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If Episode 19 was the episode where Xie Jiayu finally stopped running from her feelings, Episode 20 is where the story reminds us that love does not automatically make the political world around them any easier.
In fact, almost immediately after Jiayu and Xiao Wuyi finally become emotionally honest with each other, the political situation becomes even more dangerous.
And the biggest casualty?
The brotherhood between Xiao Wuyi and Li Mao.
This episode is basically the moment where the story starts transforming their relationship from brothers and allies into rivals who may no longer be able to trust each other.
❤️ AFTER JIAYU'S CONFESSION
One of the things I love about the transition from Episode 19 to Episode 20 is that the drama doesn't suddenly turn Jiayu and Xiao Wuyi into an overly romantic couple.
Their relationship remains understated.
But something has fundamentally changed.
Jiayu has already admitted what she feels.
She isn't pretending anymore.
And Xiao Wuyi now knows that the woman who originally entered his life through a political marriage has genuinely chosen him.
That makes the small domestic moments in Episode 20 surprisingly sweet.
Jiayu takes care of him.
She gives him medicine.
She even talks about buying hawthorn so she can make hawthorn cake for him because she knows he likes sour things.
And Xiao Wuyi's response is so characteristically him.
He doesn't want her hurting her hands peeling the hawthorn or going through unnecessary trouble just to make something for him.
He basically tells her:
Just buy the hawthorn.
😂❤️
It's such a tiny exchange, but it says so much about their relationship.
They don't need dramatic declarations anymore.
They are beginning to behave like people who genuinely care about each other's everyday comfort.
🩸 BUT LI MAO IS DYING
While Xiao Wuyi and Jiayu are slowly settling into this new emotional reality, Li Mao is suffering.
He has been injured by an arrow.
And his condition keeps getting worse.
His fever doesn't subside, and the wound isn't healing properly.
The situation becomes serious enough that his attendant A Chan has no choice but to ask Xiao Wuyi for help.
This is important because despite everything happening politically, Xiao Wuyi still cares about Li Mao.
Their friendship hasn't completely disappeared yet.
Not at this point.
☠️ THE ARROW WASN'T ORDINARY
Jiayu raises the possibility that Li Mao may have been poisoned by the arrow.
But there is an interesting problem.
Xiao Wuyi himself had grabbed the arrow.
His hand was cut.
Yet he didn't experience the same symptoms.
So something doesn't add up.
This leads Xiao Wuyi to investigate the medicine residue instead.
And that investigation reveals something much darker.
The poison isn't ordinary.
It's connected to an old crime that reaches back thirteen years.
🌿 THE POISON: DARK NIGHT GRASS
The poison is identified as “Dark Night Grass” (暗夜草).
And suddenly the illness isn't simply about someone trying to assassinate Li Mao.
It connects to an old political crime involving the deaths of princes.
This is where the drama starts pulling the past directly into the present.
Because the person behind the poison isn't simply trying to kill Li Mao.
There is a much larger succession plan behind it.
👑 THE EMPRESS DOWAGER'S BIGGEST CRIME
Xiao Wuyi's investigation leads him toward Imperial Physician Qin Sheng.
And this is where Episode 20 drops one of its biggest revelations.
The Empress Dowager had previously ordered Qin Sheng to poison three princes.
The purpose?
To manipulate the succession.
The deaths of Prince Ning and Prince Su ultimately cleared the path for her own son to become emperor.
But the most horrifying part is that she didn't even spare her own son.
She poisoned the current emperor as well.
She needed the entire succession crisis to look convincing.
That is how far she was willing to go for power.
😨 THE MOST DISTURBING PART
The Emperor wasn't simply an innocent beneficiary of the Empress Dowager's scheme.
He was also poisoned.
And he has spent years living with the consequences.
This completely changes the way we look at the imperial family.
The current political order wasn't simply inherited naturally.
It was built through murder, poisoning, manipulation, and succession engineering.
And that explains why the Empress Dowager has been so desperate to maintain control.
She isn't protecting a legitimate political legacy.
She's protecting a structure that was built on blood.
