Spoilers Ahead1)Ming Lan is recovering from illness in the opening. She coughed up blood after her failed pleas and Evil MIL believes she is alone, desperate, and knows it (hence the illness). Still, she is careful..2)Later, Ming Lan is surrounded by her grandmother, daughter (Rong'er), son, father, and eldest brother. She shares to them that she now realizes how foolish she was because the crime of Auntie Kang and the various families is not important to the crown; this is only a battle between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager (they are in the cross fire). She tells her brother to no longer involve himself. The personal servant of Evil MIL comes to invite Ming Lan out, insisting that if she does not go then they will report she is unfilial (a crime). Her father becomes so furious by this that he spits on the servant and chases her out(!)3)NEWS arrives from the borders: they are losing, because the newly crowned king of the enemy is trying to assert authority over his divided government with military victory Two cities have already lost..4)Given the situation, military generals publicly beg the emperor to release Gu Ting Ye for his help, even House Wang supports this, and a very angry and reluctant emperor agrees5)NEWS: the entire elite squad has perished, including Gu Ting Ye (although his body has not been recovered). When the emperor learns of this he collapses and is ill from the shock. Ming Lan, when she learns, is so shocked that she becomes physically ill..6)A REVOLT IN THE CITY: soldiers led by Imperial Consorts brother in law take over the capital, taking advantage of the emperor's illness, the fact that all of the emperor's major supporters are dead or gone, and await the empress dowager's orders to burst into the Emperor's rooms7)A false official tries to get Ming Lan to go to the palace under a false edict from the empress; she has messengers send warnings to other families to beware. Ming Lan, the Sheng Family, and the Duchess's family are all shown giving orders to protect their homes given the fact that they are under attack.8)Assassins secretly enter the Cheng Gu compound with the assistance of Evil MIL. EVIL MISTRESS MINIANG is with them!! She slips into the rooms where Rong'er and the baby are, injures Rong'er and nearly kills the baby. Sadly, Rong'er witnesses her mother die.9)Realizing that it is all about stalling the inevitable, Ming Lan takes the children to a secret room that no one but her and presumably her husband know about to hide the kids and Shitou and the Nanny. Ming Lan is prepared to die with the others, and her faithful maidservant is more than willing to die with her..10)Empress Dowager is now giving orders to seize families and bring them to the palace for their protection. The prime minister refuses, and just as they are about to execute him, Marquis Gu appears to save the day!!!
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As she said in last episode, Ming Lan is looking forward (i admire this quality of hers). Madame Wu continues to corner her in order to spend time with her, and through dialogue Ming Lan tries to evade her citing gossip and concern about her family. Madame Wu says 'you are alone in a big courtyard I get it' meaning she will invite all her sisters. At the Jiju match Madame Wu is clearly extolling her son's brilliance but she also genuinely likes Ming Lan. Rulan's goal is to praise Ming Lan and insult Mo'er, and finally Mo'er excuses herself to go try to catch up with the Sixth son (on his way to a men's only poetry reading) but Ming Lan stops her by throwing mud at her. Not long after the sisters return home, Big Madame learns that Madame Wu really only wants Ming Lan, which she finds insulting, and is annoyed that Rulan does not care at all. Elsewhere, Concubine Lin continues to pressure Mo'er to stoop to extreme tactics in order to get Sixth Son (and although Mo'er argues that it could all blow up in their faces she really doesn't fight her on it and seems to trust her on this matter). Meanwhile, Master Sheng provides Big Madame with some loving (clearly he has a goal in mind) and (I love how they are like an old married couple bickering) in order to learn why she is avoiding Madame Wu, and so he uses sweet talk to try to get her to change her mind about Madame Wu. But Big Madame defend herself by saying this will just create conflict since Madame Wu only has eyes for Ming Lan so waste time with Mo'er....AFTER THIS Ming Lan discovers Mo'er dressed up and lingering outside. She says something which triggers Mo'er, who tries to trigger Ming Lan, and fails. That night, the antics of the Big Madame are truly...intended to incite Mo'er because she is bragging and preening to get a rise out of them....even Ming Lan is participating in this show. Mo'er walks right into this, and Mo'er runs away pleading illness.
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*final episode!!*
1.Ghost princess immediately recognizes Si Yin (serving tea) and they have a chat
2.She reminisces on earlier more innocent days. It seems that the baby was a girl and not a boy i.e. Li Jing's child. A Li shows up, i guess they just meet up when they can? Apparently A-Li is going to visit YH at the sea of innocence.
3.Scene change: NOW the celestial king is choosing to make things up and apologize to the boy who was wrongly punished for molesting Si Jin. He requests to meet BQ (remember, he was her shifu). Apparently her name is taboo. The emperor wants to know why. He explains that she was his mentor in the mortal realm and he would like to thank her. He is unable to grant the request. He doesn't deny it he says 'we will talk about it later'
4.The goddess who borrowed money from BQ steals the fan from the boy.
5.BQ goes with A-Li to visit YH. BQ admits how lucky she was to have two of heavenly father's sons in her life(one a mentor, the other a heaven). 17th, who is still guarding the tomb, admits he is happy to have company as he guides them to YH's coffin.
6.For reasons completely unexplained it seems like YH's coffin is overwhelmed with celestial blessings. Perhaps he isn't dead, everyone thinks. Mo Yuan is sent to check this out.
7. Like Snow White YH awakens. MY tells him to go seek BQ. The most important celestial tribe members are there--the emperor, DH, his parents--YH thanks his brother, and he has defied death how many times now?--he bows to his family, and then immediately leaves to go find his woman (can't say the same for DH....)
8.No one stops him. At this point, who can? Death can't even stop him. Could that be the theme of this show??? Defying Death?? (While Defying Fate is the theme of the next novel?)
9. The money-borrowing goddess shows up to visit BQ at the theater (is this the same girl who locked FJ up in the pagoda??) She reveals the secret that YH may not be dead because he was protected by powerful celestial blessings. BQ freezes time to get more info. (I think it is the same girl. Only a really great fool could love someone as unobtainable as DH)
10. We get a chance to see BQ in her spirit fox form. She breaks into the celestial palace and confronts MY who explains the truth: half of YHs power came from celestial power; he gained the rest from the 4 spirits. this power was drained destroying the bell. that is how he is alive.) YH is at the blossom field, waiting for her YEAHHH (never question explanations or math in these shows, bc another monster in the pagoda that DH killed had 1/4 of the father's power...)
11. Finally, FINALLY these two are united. And he is waiting for her. Magically A-Li is there, with 4th brother, watching the two lovers embrace.
12.Change scene to ghost princess who is walking with Li Jing's daughter (I thought it was a boy!). She visits 17th at the sea of innocence, hoping to introduce her to her 'savior' i.e. the child was saved because of 17th (isn't she supposed to be a he??)
13. the explanation here is that maybe Xuan Nu called the child a son because she wanted it to inherit the throne. They talk about casual things when it is apparent they want to be together. After some polite words they leave. He stops her and tells her to never seek him out again (sheesh the men in these shows are so masochistic! the only guy who wouldn't say that is YH), I don't think she wanted to hear that. 16th, you are a fool just like DH.
14.MY is at his mountain, just hanging out, and seems to be at peace.
15.Phoenix is playing a game with A Li while 4th brother watches. He regales the kid with stories of the love hate relatioinship between his parents.
16.BQ fills in YH on the last three years, about how she had trouble distinguishing reality from dreams. Unsurprisingly, YH reveals these were not dreams. She needs him to confirm this is not a dream. He reveals the truth of their first meeting, how he was a snake. They reflect on their many meetings.
The end.
1.Ghost princess immediately recognizes Si Yin (serving tea) and they have a chat
2.She reminisces on earlier more innocent days. It seems that the baby was a girl and not a boy i.e. Li Jing's child. A Li shows up, i guess they just meet up when they can? Apparently A-Li is going to visit YH at the sea of innocence.
3.Scene change: NOW the celestial king is choosing to make things up and apologize to the boy who was wrongly punished for molesting Si Jin. He requests to meet BQ (remember, he was her shifu). Apparently her name is taboo. The emperor wants to know why. He explains that she was his mentor in the mortal realm and he would like to thank her. He is unable to grant the request. He doesn't deny it he says 'we will talk about it later'
4.The goddess who borrowed money from BQ steals the fan from the boy.
5.BQ goes with A-Li to visit YH. BQ admits how lucky she was to have two of heavenly father's sons in her life(one a mentor, the other a heaven). 17th, who is still guarding the tomb, admits he is happy to have company as he guides them to YH's coffin.
6.For reasons completely unexplained it seems like YH's coffin is overwhelmed with celestial blessings. Perhaps he isn't dead, everyone thinks. Mo Yuan is sent to check this out.
7. Like Snow White YH awakens. MY tells him to go seek BQ. The most important celestial tribe members are there--the emperor, DH, his parents--YH thanks his brother, and he has defied death how many times now?--he bows to his family, and then immediately leaves to go find his woman (can't say the same for DH....)
8.No one stops him. At this point, who can? Death can't even stop him. Could that be the theme of this show??? Defying Death?? (While Defying Fate is the theme of the next novel?)
9. The money-borrowing goddess shows up to visit BQ at the theater (is this the same girl who locked FJ up in the pagoda??) She reveals the secret that YH may not be dead because he was protected by powerful celestial blessings. BQ freezes time to get more info. (I think it is the same girl. Only a really great fool could love someone as unobtainable as DH)
10. We get a chance to see BQ in her spirit fox form. She breaks into the celestial palace and confronts MY who explains the truth: half of YHs power came from celestial power; he gained the rest from the 4 spirits. this power was drained destroying the bell. that is how he is alive.) YH is at the blossom field, waiting for her YEAHHH (never question explanations or math in these shows, bc another monster in the pagoda that DH killed had 1/4 of the father's power...)
11. Finally, FINALLY these two are united. And he is waiting for her. Magically A-Li is there, with 4th brother, watching the two lovers embrace.
12.Change scene to ghost princess who is walking with Li Jing's daughter (I thought it was a boy!). She visits 17th at the sea of innocence, hoping to introduce her to her 'savior' i.e. the child was saved because of 17th (isn't she supposed to be a he??)
13. the explanation here is that maybe Xuan Nu called the child a son because she wanted it to inherit the throne. They talk about casual things when it is apparent they want to be together. After some polite words they leave. He stops her and tells her to never seek him out again (sheesh the men in these shows are so masochistic! the only guy who wouldn't say that is YH), I don't think she wanted to hear that. 16th, you are a fool just like DH.
14.MY is at his mountain, just hanging out, and seems to be at peace.
15.Phoenix is playing a game with A Li while 4th brother watches. He regales the kid with stories of the love hate relatioinship between his parents.
16.BQ fills in YH on the last three years, about how she had trouble distinguishing reality from dreams. Unsurprisingly, YH reveals these were not dreams. She needs him to confirm this is not a dream. He reveals the truth of their first meeting, how he was a snake. They reflect on their many meetings.
The end.
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1. Bai Quian stops at home to begin wedding arrangements. They also address the issue of who should be queen since Bau Quian is leaving. She nominates her niece, which I agree, I don't really think she is suited because of her immaturity. It seems like they pick her because she is a woman and female foxes are rare (?).
