Shadow Love Episode 8 Recap
> Shadow Love Recap
Jin'an and Li Shuang entered Ninglan, and Li Shuang immediately suggested they stay for the night. Jin'an initially picked a nicer inn, but Li Shuang, ever practical, pulled him away, intending to find a more affordable place. She gave Jin'an some money to feed his horse, Zhuifeng, reminding him to get good feed. Jin'an wryly observed that she treated the horse better than herself.
Before long, Jin'an found himself at a gambling den, where he surprisingly won a significant amount of money. He returned with baskets of fruit, teasing Li Shuang that he even bought some for her, despite having used most of the money to buy expensive fruit for Zhuifeng. Upon returning to the inn, they found only one room left.
Jin'an was visibly nervous about sharing a room, but Li Shuang, unfazed, told him to relax, assuring him she had seen far worse during her campaigns. That night, Jin'an, gazing out the window, confessed he missed home. Having lost his memory and been taken in by Li Shuang, he considered the General's Residence his home.
He then observed that Li Shuang, who had been on battlefields since the age of twelve, lived so plainly that she seemed even more like someone without a home. Jin'an expressed his desire for her to live well, noting that she was the only person in the world truly connected to him.
He proposed that, with Ninglan’s abundance, he would buy some furnishings to make her room warmer and more comfortable, eventually convincing her to agree, though she made him promise not to gamble again. The next morning, Jin'an went shopping, buying many items for Li Shuang's room from Yuxing Woodenware, using his newly acquired funds.
He also presented her with a plain jade hairpin, which he thought suited her military attire perfectly, gently placing it in her hair and insisting she not remove it, as it was his first gift. Later, as they walked past a bookstore, Jin'an remembered Li Shuang's fondness for biographies and tried to coax her inside, even mentioning Su Muyang. Li Shuang, feigning disinterest, claimed she no longer liked biographies. However, Jin'an saw through her pretense.
Inside, Li Shuang picked up a book, claiming it was a military text, but Jin'an recognized it as "The Tale of Mr. Bat, Volume Two," a romance novel. He then produced another book, "The Beauty of Hell: The Legend of Li Shuang," teasing her about its depiction of her as cunning and two-faced.
Li Shuang, in turn, humorously embraced the absurd rumors about her, including eating children and fair-skinned young men, before excusing herself to attend to some business, leaving Jin'an to browse alone. Li Shuang proceeded to the Zang Mansion, where she patiently waited for Zang Budu, despite a servant claiming he was away. She shrewdly deduced his presence in the city, knowing he would attend the merchants' assembly. Eventually, Zang Budu appeared, expressing his reluctance to meet her.
Li Shuang revealed her purpose: to secure a three-year supply contract for the Changfeng Army from Ninglan. Zang Budu, emphasizing Ninglan’s neutrality and wealth, scoffed at the offer, suggesting her life was worth more than such a meager profit and implying he could easily hand her over to Yao State.
Li Shuang countered by warning him that the new Yao State would not honor old agreements and offered the Changfeng Army's protection for Ninglan in exchange for a map of the city. Meanwhile, in the bookstore, Jin'an browsed and came across "The Legend of An Nan Wang," which described the king as a brilliant strategist.
Seizing this opportunity, Jin Wujian appeared to Jin'an, revealing a flame-shaped mark on his back and explaining that he was implanted with dark magic, a "blood pact" that granted him immense power but also bound him to a master. Jin Wujian insinuated that Li Shuang was merely using him and was the true mastermind behind his predicament. Jin'an, despite initial disbelief, questioned why Li Shuang "just happened" to find him when he was lost.
Jin Wujian further asserted that Li Shuang was in Ninglan not for official business, but to investigate Jin'an's past, showing him a scene of Li Shuang revealing Jin'an's amnesia to Zang Budu. Jin Wujian then offered to break the life-threatening blood pact, but on the condition that Jin'an bring Li Shuang to a dense forest outside Lucheng in three days.
Back at the inn, Jin'an returned, his mind clouded with doubt, even as Li Shuang, pleased with her successful negotiations with Zang Budu, found him. Jin'an pressed her about her whereabouts, questioning if she had used Zang Budu to investigate his background. Li Shuang, citing military secrets, refused to elaborate, defending her right to investigate his identity as her duty while he resided in the General's Residence.
Their tense exchange was abruptly cut short by the urgent arrival of a subordinate, announcing that Military Supervisor Li Zhangyi was nearing the camp. At the military camp, Li Shuang swiftly sent Jin'an away, knowing that Li Zhangyi, a member of Prince Li's faction, harbored animosity towards her family and would likely be hostile.
After an exchange of veiled insults, Li Zhangyi produced an imperial sword, declaring Li Shuang a criminal and demanding she kneel, accusing her of failing to investigate Huo Du's death. Li Shuang acknowledged Huo Du as a spy but maintained his death was accidental. When Li Zhangyi pressed, accusing her of deliberately killing Huo Du to silence him, Li Shuang, to protect Jin'an, reluctantly admitted to accidentally causing Huo Du's death, accepting the punishment.
As Li Zhangyi ordered thirty lashes with the military rod, Jin'an, unable to bear Li Shuang’s suffering, burst into the tent. He vehemently declared that he, not Li Shuang, was the one who killed Huo Du and would face the consequences alone.
When Li Zhangyi ordered his men to seize Jin'an, Li Shuang then stepped forward, stopping them and demanding Li Zhangyi produce an imperial decree for his actions, accusing him of abusing his authority and hinting at forging imperial orders. Unable to produce a decree, Li Zhangyi, enraged, reluctantly left, vowing to report everything to the court and warning Li Shuang to "act wisely."
