Spring of The Blade Episode 22 Recap
**SPOILER ALERT**
Table of Contents
TL;DR (Quick Overview)
Pei Yuting storms the Xie residence demanding compensation for Qinghe’s elopement. Qingyuan receives her mother’s bronze mirror from Third Madam, and Shen Run confronts her for agreeing to marry a man she doesn’t love. As Commissioner Hu fails to arrive, Madam Hu threatens Xie Shu, and Shen Run reveals he knows Hu Xing is the man behind his father’s downfall, while Chunzhi presses ahead with wedding plans.
A Good Show
Shen Run tells the Xie family he’s enjoyed the spectacle so much that half his anger has already faded. He never knew the Xie household had so many interesting goings-on, and if they keep entertaining him, he might let last night slide.
Old Madam Xie declares that since Qinghe has abandoned the family, as far as they’re concerned, the Xie family never had such a daughter. She then turns the tables on Shen Run. A play on a small stage draws you in before you realize you’re part of it, she muses.
If the Commander wants an interesting story, the best one is that if he’d married Qingyuan back when he had the chance, there’d be no rumours today about her meeting a man in secret. Why won’t he leave the Xie family alone? Does he still have designs on Qingyuan? If so, he should say it now, so they can prepare for the Marquis of Danyang’s fury.
Qingyuan tells her grandmother it was all her doing. She gave Eldest Sister the idea to elope, disguised herself as her to lure the pursuers away, and ran into the Commander by chance. There’s nothing between them.
She takes full responsibility for an improper act that brought the Commander here to question them, and apologizes to her grandmother, father and the Commander. Shen Run asks why he never thought there was nothing between them, and how exactly she’s managed to separate herself from him.
Pei Yuting Arrives
Pei Yuting sweeps in, remarking that Lord Xie has raised his children well, since the apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree. She thought Fourth Lady was different, yet even as the betrothed of the Marquis of Danyang’s Heir, she sneaks around with another man at night. The family scrambles to welcome her, and she notes how it pains her to see Lord Xie kneeling.
Asked why she’s come, she says Xie Qinghe lured away her nephew, and she wants an answer. With the Commander present, he can bear witness. The Pei engagement was broken, so they have no ties left, yet Qinghe ran off with her nephew and made the Pei family Hengtang’s laughingstock. How does the Xie family intend to settle this?
Qingyuan says that’s one-sided. Her sister and Young Master Pei are in love, and they chose to leave together, so how can either be said to have lured the other? Xie Shu, however, grovels, saying it’s entirely the Xie family’s fault and apologizing for his disgraceful daughter, hoping it won’t harm the bond between their families.
Pei Yuting scoffs at the idea of a bond. Her ancestors helped the founding Emperor conquer the realm and earned their title. The Xie family only got theirs because a son died. How can they compare?
A Maid for Her Ladyship
When Xie Shu asks what would let her vent her anger, Pei Yuting says that since they took her nephew, they owe her a person. The Xie family has plenty of plain girls, but Fourth Lady is the only one who pleases her, so why not give her Qingyuan as a maid, and she’ll let bygones be bygones?
Old Madam Xie says she’s gone too far. Whatever Qingyuan has done, she’s a Xie lady, and humiliating her humiliates the family and the Earl of Zhongyong, whose title His Majesty bestowed himself. Pei Yuting points out that they were happy to give a daughter to the Hu family as a concubine.
She only wants Fourth Lady as a maid for her beauty. Both are selling daughters, so how is she humiliating anyone? Old Madam Xie calls it absurd. Qingyuan is betrothed to the Marquis’s Heir, so has Pei Yuting asked him? Pei Yuting asks why an old woman is hiding behind a junior to pressure her.
Better to ask Fourth Lady what the Marquis’s household will think when their son’s betrothed was caught meeting the Commander in secret before the wedding has even happened. She’s never heard of such a scandal. Xie Shu tries to laugh it off, telling his mother that Her Ladyship’s famous sense of humour is well deserved.
My Feelings, Not Hers
Shen Run says that since Fourth Lady insists there’s nothing between them, the truth is that he’s the one with ulterior motives and the feelings. So what exactly has Fourth Lady done wrong? Pei Yuting applauds the perfect couple, saying she’s quite jealous, but since her nephew Lanshan was lured away, she can hardly congratulate them.
