Tigers Sniff the Rose episode 33 recap: Three years in Lanyang

In short

A blind Yan Shang rebuilds starving Lanyang while the Princess Regent runs the court. She frees Yang Si in exchange for the Crown Prince's life and makes him her consort, sends Liu Wenji to wait on the ailing Emperor, and nearly three years on finds Yan Shang digging wells on her inspection tour.

What happens in episode 33

Yan Shang tours Lanyang and sees people starving in the streets, fighting over scraps; one man even puts a price on his dead wife's body. A magistrate's term is three years, and he vows the county won't look like this when his is up. His sight is now completely gone, so he buys a young boy, Dong Lang, to be his eyes.

In the capital the princess barely sleeps. To feed the army she gives the land seized from Yu Cheng'an's faction to the troops to farm, and refuses to raise taxes or labor duties on the people. Yang Si is brought from prison. He doesn't plead for himself, only for Crown Prince Mu Xun, and says he'll do anything for her. Her price for the Crown Prince's life is his freedom: he will be her consort. That quiets the gossip, she says, and lets her pick someone she doesn't mind. Yang Si remembers their childhood and is willing, though he knows the role means staying an obedient nobody.

When officials suggest she relax at the hot springs during a drought, she throws the memorial away and threatens to strip anyone who tries it again. She halves palace stipends, orders strict economy and announces she will travel in disguise to see the disaster for herself. Chancellor Liu and the others are impressed.

Liu Wenji hands back his Shence Army inspector's token and brings her chilled lychee wine from Lingnan, hoping to serve at her side. She sees the hunger for power in his eyes and sends him to wait on the Emperor, now paralyzed by his stroke. Liu Wenji is bitterly disappointed but has to obey.

Nearly three years pass. Yan Shang builds schools and irrigation, and Lanyang's people come to love him. With the exams near, the princess meets a student from Lanyang who speaks highly of Magistrate Yan, and she abolishes recommendations from the powerful so every candidate is judged on talent. Traveling light with Yang Si, she punishes corrupt officials and hands out relief, reading memorials in the carriage. In Lanyang the locals are digging wells in the cracked earth, and she spots Yan Shang under a bamboo hat. She runs to him, but he only senses someone there. Yang Si speaks to him and realizes he is blind. Yan Shang brushes off their questions and takes them to the county office.

Why it matters

Episode 33 jumps nearly three years, makes Yang Si the princess's consort, and reunites the leads with Yan Shang blind.

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