*For episode 1, visit our video review.
EPISODE 2 RECAP
Pan’er seeks out an old acquaintance to see what he can do for her friend Yinzhang, who has eloped with a phony husband. But at the man’s estate, a fight breaks out, something involving Gu Qianfan and a painting. His team gets knocked out by poisoned gas as another gang arrives at the scene and starts throwing flames with the sole aim to destroy everything.
Gu Qianfan gets injured. Just as he sees Pan’er fleeing the mansion, he throws a dart at her and declares that if she doesn’t help him get out of there, she will die from the poisoned dart.
Pan’er pulls Qianfan to a safe place while the evil gang checks around for survival. Though I’m not sure how she does it, seems pretty difficult to move an injured person without making loud noises while she herself is also injured.
They hide together for a while and discuss the situation. Pan’er demands that Qianfan give her the antidote, which leads to him stabbing her like at a crime scene — probably to give her a scare — to pull the dart out, and her biting him. So… romance is coming?
Oh, the poison? There was no poison in that dart at all.
Pan’er goes home afterward to see her fiancé Ouyang’s servant waiting outside of her tea house. She is overjoyed but this guy doesn’t exactly bring her good news.
Ouyang has passed the imperial scholar exam, it seems. He earned third place. Ehhh… I don’t know, I feel Pan’er deserves a First Place guy.
Now, after that bit of good news, the old servant moves on to deliver the blow: Ouyang cannot keep the promise he made to Pan’er because he is set to marry a noble Lady Gao. So, third place AND a promise breaker? Drop him, Pan’er.
Pan’er faints on the spot. San-niang, who has been there all along, tries to make the servant talk more. I don’t know about this Ouyang guy, but his servant is already one annoying old man.
When San-niang is about to kick his butt into the lake, Pan’er wakes up and asks her to let him talk. The servant then brings 80 taels of gold to Pan’er and tells her they are compensation from Ouyang. In exchange, he would like her to return the Pendant of Union — a token of love between them.
That Pendant is worth 500 taels at least, loser, Pan’er says.
The next day, after some thinking, Pan’er decides she wants to go talk to Ouyang in person. She just can’t believe he would betray her. Well, we can’t blame her for still trusting him. But I hope he looks like Mark Zhao at least if you’re gonna invest so much time in him, girl.
San-niang, on the other hand, is facing some family problems of her own. Her lazy son is not doing any study, and her husband doesn’t let her discipline him. She also overhears them insult her behind her back. It’s pretty heartbreaking because they both look down on her because of her origin and occupation. A butcher.
Pan’er gets herself a pretty comfortable place in the storage area after some negotiation. These people think it’s bad luck to bring a woman along on a ship so it took her some blackmailing to get what she wanted.
Gu Qianfan sneaks on the same boat too too. The attack the other day was a set up to frame him, so he’s a fugitive now. Pan’er once again agrees to help him. Some… moments happen: bare shoulders, wound-treating sessions, unwarranted tears, etc. Point is, Pan’er and Qianfan are slowly hitting it off.
That night, as the boat moves, Pan’er spots someone stuck to a tree trunk in the open water, seemingly drowning. It’s San-niang! Pan’er attempts to jump in to help her.
And it’s pretty hilarious that these men say it’s bad luck to have a woman onboard, yet ALL of them lunge out like moths to a flame to grab Pan’er back when she’s about to jump. I mean — let’s face it, no guy can resist Pan’er’s beauty.
Great to read your reviews of this drama! I really liked how the story unfolded and laid out the complexity and reality of different types of relationships. It made me read more about the Northern Song Dynasty and the tea culture at the time. This was actually the first time I saw a series featuring either Liu Yifei or Chen Xiao, and I loved their chemistry and acting.
Happy New Year!
Oh, that was me posting the comment (I thought my name would show up). Anyway, just want to drop by and say hello!
Hi there, Ucilia! Yes, I agree, this drama did well in so many aspects. Characters interact with each other normally, it’s already an achievement by itself XDD
The tea traditions are interesting, too.
Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!