ep 1 spoilers ahead

Spoilers Ahead
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Characters Introduced:

**Qu Yuan/Li Jun: Second Master, Son of the Minister of War
A renowned poet known for his righteousness, commitment to living a secular life, and intellect.

**Mo Chou Nu
A beautiful peasant girl who can quote Qu Yuan’s poems and is an excellent acrobat. She and her siblings sometimes perform to raise extra money. She also looks exactly like Qu Yuan’s Mountain Spirit.

**Mo Meng
Chou Nu's elder brother. Will protect his sister in spite of his weak body.

**Qu Yu: Eldest Master, Son of Minister of War, General of Chu
Highly protective of his little brother, who does not know martial arts. Very filial.

**Qu Bo Yong, Minister of War
Head of one of the most powerful families in Chu. Very loyal and cares deeply for his country and family.

**Xuai Huai, King of Chu
Leader of the only state that is able to challenge Qin. Known for his vigilance and committed to stabilizing and expanding Chu’s greatness.

**Hui Weng, King of Qin
A military genius and effective statesmen, willing to sacrifice his pride for the sake of expanding his power.

**Princess Yin, Consort of King Chu
A daughter of the king of Qin, currently pregnant

**Nan Hou, Queen Huai (Chu)

**Prince Yue Wu Ming
Survivor of the now collapsed Yue state

**Minister Zhang Yi of Qin
His state of origin is not known. He is extremely clever. In the novel he was the Prime Minister of Qin.

**Chu Li Ji: King Qin's brother, loyal to his brother



1.We open to a dream (although we do not find out it is a dream until it is over), where a little boy is playing a zither. He then swings through the jungle like Tarzan and when he lands he is a beautiful grown man. This is Qu Yuan (and let me take the time to appreciate the invisible breeze causing his hair to billow about....). He stands on the edge of a cliff and spies a scantily clad goddess-like woman playing a flute and leaning against a mythical beast. This beast attacks him, and just when it seems he might die, she calls the beast and leaves. He chases after her.

2.The pursuit ends at a cliff overlooking a waterfall that puts Niagra Falls to shame. It is a very pretty scene, and she looks at him before diving over the edge, followed by her furry companion, and much to the horror of her male pursuer. But then she turns to look at him and smiles, almost as if in invitation, and he returns the smile before following her over the edge. They land in the water together, and face one another (very pretty, with all that hair billowing about)....we are suddenly brought back to reality, and there is a painting of the woman and her leopard being held by a man.

3. Qu Yuan is on a boat with several friends discussing this dream, one that he has been having for many years. This woman is his Mountain Spirit, and he believes that they have some kind of fate...

4.Elsewhere, a masked young woman is performing acrobatic stunts on a tight rope. Her family is trying to raise money (perhaps because they are poor) and are selling fragrant sachets. She is quite skilled. Yuan is riding by with a friend and they stop to observe the show. Meanwhile, the scene changes to what looks like a Mayan pyramid and a bunch of ministers/military people are holding court. Qu Yuan's father, the Minister of War, and older brother are here, and his father is upset that Qu Yuan is missing this grand ceremony (this is kind of a big deal). He sends Yu, his elder brother, to find him.

6.Meanwhile, the acrobat falls, and Qu defies gravity and physics to save her. He catches her and we are treated to the kind of long scene, found only in dramas, when people stare at on another. But Confucian ideals are deeply embedded in the show, and she is upset that he is holding her. Perhaps to thank him, she gives him a sachet. Unfortunately, as she walks away, he steps on her robe, causing it to tear. He attempts to apologize, but ruins it when he asks how she, a peasant, could possibly know the poems of Qu Yuan. This is highly insulting, and she rips off her mask. Qu Yuan is amazed as she is the woman of his dreams.... But her brother, believing her honor is in jeopardy, jumps in to confront Yuan. This occurs as Yu arrives, and all he sees is a stranger harassing his brother. He immediately intervenes (and in my opinion overreacts), injuring Brother Meng badly.

7.Back to the grand ceremony. The emperor appears and walks up the steps of this pyramid in order to receive the blessing of the dragon god. This will ensure prosperity for Chu. One of the dragon priests is suspicious and has a flashback to a little boy screaming (him, I imagine) as his father is killed by Chu soldiers. This, we will find out, is the assassination of the King of Yue.

8.Meanwhile, a fight is unfolding. Chou Mu gets angry and attacks him with a whip, but it turns into a fight of uneven odds as Qu Yu easily overwhelms them with his martial arts skill. He even turns his fists on her. Qu defends her (she was about to get punched), and then is essentially summoned away to the ceremony as his brother arrives. As he leaves he apologizes and promises to find her again. This entire episode, including Qu Yuan's smiling face as he rides off after 1)injuring her brother and 2)ruining their show and 3)insulting her intelligence all highlight the giant differences between their class. She does not like him, and she shouldn't have to. He is clearly ignorant and rude and selfish.

