Episode Summary
Fu Yunxi uses Hanyan to uncover a conspiracy between Ruan Xiwen and Yuwen Chang'an, revealing a past love triangle and a plot related to a murder case in Danzhou. Hanyan, caught between her mother and Fu Yunxi's machinations, agrees to spy in exchange for protection. Meanwhile, Zhou Ruyin creates chaos in the household in an attempt to trap Yuwen Chang'an. Hanyan suggest to let Uncle Yuwen go to her room to protect her mother's reputation.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 6 of "The Glory" dives deeper into the twisted relationships and hidden agendas within the Zhuang household and beyond.
Zhuang Yushan, in a blatant attempt to curry favor with Fu Yunxi, showers A'zhi with food, dreaming of becoming her stepmother. Fu Yunxi, however, sees right through her ploy and calls her out for escaping confinement out of jealousy for Hanyan's beauty. Servants, summoned by Fu Yunxi, drag Zhuang Yushan back to the ancestral hall, fearful of the punishment she'll face if her father discovers her escape.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Shiyang is busy in the kitchen preparing this year's cured meats. Zhou Ruyin pointedly mentions that the confined Zhuang Yushan will miss out, while feigning concern for Hanyan's health, really trying to get information about Hanyan. Since Hanyan was taken away by her birth mother, Ruan Xiwen, there's been no news, and even the Old Madam Zhuang can only get scraps of information from the maids in Ruan Xiwen's courtyard, and they are tight-lipped.
Servants bring portraits of three potential husbands to Hanyan's room. Hanyan, weakened from days of consuming only rice broth in her determination to stay in the capital, and further weakened by illness, looks at the portraits. Realizing her mother is determined to send her away, she vows, with the last of her strength, to remain unmarried and stay in the capital, no matter what.
Old Madam Zhuang sends food to Hanyan, but the Servants intercept it, insisting that Ruan Xiwen must approve it first. Hanyan, enraged, tries to grab the food. When Ruan Xiwen finds out, she not only feeds the food to the fish but also throws Hanyan out. Hanyan, heartbroken, confronts her mother, questioning why she's treated so cruelly, claiming she's never felt a mother's love, only receiving occasional money from her father. Her outburst escalates, and an enraged Ruan Xiwen locks her daughter in her room again.
Yuwen Chang'an's frequent interactions with court officials have aroused Fu Yunxi's suspicions. Yuwen Chang'an, claiming to need help with business matters, invites two officials from Danzhou to gather information. The officials, acutely aware that the Danzhou affairs are a dangerous topic, even for powerful figures like Pei Dafu, are unwilling to get involved and make excuses to leave.
Hanyan unlocks the bells on her legs, now half-starved. Desperate to escape the locked room, she fakes a collapse. When the Servants come to check on her, she knocks her out and flees. Just as she reaches the door, she hears a noise and hides. She witnesses Yuwen Chang'an secretly entering Ruan Xiwen's room through the back door and overhears snippets of their conversation about some plan. However, her eavesdropping is discovered by the revived Servants.
Hanyan is discovered by Ruan Xiwen and the Servants and is about to be thrown out again, when Fu Yunxi intervenes, taking her away under the pretext of investigating the Danzhou murder case. Fu Yunxi brings Hanyan to the prison, where the terrifying screams and the sight of tortured prisoners frighten her. Inside, however, she finds a table laden with her favorite foods. Fu Yunxi reveals that he's using the prison to protect Hanyan.
Fu Yunxi explains the complicated past between Ruan Xiwen, Zhuang Shiyang, and Yuwen Chang'an. Years ago, Ruan Xiwen and Yuwen Chang'an were in love, but the Ruan family fell from grace, and Yuwen Chang'an was sent away on an inspection tour. Zhuang Shiyang seized the opportunity to marry Ruan Xiwen. When Yuwen Chang'an returned, it was too late. He has remained unmarried ever since and became a sworn enemy of Zhuang Shiyang. Fu Yunxi wants Hanyan to help him uncover what Ruan Xiwen and Yuwen Chang'an are plotting, even using the Danzhou murder case to pressure her. Hanyan, with no other choice, agrees.
The Servants come to the prison to demand Hanyan's return, but Fu Yunxi drapes his cloak around her and they arrange to use music as a secret signal. Hanyan hides in her mother's room, and soon Yuwen Chang'an arrives, handing Ruan Xiwen a secret letter. The letter contains a request from the president of the Danzhou Chamber of Commerce to meet with Yuwen Chang'an. Ruan Xiwen states that if this president can testify, along with her own evidence, they can bring him down. To protect her daughter from being implicated, she must send Hanyan away as soon as possible.
Zhou Ruyin, learning of Yuwen Chang'an's secret meeting with Ruan Xiwen, steals Zhuang Shiyang's official seal, intending to have the mansion locked down under the pretense of catching a thief. Worried that the "thief" might harm her family, she uses concern for Ruan Xiwen as an excuse to bring servants to blockade the main courtyard, making it difficult for Yuwen Chang'an to leave the Zhuang mansion. The servants urge Yuwen Chang'an to leave quickly, at least to protect the mistress's reputation. Ruan Xiwen is at a loss, but Hanyan steps forward, suggesting that "Uncle Yuwen" go to her room. She believes that only by protecting her mother's reputation and influence can she, as her daughter, remain safe. Ruan Xiwen is shocked that her daughter would risk her own innocence to protect her, but she is not the kind of person who would exploit her daughter, and she goes out alone to face the situation.
