Against the Current Episode 19

Punishments and rewards

Dai Rong has finally been brought to justice for his crimes. The maids are all rewarded and LanXiang has the boldest request. She sees the opportunity she’s been looking for and asks for her family’s indentured papers. The matriarch is stunned and says she will have to wait for her son’s decision since LanXiang is assigned there. As the mother reflects later, she knows LanXiang is too pretty and smart to stay with JinQi when he married. This saves her finding her a different family. She is surprised when JinQi comes home and readily accepts the idea. He now knows why LanXiang had been saving up her favors and it made sense this would be her heart’s desire for her family. The family is presented with their papers and the signed and sealed confirmation from the Lin family that they are to be granted release. They can now become commoners and the Lins will help them register with a local village. They have been given funds to help them find a good home and have JiuGao escorting them to the registrar to make this happen. It has been such a long wait, but none of the Lins could deny Lan Xiang deserved freedom tho she would be terribly missed by family and servants. I like that she leaves her friends books and has roped the head maid into continuing their lessons. I am curious how JinQi will keep in touch because we know he will. 😁He understands her desire to be her own person and to not have to fear for her safety or family because of noble’s whims. His own experience with the Shens proved his family guilty of causing such grief. That was quite an act he put on for his mother about others being equally capable. But, he himself said right to her face she was much too clever to be a maid. Their new free life is getting ready to begin and I am happy to see them off and get a front seat view to see what they choose to do with themselves. There was a dramatic scene of the Zhao daughter celebrating her wedding with bride palanquin heading to capital. It was a clear defining of the opposite locations and paths these two were following. I also think this might be the Zhao daughter marrying into the Xie family instead of second daughter as planned originally. At the Lin home the Yuan matriarch is pleased with the arrangements, the gifts have been received and accepted, and all that remains is for birth dates to be submitted for an auspicious date. The mother is fluttering like a butterfly all happy until she sees her eldest daughter in mourning clothes. She is determined to declare herself joined to Du Zheng even tho he is now dead due to his injury from Marquis. She absolutely refuses to marry the Marquis and rips up the betrothal decree. Gpa wants to settle the matter by killing her off because he knows sister Du will have a good time spreading gossip about her brother’s lover and he doesn’t want to alienate another top tier family. The Zhao’s are more than enough trouble on their own. JinQi is the one that comes up with a reasonable solution. He admits his military issues and false charges along with inviting Dus as tenants brought trouble to their home and second daughter should not be killed as collateral damage. He suggests third daughter marry the Marquis instead. She stepped up and is willing. It now remains to be seen if they will accept. There is a scene with JinQi mourning over Du Zheng’s memorial. It is out of the way by a creepy tree that looks like people have been hung on it. 🫣While he is there Du Cuique is allowed to visit her brother’s grave before going to exile location. JinQi bribed the guard so her manacles and harness could be removed while she paid homage to her brother. She still wants to blame JinQi for looking down on them and not accepting her as a concubine. His response was she should have thought better of herself and strived to be the lawful wife. She is then hauled off to start her prison sentence. JinQi still respects the man that saved his life and honors him. He is still trying to understand how that gratitude and respect turned into this power play where his savior wanted to be his slayer. I can’t quite wrap my brain around that either.🤯They were not in a slave situation like Qia Lan…she was the noble daughter finding herself less than a commoner but endured to live as her mother wanted. These two….a military life is not glamorous. But it is honorable and they were given the chance to go above that station in the Lin home. I do not understand why they didn’t run with that and make good lives for themselves. I cannot see the advantage of killing off the golden goose sharing wealth and home with them. The evil intent of both these siblings is something that needed purged. Maybe in hell they will feel more comfortable. I cannot wait to see JinQi and Scholar Han meet. This will be so fun and a bright spot after all the tragedy that has happened. I also want to see how Xiuru and Marquis’ daughter get along. And I really want snobby scholar to have a wife that can’t read or write since his family thought Zhao daughter was so much better than second daughter and Lin family.😝

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A tragedy foretold. A tragedy averted.