🦅 XIAO WUYI STRIKES
Once Xiao Wuyi has enough evidence, he doesn't waste time.
He breaks into the Eastern Palace at night.
And he brings Qin Sheng with him.
This is classic Xiao Wuyi.
He doesn't simply accuse.
He arrives with evidence.
And when Qin Sheng initially refuses to reveal the truth because he's still afraid of the Empress Dowager, Jiayu enters the situation with Qin Sheng's daughter.
That changes everything.
Qin Sheng finally has the courage to speak.
And the Empress Dowager's entire conspiracy begins collapsing.
👑 THE EMPRESS DOWAGER FINALLY LOSES
This is one of the most satisfying political victories of the drama.
The Empress Dowager has spent so much time manipulating everyone around her.
But suddenly, the people she thought she controlled begin abandoning her.
And the biggest betrayal comes from He Yuanji.
Instead of continuing to support the Empress Dowager, Yuanji persuades the He clan to stop following her.
She also presents evidence of the He family's corruption and political crimes.
The Empress Dowager realizes that she's been abandoned.
Her own faction is turning against her.
And that's the moment her power effectively collapses.
⚖️ JUSTICE—BUT NOT EXECUTION
Interestingly, the Emperor doesn't simply execute her.
Instead, her imperial seal is confiscated and she is sent to another palace to live out the rest of her life.
The Emperor even makes arrangements to prevent her from causing another political disaster after his death.
It isn't the dramatic execution one might expect.
But politically?
It's devastating.
The woman who once controlled the court has lost everything that gave her power.
🦅 LI MAO RISES
And here's where things get REALLY interesting.
After the Empress Dowager falls, Li Mao gains even more authority.
The Emperor grants him the Nine Imperial Seals, allowing him to act on the Emperor's behalf without having to request approval for every decision.
On paper, this looks like a victory for Li Mao.
The Empress Dowager is defeated.
Li Mao's position is strengthened.
And the court appears to be moving toward stability.
Except...
Something is wrong.
🧩 LI MAO'S SECRET MOVE
Li Mao secretly arranges for Li Lejun to escape.
And this is where Xiao Wuyi demonstrates once again that he understands Li Mao better than almost anyone.
Xiao Wuyi already anticipated it.
He knew Li Mao would try to protect his sister.
So he prepared for it.
Jiayu and the Shadow Envoy intercept Li Lejun's carriage.
And now the emotional consequences of everything that happened between these characters finally collide.
💔 JIAYU AND LI LEJUN
This scene is particularly painful for Jiayu.
Li Lejun was once someone she trusted.
Someone who was connected to her past.
But Li Lejun's actions caused enormous damage.
And now Jiayu has to decide whether she can let her feelings for the person Li Lejun once was interfere with what needs to happen now.
She raises her bow.
She has the opportunity to kill her.
But...
Jiayu cannot do it.
She shoots.
But she deliberately misses.
😭
That tiny hesitation tells us everything about Jiayu.
She has grown stronger.
She's no longer naïve.
But she hasn't become cruel.
🦅 LI LEJUN'S NEW FATE
Li Lejun isn't simply allowed to walk away.
Instead, she will go to Beiqin and marry the Eagle King.
But secretly, she will serve as a spy for Daye.
So even her escape becomes part of a larger political strategy.
This is another example of how the drama refuses to make political outcomes simple.
Someone can lose everything and still become useful.
Someone can be defeated and still have another role to play.
💔 AND THEN COMES THE REAL BREAK
Everything up until this point can almost be interpreted as political maneuvering.
But then Xiao Wuyi discovers something much more disturbing.
The Antai Gate incident wasn't simply the Empress Dowager's doing.
Li Mao was behind it.
He deliberately manipulated the conflict between Xiao Wuyi and the Empress Dowager.
He was essentially creating a situation where the two sides would clash...
while he positioned himself to benefit from the outcome.
And suddenly, all those strange decisions Li Mao has been making start looking different.
🥀 XIAO WUYI VS. LI MAO
This is the heartbreaking part.
Li Mao and Xiao Wuyi confront each other.
