Episode 8 recap: Xiao Qiang's daughter's identity was revealed to Yan Zhang Yun.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Qiang fell ill, and Yan Zhang Yun came to visit. Inadvertently, Yan Zhang Yun discovered that Xiao Qiang was actually a woman, and he hurriedly fled, his heartbeat racing. The next day, Xiao Qiang, dressed in women's clothing, nervously joined the Qianyu Guard. As soon as she approached Yan Zhang Yun, he took her away from Xiao Quan, claiming she was a suspect.
At dawn, when Xiao Qiang left the palace, she had expected Yan Zhang Yun to persuade her to stay, but now, feeling frustrated, she had nowhere to go. Qingyun, seeing Xiao Qiang, quickly introduced himself and took her to a secluded forest. He revealed that he was a senior disciple of Wanshige, and to gain Xiao Qiang's trust, he showed her the poison on his arm. He then gave her an antidote. Xiao Qiang said she would return to Wanshige, but Qingyun claimed that the senior disciple had come to assassinate her earlier and would now slander her to the master, accusing her of abandoning her mission and getting involved with Yan Zhang Yun. Now, she was considered a traitor to the sect.
In front of Qingyun, Xiao Qiang stated that to prove her innocence, she was willing to go back and kill Yan Zhang Yun. Yan Zhang Yun accidentally found Xiao Qiang's farewell letter on the table, but he still needed the secrets from Xiao Qiang, so he could not let her leave. As Xiao Qiang walked down the street, she mistakenly thought she had great martial arts skills after Qingyun's words. She struck out, causing a passerby to fall, but it was just because the person slipped on a banana peel, not due to her martial prowess.
Xiao Qiang returned to the palace gate and encountered Yan Zhang Yun. She lied, saying she had gone out to ask the Queen for a marriage talisman, and she presented a precious book to the Queen. After much pleading, the Emperor finally agreed to visit the Queen that night. The nervous Emperor sat on the edge of the bed, and the cunning Queen seduced him until he succumbed.
The next day, Xiao Qiang continuously apologized to the Emperor, explaining that she had acted for the sake of the kingdom. The Emperor had his own thoughts, saying that even if he wanted a child, it could not be the Queen's child, as he feared the Xiao family would then control the throne. Xiao Qiang understood the reasoning but also felt sympathy for the Queen, saying she had come to the palace for the sake of her family, and was now lonely and isolated, simply born into the wrong family.
The Emperor suddenly realized he had overlooked the Queen's feelings, so he followed Xiao Qiang's advice. In the middle of the night, Xiao Qiang's poisoning symptoms resurfaced, and she could only take the antidote given by Qingyun to relieve the pain. Yan Zhang Yun came to check on Xiao Qiang in the night, and after knocking for a long time with no response, he entered the room and discovered the unconscious Xiao Qiang was actually a woman. Feeling embarrassed, he hurriedly covered her with clothes to conceal her female identity, in order to save her life.
The Imperial Physician treated Little Strong after the incident, discovering that the toxins had been alleviated but not completely eliminated. Yan Zhang Yun ordered him to research an antidote. When Little Strong woke up, he found that he had not died and the toxins on his arm were gone. He believed Qingyun's words and realized that he had a family, but at the same time he was conflicted about whether he should warn Yan Zhang Yun that someone was trying to kill him.
Wei Tian Jiao and Acheng tracked Fang You into the embroidery workshop, arousing suspicion. In order to check if Fang You had betrayed Qianyuwei, Wei Tian Jiao initially wanted to break in, but the shopkeeper refused to allow men inside. He then thought of the short-statured Little Strong and asked him to disguise as a woman to sneak into the workshop, while also offering to help Little Strong regain his position in Qianyuwei.
Little Strong disguised as a woman and snuck into the backyard of the workshop while the shopkeeper was distracted. At this time, Fang You begged his master to save him, as his identity had been exposed. Xiao Quan was about to use poisoned tea to kill Fang You to cover it up, when his subordinates informed him that Qianyuwei had gathered at the entrance. Hearing this, Fang You urgently sought Xiao Quan's help, and Xiao Quan ordered his men to take Fang You to the secret room.
Little Strong went to the attic in the backyard to hide from the shopkeeper's pursuit. Meanwhile, Yan Zhang Yun and his men arrived, having learned that Little Strong had sneaked into the workshop disguised as a woman. Worried for his safety, Yan Zhang Yun directly ordered his men to storm in and apprehend the suspect. During the search, Little Strong quietly entered through a side door and approached Yan Zhang Yun, accidentally touching him as per his suggestion, and was then taken away as a suspect.
Seeing Qianyuwei leave, Xiao Quan ordered his subordinates to cease all activities and stop selling the cinnabar silver powder. Afterward, Little Strong was displeased that Yan Zhang Yun did not appreciate him, and even had his comrades keep their distance, unaware that Yan Zhang Yun had grown fond of him and ordered his subordinates not to get too close to Little Strong.
Chancellor Xiao learned that the embroidery workshop had been infiltrated by Qianyuwei, and that his son had surprisingly appeared there. The steward, realizing he had misspoken, quickly fled. Later that night, Xiao Quan discussed the cinnabar silver powder incident with his subordinates, which was overheard by Chancellor Xiao, who suspected his son's involvement in the Guanyu Incident 15 years ago and ordered him to immediately cease the powder's production. Little Strong, wanting to take revenge for being wrongly accused by Yan Zhang Yun during the day, loudly accused Yan Zhang Yun of impropriety, under the pretext of seeking martial arts guidance.
Just as the two were arguing, news of an incident involving the First Lady reached Yan Zhang Yun's ears.
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