Season 1 – Ep 34+35
[Karen]
In the last episode, Fan Xian, along with Wang Qi Nian and a new fella named Gao Da, a soldier under his father’s employ that is very loyal to his father, head out on their journey to the Northern Qi Kingdom. With them in tow are prisoners Xiao En and SI Li Li.
Xiao En is deemed as one of the most dangerous and scariest men in the Northern Qi kingdom. Wang Qi Nian was …voluntold by Fan Xian to help look after Xiao En in his chained carriage. In episode 34, Wang Qi Nian reports back to Fan Xian and Gao Da. He says that he completely removed any interest from Xiao En on his side so that he, Wang Qi Nian should be in no danger. Except, when Fan XIan presses for exactly what Wang Qi Nian said, Fan Xian responds that Xiao En would’ve likely killed Wang QI Nian within the day. That freaks out Wang Qi Nian. Why would Xiao En want to kill Wang Qi Nian after he told Xiao En that he’s a very lowly member of the group?
Next thing we see is Fan Xian heading to meet with Xiao En at night. At first, he gives some more poison to Xiao En. Fan Xiao had put some of the poison he put in the food Xiao En has been eating, but probably not enough. He then pulls out the thin wooden pointed object in Xiao En’s hand. Evidently, that was going to be used to kill Wang Qi Nian.
Fan Xian returns back to his rooms where Wang Qi Nian and Gao Da are waiting for him. He explains to them that by telling Xiao En that he wasn’t important, Wang Qi Nian had put himself in danger. A man like Xiao En, who had been cooped up for too long, was definitely going to want to let out some of that frustration. Killing would be his next release. And killing someone not important will mean there wll not be severe consequences. Hence why Fan Xian immediately went to tell Xiao En that Wang Qi Nian was actually very important. If Xiao En killed Wang Qi Nian, his chances of overall survival are reduced to nothing if Fan Xian opts for revenge. With that, the group goes to sleep. But not before Fan Xian informs them of the route he plans to take to head to Bei Qi. He says it at night to keep it as secret as possible.
[Cathy]
While Fan Xian is focused on the enormous danger ahead of him, he is NOT or SHOULD not think about the danger behind him. Coming from a one Guo Bao Kun. He hired a bunch of assassins to kill Fan Xian but these assassins are selling groceries outside of the capital gates in the morning. Soooo clearly, not the same caliber of people that are otherwise chasing Fan Xian. Wu Zhu is over there battling it out with a grand master and his disciple, Hai Tang Duo Duo is off to kill Xiao En. Yan Xiao Yi is also on the hunt to kill Fan Xian. Those folks vs the guys Guo Bao Kun hired? Ehhhh. No wonder why his father in jail was like, there’s absolutely no way you’re going to kill Fan XIan. Later on in the episode, when they actually head out, I died laughing. First is Guo Bao Kun not listening to these assassins that his horse won’t survive the trip and lo and behold it dies. Then, he can’t keep up on foot and has to be carried like a child on the shoulders of one of the assassins. Only to find out later that night, that one of the weapons one of the guys is using is none other than a freaking rolling pin. You know, to knead dumplings? That’s this guy’s weapon. I actually burst out laughing at that. Hahahah. I do admire this drama for somehow inserting the most ludicrous plotlines to break up an otherwise tense moment
[Karen]
Outside of all those people I mentioned that are out to attack Fan Xian, he also has to contend with the doe eyed Si Li Li. He visits her inside her carriage. She offers to give him a massage which he accepts and says quite a number of nice things about their past. These words certainly suggests a level of attraction to Fan Xian that with the piano background music, could lead one to believe that Si Li Li really is professing love to Fan Xian.
