Introduction
A charismatic yet dangerous foreigner, Meng Zaishi, shows up in Tigers Sniff the Rose: Drama Recap Episodes 18 to 23. How will his appearance shift our couple’s target from the fish?
The feature image shows Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang celebrating their freedom from Yu Cheng’an and his followers by burning the fish tapestry representing Yu Cheng’an and his followers. However, the drama is only 2/3 of the way; there are still looming threats! Even more dangerous than the fish!
Drama Recap Episodes 24 to 28
Episode 24
On the hunting day, everyone headed into the forest. The rules sounded simple enough: find the bell-wearing deer and shoot it before the deadline. Yan Shang also went, but he had a different mission. He went looking for Mu Xianqing, a prominent royal relative and the military governor of Dongzhen who leads one of the major political/military factions in the court. Yan Shang hoped to convince him to join forces against Meng Zaishi and take some of the pressure off the princess.
Unfortunately, Yan Shang accidentally discovered a much bigger plot. The Crown Prince and Mu Xianqing had secretly allied. They planned to attack Yu Cheng’an from both sides, eliminate his faction, and restore power to the imperial court. No wonder they both signed up for the hunting competition!
But before Yan Shang could do anything, Yang Si caught him snooping around, knocked him out, and tied him to a tree. Wei Shu and Zhao Lingfei eventually found him and freed him. Yan Shang hurried to reach the temporary palace set up for the hunting event. He ran into Liu Wenji, who revealed another surprise: the bell-wearing deer didn’t even exist! The entire hunting event was just a distraction arranged by Yu Cheng’an. Yan Shang realized the princess was in danger and rushed to find her.
Among the angst, the funny scene is when Yan Shang tried hard to mount a horse!
Meanwhile, Mu Wanyao had lured Meng Zaishi into the forest using the bell and tricked him into falling into a trap. Meng Zaishi didn’t understand why she wanted to kill him, when he had always been devoted to her. Mu Wanyao clarified that he ruined her life by coming to Dahuai and publicly exposing her painful past (that she couldn’t have children anymore). Just as she was about to finish him off, Yan Shang arrived and knocked the bow away. He revealed the Crown Prince’s and Yu Cheng’an’s schemes. The whole court was about to be turned upside down! Mu Wanyao rushed back to the palace to protect her father. Yan Shang stayed behind to deal with Meng Zaishi. He told Meng Zaishi to reconsider who his real enemy was! At that time, Meng Zaishi was siding with Mu Xianqing, who was ruthless and wouldn’t spare him if his side won.
But Mu Wanyao couldn’t even get to her father. Yu Cheng’an had already taken the Emperor hostage and was ready for a counterattack. He accused the Crown Prince of attempting to kill his own father and pressured His Majesty to issue an execution order for his son. When the Emperor refused, Yu Cheng’an had Wei Qiao prepare a false edict stripping the Crown Prince of his position! The Crown Prince and Yang Si realize they’d walked straight into a trap!
Episode 25
The Crown Prince and Yang Si managed to fight their way out of the palace, but they were badly wounded and surrounded. With almost no hope left, they lit a signal, hoping to summon Lu Yan, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who could bring reinforcements. Unfortunately, the person who showed up first was Qiu Shuo, Yu Cheng’an’s Shence Army general. He killed Mu Xianqing right away.
Just when the Crown Prince and Qiu Shuo were preparing for a last stand, Yan Shang arrived with an unexpected ally: Meng Zaishi! Apparently, Meng Zaishi had switched sides and was now supporting the Crown Prince. Meng Zaishi and his men fought Qiu Shuo and the Shence Army. Yan Shang got Mu Xun and Yang Si out of danger quickly.
Luckily, Lu Yan arrived with the Imperial Guards. But there’s another problem! Wei Qiao tried to convince everyone that the Crown Prince was a traitor and that the Emperor was in the palace. He was countered by Yan Shang, who said that the man inside was only an impostor. When Lu Yan was unsure whom to believe, Mu Wanyao rode in carrying an imperial decree. When she realized her father had disappeared from the palace, she quickly figured out that something was wrong. She retrieved an old decree prepared by the Emperor himself, rushed to the scene, and publicly announced Yu Cheng’an’s crimes. With the decree as proof, she ordered the Imperial Guards to attack Yu Cheng’an’s remaining followers.
Yu Cheng’an knew the situation was turning against him and prepared to flee. He gave Liu Wenji and Eunuch Chen Lian one final order: kill the Emperor. Luckily, Liu Wenji had made his choice. He killed Eunuch Chen. He also rescued Chun Hua, who had been kidnapped by Yu Cheng’an because her baby was to be the new emperor controlled by Yu Cheng’an.
