Love & Crown Episode 8 Recap
> Love & Crown Recaps
Ling Cangcang looked at her Begonia Pendant, which continued to glow, and wondered why it would react if Princess Xiao Ying's poison had been destroyed. She suspected there were still other toxins hidden within the palace. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Liu and Xiao Qianqing went to visit Xiao Ying in the cold palace. Xiao Ying was intently drawing on the ground and only responded when Xiao Qianqing called her name.
She seemed not to recognize Empress Dowager Liu and asked her brother to help her "kill them all." Xiao Qianqing felt great pain for his sister, knowing his mother was the true cause of the Luling Palace fire that scarred her. Empress Dowager Liu, frustrated by Xiao Ying's regression, blamed Emperor Xiao Huan. Xiao Qianqing countered that Xiao Ying's punishment for poisoning the Empress and attempting to assassinate Xiao Huan was already light.
He then pressed his mother, asking if she had always known the truth behind Xiao Ying's condition but chose to keep it from her, fueling her resentment towards Xiao Huan. Enraged, Empress Dowager Liu slapped Xiao Qianqing across the face, accusing him of bearing a grudge against her. Xiao Qianqing assured his mother he had returned to protect her and Xiao Ying, vowing to never forget the injustice his sister suffered.
Elsewhere, Ling Xuefeng was orchestrating a plan to infiltrate the court with his students. Luo Xianxue informed him that Ling Cangcang had gone to the Sword Cottage alone. Realizing Cangcang had not truly let go of her master's death, Ling Xuefeng decided to fabricate a believable "truth" to tell her. Luo Xianxue later found Ling Cangcang at the Sword Cottage, bringing a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green wine to commemorate Li Lu.
Ling Cangcang pointed out that Li Lu never drank that type of wine, indicating Luo Xianxue wasn't truly there to mourn him. She expressed profound guilt for not knowing the cause of her master's death and for failing to clear his name. Under the influence of alcohol, Ling Cangcang mistook Luo Xianxue for Xiao Huan, accusing him of harming her master. In her drunken stupor, she lunged at him with a sword but found herself unable to strike him down.
Luo Xianxue, realizing that despite her anger, Ling Cangcang still harbored feelings for Xiao Huan, found the truth painful. Upon waking, Ling Cangcang asked Luo Xianxue what she had said while drunk, and he reassured her that she hadn't revealed anything significant. They then noticed an inexplicable cold draft and discovered a hidden cellar beneath the forge.
Inside, they found belongings of Li Lu's former love, Tang Tang, and a portrait of a mysterious woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to Cangcang. Most disturbingly, they uncovered a Ghost King mask and a book detailing the Lingbi Sect's secret arts of the "Stone Man." Ling Cangcang vehemently refused to believe that her master, Li Lu, could have been involved with such dark practices.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qianqing informed Zhong Lin that Emperor Xiao Huan had postponed the final imperial examination due to illness, but he suspected Xiao Huan might have an ulterior motive. Zhong Lin panicked, fearing exposure as Song Lanxi's impersonator, a crime punishable by death. To create a plausible excuse for her altered appearance and lack of speech, she arranged to be "attacked by an assassin," injuring her head and neck and wrapping herself in bandages.
Later, at the manor, Xiao Qianqing hosted Xu Feng, a student of Ling Xuefeng, who had brought Physician Liu to treat the supposedly ailing Song Lanxi. Zhong Lin, heavily bandaged and feigning muteness, appeared and awkwardly attempted to write calligraphy. Xiao Qianqing explained that "Song Lanxi" had suffered severe injuries to his head and neck during an assassin attack, damaging his vocal cords and causing him to avoid physical contact. Xu Feng insisted on seeing "Song Lanxi's" calligraphy.
Zhong Lin managed to write a few characters, which Xiao Qianqing presented as a gesture from "Song Lanxi of the Western Garden in Guzhou." Once Xu Feng and Physician Liu departed, Zhong Lin expressed her relief, terrified of the consequences if her impersonation were discovered. Xiao Huan arrived and confronted Xiao Qianqing about allowing Zhong Lin to impersonate Song Lanxi. Xiao Qianqing confessed that Ling Xuefeng had assassinated the real Song Lanxi, forcing him to improvise.
Xiao Huan accused Xiao Qianqing of using Zhong Lin to threaten him. Xiao Qianqing then revealed that the Empress missed Zhong Lin dearly, subtly leveraging her affection to avoid punishment. He also pointed out that exposing Song Lanxi's death would be detrimental to both of them, suggesting they maintain the lie together.
Xiao Huan agreed to cover for Xiao Qianqing on the condition that he persuade Li Chengtian, Song Lanxi's former master and a respected retired official, to re-enter court affairs. Xiao Huan explained that Song Lanxi was merely a pawn to draw out Li Chengtian and see how he would react to the news that Ling Xuefeng had killed his beloved student.
Concurrently, Ling Xuefeng received the calligraphy supposedly written by Song Lanxi and refused to believe his enemy was still alive. He ordered Luo Xianxue to investigate further, while also ensuring all traces of Li Lu's association with their faction were meticulously removed. Ling Xuefeng then pondered Ling Cangcang's determined search for the truth about Li Lu, acknowledging that the painful reality was something she needed to face, even though he knew she currently suspected foul play.
He also learned that Cangcang was now heading directly to the palace. Later, Xiao Huan prepared pear blossom honey for Ling Cangcang. However, Cangcang confronted him, asking if she should be happy that her master was the Ghost King. She accused him of deliberately placing the Ghost King's items in the Sword Cottage to frame Li Lu. Xiao Huan denied the accusation, stating he would not have waited until now if he intended to frame Li Lu.
He reiterated his promise to Li Lu not to reveal the truth of his death to Cangcang. Undeterred, Ling Cangcang declared she would uncover the truth herself, dismissing Xiao Huan's warning that the truth might be too devastating for her to bear. In a flashback, Xiao Huan revealed to a dying Li Lu that Ling Xuefeng was the one who had abducted his daughter, Ling Cangcang, when she was a child, orchestrating the entire affair.
Li Lu begged Xiao Huan not to tell Cangcang this painful truth, as it would shatter her. Xiao Huan promised to protect the secret. Back in the present, Xiao Huan regretted that his vow to protect Cangcang was now being twisted and exploited by Ling Xuefeng.