Xie Shu promises to bring his unfilial daughter back as soon as possible for Her Ladyship to do with as she pleases. Pei Yuting suggests a hundred acres of the Xie family’s fertile land would be a fitting answer too, since as an aunt she must look out for her nephew. Qingyuan tells her that her concern goes against Young Master Pei’s own wishes, so how is that looking out for him?
Besides, Eldest Sister ran from a betrothal to the Hu family, so what does that have to do with the Pei family? Qingyuan had no idea Her Ladyship’s reach extended so far. Does she speak for the Hu family now?
Pei Yuting says Fourth Lady’s silver tongue only makes her more interesting, then asks how the Xie family will hold its ground in Hengtang now that the elopement has offended both the Marquis’s household and the Pei family.
Chunzhi Steps In
Chunzhi arrives, asking who says the Xie family has offended the Marquis of Danyang’s household. He greets his future father-in-law, Old Madam Xie, Her Ladyship and Qingyuan. Pei Yuting remarks that the Heir is magnanimous indeed, tolerating what others couldn’t.
Chunzhi says he trusts Qingyuan’s character, and now that she’s betrothed, she’d never let the Marquis’s household down. Her Ladyship needn’t trouble herself over their family. As for the elopement, the Xie family will apologize to Commissioner Hu themselves. He asks her to leave.
Pei Yuting says they’re all putting on a show for her, and she wonders if they’ll still be so united once she’s gone. They’ll meet again, she warns. One day, she’ll have the Xie family and the Palace Guard Division under her thumb.
Moving In
Chunzhi tells Qingyuan he came the moment he heard the Xie family was in trouble, and he’s relieved to see she’s alright. Shen Run asks Qingyuan whether, since Eldest Lady eloped to escape a forced marriage, she too is being forced into marrying the Heir. No, she says. It’s what she wants.
Old Madam Xie says it’s late, the matter is settled, and since the Commander has said last night had nothing to do with Qingyuan, they should leave it there. Shen Run tells her there’s no need to rush him out. Are they planning to punish Fourth Lady once he leaves? He won’t allow it.
Xie Shu assures him the family is fair, and Qingyuan is his daughter, so how could he mistreat her? Shen Run says he’s already made his feelings for her clear, and his mind is made up. From today, he’s staying at the Xie residence to keep her safe.
Across the River
Qingyuan tells Third Madam that Fangchun says Qinghe and Young Master Pei have crossed the river, beyond the reach of both families. Third Madam is relieved. When Qingyuan asks about her own plans, she says she’ll go to live in a temple. She should have broken free of this cage long ago, and now she finally has.
She gives Qingyuan something that belonged to her mother, apologizing for not returning it sooner. If her mother could see Qingyuan now, so clever, brave and beautiful, she’d be overjoyed and proud. Third Madam doesn’t want her consumed by hatred, but if this is her chosen path, she’ll pray for her every day and hope whatever blessings she’s earned keep Qingyuan safe. They say goodbye.
The Bronze Mirror
Alone, Qingyuan opens the box. Inside is her mother’s bronze mirror, the one Madam Hu said holds Xie Shu’s monstrous secret.
Say It Again
Shen Run confronts Qingyuan and asks if she’d really be content marrying someone she doesn’t love. She says she’d regret it far more if she couldn’t avenge her mother, and since she’s betrothed to the Heir, they shouldn’t meet like this anymore. Shen Run sweeps her into his arms, asking who would dare stop him from seeing her. She demands he put her down. He says he wants things between them to be improper, so who can save her now?
He asks whether everything between them was a lie, and whether she never liked him. Why is she afraid to look at him? He demands she answer. She asks whether she has to like him. He tells her to say it again, that she doesn’t like him. When she won’t, he says she must like him, then.
Even if they’re destined for different paths, if she’s going to marry, she should marry someone she loves. She says there’s no need. She wants to bring down Xie Shu and he wants to protect him. Since their paths have diverged, there’s no point being entangled any longer.
A Reminder From Feng En
Feng En remarks that he’d always heard the Commander was heartless, and never expected to see this side of him. When Shen Run asks what he wants, Feng En reminds him not to forget His Majesty’s instructions. Shen Run says not only has he not forgotten them, he understands why they were given. Feng En says that if he knows how important this is, he should be even more careful.
