You don’t have to watch the full episode or the previous episodes to appreciate the proposal at the 30:47 mark. No context is required to understand. His love confession can stand alone.
I suggest if you have access to Episode 15, just fast-forward to the scene.
It’s swoon-worthy in a good way. It isn’t toe-curling, brow-knitting, face-cringing, and overly saccharine for me to endure. I give it my seal of approval.
It hits all the right notes.
He reflects on their adventures together, stressing their connection that’s forged from working together. He explains the development of his attachment for her. Though we all know it was love at first sight, we like the idea that this isn’t just a passing fancy for him.
He tells her what he likes about her. Yes, we’re right, @GB. He clearly admires her for her work; he doesn’t bring up her beauty even once. (Lol. I’m not throwing shade at “Prisoner of Beauty.”)
He expresses his intentions for their future. It should come as no surprise to us that he vows to be supportive of her in whatever she chooses to do in the future.
She hesitates because she worries that he may be repulsed after he finds out her real identity. He reveals that he’s guessed all along who she is. And the romantic part here is that he tells her that he’s taking her on trust and faith, not by evidence.
His request for a kiss as a token of their relationship is awkwardly cute, but her response is dreamy.
The screenwriter did awesome crafting the whole proposal event, and the actors delivered.
I’ll revise and edit this thread to break down their conversation later when I come home.
Spoilers, henceforth.
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Shen Wan is in Yan Chi’s arms to warm her up after their water escape.
SW: Your wounds got wet. Let me take care of them for you.
YC: Get some rest yourself. Don’t worry about me. If you act recklessly again, if anything were to happen to you, where should I find you?
SW: Your Highness, don’t worry. Xu He has mastered his skills.
She’s downplaying her importance. She’s saying that she’s replaceable by her assistant. He gets that she’s avoiding this talk.
YC: I’m talking about you. In this life, I only want you.
SW: I’ll go change your dressing.
YC: You know what I’m talking about. Once I said it, I won’t take it back.
SW: Well, let go of me first. It’s hard to talk like this.
YC: It’s too call here.
SW: Let me sit up.
He releases her and she moves across the other side to face him. He takes off his blanket to bundle her in it. He takes her legs and rubs them.
SW: What are you doing it?
YC: Now that you’re sitting up, I can’t let your feet get cold.
SW: Your Highness, you’re such a rare talent among people. Treated like his by you, how could I not be moved?
Well, she can brag later on that she had him at her feet.
SW: But I…I have no desire for love in this world.
YC: I’ve been surrounded by soldiers since childhood, never knowing what love is in this world.
Nice parry! He understands her reluctance. She isn’t rejecting because she doesn’t like him but because she’s been keeping secrets from him. He says that he grew up without the faintest knowledge of love in order to get around her mental block.
YC: At first, I merely admired you. Then gradually, I came to trust you. I don’t know when it was, but suddenly I realized I feel joy when I’m with you. I want to be with you every day. Even examining corpses together would be a pleasure. When you’re sad, my heart aches. I don’t want you to suffer even the slightest pain. Before rushing here, all I could think about was seeing you and protecting you. Just now, when I saw you lying there lifeless, it was the first time in my life I truly understood what fear means.
He’s playing that social game, isn’t he? It’s that “Tell me without telling me” game. He’s telling her that he loves her without telling her that he loves her.” He’s essentially showing her how he feels about her without using the word “love.”
YC: (continuing) If we can make it out of here today, in this life, I wish to grow old with you.
She tears up and moves her feet away. Her body language tells him that she’s about to reject him.
SW: (haltingly) To receive Your Highness’s deep affection in this lifetime, I’m blessed without measure. But I…but I…am not a suitable match for Your Highness.
They look at each other then she looks down. He inches closer then grasps her by the shoulders. His face is at the same level as hers. This tells me that he’s about to tell her something monumental but sincere, that he wants her attention solely on him, and that he considers them to be of equal ranks.
YC: (whispering) Shen Wan.
SW: (surprised that he knows her secret)
YC: I have deep feelings for you. We once made a promise to keep each other’s secrets. But I should at least know who exactly made that pact with me, right?
In other words, she has nothing to fear from him. Her secret has always been safe with him.
SW: How did you find out?
YC: I didn’t actually find out much. Your father hid your traces very well, and my men couldn’t even enter Medicine King Valley. But you and the real Qin Wan were once both at Medicine King Valley. The time of your disappearance exactly matches when Qin Wan was in Jingzhou.
I’m glad that he did his research, and was able to put two and two together. I don’t recall the exact episode he had called off his bodyguard from investigating the whereabouts of Shen Wan. But he decided early on that he had sufficient reasons to believe Qin Wan was actually the missing daughter of Minister Shen.
YC: (continuing) Though they say illness makes one a doctor, your medical skills clearly come from years of practice. Talent alone couldn’t reach such mastery.
