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KJ2025 I had no idea what to expect when schoolmaster added the shield…I thought to prevent cheating but did not expect beauty spells😂 I loved that fairy saw another beauty.😆 YeTan improvised well because in spite of schoolmaster’s biased opinion, the prince knew why she wasn’t prepared and what he had told her. That was a bit of ingenuity that made schoolmaster acknowledge her capability even tho he did consider it a close cheat. She earned her way back to class and Prince should have at least smiled at her or a thumbs up…him leaving gave both beauties in class wrong impression. Third Prince is overplaying his hand. This was challenged by brother one. QingKui bravely steps up and challenges brother one directly. I am not familiar enough with acupuncture to know what she did, but she seems very confident in the results. Third princes mom ready to throttle him.🤣We do not know what clan did but I am betting current empress had something to do with it and the brand on third consort’s arm. I hope we get the story of this. The episode ends with third prince ready to zap brother and QingKui bravely watching first bro come at her with a battle axe. On to next episode to see what happens 🫣😬
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She is stopped before first bite and shown the cost of each meal. She started by refusing but her growling stomach decided for her.😂 She quickly sells off her ill gotten gains and is forced to consider another option. While she is eating voraciously, her friend reveals a bit of her past. Even tho she was indeed a princess the servants were handled with more care. They deliberately forgot her meals and her sister brought her remnants from kitchen so she could eat. At school the fairy that has a crush on Prince was bullying a coriander. At first, YeTan did not want to involve herself, but as the fairy kept running her mean spirited mouth, we get another insight to Princess’ childhood. She was forbidden a formal education because they thought if she got too smart she would cause more trouble. YeTan could not help herself and showed the fairy and schoolmaster their hypocrisy. She finds herself refused from the school before she even gets to attend. The Prince hears the news and right when he is leaving to have it out with the princess, the coriander comes and tells the prince what happened. The prince has a conversation with the schoolmaster and bargains for her to test and if she passes she can go to school. Personally, I think the schoolmaster is biased and she would be best off learning directly from Prince. But he is wiser in negotiating. He bargains to remove the iridescent eyes if she passes…so of course she is all in for the challenge. At the school, the coriander finds a scroll with divine magic and practices. She is caught by the young prince and denies she is the coriander he helped with dew. I don’t know why she is lying, but the young prince chooses to befriend her anyway. In the Void, the third prince is brought to his father and empress with charges of murder. The second prince wins the case and is choking the third prince to death. The first son finally breaks up things to claim second son planning an insurrection. This starts a battle when oldest son praises third son for killing the servant and then kills four more charged with conspiracy. The second prince is being framed, but the first prince was well duped so it came across as truth. After the incident the third prince is called to visit his mother. Now to see what her opinion is on things.
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In this, QingKui and celestial prince get top marks for what they will endure for their betrothed. The other two are incorrigible.😝🤣 Third prince gets lowest marks for highest deceit. The only thing that redeems him somewhat is he is actually falling for the sweet princess. She is not the least bit hesitant to give her all to protect him or help him. These two at least know about the swap, but she still is not aware that third prince is guilty of all things she thinks due to Prince two. She is doing surprisingly well considering how peaceful she is by nature. YeTan…..she is wreaking havoc among the gambling mentors and finally succeeds in getting them to ask for reprieve from iridescent eyes. She does not know that the Prince took her 50 lashes himself and whatever other punishment accompanied for not training his wife well. Of the 4…he has taken the most unmerited physical punishment. Third Prince doesn’t count…his is more or less self inflicted via his best friend. His ‘hardship’ in cavern of lost souls is not so much a hardship. He is quietly eating to his content and letting his friend bruise him up so he looks like he suffered. He almost has the sense of guilt for first time when he sees how innocently the Princess sticks up for him and demands to be seen. She is not giving up and even the gatekeeper doesn’t know how to react to such sweet sincerity. The celestial prince has decided to sacrifice all of his belongings to mentors and then return the favor after presenting a bountiful banquet to the princess. She is just getting ready to tear into a leg of lamb when the prince stops her. 😂
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YeTan has destroyed many things to make a real meal. I can’t blame her completely because they had no reason to think humans could survive on air. That introduced the younger brother to hotpot meal.🤣 She gets him drunk and she steals his token to escape. She is truly blessed to have such a good friend. The change to bird literally saves YeTan from falling to earth. QingKui has used needing meds to sneak out of void and the sisters actually meet in demon town. The third prince plans to kill them both but his plans are changed when celestial prince show up. Third prince realizes celestial prince does not know about bride swap so changes plans. He pretends to save Qingkui and returns to void with her. YeTan’s friend gets separated by Prince and she gets eye trackers put on her that will punish for any bad actions. The friend tells the prince why the sisters wanted to meet and the prince allows beast friend to join Princess. He still goes to clear mind of all new mishaps and they are adding up quickly😂 QingKui is back in void and third prince continues his lie. The second prince’s closest aide catches them and third prince makes QingKui believe she killed him. He is surprised when she volunteers to turn herself in and knocks her out so she can’t. By the time she wakes up she finds third prince has been tossed in a cavern of lost souls as punishment. She still offers to turn herself in but is told it would do no good. She then offers to join third prince but none dare to take her there. Both princesses are making unexpected waves in the realm they are in. Can’t wait for next episode.
