Story of Yanxi Palace - Episode 17 [Recap]

A maid comes in and apologizes to Noble Consort Gao since the Emperor wasn't able to find anything wrong with the Empress and Lady Chun.  Noble Consort Gao said that it was fine, as she didn't think it would have worked.  She just wanted to stir the pot and ruin the Empress' reputation.


Ying Luo asks to borrow a record to find out more about her sister's death from Hai Lancha.  Fu Heng intercepts, saying that he could tell her what happened on the day that her sister died.  He tries to convince her to not get revenge but Ying Luo said that her sister is like the Empress to him - what would he do in her shoes if the Empress was in trouble? Fu Heng manages to get Ying Luo to promise him not to do anything drastic by threatening to reveal her revenge scheme to the Empress.  She agrees and lets Fu Heng investigate more about that day.

The Empress is in her courtyard and wonders what the Emperor is doing.  She heard that Noble Consort Gao gave him a scripture and that she wants to read it too.  She asks Ming Yu to play a song for her.  She listens and looks like she wants to cry.  Qing Er goes to Ying Luo, who is pruning the plants and asks her to think of an idea to cheer the Empress up.  She puts a bowl in front of Ming Yu and throws a coin in, making her stop playing.  Ming Yu gets angry and starts chasing Ying Luo around the Empress.  The Empress manages to break into a giggle.

Just then, the Emperor comes and asks what all the ruckus was all about. The Empress said that they were being noisy because they wanted to cheer her up. The Empress asked the servants to bring some snacks for the Emperor.  The Emperor starts eating and asks the Empress to join him.  The Empress refused, saying that the rules state that she can't eat at the same table as the Emperor.  The Empress then asks the maids to close the windows so that the Emperor doesn't get sick.  The Emperor tells them to leave it open because he's feeling hot.  The Empress tells them to close them - he's only feeling hot because he's angry.  The Emperor stays overnight and the next day, the Empress helps him dress up.  He whines, saying that he doesn't want to do any work today and want to stay with the Empress longer.  She tells him that he's the Emperor and can't be lazy or else the people will blame her for not looking after him properly.  She then says that she's sorry for all her shortcomings for the past three years.  The Emperor tells her that she is doing a good job.  He tells her that Lady Yu's baby is almost due and to take care of her.

Ming Yu is mad and is cutting away at the plants.  She's angry that they have to take care of Lady Yu - saying that if anything happens, they'd be to blame.  Qing Er quickly covers her mouth and tells her to stop talking.

Ying Luo is assisting Lady Yu.  She gives her baby clothes that she made.  She also noticed that Lady Yu is eating a lot of fried and sweet foods and warns her not to eat too much as it is bad for the baby.  Lady Yu said that they are food from her hometown and she's been craving them.  She offers some of them to Ying Luo and she appears sad holding onto the pancake.

Ying Luo looks down and the Empress wonders what was wrong.  She tells her that she thinks that Ming Yu is right and that it was a bad idea to invite Lady Yu to her place.  She said that she's not eating right and it could bring trouble to the Empress if anything goes wrong.  The Empress then tells her that all the consorts left their family behind after marrying the Emperor and she wants to try her best to make them comfortable in the palace.  She said that she's first an Empress, then a woman.  This reminds Ying Luo of her sister; she was handing out food to the poor and tells Ying Luo to always be kind to others.  She starts tearing up in front of the Empress and the Empress asks what's wrong.  She tells her that she has a sister and what the Empress said reminded her of her sister.  The Empress said that she needed her help.  She is leaving the palace and to take care of place - she said that Ming Yu is quick-tempered and she think that Ying Luo is more fit for the job.

Right when the Empress leaves, Ming Yu quickly takes over and orders the servants around.  Most of the servants listened to her but a couple mentioned that the Empress put Ying Luo to be in charge while she was gone. Ying Luo doesn't mind as long as everything is under control.  She asks the servant whether everything is prepared for when Lady Yu goes into labour.  The servant asks why they need to prepare so early.  Ying Luo said that they need to be prepared just in case.  Ming Yu orders the others around and Ying Luo is in the background smiling.

