GTY fights with his dad & the girls Kneel for 3 days

SPOILERS AHEAD1)GTY wishes to have his nursemaid return. This is all reasonable but his father is against this. GTY has a sound argument prepared: all the other family members do this so why can't I? his father over reacts and has the court yard sealed, and his elder brother takes this opportunity to report that GTY has a commoner as a mistress. 2)This is a big deal. His father is actually very right to be angry--a noble's son to have a mistress before having a legitimate wife is a terrible idea because who would want to marry such a person? who would send their daughter into a situation like that, unless they were desperate? GTY is caned, and while he is being caned his father focuses on the health of this elder son.3)Eldest son begs GTY to concede. GTY is emotionless as he says (great line) 'why should I apologize when I have a brother like you'---he clearly says, loud enough for his father to hear, that elder brother pretended to stop the fight but used it as a chance to expose an even bigger problem, his mistress to sow discord. he also accuses him of colluding with the other houses. his father ignores this entire argument. after, GTY is very direct with his elder brother which provokes him into a coughing fit. 4)Back at the Sheng house, in a parallel sitution , Ming Lan is bowing in the shrine of the ancestors (this is sort of the most extreme punishment for a lady) for 3 days. She tries to help Rulan (who is angry with her for not standing up totheir father) see that she was silent because she did not want to incite their father to a harsher punishment, but Rulan is adamant that she has her pride (Rulan is unable to see that Ming Lan can't afford to have that kind of pride because she does not want to worry her grandmother).5)It is a windy knight, and Big Madame cannot sleep for her worry of Rulan keeps her up. She goes to the shrine to check on her knees (they are going to be bruised terribly). She does not check on Ming Lan (the screen shot for when they open the shrine doors is actually kind of cool). Big Madame after is surprised that Old Madame has not sent someone to check on Ming Lan. She concludes that this is because she is not a blood relative (in truth, if Old Madame sent someone over, she would probably complain that she does not dote on her daughter enough I think)6)In a rather shocking display that is really not seen at any other time (maybe because she is young) Mo'er is quite rude to the Big Madame and implies that Rulan should be punished so that she does not shame the family by having a premarital affair (an extremely, extremely rude thing to say to anyone, especially the legitimate wife) earning her a slap. the sad thing is that the legitimate wife has lost so much face and her power so usurped by concubine lin that she really has no recourse to punish her or complain.7)Master Sheng goes to see his concubine first for a meal (see how quickly he has forgotten his mother's instructions to go to the legitimate wife first) he proceeds to compliment her on how well she has taught Mo'er and explain he must be harsh with rulan for her own good (in fact this is actually true as we will later see because in spoiling Mo'er bad things happen).8)While Big Madame endures the humiliation of being seen second and waiting for Master Sheng, Old Madame receives a report on Ming Lan. She knows Ming Lan is trying her best and she quite adorably tries to appear strict but can't. Back to Big Madame, Master Sheng treats her very differently from Concubine Lin. He is more reserved, although he makes a show of acknowledging the effort she put into the meal. Big Madame chooses to act a little out of character and take a page out of Concubine Lin's book by fawning first over the minister and then fake crying--its just that Concubine Lin is much better at it and it is totally inconsistent with her character--it works at first but she can't back down9) He becomes angry at her--'how do you not understand' we finally learn that his punishment of the girls actually has a deeper meaning--he cares less about the incident and more about who saw it--Ming Lan and Ru Lan were the ones who (for all intents and purpose) offended, and in front of a countess--the family would look bad if they don't receive a strict punishment. this shows how big madame is a bit short in her role as big madame because she is so short sighted. she can't do her responsibilities well, but Master Sheng is also wrong for neglecting her (but that is a separate issue) and that neglect has created a big divide between the two wives, hence it makes things worse10)Big Madame seeks out grandmother and uses Ming Lan as her bargaining chip--she's weak, please help her--but that fails, so she brings up Hu'er and her problems. Luckily, Old Madame has it figured out. First she will have the imperial physician visit when her childhood friend who trained the concubines in the palace visit--the physician can check Hu'aer when she visits, and the friend can give the two girls lessons. This is a huge deal, because not just anyone can receive lessons from Momo Kong.11)Ming Lan's knees are covered in bruises, and medicine is applied as she learns about her upcoming lessons with Momo Kong. She won't go to school (its a big deal that they have gone to school a lot of women can't read or write).12)Yuan Ruo tries to find out from Second Son what happened to the girls--he brushes him off until he finally says they are being punished

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summary

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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Summary

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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Summary Episode 1

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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Episode 16 Spoilers Ahead

*****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.  

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I Don't Know but I like it

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.

