It had always been in Yao Yong’s plans to have Wei Yun and Chu Yu discover the location of his rebellion in order to take them both down in one battle. But with Gu Chusheng investigating the case and Yao Jue giving Wei Yun and Chu Yu a heads-up about the private soldiers at the Yao Mansion Yao Yong has been keeping, the rebellion isn’t won as he has planned.
To trick the enemies into thinking there were more people than just the two at Gu Chusheng’s residence, Wei Yun created dummies to lure some of Yao Yong’s men to him. He had deduced that the leader was particularly cautious because of the fact that they had sent two teams to investigate the situation at this small place of theirs. This suggested that the dummies would have them think Wei Yun has more people than he actually has to battle them. So, in hopes of getting the leader to think this, Wei Yun deliberately left a person alive to report back this situation. He hopes this person would exaggerate the situation to lure the teams to his location.
For several hours, he fought each group that showed up, and each time, he alone took them down. For the time being, it worked to hold them off, but Wei Yun expects his plan will be exposed and has Gu Chusheng weld a dagger to protect himself in the case of being attacked and Wei Yun being unable to protect him.
At this point, Gu Chusheng makes the move to hand over the bamboo tube that contains the evidence that would prove Yao Yong’s collusion with North Qi. He wants Wei Yun to take it with him and leave him to the enemy troops. It was him they wanted to kill. Wei Yun could easily escape and bring the evidence back.
However, Wei Yun wouldn’t take it. For one, he had made a promise to Chu Yu that he’d protect him. For her, Gu Chusheng needs to stay alive. This had Gu Chusheng suspect Wei Yun had fallen in love with Chu Yu aloud. Wei Yun doesn’t confirm or deny it.
Wei Yun later adds that saving Gu Chusheng wasn’t solely because of his promise to Chu Yu. It was also because he believed Gu Chusheng was a decent official and that the court needs people like him in there. So, for the sake of Great Sui, he will protect him this once. He reveals this last reason after Wei Yun’s trick is exposed by arrows, which saw the latest group of enemy troops see that the arrows hit people that remained standing when they should have fallen had they been real people.
In Dingfeng Valley, Chu Yu wonders if Yao Yong’s sensed something wrong and changed the location of his rebellion. Chu Yu was sure that the route they were looking to ambush was the safest one to take, as alternative routes were vulnerable to ambushes.
For a while, they waited in the hills above the valley, but there were no signs of him. A group of commoners has shown up with a group of Yao Yong’s men. Yao Yong himself was still nowhere in sight.
Song Shilan suspects that it couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. As such, he made the suggestion to get some men to execute a pincer movement to attack on multiple sides and encircle the enemy. Chu Yu agreed to the suggestion and had given a hand signal to go prepare the pincer movement. However, the signal was misinterpreted by Song Wenchang as charge forward. Left with no choice, Chu Yu had everyone descend and attack the group of Yao Yong’s men.
After Chu Yu, Song Wenchang, and her men take down the first group, Yao Yong finally shows up, leading a large contingent of men. Chu Yu was outnumbered this time. He arrogantly has her know that she is going to be reuniting with her father soon and he will deal with Wei Yun right after defeating her.
However, Yao Yong wasn’t prepared for Song Shilan to have gone to get reinforcements. He also didn’t foresee his plan to have the private soldiers at his mansion show up as reinforcements to be blocked by Chu Yu’s sisters-in-law. Jiang Chun, Yao Jue, Zhang Han, Xie Jiu, and Wang Lan were all at Yao Yong’s mansion with their spears. With added assistance from Song Zhao and his men, the sisters-in-law take down the hundred-plus private soldiers.
The weapons that Wei Yun and Wei Qiu had discovered at the Yao Mansjon were for the private soldiers. Yao Jue had discovered Yao Yong’s hidden soldiers through the amount and the frequency in the purchase of rice and flour that was bought. Yao Jue suspected that the number of people the mansion was feeding was more than the 30-plus soldiers and servants. It was suspected that Yao Yong hid over 100 people at his mansion. With this knowledge, the sisters-in-laws, who have had some training in battling in the past, put up their hands to handle the private soldiers.
