American Perspectives: Confirming Ma Zhaixing's True Identity ("The Wolf" Ep 32-33)

Ma Zhaixing is in a really bad position at the moment.  During a fight with Prince Bo where he kept provoking her to shoot him, she finally did, but his brother the 4th Prince, stepped in, blocked the arrow, and took the injury.  (We later learn he did that for a damn good reason).  Prince Bo is pissed, and all sense of rationality is out the window.  Now, he is out for blood, instead of thinking that he needs to be dead in order to satisfy his debt to Ma Zhaixing.

Another cause of Ma Zhaixing's crappy position: she tried to bring in an imposter of the King Of Qitan's childhood love interest, Princess Pingyuan of the Jin Kingdom.  Princess Pingyuan has been dead for about as long as Ma Zhaixing has been alive (more on that later).  Prince Bo uncovered the lie very quickly, leaving Ma Zhaixing in an even more compromised position.  So, Ji Chong is pulling out all the stops in order to keep this situation from getting any worse.  He intercepts the artist who supposed to confirm that the Princess Pingyuan imposter is indeed a fake.  Instead, he finds out something that will turn the tables in Ma Zhaixing's favor: The real Princess Pingyuan was Ma Zhaixing's deceased mother.

She was pregnant with Zhaixing during the war between the Yang and Jin kingdoms, when General Ma of the Yang Kingdom rescued her and took her as his concubine.  He raised Ma Zhaixing as his own, which is why she never had any suspicions or questions about where she came from.

The King of Qitan and Prince Bo are both just ready to end it all for Ma Zhaixing when Ji Chong bursts in with the artist.  There is a lot of back and forth about how the portrait of Princess Pingyuan does not necessarily mean she is Ma Zhaixing's mother.  It is looking to be an uphill climb until Ma Zhaixing opens her bell and reveals three culturally significant pieces of jade exclusive and distinctive to Princess Pingyuan.  The alliance between Qitan and the Yang Kingdom is now compromised (not eliminated, but Yang Kingdom no longer has the advantage), and Jin Kingdom has the upper hand.

Good for Ma Zhaixing!  Being the deceased Princess' daughter is a blessing, and it gives her just the authority she needs to move forward.  Plus, Prince Bo is being a dick, and he needs to be put in his place.