The scene shifted.
Having reclaimed Huofeng Fortress, Lu Shi returned to his long-lost hometown. In the house where he grew up, he and Yi Hua—his crush—were looking after the infant Chu Tongshang together.
But nearby, a large group of black-clad assassins slowly approached.
The Northern Lie Kingdom army had already been repelled—so where were all these people coming from? Who still wanted Lu Shi dead?
The answer came quickly as the scene cut to the capital. There, Li Yong calmly revealed the truth.
These masked assassins were his people, planted in the army. Otherwise, how could they know Lu Shi's whereabouts so clearly?
Lu Shi sensed something was off. His expression calm, he shut the door and locked Yi Hua inside.
Then, sword in hand, he stepped outside to face the incoming assassins alone.
He couldn't let them get inside.
Xiang Fan's eyes widened.
No way.
You're not actually doing this, are you?
Su Yan, you scoundrel… you're not going to kill him off, are you?
And then—
Xiang Fan remembered something.
Back in episode one of 'An Ancient Love Song', Shen Buyan encountered Yi Hua in the palace. She was dressed in all-white mourning clothes. Shen even commented on it, offering condolences.
In ancient Sheng customs, someone who lost their beloved would wear white for ten years.
"Wait… does that mean… the reason 10 years later Yi Hua wore mourning robes in episode one… is because Lu Shi actually dies here, in episode five?"
Xiang Fan's heart pounded faster.
The next part of the episode was the most intense fight sequence in the entire drama so far.
Lu Shi's character had clearly been modeled after the legendary general Huo Qubing from Su Yan's past life—fearless, peerless in martial strength, a god of war who died young.
Although Su Yan played Shen Buyan, a fragile modern man, for the fight scenes of Lu Shi—
He could absolutely act as the martial arts body double.
In Su Yan's past life, 'An Ancient Love Song' had suffered from a tiny budget, poor production quality, and limp fight choreography.
But now, the screen lit up with visuals that made Xiang Fan's eyes widen in disbelief.
That intense, sharp, 'Rurouni Kenshin'-esque style of action filled the screen.
Lu Shi stood firm against over a hundred assassins attempting to breach the house. His sword wounds piled up, and the enemies even smeared poison on their blades.
But still—Lu Shi fought like a god, unstoppable and valiant.
Xiang Fan finally understood what battle god meant.
But he felt no thrill. No excitement.
Because he knew—Su Yan, the screenwriter, was about to kill off Lu Shi.
The background music.
The tone.
Lu Shi's expression.
All of it reeked of death.
Poisoned, dying, but still standing in front of the door—protecting Yi Hua and the baby Chu Tongshang behind it.
Inside, Yi Hua tried to force her way out, but Lu Shi used his body to block the door. He wouldn't let her open it.
Blood pooled at his feet. The number of assassins fell. Corpses piled up.
It was a tragic and unforgettable scene.
Xiang Fan's eyes turned red.
Lu Shi—there was no doubt—was going to die.
Finally, Shen Buyan and Lu Yuan arrived, having realized something was wrong.
The terrified assassins fled.
Lu Yuan saw it all with her own eyes:
Her brother, his body riddled with arrows and sword wounds, standing tall in front of the door—smiling even as he died.
"What the hell, Su Yan, are you insane?! Was this really necessary?!"
Xiang Fan couldn't help shouting at the screen.
Just last episode had been so sweet—he had finally started shipping Lu Shi and Yi Hua.
And now, in episode five, you stab us in the heart.
On screen, Lu Yuan's pained, howling sobs echoed, accompanied by somber music. Xiang Fan watched, eyes brimming with tears.
Across the Xia Nation, countless viewers sitting in front of their TVs felt the same.
Their anger turned toward two people:
The writer Su Yan,
and
The villain Li Yong.
Lu Shi was his adopted son, for crying out loud!
But just because he saw Lu Shi as a threat, Li Yong sent men to kill him?
And those assassins were soldiers Li Yong had bribed and disguised?
It made perfect sense why Lu Yuan hated him so much in episode one.
He wasn't just a traitor—he murdered her brother.
Thankfully, at least only Lu Shi died.
Lu Yuan was still alive. And she still hadn't become Empress.
Xiang Fan took some small comfort in that.
After all, no drama ever hands out 100% perfect endings that easily.
The show's core storyline was about modern man Shen Buyan time-traveling to change Lu Yuan's fate—her framing, her Empress title as the "demon queen", and her tragic death at 36.
Even if Lu Shi had to die…
But just as Xiang Fan felt a tiny bit of relief, the plot twisted again.
With Lu Shi dead, panic began to ripple through the recently reclaimed Huofeng Fortress.
Civilians wanted to flee.
Why?
Simple. If General Lu Shi were dead, the retreating Beilie army would surely come back.
And with their commander gone, Lu Shi's army was in complete disarray.
At this moment, Lu Yuan was still deep in grief.
But she was the only one who could pull together the troops and civilians and prevent total collapse.
If she didn't take charge now—
Lu Shi would've died for nothing.
"No way… don't tell me—"
Xiang Fan had a sinking feeling.