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Setting the Stage

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.

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Things Are Not Looking Good for Team Fire Still

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..

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Ge'er loses her memory

In this episode, I think we see the last of Ge'er's innocence die, as Ge'er dies, gets blown to bits basically, and Yu confirms yet again that he is unable to lead properly because of his obsession with her.  Also, Ge'er is betrayed by her best friend.

1)A heavy handed letter is delivered to Ge'er informing her that Xun Yi will meet her.  Everyone knows this is a trap.  As a viewer, this is obviously a trap.  After all, why would Xun Yi risk Ge'er's safety by sending her a letter and insisting that they meet?  Yu also warns her that it is a trap.

2)Ge'er goes to see her, and is all smiles and happy to see Xun Yi--and Xun Yi greets her by stabbing her in the belly and telling her that she is Anye Jue's daughter.  Ge'er falls in slow motion, shock all over her face, to a literal explosive death.  Dozens of bombs go off.  Because the enemy wants to be extra sure they got her.  Yu is freaking out, he can't walk, and begins to crawl to her but alas, Yi Li appears and stomps on him and knocks him out....

And it starts to snow, meaning Yin Xue is near.

3)Sadly, Ge'er has been betrayed by just about everyone at the villa.  Elsewhere, Anye Jue applauds her daughter, and she asks her to set Ji free.  MW, Yu is in the dungeons of Dark River, and Anye Luo visits him, telling Yi li that no one else is to know he is here.  

4)Feng....is in an alcoholic now, which is unfortunate.  When he learns that Ge'er is dead, he threatens to kill Anye Luo (maybe the only person who can say that without consequences).  Sadly, Anye Luo is an extremely miserable person who takes great pleasure in others misery, especially their romantic misery it seems.  He walks Feng through her death and reminds him of how Feng essentially broke her heart, betrayed her, betrayed her father, killed her father (basically) and then worked with her enemy who engineered her death.  But he reminds him he should be happy, since he has avenged his father and leads the villa (I would have been a little happier if they made Feng less redeemable, but perhaps after the King's Woman, they realized he would be just playing the same character in this one.  It's sad, he plays the same character(s) emotional or evil, and to be typecast is unfortunate, but he plays this role very well)

5)Meanwhile, Second Madame chooses to address Thunderclap but Anye Luo sends Li instead.  Alone in her room, we learn that she still wishes to spare Lei.  So she's sentimental.  She also tells Xun Yi that she looks like her father, however she won't tell her about her father.  She finally tells her that she does not have Ji, that Thunderclap has him, and it is likely that he will die soon because Wu Xia, and presumably Li, will be working together to blow him into oblivion (it seems far too easy for them to construct these bombs).  She tells Xun Yi that she will release her as long as she swears not to implicate her.  

6)Feng abandons flame villa and Dark River.  Evil housekeeper Li will temporarily fill in.  To make himself seem less power hungry, he suggests Miss D could lead as Feng's wife however they do not want an outsider.  Yi agrees, and he looks far from reluctant, in fact his facial acting is so exaggerated compared to the rest of the cast that it borders on comic.  Yi wants Zhongli to submit to him however Zhongli essentially ignores this request and calls him shameless.  He rejects his offer of being returned to his position as head of Azure Hall because nothing matters since Die Yi is dead.  In a fit of anger Yi Li admits that his jealousy of Feng and Ge'er as the master's favorites essentially motivated him to seize power.

7)Next, Zhongli sends people to find Ge'er.  Without a body to confirm if she is alive or dead (never mind that there would be no body because it was blown to bits)
he chooses to send people to confirm she is dead by finding her dead or alive.  Elsewhere, Miss D is shocked to learn that Ge'er is dead.  She chooses to flee and find Lei--and warn him that he is in danger--and orders her maid to tell anyone who sends for her that she is ill.