2.Bai Quian borrows Fengjiu in order to check on her. I guess she was beat by her father but not too badly (Dong Hua should have showed up and taken her to his love nest by now but I don't see that happening any time soon) She passes on the message that Cheng Yu wants to see her, and that it is very important. Fengjiu has no idea what it is about and now Fengjiu will have to sneak off again.
3.4th brother informs Phoenix that now that Bai Quian is getting married, Fengjiu will become queen. He seems happy about it but Phoenix appears impatient, thinking only of Mo Yuan (this guy is like an after thought to me at the moment).
4.Back in the palace all the talk is about the wedding. Si Jin has to help with preparations! She fishes for a date, I imagine, to organize her plots but isn't told a date but she does learn it will occur after Ye Hua's mortal trials.
5. Bai Quian experiences extreme de ja vu near the lotus pond. Apparently it is foggy in order to surprise her for her surprise wedding congratulations party where he officially announces their engagement in fron of all the tribes. Everyone remarks on how beautiful they look together (I agree). It gives her an opportunity to build some likes among the people as she warmly engages A-Li.
(Let me take a moment to rant about commercials. Rant over)
6. Now Ye Hua shares that he has to undergo a mortal trial and explains why. These are increasingly common in this show and at this point seem like a poor plot device to me but hey, what the heck. Everyone gets a mortal trial!
7.She learns that star lord/Si Ming is giving him a blank destiny (I don't blame BQ for being worried about any crazy stories he has given his script for Dong Hua). Again she reminds him that she doesn't forgive betrayal. He asks what she would do if he meets a mortal and Ye Hua gets to see her jealous, so I am sure he is happy, as he listens to her explain that she will kidnap him and bring him to her love nest.
8.4th brother cautions Fengjiu that her father is going to chase her when she goes. She has no plans to see Dong Hua (don't blame her) and transforms into a little ball of light which allows her to hide in 4th brother's sleeve (so many things up these sleeves). This will allow her to pass through the magical barrier her father has created to eep her in. I have to say I admire her craftiness. And her laugh when she gets her way clearly indicates she is fully aware of what she is doing. Still reckless. Still my favorite.
9. Once outside, she goes to the celestial palace.
10.4th brother and phoenix visit the sea king again to check in on the prince; he seems to be doing well. Phoenix suspects that Mo Yuan will soon awaken (if he does come back I imagine he will be upset to see his fave apprentice about to get married to a guy who looks just like him and by all accounts was a flower he was taking care of. never trust a lotus)
11. She gives him the soul jade that Li Jing gave her (why, I don't know). The bell at Kunlan Mountain rings, signalling that Mo Yuan has achieved the impossible and has returned (thanks to a lot of help). Everyone stops in their tracks because they know what it means. Now Ye Hua must contend with the fact that he is leaving the moment his only rival in love returns.
12.He thinks the exact thing Mo Yuan said out loud when he vanished into the bell 'Wait for my return' before departing for the mortal realm. I kind of feel bad for Mo Yuan but we don't know for sure if he has feelings for her (he probably did).
13. Mo Yuan is awake, looking at Bai Quian (girl form). We are treated to some flash scenes of the past. Including his dramatic death. This is such a powerful scene! And he greets her as if he has never left. She kneels in front of him and he calls her 'my little seventeenth' before they embrace, master and student reunited.
14. Deep inside the bell, Cuang is preparing to awaken now that Mo Yuan is awake as it was Mo Yuan's spirit keeping him sealed (recall Li Jing warned this would happen but Ye Hua ignored him).
12.Mo Yuan appears to be visibly troubled by the fact that the crown prince is her fiance. He explains that he is his twin brother. Heavenly father gave him a lotus before departing. Apparently the pillars holding heaven and earth collapsed and his mother had a miscarriage. The younger twin was lost. Because he felt responsible, heavenly father used half of his power on the fetus and turned the little brother into a lotus. He entrusted that lotus to Mo Yuan, who was charged with cultivating the lotus until his brother was ready to be born again. This was his dying wish, apparently. Mo Yuan's death triggered his awakening.
13.This seems to defy the historical records, and the phoenix concludes that the records cannot be trusted.
14.Mo Yuan requests to meet his brother but they explain he just left to the mortal realm.
15. Elsewhere Dong Hua appears deep in thought and Fengjiu sneaks up behind him (so much for avoiding him). She runs into his arms, and she expresses concern that he is going to die. He lectures her not to behave so and tries to make her let him go. He appears to be troubled by her behavior/in pain.
16. she asks if this is because she is his destined calamity. he asks who told her so, and she asks, 'am i not?' and then the episode ends.
___
This episode was rather good. It had elements I like, such as epic events (Mo Yuan coming back) to counter balance the somewhat random events (Ye Hua returning to the mortal realm) and the always spectacular scenes with Dong Hua (I think these scenes are so successful because they have less screen time so there is much less filler with them).
2.Bai Quian borrows Fengjiu in order to check on her. I guess she was beat by her father but not too badly (Dong Hua should have showed up and taken her to his love nest by now but I don't see that happening any time soon) She passes on the message that Cheng Yu wants to see her, and that it is very important. Fengjiu has no idea what it is about and now Fengjiu will have to sneak off again.
3.4th brother informs Phoenix that now that Bai Quian is getting married, Fengjiu will become queen. He seems happy about it but Phoenix appears impatient, thinking only of Mo Yuan (this guy is like an after thought to me at the moment).
4.Back in the palace all the talk is about the wedding. Si Jin has to help with preparations! She fishes for a date, I imagine, to organize her plots but isn't told a date but she does learn it will occur after Ye Hua's mortal trials.
5. Bai Quian experiences extreme de ja vu near the lotus pond. Apparently it is foggy in order to surprise her for her surprise wedding congratulations party where he officially announces their engagement in fron of all the tribes. Everyone remarks on how beautiful they look together (I agree). It gives her an opportunity to build some likes among the people as she warmly engages A-Li.
(Let me take a moment to rant about commercials. Rant over)
6. Now Ye Hua shares that he has to undergo a mortal trial and explains why. These are increasingly common in this show and at this point seem like a poor plot device to me but hey, what the heck. Everyone gets a mortal trial!
7.She learns that star lord/Si Ming is giving him a blank destiny (I don't blame BQ for being worried about any crazy stories he has given his script for Dong Hua). Again she reminds him that she doesn't forgive betrayal. He asks what she would do if he meets a mortal and Ye Hua gets to see her jealous, so I am sure he is happy, as he listens to her explain that she will kidnap him and bring him to her love nest.
8.4th brother cautions Fengjiu that her father is going to chase her when she goes. She has no plans to see Dong Hua (don't blame her) and transforms into a little ball of light which allows her to hide in 4th brother's sleeve (so many things up these sleeves). This will allow her to pass through the magical barrier her father has created to eep her in. I have to say I admire her craftiness. And her laugh when she gets her way clearly indicates she is fully aware of what she is doing. Still reckless. Still my favorite.
9. Once outside, she goes to the celestial palace.
10.4th brother and phoenix visit the sea king again to check in on the prince; he seems to be doing well. Phoenix suspects that Mo Yuan will soon awaken (if he does come back I imagine he will be upset to see his fave apprentice about to get married to a guy who looks just like him and by all accounts was a flower he was taking care of. never trust a lotus)
11. She gives him the soul jade that Li Jing gave her (why, I don't know). The bell at Kunlan Mountain rings, signalling that Mo Yuan has achieved the impossible and has returned (thanks to a lot of help). Everyone stops in their tracks because they know what it means. Now Ye Hua must contend with the fact that he is leaving the moment his only rival in love returns.
12.He thinks the exact thing Mo Yuan said out loud when he vanished into the bell 'Wait for my return' before departing for the mortal realm. I kind of feel bad for Mo Yuan but we don't know for sure if he has feelings for her (he probably did).
13. Mo Yuan is awake, looking at Bai Quian (girl form). We are treated to some flash scenes of the past. Including his dramatic death. This is such a powerful scene! And he greets her as if he has never left. She kneels in front of him and he calls her 'my little seventeenth' before they embrace, master and student reunited.
14. Deep inside the bell, Cuang is preparing to awaken now that Mo Yuan is awake as it was Mo Yuan's spirit keeping him sealed (recall Li Jing warned this would happen but Ye Hua ignored him).
12.Mo Yuan appears to be visibly troubled by the fact that the crown prince is her fiance. He explains that he is his twin brother. Heavenly father gave him a lotus before departing. Apparently the pillars holding heaven and earth collapsed and his mother had a miscarriage. The younger twin was lost. Because he felt responsible, heavenly father used half of his power on the fetus and turned the little brother into a lotus. He entrusted that lotus to Mo Yuan, who was charged with cultivating the lotus until his brother was ready to be born again. This was his dying wish, apparently. Mo Yuan's death triggered his awakening.
13.This seems to defy the historical records, and the phoenix concludes that the records cannot be trusted.
14.Mo Yuan requests to meet his brother but they explain he just left to the mortal realm.
15. Elsewhere Dong Hua appears deep in thought and Fengjiu sneaks up behind him (so much for avoiding him). She runs into his arms, and she expresses concern that he is going to die. He lectures her not to behave so and tries to make her let him go. He appears to be troubled by her behavior/in pain.
16. she asks if this is because she is his destined calamity. he asks who told her so, and she asks, 'am i not?' and then the episode ends.
___
This episode was rather good. It had elements I like, such as epic events (Mo Yuan coming back) to counter balance the somewhat random events (Ye Hua returning to the mortal realm) and the always spectacular scenes with Dong Hua (I think these scenes are so successful because they have less screen time so there is much less filler with them).
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A large chunk of this episode continues to follow Ye Hua, Bai Quian, and their child. Ye Hua essentially moves into Bai Quian's home. She can't really say no. I think she could use her cunning to avoid him but I believe she is attracted to him she allows him to kiss her and continues to mind the kid. At one point Ye Hua is attacked by shadow assassins and we learn gods from the East Sea have been attacked as well but no one knows why.
It is the celestial emperors birthday and Ye Hua returns home alone. Su Jin has the idea that if Bai Quian breaks it off she is gold but is concerned about reports of them spending time together. She orchestrates a plot: she invites the young cousin of Ye Hua ( the emperors grandson/second princes' son) knocks him out feeds him alcohol and then sets it up so it looks like she has been molested. She explains she fought him off but would still like to die while in the presence of the emperor and the princes. Su Jin can read people well and she knows this will anger the emperor as this grandson is his once favored second princes son. Enraged the emperor refuses to grandson and has him sent to he mortal realm to endure 60 years of hardship.
Throughout this entire 'theatrical event' Ye Hua clearly can tell this is an act ( he acts with his eyes very well) and he gives Su Jin a cold warning after he confronts her in private: he tells her she should quit while she is ahead, that he has allowed to live because she gave him the lamp and more importantly she has su su's eye.