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The void is literally trying to scrub off Qingkui’s hide.😂 She has absorbed so much celestial smell that the cannot tolerate her. The oldest brother is a boorish pig. He is all brute and no brain. Great in a war but not much else. The second son is all guile. He puts on a good show but would never care for anything beyond himself and appearances. But he also is the Empress’ pick. The third son pretends to be a drunkard but lets Qingkui know he is aware of who she is and will protect her. He then counters that with lues of brother two and why YeTan can not come there. He still plans on ruling but has to get through his brothers first. Back in the heavenlies, Yetin learns her banquet is literally air🤣 Since she is the dark part of chaos flower, this literally opposes what she is and makes her ill. It is quite funny watching her toss up pretty sparklies. Her friend finds her little fruits to eat. What neither know is that it is a potent aphrodisiac.😂 Her next encounter with strait laced law abiding Prince is quite fun. YeTan is a breath of fresh air in this place that ironically lives on air. The emperor is appalled at her actions while the Emoress there grins at the truth of it. No matter what illusion is attached, sir is still just air and a princess has to eat.😂 After this day’s mishap with food choices, I think the prince will help her. She is literally the opposite of who is supposed to be there, but the destiny bridge approved. Kinda interesting.😆 The sisters experience each other’s pain. The dad mentioned this but here we see it. QingKui let’s YeTan know she is in the void and YeTan is reminded how many strokes are in each letter.😂 Yetin is very loud but scared of pain while QingKui is very quiet and endures it. These sisters have a loving bond as well as painful one. They truly are like one entity of two parts. QingKui is trying to get a letter to her father to let him know they were swapped. I am not sure if correspondence will get past third prince or how human father will get through to other realms. Waiting to see what happens next.
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YeTan gets her friend beast king to cause a disruption to save her sis from marriage. He is in love with YeTan so more than happy to get things cancelled. Things go awry and third Prince overhears she pretended to be QingKui. He succeeds where beast king did not and swaps the brides. YeTan is far from happy because she wants to be great demoness and looks forward to causing her father grief. QingKui is distressed but patiently waits for sis to rescue her. Third prince feels a bit guilty so he’s trying to make her more at ease in the void. In celestial realm YeTan is a bit overwhelmed. She sees the demons by gate and asks about them. Prince and friend a bit suspicious of her questions so she zips her lips and continues. They get to a chasm where the lucky couple crosses a bridge. The bridge will only form if they are a destined pair. YeTan is fighting tooth and nail to not have to cross. She sees herself plunging to her death for her deception. Shockingly the bridge blesses their union and she finds herself on other side. She is surrounded by well wishers and gifts so she chatters away with them. She is not at all what was expected but everybody going with the flow of things. She is removing attention from the Prince who still hates physical contact. While her behavior is seen as poor she’s actually doing him a big favor. When she sees the place designed for her sister she sees how much they valued her. She is still not sure what she’s going to do but she wants to sell her gifts to have cash to head to the void. She still has no clue the third Prince was who she and heavenly Prince fought with, and he doesn’t want her anywhere close to the realm to reveal his assassination attempt on older brother. He still hopes to find means to get brothers out of the way so he can rule. The chaos flower girls are definitely changing up both realms😄