Except, he sees right through it. He turns around rather calmly and instead of falling into her trap, tells her to show him her hand. She’s been clutching a hairpin that could be used as a weapon from the moment he entered the carriage. He sees right through her plans and her pain. She has no option but to try to curry favor with him but is also worried if he’ll actually do something to her, hence the hairpin for self protection. Yet she can’t attack him or else she might be killed for doing so, but she also doesn’t want to kill herself since she’s finally been let out. She’s been placed in an impossible situation. Fan Xian says he understands and tells her to cry. She does so, she cries out several loud scream s to express her frustration at the situation.
Fan Xian affirms that he will safely return her home and not harm her during this trip. It is here that Si Li Li tells Fan Xian that she’s not actually from Bei Qi. Her real name is Li Li Si. With her Li last name, she explains that she is actually of the royal family bloodline. When the EMperor ascended the throne, other Li families were brutally eliminated. She had to escape to the Northern Qi kingdom with her family to survive. Everything she’s done is to save her younger brother. Before they part, Si Li Li asks a final series of questions. Is Fan Xian getting married? Has he met her? And are they in love? He replies yes to all of these questions, confused why she would want to know. But, it’s clear she has attraction for Fan Xian and is crestfallen that he loves another. Awww. Lots of people ship her and Fan Xian while I am totally still stanning Fan Xian and Wan’er.
[Cathy]
Now is when the conflict really starts. We find out that Chen Ping Ping has ordered the retreat of all of his black knights. No one is currently protecting Fan Xian, despite having said he will ensure his safety before Fan Xian left. This is problematic because we know that Yan Xiao Yi wants to kill Fan Xian, Hai Tang Duo Duo wants to kill Xiao En and Guo Bao Kun also wants to kill Fan XIan. Add to the mix is Shang Shan Hu, the general and adopted son of Xiao En. There are 4 different groups of people that are looking to attack Fan Xian and now he has no outside protection.
But before they can arrive to attack him, he has thoughts of his own. He actually starts his own chaotic chase because he wants to speak to Xiao En alone. As Wu Zhu mentioned, Xiao En has some type of interaction with his mother that he needs to learn about. So, Fan XIan stages a fake rescue from Shang Shan Hu that allows Xiao En to escape. Xiao En doesn’t think too much of this and immediately escapes from his chains and takes off on horseback.
Fan Xian though, had this all planned out. Wang Qi Nian is on the chase and because of his exceptional tracking skills, he’s able to stop Xiao En rather quickly. We are now in episode 35. It is quite a heart pumping episode with a lot of martial arts fighting in a pretty cool setting. Different rock formations create perfect foils for all of those involved.
It’s an intense battle as both Fan Xian and Xiao En get injured in the carfuffle. However, given Xiao En’s age, Fan Xian was ultimately able to subdue him. He and his men capture Xiao En.
At this point, 1 party joins the fray. Hai Tang Duo Duo played by Xin Zhi Lei arrives. At first, Fan Xian thought she would stop him killing Xiao En but she does no such thing. Instead, she’s quite happy to watch Fan Xian kill Xiao En. This causes a pause in his plan because WE know he doesn’t actually want to kill Xiao En yet. So instead, Fan Xian turns around to have a friendly fight with Hai Tang Duo Duo. She’s like, what’s your problem and they exchange several blows.
[Karen]
It’s not a serious fight but she doesn’t understand why he doesn’t just kill Xiao En. Xiao En though, points out, he doesn’t actually want to kill him. Hai Tang Duo Duo is like, whatever, I’ll do it instead. But as they’re kind of wasting time, an arrow comes flying out from nowhere. Yan Xiao Yi has entered the fray.
In an instant, Fan Xian drags Hai Tang to the side to hide from Yan Xiao Yi, but he shouts to Yan XIao Yi about Hai Tang. The purpose? To try to force Hai Tang to his side to oppose Yan Xiao Yi. But before they can do anything further, Shang Shan Hu and his soldiers arrive. Hai Tang disappears and now Fan Xian has to fend off Shang Shan Hu and his men. Meanwhile, Guo Bao Kun and his country bumpkins are hiding in the shadows as well, watching everything unfold.
