The Empress of China Episode 8

ep 8 spoilers ahead

8/96!

1.Our episode begins with a servant of Virtuous Consort being scolded. She acted on her own and poisoned the food that Xu Hui had requested be given to Ru Yi. Virtuous Consort nervously clutches her prayer beads as she explains that a woman in Yeting had almost zero chance of ever coming out (I did some research and learned that 'Yeting' refers to the entire area of the Western Palace, where maids trained. There was a prison in the palace, referred to as the 'Weaving Room' where women dyed clothing and performed various tasks--this may be the area that our Ru Yi is in fact confined). In any event, I am surprised that this servant acted without orders--

2.That night, Xu Hui and Ru Yi meet up, talking to one another through the wall separating them. Ru Yi is not jealous of Xu Hui's good fortune in attracting the emperor; she even praises her chess skills and intelligence. We learn that Xu Hui is in love with the emperor, and this is a secret she has kept. Xu Hui insists she did not poison the food and Ru Yi tells her to stop, that she believes her. The girls swear a vow to be sisters and work together, having learned from Wanyan how the harem can distort your thinking and turn people against one another.

3.Elsewhere, I believe the Prince of Wu is eating a lot of food. He seems to have a fixation on beauty and youth (as well as himself) and often studies his reflection. He later goes to Yehu Lane (? not sure of the significance of this location) and there he meets with Consort Wei (isn't his mother the Pure Consort?) who reveals her ambition: she desires to be empress and has teamed up with the Prince of Wu who tells her to be patient, and in a year or two he will help her realize this goal. We also learn that the Prince Wu is very much his father's son: he tells Wei that his brothers are bad brothers because they stand in his way to the throne (basically if they loved him they would die or disappear)....he kind of makes my skin crawl...

4.Elsewhere, the emperor is with his advisors. Apparently Chu Sulliang wrote a report that would impeach Wei Yuancheng (MInister of Defense) because of gross abuse of powers and corruption. The man to be impeached, meanwhile, plans on using the upcoming Grand Assembly (it occurs every 3 years; the city hosts a big event and entertains many ambassadors and foreign dignitaries) to have a new empress named.

5.We then go the harem, where the three consorts are visiting together. We learn that the harem hosts the Glass Banquet, an extremely lavish event in which they must impress the ambassador wives with their elegance and wealth. It is, essentially, a giant display. Consort Wei is in charge of it because she is the highest ranked consort. She asks the women to work together for this event (interesting)

6.Back at court, Minister Wei brings up the topic of the empress and suggests that Consort Wei is the best choice because she is the most capable. He names valid reasons for not selecting the other two: Pure Consort is often ill and Virtuous consort has a weak personality. The opposition to this is 1)he is essentially naming his own niece to be empress. The Emperor appears to be uncommitted to this and suggests they wait for Chancellor Zhangsun to recover from his illness, effectively putting this on hold. Meanwhile, he names Consort Yang (Pure Consort) to be in charge of this years glass banquet(!)

7.Elsewhere, a melancholy crown prince is partying in the eastern palace with a bunch of men and girls. His tutor visits him and essentially explains to him what happened during the meeting with the king. He basically tells him he needs to shape up because the Wei family, although their power is in decline, is still powerful and could be a threat. In addition, the naming of Consort Yang to take over the Glass Banquet is a slap in the face because she has a son, the Prince of Wu, and if she becomes empress (which would make more since because she has a son while Wei does not) then it endangers his position. His tutor urges him to take this Grand Assembly as a chance to reassert his power....

8.Elsewhere, Noble Consort Wei is getting ready (so pretty!) and Virtuous Consort arrives with a gift--some kickass shoes--however Noble Consort, never one to pass up a chance to exert her power, makes her put them on her feet. It is as she is putting these shoes on that Wei learns that she is no longer in charge of the banquet, but Consort Yang is! The look of shock on her face and the smug look on Consort Yin's face is priceless!

9.On her way back, Virtuous Consort has a talk with her servant about the current state in the harem and brings things into perspective. Her servant assumes that this snub to Consort Wei is a sign she is about to fall from power. But Consort Yin tells her that is not at all the case; the emperor has been aware of her evil acts for years and ignored them. She says that something enormous would need to happen for to fall from power and believes that something big will happen during the grand assembly (If Wei's uncle is actually impeached....that will be priceless...)

10.Meanwhile, our leading lady, Ru Yi is released from prison. Every person in Yeting not on death row is given a pardon in honor of celebrating the upcoming grand assembly (the emperor planned this out) she survived a full year in yeting. Later that night, she and Xu hui meet to discuss their game plan. They know that they are not liked by the Wei faction (which includes Xiao Q). However Xu Hui does not have enough power and is just a Jieyou while Ru Yi has a crime attached to her name and is a Cairen. In addition, Wei fears her. They know the Virtuous Consort is not reliable so they plan on throwing their lot in with Consort Yang, who has helped them in the past. They owe her a favor, and plan on helping her gain control of the harem.

(Here we see that Wei, although managing to obtain great power, has made enough enemies in the process that now she has to contend with others uniting together against her, and her acts of humiliating people like Virtuous Consort might even lead Virtuous consort to helping Pure Consort...however, the fact that both Virtuous and Pure Consort have a son makes them rivals as well so mayhap she will continue to support Wei no matter how annoying....)

What confuses me: If I assumed correctly, then Consort Wei is plotting with Prince Wu, the son of a woman who hates her....he is not very filial.

I really, really hope that the friendship between Xu Hui and Ru Yi does not collapse due to harem politics....

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