ep 20 spoilers ahead!

Spoilers Ahead!

In Memoriam, gone too soon: assassins, villagers, and peasants (no big name characters) (I do a recap of who has died every 10 episodes in long dramas like this)

1.You'er (Qu Yuan's elder brother) reports their parents the incident regarding Lord Jing. They discuss how bold he is to try to harm someone from the Qu family (one of the big 3 Chu noble families). However, despite being provincial bullies from Quan (the most corrupt district) they have some powerful backers in the royal court. He is the nephew of Jing Po, head of the Jing family. Father Qu yet again laments the family allowing Qu Yuan to do as he pleases....

2.Back in Quan, Qu Yuan returns from a walk with Mo Chou only to learn that Lord Jing has left and the magistrates office is wrecked. This INFURIATES him. He is going to see the King directly and Mo Chou goes with him. He boldly enters his home town with her on his horse and lets just say they cause quite the stir, attracting the attention of everyone (I admire his shamelessness but admit this is pretty big). She chooses to stay at an inn instead of visiting his family.

3.Qu Yuan visits the emperor and begs him to release him from his position as magistrate because he has failed? How has he failed? He states he 1)he lacks the ability to do his job well and 2)the ability to establish order. He explains why this is so: that the office of the magistrate was damaged and a man currently under investigation for attempting to murder him fled with the help of others. He gives the king the report, and he is furious. Jing Po is asked who the man is (a big deal, if the emperor wants to know your name). A stuttering Jing begs to be allowed to handle it personally and immediately leaves to do so. Father Qu is yet again shocked by his sons behavior.

4.After this scene, the king walks with Qu and explains that he gives him permission to do whatever he wants to the man who tried to kill him (this should be a red flag to Qu Yuan because he has no evidence; this would be a miscarriage of justice; however he doesn't seem to notice). Qu Yuan asks what about the men protecting him, and the emperor glazes over this, instead asking him not to do anything rash and he will 'explain it all to him later'. Mmmhmm. I am skeptical.

5.Meanwhile (this is an interesting interlude) Lord Zhao discusses with his wife the fiasco involving the Jing family. Lord Zhao again discusses how he initially wanted to use the marriage alliance to gain the position of district magistrate--something Jing also covets--but because of this incident he will have to proceed with caution. Why? that is explained in the next scene...

6.Father Qu is irate as he confronts his son for his latest bit of foolishness, as he calls it. He explains to his son that he is creating numerous problems for their family. Since he has been discussing marriage with the Zhao family, everyone will think that they colluded to bring down the Jing family. It will gain them a powerful enemy. He believes they need to move the marriage up (before Zhao pulls out). Never being one to pick his battles, in addition to being extremely devoid of logic when it comes to reading a situation, Qu Yuan chooses to announce to his father NOW that he plans on marrying Mo Chou. Who is Mo Chou? A fisherman's daughter. His father nearly has a conniption as he tells him he is going to marry Zhao and Qu Yuan insists he would have to die first, and his father retorts even in death he would have him married to her (I think you can do this; marry a dead relative to someone in Asian culture although I don't know about China)

7.You'er is asked to convince Qu Yuan to marry Zhao, but Qu Yuan asks You'er to convince their parents. His brother reminds him that his father is especially stubborn and will never change his mind. He also tells him he understands he is in love, but he isn't accepting the reality that he has certain responsibilities (essentially).

8.While Tian Ji continues to ingratiate herself in the life of the king Jing Po visits his nephew. this isn't good. He tells his nephew that the king himself wants to know who did this. Immediately Lord Jing begs his uncle to help him and we learn that Jing Po not only raised him but that Lord Jing's criminal acts are largely the reason why their family is so wealthy. However, he cannot save him from this because the king is involved. He tells him that he will have to kill himself, for their family, and he will take care of their kids.

9.Later, when Lord Jing is visited by his friend, he is crying silently. He explains to him that he must kill Qu Yuan, because he will be the next target, and make sure he suffers so much his family is ruined. He explains he cannot do it because he doesn't have time and looks at the sword on the wall....