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In a battle with immortals chaos was imprisoned in Guixu. A tree had roots deep enough to thrive in chaos and produced flowers that equally accepted purity and impurity. The immortals were determined to destroy it because it was a key to Guixu and chaos had to stay buried or would again try to destroy everything. The essence of the flower drifted to the human world after thousands of years and bloomed over an Empress giving birth to twins. Which meant for the girls that one had all the suspicious circumstances and the other was considered cursed. The cursed one was shunned by everybody in the kingdom except her sister who dearly loved her and shared everything with her. This let the one shunned have a bit of happiness and tho very outspoken and fiery tempered, she dearly loved her sister in return. It was decided for them that one would marry to the heavenly immortals and the other the prince of demons. The heavenly immortal prince had lived a life of serious training to guard the tree and had very little connection with other people. He did have a best friend like the shunned princess that could change forms and liked them in spite of their social missteps. The prince was tested the second he arrived home after a 1500 year absence. He passed that test but had no idea how to communicate tactfully and did not like physical contact because all his memories and feelings had been locked up for centuries. On the eve before their betrothals the good sis gets the bad sis out of jail so they can enjoy their last night together. The bad sis learns that when her sis. Marries she will basically live a life alone while her husband takes care of heavenly duties. To his merit, the heavenly prince also recognized this as something that should not occur for that very reason but both fathers determined to have the marriage for the alliance to be made. In a demon town the heavenly prince was checking with embedded informers in the status of the demon army. While there he bumps into the bad princess that is looking to hire kidnappers. Ironically she wants to kidnap him 😂 She pretends to be her sister so that he will be happy to annul the marriage. He would be more than happy to comply but circumstances aren’t allowing it. We also run into the demon prince who is supposed to marry the bad sis. He wants to assassinate the competition so that he can finally reign as he wants without faking the philandering persona he’s been using to hide his ambition. His assassination attempt is thwarted by the one that is actually supposed to be his bride.😝 she only had eyes on the older brother so didn’t realize who he was but did note that the prince she did not want for her sis easily kicked this guy’s butt and she hates to admit she finds it impressive….now to see how battle ends
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Interesting form of waterboarding. Not familiar with this execution technique. Gao did well with the knockout potion in food. Hai’s grin at eating meal said he knew something up. I am not sure how things will go for those left behind but I am glad Mr 8 helped AnTu. Gao sneaky with all his money saving. But bittersweet that he knew what BingWen planned and still drank the tea. 😭 I wish he could have made it back to town because BingWen got message to new Queen. I think he left off the part where he was going there to make non dead army😝 New Queen will deserve whatever she has coming. She has already managed a groom for AnTu and they’ve not been there a day. Hai is locked up in sky prison with no help in sight. New Queen wants him gone. BingWen is on the way and AnTu being married off to neighboring realm. I do wish mom was alive so I could see her response to eldest daughter. Something happened for AnTu to be left in Yong ten years basically forgotten so not sure what deal was made. Maybe whatever arrangement she had with Cao. Who knew that as a child he was the nice one of the three.😝 There will be no Mr Gao or Queen to rescue them this time. They are going to have to figure out things on their own. Losing the element of surprise thanks to BingWen is really working against them. The cast has done an excellent job bringing out the various emotions to draw in audience. These last couple episodes have you traveling with Hai and feeling his journey along with him. Can’t wait to see BingWen get slammed with penalty for using seal. Hope munchkin Queen gets to enjoy that along with him😝 These two deserve each other.
