The First Jasmine (Mo Li): Ep 15/16 Recap - Skeletons in the Pond (closet)
Previous recaps: Ep 1-4, Ep 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14
Main characters:
Bai Lu as Ye Li
Cheng Lei as Mo Xiuyao/Prince Ding
Novel fan translation: Mo Li
Ep 15: Ye Ying claims a ghost was holding her in the pond. The First Uncle is questioning them as to why they were out at night at all, Ye Li covers for both of them by claiming she needed advice for a banquet. Everyone is freaked out by the skeleton/possible ghost. The First Uncle doesn't want to investigate. Ye Li says this is her maid, who died when they searched her mother's room for the edict. She recognizes the bracelet.
Her uncle tries to claim that the death was totally normal, but that really doesn't explain why the maid would be sunk in the pond. They all start hearing someone playing qin. Ye Li's father is convinced it's a ghost. They go out to investigate. A maid is playing qui, but claims to not remember anything. When the stepmother picks up the instrument, she seems to be possessed by a ghost
The Jingzhao Prefecture men are searching for the green-eyed assassin and the man in black (Emo Prince). Prince Li is injured and treating himself at a hide-out shop. They are worried about being captured that night.
Back at the Ye house, it seems like Ye Li and the Taoist priest her father is consulting have a deal because they share a little look. The ritual is carried out, but the priest says the ghost won't leave because it has unfinished business. Ye Wenhua thinks back to the imperial edict theft and writes a secret letter to his wife. The priest throws it in his sleeve (sleeves can hide anything) and burns a false one along with the golden lotus papers.
Ye Li looks at the letter, but it's blank. Her hallucination maid starts crying. (we get her emotions through the maid, which is so cool)
The last place for Mo Xiuyao's men to check is the Ye mansion. Prince Li is trying to get there, back in his old clothes and injured. The weather has turned stormy and Ye Li is walking to her father's room with a lamp. She fakes a ghost at the door and her father runs in terror. Then she shows up and claims to see her mom.
This is so creepy even though I know what's going on
But then Old Madam Ye catches her! GRANDMA KILLED THE MOM! TWIST!
She knocks Ye Li down and pulls a knife, but luckily lightening strikes a tree and a huge branch falls on her. The Jingzhao Prefecture men burst in, with Mo Xiuyao. Ye Li takes up the knife to murder her grandmother, Mo Xiuyao yells at her to stop and then starts crawling over to her. He screams at her that he's hurt and needs her and she drops the knife and walks over to him and IT'S INSANE I AM SO IN LOVE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then he's patting her back and telling her it's okay. She leaves with him. Prince Li is watching the troops leave, who have not found their suspect. Mo Xiuyao gives a very suspicious look which makes me think he suspects Prince Li.
Old Madam Ye is being treated for her head wound. That was very intense last night so now we get a cute kid and toad (that's a frog you subtitles)
Back at the Prince's residence, Mo Xiuyao makes a very good point:
Ye Li just does her running thing as usual. Her husband tails her. Then he is informed that her grandmother has died. Ye Li acts like none of the events that night happened and starts talking about the funeral arrangements, as Mo Xiuyao gets more and more worried about her.
The Ye family accuses Ye Li of killing her grandmother, which she didn't... maybe? Not that I'm on their side but that was a very well-timed lightening bolt. Her father does his usual nothing when Ye Li calls him as a witness. Anyway, Ye Li's sister-in-law defends her which is awesome
This episode was insane and I loved it but I'm so curious about what really happened. How was the stepmother possessed and was that lightening really just a coincidence? I need more! Update: A friend online pointed out to me that the stepmother was blackmailed by Li Feibai. He asked for a "favour" back in Ep 11/12.
Ep 16: So yes, the stepmother helped in return for secret keeping
Ye Li says she doesn't really hate the stepmother, as she now has her stuff back and her father is the real disappointment. I like that her revenge seems so far to be targeted and proportional. She's not on a rampage. Same with Prince Li, she doesn't want to be near him anymore, but she's not murdering him for what he did when he was younger. She's asked if she'll ever come back home, but doesn't answer.
Mo Xiuyao still has the paper from the food that Ye Li gave him before he went to prison. Ye Li comes back and starts eating sugar straight from the bowl, so he makes her some noodles. She says that she likes eating sugar because they didn't have any on the mountain. Then she puts a bunch of sugar in her noodles (ew?). He asks if she's okay and she seems confused by the question and then claims to be fine
He fixed her lamp that she used to haunt her father. So considerate! Ye Li goes back to her room and takes apart another doll. She's clearly not okay because Hallucination Maid appears and they cry together. She really outsources her feelings to this fake maid, it's so interesting.
Ye Li takes her husband on a walk the next day, after he calls himself a cripple much to his servants' surprise. She admits that she lied to him about her mom's death and that she found out the grandma was the one who really killed her. She also says she tricked her father to find something, and has leads, but doesn't say what the item is.
The edict is with the dowager consort (the younger woman who hangs around with the Empress Dowager). We see the Marquis Muyang's son visit her and ask for a job. He wants something as cool as Qin Cang, who it turns out is his brother (this was my first guess about their relationship!).
Okay, so the Marquis's name is Zhou Jing, this son is also Zhou. The dowager consort is Qin Zheng and the brother is also Qin, so what kind of twisted family tree is this? I'm assuming the dowager consort is related to the Marquis on the maternal side? The son (whose name I cannot find) goes home and tries to be nice to his brother, but he's rejected every time.
Back at the Jingzhao Prefecture, Mo Xiuyao sends people to go investigate the maid murder at his wife's family home. And his men are like, "Really? Your own wife?"
Don't worry, she hates them all, she won't mind. Mo Xiuyao has figured out one of his guards betrayed them when they tried to catch the assassin.
Ye Ying is trying to brew medicine for her husband. He is all salty about being injured by Mo Xiuyao's men, but his advisor tells him that they should work together. The main goal of Mo Xiuyao is to take down the Marquis Muyang, which aligns with Prince Li's plans to overthrow the Empress Dowager.
Ye Ying knows that Prince Li was up to things, but he denies it.
Mo Xiuyao tries standing/walking for the first time, with a walker and my heart is all warm
He also has a flashback which implies he's now okay with the fact that she arranged to kidnap herself to get him to agree to treatment. He thanks her and then says he only agreed to let her treat him because he was worried she'd do something even more crazy (valid). They kiss.
Then we got a shot of bees but I don't think it means anything...?
Ye Ying tries to bring her husband food but he ignores her. Mo Xiuyao offers to take Ye Li on a date. She says she doesn't want to go anywhere so he offers her whatever she wants, to which she replies, "All the things." Mo Xiuyao takes her to a shop, but she says it's her shop's biggest rival. It's pretty clear her husband owns this shop and it's cute.
More tomorrow!
Posted Jun 15, 2026, 12:23 PM UTC