Love Like The Galaxy Episode 40 Recap, Plot

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Liang Shang was found dead in his study, a brick and wood house situated by a lake. The scene revealed a large desk, numerous artifacts, and significant bloodstains on a couch. Qu Lingjun explained that her maid, Youtong, wearing Qu Lingjun’s cloak, had gone to deliver food to Liang Shang that day. Liang Shang, mistaking Youtong for Qu Lingjun, angrily chased her out. Later, a servant discovered Liang Shang slumped over his desk, a dagger in his back.

Despite Qu Lingjun's tearful assertion that she was innocent, Liang Shang's mother vehemently accused her, claiming that guards had only seen Qu Lingjun entering and leaving the study, implying Youtong was framed, and further slandering Qu Lingjun for allegedly having an affair with the Crown Prince. Cheng Shaoshang interjected, asking for the chance to investigate. Yuan Shen, accompanying Cheng Shaoshang, immediately mocked her for her supposed arrogance, wondering why she insisted on investigating such a case.

His mother, noticing their constant bickering, inwardly concluded that her son held feelings for Cheng Shaoshang. Yuan Shen then informed his mother that he and Cheng Shaoshang were going to investigate the case and took his leave. Inside the study, Cheng Shaoshang observed that Yuan Shen’s outspoken nature contrasted sharply with his mother's reserved demeanor, leading him to explain that his family members complement each other.

Yuan Shen, still verbally sparring, tried to dissuade Cheng Shaoshang from investigating further, calling it "creepy" for a woman to do so. Cheng Shaoshang retorted that she was there because she sensed foul play, and it was crucial for clearing the reputations of Qu Lingjun, the Empress, and the Crown Prince, stating firmly that she was not a woman who would simply obey her husband and wait at home.

Yuan Shen reiterated Ling Buyi’s concerns about the political dangers of the case. Cheng Shaoshang remarked on Yuan Shen's surprisingly improved temper, noting that she herself felt happier and calmer due to Ling Buyi’s deep love. She then playfully suggested Yuan Shen find a wife soon, as a woman as outstanding as herself was a rare find. Yuan Shen, annoyed by her boasting about her relationship, dismissively told her to leave if their displays of affection "disgusted" him.

Cheng Shaoshang promptly told him to "get out," and he left the study, remarking that the room was "as small as a palm." Inspired by this comment, Cheng Shaoshang began pacing and measuring the room. She found that the interior measured 20 steps while the exterior measured 26, confirming the existence of a hidden space. As she activated a hidden mechanism, Liang Xia suddenly pulled her into the secret room.

Inside the secret room, Cheng Shaoshang immediately recognized Liang Xia as the murderer, noting his blood-stained clothes and panicked demeanor. She calmly questioned him, and he confessed his resentment. He felt he was the true legitimate son with greater ambition, yet the family headship was given to the "useless" Liang Shang, despite his own mother's initial promise to him.

Cheng Shaoshang deduced his plan: killing Liang Shang in a fit of rage, attempting to frame Qu Lingjun, then hiding in the secret room to change out of his bloodied robes and blend in with the servants. He had returned to destroy evidence, but Ling Buyi’s aggressive search had scared him. Meanwhile, Ling Buyi, alerted to Cheng Shaoshang’s disappearance, ordered his troops to demolish the study. Liang Shang’s mother frantically protested this destruction of their ancestral home.

Realizing he was trapped, Liang Xia, with Cheng Shaoshang’s prompting, grabbed her as a hostage. As the walls began to crumble, he emerged, holding a dagger to Cheng Shaoshang. Ling Buyi, feigning a threat to cut off Liang Shang’s mother’s arm, used the distraction to swiftly pull Cheng Shaoshang into his arms, securing her safety. Liang Xia was apprehended, screaming accusations at his mother, calling her a hypocrite.

He recounted his frustration that his mediocre biological brother, Liang Shang, had received the family headship despite his mother’s initial promise to him, while he was left to waste away for two decades. Yuan Shen’s mother scornfully interjected, calling Liang Xia’s lament laughable and blaming his own lack of ambition and his mother’s excessive spoiling for his downfall, echoing the saying, "A doting mother spoils her child."

As Ling Buyi pressed Liang Xia to reveal the mastermind behind the plot to frame the Crown Prince, Liang Wuji, an adopted brother, seized an opportunity and shot Liang Xia dead with an arrow, effectively silencing him. Cheng Shaoshang, shaken, confided in Ling Buyi that she had her own dagger but chose to coax Liang Xia out. Ling Buyi, clearly relieved and concerned, comforted her, admitting he was terrified when her safety was at stake.

Liang Wuji, brought before Emperor Wen Di and Ling Buyi, defended his action of killing Liang Xia, stating that it benefited the broader situation. He argued that the once-illustrious Liang family of Hedong had been decimated by Emperor Li, leaving him, an adopted son, to manage a family devoid of capable men. His own biological brothers, Liang Shang and Liang Xia, were "useless," and he had only hoped for the next generation to produce talent.

He tearfully implored the Emperor, suggesting that further investigation into Liang Xia’s role in framing the Crown Prince would be detrimental to the stability of the empire. Emperor Wen Di, already aware of the Liang family’s plight and reluctant to inflame tensions, chose to suppress the matter. After Liang Wuji departed, Ling Buyi confirmed to the Emperor that Liang Wuji was not the true mastermind, nor did Liang Xia possess the cunning for such a plot.