Shang Shan Hu aggressively attacks Fan Xian who is surprisingly not able to defeat him. I guess he is injured from earlier fights and Shang Shan Hu is also a 9th ranked fighter. So we have Shang SHan Hu, Hai Tang AND Yan Xiao Yi, all of the 9th rank attacking Fan Xian in one way or another. Fan Xian is subdued but Xiao En doesn’t allow Shang Shan Hu to kill Fan Xian. Something about his upbringing intrigues Xiao En and so he instructs Shang Shan Hu to tie him up instead. Fan Xian is rather accommodating on this order.
[Cathy]
And then, it gets confusing once again. Yan Xiao Yi arrives to attack Shang Shan Hu, Fan Xian and Xiao En. He wants Fan xian dead while Shang Shan Hu and company want him alive. Obviously, the next step here is to start fighting so off they go again in attacking another. Guo Bao Kun’s men also join the fray. They start attacking Shang Shan Hu’s men because I’m assuming they think they’re enemy soldiers. It’s admirable the amount of bravery they showed against highly trained and armed men and they do take down several men. But the sad part is, it is Yan Xiao Yi that finishes off most of Guo Bao Kun’s mercenaries. Guo Bao Kun, the idiot, makes his presense loudly known to Yan XIao Yi who cannot have survivors let slip he’s here. So he has to kill everyone. At least Guo Bao Kun accidentally released Fan Xian’s bindings so he was able to rescue Guo Bao Kun from getting killed by YAn Xiao Yi.
The situation is now rather dire as Fan Xian is in quite this mess. He randomly calls out into the aether that Yan Xiao Yi is an extreme threat and if not stopped now, he will likely be a problem for the Qi kingdom. This line of reasoning goads Hai Tang, who had been in hiding, to attack Yan Xiao Yi. He falls off his horse, injured and Shang Shan Hu was also injured by Yan XIao Yi. All parties agree to back off given the death and injuries the parties have sustained, except for Hai Tang. She is adamant that she wants to kill Xiao En so she has another fight with Fan Xian. This time, he releases some type of powder that he jokes is some type of love potion. Her face gets all red due to this powder and everyone seeing this scene is chuckling at the joke. Even Xiao En. Hai Tang Duo Duo has no option but to run off.
[Karen]
Of course, Joy of Life is able to resolve this rather harrowing conflict with a joke.
The rest of the episode continues to be light hearted. Everyone is joking about how Fan Xian used a love potion on Hai Tang such that even Si Li Li knew. She’s asking rather leading questions but then jumps in front of Fan Xian to rescue him from an arrow that Yan Xiao Yi shoots to try to kill him. He helps make sure Si Li Li is bandaged up but of course, she takes it the wrong way since he was the one who patched up her injuries.
Hai Tang also arrives to confront Fan Xian about this stupid love potion. He’s being shameless and says it wasn’t a love potion and the two share some fruit together. Meanwhile Gao Da and Wang Qi Nian continue their jokes that Hai Tang is now in love with Fan Xian. Come ON people! Show some respect to Wan’er PLEASE?
Last thing for this episode is poor Guo Bao Kun. He is entirely dumbfounded at how bloody this entire exchange was. Everyone he hired was killed. Fan Xian doesn’t attack Guo Bao Kun but instead suggests a trade. Guo Bao Kun will do what he says and he will help Guo Bao Kun’s father be released from prison. Guo Bao Kun, being the filial son that he is, promptly agrees.
–
Let’s move on to history today!
[Cathy]
司里里
Let’s talk about 司里里. She reveals that her real name is Li Li Si who was once a member of the royal family. She is clearly based off of the real life woman Li Shi Shi who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty but unclear exactly who she is because there’s so many stories about her. So, it’s unclear when she was born or when she died. Some say 1062, some say 1090.
