The Empress of China Episode 5

ep 5 spoilers ahead

5/96!

So much has happened and I haven't even made a dent in this show....

1.We open to the emperor who spends his evenings talking with Ru Yi. When the bell rings signaling morning court, she begs him to stay. He tells her that he must follow the rules (lesson). She in turn invites him to watch the morning servants on their way, so long as he promises not to punish anyone. He sees a maid snacking on the food she is delivering and eunechs engaged in a game. Her lesson to him is that even though people have work, it would be dull if you did not incorporate fun. he tells her he has learned something from her...

2.Virtous Consort Yin has her servant, Siyaou Liu, support Wanyan. Meanwhile Wanyan is humiliated by Xiao who exposes that the emperor still has not lain with her. But Wanyan, visibly upset, tells her that she is a Jieyou while Xiao is a 5th rank Cairen (I thought she was Jieyou too). Xiao tells her that the emperor spends his nights with Ru Yi, but Xiao won't believe it. She visits Ru Yi herself, asks her questions, and Ru Yi pretends that she does not know where the emperor spends his time (I wonder why she lied?)

3.Wunyan views this as a huge betrayal (I'm not sure why since its the harem and everyone is competing with each other). But she views Ru Yi as a traitor, a bad friend, and now wants to eliminate her. She goes to Virtuous Consort, and goes so far as to sweeten the pot by stating that if she gains the emperor's eye, they can bring her son back. Virtuous Consort helps her by giving her a 'Double Channel Poison Jug' (Here I was thinking that Noble Consort Wei is an excellent manipulator because she got her niece to manipulate Wunyan who in turn is manipulating Virtuous Consort). This jug allows you to roll a pearl and poison someone while both people drink from the same container.

4.Ru Yi is invited to visit Wunyan, who uses the jug. We learn from her that she has every mirror covered because she hates her reflection; she has been training since she was 10 to emulate Wende. Ru Yi is surprised by this and Wunyan says that she won't tell anyone, and Ru Yi does not get the hidden meeting. The girls drink tea, and Wanyan waits for the poison to take effect.

5.SHOCKER Wunyan is the one who is poisoned. She dies a brutal, violent death with blood dripping from her mouth and nose and eyes and ears. Ru Yi screams for help and tries to help her. She dies in her arms, whispering that she was sabotaged--it seems that she was deliberately how to use the jug incorrectly. Her own family killed her!

6.Ru Yi is arrested for the murder by the Attendance Court. Because she is a Cairen, and without rank, she has the same status as a maid. Consort Wei meets with Consort Yin and essentially calls her out for her behavior and congratulates her, since she will kill two birds with one stone. Virtuous Yin pleads she is ill and Wei calls her a coward (she will only see a plan through so far, then hides to avoid any connection; she pulled out once she learned Noble Consort Wei was deliberately not notifying both Pure Consort and the emperor). Virtuous Consort is good at this game, but I respect Noble Consort for her ruthlessness.

7.Virtuous Consort confesses to her brother's servant that she killed Zheng because she doesn't want to see a repeat of the fiasco that destroyed their clan.

8.Ru Yi is subjected to brutal water torture. Noble Consort Wei smugly watches as she is tortured (makes you wonder how many people she has done this to) with water, and then later gagged after Ru Yi calls Consort Wei out for knowingly torturing an innocent person. She is also made to wear a 24-book coat, it essentially crushes a person's chest. It becomes so bad that Ru Yi passes out many times, bleeds from the nose--but she doesn't confess. When the eunuch gets close and asks her to confess she spits blood in his face!

9.Meanwhile, Xu Hui pleads until she obtains an audience with Pure Consort. Pure Consort agrees to notify the emperor and involve the grand court because she knows that Noble Consort Wei will use this incident to try to ultimately pin the blame on her (something like Ru Yi was a favorite of hers or learned from her) because the two hate each other.

10.The episode ends with Ru Yi unconscious and Noble Consort Wei planning to kill Ru Yi, believing that since she is a lowly cairen, no one will really care if she dies (this is the same woman who cut out the tongues of those servants in the beginning--no one cared)

-I can't wait for Ru Yi to get revenge. I bet it won't happen for many episodes.

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