And Li Mao becomes furious.
He actually hits Xiao Wuyi twice.
And then he makes the decision that changes everything:
Their brotherhood is over.
From now on...
they are only君臣 — ruler and subject.
Not brothers.
Not friends.
Not comrades.
Just political figures on opposite sides of power.
😭
This is one of the most painful moments in the entire drama because we KNOW what these two used to be.
❤️ WHY THIS HURTS MORE AFTER JIAYU'S CONFESSION
This is the brilliance of the episode structure.
Episode 19 gives us:
Jiayu choosing Xiao Wuyi.
Episode 20 gives us:
Li Mao rejecting Xiao Wuyi as a brother.
So Xiao Wuyi gains something precious...
while simultaneously losing something precious.
He finally gets the woman he loves.
But he loses the brother he once trusted.
It's almost cruelly balanced.
🦅 XIAO WUYI'S IDENTITY IS ALSO ABOUT TO CHANGE
And then comes another huge revelation.
Li Mao tells Xie Huaigui that the Que Gu / Sparrow Bone Orders are with the Emperor.
And he has figured out something extremely important:
Xiao Wuyi is actually the Wenxi Crown Prince.
But here's the twist:
The Emperor already knows.
And instead of exposing him...
the Emperor returns the Sparrow Bone Orders to Xiao Wuyi.
He is essentially acknowledging his true identity.
That means Xiao Wuyi's political position is about to change dramatically.
🧠 THIS IS WHY EPISODE 20 IS SO IMPORTANT
Episode 20 isn't simply:
“The Empress Dowager loses.”
It's the episode where several major political lines converge:
👑 The Empress Dowager
Her decades-long conspiracy is finally exposed.
🩸 Li Mao
His political position becomes stronger, but his methods become increasingly questionable.
🦅 Xiao Wuyi
His friendship with Li Mao ends.
❤️ Jiayu
She is now completely emotionally committed to Xiao Wuyi.
🐦 Sparrow Bone Orders
Xiao Wuyi's true identity as Wenxi Crown Prince is essentially acknowledged.
🦅 Li Lejun
She survives and is sent to Beiqin as a secret agent.
❤️ MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT JIAYU IN THIS EPISODE
Jiayu isn't simply “the female lead who is now in love.”
She's becoming Xiao Wuyi's partner.
She helps investigate.
She recognizes the possibility of poison.
She helps expose Qin Sheng.
She participates in the political strategy.
And she makes her own moral decision regarding Li Lejun.
Even after falling in love with Xiao Wuyi, she doesn't lose her individuality.
That's exactly what makes their relationship work.
🦅 XIAO WUYI: THE MAN WHO LOSES PEOPLE WHILE SAVING THE COUNTRY
This episode also reinforces something I think is central to Xiao Wuyi's character.
He keeps winning politically...
but every victory costs him something personally.
He defeats the Empress Dowager.
He saves Li Mao.
He protects Jiayu.
He exposes political corruption.
He gets closer to reclaiming his identity.
But he loses his brother.
And that pattern is becoming one of the most tragic aspects of his character.
Xiao Wuyi is incredibly good at carrying burdens.
The problem is that he keeps carrying them alone.
⭐ FINAL VERDICT
Episode 20 is one of those episodes where the drama manages to make political exposition emotionally satisfying.
The Empress Dowager's downfall is satisfying because it isn't random.
It is the result of Xiao Wuyi's investigation, Jiayu's assistance, Qin Sheng's confession, and He Yuanji's decision to finally turn against her.
But the victory isn't clean.
Because while one enemy falls...
another relationship collapses.
The biggest emotional takeaway for me isn't even the Empress Dowager's defeat.
It's the moment when Li Mao and Xiao Wuyi stop being brothers.
Because that's much more painful.
These two men once fought for the same country.
Now they're looking at each other as political opponents.
And considering everything we know about Li Mao so far, I still wouldn't reduce him to a simple villain.
He's clearly hiding motives.
He's clearly making morally questionable decisions.
But the story hasn't finished revealing what he's actually trying to accomplish.
