The Princess's Gambit Episode 8 Recap
> The Princess's Gambit Recap
The heir Mu Wugou ordered all cabinets to be opened so that no one could remain hidden. At that moment, Mu Wuyin and Mu Wuhen burst into laughter and exposed Mu Wugou’s identity. Knowing that the two were not to be trifled with, Mu Wugou had no choice but to stop the search and instead set the gambling house ablaze.
Shen Zaiye realized it was an attempt to destroy evidence, but with two princes as witnesses, it might force Mu Wugou to stay quiet for a while. Meng Zhongyan, father of Meng Huaijin and the current Right Prime Minister, was furious upon hearing of Mu Wugou’s misdeeds and beat Meng Huaijin, blaming him for not stopping Mu Wugou. Mu Wugou, distressed for Meng Huaijin, knelt and begged Meng Zhongyan to punish him instead. Only then did Meng Zhongyan relent.
However, he also scolded Mu Wugou for nearly causing a disaster that could drag the entire Meng family down. If Prince Qi and the currently favored Consort Lan were to have more children, Mu Wugou’s position as heir could be lost overnight. He demanded Meng Huaijin draw up a list of all the nobles involved with the gambling house, so the two of them could personally go and pull those people into the mess.
Only by doing this could they prevent the matter from being exposed. Mu Wuhen had already submitted a memorial to Prince Qi, listing the heir’s wrongdoings and the amount of forged money, along with many names. Prince Qi realized Mu Wuhen was aiming for the heir’s position, and this wasn’t a plan formed in a day or two. As such, he wasn’t sure whether to continue investigating.
Shen Zaiye believed that the heir would restrain himself after this incident, so there was no need to pursue it further. Prince Qi merely gave the heir a superficial scolding, but Shen Zaiye knew the Meng family had suffered a great blow—his goal had been achieved. Prince Qi also instructed the Meng family to fill the gap caused by the counterfeit money, while Shen Zaiye waited for the moment Meng Zhongyan had no escape.
Jiang Taohua drew the central portion of Sunlight over a Thousand Peaks and gave it to Shen Zaiye. Shen Zaiye suspected she had tampered with the drawing, but Jiang Taohua asserted that the painting concerned Qingtai’s life, and she would never joke about that. Still, Shen Zaiye found her too calculating to fully trust. In fact, the painting Jiang Taohua gave to Empress Lv was incomplete. She hoped to use Shen Zaiye’s hand to investigate the painting’s purpose.
That way, she could also uncover Empress Lv’s true intentions and rescue Jiang Changjue. Jiang Taohua went to Yang Wanqing and passed on some information, claiming she had only seen half of the painting. Whispering about matters regarding the gambling house into Yang Wanqing’s ear, she was spotted from a neighboring pavilion by the heir Mu Wugou, who noticed the peach blossom mark on her arm and immediately led people to investigate.
But when he lifted Jiang Taohua’s sleeve, he found no mark—because Jiang Taohua had just taken the antidote and the mark had disappeared. Stunned, Mu Wugou froze, and Jiang Taohua slapped him across the face, accusing him of insulting a minister’s concubine. While he was still stunned, she left with Qingtai. But her voice made Mu Wugou realize she was the woman who gambled with him that night, and he instantly sent men after her.
Jiang Taohua instructed Qingtai to go back and deliver a message while she fled into the mountains. The pursuers chased her into a bamboo forest. Qingtai knelt before Shen Zaiye and begged for help, but he remained unmoved, convinced that Jiang Taohua’s wit would get her out of danger. As the pursuers drew close, Jiang Taohua thought about how all her recent calculations still led her to this point. But remembering Jiang Changjue, she knew she couldn’t die.
Just as she was about to flee, her foot slipped and she almost fell, but Shen Zaiye arrived just in time to catch her in his arms. Shen Zaiye led Jiang Taohua in evading their pursuers, weaving through the dense forest. Night fell without them noticing, and they hid in a cave. When the soldiers approached to search, Jiang Taohua saw a snake slithering toward Shen Zaiye.
She wanted to warn him, but Shen Zaiye gestured for her to stay silent. He let the snake bite him, but fortunately it was not venomous. Once the soldiers had left, Jiang Taohua asked if he had come specifically to rescue her. Shen Zaiye denied it, claiming he didn’t know if the painting was real or fake—therefore Jiang Taohua couldn’t die.
When Jiang Taohua felt cold, Shen Zaiye draped his coat over her, insisting it was only because he didn’t want the trouble of carrying her if she got sick. They lit a fire in the cave. Suddenly, they heard wolves howling outside. Shen Zaiye blocked the cave entrance and stood guard with his sword, protecting Jiang Taohua. Seeing this, she smiled—knowing a mere painting was not worth Shen Zaiye risking his life to protect her.
At dawn, Jiang Taohua woke to find herself leaning on Shen Zaiye’s shoulder. Both were a little embarrassed. As they left the cave together, they marked bamboo in the forest so anyone looking for them could follow the signs. They soon encountered a girl named Xiaolian digging bamboo shoots. Jiang Taohua traded her earrings for a chance to go to her home for food.
But Xiaolian took the earrings and tried to run off, only to be stopped by Shen Zaiye. He scolded the girl for lying, but Jiang Taohua intervened and convinced her to trust them, eventually bringing them to her home. Xiaolian’s grandmother liked Shen Zaiye at first sight, saying he looked like Xiaolian’s older brother. Xiaolian disagreed, insisting her brother was more handsome. Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua cleaned their wounds and changed into peasant clothes.
The grandmother even slaughtered a chicken for them. Xiaolian cried over it, and Jiang Taohua gave her the drumstick. After tasting it, Xiaolian stopped crying and decided to earn money in the future to buy more chicken. When a peddler came by, Xiaolian longed for some candy but had no money. Jiang Taohua traded her bracelet for it. The peddler was delighted and even gave them some silver in change.
Shen Zaiye realized the silver was counterfeit and quietly followed the peddler. They discovered that even such a remote village was being flooded with forged money. That evening, Shen Zaiye spoke to Jiang Taohua about the strange nature of the village. There were no able-bodied adults—only the elderly and children. He decided to stay a few more days to investigate the counterfeit money.
He asked Jiang Taohua to speak with the villagers and gather information, while he handled more important matters. Jiang Taohua finally felt a bit at peace and hoped she would no longer be bullied in the future.