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Wow…did not see the three musketeers of power born in Yong school. Cao and Marquis did a good job masking their friendship. BingWen had power bug early…the ability to coldly kill at very young age. Cao took the hit to become eunuch. They made themselves the power force behind the empire and were pretty damn good at it. BingWen has made all our crew wanted and has done something to Emperor. Now he possesses fish and seal and plans to create an undead army out of Dongxia. He obviously doesn’t know or care about whatever repercussions the seal exacts from user. He is still under the assumption that the cost is to the little guy. How could he be so close to the pulse of the empire and so unaware the Emperor had it? Xiao Zhan gets acting award for that glare as BingWen leaves his cell. The road of hate has been paved now. LuFen did his last lie for the cause and then killed. And now Mr 8 is going to be let in on the secret about her dad. There is no way to know which way that fall. BingWen heads for the world rather than just kingdom. Stopping him is going to be difficult, but his bridges with buddies has been permanently burned. Gao is too friendly with him. Is it a cover or is he walking the tightrope to really keep Hai safe? BingWen said he was trying to protect Hai too😝 Maybe that was just until he could be made fall guy for emperor. AnTu’s hands are tied and she doesn’t have the same clout but she always finds a way to be his best defense so hoping she comes up with something.
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Mr 8 confirmed painting was her father’s and he gave her a cover story. His eyes went to the boxes above that, so what is he still hiding? AnTu and Hai still determine who is third enemy and not ruling out Gao. There is a mystery about him that he is not telling. How that intertwines with current events is still to be determined. Hai has gone to the source and learned Lu Min is BingWen. So is this really his third enemy even tho things pointing this direction? Having the personnel list written by YiPing an excellent find. Was this due to his machinations with colleague or is a mentor still pulling strings from behind? Is BingWen protecting or spying on daughter? Giving her so much freedom to immediately change the rules is not going to sit well with her. So is he trying to get info via AnTu thru his daughter? There are still too many questions. Is BingWen like LuFen who is capable of great good and evil? Hai accepts the new course he has chosen but where does that lead? All waters around mentors is murky. Glad he and AnTu a united front. I hope he keeps antidotes available and AnTu makes him practice with crossbow😝Something is off with both mentors as intrigues continue.
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The intrigues continue. BingWen gets ZangHai an audience with Shi YiPing and the games begin. This one is cagey and heads for getting the sword of justice from Zang Hai. Here he reminds me very much of the Marquis. That part is thwarted and Zang Hai manages a secret audience with a gift of two rare paintings. Right when things get interesting, he drops dead from poisoning. LuYan is quite the assassin. She was really wanting to get both of them. The fight scene was very well choreographed and she and AnTu finished things up nicely. She started talking and we find out that Shi YiPing was responsible for poisoning the surveillance group and getting the seal and fish from Cao. Lu Yan was definitely not in agreement with the plan. She only revealed that she wanted to kill Zang Hai much earlier and she hated him for getting her master killed. Right when authorities showed up she slit her own throat to join the rest of her fallen comrades and master. That cockroach Cao is still not done Lu Fen still out there. Amd we don’t know if any other secret Lu’s in the mix. 😝 I’m with Zang Hai that that went far too smoothly. He left the seal with the Emperor but kept the fish. The seal still does not look the same as episode one. There is still some things going on that have yet to be revealed. The picture of Dongxia was a clue and gives a specific mountain location. Zang Hai is planning on resigning and BenWin is offered YiPing’s job. He was not particularly wanting it, but agreed to be interim head of court til proper replacement found. Gao is acting off. Is he really going to be third enemy? Waiting to see what Zang Hai and AnTu have planned. Will master and student really have a head to head battle over the fish? Or is emperor still pulling some strings? He does not know about fish specifically but I think he is well aware that the seal does not work as it currently is. Was a clue given when he wanted to visit original master and was Gao says wonder if he is still even there? The puzzles keep spinning but the locks are being let loose one by one. How many locks are there? Cause it seems kinda endless.
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The friendship between Emperor and Kuai Duo spares Zang Hai his life for now. It is curious why this son was chosen when middle son seemed best choice for Emperor. There is a story there. We get to see more of what happened. Duo was questioned quite thoroughly about travel route and who knew what and when. Emperor almost has Cao crazed look about seal. It also has different appearance. In the cavern the seal had three fish on the side and eerie green glow which is why I originally thought he found something carved from jade. Duo made no mention of fish and said he had no clue how to make seal work. He also gently reminded Emperor how powerful he was without it. As the Emperor talks he points out how aware Duo was of his weaknesses. He wants to move Duo from a job he loves and is good at to a more political job that would put him under Emperor’s thumb. Duo politely refuses and asks to settle with his family in family homestead and the emperor agrees without further persuasion. This also feels a bit off. Duo and Emperor had similar abilities with wood and most likely also with puzzles. So it is quite likely the emperor was aware that Duo was lying about seal and how to make it work. I can’t shake the notion that the emperor called for his death and wanted proof. This is where Marquis steps up with his plan for trophies. What happened for this to make him calm minded rather than horrified? If the emperor didn’t command this third person did and was close enough to emperor to be obeyed. So all of this is twisted together. I think once Duo handed the seal over his fate was also sealed. I do not know if emperor had anything to do with the collateral damage. That seems more like a Cao /Marquis way to handle things. The last childhood scene of emperor and Duo showed him having to leave his common friend and bond for royal duties. So he was already equipped for that separation. And Duo was also aware which is why he could give the Emperor a non working seal. Even friends could hold secrets against each other when beliefs and goals differed.