Finally the episode turns to mortal Bai Fengjiu and mortal Dong Hua. She is summoned to Dong Hua bed chamber and he tells her that his first love and mother of the crown prince chose to be a nun after birthing their son and will not see him during her bi monthly visits. Bai Fengjui offers some uplifting advice that makes him smile and he Lyell her that her flower mark looks familiar and fascinates him and he wants to look at it constantly then he leans in to kiss her. She panics ( recall she is like a teenager in terms of age and for all purposes an inexperienced virgin) and uses the tray as a shield before fleeing in embarrassment. She also can be heard breaking his cup.
Me: I truly do not like it when dramas incorporate young actors like the son. The acting is overly cute and the story lines boring because of the child. They are using it to push the romance forward and it is a weak device. I continue to enjoy the delightfully wicked Su Jin whose obsessive love is now impacting more lives and I can't wait to see the development of Dong Hua's relationship with Bai Fengjiu. I find their romance so interesting and it has somehow eclipsed my interest in the main storyline.
It is the celestial emperors birthday and Ye Hua returns home alone. Su Jin has the idea that if Bai Quian breaks it off she is gold but is concerned about reports of them spending time together. She orchestrates a plot: she invites the young cousin of Ye Hua ( the emperors grandson/second princes' son) knocks him out feeds him alcohol and then sets it up so it looks like she has been molested. She explains she fought him off but would still like to die while in the presence of the emperor and the princes. Su Jin can read people well and she knows this will anger the emperor as this grandson is his once favored second princes son. Enraged the emperor refuses to grandson and has him sent to he mortal realm to endure 60 years of hardship.
Throughout this entire 'theatrical event' Ye Hua clearly can tell this is an act ( he acts with his eyes very well) and he gives Su Jin a cold warning after he confronts her in private: he tells her she should quit while she is ahead, that he has allowed to live because she gave him the lamp and more importantly she has su su's eye.
Finally the episode turns to mortal Bai Fengjiu and mortal Dong Hua. She is summoned to Dong Hua bed chamber and he tells her that his first love and mother of the crown prince chose to be a nun after birthing their son and will not see him during her bi monthly visits. Bai Fengjui offers some uplifting advice that makes him smile and he Lyell her that her flower mark looks familiar and fascinates him and he wants to look at it constantly then he leans in to kiss her. She panics ( recall she is like a teenager in terms of age and for all purposes an inexperienced virgin) and uses the tray as a shield before fleeing in embarrassment. She also can be heard breaking his cup.
Me: I truly do not like it when dramas incorporate young actors like the son. The acting is overly cute and the story lines boring because of the child. They are using it to push the romance forward and it is a weak device. I continue to enjoy the delightfully wicked Su Jin whose obsessive love is now impacting more lives and I can't wait to see the development of Dong Hua's relationship with Bai Fengjiu. I find their romance so interesting and it has somehow eclipsed my interest in the main storyline.
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1.Si Yin catches Li jing in bed with her cousin. They beg for forgiveness. She essentially says she never wants to see them again and proceeds to get drunk. She is inconsolable, deeply upset because the man she loved just abandoned her for a cousin. She feels deeply betrayed.
2.MY finds her drinking and tries to console her.
3.LI Jing and Xuan Nu return to his home. The emperor is upset his son is bringing a member of the celestial tribe home. Xuan Nu is crafty and saves Li Jing's life by explaining that Li Jing was there to spy and they fell in love. She is allowed to marry him if she assists the ghost tribe.
4. Li Jing leaves Xuan Nu on their wedding night. The sadistic Li Yuan shows up and takes pleasure in her screams for Li Jing. She is beaten very badly. (I have always hated Li Jing for abandoning Xuan Nu like this. He is a bit fickle).
5.Xuan Nu uses her injuries as an excuse to return to Kunlan. She uses BQ's face to steal the military formations of Kunlan.-
2.MY finds her drinking and tries to console her.
3.LI Jing and Xuan Nu return to his home. The emperor is upset his son is bringing a member of the celestial tribe home. Xuan Nu is crafty and saves Li Jing's life by explaining that Li Jing was there to spy and they fell in love. She is allowed to marry him if she assists the ghost tribe.
4. Li Jing leaves Xuan Nu on their wedding night. The sadistic Li Yuan shows up and takes pleasure in her screams for Li Jing. She is beaten very badly. (I have always hated Li Jing for abandoning Xuan Nu like this. He is a bit fickle).
5.Xuan Nu uses her injuries as an excuse to return to Kunlan. She uses BQ's face to steal the military formations of Kunlan.-
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This is an emotional episode for a lot of reasons, I think, because it involves the mother-daughter-father relationship of Concubine Lin and Mo'er.A very stone-faced Big Madame and Minister Sheng provide the bare minimum of words necessary for Mo'er as she bows to them. The atmosphere is so tense you can cut it with a knife. Mo'er shows some emotion as she seeks her father's approval but he makes it apparent that she is marrying into a big lord's home, so she needn't return. And he asks her why she is crying, since she chose this path.Concubine Lin tries to follow the family out but is held back and Mo'er is shaken by this but before getting into her palaquin she swears she will not regret this. An angry Concubine Lin is forced back into her room--it is sad that she cannot see her daughter wed, especially after all the effort she put into this marriage. Suddenly, she is dragged away and beaten until she is unconscious, and even then it is apparent that Master Sheng is upset that she chose to do this, upset by her lies, upset at hismelf. He cries. It is a super well acted scene.After, she is sent to exile. To live on a farmstead. They then must decide how to get rid of the servants serving her to avoid attracting attention. Ming Lan, meanwhile, appears eerily calm. She prays to her mother, and it is evident that she views this as administration of justice for her murder by Concubine Lin. She does not seem to be ruffled at all. She then secretly follows Lin to her exile, and just sits there silently. Concubine Lin is still recovering from her beating, and she puts two and two together, realizing that Ming Lan essnetilly set a trap for her and then exposed the crime to everyone. She appears to be angry, shocked, and her last words are begging Ming Lan to tell her what she is planning (I think she is worried Ming Lan will hurt her children).Old Madame has been trying to figure out why Ming Lan followed her. She returns and asks for time before she tells her what she has been about. Old Madame hazards a guess literally right before Ming Lan tells her, and is utterly shocked by the depth of the plot, the risks Ming Lan took, all alone. Instead of being afraid of her, or disgusted by her actions, she first makes it clear none can know of this matter, and then holds her close (she does get one slap for her foolishness) and she apologizes that her inability to uphold justice back then has led her to do these things. MW, Big Madame learns that Concubine Lin is ill. She is dying. She is shocked....and scared. What frightens her the most about this whole thing is that he doesn't hate Consort Lin for what she did, but for once being honest about her feelings for him and her intentions. It makes her cry, perhaps because she is direct person and her own personality may have driven him into the arms of Lin--it puts things into perspective for her. Either way it is upsetting that Lin is not being punished for her crime.We end with Ming lan saying she regretted nothing to her grandmother....Concubine LinSo Lin is gone, but I imagine another wolf will take her place! Ming Lan may be sensible but we see a trait that is both good and bad: she cares about justice but her actions are guided by emotion and so she could have potentially ruined her family for revenge. And she did not regret it. Did she do the right thing?
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I Will Never Let You Go Episode 2
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Our drama opens with Xuo Hua (I had her name wrong) running to where she has apparently been keeping the family savings--buried underground--because her Uncle has passed out (a lot of people still bury their money underground) and she rushes to get a doctor.The doctor tells her that her Uncle is dying, his organs are shutting down, and there is nothing he can do. She throws herself at his feet and begs--finally he tells her of the Spring Revival Pill, made by Yuoling manner. It akes 3 yrs to gather the herbs/one year to make and is extremely expensive. She could try there.She rushes to the manor and is kind of laughed at--not in a mean way just in a sort of 'this is impossible way' because although she has saved a lot of money--50 taels of silver (I did some research but it is difficult to really understand what this could buy you--it is almost enough to buy a house, but food and clothing overall was more expensive by percentage then housing back then so relatively speaking, there is no clear cut answer they actually didn't keep the best records back then of buying things) and even offers to sell herself to the manor as slave for manual labor (which tells us she does not believe she is a great beauty). She is told not even 1000 taels would be enough and he says they sold a pill to Lord Chen, leaving them with only one pill now. He shuts the door on her. (OH, and the young lord/lotus/mr. chen is actually the crown prince).Xuo Hua climbs over the wall and as luck would have it runs into Master Li (who spoke to the First Miss earlier and may be involved in stealing medicine) and the young lord she insulted/Lotus. Master Li apologizes for being unable to give her the pill and offers to give her aged ginseng (another precious item). She recognizes the young lord as being the man she accused earlier of being a bad person and realizes this is Lord Chen. She immediately realizes that this is bad (this is a funny scene I can relate to her feelings of awkardness its like realizing you were gossiping about someone and then you learn they are standing behind you) and prepares to smooth talk him--she states that since he bought two can't she have one. He tells her that no one can take away the things that he wants away from him (o_O). She then tries to use tears to move his heart. She is trying to appear helpless but we know she isn't. She apologizes to him for rebuking him earlier but he ultimately throws her out. She returns home empty handed and apologizes to her sleeping Uncle. She apologizes for fighting with him yesterday and begs him to wae up. Lotus shows up and listens to her crying and begging her uncle to wake up. He gives her the pill. Then leaves.She immediately feeds it to her uncle. and rushes outside to thank him but he is gone. So she screams it out loud. Her uncle tells her that his days are not long so he will take her to the capital to find Mr. Zhu and learn about her birth so she can decide her path. Back at Yuoling manor, Lotus sneaks in checks the financial records, steals them to make a copy so he can then put them back). She finds Mr. Chen who refuses to give her the pill and she asks if she can hitch a ride to the capital and she lies that her uncle cannot be healed so she wants to go to the capital under his protection to find a doctor. She becomes desperate and begs and a scene is made and she tells him not to regret--she makes a huge scene and accuses him of abandoning her and their baby--everyone watching is disgusted by him --he drags her into room and he wants to know how she can threaten him and makes her uncomfortable he tells her that if she sleeps with him he will take her to the capital (I am going to keep in open mind because even if she is his sister...did royalty sometimes marry family members back then??) her acting is good enough that people want to rescue her. He tells her to wash all his laundry he will take her to the capital. Lady Lin enters (she looks like the girl who was scheming earlier) and is able to take him away. The laundry is ALOT. (This actually sucks historically laundry washing has always been the least liked job, especially because of the cold weather). She continues her helpless maiden act.Lady Lin and Crown Prince meet in a field (I have bad vibes about this one any woman who is that submissive and that beautiful in these shows is usually not what she seems). She tells him that it was probably Lotus knight who stole the medicine and crown prince curses the Lotus. He returns and everyone is spitting on him for the treatment of his 'pregnant wife'. Xua Hua/Bu Qi (I had her name right). Her acting works and he promises to take her and she tells him that he better not run away from her.Shi (prince's aid) and prince have a dialogue--he wants to know if this is his half sister, otherwise he wouldn't take her, although if she isn't he admits he feels bad for her.He says they can't trust her though because she is full of lies and is clever and she may be useful long run. Elsewhere, the Prince of Xin who stays at trust manor is looking for the girl (is this the king I mentioned earlier?) His aid says they need more people, and we learn that he is being held hostage at the capital as the treasurer and that the emperor fears he will launch a rebellion. His aid suggests that the four families in Xizhou (where Bu Qi lives) can help look for her. We finally learn that Uncle Jiu seems to have been an extremely wealthy person who gave up his bussiness to live as a beggar, and that female lead is the saintess. He tells his aid that he must tell his son who was able to obtain the pills for him that he must find that person i.e. saintess before he dies.MEANWHILEThe girl who I thought was scheming--now i don't know--is meeting with an old man and I don't know who he is but their overall goal seems to be to sow distrust and chaos between the Feiyan and Mo families who will be married soon. He also wishes to interrupt the emperor's plans. (A lot of scheming, but who are these people???). Here we learn that this old lord wants to find the illegitamte daughter of seventh prince and xue fei, and that he could not forget Xue Fei, but the woman wishes to kill this illegitimate daughter.Uncle Jiu seems healed, and she tells him that she got them a ride. Unfortunately masked people break in and find them. (An invisible breeze stirs the hair of Jiu) (it seems to be the lady from earlier and she is from Mingyue villa apparently). Fighting ensues. Uncle Jiu can apparently fight well. He can fight through the stabs, he gets her outsize (its raining) and tells her to go first). He tells her to stay alive no matter what, to take the almsbowl and go see Mr. Zhu at the pawnshop ONLY him.. .....She tries to fight back but he pushes her away. Her uncle is mortally injured in front of her. But he is willing to fight to his death to keep her safe (is he her father?).
