The Princess Royal Episode 1 Recap, Plot

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On a cold night at the end of winter, the bright moon hung high above Hanqiu Palace, illuminating the dense crowd gathered in front of the palace. Empress Shangguan Ya led the ministers in seeking an audience with the Emperor but was blocked by a regiment of vigilant Imperial Guards. These guards, clad in armor and holding long spears, stood like statues in the cold wind, forming an impenetrable barrier until the arrival of the Grand Chancellor of the Daxia Dynasty, Pei Wenxuan, caused a slight break in their ranks.

Though the situation was urgent, Empress Shangguan Ya did not dare confront Pei Wenxuan directly. Pei Wenxuan went alone to see the bedridden Emperor Li Chuan, having prepared an edict for the succession. On his deathbed, Li Chuan ordered Pei Wenxuan to depose the Crown Prince Li Xin and establish the First Prince Li Ping as the heir, further instructing him to suppress the power of the noble families, especially that of the Eldest Princess Li Rong. If Li Rong harbored rebellious intentions, Pei Wenxuan was to eliminate her on behalf of the humble scholars.

In the Eldest Princess's mansion, Li Rong was suffering from a chronic illness, with Su Rongqing often attending to her bedside. He was the steward of the mansion and the person Li Rong trusted and relied on the most. As the struggle for the throne intensified, Li Rong knew that the noble families were a significant threat to her brother Li Chuan. Therefore, she decided to establish the Empress's son, Li Xin, as the heir before Pei Wenxuan could act, to ensure the safety of the noble families.

Although Pei Wenxuan was the Eldest Princess's consort, he and Li Rong were only superficially amicable and had always been at odds, to the point of being mortal enemies. Tonight, Pei Wenxuan's sudden visit to the Princess's mansion was undoubtedly about the succession issue. Li Rong did not refuse to see him but forced herself to negotiate with him despite her illness.

In his youth, Pei Wenxuan was exceptionally handsome, and even at his current age, he exuded a maturity that young men lacked. Unfortunately, Pei Wenxuan's heart belonged to someone else. Since Li Rong discovered that his beloved was Concubine Qin Zhenzhen and learned about his subsequent actions, she no longer had any affection for him as her husband.

Pei Wenxuan harbored resentment towards Su Rongqing, so Li Rong found an excuse to send Su Rongqing away, pretending to be unaware of court affairs and casually responding to Pei Wenxuan. She emphasized that the eldest legitimate son should be established as the heir, while also noticing the sachet hanging from Pei Wenxuan's waist. Their conversation was unproductive, and before leaving, Pei Wenxuan warned Li Rong to withdraw in time and mocked her for valuing Su Rongqing, who had undergone palace punishment, making Li Rong so angry that she felt a sudden severe stomach pain after taking medicine and then spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Rongqing was stunned for a moment and then hurriedly called for the imperial physician. The physician diagnosed that she had been poisoned by Xiang Meiren. Upon hearing this, Li Rong connected the sachet on Pei Wenxuan's waist with Qin Zhenzhen's cause of death, feeling a deep sorrow. That night, Li Rong ordered Su Rongqing to assemble elite guards to ambush Pei Wenxuan on his way back to his mansion, intending to take his life. When Pei Wenxuan heard that the assassins were sent by the Princess, he was shocked and saddened, dying with his eyes wide open.

Before her death, Li Rong regretted missing Su Rongqing, but before she could finish her words, she lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in her old palace, Chang Le Palace, from her youth, and surprisingly, her personal maid Jing Lan, who had "died and come back to life," was by her side. After a conversation, Li Rong confirmed that she had been reborn at the age of eighteen.

In that year, her father was choosing a husband for her, and Li Rong, following the arrangement, married the humble scholar Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan was handsome and gentle, the eldest legitimate son of the noble Pei family, and even comparable to the first noble son of Huajing, Su Rongqing. However, after his father's early death, he gradually became impoverished within the noble circle.

Originally, Li Rong had thought that if Pei Wenxuan was a good man, they might spend their lives together. But after marriage, this supposedly gentle man showed an unknown side, making her realize what a "smiling tiger" truly was. The events that followed were things Li Rong dared not think about or wanted to change, so she decided to prevent her marriage to Pei Wenxuan.

After dressing up, Li Rong went to the palace to see her father. Seeing the person she hadn't seen in ten years, she was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. As the Emperor's legitimate daughter, Li Rong naturally had a noble status, and before the age of eighteen, she and her father had a relatively good relationship. She cherished the familial bonds within the royal family and still wondered if, given another chance, they could simply be a father and daughter from an ordinary family.

Unfortunately, the next moment, the Emperor Li Ming's suspicion and distance shattered the warm atmosphere of their reunion. Li Ming had someone bring four portraits of young men for Li Rong to choose from. Three of them were handsome but of poor character, with only Pei Wenxuan having a decent reputation. Li Ming did this deliberately to suppress the power of Li Rong's maternal family. Li Rong cleverly avoided the issue of choosing a husband, using the pretext of organizing a spring banquet to invite the four young men and other noble youths.

Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan was surprised to find himself back in the twenty-fourth year of Yongning. That year, his family faced a crisis leading to poverty, and Qin Zhenzhen, greedy for wealth, broke off their engagement. Coincidentally, the Emperor arranged a marriage for him, giving him the status of a consort, allowing the Pei family to reestablish their position in the court. So, when Pei Wenxuan received the spring banquet invitation from the Princess's mansion, he was not as flattered as in his previous life but accepted with pleasure. On the surface, they seemed to care for each other, but in reality, they were each plotting and competing.

Episode 2 Recap

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