Episode Summary
Xiao Ying reveals a traumatic past involving a fire and hypnotizes Ling Cang Cang to kill Xiao Huan. Cang Cang attacks him but resists at the last moment, injuring him instead. While helping him recover, she learns he's hiding a secret "truth" from her. The episode ends with a massive family fight between Xiao Huan, his sister, and his mother, revealing deep cracks in the royal family.
Spoiler Alert
Then, things get even weirder. Xiao Ying starts painting a picture for Cang Cang. The painting shows a woman trapped in a massive fire. Cang Cang guesses this is something that happened to Xiao Ying. She's right. Xiao Ying doesn't deny it. Instead, she turns around and shows Cang Cang a huge, awful scar on her back and neck.
Xiao Ying finally explains. When they were kids, she loved playing with her brother, Xiao Huan. A fire broke out. She was trapped. She thought her big brother would come save her. He never did. The fire was put out, but he never showed up. After dropping that bombshell, Xiao Ying pulls out a bottle and uses it to drug Ling Cang Cang, who passes out.
The Hypnotized Assassin
Word gets back to Xiao Huan that the Empress fainted in the Cold Palace. The palace maids are panicking. They have no idea why she was even there.
What they don't know is that Xiao Ying didn't just knock her out. She hypnotized her. The goal is simple and brutal. She wants Cang Cang to assassinate the emperor when he least expects it.
Later, Xiao Huan is asleep by his bed. Under Xiao Ying's influence, triggered by the sound of a bell, Cang Cang suddenly gets up. She grabs a sword from the room. She lunges straight for the emperor.
Xiao Huan wakes up just in time. He grabs the blade with his bare hand, getting a nasty cut. He can tell Cang Cang is fighting the control. He knows she doesn't actually want to hurt him. He tries to talk to her, to snap her out of it. But Cang Cang is weak, and the strain is too much. She collapses. Xiao Huan immediately orders his men to keep the entire incident a secret. He then quietly summons the State Preceptor to treat his wound.
A Secret Treatment and a Confession
The State Preceptor, Du Tingxin, goes to see Ling Cang Cang afterward. Cang Cang feels terrible when she learns what she did under hypnosis. Du Tingxin then shares her own story. She tells Cang Cang that her own family used to abuse her. It was Xiao Huan who saved her. He gave her the powerful position of State Preceptor, and she owes him everything.
Cang Cang isn't convinced. She still sees Xiao Huan as a selfish person who only cares about his power. But Du Tingxin makes a good point. She tells Cang Cang that even while hypnotized, she managed to resist enough to not kill the emperor. That proves her heart still belongs to him.
Later, Cang Cang worries about Xiao Huan's injury but tries to act like she doesn't care. Physician Li is called back to the palace to treat the emperor. The physician tells Xiao Huan his condition is serious. To suppress the "cold poison" in his system, he needs help from a woman with very strong internal energy.
Just then, Cang Cang tries to enter the room. Xiao Huan panics and tries to stop her, not wanting the physician to find out. But Physician Li lets her in. Cang Cang learns that Xiao Huan was seriously injured because of her. She immediately agrees to use her energy to help him suppress the poison. During the treatment, Xiao Huan is unconscious. He starts muttering in his sleep. He talks about a promise he made to someone. A promise to never tell Ling Cang Cang the truth. This makes Cang Cang pause. She realizes that despite all his lies, maybe there's some genuine feeling there after all.
The Emperor's Family Drama
Xiao Huan recovers enough to go confront his sister, Xiao Ying. She acts completely unbothered, just mixing her medicinal powders. He gets angry and kicks over all her jars. They start to argue.
Right on cue, the Empress Dowager shows up. She immediately starts defending Xiao Ying. This just makes Xiao Huan angrier. He calls his mother incompetent. He says she might as well just hand over the Phoenix Seal to the Empress. Then he delivers the final blow. He says that if it weren't for that fire all those years ago, Xiao Ying wouldn't be the way she is now. The Empress Dowager's face falls. It's clear he hit a nerve.
Watching all this, Cang Cang has a moment of understanding. She finally gets why Xiao Huan is so cold and ruthless. In the palace, even the bonds between a mother and child or a brother and sister are incredibly fragile.
Physician Li checks on Xiao Huan again. He's furious. He tells the emperor that if he keeps stressing himself out like this, he's going to die. But there's a sliver of good news. Physician Li says he's found a lead on a special ingredient. It could be the key to a medicine that has a 70 percent chance of curing the cold poison for good.
