Tigers Sniff the Rose episode 24 recap: The hunt hides a coup

In short

The hunt for the princess's hand is cover for the Crown Prince's move against Yu Cheng'an. The princess traps Meng Zaishi and nearly kills him, but Yu Cheng'an is ready: holding the Emperor, he has the Crown Prince deposed and the gates close on him and Yang Si.

What happens in episode 24

The night before the hunt, Yan Shang tells the princess to save her strength. She says tomorrow can wait, but she has privately decided to kill Meng Zaishi. In the morning the contestants gather at the hunting grounds, and Yu Cheng'an has Liu Wenji announce the rules: deer wearing bells have been let loose in the hills, and whoever kills one first, by the next evening, wins. A gong sounds and everyone rides off.

Yan Shang has a different target. He tells Wei Shu he is going to find Mu Xianqing, the military governor of Dongzhen, and talk him into turning on Meng Zaishi to take the pressure off the princess. Mu Xianqing is known for his cruelty, and Yan Shang goes expecting he may not come back. If he isn't out within two hours, he says, Wei Shu should come looking. He rides so badly that he ends up leading his horse up the rough track, and from a distance he spots the Crown Prince with Mu Xianqing.

The two have a pact. The Crown Prince's men will strike first at the traveling palace and go straight for Yu Cheng'an, then Mu Xianqing's troops will attack from outside, wiping out the eunuch faction and handing power back to the throne. Yan Shang now sees why both men entered the hunt. Yang Si catches him, knocks him out so he can't ruin the plan and ties him to a tree. When the two hours are up, Wei Shu and Zhao Lingfei find him and cut him loose, and he heads for the palace.

Outside it, Liu Wenji quietly tells him there are no belled deer at all: the whole thing is a smokescreen from Yu Cheng'an. Yan Shang goes after the princess. She has used a bell to draw Meng Zaishi to her. He is the better fighter and overpowers her, but she stays calm, leads him toward a pit and slips clear as he falls in. He asks why she wants him dead when he wants only her. Because he came and upended her life, she says, and told her secret in front of everyone. She takes aim to finish him, and Yan Shang rides in and knocks her arrow away. He tells her about the coup. Realizing her father is in danger, she gallops off.

Yan Shang stays and talks to Meng Zaishi, who doubts the alliance will hold, given how treacherous Mu Xianqing is. Yan Shang urges him to get out and back the princess, since Mu Xianqing won't spare him if he wins. TVmao's text breaks off here, so Meng Zaishi's answer is not confirmed. At the palace, Eunuch Chen blocks the princess from seeing her father, saying the Emperor is asleep. The Crown Prince and Yang Si storm Yu Cheng'an's quarters and find he has the Emperor there. Yu Cheng'an accuses the Crown Prince of trying to kill his own father and demands an edict against him. The Emperor won't destroy his son, so Yu Cheng'an has Wei Qiao draft a decree removing him as heir and reads it on the spot. The Crown Prince and Yang Si try to fight their way out, but the gates are slowly closing.

Why it matters

Episode 24 starts the Crown Prince's rebellion, the event the character profiles say fails and sends Yang Si into exile.

Based on the episode synopsis, summarized in our own words: TVmao (电视猫) episode synopses