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I Will Never Let You Go Episode 1
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Our drama begins with a man and a woman fleeing for their lives with a baby. Eventually the woman is captured by a man--presumably the king--but the man and child are gone. The king looks at her and tells her that he is willing to ccept that she had an affair with another man, he just wants to live the rest of his days in peace with her.The woman is in a daze (I thought she was dead for a moment) but she then tells the king that he only after her Bianining (basically he is full of it). He orders her to be taken away and once she is gone he pulls an aid aside and tells him to find the child.Years pass and our child is now a peasant begging with a man whom she calls Uncle Jiu(I am leaning towards the fact that he is her real father) and she is about ten. She is singing a song beautifully and begging, wearing rags. They are accosted by other beggars for taking their corner and stealing their money. They demand the money but she refuses. More trouble ensues. A dog--Ah Huang--saves them and joins the gang.Still more time passes and our little girl is now a young woman. Bu Qi is an honest beggar/peddler who does small jobs for the poor and stands up for justice. She runs into a handsome young lord who criticizes the storytelling of the masked Lotus Warrior (Robin Hood) whom the people adore. This angers her and she insults him, telling him he is basically an idiot who wouldn't be able to protect herself against Lotus (obviously he IS Lotus). We change scenes and a young woman is plotting with some men. In the next scene a cart is racing past and a bunch of soldiers intervene and try to stop them. The people with the cart insist it is just herbs. Lotus intervenes to save them, and as the cart races by Bu Qi becomes involved. Lotus saves her, and he gives her money for the items she lost when the cart ran into her little cart. She insists upon giving him change, and he finds it amusing but refuses to take it.Later, we learn the plotting woman is a First Miss who is furious about medicine that was stolen and is concerned she may be implicated based upon the interference of others. Back in the city Lotus--young lord--is wondering who stole the medicine. He by this point has already deduced that Bu Qi may be his missing half sister Xu Fei. He continues to observe her standing up for justice and points out how smart she is to his aid.We are then taken to Bu Qi and Uncle Jiu. Uncle Jiu becomes upset because he can see she has money and has bought things and states he is worried she is acting without care and the people who have been searching for him for all the money he owns (yes that is his cover story) have found them. He becomes angered and yells at her to stop doing business. When she finally admits she got the money from Lotus that makes him even more furious and he tells her that whoever is after them will NEVER stop hunting them...----My rating is more personal bias--the show seems a little goofy, and I am very worried it will keep this tone throughout. I wasn't blown away, but some of the comedy made me laugh. I also just don't like bad masks. It is very obvious who the Lotus is.
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In the beginning.....We open to a realm of flowers, which will henceforth be known as the 'Floral Realm'. There is a beautiful woman giving birth to a baby (and boy do I wish we mortals gave birth this way). A giant snowflake takes form over her body then transforms into a baby, which she hands to her attendant--an important character who is Peony but will be called the Floral Elder. The beautiful woman is the Floral Goddess, and she feeds the baby girl a pill so that she never falls in love and knows suffering as she is. Without love, she will not suffer and live a carefree and simple life. She commands her fairy attendants to keep the child's birth a secret and any who break this covenant must kill themselves. They are ordered to keep her safe inside the water mirror (a big bubble over floral realm) and perhaps this way she can be saved .MEANWHILE while the baby is being born, Heavenly Emperor and Empress are congratulating the water immortal and wind immortal who are getting married. The heavenly emperor says that if water immortal has a son, they will be friends with his son, if a daughter, he will marry his eldest son (very important). The water immortal sends a secret message to the floral goddess, apologizing because he must obey the edict of the emperor but before she reaches it she dies. The floral realm goes into mourning for a decade, all the flowers in the heavenly realm die (never to grow back) and the floral realm becomes its own realm separate from the other realms (it was originally under the heavenly realm).PRESENT DAYAn immortal, who we will later come to know is the Rat Demon, meets with a woman wrapped in red at a lake. We cannot see her face, but it seems that they are plotting to harm the second son of the heavens, the phoenix. We then see the Phoenix, who is going through his Nirvana (rebirth) be attacked by something and he is knocked out of the sky, as if dead.Jinmi, the baby born, is now an adult and neglects her studies, she sleeps during class and isn't too bright. She is like a little kid. She seems to be important to the floral elder who manages the floral realm in spite of the fact that she is just a grape fairy (uh huh). She encoutners later a dead bird, which she takes to be a crow, but it turns out to be the phoenix. In a comedy of errors, she plans to heal him it seems by removing, his , er , male parts--and we realize she is so sheltered she does not know the difference between men and women . Yes.Elsewhere in heaven heavenly empress needs to know where her son is (phoenix) and she is furious---
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*****spoilers ahead****
1. Senior Pei, like Sisyphus (yup, the guy with the boulder), continues to chase the same goal: to kill Fu Yao with extreme prejudice. And just like Sisyphus, she continues to fail. Unlike Sisyphus, she can, at any moment, choose to abandon this seemingly impossible task. Senior Pei continues to speak the same handful of dialogue: You will die, I must make Fu Yao suffer--how dare you speak to me slave--why does everyone love Fu Yao? (the last one is actually a good question and I have a theory about that).
-To Elaborate, in this episode, we see the conclusion of Senior Pei's well thought out plan (actually it is a really bad plan) to use Seven to lure Fu Yao out and give her an opportunity to exact her questionable revenge. The Emperor intervenes and easily renders Senior Pei unconscious.
-Unintentionally, then, Senior Pei has become a matchmaker of sorts as her efforts of revenge turn into excuses for the Emperor to help the girl he likes
2.After exchanging somewhat candid and direct dialogue--Fu Yao asks the Emperor if he hangs out and waits for a chance to intervene just so she can thank him (I would argue this is a possibility) the chemistry between the actors sizzles--Lady Fei Tan attacks the two with the most deadly thing of all--Leaves (those suckers actually hurt have you been hit by a bunch of leaves on a severely windy day? try moving to a windy city and experience the brutal force of mother nature). Fu Yao runs off with her brother because he is literally at death's door, and the emperor remains behind to confront his leafy foe
3.Godson (Ping Rong?) prepares to assassinate Prince Bei Ye (I like to call him Dong Hua) but Prime Minister Qi Zhen intervenes. He does not yell at him--Qi Zhen has a very cool head, something I really like about his character, he asks him why he wants to kill him. His godson tells him that he believes that with the Prince dead they will basically have one less foe, especially since the prince made several provocative comments during dinner (not to mention hunting accidents were so commonplace it actually is a descent cover which makes one wonder why they did not try to kill him this way before). Qi Zhen reminds him that the Prince is not to be underestimated and must be respected, citing the fact that he cannot afford to deal with the Emperor, who he is unable to predict/read as well as the powerful neighboring kingdom. Keeping the Prince alive could be an advantage.
-this is reasonable logic, especially since the alliance between the Emperor and the Prince is based entirely around the retrieval of a single item, the Enlargement Globe and to a lesser extent their shared distrust of the Prime Minister, with Fu Yao being a weak third.
4.Poor Seven looks like is about to expire but the Prince arrives just in time to save him in predictable hero fashion. Naturally it is far too soon to begin what I like to call The Tragedy Arc (yes I just made that up)(Tragedy Arc is when everything bad that can happen will happen to our female lead)
5.Seeing Seven stable, she returns to save the Emperor. Now the Emperor, who we know possesses powers and intelligence far beyond the normal person, is actually uneasy fighting these leaves and recognizes that he is out powered. (Yet another example of how he, and to a lesser extent, the male characters are just better written. I care because it just can't be unseen and, well, it frustrates me when I only hear the positive things about a show and not the not so great things--everyone else sees these things too I am just writing it out loud). Using TEAMWORK the two burn the leaves, and Lady Fan vanishes because she needs Fu Yao alive. Luckily, our antagonist, like Senior Pei, created an opportunity for the two to fall on top of each other and almost make out...
--Now, this next scene had me giggling in my seat because I thought it was well executed and speaks to the consistency of the Emperor's character--
6.The Emperor knocks Fu Yao unconscious, intending to use her as a cover for this incident. He returns and accuses Qi Zhen of wanting the throne to kill him, and that the young lady rescued him. He looks so bewildered, and QI Zhen does not miss a beat, he takes advantage of the fact that omens are important and says it is a Test of the Gods (so funny since these shows are chock full of sudden things that seem pulled out of the air) and everyone accepts it without question, including the Emperor--but he succeeded in covering his escape AND planting a seed of doubt in the minds of the courtiers
7.Back home, we learn that the Head House Maid in Qi Zhen's mansion serves a mysterious master--her duty is to assist Fu Yao, and she does not reveal who her master is, only that it is not Prince Li. She provides an excuse for Fu Yao needing to cover her face (because of the magic fading): her ugly birthmark and a made up contagious illness that was caught in the woods (Diagnosed by Dr. Zong, never mind that she never met him or had time to). Qi Zhen wishes to use this latest development (Lady Yi was born under a rare birth chart, and Qi Zhen is extremely zealous in his belief in fate) to plant her in the Emperor's household, perhaps as Queen. He will play this new game...slowly
8.Fu Yao meets Qi Zhen who hears her side of the story--she reveals that the Emperor hid behind her during the fight and that someone from the shadows shot fire arrows at the leaves. This story is believable enough for Qi Zhen to back off but he never trusts anything completely. He basically tells her to prepare to go into the harem. Fu Yao does not want this, since she has found Seven, she needs to get out of there, and she will use mysterious maid to help.