10.Meanwhile, Qu Yuan leaves to meet Bi Xia (his fiancee) by the river while Mother Qu visits Mo Chou. His mother is extremely shrewd. She is kind and respectful to her, even compliments her and tells her she must be special if her son picked her, but explains that because her son is passionate and loyal he will not leave her. She explains that it is his fortune to be born into a noble family and he has certain obligations, and his marriage partner is even fated by heaven because they share the same birthdays (lie--but then, this is the same woman who could ask her adopted son to die for Qu Yuan and succeeded). She implores her to break it off.

11.Meanwhile, Qu Yuan meets with Bi Xia. He has the gall, in my opinion, to ask her to break off the engagement because he has a woman he loves. (REALLY? After what he did?) She very calmly says she knows how to help him: she can die. He thinks this is a bad idea, so she says, well you can die and swings a dagger at him. Mo Chou shows up to save him again (how did she know he was there? is she a ninja?) Bi Xia essentially screams she isn't scared to die because of what he did to drive off Cang Yun, and Mo Chou tells her that they have seen Cang Yun gambling in Quan. Bi Xia is stunned and leaves.

12.Mo Chou reveals she met his mother and that she wants them to break up. She states maybe they should, since he is fated by heaven to be with Bi Xia. he tells her that the birthday think is false, that they lied about his birthday because his father thought it was an unlucky day. This seems to reassure her and they are once again confident as they make promises to be together forever.

13.Mo Chou returns home and her father guesses correctly, that his family doesn't like her although she never admits it. She is confident they will be together but her father tells her not to marry him and orders her to obey but she refuses and runs off. Again she visits Qu Yuan and talks about her father; he promises to convince her father.

14.Bi Xia sneaks out and asks to see Cang Yun. She goes to the gambling house, and this is the shocking scene she sees: 1)Cang Yun gambles with the precious jade token (the symbol of their love) and states he got it from a daughter of the Zhao family but they refuse to let him gamble because he cheated 2)a poorly dressed woman comes in and screams at him from running out to gamble when the family is starving 3)a little boy hugs him and calls him father and begs him to come back 4)this wife tries to steal the jade away

15.Bi Xia, in tears, slaps him. The poor woman spits on her and accuses her of stealing someone else's man and then Bi Xia flees while Cang Yun finally gets the jade back but it breaks....(like his romance). On the beach Bi Xia sends Cai Wei away and then breaks into tears, staring at her jade half. Cang Yun limps over and tells her that he loves her, that he lied to her because he liked her, that he beat his crazy wife and divorced her, and wants to live peacefully with her now (okay, so we know he is 1)A Liar 2)an adulturer 3)a wife beater 4)a gambler and to make it worse, he is poor (not a crime, but not a plus as it makes life hard) and he wants her back! How many girls in that position would fall for someone like him, and he has the audacity? I feel so bad for her! And to learn the truth from the same man who she hates (tQu Yuan, who made it impossible for them to be together by interfering when the king would have hired him) ouch

16.It take her wielding a rock before Cang Yun finally leaves. And she just cries...


Comments: Alright, so here are my thoughts. First of all, Cang Yun is a mega jerk. But so is Qu Yuan. He constantly makes extremely self righteous choices, without considering the reaction or welfare of those around him. I think he is just, but lacks empathy, especially when his own judgments of others are in the way. He lacks the ability to read people, and he doesn't seem to recognize that his actions will have long term consequences on the lives of others. Take Cang Yun. He and Bi Xia could have been together. They may have been happy, or not. but that's for her to decide. He took that decision away when he allowed his overly high standards on poetry to get in the way, and he was completely lacking in empathy nor did he care that he was essentially ruining Cang Yun's final chances. Or his love for Mo Chou. This is all romantic, but he doesn't care about his family. Or that this could ignite a war of the families. Nor does he seem to be question the King at all. I am looking forward to seeing him get a rude awakening.

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