Lady Yu is in labour.  Ming Yu orders everyone to get ready for the labour.  Ying Luo asks if everything is under control and if she needed any help.  Ming Yu said that she's more experience and knows what to do since she helped with the Second Prince's birth. 

Noble Consort Gao's listening to the opera while the maids tell her that Lady Yu is in labour. 

Ming Yu is still ordering the maids around and tells Ying Luo to get lost and stop getting in the way.  The baby is born and it's a prince!  Just then, news came that Noble Consort Gao is coming. Ming Yu tell the others to hurry as they don't want Noble Consort Gao to find out that it's a boy.

Ming Yu greets Noble Consort Gao at the door and said that she'll get her some tea.  Noble Consort Gao hears the baby crying and said that there is no need and walks towards the delivery room.  All Ming Yu could do is yell her name and say that she can't go inside, only to be stopped by her servants.  Noble Consort Gao takes the baby and sees that he has golden eyes / yellow complexure and takes him away.  Lady Yu cries, saying that it was impossible.

The news also travelled to Lady Chun and Consort Xian.  Lady Chun decides to wait because Noble Consort Gao is there, knowing she would take care of the situation her own way.

Ying Luo comes back and tries to go into the delivery to interfere, but Ming Yu stops her once again.  Ying Luo then slaps Ming Yu across the face, telling her that she let her take over the situation so that Lady Yu didn't have to deal with more problems but she is going too far this time.  She only knows that before the Empress left, she told her to look after Lady Yu and that is what she is going to do.  Ming Yu said that if she interferes, then she might drag the Empress down with her.  Ying Luo ignores her.

Noble Consort Gao is now in the courtyard, waiting for the servant to dig a hole in the ground to bury the newborn alive. Lady Yu couldn't stand to see it happen and faints. Noble Consort Gao tells the servants to splash water on her to wake her up as she wants her to witness the burial.  She wakes up and begs Noble Consort Gao to let go of her newborn and bags her head on the ground to the point that her head is bleeding.  The Empress' maids urges Ming Yu to interfere but she said she can't.  Lady Yu sets herself free from the servants holding her down and digs up the newborn.  Noble Consort Gao orders the servant to kill both of them, but Ying Luo comes in, telling them to stop.

She says that it is the Empress' palace and that it is up to her to judge whether the baby should die or not.  She yells at the other maids to back her up.  Noble Consort Gao says that she's only a maid - she has no power to decide these things.  Noble Consort Gao says that if the maids interfere, they could be sentenced to death.  Ming Yu doesn't budge and tells the maids to come back. Ying Luo runs and gets the Empress' seal, ordering the others to stop burying the baby.

The Emperor arrives and demands an explanation. Noble Consort Gao tells him that the baby is sick and she is just following the palace rules to kill him but Ying Luo is interfering. Ying Luo tells him that the Empress told her to take care of Lady Yu and she is just following the rules.  She suggests to get the doctors to get a proper diagnosis of the Fifth Prince.  She said that it's better to be on the side of conscience because he has the Emperor's blood.  The Emperor agrees and tells the Imperial Doctors to take a look at the Prince.

The Doctors say that they don't recognize the illness that the Prince has.  Noble Consort Gao states that they should kill him, but Ying Luo interupts and says that they should find other doctors to see if they've seen this disease before.  Maybe there's a cure for it.

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I love the interaction between the Empress and the Emperor - you can really tell that they are in love with each other. This episode, we also see how pure-hearted the Empress is.  She puts others above her and doesn't show any greed or jealousy.

Ming Yu is really getting on my nerves - why can't she be more like Qing Er? I know that she has the Empress best interest at heart, but she's too possessive and freezes at the wrong moments.


I feel sad for Lady Yu - she's gone through so much since she got pregnant. I have a feeling that she's going to become crazy after this ordeal. Noble Consort Gao just wants to kill the baby, but knowing how much air time they spent on the baby, it'll probably survive (at least I'm hoping so).



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