Flourished Peony Episode 13 Recap, Plot

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> Flourished Peony Recap

Mudan went outside the city to gather peonies and only returned after nightfall, accidentally witnessing Jiang Zhangyang, the Flowers and Birds Envoy, killing Xu Zuping from the Imperial Academy. She was so frightened upon returning that she caught a cold from the rain and spent three days in bed recovering, plagued by nightmares. In her dreams, Jiang Zhangyang slaughtered countless people, with Xu the Wine-Rite Master dying tragically under his blade.

Mudan later visited her cousin Wenqing, who worked at the Imperial Academy. Hoping to pay her respects to Xu, whom she had met once before, she asked Li Xing to bring her inside. To her surprise, so many people held Xu Zuping in high regard. The culprit, Jiang Zhangyang, came to the mourning ceremony in place of the emperor, crying as though his heart were broken.

But Mudan, remembering the cold-blooded way he had killed Xu that rainy night, could not hide the suspicion on her face. Mudan learned that Jiang Zhangyang had also been a student of Xu Zuping. However, after Jiang began serving the emperor and influencing him, Xu gradually distanced himself. Mudan recalled how Jiang had helped her obtain a divorce in Luoyang. Now, if she revealed the truth about Xu’s death, Jiang Zhangyang would not let her go unpunished.

She decided to keep the truth to herself but could not dispel her fear of Jiang. Determined to save enough money to move out of the Jiang estate's backyard, she even avoided visiting Qiongtai and Yu Lu unless Jiang was away. Her cheerful demeanor disappeared, and even Chuan Yu noticed she was avoiding Jiang. One day, Jiang sought her out, producing a piece of cloth he had found on the rainy night of the murder. Mudan denied any connection.

On the day of Xu Zuping’s mourning, Jiang noticed He Weifang at the ceremony and ordered Chuan Yu to investigate. He learned that Li Xing, a registrar at the Imperial Academy, was He Weifang’s cousin on her maternal aunt’s side. He Weifang quickly clarified that she was just a commoner trying to make a living. Jiang appeared to let go of his suspicions, but his parting words sounded more like a threat.

Soon after, the shop "Blossoms in Full Bloom" opened and was bustling with business. Qin Shengyi planned to use the earnings to buy back Mudan’s mother’s heirlooms from Yun Niang and return them to Mudan. Meanwhile, Liu Chang volunteered to work on water management proposals, but King Ning refused. Later, Liu discovered that King Ning had never even opened his carefully written report, instead treating it as trash and instructing his servants to burn it.

Growing increasingly disillusioned, Liu became colder toward the County Princess of Jia. Without consulting him, the County Princess requested leave from the Ministry of Revenue on Liu’s behalf so they could travel to Lishan the next day. Liu reluctantly agreed but used unfinished official duties as an excuse to avoid dining with her that night. Instead, he went to a tavern to drink away his sorrows. From the tavern, he could see Mudan’s shop bustling with activity.

Watching her greet customers, Liu couldn’t help but reminisce about the days when Mudan had been his wife. After drinking, Liu stumbled downstairs to leave, only to encounter a male customer harassing Mudan. Liu intentionally bumped into the man, freeing Mudan from the situation but drawing the man’s ire. Seeing that Liu was only a sixth-rank official, the man grew arrogant, and his men pinned Liu to the ground, beating him.

The situation only changed when the man noticed the fish-shaped token that fell from Liu’s body, identifying him as one of King Ning’s men. Terrified, the man knelt and begged for forgiveness. Liu, unwilling to exploit his authority, angrily told him to leave. Mudan instructed a servant to bring out some medicine for Liu’s injuries and urged him to leave so as not to disrupt her business.

Liu sighed, realizing that only Mudan had always treated him as the real Liu Zishu, regardless of his position. Later, Mudan shared her experiences in Luoyang with Qin Shengyi and Zhu Fu. Qin Shengyi was shocked and sympathetic toward her, while Zhu Fu praised Mudan for her courage in seeking a divorce, calling her a true heroine among women.

Episode 12 Recap

Episode 14 Recap

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