And THAT is what makes him so frustratingly fascinating. 😂
⭐ Episode 20 Score
Story: 9.9/10
Political intrigue: 10/10
Xiao Wuyi: 10/10
Jiayu: 9.8/10
Romance: 9.7/10
Li Mao: 10/10 for complexity
Empress Dowager downfall: 10/10
Emotional impact: 9.9/10
Pacing: 9.8/10
🦅 EPISODE 20 IN ONE SENTENCE:
Jiayu finally has Xiao Wuyi's heart, but just as their love becomes real, Xiao Wuyi loses the brother he once trusted—and the man who stands beside him now may be the same man who is quietly moving the entire political board.
In fact, almost immediately after Jiayu and Xiao Wuyi finally become emotionally honest with each other, the political situation becomes even more dangerous.
And the biggest casualty?
The brotherhood between Xiao Wuyi and Li Mao.
This episode is basically the moment where the story starts transforming their relationship from brothers and allies into rivals who may no longer be able to trust each other.
❤️ AFTER JIAYU'S CONFESSION
One of the things I love about the transition from Episode 19 to Episode 20 is that the drama doesn't suddenly turn Jiayu and Xiao Wuyi into an overly romantic couple.
Their relationship remains understated.
But something has fundamentally changed.
Jiayu has already admitted what she feels.
She isn't pretending anymore.
And Xiao Wuyi now knows that the woman who originally entered his life through a political marriage has genuinely chosen him.
That makes the small domestic moments in Episode 20 surprisingly sweet.
Jiayu takes care of him.
She gives him medicine.
She even talks about buying hawthorn so she can make hawthorn cake for him because she knows he likes sour things.
And Xiao Wuyi's response is so characteristically him.
He doesn't want her hurting her hands peeling the hawthorn or going through unnecessary trouble just to make something for him.
He basically tells her:
Just buy the hawthorn.
😂❤️
It's such a tiny exchange, but it says so much about their relationship.
They don't need dramatic declarations anymore.
They are beginning to behave like people who genuinely care about each other's everyday comfort.
🩸 BUT LI MAO IS DYING
While Xiao Wuyi and Jiayu are slowly settling into this new emotional reality, Li Mao is suffering.
He has been injured by an arrow.
And his condition keeps getting worse.
His fever doesn't subside, and the wound isn't healing properly.
The situation becomes serious enough that his attendant A Chan has no choice but to ask Xiao Wuyi for help.
This is important because despite everything happening politically, Xiao Wuyi still cares about Li Mao.
Their friendship hasn't completely disappeared yet.
Not at this point.
☠️ THE ARROW WASN'T ORDINARY
Jiayu raises the possibility that Li Mao may have been poisoned by the arrow.
But there is an interesting problem.
Xiao Wuyi himself had grabbed the arrow.
His hand was cut.
Yet he didn't experience the same symptoms.
So something doesn't add up.
This leads Xiao Wuyi to investigate the medicine residue instead.
And that investigation reveals something much darker.
The poison isn't ordinary.
It's connected to an old crime that reaches back thirteen years.
🌿 THE POISON: DARK NIGHT GRASS
The poison is identified as “Dark Night Grass” (暗夜草).
And suddenly the illness isn't simply about someone trying to assassinate Li Mao.
It connects to an old political crime involving the deaths of princes.
This is where the drama starts pulling the past directly into the present.
Because the person behind the poison isn't simply trying to kill Li Mao.
There is a much larger succession plan behind it.
👑 THE EMPRESS DOWAGER'S BIGGEST CRIME
Xiao Wuyi's investigation leads him toward Imperial Physician Qin Sheng.
And this is where Episode 20 drops one of its biggest revelations.
The Empress Dowager had previously ordered Qin Sheng to poison three princes.
The purpose?
To manipulate the succession.
The deaths of Prince Ning and Prince Su ultimately cleared the path for her own son to become emperor.
But the most horrifying part is that she didn't even spare her own son.
She poisoned the current emperor as well.
She needed the entire succession crisis to look convincing.
That is how far she was willing to go for power.