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I was not sure why Zang Hai would be moving the pieces without a fake already to replace. The queen did provide sketches of what it looked like before the festival. A Lu exists that is not completely crazy. He shows that Cao could have run things correctly, but chose to not. He confirmed that Zang Hai’s appearance had been significantly altered from familial features. I understand the rush to the Queen but dammit Cao should have left dead.😝 I am thinking there is a slight chance that he had already made a fake seal and swapped before caught by Lu Fen. This would have been a good way to get Cao to reveal third party but still not power of seal. Zang Hai did shield AnTu which I think the right thing to do since he had no real fighting skills. The Queen had a significantly better chance of killing Cao and getting the seal. Saving ZangHai shows her great love of daughter and her love for Kuai Duo. I want to know what Cao told her about Kuai Duo. There was something she didn’t know and I think key to fish distribution. He has more lives than cat. 😝This old viper needs to have head chopped off and his surveillance group sent to border. The Queen’s death is sloppily covered with no mention of Cao or Zang Hai getting called out. The battle scenes were well done and ZangHai’s timely interference believable and somewhat humerous. I did like AnTu’s whip trick of taking out psycho Lu with his own sword. The crack from Lu Fen about bureau being run as Zang Hai wanted was quite the irony.😝 Cao is like mafia boss that had one son run a legitimate business. I am really annoyed he is still alive, but I am hoping he reveals third fish holder and has a fake seal. Then after that sets in I want AnTu to finish him by her choice of weapons. The Lu’s need dispatched to border or dead. They are too loyal to Cao. Curious how Zang Hai is going to resolve things. I rewatched first episode to see events better and to remember why Marquis deserved to die. For the third fish, is it possible this was a deliberate misdirect from the Marquis as a last middle finger to Queen and Cao? When this was decided, he had no reason to think either of his sons would amount to much. Neither of them was promising so did he really have to tell them the truth of things? And even tho ZhiXing has shown great promise, if he misdirects Queen and Cao to fight over fish for seal, how was that not to his benefit? There is shadiness with the astronomer but for a better good. His wife knew of some of it because she supported him in death rather than cursing him the loss of their child. There is some bigger picture not given yet. The Marquis was a key. But I don’t think either son was included. Considering the deeds of his wife and his willingness to toss and kill children, this should not be surprising. It is unfortunate we do not know who held his backup plan against Cao. I think there is key information there that might stay buried. There is still much to unravel and to see where the author takes us next.
