The episode begins with Lin Wan’er finally being given emotional weight in the drama and not only being a background character! In the last episode, many people’s worlds were, you could say shattered, after finding out rumors that Fan XIan is the son of GASP the Emperor, but more importantly, Ye Qing Mei. Funnily enough, the women like the Empress and Princess Royal are more worried about Ye Qing Mei while the princes are like, why do I care about Ye Qing Mei and care more about the fact that Fan XIan now possibly has a claim to the throne. That is when the 2nd prince stops Wan”er as she’s on her way to the palace to see an injured Fan Xian and tells her the brutal fact that Fan Xian was involved in her brother’s death.
Episode 32 begins with a dazed and emotional Wan’Er visiting Fan Xian. When asked what’s wrong, she bluntly asks if Fan Xian knew beforehand that her brother was involved in his good friend Teng Zi Jing’s death. He is shocked at this sudden question but responds affirmatively and he doesn’t hide the fact that while he didn’t kill her brother, he knows who did.
Now, this scene is very powerful for me because Wan’Er is not blind to the fact that her brother was the primary instigator in season 1. He wanted to kill Fan Xian and therefore Fan Xian was largely doing self defense. But that doesn’t take away the emotional impact of this conflict because Lin Gong was her doting older brother. She vows to seek revenge against her brother by killing Wu Zhu. This is something both Fan Xian and Wan’Er knows is an impossible task but as Wan’Er says, whether or not it’s feasible is different from whether or not she should. Just like Fan Xian would do the same if Wu Zhu was killed.
This revelation is a deep scar between Fan Xian and Wan’Er’s relationship. One that Fan Xian doesn’t fight and try to make amends because he knows of the impact on Wan’Er. Importantly though, Wan’Er tells Fan XIan that she knows this information was told to her by the 2nd prince in an effort to use her to attack Fan Xian. If he comes again, she will help Fan Xian gather intel.
This scene in my opinion really elevates who Wan’Er is in terms of intelligence and depth, especially that last line. She is not blindly following the 2nd prince’s manipulation even though the news of her brother’s death deeply impacts her. She is clear headed on the schemes at play and is separating out what she should do and what others want her to do.
The other main marital dispute in this episode is one between the Empress and the Emperor. News that FAn Xian is Ye Qing Mei’s son prompted…something in the Empress and she immediately went to speak to the Emperor. What is shocking to me, is that it is revealed that despite being Emperor and Empress and having a son, the two have not seen each other since the death of Ye Qing Mei and the massacre of her clan. That’s probably close to 20 years?? That’s INSANE. The Emperor is also taken aback from her sudden visit. As she confesses, she was avoiding him for the last 20 years considering how impacted she was by her clan’s death.
The Empress is veeeryy deferential in her meeting with the Emperor and even requests he punish her for her insolence over the years. The Emperor allows her to keep talking and that is when the Empress makes her true request. She wants to see Fan Xian. She wants to apologize to him for causing him to not have a mother so soon after he was born. The moment she makes this request, the Emperor looks away, seemingly very annoyed and exasperated at this request. She continues that Fan Xian suffered assassination attempts while recovering (which is what we saw last episode). She has to take responsibility and Li Yun Rui also needs to be held accountable because the palace Fan Xian is staying in is her old palace. The Empress is taking this opportunity to retreat but also take down Li Yun Rui as well.
Interestingly, the Emperor is having absolutely none of it. He dismisses her idea entirely and rebuffs her request to see Fan Xian. Instead, he announces that the Empress has used up all of their remaining relationship as husband and wife. In future, they will no longer need to meet.
[Karen]
This dynamic is absolutely fascinating to me. What happened between the two such that when the Empress is leaving, the Emperor uses his swanky new bow and arrow, designed with the help of Fan Xian, and actually shoots a powerful arrow right near the Empress’s head to a suit of armor in front of her. Like what did they do to each other for him to hate her so much? As for her request, it’s unclear why she so adamantly wants to meet Fan Xian. Likely for revenge?
The second half of this episode now turns towards more mysteries of the sacred temple. Fan Xian is now in a wheelchair while still recovering from his injuries. The Emperor used this injured Fan Xian to set up a trap. Let the word out that he is going to the Hanging Temple again to see flowers but what is put in the carriage is actually a dummy rather than Fan Xian himself. The Emperor wants to use Fan Xian as bait. But for whom? This is a fascinating bit of exposition between Fei Jie and Chen Ping Ping as Fei Jie tries to piece together what he thinks is the Emperor’s master plan. It seems like the Emperor is trying to bait out not only Wu Zhu, who is likely there to protect Fan Xian as he heads out of the heavy protection of the capital, but also, this mysterious killer that is very similar to Wu Zhu. This person, as we see on screen, has a weapon similar to Wu Zhu and also covers his eyes. He is an agent of the Divine Temple that has been sent to search for Wu Zhu. Not only Wu Zhu but also ye qing mei.
