The Empress of China Episode 20

episode 20 spoilers ahead

In keeping with tradition, here is a list of the dearly departed, gone too soon...:
(more to come when we hit the 30 milestone)

-Prince Qi 'You'er' Son of Virtuous Consort Yin (murdered by his Uncle, Honorable Yin)
-The Honorable Yin (suicide/throat slit; brother of Virtuous Consort Yin)
-Virtuous Consort Yin (suicide, drowning)
-Zheng Gong Gong (loyal Yin servant, executed for treason)
-Prince Q's teacher/Governor of Quizhou (murdered by Honorable Yin/betrayed)
-Most of the Quizhou army (killed by Imperial troops for treason/rebelling)
-Zheng Wanyan's father (assassinated for almost derailing the rebellion, learned Consort Yin killed his daughter right before he died...)
-Hao Gong Gong of the Imperial Kitchens (betrayed Prince Qi in order to gain brownie points with the Crown Prince, who he tried to persuade to kill the emperor....killed by Crown Prince)
-Yuling (planted by Consort Yang to spy on Consort Wei, was caught and never seen again, presumed dead)
-Li Chunfeng (Taoist/astronomer)(suffocated after eating crab meat due to allergy/death arranged by Consort Wei)
-Shizicong (horse, gifted to Menieng, killed by Meniang in order to save Prince Jin's life)

Important New characters:
-General Hou, loyal to Crown Prince, dislikes courtiers

Milestones:
-Ru Yi's name is changed to Wu Menieng by the emperor
-Menieng consummates with the emperor (episode 15)
-Wu Menieng is predicted to be a calamity, and will one day usurp the Tang dynasty hence everyone wants her dead

1.Crown Prince considers visiting Chancellor Wei with his problems but chooses not to. Elsewhere, Prince Wei refuses to kill Meniang as Consort Wei demands because he thinks the timing is wrong: the emperor's feelings towards her are unclear and none of the courtiers have tried to kill her in three months.

2.Later, a drunk Crown Prince returns and his tutor is waiting. He has a candid talk with him. He asks him how he perceives him, and Crown Prince explains that he sees him as a man so honest and wise that even his father would not execute him for his comments. Tutor shares that this was not always the case. That after the emperor seized power, he was very angry since he served Yuang, and tried many times to provoke the emperor into killing him. He not only failed, but the emperor seriously considered what he had to say. In time, he developed the reputation he currently enjoys. Tutor says he always regretted that he failed to protect the prince he was serving and does not want to fail again. He also says he sees a repeat of what happened at Xuanwu Gate: the crown prince is disgraced and lacks the power to fight Prince Wei, who is smart and a great schemer. But the Crown prince is more virtuous, his loyalty has been proven, and he believes Prince Wei is too caught up in scheming. He thinks Crown Prince is a better choice, and he believes he should disobey the Emperor's orders and....save Consort Miniang (!)

3.Elsewhere, the Emperor plans to dump Meniang, completely. He tells Li Xiao that he will pick her up, take her to an inn where enough money is for her to leave Chang'an and have a new life. (What a nice guy...that was sarcasm....also, isn't this completely unheard of for this time period? To send off someone you love? Emperors took their concubines to the grave with them!)

4.We go to the hunt, and Prince Wu and Wei are there. As is Li Zhi, Prince of jin, and he is al grown up and looking extremely good. (it is kind of weird because she is like a step mom and yet we know she is going to marry him someday...). The game begins, and it is actually like paint ball. They shot arrows, the head removed, and a paint mark appears on the armored people they are 'hunting'. The only thing I do not understand is why a woman is here, partaking in a sport clearly designed for men. I guess it is the only way the emperor can 'dump' her?

5.Meniang gets separated from the other. Men attack her, and Prince Wu disposes of them but no one but Meniang is there to see it (recall that Consort Yang had a plant that he would save her...). Li Xiao turns traitor, tries to kill her, actually puts an arrow in her, but the emperor' arrow stops him, as does crown prince. Crown prince is thanked by the emperor, Li Zhi watches all of this go down in the woods (like a guy secretly watching the love of his life be with another man....because that's what it looks like) and Li Xiao kills himself before he can tell who ordered him here.

6.Back in Chang'an, Meniang awakens and seeks out the emperor. He is standing on the walls edge, and it almost looks like he is contemplating suicide. She appears, and we learn that as a kid he used to play up on the wall and is used to it (!). Meniang echoes my thoughts: what kind of game is that? She joins him, and essentially confronts him, asking if he sent the assassin. The emperor denies it. She then accuses him of believing in the calamity prophecy (which he does not deny). She prepares to jump but he stops her, calling her crazy.

7.We also learn that General Hou is successful in his crushing of the rebellion and is returning. The emperor is notified that Xiao Q is pregnant (Meniang doesn't seem to care and congratulates him). He visits her, and we learn that she has kept it hidden for four months, since the night he visited her, and hid it because she foolishly believed the harem rumor that you keep such things secret. The doctor tells the emperor that she must not have any excitement because she is in danger of losing the baby (B.S! I beat she isn't pregnant and they plan to fake a miscarriage to implicate Wu. Just wait!)

8.Xu Hui visits Meniang and they drink together. Xu Hui admits she has been avoiding her because she was jealous, and Meniang is happy she has returned to her side. Xu hui asks her if she has ever been in love before, and she says once, when she was a little girl (we're talking like 8) she gave a man named Li Mu her jade pendant and wanted to marry him (this seems like it will bite her later). She shares that she does not regret falling in love with the emperor but believes he might believe in the prophecy, which essentially fills her with fear....

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