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This episode….I did not like that the writer is hinting at giving ZhiXing a twisted bitter life of hate. He did not leave the city that way and while he was disappointed in no friendship from Zang Hai….i think he managed it anyway. Zang Hai cared about his fate and sent comrades with him so for it to hint at future revenge just keeps a bad trail continuing. His goal is to remake the Zhuang name, not follow the course of his father. It is left unclear if the Marquis lied to ZhiXing or if ZhiXing lied to Zang Hai. It is unclear if this was a final test for son’s loyalty or a way to deceive seeker of third fish. It might indeed be the last revenge of Zhuang clan not to reveal third enemy. Maybe this was withheld from Zang Hai by ZhiXing choosing to handle the revenge of killing his father. This would give his dad the most merciful death and give Zhuang family most hope. He willingly gave his fish to Zang Hai so maybe he chose not to assist with third enemy. The Queen was right to test him. She has every reason to discourage her daughter from a man unable to love her most. For the reunion of AnTu and Zang Hai. I am going to be a very unpopular opinion. I liked her carp and swan story. It was a very good analogy for their relationship. But I did not feel the urgency of relief she was ok. This was adequately acted by both of them, but they were not near as stirring as the Queen and Kuai Duo. They were almost formal in hug and there was no tears or overwhelming feeling with the kiss. It gave the idea of what should have happened but not the feeling that that is what did happen. Their scene fell flat for me. I found the mother daughter scene much more touching. The hunt for The seal was accomplished with the compass provided by Queen. She is interesting, The seal turning up at the Emperor’s palace. Not unexpected but kinda anticlimactic when so much effort has been invested looking for it. The Eunuch stole the episode. He has figured out the location of seal thanks to Zang Hai and knows the third fish holder. His almost gleeful laugh said he enjoyed the irony of the situation. The Emperor already having the seal….did he determine the fish holders after Kuai Duo’s death? If Kuai Duo did not want the Emperor to have the power of the seal by keeping the fish….why bother to bring it back? He could have just taken the fish and negated the use of it. Why would the Marquis and Eunuch be part of it when their inclination for corruption well known. What was the original intent of the fish and who has third key? This episode feels sloppy compared to the other ones. It is the first time that only Eunuch draws me into the mystery part of story. It is sadly disappointing after all the revelations of last episode. The other thing is did the Emperor want him killed to get the key? I thought the Marquis referred to the seal when he told Kuai Duo he had something that did not belong to him….what if he was always referring to the fish? What last machinations played out that night that determined the fish holders? I do not see the astronomer’s righteous cause including the Marquis and eunuch in anything……so what was the original plan and who thwarted it? I like the Queen alliance. She is the first to give observer view of seal and its history.
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Cao’s squad knows Zang Hai was last to enter Marquis’ house. They want to kill him but Cao wants Gui seal more. He can’t be sure that Zang Hai doesn’t know where it is. The meal with his friends seemed like a goodbye dinner…maybe of the permanent kind. AnTu, to her credit, gave it to him straight. She would forsake her mother forever to run away with him if he would drop the matter. He is in anguish outside her prison door. He so wants to run off with her but chooses to put hope aside and see this path through. She is heartbroken but resigned to his choice. She has made it clear she wants him to live above all else. Zang Hai was ready to deliver his resignation letter to ease the way to leave for Dongxia. Just before it could be delivered, the Queen of Dongxia arrives. Her lipstick is rather distracting. She has a vibe but I can’t place it yet. She is most cunning but it seems neither good or evil…just ready to meet decisively whatever comes at her. She is not the eagle but bird of prey is not a bad analogy. For now I will consider her a lady dragon ready to protect her treasure. She is chained but not down for the count by any means…it is more like biding her time for the long game. She watches and waits. Zang Hai is called to court for an emergency meeting. This has everybody’s attention since session had been cancelled due to Emperor’s illness. This of course was cover story for Cao not being able to attend. He is in critical condition but is singularly focused on Gui seal. He wants all pieces on board til its location is revealed. The Emperor gives a panda vibe. He looks more comfortable in his workshop than in court. The Queen presents a series of gifts and the emperor wants to know what the incredible treasure is that was promised. A miniature house is brought in with a challenge attached. The treasure is inside, but it is a puzzle box to open. She challenges to see if any of their scholars are capable of opening. The head of ministry of works gives it a go. He understands the construction but sees it as a system of locks with no means of unlocking. The Prince suggests Zang Hai. Zang Hai investigates the box and understands the connections between beasts and dots. He sees a specific joint technique particular to his father. He knows he has to open it and he knows his identity is revealed when he does. He chooses to complete the box and present it open to emperor. The roof is lifted off to reveal a jade fetus.This is supposed to be buried in an auspicious location to ensure longevity of rule. Zang Hai is given the job to find a location. The Queen offers him a ride to chat and she shows him some of her cards. She knows her daughter likes him. She has figured out who he is. And she knows he has her daughter. She gives him the first real clue about his father’s death and he is given the option to bring her daughter to her or share his fate. She has already dispatched the yong members guarding coach and he is a lone man amidst amazons. She is quietly just as impressive as Marquis. Can’t wait to see what next episode reveals.
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