[Cathy]
The drama cuts to where Wu Zhu and this agent is in the bamboo forest. The agent/emissary speaks to Wu Zhu and requests for him to return to the Sacred or Divine Temple with him. But there is something oddly robotic about both of their movements. This emissary is nearly an exactly replica of Wu Zhu in both costume, weaponry and hairstyle so it is clear both of them came from the Sacred Temple. Originally Wu Zhu was willing to return to the Divine Temple with this emissary. But the moment he threatened to bring Fan XIan back as well? Wu Zhu immediately ends the negotiations and starts his attack. It is another furious battle between these two and in the course of the battle, it is clear that there is something superhuman about both of them. They have bodies that are able to break through stone easily, and therefore, otherworldly.
However, Wu Zhu is not alone in this fight. We see soldiers lined up against a wall with bow and arrows crafted exactly like the one the Emperor used as a warning against the Empress earlier in the episode. The soldiers fire their arrows at both Wu Zhu and this emissary. Against the rain of arrows, the two continue to fight. Wu Zhu manages to stab his weapon into the emissary but he is also injured. Oddly, both of them spill golden blood, betraying more of what they truly are. Least of all. Not human.
[Karen]
The scene turns now to Fan Xian who has been brought over to the Emperor. He brings Fan Xian to a darkened room and opens up some doors that reveals a painting. Without hesitation, the Emperor tells Fan Xian that this is a painting of Fan Xian’s mother. The only painting that exists of her. He smiles as he looks at this painting and notes that she always looks so young while he has aged. He leaves Fan Xian to absorb what this painting shares while he steps out as he has more important matters to attend to.
What are they? His soldiers with their advanced weaponry brought back the body of the Divine Temple emissary. One of the soldiers note that Wu Zhu’s skills are above this emissary and despite being heavily injured, has escaped capture. The Emperor turns over the body of the deceased emissary and presses his fingers on the golden blood of the body. He smirks that even if this emissary isn’t mortal, he still must die before turning away. In the most ruthless act we’ve seen yet, he signals as he walks out to kill all witnesses. All of those soldiers that just helped bring back this emissary? Eliminated to keep quiet the secret of the Divine temple.
[Cathy]
We’ll close the episode here as the Emperor returns to where Fan Xian is and they have an open conversation about his parentage.
That’s it for the plot recap. Lots and lots of interesting revelations in this episode and is a catalyst for I would say season 3 of this drama because we have many unresolved threads that are introduced here like Fan Xian and Wan’er’s fight, why the Divine temple is chasing Fan Xian and also the fight between the Emperor and the Empress.
Let’s move on now to history and culture in this episode!
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Let’s actually start with the symbolism on the pear this episode. Wan’er is devastated to hear about the truth surrounding her brother’s death. When she faces Fan Xian, she pulls out a knife and begins peeling a pear beside his sickbed. Because of her inner turmoil, the pear is peeled chaotically and unevenly. Eventually she even chops the pear into pieces. In reality, she has no desire to kill Fan Xian, but at the same time she feels she cannot simply ignore the death of Lin Gong without seeking justice for him.
Why does the drama decide to have Wan’er peel and chop a pear? Within the drama, I’m going to extrapolate and say that the pear represents Fan Xian himself.
Do you remember the young Fan Xian in Season 1? When he studied poison with Fei Jie and was poisoned himself, the fruit he ate was a pear. Later, when he poisoned Fei Jie, Fei Jie was also eating a pear. Later in Season 1, when Fan Xian returned to the capital and secretly met Fei Jie on the journey there, Fan Xian offered him pears as well. Fei Jie even joked that the pears weren’t very good and told him that next time he should pick the larger, juicier ones.
Fan Xian later travels to Northern Qi and encounters Hai Tang Duo Duo as she attempts to kill Xiao En. The two become friends. As they have a moment to chat, the two are once again eating pears. You can see that pears appear repeatedly at key turning points in Fan Xian’s story.
In Season 2, the Second Prince wants to kill Fan Xia,.At the beginning of the season, during a conversation with Fan Wu Jiu, an object appears on his table: a pear. This shot seems to symbolically hint at the prince’s desire to kill Fan Xian.
Within the two seasons, it looks as though the pear is a metaphor for Fan Xian himself.