9.Meanwhile, Seven devours food and wishes to rescue Fu Yao (this poor guy. he re-defines bad comedy) and Lan Zhu (who has two sides, cute, and extra cute--they could have made her a LITTLE more subtle--FJ in Eternal Love I think is a good example of being cute but not TOO cute. yes, you can be too cute, especially when it is so inconsistent with every other character that in this universe it is strange that you are not looked at as a numnut but suspend disbelief in spite of my harsh words I actually like her character because I have a soft spot for cute airheads mainly because they are never really done in western dramas, only comedy, and they are usually more on the raunchy weird side). Seven reveals he may not be smart but he has a good memory and can remember the layout of the home. Lan Zhu wants to bust her out--alas, Prince Li overhears this and intervenes. Knowing that Lan Zhu adores him, he makes a point of touching her wrist, and this dispells all thoughts of busting her out
10.The Emperor theorizes correctly that Qi Zhen has his men in the inner court working on getting a Queen. He reminds his bodyguard that the harem is a battleground where 'knives hide beneath skirts' and should not be underestimated--good line--and essentially there are several important women who are under selection--each one has a connection to either the Marquis or the Prime Minister, or appears to (there are some double spies) and all come from powerful families. It is obvious that he wants Fu Yao to be his Queen, but he doesn't say it out loud,more like implies it.
11. Fu Yao plans to set a fire, use a corpse as a stand in (where in the heck would she know to get a dead body, and that fast? this is a plot hole and a complete 180 from the girl from episode 1) and escape dressed as a boy (yes, she looks like a girl). Alas, her efforts suffer a problem when she triggers a trap set to detain spies--luckily Prince Li (?) shows up to save her, dressed like a ninja, but he is shot in the shoulder...by the PM.....
Ignore my personal criticism of the show up to now, as it is below:
This episode did not get a 10 because some of the dialogue is very heavy handed, I mean it just is not subtle, and some of the comedy is cringe worthy (maybe that is a cultural difference, I don't know)
It did not get a 9.5 because or a 9 because we are at episode 16 and though the show is about Fu Yao, every other male character possesses a great deal of depth of and grey. Fu Yao is extremely black and white. She started out as something of a defiant rule breaker, and has morphed into someone who reacts to situations, and always lands on her feet. This is because she is heavily protected by people around her. The BENEFIT of this, I hope, is that she will eventually see that she is not immortal, that she will be more vulnerable and acknowledge that she needs others around her. Right now she is just this kind of Spartacus Savior, who shows little emotion, and when she does show it, it seems very contrived and thrown in forcibly. How come the male characters are all given opportunities to show emotion and vulnerability and even dare I say it, imperfections but barring her Uncle's Death (which was SUPER heavy handed and deliberate) she has been flat. I am being harsh, I love the show, I guess when I see a show that is on the cusp of going over into 9.5 or 10 territory, I really, really hope it goes in that direction. This is not a solid 8.5 this is closer to a 9 because the plot flows very effortlessly, but it really could be so good....I want to see Fu Yao be selfish, or be more human. She is very Mary Sue right now.
Let's use Goblin, a universally well loved show, as an example of what I mean when I say there are characters with a lot of grey (and probably the best example of being able to do that bubbly character)
Keep in mind that this show has things that make it an 8.5 that other shows did not have (if you saw Flame's Daughter You Will Know what I mean--it was a slower show but the dialogue and action scenes, i think, were much better). Please, please disagree with me I like disagreement. I think if you can disagree on a show it usually means it is interesting.
1. Senior Pei, like Sisyphus (yup, the guy with the boulder), continues to chase the same goal: to kill Fu Yao with extreme prejudice. And just like Sisyphus, she continues to fail. Unlike Sisyphus, she can, at any moment, choose to abandon this seemingly impossible task. Senior Pei continues to speak the same handful of dialogue: You will die, I must make Fu Yao suffer--how dare you speak to me slave--why does everyone love Fu Yao? (the last one is actually a good question and I have a theory about that).
-To Elaborate, in this episode, we see the conclusion of Senior Pei's well thought out plan (actually it is a really bad plan) to use Seven to lure Fu Yao out and give her an opportunity to exact her questionable revenge. The Emperor intervenes and easily renders Senior Pei unconscious.
-Unintentionally, then, Senior Pei has become a matchmaker of sorts as her efforts of revenge turn into excuses for the Emperor to help the girl he likes
2.After exchanging somewhat candid and direct dialogue--Fu Yao asks the Emperor if he hangs out and waits for a chance to intervene just so she can thank him (I would argue this is a possibility) the chemistry between the actors sizzles--Lady Fei Tan attacks the two with the most deadly thing of all--Leaves (those suckers actually hurt have you been hit by a bunch of leaves on a severely windy day? try moving to a windy city and experience the brutal force of mother nature). Fu Yao runs off with her brother because he is literally at death's door, and the emperor remains behind to confront his leafy foe
3.Godson (Ping Rong?) prepares to assassinate Prince Bei Ye (I like to call him Dong Hua) but Prime Minister Qi Zhen intervenes. He does not yell at him--Qi Zhen has a very cool head, something I really like about his character, he asks him why he wants to kill him. His godson tells him that he believes that with the Prince dead they will basically have one less foe, especially since the prince made several provocative comments during dinner (not to mention hunting accidents were so commonplace it actually is a descent cover which makes one wonder why they did not try to kill him this way before). Qi Zhen reminds him that the Prince is not to be underestimated and must be respected, citing the fact that he cannot afford to deal with the Emperor, who he is unable to predict/read as well as the powerful neighboring kingdom. Keeping the Prince alive could be an advantage.
-this is reasonable logic, especially since the alliance between the Emperor and the Prince is based entirely around the retrieval of a single item, the Enlargement Globe and to a lesser extent their shared distrust of the Prime Minister, with Fu Yao being a weak third.
4.Poor Seven looks like is about to expire but the Prince arrives just in time to save him in predictable hero fashion. Naturally it is far too soon to begin what I like to call The Tragedy Arc (yes I just made that up)(Tragedy Arc is when everything bad that can happen will happen to our female lead)
5.Seeing Seven stable, she returns to save the Emperor. Now the Emperor, who we know possesses powers and intelligence far beyond the normal person, is actually uneasy fighting these leaves and recognizes that he is out powered. (Yet another example of how he, and to a lesser extent, the male characters are just better written. I care because it just can't be unseen and, well, it frustrates me when I only hear the positive things about a show and not the not so great things--everyone else sees these things too I am just writing it out loud). Using TEAMWORK the two burn the leaves, and Lady Fan vanishes because she needs Fu Yao alive. Luckily, our antagonist, like Senior Pei, created an opportunity for the two to fall on top of each other and almost make out...
--Now, this next scene had me giggling in my seat because I thought it was well executed and speaks to the consistency of the Emperor's character--
6.The Emperor knocks Fu Yao unconscious, intending to use her as a cover for this incident. He returns and accuses Qi Zhen of wanting the throne to kill him, and that the young lady rescued him. He looks so bewildered, and QI Zhen does not miss a beat, he takes advantage of the fact that omens are important and says it is a Test of the Gods (so funny since these shows are chock full of sudden things that seem pulled out of the air) and everyone accepts it without question, including the Emperor--but he succeeded in covering his escape AND planting a seed of doubt in the minds of the courtiers
7.Back home, we learn that the Head House Maid in Qi Zhen's mansion serves a mysterious master--her duty is to assist Fu Yao, and she does not reveal who her master is, only that it is not Prince Li. She provides an excuse for Fu Yao needing to cover her face (because of the magic fading): her ugly birthmark and a made up contagious illness that was caught in the woods (Diagnosed by Dr. Zong, never mind that she never met him or had time to). Qi Zhen wishes to use this latest development (Lady Yi was born under a rare birth chart, and Qi Zhen is extremely zealous in his belief in fate) to plant her in the Emperor's household, perhaps as Queen. He will play this new game...slowly
8.Fu Yao meets Qi Zhen who hears her side of the story--she reveals that the Emperor hid behind her during the fight and that someone from the shadows shot fire arrows at the leaves. This story is believable enough for Qi Zhen to back off but he never trusts anything completely. He basically tells her to prepare to go into the harem. Fu Yao does not want this, since she has found Seven, she needs to get out of there, and she will use mysterious maid to help.
9.Meanwhile, Seven devours food and wishes to rescue Fu Yao (this poor guy. he re-defines bad comedy) and Lan Zhu (who has two sides, cute, and extra cute--they could have made her a LITTLE more subtle--FJ in Eternal Love I think is a good example of being cute but not TOO cute. yes, you can be too cute, especially when it is so inconsistent with every other character that in this universe it is strange that you are not looked at as a numnut but suspend disbelief in spite of my harsh words I actually like her character because I have a soft spot for cute airheads mainly because they are never really done in western dramas, only comedy, and they are usually more on the raunchy weird side). Seven reveals he may not be smart but he has a good memory and can remember the layout of the home. Lan Zhu wants to bust her out--alas, Prince Li overhears this and intervenes. Knowing that Lan Zhu adores him, he makes a point of touching her wrist, and this dispells all thoughts of busting her out
10.The Emperor theorizes correctly that Qi Zhen has his men in the inner court working on getting a Queen. He reminds his bodyguard that the harem is a battleground where 'knives hide beneath skirts' and should not be underestimated--good line--and essentially there are several important women who are under selection--each one has a connection to either the Marquis or the Prime Minister, or appears to (there are some double spies) and all come from powerful families. It is obvious that he wants Fu Yao to be his Queen, but he doesn't say it out loud,more like implies it.
11. Fu Yao plans to set a fire, use a corpse as a stand in (where in the heck would she know to get a dead body, and that fast? this is a plot hole and a complete 180 from the girl from episode 1) and escape dressed as a boy (yes, she looks like a girl). Alas, her efforts suffer a problem when she triggers a trap set to detain spies--luckily Prince Li (?) shows up to save her, dressed like a ninja, but he is shot in the shoulder...by the PM.....
Ignore my personal criticism of the show up to now, as it is below:
This episode did not get a 10 because some of the dialogue is very heavy handed, I mean it just is not subtle, and some of the comedy is cringe worthy (maybe that is a cultural difference, I don't know)
It did not get a 9.5 because or a 9 because we are at episode 16 and though the show is about Fu Yao, every other male character possesses a great deal of depth of and grey. Fu Yao is extremely black and white. She started out as something of a defiant rule breaker, and has morphed into someone who reacts to situations, and always lands on her feet. This is because she is heavily protected by people around her. The BENEFIT of this, I hope, is that she will eventually see that she is not immortal, that she will be more vulnerable and acknowledge that she needs others around her. Right now she is just this kind of Spartacus Savior, who shows little emotion, and when she does show it, it seems very contrived and thrown in forcibly. How come the male characters are all given opportunities to show emotion and vulnerability and even dare I say it, imperfections but barring her Uncle's Death (which was SUPER heavy handed and deliberate) she has been flat. I am being harsh, I love the show, I guess when I see a show that is on the cusp of going over into 9.5 or 10 territory, I really, really hope it goes in that direction. This is not a solid 8.5 this is closer to a 9 because the plot flows very effortlessly, but it really could be so good....I want to see Fu Yao be selfish, or be more human. She is very Mary Sue right now.
Let's use Goblin, a universally well loved show, as an example of what I mean when I say there are characters with a lot of grey (and probably the best example of being able to do that bubbly character)
Keep in mind that this show has things that make it an 8.5 that other shows did not have (if you saw Flame's Daughter You Will Know what I mean--it was a slower show but the dialogue and action scenes, i think, were much better). Please, please disagree with me I like disagreement. I think if you can disagree on a show it usually means it is interesting.