With the risk of the private soldiers’ initiating Yao Yong’s own pincer movement foiled, the battle in Dingfeng Valley sees Yao Yong defeat to Chu Yu. Yao Yong is down, but he isn’t afraid. He thinks that Chu Yu lacks evidence to charge him with treason. He, of course, is unaware that obtaining the evidence to charge him is precisely the reason why she and Wei Yun had split up.
Chu Yu, the Song brothers, and her soldiers leave for Gu Chusheng’s residence. Wei Yun had been doing well holding off enemy soldiers fighting with their curved blades. However, a row of archers threatened to take out Wei Yun. As they prepared to fire, Chu Yu came galloping through and took the archers out. Then, joining Wei Yun, the men Wei Yun had been fighting were also all taken down.
More were on the way, though. The last enemy to fall had set off an SOS, calling for nearby troops to come to his location.
Wei Yun was only given a short time to brief everyone that Gu Chusheng did find evidence supporting Yao Yong’s treason and now wants Gu Chusheng dead. After this was said, a North Qi spy, whose name was Shen Yu, arrived with his men to start another round of fighting.
Chu Yu comes up with an idea to have Gu Chusheng leave with the Song brothers with the evidence by pretending to take the evidence herself mid-battle. Jumping on a horse, she prepares to lead Shen Yu and his men away to allow Gu Chusheng to escape. Wei Yun had jumped onto Chu Yu’s horse before she set off.
Shen Yu is fooled and immediately gives chase. Chu Yu and Wei Yun ride until they find themselves facing a cliff. They fight off a round of arrows fired at them after Shen Yu’s demands for the bamboo tube aren’t met. It forces them to the cliff’s edge. The only way out is down into a rapid stream below, and it’s the way both Chu Yu and Wei Yun choose to go.
Chu Yu has asked whether Wei Yun dared to take a gamble. Wei Yun, having already promised her before that he would always be willing to be by her side no matter how hard things get. So, the answer to her question was without hesitation. He tells her that he would fight alongside her regardless of what happens.
Their hands joined, Chu Yu and Wei Yun leap off the cliff.
News that Yao Yong committed treason reaches Li Changming. It sees her insisting on attending the early morning court session, as the matter is of great importance to her. Her maid is seen trying to convince her to hold off going to the court meeting, reasoning that the matter has been suppressed. Hanmei shows up, too, greeting her at the door. He isn’t there to stop her but hopes Li Changming would allow him to escort her there.
Li Changming doesn’t stop. She doesn’t trust him. However, a sudden attack that sees Hanmei take a strike in the heart has Li Changming let go of the distrust.
The scene looks suspicious. Initially, there is only one attacker attempting to break through the dozens of men. When that attacker failed to break through, a second attacker appeared out of nowhere, breaking through the defenses. With the number of Li Changming’s people around, the ease the one attacker broke through makes it look a bit like an orchestrated attack.
The incident sees His Majesty order every last remnant of North Qi in Huajing City, which—despite being acknowledged as Li Changming’s saviour—poses a threat to Hanmei, since he is originally from North Qi.
Gu Chusheng and the Song brothers return to Huajing and are received by Lu Qiba and Chu Linyang. They’re asked to head towards Pingjin Cliff, where Chu Yu and Wei Yun were before they jumped.
Song Wenchang had wanted to join to provide support but was told his father was waiting for him and Song Shilan to return.
Below the cliff, both Wei Yun and Chu Yu are alive. However, Chu Yu is in better shape than Wei Yun. One of Wei Yun’s legs is injured. He wakes, but his condition worsens as the night goes on. Wei Yun starts drifting off while showing discomfort. He’s burning up and becomes a bit unresponsive. Chu Yu tries to get him to wake, calling him to wake and talk to her.
After a couple of calls, Wei Yun does respond, but his only words is that he’s cold. Chu Yu moves to make another fire closer to him before going off to try to cool his hands and neck with a damp cloth she tore off her dress.
Tears welling, she promises to not gamble with his life anymore. She explains that it was because she had no choice that she did that back on the cliff, telling him sorry. She promises that she won’t gamble with him anymore. At this point she really worries that Wei Yun might not make it and begs him to wake up and not leave her to go on this road which he had promised her he’d accompany her on.
Wei Yun was not in great condition, and it appeared as if he wasn’t conscious to hear her calls, but his hand had reached to comfort her. He had heard her.
