family, just like Ye Li, too! Grandma confessed that Xu Wanzhou didn’t die of illness, but the old woman had killed her by suffocating her with a pillow!!! Grandma wanted to kill Ye Li with a knife, too. At that time, a lightning struck down a nearby tree and a big branch fell onto Grandma. It seemed her mother’s spirit was guarding Ye Li with the tree she planted. The tables turned. Ye Li picked up the knife and slowly walked toward Grandma.
At this time, Mo Xiuyao arrived with the Jingzhao Prefecture guards. They had searched the entire city for the Red Fox and the masked man in black, leaving only the Ye Mansion unchecked. Yup, Mo Jingli had returned to the Ye Mansion as if nothing had happened. Horrified, Mo Xiuyao saw Ye Li walking towards her grandmother with a knife. Frantically, he kept calling Ye Li by her nickname, “A Li,” and even fell out of the wheelchair to reach her, crawling. He yelled that he was in pain and needed her help. Hearing that, she finally was aware of what she was doing. Ye Li dropped the knife and ran towards Mo Xiuyou to hug him.
The next day, Ye Li woke up and resumed her daily activities as if nothing had happened. A few days later, Mo Xiuyao saw white mourning banners at the Ye Mansion. The old hag died! Mo Xiuyao informed Ye Li of her grandmother’s passing. He was surprised to see Ye Li act as if nothing had happened and started preparing to go to Ye Mansion.
Uncle Ye Wending was angry seeing Ye Li coming and accused her of causing Grandma’s death. However, Ye Li confidently said that Grandma sustained a heavy injury from the fallen branch, and her father had also witnessed what happened. Wen Ran, who accompanied her sister-in-law, stepped out and said that as an official, Ye Wending had to report the case to the Jingzhao Prefecture, not falsely accuse someone. That shut Ye Wending off.
TL;DR
- Ye Li started treating Mo Xiuyao’s leg injuries.
- Shocking revelation: Ye Li hired gangsters to stage her own kidnapping!
- Another shocking revelation: Mo Xiuwen, Mo Xiuyao’s brother, entrusted the imperial edict to enter the Capital to Xu Wanzhou, Ye Li’s mother, but it was snatched by Ye Li’s uncle!
- Still more shocking revelations: the Ye Family drama during Grandma’s birthday revealed a lot of painful pasts!
So many important things happened in this part that I had to write them in details. Will there still be the Ye Family drama in the next part?
