Where the Mask Ends episode 9 recap: The ancestral rites trap

In short

Han Liao blackmails A Chou into helping frame the Lu family. She plays along, warns Lu Zhuo without saying a word, and the trap closes on Han Liao instead.

What happens in episode 9

Han Liao wants hidden gold ritual vessels found in the Lu shrine, which would ruin the family. A Chou agrees, but hides a warning to her sister Hong Xian in a story only they know.

She lets Han Liao's man into the shrine, then stays up pacing and takes a jade ritual piece so Lu Zhuo will check the vessels. He finds the hidden gold, waits, and watches the spy send a pigeon. Qi Zhongkai rescues her mother and brother.

At the rites, Han Liao brings Prince Rong and Hong Xian to unmask her. A Chou calls an older woman 'my lady' as if she were the heir's wife, Hong Xian repeats it, and it looks like Hong Xian can't even recognize her. Hong Xian turns on Han Liao.

No gold is found and the spy is exposed. A Chou hits Han Liao with a ritual vessel, and the Lu family beats Prince Rong and Han Liao. Consort Li asks the Emperor to summon Lu Zhuo's new wife.

Why it matters

It is the first time A Chou and Lu Zhuo win together, without saying it out loud.

Based on the official episode synopsis, summarized in our own words: Baidu Baike: official synopsis, episode synopses, cast and 追剧日历