Maiden Holmes Episode 8 Recap
> Maiden Holmes Recap
Following the trail from the previous night, Su Ci examines a stain on Zizhuo's discarded clothing and identifies it as coal, wondering how it could have gotten there in the wilderness. Seeing her troubled, Prince Qi gently blows on a scrape on her hand to soothe it, telling her he prefers to see her without a worried frown.
To distract her from the pain, he teaches her how to navigate using the stars, pointing out the Big Dipper and explaining how its handle indicates the seasons. He then shows her the stars Altair and Vega, separated by the Milky Way, recounting their tragic story of being lovers who can never be together. Upon returning to the capital, they question an old coal vendor at the city gate.
He confirms seeing a drunken young man—Zizhuo—and recalls accidentally bumping him with his coal cart. When guards find a corresponding bruise on Zizhuo's waist, it provides him a solid alibi, proving he was outside the city gates during the entire time of the crime. Elsewhere, Dong Rushuang laments to Xie Beiming her desire to solve cases with Su Ci.
She explains that while being with him is relaxing, it eventually feels empty, whereas making progress on a case with Su Ci gives her a profound sense of accomplishment. Understanding her need to feel purposeful, as it mirrors his own reasons for being a traveling hero, Xie Beiming pledges his full support. Meanwhile, Fei Yuan presents Prince Qi with a new selection of portraits of potential concubines, but the prince dismisses them, uninterested.
Instead, he secretly sketches a portrait of Su Ci. As the investigation into Miss Du’s death remains stalled, news arrives of another victim: a Miss Lin has been found drowned in the river, also wearing a wedding dress. Su Ci examines the body and finds no signs of a struggle or external injuries, leading officials to quickly rule it a suicide.
Determined, Dong Rushuang finds Su Ci and passionately explains that her desire to help is not about clinging to him, but about finding her own purpose. Having studied poisons since childhood, she felt her skills were aimless until she realized that using them to help solve mysteries made her feel truly worthy. Moved by her sincerity, Su Ci agrees to officially register her at the Mingjing Office as a non-official aide for unusual cases.
At his residence, Prince Qi receives a visit from Marquis Zhenyuan, who has just reported to the Emperor. The Marquis reveals two critical findings: the poisoned arrow from the ambush during the Dragon King case has been definitively traced to Beirong, and a large portion of the embezzled disaster relief funds have surfaced in major transactions there.
They deduce that a hidden faction is using the stolen funds to buy weapons, collude with foreign enemies, and secretly raise a private army. The Marquis warns Prince Qi to be extremely cautious. He also mentions the Empress Dowager’s efforts to select a concubine for the prince, and upon seeing Prince Qi's disinterest, slyly notes that his own high-spirited daughter, Xu Zhi, who has accompanied him to the capital, would be delighted to hear it.
The investigation takes a turn when Miss Lin's grieving mother seeks out Su Ci, insisting her happy, beloved daughter would never have taken her own life. She recounts that in the days before her death, her daughter began acting strangely, sometimes appearing dazed and once claiming it was raining on a perfectly sunny day. She also mentions the family had recently visited Puhua Temple to pray for blessings.
Prince Qi immediately reports to the Emperor, confirming the link between the Beirong-made arrows and the embezzled funds. He speculates the money was used to purchase weapons from dealers like the recently murdered Shadu, and that the ambushers in Qingshui County were a secretly trained private army, connecting the conspiracy to events from seven years prior. Back at the Mingjing Office, a thrilled Dong Rushuang officially joins the team.
Su Ci notes the weak motive for Miss Lin's "suicide" and the circulating rumors of a vengeful "ghost bride." Prince Qi points out that if these deaths were ruled suicides, many families might not have reported them, making official records incomplete. Xie Beiming confidently volunteers to use his network to gather information from the public. Later, Dong Rushuang mischievously tricks him into testing her new itching powder on his arm. Troubled by the impending concubine selection, Prince Qi drinks alone.
Xie Beiming joins him and correctly guesses his reluctance stems from having a love interest. Prince Qi confides that he is in love with someone whose "current identity is not suitable" and that he feels more like himself as Pei Zhao than as Prince Qi. Misunderstanding completely, Xie Beiming concludes that Prince Qi is in love with Su Ci, a man, and earnestly assures his friend of his open-mindedness and unwavering support.
At the same time, Prince Yun coerces the Junior Mentor of the Imperial Astronomer into disqualifying strategically important candidates from the concubine list, fabricating astrological incompatibilities to weaken Prince Qi's potential alliances. Xie Beiming's inquiries soon lead the team to the Lixiang Restaurant, where a courtesan named Jing Niang had hanged herself two years prior. Her close friend, Wen Wen, reveals that the normally cheerful Jing Niang had become withdrawn and dazed just before her death.
Wen Wen also confirms two key details: Jing Niang had visited Puhua Temple with her fiancé, and on the morning she died, she hushed Wen Wen, claiming she was "listening to the rain" on a bright, sunny day. Connecting the evidence, Prince Qi and Su Ci identify a clear pattern across all three victims: all were beautiful young women who died by apparent suicide while wearing wedding dresses, and all experienced disorientation and claimed to hear rain on sunny days. Concluding this is the work of a single murderer, Su Ci decides their next stop must be Puhua Temple—the one location connected to all three victims.