8)Unsurprisingly, Ge'er is not dead.  She was rescued by Yin Xue, who, for reasons unknown, is young again.  She is surprised to see Yin Xue--she recognizes him--however, her memory seems to be LOST.  Not from the accident, but because Yin Xue has decided to suppress her memories.  How he can do this, well, he survived death, so he can do basically anything.

9)MW, Lei refuses to leave when he is confronted by his enemies.  Phoenix, who I believe should be leading her own clan because she is one of the smartest characters in the show, calls him every kind of fool.  Miss D appears, and she tells him that they must leave because Dark River plans to wipe them out.  She reminds them that Dark River waited 10 years to get their revenge, Lei needs to be patient (a quality he lacks in spades).  He wouldn't listen to Phoenix, but he seems more open to Miss D.  She promises him that she wait for him and they embrace.

10)Back in town, Yin Xue and Ge'er are living like a married couple in their own private house. Ge'er can remember some things, like how to use fire, but not her connection to flame villa or what that is.  When Yin Xue falls ill to the frost, she panics, and he kisses her, and then they lay side by side...he seems to be dying.... We go back to Lei and Miss D, and Phoenix is helping Ji along who is blind as a result of an encounter with Anye Jue.  

The only thing preventing this episode from getting a 9 was the cheesy explosion and random memory erasure which was clearly only done to get Ge'er out of the picture, give the other players some screen time, and inject some much needed romance back into the show because Lei and Miss D cannot carry the romance part by themselves since they are always being separated, and always saying the same lines which is basically 'I love you, Run away with me' and 'Not today, but someday we will be together, be patient'.

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Anye Luo wants Ge'er dead

In this episode we learn more about Yin Xue's past from Grand Mentor/Elder/Yin Xue; fueled with rage and a desire for some revenge the mild mannered Zhongli chooses to begin undermining the current villa leaders by secretly taking back the Azhure Hall; Ge'er and company return to the bread stall and Anye Luo decides that Ge'er must die.....

1)We open to Elder who wishes to take Ge'er back to Misty Peak for her own safety.  however she refuses and he admits he knew she would refuse (which begs the question why ask?).  Ge'er chooses to return to Ping An, the heart of Top Blade City because her status as the Flame Villa's madame is such that no one can really afford to kill her in plain site at the moment without inviting heavy criticism or burning bridges with other branches.

2)Elder/Yin Xue suggests that they meet with Yu as he is their best ally.  Because Elder is weak and Youqin (whose name I have given up on spelling correctly sorry)  expended his inner force so it is risky however that leaves only Officer Hueng--and they need her as a body guard--so Youqin volunteers to go.  

3)Ge'er engages Elder in conversation and begins to ask him questions about Yin Xue--recall he said that Yin Xue was his desciple (this isn't untrue Elder WAS his Master however he is assuming his identity since he resembles father time).  She wants to know what he was like as a child, when did he begin training, why did he leave the mountain, why did he open a brothel, and did he have any family.  

4)Elder flatly states that Yin Xue was a ruthless killer who took innumerable lives (this exact phrase will be repeated many times for the remaining episodes).  She is shocked by this especially since he was his most gifted disciple (I don't know why this should shock her since Feng is a shining example of when disciples go rogue)
But Elder explains that he was so gifted that it led to arrogance and so he joined Dark River, and his age made him Anye Luo's senior.  However, because of his crimes, Yin Xue was punished by the heavens and ultimately returned to Misty Mountain and begged to be taken back.  His punishment?  The love of his life died because of him (which begs the question, who is Ge'er?)

5)We learn that Elder won't reunited with Ge'er because even though Youqin used all his inner force to prolong his life (15 years) he is still going to die in a few months (hence the rapid aging)--he doesn't want to selfishly reunited with her only to die again.  

6)MW, back at the villa Zhongli enters the Azure hall and apologizes to his men for essentially not taking a stand and asks them to follow him as their master.  He wants them to betray the Deputy Hall Master OR they can betray Zhongli and have him executed.  They agree to follow him.  He then sends out messages to have their men protect Lei and misreport so that no one is able to discover Ge'er's or Lei's location.  

7)At Ping An the townsfolk recognize her as bread seller girl; she introduces Elder as her husband's mentor.  At the same time, Wu Xia listent's to Wu Hen's report on Ge'er's arrival.  They can't kill her--too risky--so they decide to politely ask her to leave the city since she is travelling with a wanted criminal (Lei).  Ge'er receives the message and promises not to linger after Wu Hen delivers this request.  