I like that he recognizes that SW’s expertise didn’t just happen by accident (e.g., a talent), but by dint of hard work. Appreciating her dedication and effort to get where she is, he hopefully won’t dismiss her work when it’s inconvenient for him in the future.
YC: (continuing) There’s something else though, that is your unwavering loyalty to Lord Shen.
I like that he’s been reading up on Lord Shen’s writings long before this.
SW: None of what you said can prove who I am.
YC: As you know, I never solve cases based on evidence alone, and this is enough for me.
I commented on this earlier. A human relationship can’t be based merely on evidence and facts because there are things in life that can’t be guaranteed nor certified as 100% true. There has to be trust and faith in a relationship, too.
SW: Then, you should also know that my purpose for coming to the capital is extremely dangerous.
YC: You want to clear Lord Shen’s name, I want to overturn Prince Jin’s case. Our goals are actually the same.
SW: Since you already know then why do you still…
YC: Because there’s only one you in this world. (cupping her cheek) Whether you’re Shen Wan or Qin Wan, you are the one and only, irreplaceable person in this world. If I miss you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
Satisfactory answer. They smile at each other, and he leans in for the kiss. His bodyguard interrupts them.
His love proposal continues in her room.
Her maid comes in, bringing her medicine. Yan Chi intercepts her and takes the bowl from her to feed Shen Wan himself. Her maid protests but SW cousin, Qin Yan, signals her to stand down. YC sits on her bed and blows the spoonful of medicine to cool it down. His cousin, Princess Yeuning, misses her cue to exit the room, so he blows on the medicine again. She gets the hint and takes the maid with her. He feeds her a spoonful and her cousin, Qin Yan, observing the private moment, finally excuses himself, and leaves the room.
SW: (naively) Qin Wan must have discovered something. We’d better keep our distance from now on.
YC: (teasing her) There’s no need to keep it a secret. They’ll find out sooner or later. You wouldn’t want them to be in the dark when I come to propose in the future, would you?
SW: Don’t talk nonsense.
YC: I’m not talking nonsense. Though that basement wasn’t a nice place, I meant every word I said there.
SW: But I’m not romantic and my temperament is hardly gentle. If it weren’t for my current identity, I would never want to live as a proper noble lady bound by rules.
Yes, we have to remember that Yan Chi is the emperor’s nephew. His grandmother – and SW’s adopted grandmother (or godmother) – is the emperor’s aunt. His father, Prince Rui, is a general of the most important army in the land. His deceased good friend, Prince Jin, whose case he wants investigated and retried, was his cousin and the eldest son of the emperor.
Shen Wan knows that if she marries him, her life won’t be hers anymore.
YC: But that’s exactly what I love about you. Your defiance. The woman who can be my wife should be someone who can fight alongside me as a heroine, not someone confined to the inner chambers, who only knows to put on makeup and rely on me.
Do you hear that, fangirls? If this cdrama had been a contemporary show instead of a historical, he would have said that he didn’t like girls who watch cdramas all the time. Lol.
SW: (embarrassed) What wife? It’s still a bit too early to use that word.
YC: (teasing) So you’re planning to love me and leave me now?
SW: Love you?! I haven’t done anything to you. Don’t talk nonsense.
YC: You’ve disturbed my peace of mind and that counts.
Meaning, that’s considered as loving him. Tormenting him = loving him.
SW: Listen carefully. Until my Father’s name is cleared, I don’t want to discuss marriage. Because once I become a housewife, I’ll be bound by even more restrictions.
YC: (sighing)
SW: I’m sorry. If you can’t accept this, we can still go back to the way things were.
YC: No, we can’t.
SW: Why not?
YC: Because my heart can’t go back to how it was. And also because I’ve always intended for you to be my Crown Princess with your true identity.
SW: (stunned) Yan Chi.
It’s noteworthy that she finally calls him by name.
YC: However, you’ll need to give me something in return.
SW: What do you want?
YC: In Jinghou, there’s Yue Qing. And at Medicine King Valley, there are your fellow disciples. Once you go to the capital, what if you encounter people with ill intentions? To prevent any unexpected troubles, shouldn’t you give me something to put my mind at ease?
Yue Qing is the Yan Chi’s cousin; the one who was about to offer marriage to SW had YC not interrupted him and suggested SW’s “adoption” instead.
SW: But I have nothing of value. Even Hanyue and the Nine Needles were gifts from you.
IIRC, Hanyue is the knife that she used to operate on YC’s grandmother. The Nine Needles are the acupuncture needle set he gave her. Awww… the only valuable things she has are presents from him.
Smiling, he demonstrates a peck on his cheek. She gets what he’s asking for, so she stands up, smiling.
SW: Then you must promise me. No concubines. No secondary wives. Whether we’re married or not, if you cannot be faithful to me alone, then vast as the mountains and seas are, I can go anywhere I please.
Nice. She’s stipulating her conditions for marriage to him. One, her father’s name must be cleared first. Second, no other woman but her.
