Dear readers, have you watched the Story of Kunning Palace drama? This Story of Kunning Palace Ending Explained post is for those who are curious about what happened to Jiang Xue Ning and Xie Wei, or those who want to know the ending for Xue Yuan. Did he manage to outdo Xie Wei? Don’t worry, my friend, the finale was a good and happy ending. So, let’s get started. Happy reading!
Story of Kunning Palace Ending Explained
What Happened to Xie Wei?
Xie Wei was born Xue Ding Fei, the eldest son and heir of Duke Xue. His parents were Madam Yan and Xue Yuan. Yan Mu was his uncle, and Yan Lin was his younger cousin. Twenty years ago, Xue Ding Fei used his life as a substitute for the Crown Prince’s life. He had always been a person of integrity since his childhood. Moreover, Shen Lang was his best friend. He was not afraid of death.
However, everything changed when Xue Yuan decided to sacrifice Xue Ding Fei just to gain a reputation in the turmoil. Xue Ding Fei, who is intelligent, understood his father’s intentions when Xue Yuan aimed his arrow at him. Fortunately, before the arrow could hit him, Lord Pingnan rescued Xue Ding Fei and took him away.
Lord Pingnan intentionally left Xue Ding Fei’s jade pendant behind to make it seem as though the boy died during the conflict. He raised Xue Ding Fei while keeping his identity a secret. To confuse others, Lord Pingnan took in a young beggar and had him pose as Xue Ding Fei. Meanwhile, the real Xue Ding Fei changed his name to Xie Wei and later became Dujun the Hermit, Lord Pingnan’s strategist.
In order to lure Xie Wei, Lord Pingnan kidnapped Jiang Xue Ning. Xie Wei endured all the beatings to cover up his plan to deceive Lord Pingnan. When Lord Pingnan asked Xie Wei to arrange for the Yan Army to attack several cities, Xie Wei agreed.
Although Yan Mu doubted it, he realized that Xie Wei must have another plan, so he complied with the request. Xie Wei secretly communicated with Yan Mu and his men to plan the assassination of Lord Pingnan during the Dragon Boat Festival.
But at the banquet, Lord Pingnan intended to kill Jiang Xue Ning as a warning to Xie Wei. To save her, Xie Wei stabbed his own hand. Afterward, a commotion broke out as Yan Lin came to attack Lord Pingnan’s residence. The infuriated lord tried to kill Xie Wei, but Jiang Xue Ning managed to stab him in the heart, sending him to his death.
Not long after the news of Lord Pingnan’s death reached the court, the emperor sent Zhang Zhe to the front line under the pretext of rewarding Xie Wei. In reality, the emperor was testing him and Yan Mu. He needed to know whether they would stage a rebellion or not. Xie Wei already predicted it, so he already made a plan with Yan Mu and Yan Lin. However, one thing he failed to predict is his jealousy of Zhang Zhe.
Xie Wei was extremely jealous when Jiang Xue Ning spent some time alone with Zhang Zhe. They talked in a pavilion and watched the rain. To vent his anger, Xie Wei forcibly kissed Jiang Xue Ning after arguing with her. Jiang Xue Ning refused at first, but after he whispered that he wanted her, Jiang Xue Ning gave in. The two of them spent an intimate night together, unaware of the commotion caused by Jian Shu and Lu Xian outside the room.
After the wave of pleasure has subsided, Xie Wei asked Jiang Xue Ning to marry him. Jiang Xue Ning was shocked and could not answer. In the morning, Xie Wei decided to avoid her and hid in the barracks in an absent-minded state.
Later, they planned their return to the capital. Xie Wei, Yan Mu, and Yan Lin decided to separate. Yan Mu would stay at the border, while Xie Wei and Yan Lin would return to the capital with Zhang Zhe.
On the day they arrived at the palace, Xie Wei, Yan Lin, and Zhang Zhe were surrounded by Xue Ye and the Xingwu guard. Xue Ye informed them that the Xue family planned to stage a palace coup and pin the blame on the Yan family.
Yan Lin valiantly fought with the Xingwu guards to give Xie Wei and Zhang Zhe time to go to the Imperial Study under Jian Shu’s protection. However, Xue Yuan and his Xingwu guard blocked them again before the three of them could reach their destination.
Xue Yuan exposed Xie Wei’s real identity as Xue Ding Fei. Xie Wei exposed Xue Yuan’s involvement in the murder of 300 loyal souls of Qian 20 years ago. Knowing that there was no way Xie Wei would cooperate with him, Xue Yuan commanded the Xingwu guards to attack Xie Wei. In the midst of this crisis, Yan Lin arrived with archers and soldiers from the Yan Army.
Xue Yuan realized he had fallen into a trap and attempted to attack Xie Wei, but Dao Qin’s arrow stopped him. Xie Wei then told Xue Yuan that he was too busy planning to kill the emperor and observing Xie Wei and the Yan family. He overlooked the fact that Xie Wei and the emperor had planned everything before Xie Wei went to the border. Their intentions were to eradicate the corrupt Xue family and destroy Lord Pingnan’s power.