Pillars and Roots
As Old Madam Xie prays with Yuejian at her side, Xie Shu says that failing to secure the Hu marriage hurts them. Old Madam Xie says at least they didn’t lose the Marquis’s household, and even the lesser option is better than losing everything. Qingyuan’s wedding is coming, and although she helped Qinghe escape, he should focus on the bigger picture and take good care of his future marchioness.
She reminds him that the estate he manages today isn’t solely his achievement but the foundation his ancestors built, and he’ll need descendants to make it stronger. He must never become so full of himself that he forgets how he got here. Xie Shu agrees he must never forget his roots or how she raised him.
She’s still the pillar of the family, he says, which shames him, since even after giving him the family seal, she’s carried so much of the burden. He’ll work twice as hard to shoulder the family entirely himself, so she can enjoy a peaceful old age sooner. Their eyes drift to Yuejian, and they agree it’s time for new descendants.
Old Madam Xie asks if Hu Wenzhuo has been dealt with. If she really brings Commissioner Hu here, aside from any trouble he causes, Shen Run alone will be hard enough to handle. Xie Shu says he wrote a letter overnight laying out the situation in Hengtang, so she needn’t worry. A servant rushes in. Commissioner Hu is on his way.
Pastries for the Head Madam
Xie Shu brings Madam Hu pastries he made himself. She asks what pastries could be worth delivering personally, and guesses her brother is coming and Xie Shu is afraid. He protests that she doesn’t know how much trouble he’s gone through for her, or how it pains him to see her like this. Madam Hu slaps him across the face, smiles, and tells him to bring her the new clothes she just had made.
A Long Wait
The family waits in the hall late into the night, but Commissioner Hu doesn’t come. Old Madam Xie dozes off, wakes, and says she’s getting old and useless. She’ll go to bed and asks them to apologize to Commissioner Hu for her when he arrives. The girls take her back to rest.
Left alone, Madam Hu says her brother’s visit has stirred up memories, and asks where they first met. At the Chrysanthemum Festival in Hengtang, Xie Shu says. She remembers he wore green, said little, and couldn’t hide his pride.
Others thought him dull and aloof, but she thought him nothing like the young noblemen fawning over her brother, and she foolishly believed in that proud, unbending act. He says he never lied to her. She says enough of that. Between them lie the lives of two children, and no affection can repay that blood debt. Did he ever love her?
He asks what she’s getting at. She’ll let go of the humiliation she’s suffered in the Xie family for decades, she says. Her only remaining concern is Qingrong and Qingru’s marriages. If they marry well, she’ll let everything go. But if he can’t manage even that, she’ll have her brother wipe out the Xie family, leaving no one alive.
Sworn Brothers
Shen Run finds Xie Shu alone and remarks what a pity it is that his brother-in-law didn’t come, since he’d hoped to meet Commissioner Hu. He recalls calling Xie Shu “Uncle” as a child and witnessing his friendship with his father, and how they went to the capital together for the imperial exam, sharing the same lofty ambitions.
Xie Shu says he could never forget. Xie Shu and Shen Zhibai swore brotherhood before Lord Guan, asking to die on the same day though not born on the same day, and calling down Heaven’s wrath on whoever broke the oath. Even if he dies a thousand deaths, he’ll never forget.
The Coal Case
Shen Run says that for nine years he never understood what drove everyone in Hengtang to frame a good official, accusing him of pocketing coal supplies and delaying relief so that dozens froze to death. Where did the money they accused his father of stealing actually go?
Only in Hengtang did he start hearing about “that lord.” Xie Shu wouldn’t name him, and neither would the criminals who were tortured and condemned. Then Xie Shu rushed to marry off his daughters, and Shen Run understood. The man he’s been courting so desperately is the lord behind it all, his brother-in-law Hu Xing, now Commissioner at court.
Xie Shu insists the coal case had nothing to do with him and he knows nothing about this lord. If it really was Lord Hu, it’s merely a coincidence. Shen Run asks if it’s also a coincidence that His Majesty ordered him to protect Xie Shu at all costs. Xie Shu says he supposes so.