Ling Buyi pressed, asking who else could have orchestrated the framing of the Crown Prince, knowing about his private meeting with Qu Lingjun at Zigui Courtyard. He dismissed the suggestion that Crown Princess’s cousin, Sun Sheng, was the mastermind, noting that Sun Sheng, already captured, would not survive long if released. Ling Buyi concluded by stating that Emperor Wen Di surely knew the true culprit, who had committed numerous other misdeeds beyond this incident.

Meanwhile, in a tense confrontation, Consort Yue slapped her brother, Marquis Yue, expressing her deep regret for having to do so for the sake of their deceased parents. She sharply criticized his foolish scheme to frame the Crown Prince and accused him of hypocrisy for complaining about the Yue family’s sacrifices. Marquis Yue, feeling aggrieved, asserted that the Yue family had endured great sacrifices for the Emperor, yet they had gained little, while the Xuan family prospered.

He claimed that Emperor Wen Di favored the Xuan family and his sister should have been Empress and the Third Prince, Crown Prince. Consort Yue angrily rejected his claims, reminding him that she was the legitimate first wife, not a concubine, and accused him of acting out of personal grievance. She then confronted him about his delayed rescue of Gu City, questioning if he used the miasma as an excuse to cause Huo Chong’s death.

Marquis Yue denied it, but Consort Yue, revealing her extensive knowledge of Ling Buyi’s long-standing investigation, including the Wen Xiu coinage case and the murder of messenger Han Wu, pressed him for the truth. She pointed out inconsistencies in his story, asking why scouts died in the miasma but their horses survived. Realizing Consort Yue had tricked him into confessing, Marquis Yue finally broke, admitting that he had indeed received a report that the miasma was harmless.

He confessed that, driven by resentment towards the Xuan family, he decided to delay Lord Qian’an’s rescue by killing his own scouts and falsely reporting the miasma as dangerous. Ling Buyi then demanded to know why, if aid was only delayed by three days, Gu City, which could have held for ten, fell so quickly. Marquis Yue claimed ignorance, but Ling Buyi exposed the truth: Lord Yong had secretly switched the military armaments, rendering the city defenseless.

Marquis Yue vehemently denied any involvement in switching armaments, maintaining his sole motive was to embarrass the Xuan family. Despite his pleas, Consort Yue highlighted that his actions were directly responsible for Lord Qian’an’s death and Gu City’s fall. Emperor Wen Di, acknowledging the Yue family's past loyalty, decided against execution. Instead, he stripped Marquis Yue of his title and banished him to guard the imperial mausoleum. Consort Yue expressed her contempt for the Emperor's lenient judgment.

Marquis Yue, however, thanked the Emperor for sparing his life. Emperor Wen Di assured Ling Buyi that Peng Kun’s case would be thoroughly investigated. Returning to Changqiu Palace, Cheng Shaoshang explained to Ling Buyi that she had stayed because she knew her family would scold her for taking such risks.

Ling Buyi, while acknowledging her bravery in defending the Empress, Crown Prince, and Qu Lingjun, gently chided her for putting herself in danger, admitting he was terrified at the thought of anything happening to her. Later, Cheng Shaoshang noticed Ling Buyi’s persistent somber mood, even after the Gu City case was largely resolved. She asked him why he remained unhappy.

Ling Buyi then posed a hypothetical question: if someone harmed her loved ones, and she knew they were guilty but couldn't legally punish them, what would she do? Cheng Shaoshang, known for her retaliatory nature, declared she would ensure they suffered a thousandfold. Ling Buyi then asked what would happen if seeking revenge meant hurting someone she loved. Cheng Shaoshang replied that in any choice between two things, one must ultimately determine which is more important.

That same night, Yuan Shen’s mother confronted him about his unmarried status at 21 and asked if he harbored feelings for Cheng Shaoshang, noting his anxious demeanor during the investigation. Yuan Shen admitted that he had once meticulously planned for an ideal wife, considering every aspect from family background to talent. However, witnessing the detached and loveless marriage of his own parents, who lived separately and yearned for different people, had disillusioned him about marriage.

He questioned the purpose of marrying and having children only to perpetuate unhappiness. His mother expressed sorrow for their troubled marriage, a complex political union that inadvertently scarred him. Yuan Shen, however, accepted his fate, saying that perhaps it was better not to marry at all than to create another miserable couple. He confessed that ever since Cheng Shaoshang’s engagement, he had struggled to find a suitable bride, realizing now that it was because no other woman matched her.

He acknowledged that he was "one step too slow," but affirmed that his life, even without her, would continue. Later, Consort Yue summoned Ling Buyi for a private meeting. She revealed that her motivation for orchestrating Marquis Yue’s confession was not for the Yue family, the Emperor, or the common people, but solely for the Huo family, for Huo Chong, and for Ling Buyi himself.

Sensing his discontent with the Emperor’s lenient sentence for Marquis Yue, she boldly offered to kill her brother if Ling Buyi believed his life would adequately atone for the Huo family’s tragedy. She urged Ling Buyi to release his long-held anguish, to marry, and to live a good life to continue the Huo family’s legacy. Ling Buyi respectfully declined her offer.

He stated that the Emperor’s decision was correct, as Marquis Yue did not directly shed Huo family blood, and the Emperor’s leniency was understandable given the Yue family’s historical sacrifices. While acknowledging the Yue family’s debt for the delayed rescue, Ling Buyi reiterated that he no longer needed their amends, asserting that some wrongs committed could never be truly rectified.

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