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This episode teaches us three things:
1)Everyone in the Xuanyuan sect, minus Jing, and the other slaves, seem to have it in for Fu Yao. They go to ridiculous ends to remove her from this competition, succeeding in a)making her more determined to overcome them and b)failing.
2)Fu Yao may have a destiny, and it may be connected to a simple staff given her by the old man who may have raised her or is just her drinking buddy
3)Prince Sun clearly is drawn to her
This Episode also introduces us to a few things
1)Mainland dramas must have a cute critter rendered out of bad CGI that may be relevant to the plot and sadly seems to make the show a little cringey
2)A Realm of Nothingness
3)An Ancient Version of live stream
4)A tournament involving balancing on an umbrella like structure
Plot:
Essentially, Fu Yao exits Round 1 victorious, but worse, she is riding the buffalo of yore, and to all the nobles, this is a huge embarrassment and slap in the face. Their stubborn pride and traditionalism will not allow them to stoop so low as to recruit a rising star in the fighting world, rather they would like to see her dead.
Fu Yao is greeted with applause by the other slaves. Prince Sun is amused by her defying the order. Now she visits Jing to deliver some medicine (given to her by the prince) and Jing is less interested in her stellar performance and more interested in her thoughts on becoming his concubine. He also does not seem happy that she has gone a step further and now is promising to no longer see him because they are 'going down different paths'. Fu Yao no longer believes that Jing will be able to give her what she wants--someone who will support and love her unconditionally. She also does not want to be a source of pain for him or hurt him, because she cares about him and he has continually hurt himself trying to protect her. She does promise to protect him in the future and to come to his aid. Still, this baffles and hurts Jing but he accepts the medicine.
Pei spies this visit and is able to get Fu Yao arrested for allegedly 'stealing'because turns out the medicine given to her by the Prince is contained in rare sea glass and no slave could come by it. Perhaps this is a test for our female lead, as she thinks back to the Prince's words--if you want to live long, keep your mouth shut. She does reveal who gave it to her. Their punishment?
The Realm of Nothingness! Not opened in centuries, they will stoop to a petty punishment to kill her, because it is the only way they can say they 'gave her a chance' because if she is deemed pure, then she is able to be free, but few, if any, have the level of purity needed to survive this icy place. In fact, she almost dies but is rescued by the prince, making me wonder a)how he knew she would be there and b)how the hell he can survive there. He is able to help her escape, though she does not know he saved her, and he hopes they stop bullying her. He really distinguishes himself from Jing, who seems to rely on the affirmation of others--his father, whom he wants to live up to, Pei, whom he does not want to offend, even Fu Yao, whom he needs to rely on him, and is even hurtful of because she is in a position that allows him to do so (example: he can't risk offending Pei because of her status, but Fu Yao should tolerate being number two because it's the best anyone from her lot can expect).
Now Fu Yao rolls with the punches showing yet another quality: she does not really seem interested in asking questions like WHY because when you can live stream matches with secret treasures, it doesn't seem worth it to question because there are just far too many possibilities. Yes. In round two, she is to fight a match on an umbrella requiring a partner--you can only proceed in pairs because it requires balance to be stable. Her partner, alas, has been told to abandon her so she fails. Also, she arrives with a stick given her by gramps who says she has a destiny to leave up to....talk about heavy handed plot related dialogue!
AGAIN the prince appears, how we do not know, to save her. Is he an immortal?A god?
Stay tuned!
I give it an 8 because it was interesting and in spite of my summary, they are able to portray this all in a way that makes it work--the music and pacing is good and as ridiculous as it sounds, they made it work.
1)Everyone in the Xuanyuan sect, minus Jing, and the other slaves, seem to have it in for Fu Yao. They go to ridiculous ends to remove her from this competition, succeeding in a)making her more determined to overcome them and b)failing.
2)Fu Yao may have a destiny, and it may be connected to a simple staff given her by the old man who may have raised her or is just her drinking buddy
3)Prince Sun clearly is drawn to her
This Episode also introduces us to a few things
1)Mainland dramas must have a cute critter rendered out of bad CGI that may be relevant to the plot and sadly seems to make the show a little cringey
2)A Realm of Nothingness
3)An Ancient Version of live stream
4)A tournament involving balancing on an umbrella like structure
Plot:
Essentially, Fu Yao exits Round 1 victorious, but worse, she is riding the buffalo of yore, and to all the nobles, this is a huge embarrassment and slap in the face. Their stubborn pride and traditionalism will not allow them to stoop so low as to recruit a rising star in the fighting world, rather they would like to see her dead.
Fu Yao is greeted with applause by the other slaves. Prince Sun is amused by her defying the order. Now she visits Jing to deliver some medicine (given to her by the prince) and Jing is less interested in her stellar performance and more interested in her thoughts on becoming his concubine. He also does not seem happy that she has gone a step further and now is promising to no longer see him because they are 'going down different paths'. Fu Yao no longer believes that Jing will be able to give her what she wants--someone who will support and love her unconditionally. She also does not want to be a source of pain for him or hurt him, because she cares about him and he has continually hurt himself trying to protect her. She does promise to protect him in the future and to come to his aid. Still, this baffles and hurts Jing but he accepts the medicine.
Pei spies this visit and is able to get Fu Yao arrested for allegedly 'stealing'because turns out the medicine given to her by the Prince is contained in rare sea glass and no slave could come by it. Perhaps this is a test for our female lead, as she thinks back to the Prince's words--if you want to live long, keep your mouth shut. She does reveal who gave it to her. Their punishment?
The Realm of Nothingness! Not opened in centuries, they will stoop to a petty punishment to kill her, because it is the only way they can say they 'gave her a chance' because if she is deemed pure, then she is able to be free, but few, if any, have the level of purity needed to survive this icy place. In fact, she almost dies but is rescued by the prince, making me wonder a)how he knew she would be there and b)how the hell he can survive there. He is able to help her escape, though she does not know he saved her, and he hopes they stop bullying her. He really distinguishes himself from Jing, who seems to rely on the affirmation of others--his father, whom he wants to live up to, Pei, whom he does not want to offend, even Fu Yao, whom he needs to rely on him, and is even hurtful of because she is in a position that allows him to do so (example: he can't risk offending Pei because of her status, but Fu Yao should tolerate being number two because it's the best anyone from her lot can expect).
Now Fu Yao rolls with the punches showing yet another quality: she does not really seem interested in asking questions like WHY because when you can live stream matches with secret treasures, it doesn't seem worth it to question because there are just far too many possibilities. Yes. In round two, she is to fight a match on an umbrella requiring a partner--you can only proceed in pairs because it requires balance to be stable. Her partner, alas, has been told to abandon her so she fails. Also, she arrives with a stick given her by gramps who says she has a destiny to leave up to....talk about heavy handed plot related dialogue!
AGAIN the prince appears, how we do not know, to save her. Is he an immortal?A god?
Stay tuned!
I give it an 8 because it was interesting and in spite of my summary, they are able to portray this all in a way that makes it work--the music and pacing is good and as ridiculous as it sounds, they made it work.
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I will try to be short.
So essentially this episode begins with Fu Yao and Zhang Sun confronting this monster buffalo. Zhang Sun is able to stun the creature before he and Fu Yao part ways on what I would say are neutral notes, since he helped her but she certainly wasn't feeling anything for him beyond simple politeness.
Jing, Fu Yao's childhood friend, we all know, was engaged to Pei, the niece of the primary antagonist up to this point (the prime minister) during episode 2. Pei is overjoyed and has very girlish fantasies of couple moments with Jing. And Pei has some good qualities--she is smart, capable, and clearly a romantic at heart--but she is in possession of some BIG feelings, feelings that lead to spontaneous outbursts of anger and rage that hurt those around her, because her idea of love is extremely narrow and defined by her vision of what it should be--anything that goes against her 'dream' she can't handle and so she is willing to force others to conform.
An example of Pei's obsessive love is very clearly showcased to the viewer when she catches Jing meeting up with Fu Yao for a secret chat. Her servant girl suggests that they kill Fu Yao, and Pei explodes, attacks her servant, nearly killing her (the servant yells her name at her to break her out of this trance) and Pei snaps that she 'always get what she wants' and 'even if it means [Jing] will suffer and hate her she will have him'. This lacks subtlety.
Will Pei inspire any empathy from the audience? I hope she is more dynamic later. Eternal Love did a great job in making the villains somewhat empathetic. The only empathy that Pei can stir is 1)she is in love with someone who does not love her back and 2)she feels obligated to conform to the image of a woman i.e. she doesn't kill Fu Yao because she knows this will make Pei dislike her. She instead sets her up in a situation that will lead to her death [likely] and perhaps create drama between the two.
But that's enough about Pei.
The interlude Pei observes, between Fu Yao and Jing is important because it highlights a problem that I think a lot of couples experience. Jing wants to marry Pei and have Fu Yao as a concubine.
Jing believes he knows what is best for Fu Yao, and if she would just listen to him, then everything will be fine. This tells us that Jing is a very rational person. He is a romantic, in so far as falling in love outside of his class, and as the man he feels he must protect the woman he loves. He does not like to stir up trouble if he can help it, and in his mind, everything will be great--he will marry Pei to protect his clan but he will make Fu Yao his concubine.
Now relationships are complicated, and communication is probably the biggest issue most of us may face. Fu Yao loves Jing. Fu Yao is a romantic, a direct and headstrong girl with her sense of value and pride and she does not want this future because she is a 'all in' kind of girl and that means no sharing. Worse, Jing presented his plan in a way that would make Fu Yao look bad. Now some people wouldn't care about this, but Fu Yao has her pride too, and she wants love on her terms or not at all. It is a high bar, and she doesn't want to compromise. This shows us that she is very stubborn, very determined, and in her own way, a little annoying.
Our episode ends with the plot constructed by Pei to kill Fu Yao--she enters her into the tournament without her consent, and even though it is not allowed and she lacks the skill, Fu Yao must participate or be executed. Jing's father hopes she is killed and he does not hear about this anymore. He also threatened Jing to not mess up with this marriage, showing that Jing is under a lot of pressure to do what his father wants. Fu Yao is mocked and ridiculed and ultimately Jing steps in to defend her--again not acknowledging that MAYBE Fu Yao has her own skill if she was just given the chance but...well. that's it.
-This episode gets a 9 because it flew by. I have a feeling I will be impressed with the show.
So essentially this episode begins with Fu Yao and Zhang Sun confronting this monster buffalo. Zhang Sun is able to stun the creature before he and Fu Yao part ways on what I would say are neutral notes, since he helped her but she certainly wasn't feeling anything for him beyond simple politeness.
Jing, Fu Yao's childhood friend, we all know, was engaged to Pei, the niece of the primary antagonist up to this point (the prime minister) during episode 2. Pei is overjoyed and has very girlish fantasies of couple moments with Jing. And Pei has some good qualities--she is smart, capable, and clearly a romantic at heart--but she is in possession of some BIG feelings, feelings that lead to spontaneous outbursts of anger and rage that hurt those around her, because her idea of love is extremely narrow and defined by her vision of what it should be--anything that goes against her 'dream' she can't handle and so she is willing to force others to conform.