Xie Shu then asks why, since His Majesty already investigated the case and cleared the Shen family’s name, Shen Run wants to reopen it. Officialdom is like a bowl of tea, he says. Once the person who poured it leaves, it quickly goes cold, but if you insist on jumping in, it can become as dangerous as the sea. Shen Run should get out while he can.
Shen Run tells him he’s clever enough to know whom His Majesty is targeting. A royal command can’t be disobeyed, so Shen Run is setting aside his family feud to work with him, and only hopes Xie Shu hasn’t truly forgotten his vow.
He remembers his father telling Xie Shu that if they stood together and worked wholeheartedly for the court and the people, they’d make Hengtang’s corrupt officials spit out every tael. Xie Shu says he won’t forget. There are two things he’ll never forget in this life: His Majesty’s grace, and his good brother in heaven, Lord Shen.
Trouble on the Waterways
Shen Run detains ships, confiscates cargo and disrupts the waterways. A merchant warns him he’s new here and doesn’t know how things work. Hengtang’s water transport has belonged to the Pei family since their ancestors’ time, and not even the Emperor of Heaven could interfere. Shen Run says he doesn’t care whose rules apply or whose ship it is. No one leaves the shore today, because he says so. He is the rule.
The merchant warns him that behind the Pei family stands Commissioner Hu in the capital, and if he steps into this den of death, there may not be a body left. Fan Zhong and the guards teach them a lesson.
Pei Yuting arrives, telling her men to stop and apologizing for her ignorant subordinates. She scolds them that if the Commander had really made a move, they’d already be dead, and orders them to thank him for sparing their lives. They do. Shen Run orders Fan Zhong to take them away, inventory the cargo, seal the ship and check the books.
Cold Jade
Chunzhi chats excitedly with Qingyuan about the wedding. His mother has hired craftsmen to make bridal furniture from golden-thread nanmu, his father has sent for dozens of bolts of fine Yun brocade from Suzhou, and he wants her to choose the design of their wedding clothes.
Qingyuan says she’ll follow the Heir’s arrangements. Chunzhi tells her he knows she doesn’t love him, but he believes one day she will, and he only hopes she isn’t forcing herself. She says she isn’t. Given her background, his favour is a blessing.
He tells her she’s like a piece of cold jade. However long he holds it close, all that warms it is his own body heat, and once he lets go, it turns cold again as if no one ever touched it. But that’s fine. He’ll always protect her and keep her warm.
Remembering telling Shen Run their paths had parted, Qingyuan reaches for something that isn’t there. When Chunzhi asks what’s wrong, she says she’s lost a little trinket. Some things are always with you, so you start to think they’ll always be there.
Chunzhi tells her that whoever hurts her is his enemy. She wants to avenge her mother, and he’ll do it with her. Can she tell him who it is? She says if he truly wants to help, she’ll tell him someday. He agrees, then asks, since they’ll soon be married, if she’ll call him Chunzhi. She does. Don’t worry, she tells him. Since she’s agreed to marry him, she’ll be a good wife. Delighted, he takes her off to buy Eastern pearls.
Spring of the Blade Episode 22 Recap: My Thoughts
The power play continues in this episode, and as with the whole drama, every time people try to outsmart each other, they slip into a cryptic, convoluted style of dialogue designed to infuriate each other. Sometimes it infuriates me! I understand a bit of subtlety is involved, but jeez, it would be nice if they just spoke plainly sometimes.
This Pei Yuting character is incredibly irritating. I don’t understand where her hatred comes from or why she goes around antagonising people in such a nasty way. She’s made it clear what she wants, but her motivation still hasn’t been explained. Is it just pure greed? It doesn’t seem in keeping with the Pei family we’ve come to know.
I complained last episode that there was no confrontation between Shen Run and Qingyuan about her getting married, and we finally got it this episode. I’m glad he was angry and demanded an answer. His hands are tied, but he’s right. Even if she’s going to marry, she should at least marry someone she loves. Again, though, she wears that indifferent expression with no emotion, and sometimes I think it’s too much. Stop being so bland! Get angry at him, or tell him he backed her into a corner. Something, Zhou Ye!
The last few episodes have been really high stakes, and understandably that’s how this drama is written, but jeez, it would be nice to have a break from all the angst! Aren’t these people exhausted from a life of constant scheming? Because I am! Lol.
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