Okay, I had thought it would be her making a comment that he had changed her clothes and she had to make it even. Still sounds like it was fitting their flirting style. Thanks!
Their repartee really highlights how they are intellectually matched for each other. They both truly pull out the daylily in each other. They can both play "the game" when there is danger, but when there isn't they truly just want to play.
So, right from the get-go Story demands that Xiao Duo is nobility/royalty/aristocracy. He is a eunuch. Yinlou…
I will not lie, I had to watch Episodes 15 and 16 twice. Once for the squealing in registers only dogs can hear and kicking my legs like the happiest little girl on the planet with my very own Xiao Duo teddy bear I can cuddle with and once for my analytic brain. I really needed to indulge in the squealing that day, it just was not possible to pay attention to detail on one watch with those 2 episodes.
2. Cao Chunang’s response to Xiao Duo saying Yinlou can put Denghuo anywhere she wants: “Oh” (Episode 16)
3. Tongyun and Cao Chunang barking at each other, so as to be the first one to speak after Bu Yinlou declares “I am going to make a solemn vow. If I ever see him again, the one who speaks first is a dog!” (Episode 8)
4. Yinlou: “That’s my chicken!”, Cao Chunang: “Do you have something against chickens?”, Qilang: “Her Highness is fighting a chicken?” (Episode 19, 18)
5. “I may have drank a little, but I’m not stupid.” (Episode 5)
6. “The banquet is ready. But the chef is unsure about desserts. Do you like salty or sweet ones?” “I like expensive ones.” (Episode 10)
7. Xiao Duo’s trying to pay attention and follow Bu Yinlou’s dish orders at the restaurant, so he knows what she likes and being completely baffled, “What bean? What chicken?” (Episode 16)
8. Xiao Duo as he is being dragged away by Bu Yinlou to go shopping at the Temple Festival. First the ‘Leave it. It’s fine,’ hand gesture to Cao Chuang, then the ‘Help me’ face backwards. (Episode 18)
9. Xiao Duo’s challenge face after Bu Yinlou issues her ‘solemn oath’ about speaking first. (Episode 8)
10. Xiao Duo: “What will you do if I push you too hard?” - I am woman. Hear me cry. (Episode 4)
11. Yinlou dreaming about kissing Xiao Duo and getting straw stuck in her mouth. (Episode 15)
12. Cao Chunang and Qilang eating ‘popcorn’ while watching a prisoner being tortured. (Episode 1)
13. Yinlou: “What? Are you surprised that I’m favored?” Tongyun: “Extremely surprised.” (Episode 6)
14. Random eunuch reporting to Eunuch Liu: “There is laughter in the Nether Palace. And I keep hearing “Greetings” and “Long Live”. It’s strange. I’m the one who has gotten scared and screamed a few times.” (Episode 7)
15. Bu Yinlou telling Xiao Duo he isn’t well-liked to his face. (Episode 9)
16. “He doesn’t look like a good guy, right? He doesn’t look trustworthy at all. What a coincidence, I think so too.” - Yinlou to Prince Rong (Episode 3)
17. “Go all out. If you break anything, I’ll put it on the bill.” Meng Jieyu serenely playing the guqin as WanWan chases Prince Liangxu around her porch, kicking him and knocking over furniture and decor (Episode 12)
18. Xiao Duo: “Let her go. Leave her alone…what are you waiting for? Go and take a look!” (Episode 11)
19. Xiao Duo using the Zhaoding Bureau's manpower and resources because of Yinlou: To ban prostitution (Episode 11), to buy dinner (Episode 16) and to study how to woo women manuals (Episode 7)
20. “I don’t know if he’s stupid, but I really want to read the novel they are talking about.” (Episode 11) Is utterly hilarious, because the novel they are discussing, The Attic’s Secret is a plot drop. She doesn’t need to read it. She is living it.
21. “I didn’t want to. I just can’t control my legs.” (Episode 15)
22. “Stop talking. I get a headache when I hear you talking.” - Yinlou to Prince Liangxu (Episode 11)
23. “Auhhh. Auhhhh.”- Cao Chunang imitating Yinlou when she is stumbling over her words trying to ask Xiao Duo for help setting up a date for Princess Hede and Prince Liangxu. (Episode 12)