😨 THE MOST DISTURBING PART
The Emperor wasn't simply an innocent beneficiary of the Empress Dowager's scheme.
He was also poisoned.
And he has spent years living with the consequences.
This completely changes the way we look at the imperial family.
The current political order wasn't simply inherited naturally.
It was built through murder, poisoning, manipulation, and succession engineering.
And that explains why the Empress Dowager has been so desperate to maintain control.
She isn't protecting a legitimate political legacy.
She's protecting a structure that was built on blood.
🦅 XIAO WUYI STRIKES
Once Xiao Wuyi has enough evidence, he doesn't waste time.
He breaks into the Eastern Palace at night.
And he brings Qin Sheng with him.
This is classic Xiao Wuyi.
He doesn't simply accuse.
He arrives with evidence.
And when Qin Sheng initially refuses to reveal the truth because he's still afraid of the Empress Dowager, Jiayu enters the situation with Qin Sheng's daughter.
That changes everything.
Qin Sheng finally has the courage to speak.
And the Empress Dowager's entire conspiracy begins collapsing.
👑 THE EMPRESS DOWAGER FINALLY LOSES
This is one of the most satisfying political victories of the drama.
The Empress Dowager has spent so much time manipulating everyone around her.
But suddenly, the people she thought she controlled begin abandoning her.
And the biggest betrayal comes from He Yuanji.
Instead of continuing to support the Empress Dowager, Yuanji persuades the He clan to stop following her.
She also presents evidence of the He family's corruption and political crimes.
The Empress Dowager realizes that she's been abandoned.
Her own faction is turning against her.
And that's the moment her power effectively collapses.
⚖️ JUSTICE—BUT NOT EXECUTION
Interestingly, the Emperor doesn't simply execute her.
Instead, her imperial seal is confiscated and she is sent to another palace to live out the rest of her life.
The Emperor even makes arrangements to prevent her from causing another political disaster after his death.
It isn't the dramatic execution one might expect.
But politically?
It's devastating.
The woman who once controlled the court has lost everything that gave her power.
🦅 LI MAO RISES
And here's where things get REALLY interesting.
After the Empress Dowager falls, Li Mao gains even more authority.
The Emperor grants him the Nine Imperial Seals, allowing him to act on the Emperor's behalf without having to request approval for every decision.
On paper, this looks like a victory for Li Mao.
The Empress Dowager is defeated.
Li Mao's position is strengthened.
And the court appears to be moving toward stability.
Except...
Something is wrong.
🧩 LI MAO'S SECRET MOVE
Li Mao secretly arranges for Li Lejun to escape.
And this is where Xiao Wuyi demonstrates once again that he understands Li Mao better than almost anyone.
Xiao Wuyi already anticipated it.
He knew Li Mao would try to protect his sister.
So he prepared for it.
Jiayu and the Shadow Envoy intercept Li Lejun's carriage.
And now the emotional consequences of everything that happened between these characters finally collide.
💔 JIAYU AND LI LEJUN
This scene is particularly painful for Jiayu.
Li Lejun was once someone she trusted.
Someone who was connected to her past.
But Li Lejun's actions caused enormous damage.
And now Jiayu has to decide whether she can let her feelings for the person Li Lejun once was interfere with what needs to happen now.
She raises her bow.
She has the opportunity to kill her.
But...
Jiayu cannot do it.
She shoots.
But she deliberately misses.
😭
That tiny hesitation tells us everything about Jiayu.
She has grown stronger.
She's no longer naïve.
But she hasn't become cruel.
🦅 LI LEJUN'S NEW FATE
Li Lejun isn't simply allowed to walk away.
Instead, she will go to Beiqin and marry the Eagle King.
But secretly, she will serve as a spy for Daye.
So even her escape becomes part of a larger political strategy.
This is another example of how the drama refuses to make political outcomes simple.
Someone can lose everything and still become useful.
Someone can be defeated and still have another role to play.
💔 AND THEN COMES THE REAL BREAK
Everything up until this point can almost be interpreted as political maneuvering.
But then Xiao Wuyi discovers something much more disturbing.