Grandfather Lin proposed Xiu Wan’s death (I didn't quite grasp the details of this in the episode). She hadn't made the mistake; the Du family had, and she had simply fallen into their trap. With a grandfather like that, who needs enemies? He was just as cold now as he had been in the past when he left Jia Lan’s family to face their tragedy alone. Back then, he had saved his entire family, yet here he proposed discarding a family member. Even though she was a niece rather than a granddaughter, it was still incredibly cold-hearted. Xiu Wan’s mother resolved to take her own life, but just as she was about to throw herself onto a thick iron spike, Lin Jin Qi stepped in and stopped his aunt’s rash act. Lin Jin Qi offered a plausible solution: “No one needs to die. We don’t just have one young lady; there is another candidate who can marry the Marquis.” That was when Xiu Rui entered the room, wearing an enigmatic expression that made the sincerity of her feelings seem questionable (did she orchestrate this whole thing? She was the one who had said she lacked the beauty of her sisters—the very asset needed to secure a husband). Meanwhile, the most beautiful one was to be sent to her death. All the maids received gold rewards from Madam Lin. However, Madam Lin asked Jia Lan what extra reward she would like. She replied that she wanted freedom for her entire family; she wished to repay her parents' care by being with them in the coming years. Madam Lin reluctantly agreed, though Lin Jin Qi’s approval would be required since they belonged to his pavilion. The other maids were happy with the gold they received, as well as a copy of the study primer *Three Character Classic*. Yet, they felt it was useless without a teacher present. "But Yuchan has offered to teach you all to read," Jia Lan said. And they rejoiced. Madam Lin actually felt it was for the best that Jia Lan was leaving; after all, once he married, how would his wife get along with a beautiful, intelligent maid constantly around? So, it was better this way. As Jia Lan and her parents were saying their goodbyes, Lin Jin Qi did not allow them to kneel before him, saying, "I am no longer your master, so such formalities are no longer necessary." Jia Lan promised to pray that he would find a wonderful marriage and for the happiness of the entire Lin family. Madam Lin looked on with approval, while Lin Jin Qi’s expression was somewhat enigmatic (as if, in doing this, he actually had another solution in mind). As they left the manor gates, the sound of firecrackers and the general joy of the crowd filled the air; a red wedding carriage was passing by. It was Miss Zhao, on her way to her wedding. Is it Xing Tang? The episode began with the public humiliation of the traitorous commander, who was spat upon and struck by his outraged colleagues. Meanwhile, Lin Jin Qi ordered his soldiers to regain their composure, and a fellow officer offered him a salute. The episode concluded with the arrival of a young woman rejoicing over a marriage that had been rejected by another (though that other woman could not have accepted it even if she had wanted to). By accepting this long-awaited marriage, she was also saving the life of another young woman. (What will happen in Episode 20? Let’s find out.)
P.S.:
I can't forget this scene. It’s the graveside scene where Lin Jin Qi and the villainess, Miss Du Cui Que, meet. He pays his respects to Du Zheng—the friend who once saved his life but also tried to take it. At the grave, Lin Jin Qi answers a question Du Zheng had asked in an earlier episode. When Du Cui Que arrives, she is a pitiful sight, shackled and locked into a heavy wooden cangue that traps both her head and hands. Yet, for that moment of farewell to her brother Du Zheng, she is granted the dignity of being free from the chains and the cangue. She bids her brother goodbye. Even so, she speaks harsh words to Lin Jin Qi, who stands silently with his face turned away. He tells her that if she wanted a good marriage, she should have sought it with dignity rather than through wicked schemes. She casts one last glance at him as she is led away to prison, the chains clanking as she walks ahead. (These two actors make a great pair; I remember the first three episodes of *In Blossom* featuring the young woman with the scar and the eyepatch. That was the heroine’s first incarnation—before the body swap and before Ju Jing Yi took over the role. Both actresses were excellent, but Zheng He Hui Zi left a strong impression on viewers, and her chemistry with Liu Xue Yi—in their respective roles—was memorable. Seeing them here feels almost like witnessing them in another life, yet once again separated by events beyond their control—at least, that’s one way to view them if you’ve watched *In Blossom*.)

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It did look like the end of a chapter

She finally got freedom for her parents and herself! 🥹 Jinqi would want her as his wife, and if she's a servant, that's one more obstacle to that happening, so I am not surprised at all that he agreed to it so easily. 😏And her parting gifts for the girls were a beginner's copy of the "Three Character Classic" for each of them, so they could learn to read, and Yuchen agreed to teach them. That is a wonderful gift! 🤗I really loved that shot from above where Lanxiang and her family went to the left, Young Madam Zhao's wedding delegation to the right, and the main gate to the Lin residence stayed in the middle. It did look like the conclusion of a chapter. 😌Jinqi suggesting marrying Xiuru to Commander Yuan instead of Xiuwan somehow made me want to rewatch Melody of Golden Age... but I'll sit on that urge for a little while. 😅

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