Scent of Time (2023) Episode 23

Oct 31, 2023

The wealthy businessman Li would buy a batch of new children into the house every once in a while. The children he bought before were all wrapped in straw mats and thrown into mass graves. They didn't treat people as human beings at all, they just kept the slaves they bought as dogs. If the dog is obedient, he will be spoken to softly and given good food and drink. If the dog is disobedient, he will be beaten and scolded at best, or let children beat each other at worst. If they die, they will be thrown into a mass grave, and then they will buy a new batch. Hua Rongzhou really didn't want to go on like this, so he threw a fire and escaped in the chaos.

Wei Xian met the young beggar Hua Rongzhou on the street and thought he was extremely talented, so she planned to accept him as her apprentice. But Wei Xian was no different from the Li family. When he was unhappy, he called Hua Rongzhou a dog and beat, scolded and humiliated him at will. Seeing that Hua Rongzhou refused to bow his head, she tied him up with chains and only gave him one meal every day. Hua Rongzhou was still unwilling to give in and tried to open the iron chain every day. Finally one day, he opened the chains and escaped. Everyone thought he was a little beggar, but only Hua Qian sincerely praised him for his good looks. At that moment, Hua Rongzhou felt that it was a good thing to be alive.

On the day of the ancestor worship ceremony, Hua Rongzhou saw that Hua Qian had no power to bind a chicken, so he thought of forging an object for her to defend herself. So Hua Rongzhou went back to the blacksmith shop and asked Wei Xian to buy a bracelet. But Wei Xian still wanted to conquer Hua Rongzhou, so she set up a trap to lock him in the room and ordered him to kowtow to herself and apologize. Hua Rongzhou was unwilling to bow his head, so he threatened Wei Xian with a knife. When Hua Rongzhou left, Wei Xian planned to use a hidden weapon to plot against Hua Rongzhou, but in the end he suffered the consequences.

After listening to Hua Rongzhou's story, Hua Qian's soft heart became a little painful. She promised Hua Rongzhou that she would definitely rescue him. Afterwards, Hua Qian found Zhong Xiwu and asked him to help rescue Hua Rongzhou. But Zhong Xiwu rejected Hua Qian, believing that Hua Rongzhou was not a good person. Hua Qian had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye. Zhong Xiwu was upset. He hoped that Hua Qian would come to Zhong's Garden once because he wanted to see him. Hua Qian's heart suddenly lost its grip, and she could barely stand while holding on to the door. She asked Zhong Xiwu if he could think about himself before acting in the future.

On the way back, the carriage was stopped by Zhong Yelan. He told Hua Qian that he had a way to solve Hua Rongzhou's matter. Even though he no longer wanted to have anything to do with Zhong Yelan, in order to rescue Hua Rongzhou, Hua Qian had to follow Zhong Yelan to the tea shop. But Zhong Yelan hesitated and refused to speak directly, and even persuaded Hua Qian to give up Hua Rongzhou. Seeing that Hua Qian was very persistent, Zhong Yelan could only inform her of the whereabouts of the Lis and his wife.

Hua Qian came to the house outside the city overnight and found Mr. and Mrs. Li. Seeing that Hua Qian was not a good person, the couple had no choice but to tell the truth. Hua Rongzhou did set a fire and burned the head of the Li family to death, and the dirty things in the Li family were indeed true. They originally wanted to live a good life in Huiyang County, but someone specially sought them out. Now, they said it was not true, and they were not true even if they didn't say it. They were really in a dilemma and had no choice but to hide in this deserted house in the wilderness. Hua Qian seemed to understand something, and her eyes became moist for a moment.

Outside the deserted house, Mu Yao has been waiting here for a long time. She told Hua Qian that the Mu family would never target the Hua family again in the future. Hua Qian also made peace with him, and from then on the two families were just strangers. After returning home, Hua Qian sold off a lot of his family property and exchanged it for money to keep. But Hua Wenang didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave Huangcheng. He seemed to be hiding something from Hua Qian.