An example of Pei's obsessive love is very clearly showcased to the viewer when she catches Jing meeting up with Fu Yao for a secret chat. Her servant girl suggests that they kill Fu Yao, and Pei explodes, attacks her servant, nearly killing her (the servant yells her name at her to break her out of this trance) and Pei snaps that she 'always get what she wants' and 'even if it means [Jing] will suffer and hate her she will have him'. This lacks subtlety.
Will Pei inspire any empathy from the audience? I hope she is more dynamic later. Eternal Love did a great job in making the villains somewhat empathetic. The only empathy that Pei can stir is 1)she is in love with someone who does not love her back and 2)she feels obligated to conform to the image of a woman i.e. she doesn't kill Fu Yao because she knows this will make Pei dislike her. She instead sets her up in a situation that will lead to her death [likely] and perhaps create drama between the two.
But that's enough about Pei.
The interlude Pei observes, between Fu Yao and Jing is important because it highlights a problem that I think a lot of couples experience. Jing wants to marry Pei and have Fu Yao as a concubine.
Jing believes he knows what is best for Fu Yao, and if she would just listen to him, then everything will be fine. This tells us that Jing is a very rational person. He is a romantic, in so far as falling in love outside of his class, and as the man he feels he must protect the woman he loves. He does not like to stir up trouble if he can help it, and in his mind, everything will be great--he will marry Pei to protect his clan but he will make Fu Yao his concubine.
Now relationships are complicated, and communication is probably the biggest issue most of us may face. Fu Yao loves Jing. Fu Yao is a romantic, a direct and headstrong girl with her sense of value and pride and she does not want this future because she is a 'all in' kind of girl and that means no sharing. Worse, Jing presented his plan in a way that would make Fu Yao look bad. Now some people wouldn't care about this, but Fu Yao has her pride too, and she wants love on her terms or not at all. It is a high bar, and she doesn't want to compromise. This shows us that she is very stubborn, very determined, and in her own way, a little annoying.
Our episode ends with the plot constructed by Pei to kill Fu Yao--she enters her into the tournament without her consent, and even though it is not allowed and she lacks the skill, Fu Yao must participate or be executed. Jing's father hopes she is killed and he does not hear about this anymore. He also threatened Jing to not mess up with this marriage, showing that Jing is under a lot of pressure to do what his father wants. Fu Yao is mocked and ridiculed and ultimately Jing steps in to defend her--again not acknowledging that MAYBE Fu Yao has her own skill if she was just given the chance but...well. that's it.
-This episode gets a 9 because it flew by. I have a feeling I will be impressed with the show.
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In this episode, Yin Xue proposes to Ge'er and a huge obstacle appears in the relationship of Lei and Miss D largely due to Lei murdering her brother, Wu Hen, in revenge, and Anye Luo puts forth considerable effort to recruit Yu.
1)We open to a very ill Yin Xue who chooses to propose to Ge'er instead of seeking a healer. She uses her body to warm him. Elsewhere, Phoenix, Jie, Lei, and Miss travel as she escorts them away from their pursuers. When they encounter Top Blade soldiers, they avoid killing anyone by freezing pressure points. Unfortunately, Wu Hen finds them. She protects her friends and lover and begs Wu Hen to let them go, but Wu Hen's answer is extremely logical--if we let them escape, then we will be executed by Anye Luo.
2)In spite of Lei's promise to run today and fight later, Lei is unable to miss this opportunity to avenge his fallen Thunderclap sect disciples and father (Top Blade is basically on Team Evil, and Team Evil killed his father). Someone from the shadows throws a ball that causes Wu Hen to stumble. As a result of trying to both fend off Lei and maintain his balance, Wu Hen stumbles, and falls backwards, and hits his head on a rock. He landed in just the right way that he was basically instantly killed, but this being a C Drama, he first dramatically coughed up blood before dying in his sister's arms. Xun Yi emerges from the shadows, revealing herself as the one who distracted Wu Hen.
3)Thinks are not looking too good for our lovers. Miss D is in shock, and devastated by the loss of her brother who in spite of all of his flaws, was not without humanity like Anye Luo. He loved his sister, she loved him, and she takes her pain out on the source of his death--Lei--whom she accuses of murder. Lei insists it was an accident, and begs her to flee with him, but she refuses, insisting her brothers both spoiled and protected her. He says (rather selfishly and with bad timing) to forget her surname and join him. But obviously she cannot. Xun Yi basically drags him away and Miss D is left alone.
4)Jie reveals to Xun Yi that his eyes were taken by Anye Luo, Xun Yi briefly takes the time to kill leave and kill the Dark River disciples with her (how is it that Dark River has not run out of people, they are killed constantly, and why are they all female??). Lei has a moment of clarity and finds it odd that Xun Yi was able to find them so quickly and without trouble and believes she works for Yi Lang. Given that he has been betrayed by most everyone, this is a reasonable assumption. Xun Yi is very defensive and finally admits that she is his half sister, that she deliberately misled him to believe Die Yi was his sister. So now they know that Anye Jue is her mother, and she admits she is hear because Anye Jue does not want him dead.
5)Unsurprisingly, learning that she is actively working with Dark River sends everyone over the edge, but not as hard as Jie who loses it. He calls her an evil witch and throws her away, breaks up with her, expresses anger because he wanted to marry her, and Xun Yi, like a broken martyr, tells him to be safe and to not return to flame villa and even though she works for Dark River she loves him, and that is when she learns that Anye Jue took his eyes....
6)MW, Wu Xia arrives and is shocked--and furious--to see Wu Hen dead. Miss D takes responsibility, and for the first time Wu Xia is really angry with her and shoves her away, He vows revenge against Thunderclap. What follows is an interlude and we learn that Thunderclap, which has taken a lot of hits, is basically wiped out in a bloodbath by Wu Xia.,
7)Anye Luo confronts Anye Jue over Lei slipping away again. She admits that she sent Xun Yi to take care of this and retrieve him and she begs for forgiveness ann for him not to kill her daughter. Anye Luo tells her that he believes that she fell for her husband, and that she used his son as a surrogate for her daughter who was placed in flame villa as a mole, and tells her that if she does not personally kill Lei then he will kill her daughter.
8)Meanwhile, Lei is quite drunk. She tries to inspire Lei but he can only drink, and she believes she must have been a fool to pick him and Lei agrees with her. Bi'er arrives and reports that Ge'er is still missing, body not found, and while Yu is still in the Eastern Sea, they don't know that his subordinates have a stand in pretending to be him while they search for him.
9)MW, Anye Luo tries to recruit Yu. Yu insists he is a maniac. Anye Luo reveals his injuries were the result of the empress poisoning his mother, his father's favoirte concubine, and the emperor did nothing because he could not risk offending her family. Later, his legs were crippled by third prince and he says his father also knew this but did nothing. As Yu is breaking down, Anye Jue drives in the dagger and twists it--metaphorically--by reminding him that he might have been able to save his beloved Ge'er if he had the use of his legs, but he could only crawl to her and watch her die. He says as long as he is willing to help him, he will set him free to find her because she could be alive since her body has not been found.
WELL, knowing Yu's unhealthy obsession, he will probably agree..
1)We open to a very ill Yin Xue who chooses to propose to Ge'er instead of seeking a healer. She uses her body to warm him. Elsewhere, Phoenix, Jie, Lei, and Miss travel as she escorts them away from their pursuers. When they encounter Top Blade soldiers, they avoid killing anyone by freezing pressure points. Unfortunately, Wu Hen finds them. She protects her friends and lover and begs Wu Hen to let them go, but Wu Hen's answer is extremely logical--if we let them escape, then we will be executed by Anye Luo.
2)In spite of Lei's promise to run today and fight later, Lei is unable to miss this opportunity to avenge his fallen Thunderclap sect disciples and father (Top Blade is basically on Team Evil, and Team Evil killed his father). Someone from the shadows throws a ball that causes Wu Hen to stumble. As a result of trying to both fend off Lei and maintain his balance, Wu Hen stumbles, and falls backwards, and hits his head on a rock. He landed in just the right way that he was basically instantly killed, but this being a C Drama, he first dramatically coughed up blood before dying in his sister's arms. Xun Yi emerges from the shadows, revealing herself as the one who distracted Wu Hen.
3)Thinks are not looking too good for our lovers. Miss D is in shock, and devastated by the loss of her brother who in spite of all of his flaws, was not without humanity like Anye Luo. He loved his sister, she loved him, and she takes her pain out on the source of his death--Lei--whom she accuses of murder. Lei insists it was an accident, and begs her to flee with him, but she refuses, insisting her brothers both spoiled and protected her. He says (rather selfishly and with bad timing) to forget her surname and join him. But obviously she cannot. Xun Yi basically drags him away and Miss D is left alone.
4)Jie reveals to Xun Yi that his eyes were taken by Anye Luo, Xun Yi briefly takes the time to kill leave and kill the Dark River disciples with her (how is it that Dark River has not run out of people, they are killed constantly, and why are they all female??). Lei has a moment of clarity and finds it odd that Xun Yi was able to find them so quickly and without trouble and believes she works for Yi Lang. Given that he has been betrayed by most everyone, this is a reasonable assumption. Xun Yi is very defensive and finally admits that she is his half sister, that she deliberately misled him to believe Die Yi was his sister. So now they know that Anye Jue is her mother, and she admits she is hear because Anye Jue does not want him dead.
5)Unsurprisingly, learning that she is actively working with Dark River sends everyone over the edge, but not as hard as Jie who loses it. He calls her an evil witch and throws her away, breaks up with her, expresses anger because he wanted to marry her, and Xun Yi, like a broken martyr, tells him to be safe and to not return to flame villa and even though she works for Dark River she loves him, and that is when she learns that Anye Jue took his eyes....
6)MW, Wu Xia arrives and is shocked--and furious--to see Wu Hen dead. Miss D takes responsibility, and for the first time Wu Xia is really angry with her and shoves her away, He vows revenge against Thunderclap. What follows is an interlude and we learn that Thunderclap, which has taken a lot of hits, is basically wiped out in a bloodbath by Wu Xia.,
7)Anye Luo confronts Anye Jue over Lei slipping away again. She admits that she sent Xun Yi to take care of this and retrieve him and she begs for forgiveness ann for him not to kill her daughter. Anye Luo tells her that he believes that she fell for her husband, and that she used his son as a surrogate for her daughter who was placed in flame villa as a mole, and tells her that if she does not personally kill Lei then he will kill her daughter.
8)Meanwhile, Lei is quite drunk. She tries to inspire Lei but he can only drink, and she believes she must have been a fool to pick him and Lei agrees with her. Bi'er arrives and reports that Ge'er is still missing, body not found, and while Yu is still in the Eastern Sea, they don't know that his subordinates have a stand in pretending to be him while they search for him.