The story pushed forward.
"Who are you? What right do you have to give orders here?"
The frightened townspeople shouted at Lu Yuan.
The soldiers, too, looked at her with eyes full of doubt.
"I am General Lu Shi's elder sister," she said.
"So what? You're his sister, not the general. Why should we trust you? Who even are you?! Open the gates—we're getting out of here!"
Thanks to a well-funded production, the chaos of war was captured vividly in this version of 'An Ancient Love Song'.
The city was in ruins. Corpses littered the streets. Stray dogs chewed on the dead.
Xiang Fan was furious, but he had to admit—if he were a suffering civilian of Huofeng Fortress, he'd probably want to flee too.
The civilians were panicking.
The soldiers were teetering on the edge of mutiny.
Lu Yuan stood atop the wall, watching it all—her eyes going dim.
The background track "Sigh of the Heartstrings" began to play.
The sorrowful, yet resolute melody instantly made Xiang Fan's eyes tear up.
Lu Yuan's expression shifted:
From hope,
to despair,
to resolve.
Flashbacks appeared.
From her pretending not to know Shen Buyan at the start of this second time-travel,
to replace him as bait and survive the battle to embrace him,
to their post-war promise:
Once Huofeng Fortress was reclaimed and Northern Lie Kingdom repelled, they would return to the capital, hand back the Empress token given by Emperor Yuanqi five years ago, and live peacefully at Nameng Lake forever.
Then—
Her brother's horrific death.
And now—this crumbling city on the brink of collapse.
Xiang Fan was already in tears.
He knew what Lu Yuan was about to do.
"I know that once I take this step, I'll be doomed—just like my brother. Fated to die ten years from now."
Her inner monologue echoed.
These were the things Shen Buyan had told her about the future.
"But since I chose to stand against Li Yong five years ago—since I chose to save this country—I won't regret it. I won't run."
These were words she wished she could say to Shen Buyan, who wasn't present.
"Even when I served in the palace, part of me hoped—hoped that one day, the Emperor would recover. That I would defeat Li Yong's faction and reclaim Sheng's land. And then we… we would build our home by Nameng Lake again."
"But in the end… it was nothing but a dream. A fantasy."
Tears welled up in her eyes. Her expression turned resolute.
She couldn't keep her promise to Shen Buyan anymore.
She pulled out the Empress token and raised it high.
That one motion broke Xiang Fan.
It meant she had chosen to let go of Shen Buyan.
It also meant she had accepted her fate to die ten years from now.
If the cost of changing history—or of being with Shen Buyan—was allowing Li Yong to destroy the nation…
Then she would rather be cursed as a "demon queen",
accept her tragic fate,
and save the people of Huofeng Fortress.
Shen Buyan arrived just then, having sensed something was wrong.
Seeing Lu Yuan—now Empress of Sheng—standing on the city wall, his eyes filled with sorrow.
He had failed to change history.
Lu Yuan became Empress.
Lu Shi was dead.
And many in the city had no idea whether her Empress token was even real.
The people hesitated.
Shen Buyan took a deep breath.
As the Emperor's appointed inspector, he now represented the royal will.
He stood tall, unmoving.
Lu Yuan stood above. Shen Buyan stood below.
Their eyes met.
"Shen Buyan, haven't you seen enough? This fate can't be changed—why keep resisting?"
"Lu Yuan, no matter what fate says—I remember what I told you: I will stay in this world and bring down Li Yong with you. I will not go back on my word!"
They said nothing aloud. But their eyes said everything.
Shen Buyan lowered his gaze, smiled faintly… and knelt.
As a modern man, Shen Buyan held no respect for ancient power structures.
But because he had helped the Emperor in episode two and nagged his way into becoming Inspector, his word carried weight.
Right now, in Huofeng Fortress, he was the voice of the crown.
By kneeling, he recognized Lu Yuan's authority as Empress.
And, more importantly—
He acknowledged her choice.
She must've longed so badly to stay with Shen Buyan.
But compared to the broken citizens of this dying country, she gave up that dream.
The panicked civilians and disorderly soldiers calmed.
All eyes turned to the woman on the wall—
The Empress of Sheng.
Her royal robes flapped in the wind.
Her face—stunning and sorrowful—was firm and resolute.
The music faded.
The ending theme began.
Episode five ends.
Xiang Fan sat on the couch, frozen for several minutes.
Inside, he felt empty.
The past four episodes had built up the doomed, defiant love of Lu Yuan and Shen Buyan amidst the chaos of history.
He thought—maybe this second time-travel could change fate.
But Lu Shi still died.
Lu Yuan still became Empress.
So… is fate unchangeable?
Is this story doomed to end in tragedy?
Xiang Fan clenched his fists.
To hell with fate.
He already couldn't change his fate of being a wage slave in real life.
Now TV dramas were telling him fate couldn't be changed either?
What a joke.
Fate or not—it's just up to the screenwriter's pen!
"Su Yan, you jerk—you haven't even written the ending yet, have you?"
Xiang Fan grabbed his laptop and opened 'An Ancient Love Song's official SakuraNet page.