Season 1 – Ep 39 pt1 + 40
Soooo in episode 38+39, Fan Xian helped rescue Yan Bing Yun, played by Xiao Zhan. Let’s start in the middle of episode 39 where Yan Bing Yun is upset with Fan Xian for rescuing him in exchange for Xiao En. Yan Bing YUn adamantly believes that his life is not worth this exchange and uses rather aggressive language on which idiot made this decision for this exchange. Fan Xian’s like, the Emperor made this decision and Yan Bing Yun has to shut up. Ugh really, this character is NOT my cup of tea. Fan Xian even is like, dude he needs to chill out. I totally agree. Yan Bing Yun actually pulled out a sword to threaten Fan Xian to try to kill Xiao En. How did this guy survive as a spy in the capital? That’s beyond me with his irrational tendencies.
Anyways, Fan Xian was finally able to calm him down and now it’s time to discuss next steps. Hai Tang Duo Duo gave the warning to Fan Xian that her older brother Lang Tao has arrived in the capital. When I say older brother, it means they are students of the same teacher and he is older. Lang Tao is the most powerful fighter in all of the Qi kingdom and will be a formidable foe.
This is indeed a problem because Shen Zhong is now suspicious of He Dao Ren’s allegiance. Remember, He Dao Ren is a Qi 9th ranked fighter that is a double agent for Fan Xian. He gave the excuse that there was a masked fighter that stopped him from tailing Fan Xian which gave Fan Xian the opportunity to rescue Yan BIng YUn. Shen Zhong doesn’t believe He Dao Ren becaus he doesn’t not think there is any way Fan Xian would be able to communicate with Shang Shan Hu and has invited Lang Tao as a threatening chip. If He Dao Ren did indeed betray Shen Zhong, Lang Tao as the most powerful fighter in the land, will be able to kill He Dao Ren.
Things aren’t looking great for He Dao Ren but fortunately, Fan Xian already has everything planned. The daily fighting matches that are occurring in his diplomatic residence? That’s actually how Fan Xian and Shang Shan Hu are sharing messages. One of Shang Shan Hu’s generals has arrived to participate in the fight which is the perfect way for the 2 sides to converse. This information is reported quickly back to Shen Zhong which is important because Lang Tao and He Dao Ren were about to get into a fight and He Dao Ren would’ve been killed on suspicion of betraying the Qi kingdom. But, given that Shang SHan Hu and Fan Xian are conversing separately, HE Dao Ren’s suspicions are now cleared.
Even Yan Bing Yun is impressed with Fan Xian’s tactics. Tan Wu, Shang Shan Hu’s general, appeared because Fan Xian rescued Yan Bing Yun, just in the knick of time to help resolve He Dao Ren’s suspicions. The purpose of Tan Wu’s visit? To discuss with Fan XIan how to rescue Xiao En.
Fan Xian doesn’t actually know where Xiao En is being held by Shen Zhong so he is opting to get help from the Qi kingdom Emperor. We next see Fan Xian being escorted into the palace by Hai tang Duo Duo to meet the Emperor. Once the 3 are gathered, Fan Xian agrees to help the Emperor kill Shen Zhong if the Emperor agrees to help him find Xiao En. This is a deal both parties want to make. The Emperor gets rid of Shen Zhong but before that there will likely be a bloody fight with SHang Shan Hu. Both men the EMperor cannot keep in power. Easy choice for him. The Emperor cannot publicly acknowledge this so he just walks away. That leaves Hai Tang to give Fan Xian the exact details of where XIao En is being held, evidently their deal has been struck.
So now, it’s all about rescuing Xiao En. Fan Xian directly heads to meet Shang Shan Hu and they strike a deal. They will attack the next day to rescue Xiao En. Meanwhile, Shen Zhong is quite pleased with this turn of events and calls for He Dao Ren and Lang Tao. There is a hiccup though. Yan Bing Yun points out that the account books for the business dealings between the Qi kingdom and the OVerwatch Council don’t match. Evidently there’s a huge sum of money missing and that missing amount can completely fund troops for a coup. Shen Zhong is the only person who knows who’s behind it and therefore cannot be killed. Fan Xian is quite annoyed at this because he doesn’t think he has the capability of getting this information out.
