A Journey to Love: Episode 17 begins with Li Tongguang and the officer walking into Prince Li’s room. Ren Ruyi asks the two to greet Prince Li because the prince is in a coma. The officer Fan Dongming greets Prince Li. The follower whispers in Li Tongguang’s ear that the prince isn’t fake. But he’s not sure if the prince is in a coma.
Does Ren Ruyi Recognize Li Tongguang?
Ning Yuanzhou asks the people to leave. But Fan Dongming rejects it. He volunteers to see Prince Li. He claims that he masters some medical skills. Ren Ruyi scolds Fan Dongming. She thinks he shouldn’t insult the prince’s body. She introduces herself as Huyang Princess of Wu Kingdom.
Li Tongguang is shocked when he sees Ren Ruyi. He tells her that he’s Jiu Er. He asks her if she doesn’t recognize him. She pretends not to understand what he says. He’s happy to tell her that Emperor An gave national name Changqing Marquis to him. He claims that he’s not the kid who doesn’t have a name. He lets Zhu Yin walk forward. He reminds Ren Ruyi that Zhu Yin was the follower she arranged for him.
It flashes back. Ren Ruyi has a fight with Li Tongguang. He wins so that she gives her sword Blue Cloud Sword to him. She reveals the sword was given by Empress Zhaojie. She tells him that he doesn’t have to come to the martial arts arena because he defeated her.
She asks him to go to the school to study. She persuades him to let the follower Zhu Yin follow him. But he rejects it because he only wants to follow her. She thinks she can teach him nothing because his martial arts are good. She reminds him that he will be an official if he goes to the school to study.
But he wants to follow her to assassinate. She rejects it because he’s the son of Elder Princess. She believes that Empress Zhaojie will give him a position at the court. He yells at her when he tells her that he doesn’t want the position. He tells her that he only wants to get her.
He realizes that she plans to give up him like his mother. She tells him that his mother didn’t give up him. She reveals his mother is sick. Li Tongguang hugs Ren Ruyi’s legs. He begs her not to give up him. She explains it to him that Emperor An asked her to kill the lord of Chu Kingdom.
He decides to go to beg Emperor An. The follower reports to Ren Ruyi that the horse is ready. Ren Ruyi tries to leave. But Li Tongguang hugs her legs again. She slaps him and she gets on the horse. She rides away.
We return to the present. Li Tongguang asks Ren Ruyi if she’s alive. He tries to approach her. But Ning Yuanzhong fights with Li Tongguang. He repels him. Li Tongguang asks Ren Ruyi if she doesn’t recognize him. He shows her the Blue Cloud Sword. She claims that she’s not his master.
He apologizes to her. Du Changshi suggests Li Tongguang go home to take a break since he’s sick. Li Tongguang leaves with Fan Dongming. Du Changshi reveals Li Tongguang and Emperor Wu are good friends. He asks Ning Yuanzhou about Ren Ruyi.
Ning Yuanzhou claims that Ren Ruyi doesn’t know Changqing Marquis. He asks Du Changshi to leave. Because he thinks he’s tired. Du Changshi leaves. Ren Ruyi asks Ning Yuanzhou to help her contact Jin Meiniang. Li Tongguang and Zhu Yin are in the carriage.
Li Tongguang asks Zhu Yin to look into Huyang Princess. Zhu Yin learns that Li Tongguang still suspects the princess. Li Tongguang grabs Zhu Yin’s collar. He mentions he saw his master as well. He asks him if the lady is his master.
Zhu Yin explains it to Li Tongguang that he just saw Ren Ruyi from a distance. He mentions the princess was arrogant. He thinks the princess isn’t Ren Ruyi. But Li Tongguang thinks Ren Ruyi pretended it. Zhu Yin points out that the people of Wu Kingdom respected the princess. He reminds Li Tongguang that he buried Ren Ruyi in person.
Li Tongguang thinks the dead body was fake. He thinks his master could use a dead body to disguise herself. He believes that Ren Ruyi is doing a secret task. He learns that she got angry because he called her in front of the people. He remembers Ren Ruyi told him the signal of Red Clothes Guards: Kongming Lantern. He asks Zhu Yin to go to get him a Kongming Lantern.
