Where the Mask Ends episode 28 recap: A faked plague, a pit in the woods and a bet with Wei Shu

In short

A Chou never had the plague. She chilled herself in ice water to lure her enemies out, the villagers rise up, and the crown prince falls into her pit trap. Back at court, the Emperor rules against his side, and Wei Shu loses a bet that had her life as the stake.

What happens in episode 28

A Chou catches Xiao's eye in the crowd, and he calls on everyone to drive the intruders out. Villagers with farm tools take on guards with swords, ready to die rather than lose their Wengzhu. The Empress Dowager goes white, and only Han Liao keeps her from being pulled out of her carriage. Wei Shu scrambles into a carriage to hide and finds A Chou already sitting inside.

It was all a plan. A Chou never had the plague. She bathed in ice water to catch a chill so Han Liao and Wei Shu would move against her. The crown prince abandons the Dowager and his wife and rides off with a few guards, but A Chou's roadblocks turn him into the woods, and he falls into a pit she prepared. Xiao pretends he's about to pull him out, then has the pit covered again and leaves him screaming in the empty forest.

A Chou left the north road open so Han Liao could get the Dowager away, and they run into Lu Zhuo riding back. A Chou gallops up and tells her side first. Lu Zhuo knows it's an act and plays along, and when she silently mouths "old hag" at the Dowager, the Dowager nearly chokes. He takes A Chou home, but she won't say where the crown prince is. Xiao dodges his questions too, having learned from her, then gives in and leads him to the back hill. Lady Shou'an scolds A Chou for hiding the plan; A Chou apologizes and tells her what comes next.

The Emperor returns from the hot-spring palace, and the Grand Commandant, Han Liao and the crown prince's camp all demand A Chou's death. Lu Zhuo tells a worried Liu Shuo not to plead for her, because saying nothing will do more than any argument. Consort Li sends a doctor to the Zhuyu estate, and her attendant Ying Gu reports that the woman in A Chou's bed is a maid. A Chou is gone. She turns up in front of Wei Shu, who has been sent home to the Wei house to recover, and offers a bet: will the Emperor kill her? The stake is Wei Shu's life.

In Xuanshi Hall, Liu Shuo asks only about his father's health, which pleases the Emperor, and Lu Zhuo outargues the whole room by framing the crown prince's actions as losing the people's hearts. The Emperor can't accept a fool as his heir, and that weighs more with him than the Lu family's support. When he visits the Dowager, he hears her use a vile word for Lady Shou'an, his old wet nurse, and she won't apologize. Told Lady Shou'an is in the palace, he walks out while the Dowager calls after him that she is his real mother. At Zhaoyang Hall he finds Lady Shou'an has already gone to fetch his Baoyuan pills, leaving the scallions he likes. The decree comes down: the crown prince's side has lost, and so has Wei Shu, though she plans one last fight. At home, A Chou tells Lu Zhuo she has started to care how she looks in his eyes, and he takes that to mean she loves him. Qi Zhongkai says there's an easy way to test her heart.

Why it matters

A Chou wins by letting her enemies attack first in front of the people who love her, and the Emperor is pushed closer to Lady Shou'an and further from the Dowager. But the loser isn't finished: Wei Shu is planning one last move, and Qi Zhongkai's test is waiting.

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