9.Qu is now at the grand ceremony and the priests or shamans do a ceremonial dancer with fire. They summon the dragon god, and then the shamans try to kill the emperor! They make it hard to protect him because they send a fire ball down the stairs that his soldiers are running up, slowing them down. He almost falls off the pyramid. Qu's father defends the emperor and is stabbed in the heart, but he somehow is alive and fights them, he even catches a sword with his hand! His elder brother shows up and defends the emperor like a boss but Qu (clearly not as skilled) gets caught with a blade to the throat. The emperor insists they let Qu go...

10.The shaman slowly walks backwards with his hostage, and then kidnaps, Qu with the army pursuing him. At its head is Qu's brother. Qu and the shaman fall from the horse. They hide in the brush Qu grabs a rock and hits him in the head. He takes off his mask and sees that it is Wu Ming (!) (His poet friend from the boat).

11.The scene changes to Qin, where a man is hunting. This is the king of Qin, and in the very first scene we learn his goal is to dominate the world. He returns to his palace where his brother Chu Li Ji reports that they are celebrating many military victories: Wei is weakened and Zhan Jiao, Qu Wo, and Fen Yin have been captured. One person in the room, Minister Zhang Yi, insults the king by dumping his wine on the floor and storming out. The king, strangely, does not confront him.

12.In the next scene the King of Qin is greeted by his favorite concubine: Mi Ba Zi (we later learn she is a Princess of Chu). She seems supportive of her husband and outraged by Zhang Yi's rude behavior. The king reveals he will tolerate it because he will even sacrifice his pride of it means gaining the world, and Zhang Yi, who is from a fallen state, is necessary to crushing Chu. (We also learn that Princess Yin of Qin is useless as she seems to be siding with Chu)

13.In the next scene, we are back to Qu. He is in his palace and pulls out a sword (I didn't think he could use it--NVM he cannot). He looks extremely mad as he points his sword at the man on the ground, the man who tried to kill the emperor. It seems he cannot kill him. He just leaves him there, unconscious.

14.We go to the female lead, who is talking to the moon and recites one of Qu Yuan's poems. We learn that she deeply respects Qu Yuan for his righteousness and desire to lead a secular lead. She doesn't hold most men in high esteem, but he is different. Her friend Quing'er arrives to talk about her feelings for Qu Yuan, and it is like an unrequited love. She admits she would be happy just being able to see him (she doesn't know that she's already met him).

15.Meanwhile, Wu Ming awakens. Qu Yuan is angry and wants to know why he attacked his highness, but Wu Ming bitterly says that there are some things he should not know. Qu Yuan asks if he is afraid if he will kill him. Wu Ming says he isn't a coward. Qu is baffled and defends the emperor as magnanimous and good (oh he is so naive! Big sister just wants to cuddle him!). Wu Ming snorts and basically says the emperor is anything but kind. He says that Xua Huai attacked the state of Yue and caused his father to die (so he is a prince of Yue). And he killed the innocent. Qu did not know he was from the stae of Yue.

16.Elsewhere, the Minister of War (who is seemingly invincible) is with his wife and older son. The emperor visits him. He visits Qu Yuan, and the whole family goes to visit him. Wu Ming escapes and he lets them in. He tries to keep him from coming in but the king comes in anyways. He sees the painting of the beauty on the wall and he tells him truthful that she is a girl in his dreams. Apparently the emperor wants to meet her, and Qu says she is a mountain spirit (he compliments his poetry skills and invites him to use it in politics. Qu says he lacks the talent for politics)(somehow I think the emperor will be obstacle in his love)

17.Before the emperor leaves, Wu Ming attacks the emperor with Qu Yuan's sword. He is captured, and the sword is enough evidence to automatically implicate Qu Yuan in treason. He is arrested.

18.Wu Ming is tortured and Qu Yuan is imprisoned. All he cares about is protecting his buddy (he is so naive....) Mo Yi, a servant, gives him some invaluable advice: worry about yourself. Meanwhile the Minister of War is begging the emperor. The emperor essentially tells him that the evidence is pretty incriminating. His father insists he is innocent and begs to be punished along side his son.

19.When the emperor is visited by his concubines and the empress we learn that the princess of qin is pregnant and he is extra attentive to her.

21. Elsewhere, Qu Yuan is summoned by the emperor. Qu Yuan reveals to the audience that he is extremely brave because he directly tells the emperor that it is a wonder that the kingdom has survived with him and will basically collapse if he continues to reign this way. He tells the emperor that his way of ruling is like that of a tyrant, that he should have expected someone like Wu Ming would have sought to avenge his family, and tells him that there is no way he can kill all of his enemies and should (basically) try to remove hatred and build alliances. The emperor isn't exactly happy with his criticism.

Comments: So far I am not sure what to expect. We know from the beginning that the male lead possesses some very strong views but can be both rude and ignorant (his interactions with Chou Nu) and he also is very confident in his beliefs.

I think a major theme of this show will be how what we think or expect plays out differently in reality. For instance, Qu Yuan has his Mountain Spirit but the woman we know he will fall in love with is very different from his ideal. In the same way, she is going to find out that the Qu Yuan she thinks she knows is a far cry from the man in her head.

In that same token, Qu Yuan who knows everything may find out he knows very little about the way the world works. And the emperor is a clear foil to the emperor of Qin who would keep a member of a fallen state as a minister while king chu would not hesitate to kill any enemy to prevent future problems.

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