The Story of Ming Lan Episode 4

The aftermath of Wei's death, Ming Lan to be raised by grandmother

This episode walks us through the funeral of Concubine Wei, the decision for Ming Lan to be raised by Old Madame (grandmother) and the move to the capital. We also witness that at the end of the day Master Sheng cares the most about his reputation but nothing can stop his love for Concubine Lin.

The Events:
1)Auntie Wei (Concubine Wei’s sister) has an audience with Master Sheng and Big Madame. She begs them to allow her to care for Ming Lan at her family home, however both Master Sheng and the Big Madame insist that she will be well taken care of by Big Madame personally. Auntie Wei tells them that as long as Ming Lan is cared for, she is content.

2)Old Madame meets privately with Master Sheng and criticizes him for his behavior. She tells him in no uncertain terms that this entire situation is his fault because he chose to spoil and favor his concubine, giving her power and respect that exceeded the legitimate wife. He has caused his Legitimate wife to become a laughing stock then lays this mess at her feet to clean up. She reminds him that her only son and his elder brother were killed because the favor his father gave to a concubine. Master Sheng repeatedly bows his head and insists he is at fault. Old Madame Sheng insists that she will raise Ming Lan, and while Master Sheng protests this, she will not compromise so he agrees. In addition, she reminds him that as an official matters like this, if they occur in the city, could ruin his career so be careful.

3)Master Sheng visits Big Madame and she continues to enact her plan to reel in her anger. Instead of focusing on Concubine Lin she instead focuses on the victim—Concubine Wei, and shows nothing but compassioin for her. This pleases Master Sheng who then uses this as an opportunity (because his wife is not yelling like she normally does) to pander her with sweet words and inform her that he will be giving her complete authority over the house again since Concubine Lin lacks back bone and is unable to be harsh with others o_O

4)A very dignified funeral is carried out for Concubine Wei, and while it is not excessive it is meant to be observed by all—the message is to convey that the Sheng family is incredibly devastated by the loss of this concubine who died so tragically.

5)Master Sheng gives Concubine Lin the cold shoulder and refuses to see her, remaining with Big Magame exclusively. She goes to her room, throws a tantrum, breaks things, and for the first time we see that for her, this is huge cause for panic as her fears become obvious (this is not an act) she sobs to her daughter that they cannot lose the favor of her father because if they do, no one will be there to protect or defend them (they will be alone) and that is a very real fear for them.

6)Prior to boarding the boat to the capital, Ming Lan carries out her mother’s last wish and delivers the knee warmer to Gu Ting Ye. She thanks him, and makes it clear she owes him forever for this, and he is amused by how solemn she is but does a good job of hiding this amusement. They part ways.

7)On board the boat, Ming Lan finally breaks down in tears when she is all alone. Her grandmother finds her and embraces and tells her she will never have to worry as long as she is alive and fiercely whispers through her own tears that Ming Lan has someone who loves her.

8)Down stairs, Concubine Lin uses a carefully staged show of fear and remorse to regain Master Sheng’s attention. She succeeds in inciting Big Madame to rage while at the same time appearing as if she is the victim, causing Master Sheng to pity her and carry her away. In her room he essentially tells her he loves her and he will protect her.

9)Gu Ting Ye arrives in the capital and is met by his stepmother who tells him sadly that his father is angry at him, so Gu Ting Ye replies that he won’t go home then and she asks where he will stay but he implores her not to worry…

.ANALYSIS

-Regarding Auntie Wei: this whole scene is important because it shows that Auntie Wei is fighting for her sister and niece by pressuring the family to promise she will be taken care of—if they break this promise she can really go after them. She also implies that if you take care of my niece, I will forget this happened. Of course this shows us that Big Madame is raising Ming Lan out of obligation, nothing else.

-Old Madame has the right to lecture her son, and she knows he will be obedient, but she deliberately chooses to not overstep her bounds by refusing to clean this mess up—I am not in charge here, you and your Legitimate wife are. She is giving him a dressing down because she wants him to understand that he could have prevented this from happening, to let him know it will happen again if he does not be cautious, and more importantly it could cost you and your family everything. Unfortunately, her son is still a man in love and he tries to get Ming Lan out of being raised by her because he wants her to raise Molan (Concubine Lin’s daughter) because he favors her and believes it will protect them. This is another example of Ming Lan is not someone who is a priority even though she is the victim and her mother is dead—murdered.

-Concubine Lin’s motives are completely valid—she does not have a powerful family like the legitimate wife. She is a concubine and therefore her safety and status rely on the whim of Master Sheng. Worse, she does not have the favor of Old Madame but she is lucky that Old Madame chooses not to interfere. Concubine Lin’s problem (I think) is that she is overly ambitious and makes risky choices that hurt others all in the name of protecting herself—with stakes like that you can justify any action. Also, this is Molan’s mother and so Molan’s fears are the same as her mother’s.

-Gu Ting Ye helped Ming Lan because he felt pity for her. To him it is just a favor but it meant a lot to her. He finds her solemnity entertaining because she cares so much for one kind act. We also know for certain that he and his father do not get along

.-I believe that her grandmother feels so much empathy for Ming Lan because she knows what it is like to have been schemed against by another family member (a concubine) because that is how her son was killed. She too was pushed aside, and the evil doer was not punished.

Ending Note: In one scene Old Madame says something that resonates with me after Madame Wei’s funeral ‘Hot water cannot be made cool by one tub of cold water’ i.e this problem is so big that your acts of piety are not enough, you need to be careful.

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