8)Meanwhile, team evil meets with Anye Luo.  He reports that he is displeased with Feng for avoiding him.  He commands Li Yi to kill Ge'er, and Ge'er begs hims not to however Anye Luo explains that this is all Feng's fault for letting her escape in the first place (abusive and narcissistic---this guy is crazy).   Feng tries to reasonw with him and insists that he will lock her up so that she won't escape.  But the answer is still NO.

9)MW, as soon as team flame is escorted outside of the city, assassins descent to attack them.  Fortunately, they are saved by Azure Hall soldiers, who have been tracking Lei, and continue on their way.  Lei's goal is to meet up with phoenix at the beach, however she is running late.  The reason for this is because she is out and about trying to gain allies from other sect members.  Her reasoning wins.

10)Fast forward to Thunderclap headquarters and the branch leaders wish to rescue Lei.  Niang refuses their request to rescue him.  She reminds them that they forced him to leave, and once he returns, he will likely exact revenge (highly, HIGHLY unlikely).  Unsurprisingly, this argument does not persuade them.  They then tell her that the leader must be a blood relation (weak argument) and Niang reminds them of all the work she has done for them for the past ten years.  Now the insults start flying, and they accuse her of being nothing but a lowly maid.  In a fit of rage, Niang kills a sizable number before fleeing, promising them that they will regret this because she had intended on saving them (foreshadowing?)

11)The episode ends with Feng, who is interested in capturing Ge'er, appearing.  However, the person disguised as her is Hueng, and Lei appears with his clan, kind of like robin hood and his merry men.  He lets him go, but where could Ge'er be?

This episode received an 8.0 because (and this bothers me) Ge'er's character is growing and changing but sometimes they have her oddly 'dumbed down' maybe this is intentional and they want her to be still 'somewhat naive' or innocent but she is fairly intelligent and perceptive so I find some of her questions, for instance during her scene with elder, weirdly inconsistent.  Maybe I am being overly critical.

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Ge'er and Lei escape

In this episode, Ge'er explains her case in an effort to prove Lei's innocence.  But even with good evidence, it still is not enough to clear his name.  Ge'er decides to leave the villa, and personally escorts Lei out, but not after confronting Zhan Feng and making it clear what she really thinks of him.

1)Ge'er breaks down into giggles and applauds Yi Li for his well staged play.  She then asks Murong to name her personal maids, which he does,  She admits that she does not recognize this maid at all and believes she must clean her rooms.  She urges Yi Li to think more of the details in the future when he decides to stage events, and then she summons Huang, whose status as a personal guard to Yu, gives her a lot of leverage, who verifies this information as true.  She then turns to Yi Li who looks less confident and orders him to address her as Madame, not mistress, and asks him if he would like to change his story.  He admits he must not have seen the person who attacked him very well, and she dismisses the maid from the Villa for her safety, and delivers her defense.

2)Ge'er throws a bomb onto the floor and everyone takes cover but it does not detonate.  She explains to them that there is only one way to detonate a Quilin bomb.  She invites them to the river for a demonstration, and shows them that it can only be detonated if someone were to pull the pin.  Hence multiple people had to be involved, and Yi Li insists that this does not absolve Thunderclap, so she challenges him, why does the killer have to be from Thunderclap?  She then says that whoever makes these bombs might be persuaded to (questioning the testimony of the witnesses they procured) and could easily mass produce these types of weapons for a profit.  Unfortunately, what she does not know is that even with the formula, the final step requires a master maker to do something, hence they cannot be mass produced, and this is more than enough to make her seem like she is ignorant--and shakes the confidence in those around her.  Yi Li wants Feng thrown in the dungeons while they investigate but Feng has him sent to Maple Court (his own quarters) for safety.

3)Xun Yi visits Miss D and delivers an invitation to see Ge'er.  She tells her that she will personally escort Lei out of here, because no one would dare harm her.  She will then rejoin Yu and figure out how to get some justice but right now she can't stay here.  Miss D thanks her.  Xun Yi packs her bags and Ge'er begs her to come with her, to rejoin Ji and disappear from the pugilist world.  She says she can't because Ji believes that Feng is confused right now and will return to the villa so she will wait for him here.

