Happy Chuseok!

Where are we? Ah! Episode 15.

In the previous episode, Lin JinQi (JQ) and his assistant JiuGao rushed to naval camp of Commander Yuan (aka Marquis Yong Chang) to retrieve LanXiang and YuChan. It worried JQ that the Commander didn’t return the ladies after the Wo pirates were captured.

At the camp, Commander Yuan explained that he had intended to send the ladies back right away but was petitioned by everyone to keep them a little longer. Then, mysteriously, he led JQ to a tent where a circle of men had gathered around to listen to LanXiang’s dramatic tale about the generals, Qin Qiong (QQ) and Shan Xiongxin (SX).

Now, the story may sound irrelevant to viewers, but it resembles the fates of the Shen and Lin patriarchs, that is, two sworn brothers who found themselves in a political divide which resulted in two different outcomes. Let’s go over the legend, shall we? (Thanks, google.)

LanXiang is correct to include QQ’s warhorse in her tale because the horse is very much instrumental in QQ and SX’s first encounter. QQ had once been traveling on official mission when he fell sick and couldn’t pay for his room and board. In dire straits, he had to sell his prized possession: his yellow-dappled horse.

Now, SX had never met QQ before. He only knew him by reputation and long admired him. When he learned of QQ’s plight, he generously paid for his keep, including medical expenses. As LanXiang said, SX “cared for him devotedly for eight months.” He even dressed QQ’s horse “with golden stirrups and a silver saddle.”

That was how SX became QQ’s benefactor and sworn brother.

Unfortunately, dynasties change and allegiances shift.

QQ ended up joining forces with the rising Tang Dynasty and its leader Li Shimin (aka Prince of Qin aka Emperor Taizong). But SX adamantly refused to submit to the new rulers because his brother was killed by Li Shimin’s father (the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty).

Sidenote: See how complicated relationships can get on the battlefield? QQ and SX were sworn brothers, meaning, they made an oath to protect and support each other for life like real brothers. But SX also had a biological brother whose death he swore to avenge. Phew! 

Anyway….

SX was eventually captured by Li Shimin’s troops. He was generously offered pardon if he surrendered and pledged allegiance to the Tang Dynasty. However, because of his blood feud with the Li rulers, he rejected it. No amount of pleading from his former comrades and other sworn brothers could change his mind so… he lost his head.

But note here: Li Shimin knew that SX’s beheading would have weighed heavily on QQ’s conscience as QQ treasured their brotherhood and valued loyalty above all. Therefore, to avoid subjecting QQ to a moral and political quandary, Li Shimin sent him away from their camp on some spurious mission before he executed SX.

When QQ learned of the planned execution, he rushed back to camp. It was just poetically fitting that he came charging on his yellow-dappled horse — the horse that started it all.

And that’s the story of Qin Qiong, Shan Xiongxin and Li Shimin (aka Prince of Qin, future Emperor Taizong). They were real historical figures, but their stories had been recounted so many times in fiction and opera that they turned into legends in Chinese folklore.

So, what can we glean from LanXiang’s retelling of the legend?

1. As I said earlier, monarchies change and allegiances shift. And with each change, family fortunes rise and fall. It may seem as if nothing in life is permanent, and everything is transitory. But if one looks at the big picture, it’s easy to see, too, that there’s a cyclical pattern to existence.

Or as the French would say it, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

2. Two generals on opposite camps can remain friends, and be heroes in their unique ways, when they behaved nobly on and off the killing fields.

And this is how I choose to see the choices made by the Lin and Shen patriarchs. Ultimately, they determined what was good and right for their family members.

3. LanXiang has a gift for expressing universal vulnerabilities (i.e., human emotions, flaws, and aspirations) without sounding cloying or preachy. I don’t know where the screenwriter is going with this, but if I were creating her character, I’d make this her inception or origin story, i.e., this is when she finds her calling; she’ll be a playwright or librettist in the future.

At any rate, she reminds me of Wendy telling bedtime stories to Peter Pan’s Lost Boys. The Lost Boys were homesick and Wendy reminded them of home with her maternal instincts. Likewise, LanXiang in the spotlight looks noble, honorable, and righteous. She appeals to their warrior spirit.

4. That’s why LanXiang’s dramatic performance hit home. Though she’s simply retelling a famous story which the soldiers could have already been familiar with, the message still resonates with them. They understand the struggle, fear, and grief over losing a brother-in-arms because they have lived through it. Also, she narrates the story in a way that captured their attention. Lol. I don’t speak Chinese, but I’m assuming that she isn’t talking to the soldiers in high or court/royal/formal Chinese.

5. Last, both JinQi (JQ) and Commander Yuan realize that LanXiang (LX) is no ordinary servant.

Episode 15 begins on that note.

