Episode Summary
Du Yangxi reveals his true identity as Yu Weiyi's son at his own wedding, accusing Yu of abandoning his first wife (Du's mother) years ago to advance his career. He seeks justice for his mother and turns himself in to the authorities. Shou Hua, despite separating from Du Yangxi, helps him expose the truth. Sang Yanrang proposes to Shou Hua. Du Yangxi's mother has a stroke, and reveals the secret of his parentage.
Spoiler Alert
The episode opens with Du Yangxi spending a cold night outside Pan Tavern, hoping to see Chai An. When Chai An finally appears at dawn, he treats Du Yangxi with disdain. Chai An bitterly remarks that Du Yangxi, having achieved success in the imperial examination, is now abandoning his wife of humble origins to marry a noblewoman, the daughter of a high-ranking official. He paints a picture of Du Yangxi's bright future, full of official success and a new marriage. However, Du Yangxi remains unfazed. He reveals his true purpose: he asks Chai An to conceal a certain matter and, in the future, to collect his remains and ensure his soul finds peace.
Meanwhile, Shou Hua goes out with her sisters to take her mind off things. But the news of her separation from Du Yangxi has spread throughout the city. She endures pointed fingers, sympathetic glances, and general gossip, causing her unspoken pain. Later, she encounters Du Yangxi on a street corner. He returns a golden hairpin, a memento of their past, and warns her to be cautious in choosing a new husband, implying that the men currently courting her are not of good character.
Shou Hua senses that Du Yangxi still harbors feelings for her and suspects he is facing some difficulty. She reaffirms her love, but Du Yangxi remains resolute in his decision to separate. This strengthens Shou Hua's resolve to help him one last time. She publicly berates him, creating a scene that destroys any remaining semblance of their relationship. This act is witnessed by someone who secretly reports it to Yu Weiyi.
The next day, Du Yangxi visits Yu Weiyi, thanking him for betrothing his daughter to him and addressing him as "Taishan Daren" (a respectful term for father-in-law). Elsewhere, Lady Li seeks a matchmaker for her daughter, but she finds none of the potential suitors to her liking. The matchmaker's sarcastic remarks anger Le Shan, who tries to throw her out.
At this moment, Sang Yanrang unexpectedly arrives with his entourage to propose to the Li family. He expresses his affection for Shou Hua, revealing that he once found a portrait of her, believing it to be a divine image. He kept it close, never imagining that the woman in the picture would become a real person, a benefactor he encountered and could never forget. Shou Hua hesitates, but Lady Li, seeing a perfect son-in-law in the Advanced Scholar (Jìnshì, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), immediately accepts on her behalf. The Li sisters support the match, but Shou Hua is unwilling to remarry.
Du Yangxi's mother suddenly suffers a stroke and is bedridden. Lady Li and others rush to find a doctor. The acupuncture treatment is expensive, costing three strings of coins per needle, paining Lady Li, but she perseveres. Fortunately, the doctor's skills are miraculous, and Du's mother shows signs of recovery. Her first words are to urge Shou Hua to stop Du Yangxi's wedding, revealing that Du Yangxi is Yu Weiyi's biological son.
Meanwhile, the Yu family hosts a grand banquet with many guests, including Chai An and Fan Lianghan. Du Yangxi is supposed to marry Yu Xiu'e, but the groom delays the ceremony, surprising everyone. Suddenly, Du Yangxi drops the red silk used in the wedding ceremony and performs three bows to Yu Weiyi. The first is to thank Yu Weiyi for his recommendation; the second is to decline the marriage, stating that he already has a wife and cannot accept another; and the final bow is to acknowledge his biological father and announce his intention to avenge his mother.
This shocking revelation stuns the guests. Fan Lianghan tries to intervene, but Chai An stops him, advising him to watch carefully. Yu Xiu'e is escorted away by a maid. Enraged, Yu Weiyi's wife orders her servants to stop Du Yangxi from revealing more, but Chai An subdues them, insisting that Du Yangxi be allowed to speak.
Du Yangxi then recounts a story from 28 years ago. A father and daughter surnamed Xie lived in Jiangling Prefecture. They rescued Yu Weiyi, who was destitute at the time, providing him with food, water, and medicine. Because Yu Weiyi's parents were deceased and he had nowhere to go, the elder Xie married his daughter, Xie Qiufang, to him. The couple was deeply in love and treated the elder Xie with utmost filial piety.
Tragedy struck when a flood devastated the village, causing the elder Xie to die from shock. Xie Qiufang, intelligent and resourceful, worked tirelessly weaving cloth to support her husband's studies. To fund his journey to the imperial examination, she even sold herself into servitude for three years, earning only 120 strings of coins.
The Yu family, hearing Du Yangxi's words, orders the steward to find a reason to disperse the guests, but the court officials insist on staying. Du Yangxi continues, explaining that his mother, Xie Qiufang, encountered a storm while accompanying Yu Weiyi to his official post. She could have survived, but Yu Weiyi, to curry favor with the Fan family, allowed her to fall into the river, leaving her fate unknown.
Yu Weiyi believed that with Xie Qiufang's death, he could marry into the Fan family and secure a prosperous life. However, he didn't know that Xie Qiufang had befriended a fellow servant named Qian'er, who was Du Yangxi's adoptive mother. Qian'er risked her life to save Xie Qiufang, and they were washed ashore, becoming stranded in a foreign land. Xie Qiufang was three months pregnant at the time. They took refuge in a nunnery, where Du Yangxi was born. Xie Qiufang later died from illness, leaving Qian'er to raise the infant. Qian'er was later disfigured by assassins hired by the Fan family and forced to live in hiding under an assumed name.
Yu Weiyi is shocked by Du Yangxi's words. Confronted by his son's accusations, he is furious. Du Yangxi, seeing through his father's guilt, asks on behalf of his mother why his father didn't save his loving wife in the raging river. After asking this question, Du Yangxi goes to the KaiFeng Prefecture(government office) to file a complaint and turn himself in.
