Mystery in the Palace (story until conclusion)

(taking up where we left off....)

Han Xiang got better eventually and resumed her investigation, but faced death threats again, got bitten by a poisonous snake, only getting rescued by Ge Tai in the nick of time. The Crown Princess in meantime was still trying her best to get rid of Han Xiang, especially after losing her husband's interest and attention. She entrapped Chun Zhu into her plans of getting Han Xiang's jade seal and implanting it somewhere.. Frustrated at Chun Zhu's slowness, the crown princess wanted to teach Chun Zhu a lesson and told Zhu Er her maid to lock Chun Zhu in a deserted store room for a day or two, after asking Chun Zhu to go to the store room and get something. However, Han Xiang followed Chun Zhu. Zhu Er then took the opportunity to then hit Han Xiang on the back and she collapsed. Zhu Er then locked Han Xiang in the store room and reported to the Crown Princess who was delighted. She then threatened Chun Zhu if she told anyone about it, she would lock Chun Zhu up instead. Chun Zhu then just kept silent.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince tried to get rid of his rival for Han Xiang by revealing Ge Tai's origins just to be shocked when the Emperor slams him back into being nosy and investigating what does not concern him and that the Emperor had already known Ge Tai's real origins. They then had a truce and went in search of the missing Han Xiang with the Emperor's guards.
Finally, the Crown Prince went to check on his wife, who of course vehemently denied it, but sulked because the Crown Prince goes in search of Han Xiang and not her, and saw some suspicious red mud stains and voiced his suspicions to Ge Tai and Commander Cao. They then looked around further and finally found the abandoned store. They called for her but got no answer, and would have left, but Ge Tai saw a new hair ornament  one the floor  and burst into the locked store to find an unconcious Han Xiang there who has been locked there for a good three days.
Somehow the Crown Princess and Zhu Er panicked and tried to burn the shoes covered with red mud but Ge Tai saw it and managed to redeem a pair belonging to Chun Zhu.  With that he told Han Xiang what he suspected. . The storage of clothing as usual, went to visit Han Xiang, but Ge Tai refused to let Chun Zhu in . Once the other embroiderers have finished visiting her, Han Xiang sent Ge Tai out voicing a suspicion regarding her grand father , and seeing Chun Zhu. She confronted Chun Zhu who begged for forgiveness and told Chun Zhu she did not want to see her again. However with much pleading and Chun Zhu kneeling outside the Ning Shou palace until Han Xiang agreed to see her and fainting, she gave in and forgave Chun Zhu.
Chun Zhu then happened to overhear Han Xiang's adopted parents admonishing her for putting her life in danger and how the murderer would be hunting her because of who she really was, the late Princess Yi Dan's daughter. However, she kept that knowledge to herself and did not tell Crown Princess.
Han Xiang then went to town to investigate something. But in town, being still weak, she fainted and the Crown Prince saw her and took her away to try to have his way with her. Luckily , Beile Ge Tai saw it and followed them, resuming in a huge fight between Ge Tai and the Crown Prince. Luckily, Tuo He Gi appeared and dragged the unconcious Crown Prince away. Han Xiang then dragged Ge Tai to an abandoned barn and hugged him close.  Fortunately, King Lie's assistant sent out a search party and manage to take him back home . Han Xiang nursed him back with herbal medications and chicken soup.
Crown Princess then cooked up another scheme and made Chun Zhu hide Yi Dan's jade seal in Han Xiang's room, and then she (Crown Princess) went to the Dowager Empress and told her that Han Xiang had the seal and was plotting to turn up as the princess Yi Dan's daughter. She even managed to bribe and threaten witnesses in saying that  Yi Dan's murderer was working in cohorts with Han Xiang, and that Han Xiang had murdered Xue Yan because Xue Yan interfered with her plans.
Blinded by rage, the Dowager Empress left the matter to the Emperor who sentenced Han Xiang to death, much to the Crown Princess delight.
Ms Tong and Ge Tai tried to plead on Han Xiang's behalf, but the Emperor refused to listen. Han Xiang was not allowed any visitors.
Chun Zhu filled with guilt tried to rescue her by wanting to prove Han Xiang's lineage by digging in to Qing Er's grave for the statue that belonged exclusively to Yi Dan but arrived a little too late.
Finally, she was taken out and hanged in the town centre.  Ge Tai was the most saddest person, besides all of Han Xiang's friends from the Storage of Clothing , Aunt Rong's embroidery shop and parents. Ge Tai 'buried' Han Xiang.
