Their determination to once again slay North Qi couldn’t be achieved. Wei Zhong’s prayers for their ancestors to bless them with a victorious return before they went to war were not heard.
Before the last bit of life passes through Wei Shu, he recalls his wife, Jiang Chun (An Yuexi) expressing wanting him to stay just a little longer. He had assured her before heading off that he wasn’t leaving and that he’ll stay with her forever. It was a promise Wei Shu couldn’t keep this time.
Marquis of Zhenguo, Wei Zhong, had promised his wife, Liu Xueyang (Fang Xiaoli), he’d return victorious after she expressed reluctance to see him off to war earlier than planned.
Wei Yun’s third brother, Wei Qin (Augus Lang), promised Zhang Han (Zhao Shiyi) he’ll buy her jewellery that’s even better than the jewellery Jiang Chun got after he returns. But he dies after being flung high onto a rock and killed by multiple spears.
Wei Yun’s fourth brother, Wei Feng (Ding Ye), recall the happy times with Yao Jue (Jiang Zhuojun), teasing her and her forgiving him for it. He has multiple spears thrust into his abdomen.
Wei Yun’s fifth brother, Wei Ya (He Lei), and Wei Yun’s sixth brother, Wei Rong (Shao Weitong), both die together. A circle of several dozen spears are thrust into them before they are pulled out, and the two brothers fall to the ground.
Before Wei Ya left, he told Xie Jiu (Han Yunyun) to find her in life, remarry or leave the Wei household if he didn’t make it back from the campaign.
While Wei Rong recalls a trick of hiding from Wang Lan (Ma Mengwei) and making her worry that she’d never be able to find him again. His last thought before dying is his fear that this time she really won’t be able to find him again.
One by one, the Wei family’s generals fell. Only Wei Jun was left.
Wei Jun takes out half a dozen or so men on his own before Wei Yun arrives with a bit of reinforcement from the Wei encampment.
He had been alerted initially by the burning of the granary at the encampment. With North Qi supposedly at a disadvantage, they shouldn’t have spare soldiers to come burn down their granary, Wei Yun had thought aloud. Then came the report that explained what he was seeing: all the generals were trapped in Baidi Valley, and the North Qi troops were four times the intelligence estimate.
Wei Yun spears a handful of enemy troops before he is forced off his horse by the arrows from the octagonal crossbow. It misses him, but there were just too many soldiers. As Wei Yun is preoccupied with the dozen or so North Qi soldiers, a second round of arrows is aimed at him. It doesn’t hit him, but his brother, Wei Jun.
The scene slows down as Wei Yun realises Wei Jun had been hit by the arrows. He runs to his brother’s side. Even with the arrows in his back and about to die, Wei Jun can’t help but give Wei Yun a bit of a scolding for not listening to him about guarding the camp. He then grips hard onto Wei Yun’s wrist. It’s to steady himself, but he’s also indicating a handover of responsibility of the Wei family to him. He knows he’s not going to make it.
Wei Jun reaches for his armband with the family name and, with strength, rips it loose. It has Wei Yun look away momentarily, pained by the sight of the armband’s removal. Wei Jun keeps hold of Wei Yun’s wrist before tying the armband around Wei Yun’s hand.
He collapses to his knee and holds on long enough to also pass on to Wei Yun the trigger to the octagonal crossbow arrow which Chu Yu trusted him with. He tells Wei Yun that a mole is within the Arsenal Bureau and the crossbow blueprints were given to North Qi. He tells Wei Yun that he finds him.
He places the trigger on top of the hand with the Wei Family armband. The Wei family, the investigation of who the mole at the Arsenal Bureau was, and the reputation of the Wei were now responsibilities which Wei Jun hoped Wei Yun could take care of for him.
With sadness in his voice, Wei Jun apologises that they’ll have to leave him to face what comes alone and then apologises a second time before life leaves him.
A report of the highest-ranking generals who have fallen is heard in the background:
“Marquis of Zhenguo has fallen! General Wei Shu has fallen! Captain Wei Qin has fallen! Captain Wei Feng has fallen! Deputy Captain Wei Ya has fallen! Deputy Captain Wei Rong has fallen!”
Wei Yun lets out a wail of despair. Wei Yun’s father and all of Wei Yun’s brothers have fallen. Wei Yun was the only one left and was now in command. Through the despair, still holding his deceased brother in his arms, Wei Yun commands his troops to fall back to Tianshou Pass to prevent North Qi from attacking Huajing City.
This scene stands out so much for us. The report of Wei Yun’s fallen father and brothers and Wei Yun’s pain as he hears each of the names of his family members being reported—it was so heart-wrenching. When he arrived on the battlefield, he only witnessed Wei Jun die in front of him, and back at the encampment, he was only told that the generals were trapped in Baidi Valley. He didn’t know many of his brothers and his father had already fallen in battle. He was still able to come back from his grief and order troops to retreat despite being so grief-stricken.
After he cried out, he stared at the trigger and then gave the command. It makes us think that maybe Wei Yun was thinking he must stay alive and find out who the mole is, carry out his brother’s wish, and avenge his family and the lost lives. It was a very captivating and emotional scene. Ding Yuxi was amazing here.
At Great Sui Imperial Palace, campaign leader Crown Prince Li Huan is before Emperor Chunde (He Zhonghua) to explain the defeat. He blamed it on Wei Zhong’s greed for glory and his recklessness in pursuit, which led to the ambush and the death of 70,000 elite soldiers.
“When Wei Zhong proposes the pursuit, I told him again and again: Never block a retreating army. Don’t chase a cornered foe,” Li Huan tells the Emperor. He also adds that it was because of his young age and inexperience that Wei Zhong did not listen to him.
