Pursuit of Jade: Ep 12-Ep 13 Recap - IF EVIL WHY HOT?!
Previous Recaps: Ep 1-5, Ep 6-9, Ep 10-11
Novel fan translation: Chasing Jade
Main characters:
Zhang Ling He as Xie Zheng/Yan Zheng, Marquis of Wu'an
Tian Xi Wei as Fan Changyu
Ep 12: Fan Changyu's former fiance has married the magistrate's daughter. She is at the restaurant slandering Fan Changyu. Creepy creepy white haired quy (Qi Min) talks about how long he's looked for Yu Qianqian. Yu Qianqian defends Fan Changyu, but then they attack her character too (she was pregnant), which Qi Min's spies overhear. It doesn't seem like Qi Min knew about the kid. Qi Min has Mrs. Song threatened, which was nice karma.
Yu Qianqian wants Fan Changyu to make an emblem (trademark). Xie Zheng makes one for her and starts helping at her stand. He is... very popular.
Fan Changyu is annoyed by all the women drooling over HER pretty husband. That night, Yu Qianqian is groped/threatened by a customer and then saved by Qi Min. This would be sexy if he wasn't creepier than the drunk customer. He reminds Yu Qianqian of someone, but she says his face and voice are wrong.
The little cuties meet and run around causing havoc:
They go missing and Yu Qianqian freaks out, but they find them asleep in a trunk totally fine.
The solders are collecting grain by force because a merchant associated with Qi Min bought up all the other grain. Qi Min brings Yu Qianqian a bunch of presents. Then he tries to book the entire restaurant for 10 days (at 1000 taels per day) so she can "rest." Fan Changyu finds the restaurant being closed suspicious and jumps over the wall to talk to her friend, it turns out she turned Qi Man down because his offer was suspicious (and creepy). Fan Changyu has a solution!
kidnapping! solution to all problems!
Yu Qianqian asks to borrow Fan Changyu's husband instead.
Ep 13: Xie Zheng is not impressed that Fan Changyu wants to rent him out for 30 taels, but he's interested in meeting with Qi Min so he agrees.
Xie Zheng is trying to figure stuff out and throwing chopstick shivs at the secret assassins but me, the audience, is distracted, because why is the evil creepy guy so pretty?
Just don't do or say anything because then the spell is broken
Qi Min recognized Xie Zheng and we learn that he's responsible for Wei Yan trying to assassinate his nephew. Qi Min wants to bring Xie Zheng over to their side. He wants to use his former identity as crown prince to win him over (I assume we'll get more of this backstory later).
Fan Changyu and Yu Qianqian drink together and they talk about Changyu's husband. She's sad because she knows he will leave, Qianqian thinks she should get pregnant
The rice merchant working with Qi Min visits Xie Zheng and shows him a royal seal to prove his (fake) identity. They talk about the massacre that Xie Zheng was trying to investigate and that Wei Yan sent out assassins to kill his subordinates. This means Fan Changyu's father was in the military and worked with Wei Yan. Xie Zheng says if they want to ally with him, he wants all their hoarded grain. Back at the capital, Wei Yan is informed that the Sui family is also plotting against him.
The drama reminds us that literacy is hot:
her pretty husband and his pretty writing
Changning adds the falcon's foot mark to her little writing, so adorable! Xie Zheng insults their writing but then pretends it's a compliment. All the neighbours want the pretty writing from the Pretty Princess husband and he agrees to do it. Even Gossip Grandma comes by and they make her a couplet too.
We learn that the royal princess was engaged to Xie Zheng, but she didn't want to marry him (lol, Fan Changyu was already so worried about customers stealing her man!) Qi Shu doesn't want to marry for political reasons. Then the Fan family celebrates with a feast and Fan Changyu gets very drunk
I love that Qi Min keeps doing Pushy Male Lead RomanticTM stuff but it just creeps me out because Yu Qianqian is so freaked out by it. Can't wait for more!
Posted Mar 10, 2026, 12:31 PM UTC