The Antai Gate incident wasn't simply the Empress Dowager's doing.
Li Mao was behind it.
He deliberately manipulated the conflict between Xiao Wuyi and the Empress Dowager.
He was essentially creating a situation where the two sides would clash...
while he positioned himself to benefit from the outcome.
And suddenly, all those strange decisions Li Mao has been making start looking different.
🥀 XIAO WUYI VS. LI MAO
This is the heartbreaking part.
Li Mao and Xiao Wuyi confront each other.
And Li Mao becomes furious.
He actually hits Xiao Wuyi twice.
And then he makes the decision that changes everything:
Their brotherhood is over.
From now on...
they are only君臣 — ruler and subject.
Not brothers.
Not friends.
Not comrades.
Just political figures on opposite sides of power.
😭
This is one of the most painful moments in the entire drama because we KNOW what these two used to be.
❤️ WHY THIS HURTS MORE AFTER JIAYU'S CONFESSION
This is the brilliance of the episode structure.
Episode 19 gives us:
Jiayu choosing Xiao Wuyi.
Episode 20 gives us:
Li Mao rejecting Xiao Wuyi as a brother.
So Xiao Wuyi gains something precious...
while simultaneously losing something precious.
He finally gets the woman he loves.
But he loses the brother he once trusted.
It's almost cruelly balanced.
🦅 XIAO WUYI'S IDENTITY IS ALSO ABOUT TO CHANGE
And then comes another huge revelation.
Li Mao tells Xie Huaigui that the Que Gu / Sparrow Bone Orders are with the Emperor.
And he has figured out something extremely important:
Xiao Wuyi is actually the Wenxi Crown Prince.
But here's the twist:
The Emperor already knows.
And instead of exposing him...
the Emperor returns the Sparrow Bone Orders to Xiao Wuyi.
He is essentially acknowledging his true identity.
That means Xiao Wuyi's political position is about to change dramatically.
🧠 THIS IS WHY EPISODE 20 IS SO IMPORTANT
Episode 20 isn't simply:
“The Empress Dowager loses.”
It's the episode where several major political lines converge:
👑 The Empress Dowager
Her decades-long conspiracy is finally exposed.
🩸 Li Mao
His political position becomes stronger, but his methods become increasingly questionable.
🦅 Xiao Wuyi
His friendship with Li Mao ends.
❤️ Jiayu
She is now completely emotionally committed to Xiao Wuyi.
🐦 Sparrow Bone Orders
Xiao Wuyi's true identity as Wenxi Crown Prince is essentially acknowledged.
🦅 Li Lejun
She survives and is sent to Beiqin as a secret agent.
❤️ MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT JIAYU IN THIS EPISODE
Jiayu isn't simply “the female lead who is now in love.”
She's becoming Xiao Wuyi's partner.
She helps investigate.
She recognizes the possibility of poison.
She helps expose Qin Sheng.
She participates in the political strategy.
And she makes her own moral decision regarding Li Lejun.
Even after falling in love with Xiao Wuyi, she doesn't lose her individuality.
That's exactly what makes their relationship work.
🦅 XIAO WUYI: THE MAN WHO LOSES PEOPLE WHILE SAVING THE COUNTRY
This episode also reinforces something I think is central to Xiao Wuyi's character.
He keeps winning politically...
but every victory costs him something personally.
He defeats the Empress Dowager.
He saves Li Mao.
He protects Jiayu.
He exposes political corruption.
He gets closer to reclaiming his identity.
But he loses his brother.
And that pattern is becoming one of the most tragic aspects of his character.
Xiao Wuyi is incredibly good at carrying burdens.
The problem is that he keeps carrying them alone.
⭐ FINAL VERDICT
Episode 20 is one of those episodes where the drama manages to make political exposition emotionally satisfying.
The Empress Dowager's downfall is satisfying because it isn't random.
It is the result of Xiao Wuyi's investigation, Jiayu's assistance, Qin Sheng's confession, and He Yuanji's decision to finally turn against her.
But the victory isn't clean.
Because while one enemy falls...
another relationship collapses.