4)Feng, MW, is getting hammered.  He cuts him down and wants to know why he appeared, because now Ge'er has to save him.  If he had not come, she would continue to just fake her illness and all would be fine.  Lei says that she did this because of what he did (so he is basically throwing a tantrum).  Ge'er arrives to get Lei, but first she visits with Feng.  She joins him for a drink and tells him that she remembers a drinking contest when they were little.  He states that he won.  She tells him that he didn't, that she cheated so that he would win because Ji, if he loses, laughs it off, but Feng takes it personally because he is a perfectionist.  She lists examples of when he was furious when he lost and worked hard to surpass his fellow disciples, and she tells him that the reason she always loved him was because he was like a hero and always did his best.  However, she was wrong about him (Feng's face is just crumbling beneath her judgment) because he is not a hero, but instead an unscrupulous man who would do anything to win, regardless of the consequences.  He must have wanted to be the Master very badly, and she thanks him for not killing her but tells him it is also a mistake not to.  She wants to know why he picked Thunderclap--is it because he needed someone to frame for his crimes, or because with Lei did they would not have an heir (which means less competition/more power) or both?  He passes out after asking if she poisoned him and she says she would never poison someone.

5)Miss D helps her move Li, and they leave together, while Wu Xia and Wu Hen discuss this latest problem.  Wu Xia wants Lei dead yesterday, and when he learns that a carriage was seen leaving, unescorted, he goes after it.  His sister is there, and she is able to send him away.  She says goodbye to Lei and promises that next time, no matter what, she will leave with him.  This is also where he learns Die Yi was killed, and the others learn that she was his sister.  

6)Wu Xia, Wu Hen, and Li Yi wait fro Feng to awaken.  They all tell him his wine was drugged.  Later, Miss D asks Feng if he intentionally planned to release Lei or if it was an accident.  He does not answer and tells her that her assistance in helping them escape means she will never be able to move freely because her brother will not allow it again.  They then 'spend the night together' I guess so she can avoid Wu Xia, and so that everyone thinks that they are sleeping together.

7)Li confronts Murong and the uncles and basically says that Ge'er is the enemy for helping Lei escape. They insist she is only doing what she believes is right, but Li says she is helping the enemy, so she is the enemy.  Feng refuses to allow her to be hurt and issues a decree that Lei kidnapped Ge'er and that she is to be brought back at once.  

8)The team finds their way back to Elder Yin Xue and he gives his condolences.  She learns about Youqin's predicament--having lost his powers--

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A remarkable play

In this episode team flame takes a hit as one of its members is killed, team evil stages a great play to implicate Lei for Flame Lord's Death & tries to slander Ge'er's reputation; and Zhan Feng continues to illustrate that he is, if anything, a ruthless man who wants everything....but he can't have it all.

1)We open to Ge'er sitting and thinking of Yin Xue, because this time last year was when she had her dinner party in his villa and she got drunk and asked all those questions.  But times have changed.  Hueng Cong notifies her that Lei is in the area, so they begin to put their plan in action.  Phase 1--the set up--begins with Die Yi and Xun Yi collecting the medicine from Feng and openly discussing a trip into the city so that Ge'er may eat her favorite won tons.  Feng throws a curve ball by insisting that guards go with her.  Thus, at the won ton store, Lei sits down at her table however she has her guards send him away.  But it is the first contact and lets each other know, I presume, that they are not going to deceive the other.

2)Ge'er uses his illness as a cover to stay the night at the local inn.  Lei breaks inside, and she tells him she does not have much time before Feng lightly arrives to make her go back.  He tells her that he can prove his innocence, and he can do this by educating her on the proper use of the Quilin bomb.  She and Feng slip out to the mountains.

3)Back at the villa, Evil Housekeeper Li learns that Ge'er is staying the night in town.  He informs his soldiers to report that Lei will likely appear in town to meet with her.  They are to blow the town up with bombs, which would, he hope, kill Ge'er and Lei.  Meanwhile, Die Yi suddenly collapses on her way to collect the medicine that Feng has prepared (a servant sent her a message to collect it).