Because of the stress, Chun Hua went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy. Yu Cheng’an ordered Liu Wenji to take both mother and child along as they fled. Liu Wenji purposely separated himself and Chun Hua from the others. But at least they were together, with the newborn baby safe in Chun Hua’s arms. She wished for a fresh start: living in seclusion with Liu Wenji and raising the child peacefully.
As for Yu Cheng’an, his escape didn’t last long. Meng Zaishi captured him, and Yu Cheng’an finally had to admit that he had lost. The Crown Prince and Mu Wanyao reunited with their father, the Emperor, who was safe. And the reunion wasn’t over yet! Liu Wenji and Chun Hua also decided to return to the palace with the baby.
Episode 26
Chun Hua told Mu Wanyao why she and Liu Wenji returned. They realized that despite their imagination of raising a family together, unfortunately, reality caught up with them. The Emperor was unlikely to let an imperial child grow up outside the palace, so their dream might never happen.
The Emperor ordered Yu Cheng’an to drink poison before being beheaded. His head would be displayed publicly. His followers would be exiled. The public was thrilled because they hated Yu Cheng’an and his people so much. Mu Wanyao took a symbolic step toward putting the past behind her by burning the fish embroidery representing Yu Cheng’an and his followers. Then she visited the place where her mother used to take her to see plum blossoms and told her that the man responsible for their suffering has been defeated.
But before Yu Cheng’an died, he had one last bombshell to drop.
Mu Wanyao and the Crown Prince visited Yu Cheng’an in prison the day before his execution to see him suffer. But the tables were turned. Yu Cheng’an wasn’t about to leave without causing more trouble. He revealed that he wasn’t actually responsible for forcing the Empress, their mother, to commit suicide. After he put down the rebellion of the seven vassal states, the Emperor and Empress were afraid because his growing power threatened the throne. They plotted to eliminate him, but the plan was exposed. The Emperor begged Yu Cheng’an to spare his life and blamed everything on his wife. The Empress was devastated to discover how cowardly her husband really was, and that betrayal drove her to take her own life.
And there was more! Yu Cheng’an claimed that even Danyang’s name was chosen for political reasons. When she was born, the empire was weak, and the regional military governors were growing powerful. The Emperor supposedly saw her as the daughter who would one day help save the country. In other words, her marriage to Meng Baiyu wasn’t something Yu Cheng’an decided—it was part of her father’s political plan all along.
This revelation left Mu Wanyao completely shaken. She spent years believing Yu Cheng’an was the person behind her mother’s death and all her suffering. Now, just before his death, he had turned her entire understanding of the past upside down! The Crown Prince warned her not to believe Yu Cheng’an and told his final words to anyone. When Yan Shang noticed she was troubled, he tried to comfort her. Mu Wanyao made a heartfelt promise that from now on, she would protect him, just as he had always protected her.
Episode 27
Well, Yu Cheng’an had been gone, but the Emperor was already making moves to tighten his own grip on power. And unfortunately, the people who helped defeat Yu Cheng’an weren’t necessarily getting the rewards they deserved!
Meng Zaishi was officially appointed Military Governor of North Jing, with authority over all three military regions. Sounds like a big promotion, right? Not so fast! The Emperor told him to stay in the capital for another hundred days, with the excuse of the bad weather. In the meantime, His Majesty sent Wei Shu to North Jing as an envoy. Sending a nerd scholar into such a rough military territory didn’t exactly sound like a promising assignment.
Lu Yan got a noble title and was allowed to retire from military command, but there was a catch: he had to give up control of the Imperial Guards. The Emperor was clearly rearranging the pieces on the political chessboard. The Crown Prince was furious about his father’s decisions, but there was not much he could do.
Things get really tense! The Emperor summoned Yan Shang and basically accused him of being the mastermind behind his daughter’s rise against Yu Cheng’an. His Majesty argued that without Yan Shang’s help, Mu Wanyao would never have dared to take on so many powerful enemies. He made it clear that he didn’t want another Yu Cheng’an emerging around the princess. Then comes the terrifying part: His Majesty ordered Yan Shang to drink poisoned wine, accusing him of encouraging Mu Wanyao to use an unauthorized imperial decree. Yan Shang knew that if he refused, Mu Wanyao could be put in danger, so he drank it. When Fang Tong brought her the news, Mu Wanyao rushed to the palace, only to find an empty cup. She collapsed in tears, but then—surprise! Yan Shang walked in looking perfectly healthy. The drink wasn’t poison at all; it was ordinary fruit juice. The Emperor was testing their relationship, but the result only strengthened His Majesty’s determination to keep the lovebirds apart. He sent Yan Shang back to Lingnan for three months to visit his family. Danyang couldn’t go with him; she had to stay in the palace and copy Buddhist scriptures in memory of her mother.
