Episode Summary
Ye Ping’an’s dark past as Gu Qing is exposed, fracturing her bond with Lu Danxin. Hai Yiping manipulates both women, staging events to turn Lu against Ye while dangling legal leverage over the Censor Case. Wu siblings uncover salt corruption tied to Commissioner Gong Shao, and a failed assassination plot reveals Hai’s psychological warfare tactics. Loyalties unravel as Lu agrees to kill Ye in exchange for justice.
Spoiler Alert
Wu Xian’er and her brother Wu Ankang drink at Wan Guo Xiang tavern with Ye Ping’an, who confronts them about the Emperor’s refusal to meet her. Wu Xian’er coldly suggests the Emperor either disapproves of her actions or already knows her agenda and ignores it—a theory Ye Ping’an reluctantly accepts. Shifting focus, Ye Ping’an reveals Li Zongxu sabotaged salt shipments during the Jinyuan War but clarifies the captured smugglers aren’t tied to him. Instead, she accuses Salt Commissioner Gong Shao, urging Wu Ankang to investigate Dongqiao Salt Depot. Wu Xian’er warns against rash moves, stressing they need proof before confronting Gong.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival nears, Gu Erniang bakes hubing (savory cakes) for sale and shares them with Ye Ping’an’s inner circle. The group’s cozy moment shatters when Lu Danxin—disguised as a paint seller—infiltrates Hai Yiping’s mansion. Overhearing a staged conversation between Hai’s steward and a peasant, she learns Ye Ping’an’s real name is Gu Qing, a child hypnotist who lured girls to their doom in the infamous abandoned mansion fire. Devastated, Lu confronts Ye Ping’an, who admits using hypnosis under manipulator Du Liang’s orders. The butterfly pendant? Stolen from survivor Ruan Qin. Betrayed, Lu severs ties with Ye Ping’an.
Hai Yiping, smirking behind a mask during a secret report, plots to exile investigator Xu Qing and destroy Ye Ping’an by weaponizing her friends’ distrust. Meanwhile, Lu Danxin—swearing independence—attempts to assassinate Hai, only for Yuan Shaocheng to intercept her crossbow bolt. In a twist, Yuan hands Hai Ye Ping’an’s confidential medical journal, while Lu’s “failed attack” is exposed as a ploy to extract information. Unfazed, Hai invites her to a cryptic rendezvous and stages a morality test: When his puppet “tea vendor” falls into a river, Ye Ping’an watches impassively, confirming her ruthlessness to a horrified Lu.
The episode crescendos as Hai dangles an ultimatum: Kill Ye Ping’an, and he’ll testify that Lu survived the abandoned mansion fire, granting her power to overturn the Palace Censor case. With tears and steel, Lu agrees—igniting a war between former allies.