Is Ning Yuanzhou Jealous?
Li Tongguang returns home. He paints a bird on the Kongming Lantern. He releases it outside. Ren Ruyi gets the message from the carrier pigeon. She sees the Kongming Lantern. Ning Yuanzhou sees the lantern. He walks into Ren Ruyi’s room. He asks her if the lantern is the signal of Red Clothes Guards.
She reveals the one who released the lantern was Li Tongguang. He learns that she’s Li Tongguang’s master. She admits it and she reveals she was surprised that her disciple caught Emperor Wu. He asks her if she will go to see her disciple. She denies it because she’s the princess of Wu Kingdom.
He hugs her and he thinks it would be better if he encountered her early. She points out that she would kill him if she encountered him because they were enemies. He asks her to leave the diplomatic group after Yang Ying recovers. She wonders why he does so. She realizes that he thinks Li Tongguang will affect it.
He thinks Red Clothes Guards will hunt her if Li Tongguang suspects her identity. He worries that it will affect the diplomatic group. But she thinks Li Tongguang isn’t her rival. He reminds her that she hasn’t seen the boy many years. He asks her to do it for him.
She thinks he’s suspecting her. She reminds him that she’s a killer. She believes her instinct. She asks him for the reason. He explains it to her that he worries about her and Li Tongguang. She learns that he’s jealous. He admits it and he mentions the boy stared at her. He worries about her.
He tells her that he understands the boy. Because he’s a man as well. She claims that she knows men’s desire because she was a white sparrow. She admits that Jiu Er had feelings for her when Jiu Er was a kid. She reveals she was unhappy after knowing he and Lady Pei had an engagement. She mentions she didn’t ask him not to contact Lady Pei.
She asks him if she can require him to return to Wu Kingdom if he runs into the singer he knows in An Kingdom. He reveals he didn’t visit Lady Pei after he broke off the engagement with Lady Pei. He thinks he cannot leave diplomatic group because he has many things to do.
Ning Yuanzhou complains it to Ren Ruyi that he worries it because she called Li Tongguang Jiu Er many times. She learns that he doesn’t trust her. She asks him if he wishes her to leave diplomatic group for the task or his jealousy. He tells her that it’s both.
Yu Shisan walks into the room. He finds out that the two are having a fight. He persuades Ren Ruyi not to get angry. He reminds her that she won’t be pretty if she does so. He tries to enlighten her. But she rejects it and she steps on his foot. She’s furious to leave.
Sun Lang is in Yuan Lu’s room. Sun Lang tells Yuan Lu that Ning Yuanzhou got angry because of Li Tongguang. Ren Ruyi walks into the room. Sun Lang leaves. Yuan Lu tells Ren Ruyi that he recovers. She reminds him that she wouldn’t find him if she didn’t run into his horse.
He laughs and he thinks he’s a lucky star. He notes that she’s not happy. He thinks she does so because of Li Tongguang. He mentions what Sun Lang said that Ning Yuanzhou has been jealous since Li Tongguang came. He asks her if she’s actually Li Tongguang’s master. She hits him. He decides not to ask her about it since she doesn’t want to speak. She decides to tell it to him since he asked her about it. He complains it to her that someone thought he was right when he knew nothing.
What Happens to Ren Xin and Jiu Er?
We go to nine years ago. The maids help Jiu Er take a bath. Empress Zhaojie and Ren Xin watch the kid. Empress Zhaojie asks Ren Xin to teach Jiu Er. Ren Xin claims that she’s not a female teacher. Empress Zhaojie points out that the male teachers were bitten by the kid.
She reveals she thought about Ren Xin because the boy likes martial arts. She tells Ren Xin that she wishes her to teach the boy how to become a good person. She thinks Ren Xin knows the kid’s history. Ren Xin mentions the little young master feels shame because his father was his mother’s slave.
Jiu Er bites the maid. He flees. Empress Zhaojie tells Ren Xin that it’s not the truth. She reveals Elder Princess married to Su Kingdom and she became Crown Princess. But the two kingdoms became enemies. Crown Prince of Su Kingdom tried to kill Elder Princess for taking revenge.