I also think there’s another reason for specifically having Wan’Er peel and split the pear. Pears are very common in China, but there are many old cultural habits that recommend against splitting or sharing pears. The reason is that “splitting a pear” (分梨) sounds the same as “separation” (分离) in Chinese. Because of this homophonic association, many people avoid splitting a pear to share. This is considered an inauspicious symbol. The Chinese are all about togetherness or the collective so parting is not something to be celebrated.
Here, Wan’er and Fan Xian are experiencing a split or a 分离. I personally immediately caught that symbolism of choosing the pear to split. I might be reading too much into it but that’s my hypothesis.
[Cathy]
The next two topics are now related to history. The empresses finally has a serious discussion with the emperor after learning the truth of Fan Xian’s parentage. She asks for forgiveness for her previous misdeeds, saying that everything she’s done was 罄竹难书 (qìng zhú nán shū).
Here’s my translation of the idiom. Even if all the bamboo is used, it’s still not enough to complete the text. Before paper was invented, the ancient chinese wrote on bamboo strips, hence the writing on bamboo.
A version of the idiom originates from Lüshi Chunqiu 《吕氏春秋·明理》compiled around 239 BCE：“此皆乱国之所生也，不能胜数，尽荆越之竹犹不能书”。“All of these are the results of kingdoms in chaos; they are too numerous to count. Even if all the bamboo of Jing and Yue were used, it still would not be enough to record them.”
Another version of the phrase later became famous in the late Sui Dynasty, think early 7th century CE, when rebel leader Li Mi issued a proclamation condemning Emperor Yang of Sui. In the document, he listed the emperor’s crimes and wrote that even all the bamboo in the southern mountains could not record them all, nor could the waters of the East Sea wash away his sins. This declaration spread widely and strengthened Li Mi’s reputation among rebel forces.
A condensed version appears in the Old Book of Tang compiled in the 10th century CE: “罄南山之竹，书罪未穷；决东海之波，流恶难尽“ “Even if all the bamboo of Mount Zhongnan were used to write it down, his crimes would still not be exhausted; even if the waters of the East Sea were released, they would not wash away all his evil.
Basically the idiom is used to say that someone had committed crimes so numerous that they cannot be fully recorded. The empress in Joy of Life is saying that she’s committed so many crimes that they cannot be written. Well – this is just her saying that to deprecate herself and try to gain the emperor’s favor but it doesn’t work in this scene.
[Karen]
For the next piece of history, The Emperor coldly responds why doesn’t she 悬梁 (xuán liáng) or literally hang herself. 悬梁 the phrase translates to “Hanging from the Beam”. It is TYPICALLY used to refer to extreme diligence in studying per the expression “头悬梁，锥刺股”
“Hang one’s head from the beam, stab one’s thigh with an awl.”
There were a few recorded examples of this. One was during the Eastern Han dynasty where there was a scholar named 孙敬 was extremely dedicated to his studies, often pouring over his studies day and night. Eventually he began to fall asleep while reading. To prevent this, he tied his hair to a beam above him with a rope. Whenever he nodded off, the rope would pull on his hair and wake him up from the pain, allowing him to continue studying. Gradually this expression began to be used to show the dedication to studying and work.
Well, this is definitely not what the emperor requested from the Empress. Another meaning is 悬梁自尽 or to kill oneself by hanging. This is shown relatively often in Chinese dramas especially as a form of suicide from women. This is extremely harsh from the emperor and again goes to show just how cruel, heartless, and calculating he can be.
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[Cathy]
The next main difference is that at no point in the book does the 2nd Prince discover the connection between Fan Xian and Lin Gong’s death. Since he doesn’t know, he never tells Wan Er about it. In the book, I believe that Wan Er gradually deduces the truth BUT never confronts Fan Xian about it. The reason why I say hopefully is because we never really get Wan Er’s point of view on this whole situation. She stays quiet on this particular topic. Again, in the book, she’s intelligent but sort of shunted into a beautiful home wife situation. She has a loving relationship with Fan Xian. The drama really wanted to give Li Qin something to do in the drama so they brought this whole conflict to the forefront. The book sweeps it under the rug. The drama doesn’t really resolve this either. I mean…it is impossible to forgive.
Lastly, Wu Zhu does have a fierce battle with another robot from Shen Miao. However, the robot is simply wearing a cloth outfit, not looking like Wu Zhu. The book describes the battle as non-human. The drama makes it explicit that at least one of them is a robot. The robot also never reveals his laser eyes in the battle. That special privilege is only for Wu Zhu later on in the book.