The next day, the rescue mission begins. Shang Shan Hu and his men directly attack the place where Xiao En is being held but Shen Zhong is sitting there waiting and watching. It’s a quick but intense battle. Tan Wu and Shang Shan Hu were indeed able to find Xiao En and rescue him but they are quickly overwhelmed by Shen Zhong’s men. Tan Wu and company urge Shang Shan Hu to escape while they cover his route. These men are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to give Shang Shan Hu time to get to safety. In front of Shen Zhong, they also kill themselves and burn their bodies in order for Shen Zhong to not have any direct evidence that Shang Shan Hu was here. I’m quite impressed by these men. Loyal and brave all the way to the end. Shang Shan Hu sees his men burn and can only watch. Question now though is, where is Fan Xian?
He had been hiding in the shadows watching all of this unfold. Seems like the group was able to find an exact replacement for Xiao En because a body with his exact injuries was discovered by Shen Zhong but Xiao En himself was able to escape as a dead body of killed soldiers. We see him escape from the pile of dead men and hobble away. Fan Xian directs him away from Shang Shan Hu’s residence but unfortunately, it’s not enough to save him. Lang Tao and He Dao Ren are awaiting Xiao En along the way and attack. He Dao Ren doesn’t kill him but does injure him. Lang Tao though, doesn’t hold back and adds further blows to Xiao En.
Fan Xian at the last moment appears and rescues Xiao En and the pair are forced to jump off a cliff to safety. We will leave the episode recap here.
I will close out with saying that I am overall quite impressed with the willingness to die for ones country in this episode. We saw Shang Shan Hu’s men do this but Shen Zhong was also willing to die. He went to Shang Shan Hu’s manor essentially to goad him into killing Shen Zhong. Shen Zhong knows full well that if he was killed by Shang Shan Hu, the SHang Shan Hu will also likely be killed or at least punished, which is something that the Empress Dowager wants. Shen Zhong was willing to die for this next step in the board game which is why he was rather disappointed that Shang Shan Hu didn’t attack. Interesting.
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脑回路
Lastly, when Fan Xian talks to Hai Tang Duo Duo, he talks about following his Nao Hui Lu, which Hai Tang Duo Duo has no idea what this means. 脑回路 is a new online phrase that essentially means train of thought and whether or not someone can follow it. It’s typically used in a negative way when belittling someone that you can’t follow my train of thought. However, it can be used neutrally or even in praise – like, my train of thought is different from yours or wow your train of thought is pretty unique!
Next up is the name and origin for 上杉虎, the devoted godson of Xiao En. He is most likely named after this historical figure Uesugi Kagetora, 上杉景虎. Kagetora%, who lived from ~1552 to 1579 in Japan was the son of a well known warlord and samurai Hōjō Ujiyasu. However, he was then adopted by Uesugi Kenshin, and was meant to be Kenshin’s heir. Unfortunately, when Kenshin died, there was a power struggle between his adopted sons and Kagetora ultimately failed in the power struggle and committed suicide.
Next up is 狼桃 – this is just me doing some research and finding a funny coincidence and definitely not of the author’s design. 狼桃, the older pupil of master ku he, has a name that translates directly to Wolf Peach. But in english – wolf peach has the Binomial name
Solanum lycopersicum which are simply tomatoes!
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Book
Lastly, let’s discuss book differences!
The book provides some more history on the Qi Kingdom royal family. A few decades ago, the Qing Kingdom mounted 3 northern campaigns in an effort to unify the land. At that time, the northern kingdom was 北魏. The Qing Kingdom ultimately failed and during that time the Zhan family of the previous Northern Wei kingdom rose to prominence and seized power, establishing the now Qi Kingdom. 12 years ago, the Emperor of the Qi kingdom died, leaving the now widowed Empress Dowager and the very young Emperor. The only person standing to protect them was Ku He. Chen Ping Ping tried his best to send spies to convert the Qi aristocracy to rebel but they were all held at bay by Ku He. That’s why Ku He has such an elevated position in the Qi Kingdom but also, how the kingdom has survived these past years. In the book, Fan Xian explicitly says that he trusts Yan Bing Yun. Book Yan Bing Yun also doesn’t openly subvert Fan Xian as he does in the drama. Book Fan Xian also meets Si Li Li again but nothing really happens. In the book, there also isn’t the martial arts competition that is set up so that Shang Shan Hu’s men can send messages to Fan Xian. Fan Xian DOES interact with Shang Shan Hu but they’re not too worried about Shen Zhong as it is in the drama. As for He Dao Ren and Lang Tao, they only make their first appearance when trying to capture Xiao En after Xiao En escaped.