Introduction
In Tigers Sniff the Rose: Drama Recap Episodes 13 to 17, there are heartbreaking stories of our characters. How many more can we hold our hearts? There was only one fish eliminated, and there are more fish in the murky pond. Let’s hope at least another fish is gone in this part!
Drama Recap Episodes 18 to 23
Episode 18
After listening to how Liu Wenji stood up to a woman because of Chun Hua, Mu Wanyao agreed to help Yan Shang avenge his friend. But this bully, Zhang Jun, was the son of the Minister of Revenue, who was also close to Yun Cheng’an. Mu Wanyao sent Fang Tong to follow Zhang Jun and learn his daily habits. Yan Shang formulated a revenge plan, using the powerful Yu family.
The following day, Yan Shang went straight to the Yu residence and asked to see Yu Xianyao. Yan Shang showered him with compliments. Yu Cheng’an noticed the interaction and found Yan Shang rather interesting. After testing him, Yu Cheng’an realized that Yan Shang was different from the other scholars. He was quick-witted and adaptable. Yu Cheng’an suggested that Yan Shang teach his adopted son the art of using clever, open strategies to achieve his goals.
Knowing that Yu Cheng’an had instructed his adopted son to get close to Chancellor Liu, Yan Shang suggested that Yu Xianyao meet the old chancellor during his outing to Huanghua Creek, dressed simply as an imperial student. Yu Xianyao agreed.
Meanwhile, Zhang Jun was enjoying another drinking session with his usual friends in Pingkang Ward. Suddenly, Mu Wanyao arrived with her guards. She announced that she was reserving the entire establishment and ordered the owner to drive out all the customers, with full compensation. Zhang Jun insisted on seeing the princess. Rather than reprimanding him, Mu Wanyao graciously invited Zhang Jun to sit down and have a drink with her. Of course he was flattered.
During a casual convo, Mu Wanyao asked what the latest interesting news. Fang Tong mentioned a rumor about an auspicious white-feathered bird at Huanghua Creek. Its entire body was said to be pure white, and it was supposedly quite extraordinary. Zhang Jun thought that if he could shoot down the white bird and present it to Yu Cheng’an, wouldn’t that be a wonderful gift?
The next day, Zhang Jun swaggered into Huanghua Creek with his entourage, determined to find the mysterious white bird. Being a lousy shooter, he shot several arrows but failed to hit anything. Fang Tong secretly followed him, collected several of Zhang Jun’s personal arrows, and gave them to his mistress.
Meanwhile, Yu Xianyao arrived at Huanghua Creek dressed in plain clothes. Mu Wanyao then fired one of Zhang Jun’s arrows at Yu Xianyao, hitting him in the buttocks. Fang Tong knocked him unconscious and smeared mud on his face. When Zhang Jun found out that he had hit a mere scholar—he didn’t recognize Yu Xianyao—instead of helping him, he ordered his men to bury Yu Xianyao alive.
Mu Wanyao set a date with Yang Si for a leisure outing at Huanghua Creek, walking straight into the spot where Yu Xianyao was hit. When Yang Si saw a group of men burying someone in the distance, his detective instinct kicked in, and he asked Mu Wanyao to leave while he intervened in the crime. The men ran away, and Yang Si took Yu Xianyao to the Judicial Review office.
Yu Cheng’an found out that his adopted son had been struck by an arrow, and he hurried over. He was furious when he saw the engraved arrow, and Yang Si told him that the culprit was Zhang Jun. He ordered Yang Si to drop the investigation, and he would take care of this matter.
Episode 19
Yu Cheng’an’s “taking care of this matter” was frightening. Zhang Jun was tortured and killed. His father was stripped of his post as Minister of Revenue and went home with only a few servants and his son’s body in a coffin. Yan Shang made sure Liu Wenji saw it, that he had been avenged. Liu Wenji wanted to take control of his own future, so he asked Mu Wanyao to help him enter the palace as a eunuch. He didn’t want to remain helpless anymore.
Yang Si, as goofy as he looked, was an assessor from Judicial Review. He suspected that his old friend was behind the fall of the Zhang family. Instead of explaining, Mu Wanyao turned the tables by bringing up his secret meetings with border military commanders—She saw him at the brothel last time. That brought her to a meeting with the Crown Prince. She knew that he was trying to build connections with the border troops to counter Yu Cheng’an’s Shence Army. She offered to help. Since she already had a reputation for being wild and scandalous, she could socialize with military commanders without raising too much suspicion.