Commander Yuan teasingly grumbles that he missed most of LX’s brilliant story because he was called to the gates to welcome JQ. He recaps the story for him.

Yuan: Qin Qiong and Shan XiongXin each served their own cause. One fought to defend Tang, while the other fought against Tang. Both were heroes.
LX: This is the story of Qin Qiong building a shrine in honor of Shan XiongXin?
Yuan: Mmm. That maid of yours is quite interesting.

It’s clear that he’s halfway smitten with her, too. Her common touch and intelligence appeal to him. Of course, she can’t put on airs because she isn’t an aristocrat, but she isn’t ignorant/uncultivated/unrefined like most servants.

Lol. I find it funny when the soldiers gave her “tips” for her performance. She does love to earn money, doesn’t she? She’s adding the taels to her family’s nest egg to buy their freedom.

However, in JQ’s eyes, he’s seeing another interesting facet about her. He remembers the times when:

— she asked for special ointment from him for her mother’s rashes,
— she chided him for not understanding the plight of the poor, and
— she risked her life to help him find the faked uniform dealer.

Now, she’s collecting money from the soldiers. I don’t think he’s taken by her common touch nor her refinement, like Commander Yuan was. I think he’s admiring her survival skills. Instead of being frightened or intimidated, she’s enjoying herself because they were her adoring fans. To me, she’s become like that wild grass her adoptive mother once encouraged her to be. She’s living boldly and freely

Right then, Yuan interrupts JQ’s musing.

Yuan: Why don’t you give her to me? I’m willing to pay handsomely for her.
JQ: It’s a rare honor to have caught Your Lordship’s eye. I should rightfully offer her to you without hesitation. But this maid was given to me by my mother, so I really can’t part with her.

They laugh it off, but it’s clear that they just avoided an awkward situation.

Obviously, Commander Yuan doesn’t need LanXiang to be a storyteller or nanny for his men. He intends to keep her for himself, maybe as his companion, sidepiece, or concubine someday. Adroitly, JQ declines his offer by using his mother as an excuse.

Yuan: No wonder she’s your maid.
JQ: (confused)
Yuan: When you want to be clear about things, you call me Commander Yuan. When you want to play dumb, you call me Your Lordship.
JQ: (still confused, but laughing it off again)

JQ doesn’t understand because he wasn’t there that night. Commander Yuan is referring to the incident when LanXiang caught his attention by calling out, “Commander Yuan!”

I guess, for a servant like her, it was customary to address him as “Sir” or “Lord” or something deferential like YuChan did. But because he ignored their pleas and was about to ride off, LanXiang loudly and firmly called him, “Commander Yuan!” To his ears, this sounded like a peremptory command that left no room for refusal.

That’s what he’s implying here. When JQ and LX address him as “Commander Yuan,” they both sound commanding and authoritative. He assumed that their similarity is acquired, i.e., “Like master, like servant.” I don’t think he knew that LX is just showing her natural self. Look: if circumstances had been different, one word from LX would have been obeyed by all and sundry because she was the eldest granddaughter of a prominent family. She wasn’t born to be wishy-washy or submissive. As her grandma said, the women in the Shen family were “every bit as capable as any man.”

On their way out of the camp, JiuGao teases YuChan for bawling during LanXiang’s performance. JQ must have heard them because he stops, turns around, and stares at LX.

LX: Young Master, did I do something wrong?
JQ: (not answering)

Any guesses as to why he stopped in his tracks?

In my opinion, it dawned on him what an extraordinary feat it was for somebody like LanXiang to have memorized the details of an epic tale like QQ and SX. She remembered the yellow-dappled horse, the eight-month devotion, the golden stirrups and silver saddle, the bloodied head, and so on.

Even if she had learned to read and write in the company of nuns while she was sick, her level of knowledge and her familiarity with the story wouldn’t be this extensive. Remember? She said she recited sutras at the temple. He himself studied at the famous Qixia Academy, and yet all he could remember of the story was “QQ building a shrine in honor of SX.”

Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I would have long suspected that LX wasn’t who she said she was. Why?

1. She could tell Li Ying Qiu’s “Cold Mountain Painting” from an ordinary landscape painting.
2. She knew about the availability of special ointment for chilblains.
3. She could do yarrow-stalk divination.
4. She understood Scholar ShouYi when he philosophized, “When you’re at home and say kind things, even people a thousand miles away will respond in kind, let alone nearby. When you’re at home and say unkind things, even people a thousand miles away will oppose you, let alone nearby.”
5. She connected that Lady Du’s given CuiQue also meant larkspur.
6. And now, she demonstrated that she read “The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties” which compiled the stories of QQ and SC. That’s hardly required reading in a monastery.

