Episode Summary
In this episode, Jin An becomes Li Shuang's official teacher but grows intensely jealous when Crown Prince Su Muyang returns. An assassination attempt on the prince, secretly orchestrated by his brother Su Muli, fails. The Emperor then commands Su Muli to oversee a ritual sacrifice of Su Muyang in Lu City.
Spoiler Alert
Jin An's Status Anxiety
A Desperate Attempt at Memory
Jin An is spiraling again. He still doesn't have an official title with Li Shuang. The Crown Prince's visit is making everything worse. He goes to Lu Xin to complain. She tells him the hard truth. He can't compete with the Crown Prince's shared past with Li Shuang. Jin An doesn't even remember his own past.
Lu Xin says she heard about a folk remedy for memory loss. She tries to hypnotize him with a pendant. It's a complete failure. Jin An just ends up throwing up.
A Ceremony and a Blood Oath
Li Shuang catches Jin An sneaking back into the General's Mansion. It turns out she took his earlier joke seriously. She actually prepared a ceremony to officially make him her teacher. She gives him a gift. It's a bead containing a drop of her own blood.
She says the bead will give him peace of mind when she's busy with the Crown Prince. It's her way of showing he's important. He gets overwhelmed and pulls her into a hug.
The Crown Prince Returns
A Staged Attack
Li Shuang goes to greet Crown Prince Su Muyang. He told her to just wait at the camp. She knew better. Ignoring him would have been a breach of royal protocol. Su Muyang is thrilled to see her. Li Shuang, however, is cold and formal.
Suddenly, assassins attack them in the forest. Su Muyang gets stabbed in the back while protecting Li Shuang. She orders her men to take him back to the General's Mansion. Jin An rushes out when he smells blood on her. She tells him she'll explain later and helps Su Muyang inside.
A Confrontation in the Mansion
Su Muyang's wound isn't serious. He mainly wants to use the time to reconnect with Li Shuang. He asks her to call Jin An in to meet him. This goes about as well as you'd expect.
Jin An's eyes are locked on a small cut on Li Shuang's hand. He glares at Su Muyang with pure resentment. He announces he isn't some random servant. He is Li Shuang's one and only teacher. Before anyone can react, he grabs Li Shuang to go bandage her hand.
We learn why things are so tense. Three years ago, Su Muyang was forced into an arranged marriage. Li Shuang returned a hairpin he had given her, ending things between them. He had hoped to finally give it back to her on this trip. Later, Li Shuang scolds Jin An for his behavior. She reminds him that Su Muyang is the Crown Prince. Protecting him is part of her job.
A Plot to Sacrifice a Prince
The Emperor's Orders
The assassination attempt was planned by the other prince, Su Muli. His men warn him that Li Shuang is Su Muyang's weakness. The Emperor finds out about the attack and is furious. He tells Su Muli he was too hasty.
The Emperor sends Su Muli to Lu City with a new mission. He is to oversee a ritual sacrifice. The person being sacrificed is Su Muyang. The plan is to cut his heart out on an altar. The Emperor gives Su Muli a knife to "help" his brother along if he resists.
Su Muli's Own Game
Su Muli has his own plans, though. He doesn't believe in the sacrifice ritual. But he knows that for his own ambitions to succeed, Su Muyang cannot die on the day of the ceremony. He's plotting to change the game entirely.
The episode ends with Su Muyang rewarding the troops. Li Shuang brings him medicine for his wound. He's heartbroken over how cautious and distant she has become with him.
