The First Jasmine Episode 37

Fear is our biggest enemy

And the Empress Dowager is scheming again! 🙄 Even after seeing that her son accidentally eavesdropped on her conversation with the Duke and now knows about all her wrongdoings to pave her road to power? Oh, that woman! 🤦‍♀️ She has invited Ye Li to live in her palace under the pretext of avoiding loneliness... Neither I nor Prince Ding are such fools as to believe that! She's so afraid that with the mighty military power Prince Ding has now, he might side with Prince Li and overthrow the Emperor, so she invited Ye Li to hold her hostage in her palace and use her as insurance against Prince Ding's possible treason.And I am not afraid for A’Li at all, because she’s no ordinary woman, and the Empress Dowager actually should be the one to beware… 😏Also, to be fair, I kind of thought the Empress Dowager did something to the Duke, and that's why he suddenly got so sick. Otherwise, I can't understand why it happened in her room and why so rapidly... 🤨

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Victory via defeat

Princess Li now knows JingLi is alive and is determined to see him, it is unclear why she is so devoted to him, but she is even knowing that she and Ye Li’s husbands are on opposite sides in this battle. Ye Li tried to dissuade her but stubbornness runs deep in Ye women. They hug each other goodbye and both take their respective paths. The court is led by the old and the cowardly so there is not a strong military presence there. It is best argued to keep them in one force to save on supplies and be at highest strength, but there is dissension worrying that Prince Ding having military might could easily join forces with JingLi and defeat the young Emperor. Once Prince Ding was healed that could have been accomplished long ago had that been the objective. 😝The emperor is making decent headway in his own decisions, but he is still honestly just a kid that understands the theory of war and strategy but no practical life experience as to the realities of the theories. His mother has returned and the Duke had a meeting with her about Lishan. He point blank asks her if she set up Lishan to die with her troops and mysterious outbreak. She denies it and points to him as being the last visitor there. Whether or not she personally handled Lishan, the Marquis was given cart blanche to handle perceived enemies to the throne as he saw fit. She even told her son that’s how she handled things in her youth. Not considering the consequences until later in life and then wondering if worth the cost. The Duke sounds like he is at death’s door and is encouraged to go home and not worry about court proceedings. They both become aware that the emperor heard their conversation. He still doesn’t completely trust Prince Ding. This is more due to his bias from long standing falsehoods about what happened with edict. He now has to wade thru the murky waters left in the wake of his mother’s and Marquis’ scorched earth approach to kill first and ask questions later. Unfortunately there is no good counsel for him because the reliable sources are old and infirm or silenced by death. Guo Jin takes matters into her own hands by ‘asking Ye Li to come stay at the palace. Her letter to Prince Ding lets him know what’s been happening at the capital, They have a beautiful way of reading between the lines to get to the heart of the matter. He knows his wife is being held hostage and rumors have the court doubting his loyalties. Gu is hunting down the rumor source but the damage has been done. What was the best news is their feint of defeat has lulled JungLi into a sense of security. He is prepping to take over the pass not realizing a healthy force will be ready and waiting to hold him back. The emperor does not deserve Prince and Princess Ding. 😝Fortunately they care for the people of Dachu in spite of the doubts cast their way.

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