Qianfan rides back to the capital city despite his injuries. Despite how blood is coming out of his mouth. Ehhh… I know Qianfan is desperate right now but isn’t this a little over-the-top?
When Qianfan is almost there, his half-brother shows up to detain him. You would think that this guy has learnt to appreciate Qianfan, but NO, he makes Qianfan listen to him talk about how calculating Lord Xiao has been.
He says that since Lord Xiao couldn’t break up Pan’er and Qianfan by force, he arranged for Qianfan to see that report about Pan’er’s father so that the couple would break up themselves. This sounds very calculating on Lord Xiao’s part, can it be that the half-brother is just making this stuff up? Well, he doesn’t seem smart enough to do so. I guess we’ll see.
Qianfan remains calm but he’s a little broken inside since he just started to believe that his father truly cared about him.
Yinzhang is getting impatient and demands to know when Shen Ruzuo will marry her so that her status can be changed. Ruzuo responds with his usual speech about how they should be patient and endure the hardship right now for a future worth having.
Ruzuo moves on to insult Pan’er’s teahouse again and even Pan’er and San-niang’s status. This should really hit Yinzhang on the head about Ruzuo’s level of “sincerity” because back then, Ruzuo used to say that he “admired” Pan’er and San-niang’s business.
Ouyang finds the famous Yeyan painting and believes this can be his ticket back to the capital city. He goes to Qi Mu and begs to work for the latter. Qi Mu is the lord who is trying to bring down Qianfan’s father and many others, his work is no walk in the park so he hesitates to take on a new guy who looks so desperate like Ouyang.
But Ouyang says that his loyalty is absolute and that he would even eat dirt for Qi Mu.
He means that figuratively, of course. But Unfortunately for Ouyang, Qi Mu is a real mafia boss, not some typical official rich man who can be easily persuaded by a scholar’s empty words. He points to his flower pot and goes: there’s some dirt, demonstrate.
And by god, he actually lets Ouyang chew and swallow a handful of soil.
In the end, Qi Mu agrees to employ Ouyang, who almost goes mad with shame and barks like a dog when his assistant asks if he’s OK. Well, don’t blame Qi Mu, Ouyang, blame your running mouth. No one asks you to mention dirt.
Qianfan’s team find him, but his injuries make him unconscious so he still can’t see Pan’er or give her the money she needs. Du Changfeng offers to let Pan’er borrow some, but even then there isn’t enough. That leaves Pan’er with only one choice: Chi Pan.
And Chi Pan sure makes Pan’er suffer, all right. He makes her bow to him and dance for him. Her dance is so beautiful that it makes him and the boys look like gaping fish.
In the end, he agrees to give her the money. Chi Pan makes Pan’er give him the hairpin Qianfan gifted her as collateral. One more hard blow, but she swallows it too and agrees.
But when Pan’er is about to take the money, Chi Pan just can’t help himself and jokes that she should be his lover if Qianfan doesn’t want her.
Pan’er takes this as another demand and it was too much humiliation for one day for her. She smacks Chi Pan and walks out of there.