For one version, the story goes that she was the daughter of a dyer with the last name Wang. When she was only 3, her parents took her to a buddhist temple, who bestowed upon her the name of Shi Shi or Teacher. When she was 4, her father died in prison and her mother died shortly after. She was saved by a Courtesan by the last name Li, who took her in, and taught her the performing arts and the ways of a courtesan.
She was a known courtesan who specialized in dancing but also knowledgeable in poetry. She was heavily favored by the men of the nobility, scholars, and the wealthy in the capital city. It does seem though that she did meet and have some sort of acquaintance with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty 宋徽宗 some time in the early 12th century.
李师师 has been featured in many novels and legends since the 12th century, including making an appearance in one of the 4 main Chinese classic, 水浒传 or the Water Margin. There’s definitely similarities between Li Shi Shi the historical figure and Si Li Li the character from Qing Yu Nian
新陈代谢
When Hai Tang Duo Duo confronts Fan Xian about the aphrodisiac, Fan Xian quickly says that it’ll all be fine because of 新陈代谢. The literal translation is old new replacement. This is a very modern phrase that essentially means metabolism but it’s more used to describe the natural process of renewal and replacement. So one can use it outside of talking about food including society, nature, and the body itself.
[Karen]
Next, let’s discuss the stunning scenery that is featured in these two episodes. I don’t know if you all caught the changes in scenery but I certainly did. The story finally takes us out of the capital and outside of the very familiar set pieces from Heng Dian and Xiang Shan.
At the beginning of episode 33, Wu Zhu confronts Master Ku He at a beautiful waterfall. These waterfalls are called the Luo Ping Nine Dragon Waterfalls (罗平九龙瀑布) that is situated in Yunnan province. Sometimes known as the most beautiful waterfalls in China – the water falls for 100 meters. Tourists can take a lift to see the whole waterfall.
Later in episode 34 and 35 when Fan Xian abducts Xiao En, encounters Hai Tang Duo Duo, and is hiding from Yan Xiao Yi, the scenes are set in a Stone Forest. This Stone Forest is also found in Yunnan province, near its capital of Kun Ming.
The Stone Forest preserves and features diverse karst formations including caves, stalactites, erosion lakes, natural bridges, and cliff waterfalls. The first time I watched this scene, I immediately knew that they had to have gone on location somewhere because it was too grand for a set. I’m glad I was right! I’m glad the drama chose to film these scenes on location but I wish they actually went up north somewhere because well, they’re supposed to be heading north. Yunnan is in the southwest of China and doesn’t give “northern” vibes but hey that’s a TINY nitpick.
[Cathy]
Book differences
The drama compresses a LOT of chapters into these two episodes, almost 20 chapters worth of content. Our funnyman Guo Bao Kun doesn’t hire mercenaries to assassinate Fan Xian. He doesn’t show up on this journey. The journey up north to the Northern Qi kingdom also takes a significant amount of time. We can’t really tell within the drama. In the book, Fan Xian is the primary person interacting with Xiao En. He even divulges the current state of affairs to Xiao En because he believes if Xiao En doesn’t die at his hands and manages to escape, he’ll find out about this news anyways. Fan Xian also spends a lot of time with Si Li Li but they never sleep together. He finds out she’s a virgin, which is crucial to the Qing Emperor’s plans to poison the Qi Emperor. Send a virgin to the palace harem and the Emperor will definitely become poisoned once they sleep together. Yan Xiao Yi does not appear in the book. Chen Ping Ping’s Black Guard ARE there though. Shang Shan Hu’s troops do successfully rescue Xiao En but Fan Xian is able to re-capture Xiao En because he poisoned Xiao En with a poison that allowed dogs to track him. In the book, this is also the first time Fan Xian encounters Hai Tang Duo Duo and also poisons her with a powerful aphrodisiac. The atmosphere in the book is a lot more serious with these events so I’m glad that the drama took a different approach.