Liu Wenji was initially assigned to the Imperial Kitchen Bureau. Yan Shang found a way to bring him over to the library to help copy books, allowing the two friends to work in the same place again. The eunuchs talked about Liu Wenji’s promotion. Yu Cheng’an overheard their convo. When heard Liu Wenji’s name, he immediately looked surprised. Hmmm, did he know anything about Liu Wenji???
During the Chinese New Year, Mu Wanyao and Yanshang visited an orphanage together. The children were delighted to see her, and he noticed how warmly she interacted with them. He casually remarked that she must love children. But Mu Wanyao’s face suddenly darkened, and she snapped that she didn’t like children at all.
Episode 20
The holiday festivities were so magical and swooned over the couple with romance. The two shared a romantic night, and the next morning, Yan Shang was still blushing just thinking about it.
The next day at work, Liu Wenji revealed that Yu Cheng’an had called him and seemed interested in bringing him into his circle of trusted eunuchs. Yu Cheng’an needed someone educated and capable, and Liu Wenji might be exactly the kind of person he was looking for. Yan Shang was worried. He knew getting involved with Yu Cheng’an could be dangerous. But Liu Wenji had a different perspective. After everything he’d suffered, he was determined to stop being powerless. He believed that if he wanted to climb the political ladder, he needed the backing of someone with real influence.
In the evening Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao went dating again. At this time, she was wearing her maid outfit so she could sneak out alone with Yan Shang to enjoy the holiday celebrations. The streets were full of lanterns, food, and people having fun. It was a lovely, carefree date—until an unexpected stranger appeared! A tall man hit the biggest prize, an ornamental hairpin, and told the stall owner to give it to Mu Wanyao. The moment she heard his voice, she froze and grabbed Yan Shang’s hand tightly.
The stranger was Meng Zaishi, the Military Governor of Zhongzhen in North Jing—the very man connected to Mu Wanyao’s painful past. Danyang tried to avoid him, but he approached her with the hairpin anyway. Yan Shang sensed something wrong, told Meng Zaishi that he was mistaken, and rushed Mu Wanyao home.
We got to see the flashback of Mu Wanyao’s painful life in North Jing. She was only nine years old when the rebellion forced her family to flee Sheng’an. Yu Cheng’an eventually suppressed most of the rebellion, but North Jing remained a problem. To secure a political alliance, he arranged for Danyang, at that time was fifteen, to be sent there as a bride.
The customs in North Jing were brutal, with brides being seized rather than formally welcomed. Meng Zaishi seized the young princess from her bridal carriage and took her to his uncle Meng Baiyu’s residence. Instead of treating her like a royal princess, Meng Baiyu brutally beat and raped her.
Episode 21
This episode is painful to watch. Mu Wanyao was only fifteen years old when she was sent to North Jing, and she endured years of cruelty, humiliation, and abuse (physical, verbal, and sexual). Yet she never completely gave up. Even when she was at her lowest, she kept looking for a way to survive and escape. Chun Hua was the only maid who survived with her.
When Meng Baiyu went away on a military campaign, Mu Wanyao approached Meng Zaishi again and openly encouraged him to stop wasting his talents serving his uncle. She also made it clear that she wanted to get away from Meng Baiyu and asked Meng Zaishi to help her. He didn’t promise anything, but he didn’t turn her down either, giving her a little hope.
Unfortunately, Mu Wanyao got pregnant. She absolutely refused to have Meng Baiyu’s child. In desperation, she took a mercury preparation to abort the baby, causing severe bleeding. She survived, but when Meng Baiyu returned and found out about the miscarriage, he brutally beat her. Chun Hua finally snapped and hit him with a jar. When Meng Baiyu wanted to kill Chun Hua with his sword, Mu Wanyao grabbed her mother’s hairpin and stabbed him in the neck. And just like that, Mu Wanyao and Chun Hua killed the man who had made their lives a living hell.
With Meng Baiyu dead, the position of military governor was suddenly up for grabs. She encouraged Meng Zaishi to eliminate his rivals and claim the position. He promised to return in three days and marry her. However, Mu Wanyao had no intention of marrying him. She disguised herself as a carriage driver. Chun Hua carried Meng Baiyu’s missing military token and told the guards they were going out to buy medicine for the princess. They escaped North Jing together.
Episode 22
Mu Wanyao had barely returned home when Meng Zaishi came in through the window. He claimed he was simply keeping the promise they had supposedly made to each other. Mu Wanyao denied ever making such a promise. She basically told him that her reputation was already bad enough, so he could invent whatever stories he wanted.