Back then, Xie Wei revealed his identity as Xue Ding Fei and told the emperor what truly happened 20 years ago. Later the Emperor went along with Xie Wei’s plan while pretending to be sickly and weak to deceive the Xue family.
The Emperor issued a secret edict to pardon the Yan family. They secretly disintegrated Lord Pingnan’s power. Swiftly dealing with all the dangers surrounding the throne. Ultimately, Xie Wei aimed to remove his enemies and redress the injustice suffered by the martyrs and civilians 20 years ago.
When Xie Wei was stunned by the sight of Jiang Xue Ning, Xue Yuan stabbed him. Luckily, Xie Wei survived. Yet, even in such a dire situation, Xie Wei managed to make Jiang Xue Ning agree to marry him.
Four years later, the Emperor died. emperor passed away. Little Prince took the throne. Xie Wei was appointed to be the prime minister of the court. Yan Mu, Gu Chun Feng, and Yao Qing Yu became the ministers of duty.
Xie Wei happily married Jiang Xue Ning and was blessed with twins: a little boy with a temper like Jiang Xue Ning and a little girl who was calm like Xie Wei. They lived in a secluded mountain courtyard surrounded by trees. Xie Wei was no longer afraid of cats but his jealousy towards Zhang Zhe remained.
What Happened to Jiang Xue Ning?
After Xue Shu whipped her in the palace, Jiang Xue Ning decided to give up her life. She was thinking of returning to her hometown. Xie Wei was the only one against her plan. When he heard of her intention to leave the capital, Xie Wei exploded in anger and fell into a coma for days.
Lyu Xian found a way to convince Jiang Xue Ning to take care of Xie Wei. He told her that Xie Wei was not the person she thought he was. After listening to the whole story, Jiang Xue Ning’s mind wavered. Xie Wei went to her house to inform her that the Prince of Yue had attacked Shen Zhi Yi’s wedding procession and had taken her with him.
Jiang Xue Ning requested Xie Wei bring her along on the rescue mission. At first, Xie Wei refused because it was too dangerous, but he couldn’t win her argument. So, Jiang Xue Ning pretended to leave for her hometown, but instead, she happily joined Xie Wei at the border.
They managed to save Shen Zhi Yi at the border, but later, Jiang Xue Ning was kidnapped by Lord Pingnan to lure Xie Wei. They pretended to be a couple and stayed at the mansion to deceive the lord. During their stay, Jiang Xue Ning began to open up to Xie Wei.
After Zhang Zhe arrived, Jiang Xue Ning met him accidentally in a pavilion during the rain. They talked about the situation in the capital and the court. Jiang Xue Ning disagreed with Zhang Zheng’s words and defended Xie Wei.
However, Jiang Xue Ning was unaware that she had raised her voice and ended up scolding Zhang Zhe. It was only after noticing his shocked expression that she realized what she had done. She left the pavilion and went to Xie Wei’s room.
Xie Wei knew that she had a meeting with Zhang Zhe at the pavilion and became jealous. He vented his anger, but in the end, he kissed her forcibly. Jiang Xue Ning was stunned when she heard him say that he wanted her. She gave in and they ended up in bed together.
Jiang Xue Ning feared marriage due to the past tragedy in her life. When Xie Wei proposed to her, she couldn’t respond. The next day, the bed beside her was empty. Xie Wei disappeared for a day, obviously avoiding her. The matter of marriage was set aside when they planned to return to the capital.
When Xie Wei went to the palace, Jiang Xue Ning, Lyu Xian, and Dao Qin went to the Xue Mansion to rescue You Fang Yin. They found her in the dungeon, and Zhou Yin Zhi took her hostage. It was only then that Jiang Xue Ning realized that Zhou Yin Zhi had betrayed her. Zhou Yin Zhi killed You Fang Yin. And he ended up dying at the hands of Lyu Xian.
Jiang Xue Ning rushed to the palace and saw corpses strewn all over the corridors. Eventually, she found Xie Wei after he had talked to Xue Yuan. As he turned around and was stunned to see her, Xue Yuan took the opportunity to kill Xie Wei. Jiang Xue Ning was terrified when she saw Xue Yuan leap at Xie Wei, and a split second later, Xie Wei fell to the ground.
She ran towards the unconscious Xie Wei and cried. Jiang Xue Ning begged him not to leave her alone and promised to spend the future with him. In the end, Jiang Xue Ning said she would marry him if Xie Wei woke up. That’s when Xie Wei finally opened his eyes. He said that he had heard everything she said and asked Jiang Xue Ning not to go back on her words.
Jiang Xue Ning cried louder but this time it was because she was relieved. She looked him in the eyes and proposed marriage to him. After Xie Wei agreed, she kissed him while Yan Lin, Dao Qin, Jiang Shu, and the Yan soldiers blushed. The only person who saw them and felt heartbroken was Zhang Zhe.