The following days ensued in uproar as the town and the palace became 'haunted' with Han Xiang's upset spirit. The Crown Princess, feeling guilty felt very scared and goes in search for sorcerers to protect her, even enlisting a couple of fake sorcerers who pretended to exorcise the 'ghost' but getting foiled by Ge Tai.   Just then the ghost of Han Xiang passed them and while the Crown Princess and Zhu Er looked up in fear, Ge Tai goes chasing after it. Besides Ge Tai, the man in the mask /in black chases the ghost too . Losing the 'ghost', the man in the mask goes in search of Han Xiang's grave and unearths it to find.... nothing... and gets attack and surrounded by Ge Tai, Commander Cao and the guards. He put on a huge fight and it took about half a dozen or more men to hold him down. . Ge Tai then goes to unmask him... to find.... King Lie, his father, to his shock.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince is drowning his sorrow as well as half cursing his wife who was busy reciting mantras to protect herself from Han Xiang's vengeful spirit when Wang Gong Gong, the Emperor's trusted Eunuch calls them into the palace.
They arrive there. Guards surround the palace and Ge Tai appeared announcing to the Emperor that everything was in place.
Surprised and curious, the Crown Prince asked the Emperor what was going on, and the Emperor admonished for him to be patient and called out Han Xiang, who stepped out well, alive and in royal finery to the Crown Princess' shock.
The Emperor then told the Crown Prince and Crown Princess that he had been doing his own investigation  because what the Crown princess and Han Xiang said rang alarm bells in his head , thus he had ordered Han Xiang not to have any visitors. He had visited Han Xiang  who had pleaded for a through investigation and who had insisted that Yi Dan was indeed her mother and she was given the jade seal and jade butterfly when she was small , but only found out about who her mother really was through Ms Tong.
Unsure about whether to trust her or not, he allowed a physician who accompanied him suggest a consanguinity or kind of 'DNA' test between him and Han Xiang. The physician pricked Han Xiang's finger and dripped three drops of blood into a basin of water and the Emperor did the same. Their blood mixed together as one and finally the Emperor accepted the fact that Han Xiang was his long lost daughter with Yi Dan.
That announcement got Crown Princess shocked speechless. And she began to pretend to mis understand how the seal ended up in Han Xiang's room and that she only listened to others.
With that , the Emperor ordered the criminals who were in cohorts with the Crown Princess be brought forward. All the 'withnesses' and Chun Zhu told the truth about how the Crown Princess had held their family member hostage and ordered them to frame Han Xiang. When called out, Zhu Er also claimed she as forced to do so by the Crown Princess and begged for forgiveness. The Crown Princess was then sentenced with Zhu Er to live the rest of their lives in  a distant palace and never leaving it. The other witnesses and Chun Zhu were then ordered to be caned 20 times with a rod to teach them a lesson.
The Crown Prince asked the Emperor why Han Xiang was still sentence to death even though the Emperor found out that she was his daughter and how she still lived, and the Emperor said it was Han Xiang's idea to lure out the real murderer, and when she was hanged, she was acting. When the executioner place the black sack over her head, there was also a steel neck brace to protect her neck.
King Lie was then brought out. He confessed to his crimes and said how much he loved and hated Yi Dan for betraying his love and leaving him.
The Emperor did not know how to sentenced King Lie, out of love for his brother, guilt for unwittingly causing Yi Dan to fall pregnant and destroying their marriage and ordered King Lie to be imprisoned while he decided. However, King Lie out of remorse, wrote a letter in blood and then took his own life in prison by smashing himself on the wall.
Ge Tai is consumed by guilt, having caught his own father and is chased out of his family home by his so called brothers..
Yi Dan flourished as a princess, and plans a surprise for her friends. She calls Wang Gong Gong to order them to one of the palace , refusing to say anything. The thought of Han Xiang turning evil like Xue Yan crossed their mind and they went to the assigned place as ordered in fear of facing Han Xiang's wrath to find an amused Wang Gong Gong who told them that Princess Han Xiang had actually planned a firework treat for them , giving them 10 taels of gold and some rice for all of them and 20 days holiday....
Han Xiang , through Wang Gong Gong, called Ge Tai to the palace too. He came bearing a gift for her, and she, a gift for him. It turns out each was giving away to the other their respective jade butterfly.
Ge Tai tells Han Xiang that he plans to go away as the memories of the place depressed him , and he needed a new start. Han Xiang then said she was willing to follow him wherever he went..... and laughingly, they went off together.............

-The End-