Nancheng Banquet Episode 2 Recap
> Nancheng Banquet Recap
Afterward, Dao Ge instructed Fu Xiao that from now on, he would be Xiao Qiang Zi, and she should refer to him as Brother Qiang. After all, he was now an eunuch and favored by the Emperor. Fu Xiao remembered when she was brought to the room by the eunuch for inspection, it was merely symbolic, and he declared her fit without much scrutiny.
She couldn't understand why the eunuch helped her. It turned out the eunuch had been bribed by a masked woman and was rewarded handsomely that night. The next day, during the morning court discussing the candidates for the position left by Guo Zhen on the border, Xiao Quan believed only Yan Zhangyun, brave and skilled in battle, was suitable.
However, this choice faced strong opposition from everyone in the court. Yan Zhangyun didn't trust Xiao Quan's judgment because, after all, the Qin family had been falsely accused and wiped out. Currently, He Sanyuan and Lei Bao might have found clues from the deceased Guo Zhen.
Looking at the Emperor's food, Xiao Qiang Zi's stomach grumbled loudly. The Emperor, eating alone, ordered Xiao Qiang Zi to eat with him, frightening everyone except Xiao Qiang Zi, who ate heartily without resistance. This enthusiasm even lifted the Emperor's appetite.
Lei Bao, who had fled with the young master from Duke Dingguo's mansion, was recognized by He Sanyuan. At a glance, he recognized Yan Zhangyun as the young boy, Qin Yan, from back then. When He Sanyuan refused to divulge the mastermind behind the scenes, Yan Zhangyun began to break his ribs one by one until he confessed that the jade ring on Guo Zhen's hand held a secret.
Yan Zhangyun immediately found Fu Xiao and forced her to reveal the whereabouts of the jade ring. As she was about to be killed, Fu Xiao confessed she had amnesia. After being examined by the imperial physician, the treatment time for recovery varied from person to person.
To help her regain her memory, Yan Zhangyun tied her to a spinning wheel and even inserted needles into her head. Fearing the needles would penetrate her brain, she pretended to remember, and Yan Zhangyun, seeing her genuine amnesia, declared that she had passed the test and hadn't betrayed him even at the point of death. Xiao Qiang Zi, confused, saw Yan Zhangyun making up a story that she had once been his undercover guard.
Until Yan Zhangyun's lies were exposed, she pretended to meet a relative to avoid leaving with him. To protect herself from leaving with Yan Zhangyun, she complained to the Emperor that Yan Zhangyun tortured her secretly. Concerned for Xiao Qiang Zi's safety, the Emperor ordered him not to leave his side.
At the changing of the plaques, all of them were empresses. To let Xiao Qiang Zi appreciate the empress's elegance, the Emperor took him to see her true appearance. The empress, expecting the Emperor but not seeing him arrive, went out to meet him herself. As the Emperor left with the empress, Yan Zhangyun took Xiao Qiang Zi to the woods and simulated the scene when she attempted to assassinate Guo Zhen.
However, facing a group of guards with raised swords, even though it was just a simulation, she was still afraid and fainted. When the imperial physician examined her, he stared at Yan Zhangyun, afraid of saying the wrong thing. As Fu Xiao left, the imperial physician said the red thread in Xiao Qiang Zi's arm was poisonous, and if not detoxified, he would die in a hundred days.
Talking with the Emperor, he lamented being locked in the palace despite the vastness of the land. Every memorial had been modified by the Prime Minister, and even his every move was monitored by the Empress Dowager. When discussing Yan Zhangyun, Fu Xiao criticized him behind his back. Yan Zhangyun arrived at that moment to take someone away, so she pretended to be ill and had the Emperor take him away.
The Prime Minister rebuked the Empress, who had been married for four years without bearing children, leading Duke Wei to propose deposing her. Xiao Quan advised his father not to be angry, suggesting that the problem might lie with the Emperor. He warned his daughter that if she didn't have a child, he would select someone from the Xiao family to replace her.
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