Episode Summary
Ye Ping’an races to expose Du Liang’s corruption before being framed, tracking his secret silver foundry and countering Yuan Shaocheng’s lethal schemes. After defusing a staged protest, she leverages evidence of manipulated timelines to intrigue the Emperor. Meanwhile, courtesan Ni Chang tests Ye’s skills, proposing an alliance amid a new crisis: stolen military funds.
Spoiler Alert
Cai Lian attempts to tail Zeng Xuan through Changle Street but loses him. Ye Ping’an deduces Zeng must have entered the heavily guarded Yuan Manor based on her knowledge of official residences. She orders Cai Lian to stake out the compound while focusing on exposing Du Liang’s corruption. The stolen military funds bear traceable markings, forcing Du Liang to melt them at a secret foundry. With help from her aunt Gu Erniang and shadowy informant Lao Gui, Ye Ping’an pinpoints the operation in an eastern mountain hollow. She urges Gu Erniang to mobilize Lao Gui’s network to surveil the site—the linchpin of her case against Du Liang. Meanwhile, Yuan Shaocheng burns Zheng Yuan’s incriminating letter to win Du Liang’s trust, gaining control of Qitai Casino through Du’s adoptive son Qi Junshan. But Yuan views Ye Ping’an as a loose end, vowing to eliminate her.
Haunted by nightmares even with Gu Erniang’s herbal remedies, Ye Ping’an reveals her aunt only joined her dangerous crusade to help her heal from past trauma. The next morning, Cai Lian returns in panic: Yuan Shaocheng has murdered Zeng Xuan, jeopardizing Ye’s timeline to secure evidence before being framed. Qi Junshan further complicates matters by hiring embittered scholar Guo Yi to stage a protest at Anxin Hall, aiming to distract Ye.
The trap backfires when Secretariat Drafter Wu Xian’er—unaware of Qi Junshan’s duplicity—alerts Minister of Personnel Hai Yiping. During the chaos, Ye Ping’an disarms the volatile Guo Yi through empathy, even securing leniency for him. Impressed, Hai Yiping witnesses Ye’s psychological acumen firsthand. Racing against a curfew drum count, Ye barges into the palace with Guo’s ledger proving a manipulated timekeeping scheme: The watchman falsified the hour of Zheng Yuan’s murder (Hai hour, 9-11 PM) as Zi hour (11 PM-1 AM). She supplements this with a forged "confession" swapped earlier from Zheng’s files. Though aware the Emperor might dismiss it as political theater between rival clans, Ye knows the evidence plants doubt—especially once the foundry is exposed.
Authorities raid the molten silver site only to find it emptied, with Du Liang blaming rival factions. Yuan Shaocheng grows suspicious of Ye’s uncanny political instincts and untraceable background. A new crisis erupts: 80,000 taels of military funds vanish en route to the capital. Elsewhere, courtesan Ni Chang of Wan Guo Xiang orchestrates a staged incident to test Ye’s capabilities, proposing an alliance. Having heard of Ye’s role in the Tongquan Censor case, Ni Chang offers her brothel’s aristocratic intel network in exchange for collaboration—a deal Ye accepts without hesitation.
