The Princess Royal Episode 36 Recap, Plot

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Since then, Su Minzhi retracted the order to expel Su Ronghua from the family, and both Su and Shangguan families kept the secret of their children. Su Ronghua left the capital to travel, while Shangguan Ya entered the palace to become the Crown Princess. The Emperor supported Su Wang, deposing the Crown Prince, while Pei Wenxuan persuaded the aristocratic families to send troops. When Su Minzhi hesitated, Su Ronghua suddenly returned, expressing support for Su family to send troops.

Though it seemed Su Ronghua was gambling with Su family for personal feelings, it was actually the right decision for the Su family. Li Chuan was known for his wisdom and being the legitimate royal heir; his succession would be rightful, preventing future rebellions. In the first year of Deyu, soon after Li Chuan ascended the throne, war broke out in the north. While most officials advocated for peace, only Pei Wenxuan, Qin Lin, and Li Chuan supported the war.

Later, Li Chuan and Pei Wenxuan negotiated and collected funds for Qin Lin to forcibly start the war. Due to their theoretical knowledge without practical experience, the treasury was depleted, and coupled with southern floods, the war had to be halted. According to Pei Wenxuan, during their southern tour for disaster relief, they discovered the aristocratic families hoarding grain and inflating prices, making it difficult for relief funds to reach the people.

Outside the capital, the battlefield and famine created a stark contrast. To alleviate the southern disaster, they implemented the imperial examination system, taxed the aristocratic families, restricted land and slave ownership, and introduced a points system. When the Ministry of Personnel promoted officials, the aristocratic families were deducted points while the common families were awarded points. This caused dissatisfaction among local gentry, who either refused to implement or distorted the policies, further burdening the people.

In the late winter of the Deyu year, Li Chuan, ignoring Pei Wenxuan’s advice, ordered Qin Lin to kill a local clan leader, resulting in three years of continuous rebellion and desolate cities. Despite Li Rong’s multiple attempts to persuade Li Chuan, her harsh words hurt him, leading him to feel incompetent and ultimately driving him mad with shame.

In Li Chuan's view, his intentions were right, and the policies were correct, but the aristocratic officials’ laziness and negligence were to blame. This intensified the conflict between Li Chuan and the aristocracy, implicating Shangguan Ya, who lost favor with Li Chuan. Despite her efforts to dress up and be gentle, Li Chuan only felt disgust towards her, especially after the appearance of Qin Zhenzhen, making him refuse to share a room with Shangguan Ya.

Because Shangguan Ya was out of favor and under family pressure, she had to seek help from Li Rong, hoping to give birth to the legitimate firstborn to secure her position. Under Li Rong’s intervention, Li Chuan and Shangguan Ya were forced to share a room, often using aphrodisiacs. Though they didn’t love each other and nearly despised each other, they had to try to conceive a child.

Soon, Concubine Qin was found to be pregnant, and Li Chuan, overjoyed, announced he would not favor any other concubines besides her. Disheartened, Shangguan Ya sought her father's help to quickly find a man to conceive a child; otherwise, she would watch as Concubine Qin’s child succeeded the throne, leading the Qin family to permanently suppress the aristocracy.

Shangguan Xu found Su Ronghua, hoping he would combine with Shangguan Ya, forming an alliance between the two families to support the child in the future. Su Ronghua entered the palace that night, intertwining their fates forever. Two months later, Shangguan Ya became pregnant. Li Chuan was kept in the dark about the affair between Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua.

Because Qin Zhenzhen was deeply loved, the commoners spread rumors and forged miracles, hoping to establish her child as the Crown Prince upon birth. Su Ronghua, to secure Shangguan Ya’s position as Empress, decided to poison Qin Zhenzhen. However, Qin Zhenzhen’s death deeply shocked Li Chuan, who became indifferent to war, the people, and justice, blindly favoring the commoners and killing the aristocracy. This led to corrupt officials and suffering people.

Those years, the Grand Xia dynasty was in turmoil, with fires everywhere. The Su family advised the monarch, helped the people, distributed wealth for disaster relief, and suppressed rebellions to maintain stability. Looking back, Li Chuan’s actions seemed aimed at weakening the aristocracy. As Pei Wenxuan investigated Qin Zhenzhen’s death, Li Chuan angrily killed his uncle and imprisoned his mother, exterminating half of the Shangguan family.

If not for Shangguan Ya’s insistence that her son was Li Chuan’s blood and the immediate blood recognition test, the child would have been killed. The Empress Dowager committed suicide in the palace to protect Shangguan Ya and her son, stopping Li Chuan from further killing. In the eighth year of Deyu, Li Chuan planned to launch a northern expedition, which the Su family firmly opposed, seeing it as a ploy to seize military power.

Li Chuan then framed Su Wang for rebellion and accused the Su family of treason, exterminating the entire Su family, castrating Su Rongqing, and subjecting Su Ronghua’s body to the same brutal punishment, using a white jade hairpin to humiliate Shangguan Ya, leading to her collapse. Pei Wenxuan witnessed this with deep sorrow and absurdity.

With the rise of the commoners and the fall of the aristocracy, Li Chuan knew he couldn’t continue pressuring the aristocracy, as it would lead to mutual destruction. He chose to seek immortality, declaring a truce. Li Rong represented the imperial will, managing the country, acting as a representative of the aristocracy, while Pei Wenxuan became the leader of the commoners. They balanced and allied with each other, leading to ten years of peace and prosperity in Grand Xia.

However, the ten years were long and painful for Su Rongqing, enough to change people beyond recognition, forget their original intentions, and lose their way. Facing another turning point in fate, Li Rong believed Li Chuan was unfit to rule, and Su Rongqing also felt the struggle for the throne was wrong.

On the other hand, Qin Zhenzhen traced her brother, and the siblings launched a night raid on the camp, killing the traitor Cui Qinghe, seizing the tiger tally, and commanding the army. Li Rong, learning of Su Wang’s escape, sought to collaborate with Su Rongqing, supported by Pei Wenxuan, who suggested she meet the Crown Prince first.

Shangguan Ya confirmed that Su Ronghua had no intention of contending for the family head position, decisively ending their relationship, wishing each other well.

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