He takes her hand in his.
YC: Qin Wan. I, Yan Chi, am not a fickle person. It was on the battlefield that I learned what it means to face life and death together and to make a lifelong promise. The path we’ve chosen is long and full of obstacles. Aside from you, no other woman can walk it alongside me. To have you in this lifetime is all I could ever ask for.
Why does this sound like a marital vow?
Then, they seal it with a kiss.
@pkml3 thanks for this! I’m all excited to watch this episode 15 now although I’m more into this for the crime solving than the romance LOL.
I’m still starting Episode 7, but can quickly jump here and back!!
Yes, please do, @GB.
It works hand-in-hand to your comment in the other thread. You wrote, “The other thing I like about the male lead is that despite being smitten, he still has his wits about him. He’s still cautious even when it comes to Wan. I like that he does not jump to conclusions, and when he does, he’s still prepared to listen to Wan who disagrees with him.”
In his confession, he showed that, yes, he relies on fact-finding, but in the end, he doesn’t base his conclusion merely on evidence. There’s a leap of faith involved too, that what he DOES know is enough basis for him to act on. That means he doesn’t require 100% certainty.
In this sense, he balances the heroine because, given her scientific mindset, she insists on facts, evidence, and proofs.
@pkml3 I watched the love confession and proposal scene and I understand completely why you’ll want to break down all that they (mostly what he says) say.
What a very reasonable and unselfish proposal that was. Most generous of him. It was humble without being humiliating, full of justice in what was due to both of them, and hence full of integrity. Also it’s great that they are not overly coy and she knows exactly what he means when he wanted a peck on the cheek.
Director rewarded us with a split screen of their kiss so that we get simultaneously the view from mid-range distance as well as the close-up. Very nice. 😍😇
@pkml3, I’ve managed to transcribe the conversation, with a few modifications to make the sentences flow better. However I’ll post only the part you mentioned above ie about his not needing full evidence, which is a pretty big chunk of conversation!
Uploaded the dialogue with some gifs.
@pkml3 I like so many parts of this dialogue between Wan and Yan. Here’s one.
When Wan asks him why he would still risk himself for her since she’s choosing a dangerous path, Yan says: “Because there’s only one you in this world.”
Which is a good response to how she tried to parry his confession by saying that there are other coroners like Xu He. But he’s saying that he is interested in the person of Shen Yan and not the role of the coroner, and that he loves only her in her uniqueness.
It made me laugh how Yan kept giving hints to make the others disappear so that he could have time alone with Wan.
Back when they are recovering at home, Yan tries to literally blow his cousin away, LOL while blowing on the hot medicine to cool it. It looked like he directed the blowing at her! She still did not take the hint.
@pkml3
The part where …
Yan: “But that’s exactly what I love about you, your defiance.” I’d think he meant her courage to resist being unfairly suppressed or forced into subservience. He liked how she stood up for the moral integrity of the coroner who should look impartially for evidence rather than worry about pleasing people of status.
Yan: “The woman who can be my wife should be someone who can fight alongside me as a heroine, not someone confined to the inner chambers, who only knows how to put on makeup and rely on me.”
Again he uses a military image of fighting alongside, which also means he wants a brave, active woman who is not afraid of dirtying her hands.
LOL the parallel image of inner chambers women and our modern women as drama addicts. We still have those rich females who spend a great deal of time on looking good, going to spas and shopping with their husbands’ money. So not in the harem, but otherwise quite similar!
Same here, @GB.
It was funny how unsubtle he was trying to get his cousin/Princess out of the room.
It reminded me of that time he entered her bedroom at night (the night she was about to leave for the capital with her cousin) and he gave her:
1. a choice to wait for him or go with her cousin
2. the token of the HEIR of Prince Rui…and he’s THE heir of Prince Rui. He essentially put his mark (or brand) on her.
@pkml3, I did wonder why he was polishing that token with such great care. Since she was not the type to accept a ring, he figured that he could make the token stick with her instead.
I always wonder about these tokens that they carry with about with them. They are easy to lose or can get stolen, then anyone could use a token and get away with a lot of stuff! And there are hundreds of tokens around, how is every one of them to be recognised as bona fide tokens from whom ever?!
@GB That token in her possession without her knowing its power was getting me pretty anxious. She could just misplace it and there could be a rebellion! Maybe that’s another drama?😁
This is a wonderful scene and didn’t strike any bad notes for me either.
Thank you for highlighting it @Packmule.
That said we did have the over eager servant interrupting the first kiss trope!
My theory about mirroring was shot to pieces though. I don’t know if this technique is doing much other than emphasizing moments now or being a visual technique for making moments look dreamy.
This is a wonderful discussion of these scenes.
I was caught up wondering about hydraulics. Sure enough ancient china used hydraulic power. There is a scene in “under the power” which is similarly powered by hydraulics. Another series of traps.