Episode Summary
Ling Cangcang's plan to drug Xiao Huan to fool the Empress Dowager backfires, but Xiao Huan turns it into a strategic play to protect her. He publicly punishes her while secretly feeling guilty. Meanwhile, his brother, Xiao Qianqing, returns to the capital and survives an assassination attempt connected to a man named Song Lanxi. Cangcang discovers a secret about her jade token in the Cold Palace and confronts Xiao Huan about his true feelings, which she rejects as too painful.
Spoiler Alert
The Honey Trap
A Drink with an Agenda
The episode kicks off with Ling Cangcang. She invites Emperor Xiao Huan for a drink. You and I both know she’s up to something. Xiao Huan knows it too. But he shows up anyway. He just can't seem to stay away from her.
She already has the wine poured when he arrives. She hands him a cup. He looks at it for a second. You can see the flicker of nervousness on her face. He smirks a little. Then he downs the whole cup without hesitating. He immediately asks her what she put in it. Cangcang is stunned. She asks him why he drank it if he knew it was drugged.
The Real Plan
The drug starts to work. Xiao Huan feels his old "cold poison" acting up. He realizes she didn't try to kill him. She just triggered his condition. Her goal was to force him to stay the night. She thinks this will make Empress Dowager Liu believe she has influence over the Emperor. It's all a play to get the Phoenix Seal.
Xiao Huan tells her this is a bad plan. The Empress Dowager will never hand over the seal just because he spent a night here. Cangcang doesn't care. He then asks her if this means she's forgiven him for everything that happened before. She avoids his gaze and says she has. She insists this is just about surviving the Empress Dowager's politics.
She even suggests they team up. Her father served him for years. The Empress Dowager is their common enemy. He wants the throne secure. She wants her own goals met. It makes sense to work together.
The Counter-Move
Xiao Huan still doesn't trust her. Just as he's about to press her for a real answer, he hears something. It's a spy sent by the Empress Dowager. He acts fast. He sweeps everything off the table with a crash. He makes it look like he's furious with Cangcang.
Cangcang gets it. This is theater. The spy will report back that the Emperor can't stand her. The Empress Dowager will think Cangcang is no threat. She'll let her guard down. Soon after, an official decree arrives. Xiao Huan has ordered Cangcang to be confined to her quarters for "reflection." She accepts the punishment without a fight.
Her father, Ling Xuefeng, hears the news and rushes to the palace. He's a sly old fox. He understands the Emperor's move was actually to protect his daughter. But he also knows the Empress Dowager won't just sit back and do nothing.
Xiao Huan knows he used Cangcang again. He feels guilty. He sends her a gift of calligraphy. This just makes her angrier. She makes sarcastic comments about him right in front of the eunuch who brought it.
New Players and Old Secrets
A Prince Returns
We meet some new faces. Zhong Lin is traveling to the capital. He's with Prince Yu Zhang, who is Xiao Huan's brother, Xiao Qianqing. The prince thinks Zhong Lin's status could be useful. He knows his royal brother has some tricks waiting for him back home.
Their journey isn't quiet. They get ambushed by assassins. Zhong Lin and Xiao Qianqing team up to fight them off. The assassins are skilled, but they're outnumbered and eventually flee. Xiao Qianqing notes they were clearly well-trained professionals. He then proudly explains this is exactly why he's making such a loud, public return to the capital. He's drawing his enemies out.
Then they get a report. A man named Song Lanxi has been found, barely alive. Xiao Qianqing knows this is trouble. He can't let the Emperor blame him for failing to protect someone on the road. He needs a good story, fast.
Secrets in the Cold Palace
Cangcang goes to the Cold Palace. The piece of jade her master gave her starts to react to something inside. She goes in to investigate. She meets a woman named Xiao Ying. Xiao Ying hates Xiao Huan, and Cangcang quickly agrees she hates him too.
Xiao Ying tells Cangcang to kill the Emperor. Cangcang hesitates for a moment. That hesitation tells Xiao Ying everything. She knows Cangcang won't do it. Cangcang turns the tables. She demands to know what Xiao Ying knows about the jade.
She gets her answer, though we don't hear it. Cangcang leaves, wondering why her master would give her something so important.
A Painful Confession
Love and Politics
Cangcang is back in her rooms, drinking and thinking. Xiao Huan shows up to join her. She confronts him directly. She says he's just using her as a pawn to control her father. The accusation clearly hurts him.
He tells her his feelings for her are real. Cangcang rejects this. She says a love like his is too painful. She doesn't want it. While this is happening, Xiao Ying finds them. She sees the tension and finally understands. Cangcang has feelings for Xiao Huan. That's the real reason she won't kill him.
Elsewhere, Ling Xuefeng gives an order to his assassin, Luo Xianxue. He wants Song Lanxi killed. He says Song Lanxi himself isn't important. But his master is Li Chengtian. The job must be done, and it must be flawless.
The episode ends with Cangcang standing outside. She sees a pattern left for her. She smiles. Someone is summoning her for a secret meeting.