What happened to Xue Yuan and Xue Shu?
Xue Yuan found out Xie Wei’s true identity only after Lord Pingnan exposed it himself. Xue Yuan realized that Xie Wei had been targeting the Xue family all along. He asked for Empress Dowager’s support to continue his plan to assassinate the Emperor and push Shen Jie to become the next Emperor. The Empress Dowager hesitated because, after all, Shen Lang was also her son.
Xue Yuan became impatient and went to Xue Shu. They teamed up to plot the Emperor’s assassination. Xue Yuan would handle the court and Xie Wei, while Xue Shu would poison the Emperor. She made several attempts but failed.
They planned to execute the mission on the day Xie Wei returned to the capital. Xue Yuan went to Taiji Hall with a fabricated edict and announced that the emperor had passed away. However, the court members were not easily swayed, especially Gu Chun Feng, who noticed something was amiss with the announcement.
After Xue Ye failed to stop Xie Wei, Xue Yuan would have to stop Xie Wei himself, so he left the Taiji Hall after ordering the Xingwu guards to detain the court members.
While this was happening, Xue Shu went to see the sleeping Emperor under the pretext of delivering medicine that had been poisoned. Since the emperor was asleep, she couldn’t make him drink it. So Xue Shu had to find another way and came up with the idea of strangling the Emperor. She had the belt around the Emperor’s neck when he suddenly grabbed her hand.
Xue Shu was startled because she thought the emperor was unconscious. She quickly knelt down and tried to think of a reason. However, Huang De led a group of eunuchs to arrest the bewildered Xue Shu.
Xue Yuan died at the hands of Yan Lin and Dao Qin after he stabbed Xie Wei. Until he met his death, Xue Yuan never felt any affection or remorse for Xue Ding Fei (Xie Wei). He even cruelly stated that he would have made the same decision if he had to go back to 20 years ago.
After it was all over, the Emperor punished the Xue family members. Madam Xue and Xue Ye were banished to Huangzhou and were forbidden to return. The Empress Dowager was punished to guard the imperial tomb and was also forbidden to return.
Xue Yuan had already passed away, and Xue Shu, who attempted to assassinate the emperor, was given a cup of poison to drink. As she refused to drink it, Huang De had to force her and Xue Shu died alone on the cold floor.
What Happened to Yan Lin, Zhang Zhe, and Shen Zhi Yi?
Yan Lin learned Xie Wei’s identity as Xue Ding Fei from his father, Yan Mu. He was elated to learn that the teacher he respected was actually his brother. When they reunited at the border, Yan Lin promptly pledged his loyalty and was ready to fight side by side with Xie Wei.
Yan Lin still loved and cared for Jiang Xue Ning. However, he knew that Jiang Xue Ning and Xie Wei shared mutual affection. When Yan Mu asked Yan Lin about his thoughts on the two of them, Yan Lin said that Jiang Xue Ning and Xie Wei had gone through many things together. Xie Wei did not steal her from him. She simply never chose him. However, it was Jiang Xue Ning’s right to choose without having to explain to anyone. Yan Mu was proud of his son.
Therefore, when Yan Lin saw Jiang Xue Ning kiss Xie Wei at the palace, he did not feel heartbroken or sad. He genuinely felt happy for the two of them.
And I genuinely loved Yan Lin… he was soooo sweet.
Zhang Zhe finally figured out his feelings for Jiang Xue Ning. They spent a long time in a pavilion during the rain. However, the friendly conversation turned into a heated argument. Later, when Jiang Xue Ning was leaving the pavilion, he asked if she had given her heart to Xie Wei. Jiang Xue Ning answered that she indeed loved him.
Zhang Zhe watched sadly as she left the pavilion. After the Xue family was defeated, Zhang Zhe still worked as a court official. He was famous for revising the law, and even Xie Tian (Xie Wei and Jiang Xue Ning’s son) admired him and wanted to be his disciple.
Shen Zhi Yi was filled with joy when she finally freed herself from the clutches of the Prince of Yue and reunited with Jiang Xue Ning. However, after the arranged married matter, she lost all hope for her family. She wanted to live as Shen Zhi Yi instead of Princess Le Yang. Shen Zhi Yi helped Jiang Xue Ning resolve the doubts in her heart, acknowledge her feelings for Xie Wei, and lift the burden of her past life.
Many years later, Shen Zhi Yi still maintained a friendship with Jiang Xue Ning and was fond of her children.
My Two Cent
I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Xie Wei interact with his kids. He could be called a shameless dad. I feel sorry for Tian, who is always picked on by his father. However, since he is quite playful like his mom, I don’t have to worry too much about his situation.
The plot of Story of Kunning Palace drama was complicated. However, I enjoyed the ending. Especially because there were more Yan Lin scenes.
And how about you, dear readers, are you satisfied with this drama as well? I hope you enjoy this Story of Kunning Palace Ending Explained post. Anyway, it’s time for me to start a new one. I’ll see you in another posts of drama review and ending explained. Ciao!!
