Nancheng Banquet Episode 3 Recap
> Nancheng Banquet Recap
The Emperor visited the Empress's palace. She told him she had been waiting for him. He spoke of how he remembered her from when they first met four years ago and admitted he had neglected her due to busy palace affairs. He announced he wanted to paint her portrait for the Yuquan Palace, where he could see it whenever he thought of her. This was a pretense to avoid intimacy, a tactic suggested by Qiang.
The Emperor had Qiang prepare the painting setup, intending to paint while the Empress posed, hoping she would fall asleep. However, after waiting for an hour, the Empress remained awake, and the Emperor himself grew tired and fell asleep. While waiting outside, Qiang was approached by a masked woman who revealed she knew about Qiang's amnesia (Soul Loss) and true identity, stating Qiang was not Xiao Qiangzi.
She offered Qiang a drug to put in the Emperor's food, claiming it was harmless and beneficial. Qiang refused, fearing execution. The woman then showed the spreading red line on "Qiang's" wrist, revealing it was a poison she had administered and warning it would be fatal in 100 days without her antidote. She pressured Qiang to use the drug on the Emperor quickly. Qiang questioned the woman about her identity and past, but she refused to answer.
Later, Qiang confronted the imperial physician who had previously lied about her condition being a fever. The physician confessed that Yan Changyun had instructed him to conceal the truth. Qiang showed the physician the drug from the masked woman, who identified it as something causing lethargy and suppressing desires, primarily making people extremely listless. As Qiang debated using the drug, an attendant named Yidao, exhausted from cleaning latrines, accidentally drank some of the drugged water Qiang had prepared.
Yidao became tearfully emotional, expressing deep gratitude and calling Qiang his best friend, saying Qiang was the first person in the palace to call him Dao Ge. Realizing the drug's effect and suspecting a plot against the Emperor's lineage (someone didn't want the Emperor to have descendants), Qiang decided to use only a minimal amount on the Emperor to appease the masked woman without severely harming him.
On the way back, Qiang encountered Yan Changyun, who deliberately tripped her into the water. Yan Changyun asked if Qiang would consider joining the Qianyu Guards. Qiang, eager to escape but seeing no immediate way, claimed she couldn't leave the Emperor, who relied on her constantly, even needing her to wait outside when he went to the latrine. Yan Changyun let her go but warned her not to play tricks. Qiang inwardly resented Yan Changyun for the humiliation, vowing revenge.
Meanwhile, the Empress visited the imperial physician, asking for something for the Emperor's fatigue. The physician provided potent tonics, suggesting a ten-ingredient soup, promising it would restore the Emperor's vigor and help the Empress conceive. Later, Yan Changyun brought Qiang to the Emperor, suggesting they practice boxing. Yan Changyun trained the Emperor roughly, causing him to fall repeatedly.
Believing Yan Changyun was not just bullying her but also taking it out on the Emperor, Qiang added the lethargy drug to Yan Changyun's tea. Yan Changyun immediately detected something after a sip and forced Qiang to drink the rest of the tea. Qiang tearfully complained to the Emperor about Yan Changyun's harsh treatment during the training and the Emperor's failure to intervene, saying she was almost beaten to death.
Qiang described feeling weak, tired, and hopeless, effects likely amplified by the drug. The Emperor comforted her, letting her sit on the couch with him. A eunuch arrived with a ten-ingredient tonic soup from the Empress, who had made it for the Emperor's purported weakness. The Emperor gave the soup to Qiang, who drank it and felt intensely hot and uncomfortable. The Empress arrived and was furious to see the Emperor comforting Qiang closely on the couch.
Accusing Qiang of being a low-life eunuch who bewitched the Emperor, she ordered Qiang thrown out. Feeling unwell and disoriented, Qiang stumbled towards Yan Changyun's quarters. Seeing him, she attempted to embrace him, calling him handsome, but was promptly knocked unconscious by Yan Changyun.
To force Qiang to leave the Emperor and seek refuge with the Qianyu Guards, Yan Changyun instructed his subordinates to spread rumors about the Emperor and Qiang's inappropriate closeness throughout the palace, specifically ensuring the Grand Empress Dowager heard the gossip, as she valued royal reputation. Qiang woke and hurried to the Emperor's palace, vehemently denying the rumors. While talking, something got in her eye, and the Emperor leaned in to gently blow it out, holding her face.
The Grand Empress Dowager arrived at this exact moment and witnessed the scene. Outraged by the perceived scandal, she ordered the eunuch Qiang beaten to death for corrupting the Emperor. The Emperor pleaded with his grandmother, who then ordered Qiang killed with white silk instead. As guards seized Qiang, a sudden flash of memory triggered an instinctive defensive reaction. Qiang displayed remarkable martial arts skills, fighting off the guards.
Yan Changyun arrived at this point and declared that Qiang must not be killed, revealing that Qiang was not a mere eunuch but a highly trained dark guard from the Qianyu Guards, secretly tasked with protecting the Emperor. Yan Changyun initially stated this was a secret known only to the Emperor and pointed to Qiang's fighting ability as proof.
To save Qiang's life from the Grand Empress Dowager, the Emperor agreed to transfer her to Yan Changyun's custody, stating that Yan Changyun should handle his own person. Yan Changyun accepted. Later, Qiang was bewildered by her sudden display of martial arts and continued amnesia, questioning her identity and Yan Changyun's motives for helping her. Yan Changyun's subordinate, Wei Tianjiao, voiced concern about trusting someone with an unknown background and amnesia.
That night, the Emperor had a vivid nightmare where he was restrained by figures like the Prime Minister and Empress Dowager and forced to watch Qiang being killed. The Empress was informed of the Emperor's distress, and a physician suggested Qiang's presence might help soothe the Emperor, as heart illness requires heart medicine. The Empress ordered Qiang brought back.
Meanwhile, Yan Changyun instructed Qiang to stay in his quarters for the night, giving her a mat on the floor while he took the bed. Qiang tried to leave, citing rules and her bad luck, but Yan Changyun insisted she stay under his watch, threatening to reveal her true identity to the Grand Empress Dowager if she left. An attendant arrived, stating the Emperor was gravely ill and urgently needed Qiang, who was then taken back to the Emperor.
At the Emperor's side, the Empress ordered Qiang to administer the Emperor's medicine, threatening execution if she failed. Qiang gently gave the medicine to the Emperor, reassuring him that she was there. After the Emperor took the medicine, the Empress dismissed Qiang, and Yan Changyun departed to patrol.
Left to consider her situation, Qiang reflected on the unstable circumstances, realizing that with the Emperor incapacitated and having angered both the Empress and Grand Empress Dowager, her best chance for survival lay with Yan Changyun. Yan Changyun later gave Qiang a bottle containing an antidote for the poison, stating future doses depended on her performance. Qiang was surprised the antidote required long-term, not just one-time, use.
Yan Changyun asked if she resented the Emperor for not fully saving her from the Grand Empress Dowager. Qiang defended the Emperor, expressing sympathy for his lack of freedom and control over his own life, stating that while she expected him to save her (as staying alive is better than dying), she also didn't want to put her fate entirely in others' hands, a sentiment Yan Changyun seemed to agree with.
Later that night, Qiang attempted to sneak out while Yan Changyun appeared asleep but was immediately caught. Realizing escape was futile, she pretended to adjust Yan Changyun's blanket while secretly searching for the antidote she had seen him take out earlier, but he seemed aware of her actions. She returned to her mat, wishing him goodnight.