The Emperor seeks General Yao Yong’s (Wu Hong) testimony, which he testifies that everything Li Huan has said is true.
We don’t see this scene in Episode 2, where we learn about the Crown Prince’s order to go after victory and pursue the North Qi, who retreated to Baidi Valley, but we can just imagine that Li Huan’s story is probably likely very similar to what actually happened, except flip things around so that it’s Li Huan who proposes pursuit and it’s Wei Zhong who tells him to never block a retreating army, and it’s Li Huan who wouldn’t listen.
Emperor Chunde moves to seek the view of Duke of Ning Wang Jingzhi (Zheng Guolin). The Duke of Ning defends Li Huan. He says that Li Huan isn’t blameless, as the Crown Prince’s mistake was seeing the danger but not being able to stop it and lacking the command authority because he’s young. However, he commends the Crown Prince for even being able to sense danger at his age.
Again, it’s probably more accurate to flip everything said above to Li Huan being responsible. Wei Zhong saw the danger but was unable to stop it because he lacked the command authority under Li Huan, who was the campaign’s leader. The 70,000 casualties occurred because Li Huan was young and inexperienced and couldn’t sense the danger of such a pursuit.
Emperor Chunde accepts the explanation and lets Li Huan off the hook. Blame secretly shifted, the Duke of Ning moves to have the Wei family—specifically, Wei Yun—take responsibility for the defeat which caused the death of the 70,000 elite soldiers.
Wang Jingzhi calls for accountability. He mentions support from the Ministries of Rites, Revenue, and Personnel, and how any delay and display of favourability towards the Wei family (which he sees is too apparent) will cause public resentment. People won’t understand, he tells the Emperor.
The Duke of Ning’s desire to bring down the last general of the Wei family is too apparent. Taking Wei Yun down will ensure the fall of the Wei family. There will be no soldiers left to guard and fight off the enemy. This is the concern Emperor Chunde is heard asking his eunuch, as he worries for the future of Great Sui.
Outside, Wei Yun returns to Huajing City, leading the procession of the surviving soldiers carrying his father’s and his brothers’ coffins towards the Wei residence, the Marquis of Zhenguo’s Mansion. “Such loyal soldiers”, “Pillars of the nation”, “Why is there no justice for them?” and “Heaven has no eyes” are heard as Wei Yun moves through the long line of people receiving the alive and fallen soldiers.
Wei Yun falls to his knees when he sees his mother and his sisters-in-law, kneeling before them and expresses with great despair in his voice his failure to be a filial son (by returning with his father and brothers alive).
His mother rushes down to embrace him before she moves to her husband’s coffin behind Wei Yun to console herself that her late husband and sons all died for Great Sui. They are heroes and true men of loyalty and honour. They all did well.
Wei Yun’s sisters-in-law had also moved to their loved one’s coffins to expressing their sorrows. It leaves Wei Jun’s coffin the only one without someone by it, but not for long as Chu Yu arrives onto the scene, dressed in red, calling out to him and telling him he also did well.
After she dismounts, Wei Yun pulls out his sword to have it hover in front of her. He was in no mood to watch her cause shame to his family in an already distressful time.
Chu Yu clarifies, revealing their secret agreement to marry each other once Wei Jun returned victorious from the battlefield. She was there to fulfill that promise. Wei Yun, of course, does not believe her, because Wei Jun had never mentioned such a thing to him.
But these words are true. Wei Yun’s mother can vouch for this. Before going off to battle, Wei Jun had mentioned that she would see him wed someone once he returned. He didn’t mention Chu Yu’s name, but recalling this short conversation, she realises Wei Jun was talking about marrying Chu Yu. However, now that Wei Jun is no longer with them, she has Chu Yu return home because she can’t bear the thought of her becoming a widow.
Chu Yu won’t return home. She had walked away from the family home and her mother, Xie Yun (Xu Rongzhen), threatening to disown her if she continued to insist on going to the Wei family. To her mother and her sister, Chu Jin (Zhou Jieqiong), Chu Yu was indulging herself and was doing everything for her interests. But as we know, all this is not just for her but for the Chu family. She believes she must marry Wei Jun in order to find out about the octagonal crossbow arrow that led to her father’s death and the Chu family’s downfall.
To prove her commitment to Wei Jun to Wei Yun’s mother, she cuts a piece of her hair to symbolise her marriage to him. She declares in public that Wei Jun is her husband and that if no one mourns him, she will. She then kneels, talking to Wei Jun’s coffin in front of her, saying that she will remember and keep every promise they made.
Wei Yun stares at her with contempt and suspicion. Jiang Chun, though, steps forward to suggest they grant Chu Yu this want of hers—since it’s all now known by everyone in Huajing. Chu Yu is helped up by Wei Yun’s mother. For the time being, she’s invited into Marquis of Zhenguo’s Mansion to join the Wei in the mourning ceremony.
Chu Yu stays at Wei Jun’s place. She’s succeeded in entering the Wei family. It’s a method she feels guilty about and is heard asking Wei Jun in spirit for forgiveness. She promises that once she uncovers the truth, she will leave and confess her guilt.
The former relationship between Gu Chusheng is revealed. The news that Chu Yu’s gone and married into the Wei family sees Gu Chusheng flashback on her promise to stay by his side and protect him. He remembers the time she saved him from some thugs and when she taught him some sword moves, and the time she gifted him an ink stone with the “Chu” character on it, representing her family name and the first character of his name.
Gu Chusheng still loves Chu Yu, but for reasons not yet revealed, he married Wang Linlang. There is no love between them. On his wedding night, he didn’t even stay in the same room.
Ending the episode, Wei Yun, his mother and his sisters-in-law pay their respects to the fallen members of their family in the mourning hall. Cries from Jiang Chun’s maid are heard outside. Something has happened with Jiang Chun.