9)MW, Anye Luo tries to recruit Yu. Yu insists he is a maniac. Anye Luo reveals his injuries were the result of the empress poisoning his mother, his father's favoirte concubine, and the emperor did nothing because he could not risk offending her family. Later, his legs were crippled by third prince and he says his father also knew this but did nothing. As Yu is breaking down, Anye Jue drives in the dagger and twists it--metaphorically--by reminding him that he might have been able to save his beloved Ge'er if he had the use of his legs, but he could only crawl to her and watch her die. He says as long as he is willing to help him, he will set him free to find her because she could be alive since her body has not been found.
WELL, knowing Yu's unhealthy obsession, he will probably agree..
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Ahem, I believe it is important to acknowledge that the Rat Housekeeper Li is likely a sadist hungry for power.
1)Zhongli chooses to brush up on his music skills in retirement. I say this because Die Yi discovers him moodily playing the flute in his biggest display of emotion yet. Die Yi does her best to force him to confess to her and fails though it is painfully obvious how he feels. She is successful in luring him back to Plum Palace a.k.a. Ge'er's quarters as the resident cook in order that he can serve her. This is a huge asset for Ge'er since Zhongli is very informed and a skilled healer.
2)Elsewhere, Ji returns to Pine Court (his living quarters) and immediately coughs up blood. He downplays the fight but his head maid, who I completely forgot is Bi'er who, for all of you have forgotten, was told to live in secret beside Ji many, episodes ago by flamelord. anyways, she tells him that he must rest for two weeks and hide his injury to protect his reputation. He can use the fight with Li as an excuse to seal the court off. Also, she tells him that Li, whom Ji was convinced was weaker to him, is far more skilled than Ji in martial arts to deliver such a complicated injury and must have been trained by a master pugilist. (She also reveals that she is the secret third keeper i.e. the known two are Li aka housekeper and zhongli of azure hall; she was trained to take over Zhongli's position in the event he were to suddenly die.)
3)Xun Yi stops by to visit and forces her way in. She tells Ji she is afraid that by the time Ge'er awakens everything will be different. Ji swears that he will do his best to protect his mentor's last wish of having her succeed. When she asks what they will do, Ji surprises her (and me) by saying nothing. Clearly this was a well staged coup, he explains, everything is to their advantage and right now they need to figure out how to counter attack (my respect for him has increased ten fold I did not know he was so smart).
4)Miss D is updated on Ge'er's status
5)Meanwhile, Ji tries to leave only to learn he is grounded to his quarters, it seems, because of his fight with the evil houskeeper. He is extremely dissapointed in Feng but at this point all I can say is take a number as Feng has shown without fail that he will betray and hurt everyone around him without fail and find an excuse for it. He may believe he is protecting Ji, but it's some lies. Evil housekeeper tells him that he is being too lenient however Feng'er is adamant that no one is to bother the residents of Pine Hall or Plum Court.
6)MW, Ge'er awakens. Unlike Feng, who uses his power to make others fear him, she is a foil in that she treats others with respect. She goes to see Zhongli instead of having him come to her. She asks how he is, and she tells him that they must observe the enemy and plan their counterattack. In the meanwhile, she will feign her sickness to throw off Feng.
7)MW, Hueng reports that evil house keeper punishes anyone who questions Feng's actions, so everyone is afraid to speak out against him. Ge'er is ill and has not investigated anything. Hence he has taken the lead, and in spite of his questionable ways, he has made flame villa even more powerful than her father--no one can doubt that. He plans to blame Thunderclap clan for the attack as the explosives were made by them.
8)Eveil housekeeper leads a slander campaign against Yu, whom he accuses of sheltering the enemy--Lei--during the next branch meeting. However the branch masters defend Yu, whose virtue is without question. And Thunderclap was already pardoned by the Imperial Clan after feng's wedding--they insist that they not get involved in what is likely an imperial issue. However evil housekeeper insists that Lei set the explosives up while Yu was sheltering him. He insists that they arrest him. Uncle Murong says that they cannot act hastily, and that there is no motive. Housekeeper says you will find out his motive when you arrest him. (That is some good detecting). Anyways, Feng says that he believes they should not be hasty. First they will gather the evidence.
9)MW, Yu is completely fixated on Ge'er. He desires to visit the villa and ignores the advice of his men who tell him he should not go because the imperial spies will give a negative report to the capital. He journeys back under the guise of visiting his mentor's memorial.
10)Feng visits Ge'er in the meanwhile (and like Yu, he has her on a pedestal. if Yu believes she is perfect and needs to be protected, so does Feng, although he sees her as a carefree child only Yin Xue has ever treated her as an equal and respected her wishes ) She keeps her act up and is polite, though I think he needs to accept reality that he is on team evil and accept responsibility for breaking the hearts and shattering the trust of everyone who cares for him--he tells her he has evidence that Thunderclap did this. She tells him that it isn't possible. He says its true. She asks him if he really believes this. He asks her if she thinks he murdered her father,and after a long silence she asks him how he could think she suspects him of murdering her father. And then she asks him his plan. He says wipe them out, and she says fine, just know that I won't spare anyone who killed my father, no matter how close we are (shots fired).
11)She then meets with Zhongli who reports that the branches he is meeting with were all expelled for stealing. She wonders how he could find such people reliable, but then the thunderclap sect is divided at the moment. how will he frame Lei?
12)Well, this is how Feng frames him. The first branch letter he has is tied up and he threatens him to tell the truth, that Lei did this, and tries to give him silver but he refuses. After two more men appear and testify Lei did, this one man is basically threatened that you can die or lie. Ge'er appears suddenly and questions him, even though she is able to show an inconsistency in the man's reliability as a witness, he nevertheless offers false testimony, and so she leaves. Meanwhile, Miss D is pissed to learn of Feng's decision to frame Lei. She tries to confront him but he basically tells her she can do nothing since her silence makes her an accomplice and her brothers would be in trouble.
13)MW, Yu learns that Lei is now wanted as a criminal and anyone who aids him will be treated as an enemy of the flame villa. He is reunited with Ge'er, who is so happy she breaks down in tears....
YIN XUE NEEDS TO COME BACK.
1)Zhongli chooses to brush up on his music skills in retirement. I say this because Die Yi discovers him moodily playing the flute in his biggest display of emotion yet. Die Yi does her best to force him to confess to her and fails though it is painfully obvious how he feels. She is successful in luring him back to Plum Palace a.k.a. Ge'er's quarters as the resident cook in order that he can serve her. This is a huge asset for Ge'er since Zhongli is very informed and a skilled healer.
2)Elsewhere, Ji returns to Pine Court (his living quarters) and immediately coughs up blood. He downplays the fight but his head maid, who I completely forgot is Bi'er who, for all of you have forgotten, was told to live in secret beside Ji many, episodes ago by flamelord. anyways, she tells him that he must rest for two weeks and hide his injury to protect his reputation. He can use the fight with Li as an excuse to seal the court off. Also, she tells him that Li, whom Ji was convinced was weaker to him, is far more skilled than Ji in martial arts to deliver such a complicated injury and must have been trained by a master pugilist. (She also reveals that she is the secret third keeper i.e. the known two are Li aka housekeper and zhongli of azure hall; she was trained to take over Zhongli's position in the event he were to suddenly die.)
3)Xun Yi stops by to visit and forces her way in. She tells Ji she is afraid that by the time Ge'er awakens everything will be different. Ji swears that he will do his best to protect his mentor's last wish of having her succeed. When she asks what they will do, Ji surprises her (and me) by saying nothing. Clearly this was a well staged coup, he explains, everything is to their advantage and right now they need to figure out how to counter attack (my respect for him has increased ten fold I did not know he was so smart).
4)Miss D is updated on Ge'er's status
5)Meanwhile, Ji tries to leave only to learn he is grounded to his quarters, it seems, because of his fight with the evil houskeeper. He is extremely dissapointed in Feng but at this point all I can say is take a number as Feng has shown without fail that he will betray and hurt everyone around him without fail and find an excuse for it. He may believe he is protecting Ji, but it's some lies. Evil housekeeper tells him that he is being too lenient however Feng'er is adamant that no one is to bother the residents of Pine Hall or Plum Court.
6)MW, Ge'er awakens. Unlike Feng, who uses his power to make others fear him, she is a foil in that she treats others with respect. She goes to see Zhongli instead of having him come to her. She asks how he is, and she tells him that they must observe the enemy and plan their counterattack. In the meanwhile, she will feign her sickness to throw off Feng.
7)MW, Hueng reports that evil house keeper punishes anyone who questions Feng's actions, so everyone is afraid to speak out against him. Ge'er is ill and has not investigated anything. Hence he has taken the lead, and in spite of his questionable ways, he has made flame villa even more powerful than her father--no one can doubt that. He plans to blame Thunderclap clan for the attack as the explosives were made by them.
8)Eveil housekeeper leads a slander campaign against Yu, whom he accuses of sheltering the enemy--Lei--during the next branch meeting. However the branch masters defend Yu, whose virtue is without question. And Thunderclap was already pardoned by the Imperial Clan after feng's wedding--they insist that they not get involved in what is likely an imperial issue. However evil housekeeper insists that Lei set the explosives up while Yu was sheltering him. He insists that they arrest him. Uncle Murong says that they cannot act hastily, and that there is no motive. Housekeeper says you will find out his motive when you arrest him. (That is some good detecting). Anyways, Feng says that he believes they should not be hasty. First they will gather the evidence.
9)MW, Yu is completely fixated on Ge'er. He desires to visit the villa and ignores the advice of his men who tell him he should not go because the imperial spies will give a negative report to the capital. He journeys back under the guise of visiting his mentor's memorial.
10)Feng visits Ge'er in the meanwhile (and like Yu, he has her on a pedestal. if Yu believes she is perfect and needs to be protected, so does Feng, although he sees her as a carefree child only Yin Xue has ever treated her as an equal and respected her wishes ) She keeps her act up and is polite, though I think he needs to accept reality that he is on team evil and accept responsibility for breaking the hearts and shattering the trust of everyone who cares for him--he tells her he has evidence that Thunderclap did this. She tells him that it isn't possible. He says its true. She asks him if he really believes this. He asks her if she thinks he murdered her father,and after a long silence she asks him how he could think she suspects him of murdering her father. And then she asks him his plan. He says wipe them out, and she says fine, just know that I won't spare anyone who killed my father, no matter how close we are (shots fired).
11)She then meets with Zhongli who reports that the branches he is meeting with were all expelled for stealing. She wonders how he could find such people reliable, but then the thunderclap sect is divided at the moment. how will he frame Lei?
12)Well, this is how Feng frames him. The first branch letter he has is tied up and he threatens him to tell the truth, that Lei did this, and tries to give him silver but he refuses. After two more men appear and testify Lei did, this one man is basically threatened that you can die or lie. Ge'er appears suddenly and questions him, even though she is able to show an inconsistency in the man's reliability as a witness, he nevertheless offers false testimony, and so she leaves. Meanwhile, Miss D is pissed to learn of Feng's decision to frame Lei. She tries to confront him but he basically tells her she can do nothing since her silence makes her an accomplice and her brothers would be in trouble.
13)MW, Yu learns that Lei is now wanted as a criminal and anyone who aids him will be treated as an enemy of the flame villa. He is reunited with Ge'er, who is so happy she breaks down in tears....
YIN XUE NEEDS TO COME BACK.
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