The big question now was whether Yan Shang’s three-month trip was really just a family visit—or whether the Emperor had quietly arranged a much longer separation!
Episode 28
Things were getting darker now that Yu Cheng’an had gone. The Emperor was busy making sure nobody around him became too powerful.
First, Grand Princess was punished for setting up a memorial to honor Yu Cheng’an. The Emperor stripped her of her fief income and sent her to live outside the capital. She was forbidden from entering the palace without permission. But Grand Princess didn’t seem particularly bothered. She and Yu Cheng’an had been best friends since they were little. He also saved her baby and adopted the child. He was none other than Yu Xianyao. However, the people who had surrounded Grand Princess for their own benefit left; only Feng Xianyu stayed behind. He said he had admired her courage in honoring Yu Cheng’an despite the Emperor’s disapproval.
Wei Qiao and Yu Xianyao were supposedly sent to exile, but the Emperor sent his eunuch to poison them. Wei Qiao’s nephew, Wei Shu, who might have been sent by the Emperor to his death because of what his uncle did, was lucky. He was joined by Zhao Lingfei, the girl who liked her. She refused to marry as per her father’s instruction; instead, she accompanied Wei Shu to help him in the barbaric North Jing.
Yan Shang arrived in Lingnan, but the situation there was terrible. People were literally starving to death throughout the area. Clearly, there was a huge problem waiting for him to deal with. Yan Shang had an emotional reunion with his family, especially when he told them that he had killed Zhang Renjing. After that, Yan Shang delivered Liu Wenji’s letter and gifts to his father, Liu Lan. However, Liu Lan refused to accept them. He threw the letter into the fire unopened and declared that Liu Wenji was no longer his son. I’m not sure Liu Lan disowned his son because of Liu Wenji’s intention to marry Chun Hua, or because he became a eunuch.
Back in the capital, Mu Wanyao was still confined to the palace. She was so frustrated that she feigned madness from missing her mother and kept on singing her mother’s nursery rhymes. Her singing creeped out the Emperor, who came to see her—remember, if Yu Cheng’an was right, the emperor indirectly killed his own wife! His Majesty sent her back to her mansion.
Mu Wanyao went to see the Crown Prince. He was practically confined to his place, and external communication was cut off. From the Crown Prince’s info, the real reason behind Yan Shang’s trip to Lingnan came out. The Emperor deliberately sent Yan Shang away to destroy the financial foundation supporting the Crown Prince’s connections with the border military commanders. The money Mu Xun used to build those relationships came from Lingnan.
Mu Wanyao immediately decided to go to Lingnan to help Yan Shang. The Crown Prince suggested she take Yang Si along. But Mu Wanyao was suspicious because her brother and Yang Si were inseparable. Besides, how did the Crown Prince know that Yan Shang went to Lingnan? After discussing with Fang Tong, she realized that the Crown Prince might want Yan Shang to die! Mu Wanyao got her father’s permission to visit her mother’s grave. She brought Yang Si along with Fang Tong, but drugged Yang Si in the middle of the trip and left him behind!
I almost felt sorry for Liu Wenji because of his father’s dissociation until the last scene. The Emperor appointed Liu Wenji to a senior supervisory role in the Shence Army as a reward for saving his life. But when a general mocked Liu Wenji, he responded by killing the man with his own sword. He then warned everyone else not to disrespect him. Well, Liu Wenji had certainly learned how power works; he was changing in a rather unsettling way!
Summary
Well, the hunting competition in Episode 24 turns out to be anything but a simple hunting event! Everyone has a different agenda, and the real prey isn’t necessarily the deer.
After all the scheming, betrayals, and political games, the battle against Yu Cheng’an finally reaches its breaking point in Episode 25! He had lost!
Yay, Yu Cheng’an was beheaded, and his followers were exiled in Episode 26! But before his death, he dropped a bomb on Mu Wanyao and turned her entire understanding of the past upside down. Her real struggle might not be over after all.
In Episode 27, the Emperor was clearly rearranging the pieces on the political chessboard. Mu Wanyao might have won her freedom from Yu Cheng’an, but she still had to fight for the right to choose her own life.
In Episode 28, things were getting darker now that Yu Cheng’an had gone. It turned out that defeating one powerful enemy didn’t mean Mu Wanyao and the others were finally free.
