Episode Summary
Luo Lingyu escapes her arranged marriage with the help of a scholar, but Fan Qingchen refuses to let her go. Meanwhile, Lu Yun is injured and falls off a cliff, only to be rescued by Luo Lingyu, who he recognizes as the one who took his horse. Recovering on her ship, Lu Yun and Luo Lingyu are unaware of each other's full identities as they head to Yue Prefecture.
Spoiler Alert
The episode kicks off with Lingxi in a panic. She's late – over an hour late – to meet Miss Luo Lingyu at the docks, and she's terrified about what might have happened. Thankfully, her horse is fast, and she finally makes it. Because of Luo Lingyu's striking beauty and her bright red wedding robes, the boatman recognizes her immediately. Fearing Fan Qingchen's wrath, he quickly rows away, even returning the money Lingxi had paid.
With Fan Qingchen's henchmen closing in, Luo Lingyu, determined to escape her arranged marriage, grabs Lingxi and her younger sister and flees. They're lucky enough to encounter a handsome scholar who, seeing their distress, immediately understands the situation. He helps them escape, even donning Luo Lingyu's wedding robes to distract their pursuers. The henchmen, fooled by the red garment, chase after him. Luo Lingyu, clutching a jade pendant given to her by the helpful scholar, manages to board a ship and get away.
The Fan family, being powerful, had split their forces. One group pursued Lu Yun, the other Luo Lingyu. Because Luo Lingyu had taken his prized horse, Lu Yun faced a perilous journey. His horse was not up to the task, and he was eventually hunted down, shot with an arrow, and, after falling unconscious, plunged off a cliff. His fate is unknown.
Fan Qingchen is furious when he hears from his men. They failed to capture anyone. He then meets with Luo Lingyu's aunt, who, knowing about the escape, returns the betrothal gifts. But Fan Qingchen, with a smile, pushes the gifts back. He claims that since Luo Lingyu and he had the wedding ceremony during the day, she is now part of the Fan family. He has his own agenda – Luo Lingyu is exceptionally beautiful, and he's not about to let such a prize slip away. His family isn't short of money. He asks the aunt if she knows where Luo Lingyu might have gone. The aunt suspects she might have headed to Yue Prefecture, where she has another relative.
As her aunt suspected, Luo Lingyu is indeed on her way to Yue Prefecture, where Aunt Ying lives. Aunt Ying had been very kind to them when her father was alive, but it's unclear if she'll still be welcoming. Regardless, Luo Lingyu needs to find a place to settle.
Luo Lingyu's younger sister is starving, having not eaten for several meals. She can't stomach the naan bread the boatman offered. Luo Lingyu decides to fish and make some fish soup. The fishing hook seems to catch something big, and Luo Lingyu needs Lingxi's help to pull it in. But instead of a fish, they pull up a man.
In a twist of fate, Luo Lingyu sees that the man is injured with an arrow, dressed in black, and wearing a mask – clearly, he's up to no good. Luo Lingyu, already a fugitive, doesn't want to get involved with another mysterious person. But her younger sister, remembering their father's death on the battlefield and wishing someone had helped him, convinces her to do the right thing. They pull the injured man aboard.
Luo Lingyu, not wanting to get entangled, doesn't remove the man's mask. With no doctor or medicine available, she pulls out the arrow herself and uses the last of her father's precious wound ointment to bandage the injury.
Luo Lingyu provides the injured man with three meals a day. Of course, she doesn't realize, because of the mask, that this is actually Lu Yun, the man who fell off the cliff. He survived because he's a strong swimmer. Seeing the red wedding robes on the table, he recognizes Luo Lingyu as the person who stole his horse. If his horse hadn't been switched, he would have escaped long ago. But, severely injured, he can't bring himself to confront her and instead focuses on recovering.
The ship is about to dock in Yue Prefecture. Lu Yun's injuries have mostly healed after a few days of rest. To avoid suspicion, Luo Lingyu asks Lu Yun to disembark early and swim ashore.