24. This poor man will never get to drink his tea.
25. “You didn’t even scream, though it hurt, so I screamed for you.” (Episode 15)
26. “Do you even know how to fish?” “No.” “Then why are you acting like you do?” “I’m not, I just look like I do.” (Episode 15)
27. Xiao Duo thanking Yinlou for making him soup. (Episode 15)
28. Yinlou being unable to wreck Xiao Duo’s room, because she decorated the whole thing. (Episode 17)
29. Yinlou meticulously planning the wedding of Bu Yin’ge and then winning the dowry off her through gambling. I mean she basically did all the parts of a wedding already. Might as well, you know - get married in secret, right? (Episode 17)
30. Yinlou’s angry shopping. (Don’t even get me started on the lyrics of the opera being performed in the background as she is getting drunk - “It was my wishful thinking. I waited for you day and night, but your heart is as steel, as iron. You have let me down, like a poison that takes my life.) (Episode 18)
25 Criminally Underrated Xiao Duo and Bu Yinlou Moments (Half-time Round Up) [Vote for your Favorites]
Vote for your favorites. Mine are: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 18, 22
1. Yinlou gravitates instantly to Xiao Duo’s side (his *cough* right-hand side *cough*) while Princess Hede is berating Prince Liangxu in all his cross-dressing glory. They look like they have stood like that 100 times and end up leaning into each other and having a side whisper conversation. “No one dares to punish you here.” (Episode 10)
2. Yinlou and Xiao Duo’s repartee as she teases him about the clothes he is wearing that day as they walk through the forest. (Episode 9)
3. Yinlou laughing at the story Xiao Duo is reenacting for her as they sit on docks at Dream Cloud Pavilion, finally just sinking into being with each other. The combination of the casual intimacy and that this is a moment that belongs to the characters and that we as an audience will never truly have access to it is just beau idéal. (Episode 16)
4. She stops biting him, because she recognizes the sound of his voice. (Episode 5)
5. Xiao Duo has stopped eating cherries. Maybe, because there hasn’t been bitterness in his life recently?
6. In order for Xiao Duo to slip her the madiao card as a clue, he has to have had the card on him. Which means he walks around carrying her card with him. (Episode 9) We see this again in Episode 13, he has placed them on his desk and later on the tea table in his bedroom. He just instinctively carries them with him to the different rooms of the house he is in throughout the day.
7. The forged papers to get into Jinguan City “A merchant Bu Fang Jiang and his wife”. He uses her last name and the nick-name she gave him as his forged identity! (Episode 16)
8. Xiao Duo names the house they live in at Dream Cloud Pavilion“Doing as One Pleases,” because Yinlou told him she wants to be a free person. (Episode 16, 8)
9. “Who is Eunuch Liu. It’s okay if you hit him. What? Did you not hit him hard enough? Do you want me to hit him again on your behalf?” (Episode 8)
10. It’s ugly. It’s cute. It’s ugly. It’s cute. It’s ugly. It’s cute. They are adorable.
11. Xiao Duo protecting the kite he made Yinlou from the rain. (Episode 8)
12. Xiao Duo makes a goldfish kite for Yinlou and buys her a goldfish lantern, because her mother regards fish as gods who bring good fortune and transform calamity (he listened to her) (Episode 7, 12, 5)
13. Bu Yinlou calling Xiao Duo Eunuch Ba’s father in Episode 16 and them informing Eunuch Ba he will be “a dog without a father from now on.” (Episode 18)
14. Bu Yinlou is not offended, disgusted, angry or insulted by Xiao Duo’s misinterpretation of her command to “Take it off”. She isn’t stupid, she didn’t misunderstand his misunderstanding and there are a lot of reactions she could have had to that. She was just agitated because she was on a mission and that mission was: Boots! (Episode 17)
15. “That’s my money you were throwing around…I meant if you don’t like it, feel free to throw it away. Don’t worry about me.” (Episode 8)
16. She is going to cook him noodles in the morning. (Episode 16)
17. Before he tries on his shiny new boots, Xiao Duo puts Denghuo on the bonsai. (Episode 17)
18. When the Emperor orders that eunuchs at the mausoleum that were fighting with Yinlou to be flogged (in front of her) Xiao Duo charges forward to where she is huddled on the floor (she hasn’t been given permission to rise from her bow) and before he helps her up he puts Denghuo’s scabbard in front of her face (because for goodness sake if you are surrounded by people getting flogged and can’t see anything and someone touches you to pull you up and you don’t know they are a “safe” person that would freak you out). (Episode 9)
19. Yinluo read up on his sword when she was guarding the monastery. (Episode 15, 6-9)
20. During the scene where Yinlou is drunk and telling Xiao Duo about her childhood and her Father coming to to pick up her and her mother and how she wants to be free, she takes Xiao Duo’s hands and they end up holding hands for several minutes (toward the middle of the scene) Blink and you miss it. (Episode 8)
21. Bu Yinlou and Tongyun are talking about the luxury of not having to walk and being carried into the house on a sedan. Did they miss the marriage symbolism? Subtle Xiao Duo, real subtle! (Episode 10)
22. “Chief Xiao, where are you going in such a hurry?” “Home.” (Episode 10) “When will you come back?” “With you waiting for me at home, I’ll come back as soon as I can.” (Episode 20)
23. Xiao Duo is prepared to pull any trick he can to keep Yinlou from going back to the palace, because she said he wasn’t a man of his word in Episode 11. (Episode 13)
24. Yinlou winks at Xiao Duo. (Episode 14)
25. Xiao Duo initially nods in agreement when Yinlou asks him if he thinks she is beautiful, before realizing he shouldn’t. (Episode 15)
The thing about this show that is so frustrating is the juxtaposition of momentum. On the one hand each episode provides a plethora of things presented that galvanize lateral momentum and affords me the opportunity to slip-stream up and down the row of episodes stitching together jigsaw pieces, which is quite frankly fun. But that now seems to be in such sharp contrast to the raging impotence of forward momentum. The formula they are abiding by seems to manifest in diminishing returns.