4)Back on the mountain, Lei digs up a couple of bombs he had buried and explains that the bomb can only be used if you pull the safety pin, however you must be far away from the bomb to do this, and it is a design flaw.  Hence, when they are normally used, a long line is created and the user then removes the pin from a safe distance.  Whoever used the bombs on her father would never have been inside to use them, they would have had to plant them in advance and multiple people would have had to been present to properly use the bombs and create an explosion that big.  Her father would have noticed that many people lingering outside.  Also, the floors of his rooms were coated in metal, which all but confirms that the bombs had to be planted on the floor.  He believes that someone who knew how to use the bombs used them after he died to dispose of the body---and evidence of how he was killed.  They then implicated his sect.  Just as he is about to demonstrate how they work, after giving her a bomb for her own as evidence, explosions shake the mountain.  They return to the town and find that there are collapsed buildings and fire.  Hueng finds her, and she leaves to return after thanking Lei and telling him to escape.

5)Meanwhile, Die Yi awakens in the guest house.  She is tied to a chair and Yi Li stands over her.  He tries to coerce her into talking, but it seems he has a seperate ulterior motive, one I never saw coming.  He admits that he has always wanted to 'try the girls' of Plum Court--and he becomes angry with her and wants to know why she likes a weak idiot like Zhongli--THE PLOT THICKENS--so it seems like Yi Li has a romantic inclination towards her?  He tells her she should come to his side, and if she doesn't, he will kill her and plants a bomb on her--oh and he also confesses to killing the Flame Lord and Die Yi says he will die a horrible death--these words are usually prophetic--and then the guest house is blown up.  

6)In a panic, Zhongli searches for Die Yi and encounters Li Yi and Feng (they just got into an argument, Feng is angry because of his actions but Li Yi accuses him of being blinded by the actions of Ge'er for love, and that she has betrayed them by meeting with Lei).  He wants to know where Die Yi is and Li Yi states that a maids body was found in the guest house, and that she is dead (IMPORTANT: So Die Yi is dead, we have no proof that it was her.  So my guess is she is alive, however or the purposes of plot, she is dead).  Zhongli accuses him of lying, and then turns to Feng and demands why he had to kill a maid who was uninvolved.  He leaves in tears.

7)Lei is cornered by Wu Xia and company.  Ge'er returns home and they learn that Di Yi is dead, shocking her.  Ge'er slaps Feng and wants to know why he killed a maid, and he blames Lei, however she accuses him of lying.  The Uncles all support Yi Li, and so she schedules a formal hearing to address these lies.  Yi Li goes the extra mile and invites all the important branch leaders, that is how confident he is.  Xun Li meanwhile cautions her not to admit she met with Lei because it will damage her relationship with the branch leaders but she says she must do this for Die Yi.

8)Yi Ling pleads his case first, and he really got creative.  He insists that he fought Lei at the Villa, after he planted the explosives that killed a maid, and believes he planted the explosives in town as well.  Ge'er challenges his story, and asks him three times if he is certain the man he fought was Lei, and he is.  Wu Xia then surprises her by bringing in an injured and tied up Lei,   Lei says that if they kill him, the real murderer will be laughing in the shadows.  Then Ge'er pleads her case, that Lei is innocent.  She informs them all that she met with Lei so it was impossible for Li Yi to have fought him.  Prepared, Li Yi brings in a terrified maid who after some coaxing testifies that she is Ge'er's personal maid and that the lady often confides in her; she was at home the entire night staring blankly out the window , sighing and repeating Lei's name because she is in love with him and is doing this all to protect him.  Ge'er is unruffled and even smiles....

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More plans

In this episode, Yin Xue seems to be back in play, Ji persuades Lei to visit Ge'er, Ge'er continues to develop her counterattack, and we have something of a mind freak in a flashback of Anye Luo....

1)Ge'er continues to explore the Pear Quarters after Miss D leaves.  The dead trees are beginning blossom....and she takes away a branch from Yin Xue's room.  I guess to grow it?  The blooming blossoms give her hope that there is still time to fix things.

2)Joaqin, MW, has hair as white as Dong Hua and is very weak.  He meets the wife of the town leader he is in who offers to assist him if he needs help and then he panics, believing his mentor has left him.  then Yin Xue saunters in typical fashion, and Joaqin says he will go buy rice, and Yin Xue tells him to get wine as well.  While they eat, Yin Xue angrily lectures Joaqin for depleting all of his inner force to bring him back.  Yin Xue now has a 1/3 of his power and complains that if they run into Anye Luo they will both die.  

