Rise of the Iron Empress on Pine Drama Recap

Rise of the Iron Empress

Pine Drama

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Rowan is supposed to pick from three men her father has selected for her to marry. On the day they return from battle, she finds out that the one she actually loves, Zane Kane, loves her servant and is secretly plotting against her. He only wants to marry her to get her title, dowry, and rewards. Then he will force her to accept Elara, and if she doesn’t, he will divorce her. The other two suitors seemed to hate her as well and are on Elara’s side. So even if she doesn’t pick Zane, they won’t marry her, leaving her with no choice. Hurt, Rowan hatches a plan that will turn their worlds upside down while getting her revenge on all of them for their betrayal. 

Rowan, overhearing this and her heart breaking, decides to marry the crown prince instead. She secretly tells her father to make the arrangements. Her father objects at first, in fear that she will not be happy because he has heard the prince is cold and may not even like girls. He also says she will not live the life of the Prince’s wife and that he might be ugly because he never shows his face. She emphasizes that her life will not be any better if she marries one of the commoners he has chosen. Little do they know, the Prince is already in love with her. She saved him as a child, and he has loved her ever since. 

Zane is rude to her, treating her like she doesn’t have a say in anything and expecting her to be. She comes in to talk to them while they are in the courtyard and we see how arrogant they actually are because they think she has no choice but to marry one of them. 

They flash back to how they met Elara. She was a refugee in an enemy camp and was being attacked. Zane saved her, and she pledged her life to him. Ro didn’t agree, but he disregarded her. In the present day, she is doing the good old tactics of playing the victim and making it seem like Ro is abusing her when in truth she is the villain. But Zane believes her, prompting Ro to admit that she regrets ever letting her stay.

Another flashback where Zane is being arrogant and thinking he is saving Elara by taking her servitude document. But it was actually one that registered her to be a courtesan for life. At the time, Ro was trying to do the right thing and get rid of it, but Zane took it without being aware. Ro decided to let things go and see what happens. 

Ro says she can’t stay, Zane says she will, and they fight. Zane kicks her. 

Ro realizes that Elara was trying to get at her father, the Marshal, and because Zane doesn’t want to believe it, he accuses Rowan of being the promiscuous one. They go on to say that because Ro has been around men in battle, she is out there giving away her cookies instead of being a true troop leader. He believes women can’t truly lead. 

The three of them are arrogant and ungrateful for the fact that the Marshal took them in and raised them. Ro tries to tell them that she isn’t going to marry either of them, but they don’t believe her. Zane confessed that he loves Elara and will marry her, and there’s nothing Ro can do about it. He then tells her that when he’s her husband, he will teach her how to behave. 

The day of the announcement, they come to arrest Elara because of her true registrations. Elara, Zane and the others continue to spread rumors about her, saying that because she was in the Army, she is the one who has been sleeping around and that she’s jealous of Elara. 

Once again, Zane fights her because of Elara. Just as he is about to strike Ro in the face, she is saved by the crown Prince. When the prince gets there, he is upset that they brought a courtesan to the capital. Zane says it was a setup; the authorities say it was not. The prince says fine; he will allow Elara to be Zane’s primary wife. Zane does not want that because he won’t get the same benefits from marrying Ro. 

They still think Rowan has to marry one of them, so they continue to talk and act recklessly. They have sworn Elara as their sister, and Zane will be her husband. Ro lets them know in no uncertain terms that they will not get a head connected to a courtsean, especially after the public declarations. 

After they officially announce that Rowan is marrying the Prince, everyone is shocked. Zane asks about her father’s army, and she’s like, they have been absorbed into the crown’s military, so the titles Zane, Nathaniel and Ryan have are no longer significant. Checkmate!

Zane is still trying to get his way even in front of the crown prince. 

Nathaniel and Ryan have been stripped of their command as Deputy Commanders and will become regular guards. While Zane will retain his command, he will be in charge of security but not lead troops, which is an insult as well. 

Prince flirts in the carriage with Rowan before they leave. 

Marshall's angry at the three men and has them get 50 lashes. They still disrespect Ro though,  and she tells them she is showing them mercy by keeping them alive

Zane still thinks Rowan loves him and is just being difficult to make them yield. Meanwhile, Elara is trying to make the best of her situation. She is showing her true colors as a user and courtesan. 

Zane provokes the prince to remove his mask, getting the people involved thinking he has had the upper hand, but the prince is not ugly under the mask at all, like they thought. On the wedding night, Rowan tells the prince that she will keep his secret because she thinks he actually likes men. He clears it up. 

Before they can do the do, Rowan gets hungry, and they go on a mission to find food. She changes clothes and looks like a man, so the three stooges think they are going to catch the prince with a guy. Meanwhile, he is basically confessing his love to Rowan and telling her that he will help her go for her dreams. 

Prince’s mother is not happy with Rowan, thinking she is not good enough for the prince because there was a report of her talking with Kane. She also had other women select for the Prince to marry but he was never interested. In order to have Ro prove herself, she tasks her with putting on a banquet for her. 

During the banquet, Rowan performs for the queen, and they insult her because she is dressed like a man. Zane antagonizes the mother, making her continue to go against Rowan and make disparaging remarks towards her. Rowan faints after her dance. The doctor comes and announces that Rowan is pregnant. Zane still believes that they saw the prince with a man instead of with his wife. His mother also thinks he was with a man, and the baby is not his. Prince tells her that ever since she saved him, he’s been in love with Rowan. And if he wants to cut ties, they can. We never see the mother again. 

The three stooges are now plotting to have her miscarry. They get Elara to give her a tonic, and then they hear she was having a miscarriage. Then Zane said she lost the baby because she would mysteriously cause animals to die, and people were to stay away from her as a child. They said since it was her fault, she should be punished and banished. But in truth, she suspected they were up to no good, did not truly drink the tea and didn’t miscarry. They found out it was Elera. She didn’t admit to having accomplishments, and Zane never admitted his part in helping her out. When she realized he was not going to speak up for her, Elara changed her mind and told the truth that Zane was the mastermind. 

Elara never really loved Zane. They are banished, and they are killed by bandits. Nathanial and Ryan are stripped of their post completely, became beggars, and ended up with fatal infections and died. Rowan and the Prince have a child together and make political headway by changing some of the old ideals about women in politics and the military. They rule together as a unit. 

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