Where the Mask Ends episode 21 recap: Iron armor in the cellar and the Empress falls

In short

Chi Lan's killer turns out to be a Han family servant guarding hidden treasure. A Chou and Lu Zhuo swap the gold for something else, Han Liao walks into the trap, and the Empress is confined.

What happens in episode 21

At the estate, the scholar Feng Sheng wants the killer handed to the magistrate, while Liu Ziyang wants A Chou's own maids questioned. Qi Zhongkai steps in with a story: a thief broke in and killed Chi Lan when she caught him stealing. A Chou reads his look and sends everyone away.

The killer, a craftsman called A Ben, is a Han family servant. The estate changed hands so fast that the Hans couldn't empty the cellar, so he stayed to guard it: a hill of copper coins and gold squeezed out of the common people. Chi Lan saw him at the cellar, and he had also killed a father and son who saw him passing messages. Now A Chou knows why Han Liao won't leave her alone. She moves the gold elsewhere, and she and Lu Zhuo hide something else in its place. Ge Jin, afraid her part will come out, runs away and is caught by Han Liao. He promises to make her his concubine, and she becomes his spy on the estate.

At Shanglin Park, assassins attack while the Emperor watches with his consorts and sons. Consort Zheng and Prince Duan shield the Emperor, Consort Li runs to protect her own son, and everyone else looks after themselves. The Emperor watches it all calmly and leaves without a word once Qi Zhongkai has the field under control. A Chou realizes it was a test of the princes. Consort Zheng saw it coming and coached Prince Duan, but the Emperor also sees how ambitious they are.

A Chou scolds Liu Shuo for neglecting his training, Consort Li calls her petty, and they part on bad terms. Consort Zheng's spy reports it all, and Consort Zheng offers to host a banquet to make peace; Wei Shu gives A Chou a good-luck charm on her way out. At the banquet the quarrel turns out to be an act. A Chou and Consort Li seize the maid Consort Zheng planted in Consort Li's palace and produce two curse charms meant to frame Consort Li for witchcraft. Cornered, Consort Zheng has to work with Consort Li. A Chou tells her to stay quiet and let ministers petition for Prince Jing as crown prince.

Ge Jin sees boxes carried into the storehouse and, on Han Liao's orders, beats the court drum to accuse A Chou of stealing famine relief. The Emperor's men search the estate. They find no gold, but the cellar holds 120 suits of iron armor marked with the Han family crest. Private armor is banned, and more than five suits counts as treason. While the court argues, the Empress and Prince Jing haven't heard. Prince Jing sees cranes in the sky and runs into the hall to report a lucky omen at the worst possible moment. The Emperor strips him of his princely robes and confines the Empress to her palace. A Chou and Lu Zhuo have what they wanted.

Why it matters

The partnership Lu Zhuo offered in episode 20 pays off at once: the Empress who sent the killers after Bi Tao is confined, and the Han family's crest is on armor that counts as treason.

Based on the episode synopsis, summarized in our own words: TVmao (电视猫) episode synopses, cited by Baidu Baike Baidu Baike: official synopsis, episode synopses, cast and 追剧日历