But a musician who came from Wu Kingdom saved Elder Princess. So Elder Princess returned to An Kingdom safely. But the musician passed away because he was injured badly. Elder Princess was sad. Empress Zhaojie and Emperor An found out that Elder Princess had the musician’s child.
Empress Zhaojie tells Ren Xin that the kid is like that because Elder Princess didn’t want to approach her son. She wishes the kid to be like Ren Xin who doesn’t give in to anyone. Ren Xin accepts the task. She asks Empress Zhaojie about the little young master’s name. Empress Zhaojie tells Ren Xin that the kid is named Jiu Er.
Ren Xin asks Empress Zhaojie about Jiu Er’s last name. Empress Zhaojie reveals Jiu Er doesn’t have last name. Because Jiu Er’s mother refused to leak it. Empress Zhaojie tells Ren Xin that Jiu Er’s first name comes from the royal eagle zither the musician played.
Ren Xin finds Jiu Er in the garden. He threatens her that he will kill her when he carries a branch. She kicks the sand to his eyes and she presses his head into the water. She asks him if it’s painful that he cannot fight it back.
She tells him that she’s his master. But he claims that he doesn’t need it. She breaks the stone table with her sword. She tells him that he will be like the table if he rejects her. She takes out her sword. She tells him that he will be like the sword if he follows her.
He begins to learn martial arts from her. But he flees. She takes her women to look for him in the woods. The red clothes guard reports to Ren Xin that there was a person being killed by wolves. Ren Xin finds Jiu Er. She repels the wolf and she takes Jiu Er to flee.
Jiu Er hugs Ren Xin on the horse. He cries to ask her not to leave him. She takes him to practice martial arts. She steps on his face and she tells him to remember the shame. He leans on her and he wishes to stay with her forever. But she’s heartless to leave him.
Elder Princess is dying. Jiu Er goes to see his mother. She explains it to him that she didn’t see him because she didn’t know how to face him. She promises to ask Emperor An for his grace. She passes away. He holds his mother’s funeral. Zhu Yin persuades Jiu Er to see Ren Xin one last time. Jiu Er slaps Zhu Yin. He tells him that he doesn’t want to see Ren Xin. Ren Xin comes back to see Jiu Er. But he left. She thinks he has grown up.
Does Yang Ying Kill Herself?
Ren Ruyi ends her story. Yuan Lu learns that Ren Ruyi and Li Tongguang hadn’t seen each other for six years. He wonders if Li Tongguang has feelings for Ren Ruyi. Ren Ruyi doesn’t care for it. She mentions there were many men liking her.
She persuades Yuan Lu to think about how to deal with Li Tongguang. He learns that she was angry because of Ning Yuanzhong. He asks her if she likes Li Tongguang. It makes her wonder if he takes Li Tongguang’s side. She tells him that she doesn’t like kid.
Ren Xin doesn’t come to Li Tongguang. He panics. Zhu Yin persuades Li Tongguang that Ren Xin wishes him to be calm. Li Tongguang returns to his room. He remembers Huyang Princess told him that she’s not his master. He takes a look at Blue Cloud Sword. He asks Ren Xin not to ignore him.
He remembers he returned to Capital An after Ren Xin was wronged to kill Empress Zhaojie. But he saw the burning prison. Yang Ying wakes up. She remembers she killed her lover in person because he hurt the whole diplomatic group.
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She tears up and she tries to hang herself. Ren Ruyi tells Yang Ying that she cannot kill herself in such a way. She carries a chair to her. He reminds her that she will die ugly if she hangs herself. Yang Ying hugs Ren Ruyi. She cries to tell her that she doesn’t want to live.
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She mentions she pretended to be Prince Li for Zheng Qingyun. But the guy united with Prince Danyang to trick her. Ren Ruyi tells Yang Ying that she won’t stop her because she thinks the life belongs to Yang Ying. She tells her that her older brother Dan Yang didn’t trick her. She reveals Yuan Lu woke up. She reminds her that she needs to go to apologize to the guy because the guy was hurt for protecting her. Yang Ying wakes out of her room. She visits Yuan Lu. She knocks at the door.