The biggest emotional takeaway for me isn't even the Empress Dowager's defeat.
It's the moment when Li Mao and Xiao Wuyi stop being brothers.
Because that's much more painful.
These two men once fought for the same country.
Now they're looking at each other as political opponents.
And considering everything we know about Li Mao so far, I still wouldn't reduce him to a simple villain.
He's clearly hiding motives.
He's clearly making morally questionable decisions.
But the story hasn't finished revealing what he's actually trying to accomplish.
And THAT is what makes him so frustratingly fascinating. 😂
⭐ Episode 20 Score
Story: 9.9/10
Political intrigue: 10/10
Xiao Wuyi: 10/10
Jiayu: 9.8/10
Romance: 9.7/10
Li Mao: 10/10 for complexity
Empress Dowager downfall: 10/10
Emotional impact: 9.9/10
Pacing: 9.8/10
🦅 EPISODE 20 IN ONE SENTENCE:
Jiayu finally has Xiao Wuyi's heart, but just as their love becomes real, Xiao Wuyi loses the brother he once trusted—and the man who stands beside him now may be the same man who is quietly moving the entire political board.
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Yuan Ji confesses to what she did but was told WuYi already knew. What she did was gather her clan together, brought ledgers of her family’s corruption and their seal and declared support for the Beifu reforms. Prince Qi tore up the ledgers and said the reforms would not be put into place by killing the nobles. The one blackmailed to poison Prince Qi confessed when his family was brought in and declared safe. YuanJi asked for her marriage to WuYi be annulled and permission to be divorced which this time was granted. The coup the Empress Dowager planned turned into her son and Prince Qi having her removed to another palace to rest and reflect. Her son was kind compared to the poisoning he received. He kept all things accounted for by saying her life would end with his so she couldn’t use the pretense of being filial to reclaim the throne. She had tried to force her son to get rid of Beifu reforms, Remove Prince Qi as regent and to use her choice as crown prince. He refused all her choices and revealed he knew he was poisoned by the bird nest soup along with the other princes. After his mother is removed he grants Prince Qi the nine seals which lets him act with emperor’s authority without having to ask for it. He is given the Cui case and WuYi wasn’t happy with that news. It is countered by his token and the one from JiaYu’s mother being returned to counter the power Prince Qi has. Yuan Ji is now leading her clan while the Empress Dowager scoffs at the very idea. JiaYu lets LeLun determine her fate. She can head north and marry Eagle King and serve as Ye’s spy or she can die right there. JiaYu will let her leave but her life is forfeit should she step foot in Ye again. Tutor and son are playing chess and Qi is the mastermind behind it all. He is also certain WuYi is the crown prince WenXi. He has become even colder and more calculating than his father. After he hears JiaYu gets to determine his sister’s fate, he cuts all ties with WuYi.
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Wow, this episode... 😮🤩The Empress Dowager hoped to have a night that would turn the tide in her favour, but instead, she fell hard... 👏Prince Qi was revealed as the main mastermind behind whatever happened in the previous episodes, all just to get the ultimate power and the Nine Imperial Seals, which allow him to make decisions without asking the Emperor... To be fair, I am getting scared of him now! 😨The Emperor giving the Tokens to WuYi before Prince Qi got the chance to snatch them was the only relief to me after learning how cold and vile Mao has become. 😌😮💨 And my predictions were right — Mao not only suspected, but actually is certain that WuYi is Crown Prince WenXi. I bet he's going to work hard now to plot against WuYi, as he's his ultimate rival for the woman he desires and for the power he now holds. 😬JiaYu gave LeJun a test of fate for her mother's death — whether she survives her arrow and goes to Northern Qin to marry the Eagle King and become the spy of Ye, or she dies there on the spot... Fate chose the first option, which I think was the better outcome. 🫣The plot is definitely picking up immensely and everything that happened in this episode is turning the page of the whole story! I can't wait for the rest of the episodes, because I expect them to be thrilling and epic! 🤗😏❤️
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"Key to the. Phoenix Heart is one of the best dramas of 2026. I am absolutely in love with them and their chemistry!"
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