Tigers Sniff the Rose episode 8 recap: Blood at the black peony fair

In short

Yan Shang lures Zhang Renjing into the Elder Princess's room, finishes him off with a dagger, and the princess smuggles him out of the sealed garden. He kisses her goodbye, but Chancellor Liu is waiting outside the city.

What happens in episode 8

On the day of the fair, Yan Shang sends Xu Mianmian out of the city in a carriage. Then he leads a dressed-up Zhang Renjing to a private room and promises to bring her to him. Zhang has already dosed himself and can hardly wait.

In the garden, Chunhua tells Liu Wenji she likes him. He admits his father wants him to marry a woman from a noble family once he passes the exams, but says he loves Chunhua and will win his father over.

The princess drags Yan Shang along for a stroll, and he mentions a quiet well in the southwest corner he likes. He slips away by handing her things to Yang Si. Using the Elder Princess's name, he sends her young favorite off for wine and moves the groggy Zhang into the room she will rest in. When the Elder Princess walks in, Zhang lunges at her. She stabs him with his own sword again and again, and he breaks free and runs.

Yan Shang pretends to help him and hides him in a woodshed. There he lists Zhang's crimes, starting with the ruined temple where his mother and younger brother were killed, and stabs him. Zhang fights back hard, and Yan Shang ends up soaked in blood. The garden is sealed.

The princess remembers the well and finds Yan Shang sitting beside it, calm and bloody. She wraps him in her cloak, hides him in her carriage and tells her aunt she's scared of blood to get out. On the way he tells her everything and breaks down; she holds him. At her gate he says he's going back to Lingnan and kisses her. Outside the city, Chancellor Liu is waiting: killing one Zhang Renjing, he says, is not enough.

Why it matters

Yan Shang gets his revenge in episode 8, and the princess now shares his secret, which binds them together for the rest of the drama.

Based on the episode synopsis, summarized in our own words: TVmao (电视猫) episode synopses