3)Back at the villa, Uncle Murong visits Ge'er.  He tells her that Dark River Palace is stirring, and is now out in the open.  She tells him all the mishaps of late are traced to them.  Uncle Murong reveals that during the battle between the Villa and Dark River, flame villa won, so Dark River became the enemy of everyone and they were hunted down (this is to emphasize that good and evil may be determined more by strength and power and less by morality).  She asks about Anye Luo, and he reports that Anye Luo was untamed and arrogant, wore clothes of bloodred and was basically a monster.  She wonders if Anye Luo is behind her father's death, and Murong says he believes it might be possible.   She asks if her father ever asked him to silently watch Feng, and it seems that yes, yes he did and knew all about the Thunderbreak Manor incident--he just kept giving him chances.  Currently he reports the minor pugilist sects are watching the three great sects and hoping that they destroy one another.  She reveals that she is looking for an opportunity to prove Lei's innocence.

4)After he leaves, she states that Murong visited because of the 9th festival.  MW, Feng continues his super annoying behavior of bothering Ge'er with medicine.  It is like watching a repeat of the King's Woman--he just does awful things and thinks that he can still have some sort of relationship with the FL.  Back at the capital, the emperor lavishes praise on Yu and then Feng reports to Anye Luo: 33 sects support Flame Villa, 19 are with Thunderclap and 20 are hesitant, all of which is good news to him.  He reveals that the blue sapphire earring he wears belonged to his mother, whom he says was the most wonderful woman alive.  In a flashback, we see a woman who looks just like Ge'er embraced by a young Anye Luo; he says that she is the best big sister and hopes to marry her (they are not really related).  MIND FREAK.

5)MW, Ji is able to visit Lei, who initially believes he has harmed Die Yi once he shows him the star sign.  He gains his trust and Lei agrees to meet Ge'er, however phoenix is furious and says that he is walking to his death (I sort of agree).  He tells her that this is his last opportunity to protect his name, and no, he is not going there to see Miss D because it would cause trouble for her.  Anyways, the plan is that JI will create a fake fight to distract the eyes of those looking for him, and he will then have a chance to see Ge'er.

6)The episode ends with the noodle man--the same one who Yin Xue and Ge'er ate with way back when--reporting rumors that the flame lord was actually evil, framed the Dark River Palace, and now that they are out of hiding they are actually good.  Bwahahaha.

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Ji sets out to bring Master Lei Back

In this episode, Ji confronts Zhan Feng for his b.s. excuses and then goes on a mission to ensure Master Lei of Thunderclap can safely meet Ge'er; Yu fails to persuade Ge'er to leave Flame Villa in addition to finally asking her to marry him.

1. Word spreads fast as Feng learns that Yu has returned and this news does not please him but then very little, besides making bad medicine, does please him.  MW, Yu continues his heartfelt reunion with Ge'er and urges her to get well.  She reveals to him that she has been faking her illness in addition to bringing to light the cover-up being perpetuated by Feng and Evil Housekeeper Yi Li.  In spite of her explanation, Yu, always rational, informs her that they can't say Lei isn't responsible however his motive is nonexistent; it would make far more sense for Lei to focus on the mess he was already in before her father died a.k.a. the great coup of second madame--he would be focusing on reclaiming his namesake and would not risk a death sentence move like going after her father, even if he wanted to.

2.Yu shifts the attention to Ge'er.  He tells her that as long as she is the official leader of the Flame Villa, she holds the final say--and therefore the most power--in the affairs.  This makes her a threat, and he urges her to leave with him.  He tells her that after the war they can return together how she flat out refuses.  She also insists that she is safe here (something that fills me with a great deal of doubt).  Unable to convince her, Yu informs her that he must return today because he is only here to pay his respects and to linger would increase the probability of him making the capital upset.  He leaves Hueng Cong behind and advises her that sometimes it is better to admit defeat and then counterattack later (isn't this basically what evil dark palace did?).  She escorts him to see her father.