Geez Louise! If he listed all these things, then he would see that LX couldn’t possibly be a daughter of two uneducated hereditary slaves.

He reminds her that she gets rewarded every time she does a job well. He asks her what she wants this time. She says, she’ll save up her rewards and ask for them lumpsum when she’s decided.

JQ: If you keep saving them up, what if I can’t afford them when the time comes?
LX: (grinning) No, whatever I want, you’ll definitely be able to give me, Young Master.

And he walks off. JiuGao and YuChan continue to bicker like a couple, so LX quickens her step to give them privacy. But she ends up following right behind JQ and that pleases him.

More memorable scenes from this episode:

1. The medicinal powder

JQ has medicine for LX but he doesn’t know how to give it to her. Fortunately for him, his 2nd sister and their house guest, Du Cuique, pay him a visit. After they leave, he summons LX.

JQ: When did XiuWan become so close to Young Lady Du?
LX: I don’t know.
JQ: So there are things even you don’t know.

Two things:

a. He’s teasing her, of course, about knowing the Tale of QQ and SX, among other things. But she doesn’t get it.
b. To me, his quip indicates that he’s getting ahead of himself. He’s making assumptions that he and LX are on the same wavelengths when they aren’t. And when she doesn’t get what he’s saying, she doesn’t waste time mulling over it. She basically just ignores him.

He then orders her to keep an eye on the two ladies and report to him. Done, She’s about to leave , he gives her the powder, nonchalantly. He studiously keeps his eyes on the book that he’s pretending to read.

JQ: (eyes on the book) How is the wound on your neck?
LX: It’s fine now.
JQ: (eyes on the book) Doesn’t it itch?
LX: (smiling) It does itch a little.
JQ: (glancing at the small bottle on the table, then eyes on the book) This is for the itching.

She approaches his table and picks it up.

He uses his excellent peripheral vision to observe her while hardly moving his eyes; he must have been a horse in a previous lifetime.

She thanks him and he waves his hand to dismiss her. Once her back is turned, his eyes are free to follow her around.

What makes this moment so suspenseful that we’re watching it with bated breath? Well, because of dramatic irony. We know that JQ wants to glance at her so badly but is holding himself back. He doesn’t want her to know that he has feelings for her because it may frighten her away. Thus, we, as viewers, have this mental urge to coach him and shout, “Now! Look at her now! Now! She won’t see it.” His visible restraint causes us viewers to get into his mind, and be part of his emotional struggle, his emotional tension.

🙂

2. YuChan gets the hives.

Ugh. It’s so obvious how she got it and who was behind it.

When GanTang came to fetch LX and observed that she hadn’t taken a bath yet, LX gave a long-winded explanation: their friend LianTang chatted with her. YuChan had taken her bucket of hot water. She would take a bath later, etc.

This is exposition. We’re being told the background info.

LX was the primary target. YuChan was the collateral damage, unfortunately.

3. “Scheming from head to toe”

LX searches for JuiGao to ask him to bring a physician to YuChan without alerting LX’s mother. But JuiGao is with JQ.

When JQ sees her coming, he assumes that she’s looking for him and merely using JuiGao as an excuse.

JQ: Where are you going?
LX: (thinking in her head) If I have to keep this First Madam, I’ll (still) have to let Young Master know. (aloud) I was just about to find a servant to get JiuGao. YuChan has a slight fever. I want JiuGao to bring in a physician to examine her.
JQ: (thinking in his head) Scheming from head to toe…

Huh?? What’s he talking about? She isn’t scheming at all. That’s her plan, plain and simple. He’s getting ahead of himself again. He assumes that LX wants HIM to step in and help her out, and that she hesitates to ask him directly so she uses JiuGao as a middleman instead.

Thus, he takes charge of the situation. He orders JiuGao to find Physician Li, pretend to check on his mother’s health first, then head over to YuChan. Then, for good measure, he’ll tell Madam Han (the head butler of his residence) to keep this situation quiet for now.

LX is mightily pleased.

Why? For one, her friend is about to get much needed help. And for another, their problem is solved quickly and efficiently. Without her needing to tell him what to do, he’s arranged everything EXACTLY as she would have wanted it. It’s as if he read her mind.

So, with a contented smile on her face, she watches JiuGao leave for his errand.

Meanwhile, JQ watches her face, and he too is pleased. He knows he’s done her great service.

However, once LX notices that JQ is staring at her, the smile is wiped off her face.

See the difference? LX accepts JinQi’s display of kindness, e.g., the anti-itch powder and call for a doctor, without reading much into it. But in JQ’s mind, these are his small and tentative steps to show that he cares for her.

Okay, next episode. What should I do next?