Ep 6 spoilers ahead

Spoilers Ahead!
6/81


1.We open to the wedding. Liu Wai Zai is preparing for his nuptials and his friends, Lord Jing (Jing You) and Lord Cheng (Cheng Hui) arrive to celebrate with him. Chou Nou seems to be in a bit of a daze but unready to admit defeat. She attempts to make a run for it but is stopped. It should be noted that the men were specifically ordered to not injure her (I note this because some dramas make the men so unlikable they will physically hurt the woman they like, just to get what they want--this happens a lot in novels actually).

--I am curious to know how she learned martial arts. According to the internet, the ''Show of One Hundred Skills' involved training one's arms, legs, and heads so perhaps she very realistically could have extra strength because of this, and it also gives her greater dexterity and speed than the average person. They may have taken some historical license in order to make it seem like she could effortlessly incorporate martial arts but it should be noted that acrobats often used every tools, which she does. she can't really use a sword (as far as we know) but a rope (a.k.a. the whip) is something she may have been able to use.


2.Yuan'er arrives and accuses Liu of breaking the law. He takes him to the Magistrate, and Liu is confident that the law is at his disposal so he decides to go on this little trip. Yuan'er is visibly angry as he observes the rampant corruption in the bureaucracy: the magistrate is seemingly indifferent to the law, believing Liu either because he can't be bothered to hear out Father Mo, a peasant, or maybe because it is easier to simply accept the bribes of Liu. (I think he isn't deliberately evil; rather he is merely taking the easiest route). His underlings are clearly conniving and enjoy using their power to inspire fear.

3.The Magistrate decides in Liu's favor based on the testimony, not bothering to investigate if the claims of Father Mo are true, and institutes a light punishment on Yuan'er. This irritates Liu, who hopes to use his money to have him punished more harshly. In a satisfying (but predictable) scene, Yuan'er flings a scroll at the magistrate and reveals that he is the new magistrate he has been waiting on. Everyone's attitude changes and they bow. Yuan'er orders that Liu be flogged 100 times for his behavior (the translators call it spanked which detracts from the seriousness of it because it is a painful punishment) and he asks the Magistrate how he should be punished. The magistrate suggests that he and his men be flogged 30 times and lose a months pay, according to law. His underlings beseech Yuan'er to forgive them, and it is interesting because the magistrates snaps at them for daring to beg for forgiveness.

4. (this is interesting) Brother Mo pleads on behalf of the former magistrate and his people, asking Yuan'er to not punish him. Quing'er asks him why he would intervene, and he tells her to be quiet, 'what do you know?' and Yuan'er agrees, because he asked. (I think this is important because I think that Brother Mo is wise enough to know that you need to be careful how you execute punishments. Yuan'er is only considering the law. He is not considering the consequences of his actions, for instance, that he is going to make enemies. He does not know that sometimes you need to consider other factors when distributing justice).

5.Liu is carried back on a stretcher, sobbing. He releases Chou Nu but vows to get revenge. He implores his friends to assist him. Lord Jing refuses but it seems Lord Cheng will help him....

6.Yuan'er meets Chou Nu. He clearly hopes this will endear her to him but she treats him coldly (I think this is a great example of how hard it must be for her, because he has so much power over her life just by being a noble, now he is a magistrate. It is hard to be on such unequal footing with a person).

7.Elsewhere, a princess happily greets her husband who has been gone for a while (I think he is the son of Lord ) (at least I think she is his wife; they hug; he could be a sibling. He gives her a rare song from Yue, that has been missing for 300 years...

8.Meanwhile, the King of Qin meets Zhang Yi with his brother, Chu Liji. His brother is unable to understand why he is personally greeting Zhang Yi (me too, I don't get it, there is a backstory here). Zhang Yi is insolent and takes his time coming out, pretending like he did not know the king was waiting. He presents the He Shi Bi. Everyone is surprised he got it. In a meeting later, Zhang Yi tells the emperor so few people have seen the He Shi Bi that only a handful of people would know if it is real. He states that it doesn't matter if they have the real one or not; they can claim it is a fake and declare war on Chu. However, he cautions the emperor to prepare carefully, because Chue is not to be taken lightly. Luckily, Zhang Yi has a plan...(This must be why Chue is secretly readying troops; Yuan'er knew that this would happen)

9.Meanwhile, Yuan'er visits Chou Nu for dinner. She continues to treat him coldly/rudely but he does not take it personally (honestly he looks like a puppy just wanting her love). He learns more about what it means to be poor as she used precious salt in their food and they use their precious wine (he makes a point to say it is the best wine ever) but then it rains and they move their table many times to avoid the rain leaking in but cannot. He and Chou Nu go outside to put more straw on the roof. He tries to be noble and do it himself but has no idea what he is doing. Not only does she do it instead, she saves him from almost falling off the roof.

10.(Here comes a long scene where music plays and they stare at one another) As they stare into each others' eyes he slowly leans closer...she doesn't move...and then they collapse through the roof. They stare some more (grins) but Father Mo pops in to make sure they aren't dead, and the moment ends. Her guard goes back up and she reminds him that even though he saved her life it doesn't erase the things he did earlier.

11.Elsewhere, Princess Yin (from Qin) sits in a beautiful garden. She tells her attendant that the king only favors her because she is pregnant and that he does not love her. She goes for a walk and encounters one of the princes (I can't remember which one) and he is trying to get his arrow out of a tree so he does not have to give it to his brother (they lost a game). He asks her if she will help (I have no idea why she stands on a stool to get this arrow it is the height of stupidity). She agrees, and falls.

12.In the next scene the boys mother is extremely upset and scolding her son because 1)the woman could have a miscarriage and 2)she is his father's favorite concubine. She drags him off to apologize and take responsibility....

13.Elsewhere, a woman plays the zither and sings a great song. Zhang Yi is listening. He goes up to her and tells her that her skills have improved but she confesses she learned everything from him. I think he likes her. She could be his lover.There aren't enough subs, so i don't know her name.

Comments: I enjoyed this episode because it is clearly building in subplots to illustrate that while Yuan'er is a prodigy, he needs to learn a lot more if he wants to actually help people. I want to learn more about Chou Nu. I want to know why she is the way she is. I like that we are advancing the plot involving Qin and Chue, and we are getting more insight into the harem. More people were introduced. I HATED the execution of the subplot with Liu because his character is so annoying. It could be related to whoever does his dubbing, but he was so whiny and exaggerated, like a caricature. For that reason, I docked points.

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