3)Elsewhere, Bi'er reports to Ji that the Villa moves to apprehend Lei.  He also leaves to greet Yu.  They meet up at the place where are father's urn is, and Feng and Yi Li are also there.  (This is very deliberately filmed, with Yi between Feng, who still can't seem to look anyone in the eye, and Yi Li, who stares directly ahead and looks well evil, while Ge'er looks so weak in the middle).  Yu gives his bows and Ji expresses surprise at Yu's arrival, perhaps to break the awful silence.  He tells Ji that he leaves Ge'er to him while he is gone, and the meaning is not lost on the evil guys flanking Ge'er.

4)Miss D confronts Feng and calls him out for his false accusations of Lei.  He gets in her face and tells her that she is an accomplice by keeping her silence, and that to reveal the truth would be to destroy her brothers so she better keep quiet.  She is very angry, and I assume, utterly alone.  Then, in an odd move, Feng visits the site of his master's death and burns paper to send him off, a move that again emphasizes his utter lack of accountability because anyone could do this he is doing this just to feel better for himself and could care less about everyone else.

5)Yu, Ji, and Ge'er then head out.  Ji jokes with the other two that he always felt intimidated by Yu and Ge'er admits that this is the best they ever got along.  He gives them some time alone, and Yu proposes to her.  Ge'er is about to let him down gently when he interrupts her and tells her that her father wanted this (manipulative) and also tells her to give his answer when she returns.

6)Feng continues to pester Ge'er.  Upon her return with Ji, he insists he is only there to speak to Ji because he was not at his residence.  Ji storms off, Feng follows, and he tells Ji that he will be leading the hunt to find Lei.  Ji calls him out and states that finding Lei would be easy, everyone knows where his haunts her.  He accuses him of trying to to send him away in order to completely isolate Ge'er.  He wants to know why it would be so bad for Ge'er to lead the villa, and Feng coldly says that the pugilist world is malicious and she could not handle it.  Ji calls him out and says that's an excuse--when has Ge'er ever been bullied or let anyone bully her?  All of her suffering has come directly from Feng and the branch masters at the villa who have treated her worse than a stranger.  Feng insists he will protect her and asks Ji to trust him, which blows my mind that he could even ask at this point--

7)Meanwhile, branch masters volunteer to go since Ji does not want to. Feng insists that Ji will go even if he has to tie him to the horse.  MW, Ge'er meets with Ji and tells him that he must go.  He must do this because it would be in the name of avenging her father and only he can safely ensure that Lei will be safe, and that he can convince him to meet with ge'er in secret in order to work on clearing his name.  Unsure of how to get him to meet Ji, Die Yi steps in and draws the symbol, which is given to Ji.  MW Lei hangs out on his bed and reads his wanted poster.  At this point he isn't even phased by the nonsense thrown his way, although Phoenix lectures him for being both dumb and naive....then back at the villa, Xun Yi and Ji say goodbye.  Ji meets with Bi'er who, after gaining permission to journey with him, reveals that she is actually from the Azure Hall and is a secret, basically her job was to take over for Zhongli if he died.  She also admits she has a plan to get Zhongli back in his job again....Feng sees Ji off and tells him not fight enemies if they overpower him (?)

8)Believing her medication/doctor to be ineffective, Feng brings in his own doctor to take care of Ge'er, who reports that she should be fine but seems to be suffering from depression.  He prescribes new medicines.  MW, Yi Li visits Feng to congratulate him for winning the people over through his make Ge'er great again campaign and making her medicine.  Feng tells him if he made her ill he will end him, however he says he hasn't.

9)Meanwhile, Joaqin continues to heal Yin Xue (how we need him back....not just to help Ge'er but to  bring back the romance).  MW, Ge'er chooses to visit the Pear Villa and runs into Miss D there.  They walk, and Ge'er admits she faked her illness.  Miss D wants to know why she trusts her, and she admits that she believes she is a good person since she helped warn them about the frost curse.  Miss D admits that she has been spoiled her whole life by her brothers and that Lei was the first person to challenge her.  Finally Ge'er asks her if she is ready to tell her the truth about Thunderbreak Manor, and Miss D says that the Manor is gone, so who cares, and Ge'er says she swore to get them justice.  No amount of pressure or guilting can persuade her, or Ge'er's belief that Miss D is not connected to what happened--she refuses and tells her she cannot tell because of her family.

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Framing Lei

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.

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