The thing I was enjoying about this show was the gestalt. It has a nice balance of the machinations of court politics and GoT escapades, a nicely paced escalation of romance, intimacy and anticipation, some fairly unique humor that keeps surprising me and making me truly laugh and it has even folded in some darker explorations of both history and latent inclinations and how they might be slowly massaged from a person. All carried out by characters that are neither recycled nor redundant. While it is not the best show (I am not going to give it an A, B+?), it does what it does and carries what it carries extremely well (which to be honest is something several A shows don’t even manage).
So, why has the writer seemed to have aborted the micro-pacing needed to carry the audience from episode to episode in order to enjoy the deeper meanings and larger picture? So many people like to criticize comedic elements and romantic pacing as filler or fluff, but the truth is they are the grease that keeps the wheels turning (and if we are honest with ourselves, why we actually watch, while convincing ourselves it is for the larger framework. Without the wider dimensions fleshed out through humor, it doesn’t matter how pretty a worldscape you have shaped is, and without the romance you have no human investment in the politics at play.)
If I am swimming in a puddle of plot and not being moved forward by a current, I won’t stay for the gem you have crafted. It wasn’t that the pacing was off, it was that there actually seemed to be no pacing. A bunch of scenes vomited out and it genuinely did not seem to matter in which order they were presented to me.
You also need to keep some sort of coherence between plot and Story.
The scenes of reconciliation hit me appropriately, because Story had not reached this point yet and so I was vested emotionally in the fruition of these scenes.
The scenes of Xiao Duo’s confession and backstory fell flat, through no fault of the actors who delivered a consistent calibre of acting across the various scenarios, and used all the appropriate body language, inflections and micro-expressions they should have for the tone required in those scenes. It is simply that those scenes shouldn’t have existed.
The plot required Xiao Duo to reveal his secrets to Yinlou (or her to reveal that she knew them, honestly doesn’t matter), but Story had already advanced beyond this point. I had no emotional resonance with these scenes. The emotions of myself (the audience) discovering aforementioned secrets had already been experienced. The emotions of Yinlou having already discovered them had been experienced. At this point their inclusion should have been handled either with a slice-of-life humor scene or a negative space confession (think the 2 of them having that conversation on the docks that Tongyun and Cao Chunang witnessed in Episode 16)
Contrawise, the scene of Yinlou learning Xiao Duo is not a eunuch felt…abortive? Almost, like when your favorite song comes on the radio and you turn up the volume. Except something was wrong with the control knob and I couldn’t turn the music up.
The acting here was exquisite. Xiao Duo has always struck the balance between being aggressive enough that Yinlou feels pursued, while holding space for her to declare the boundaries. Yinlou’s combination of anticipatory breathing, innocent trust, shock, and deliberation about implications was spot on. The choice of the director to use a bath to highlight the vulnerability of the moment, fantastic. And yet it didn’t hit the crescendo I needed.
Was there originally more to this scene? Did they change the dialogue in post? Xiao Duo is saying words, but his mouth isn’t moving. (Was this supposed to be one of their wordless conversations, because it wasn't as evident as the previous ones?) Why did we not get a response from Yinlou after her processing? That is so far outside the realm of her character, to the degree that it actually pulled me out of the Story. This is honestly THE scene of the show - maybe not from narrative perspective, but certainly from emotional investment. More important than the wedding, than identity reveals, than love confessions, than secrets, than the inevitable quasi-betrayals to come and it looks like everyone involved understood this and gave it their all - except post? What in the Gorgon’s gaze?
(Side note: Is he in the bath [clothed] with her? He must have been lowering her in. Thank you, Mr. Director!)
What happened here? I have always attributed Story to the collective, pacing to the writer, tone to actors, execution to the director. Looking back I now realize about 80% of my frustration with the writing in this show is actually frustration with the editing. I can tell you I now have a profound appreciation for the impact of editing and am grateful to this show for showing me how synergistic these layers are. I also want to stab someone in the eye with a salty french fry.