Things got even more tense when Yan Shang knocked on the door. Mu Wanyao sent him away, but Yan Shang could tell something was wrong. He briefly stepped away to make assassin arrangements with Fang Tong and returned. Meng Zaishi was amused by his persistence and even invited Yan Shang inside. The two men immediately started trading sharp remarks. Meng Zaishi eventually decided to leave. Fang Tong and his guards were actually waiting on the rooftops for a signal to shoot Meng Zaishi. But he was an important military governor and hadn’t physically harmed Mu Wanyao, so no assassination happened. Once Meng Zaishi was gone, Yan Shang comforted Mu Wanyao.
The reason Meng Zaishi was in Sheng’an was that the military governors were invited to the Emperor’s grand birthday banquet. Wei Shu explained to Yang Shan that Meng Zaishi’s position as Military Governor of Zhongzhen wasn’t secure yet. Although he had succeeded his uncle, the Eastern Military Governor Mu Shigong, refused to recognize him. So he still had a lot of political obstacles to overcome; thus, his appearance here was also to gain support.
Chun Hua, who attended the banquet with Princess and Consort Jin, was shocked to see that Liu Wenji was now a eunuch and served at the banquet as a kitchen attendant. She was even more distressed when she witnessed him being framed by other eunuchs for stealing a cup and being beaten up. Chun Hua intervened by saying that she had broken the cup. Afterward, Liu Wenji caught up with Chun Hua and asked why she had helped him, since he wouldn’t thank her. Chun Hua, with tears in her eyes, told him that her feelings had never changed. That was such an emotional moment. Despite everything that had happened between them, she still cared deeply about him.
At the banquet, Meng Zaishi gifted the Emperor a shocking gift. It was a gigantic engraved stone slab, a relic from the rebellion among the military governors. Bringing it to the Emperor’s birthday banquet was clearly no innocent gesture. Meng Zaishi was using the occasion to remind everyone of the rebellion and put pressure on the court!
Episode 23
Luckily, Yan Shang stepped forward to seek the truth and offered to read the inscription. Surprisingly, the stone actually contained an old imperial decree from more than a hundred years ago, recording North Jing surrender to Dahuai. The Meng family’s surrender document had even been ordered displayed above Shenwu Gate as a public reminder. The guests burst into laughter, and Meng Zaishi was humiliated.
However, he wasn’t finished. He claimed that he and his uncle had been as close as father and son. According to North Jing’s custom, a son should succeed his deceased father, so he asked the Emperor to permit him to marry Mu Wanyao. She stood up and said that since the matter concerned her, she had the right to express her opinion. Rather than rejecting the proposal outright, she suggested settling the matter according to North Jing’s martial traditions: a hunting competition would determine the winner. Whoever came first in the hunt would decide whether she married or not.
The Emperor understood what her daughter was trying to do. She was turning a forced marriage arrangement into a competition in which multiple people could participate. He approved her proposal and announced that all eligible young men were welcome to join the hunt. To reduce competition, Meng Zaishi deliberately exposed a deeply painful secret from her past, revealing that because of her miscarriage, she could no longer have children. He said it publicly, leaving everyone in the hall stunned. Mu Wanyao was humiliated and furious. Yang Si immediately stepped forward and announced that he would participate in the hunt. His cousin, Zhao Lingfei, also enthusiastically volunteered. Mu Wanyao was touched by their support and declared that she would take part in the hunt herself, because she wanted to decide her own marriage.
After the banquet, both Yu Cheng’an and the Crown Prince sent imperial physicians to examine the princess to find out whether Meng Zaishi’s claim was true. This was humiliating! Later, when Yan Shang came to see her, Mu Wanyao admitted that Meng Zaishi had told the truth. She asked whether it mattered to him. Yan Shang smiled and replied that, as it happened, a fortune-teller had once predicted when he was young that he would never have children either.
Awww, that was sweet!
Summary
Episode 18 is a clever revenge setup with some rather amusing moments, especially Yan Shang flattering Yu Xianyao and Zhang Jun eagerly chasing after a supposedly magical white bird.
Finally, Zhang Jun was dead in Episode 19, and Liu Wenji was avenged. He entered the palace as a eunuch, determined to build his own life. Some lives were about to make major turns.
In Episode 20, our couple’s blissful dating life during the New Year holiday, including lovemaking. Not too long, though, because Meng Zai Shin showed up!
Episode 21 is painful to watch. The entire episode is a flashback of Mu Wanyao’s life in North Jing, where she endures years of cruelty, humiliation, and abuse. She and Chun Hua finally killed Meng Baiyu and fled the living hell!
Episode 22 showed that Meng Zaishi was still a threat, both in personal issue with Mu Wanyao as well as political by giving the Emperor an unsettling birthday gift.
In Episode 23, Meng Zaishi dropped a bomb that would determine whether the next hunting day would be life-changing or not!
Yan Shang and his “maid”