Xiao Duo’s Ring, Fish Immortal Necklace and the King of Nanyuan (EXTREMELY Long)
So, right from the get-go Story demands that Xiao Duo is nobility/royalty/aristocracy. He is a eunuch. Yinlou needs to choose him despite this. Her reward is that he is not a eunuch. Aka She can have children with him. And the best way to make that reward the most rewardyiest is what children she has with him. Aka royal children.
So, I am not certain if Ah Duo and Xiao Duo (Yes, I know these are not their names and I understand the naming conventions, but this is what I am going to call them) are twins. If they are awesome - the child actors look it, there is a plot drop that they are and it fits the GoT/soap opera vibe. If they are not, then Xiao Duo is the older brother, they are half-brothers and do not share the same surname. Which is fun when you realize Xiao Duo’s name might not be Xiao Charlie or Xiao Peter or Xiao Charming, but we potentially know neither his first name nor his family name.
So, Ah Duo got murdered. But honestly in the dynastic GoT world that this show is set in, statistically he was not the target, but rather Xiao Duo. To me it feels like a super obvious audience misdirect to simply have accidentally killed the wrong brother. So, the assassins were not targeting Ah Duo, but Xiao Duo. So, the assassins think Xiao Duo is dead and Ah Duo is alive. The smart move here is to let them keep thinking that. And the way you do that is taking over the vacuum identity of your brother (Ah Duo’s) life to fulfill the assassination and buy yourself safety and time - which happens to include impersonating an eunuch.
“You survived not just through luck, but by judging the situation and being able to compromise and endure the pain an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to bear. If that’s the case, than how can you be an ordinary person?” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu in Episode 2
Why are they targeting Xiao Duo and not Ah Duo? If they are full brothers, it is because Ah Duo is no longer a threat. Being made a eunuch is actually a kind conquer move (eliminates competition through the continuation of the line, while not murdering the person). If they are half-brothers it is because Xiao Duo is royalty and Ah Duo is not. Same mother, different father. Xiao Duo’s father being the Old Emperor (the one before the one that died in Episode 1)
This brings us to Xiao Duo’s gun. I mean Chekhov’s ring. I mean…
The first time I saw the ring it reminded me of a fidget ring, with the dark green being the spinner. To me it is a rather obvious overlay. Overlay over what? Xiao Duo’s jade. We know it isn’t Ah Duo’s jade, because we see his jade is still intact (we see it being laid out when Xiao Duo lights incense). Xiao Duo needs to hide his jade (his identity), but also have it readily available for when the time comes to reveal. (Yinlou: “What’s wrong? Every time there’s a problem, you will touch your ring.” Episode 15) The fact that he put his seal on it is a brilliant, on-the-nose, hidden-in-plain-sight move.
This is actually an interesting segue-way into a combination of their secret identities, that is what each of them knows of the other’s respective identities. In this case, how much Xiao Duo knows of Bu Yinlou’s identity: We see that he has looked into her general background à la the conversation they have in the carriage in Episode 8. We also see he has been shifting pieces of information about her around in the background of his brain, when in Episode 13, he rattles off facts about her not receiving letters from her mother, that the dowry list did not include a contribution from her mother and that her mother is absent from each of the family residences.
In Episode 2, we see Xiao Duo playing with/inspecting/mulling over her hairpin. He seems to recognize the hairpin and spends the evening looking at it. Almost like he recognizes it in spirit. I got very Dumbledore innately understanding Nagini because of Fawkes vibes here.
He understands that the hairpin is a secret jade, because he has a secret jade. And in some extremely non-subtle stage direction, he is holding the hairpin in the same hand he wears his ring on, which effectively puts the two side by side.
Continuing down the path of things Xiao Duo knows about Yinlou, they include the Fish Immortal necklace (her mother’s jade) - which was literally her first interaction with him (dropping the necklace for him to catch, while she was being hung) He has also interacted with it many times since then - when she prayered for the pear tree and when she put his seal on it.
He knows her mother’s true family name (Zhuo) à la Yinlou’s nickname. He knows her mother’s falsified family name (Chen) à la visiting her grave and just checking into her background. He knows she was bullied by other children because her mother was becoming a concubine (circle back to that). He knows her cousin is an indentured servant (circle back). He knows that Prince Fu is rather fixated on her. “I’m afraid Prince Fu’s feelings for her are true. Otherwise, why would a grounded Imperial Disciple go through all this trouble to save a mere Lady.” (Episode 2)
He knows a heck of a lot about her and if he hasn’t figured it out yet, it is because he is too busy falling in love with her. Although adrenaline does seem to help his brain move those pieces into place (Episode 13).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, who is Xiao Duo’s mother?
The third option (I cut my thought-process on eliminating the other two because this thing is long) we have is Consort Jing. The plot drop of the novel Attic’s Secret reconfirms that Xiao Duo replaced his “twin” brother and came back to life. The book also says that their mother’s best friend (aka Madam Chen) had an affair with Madam Xiu’s (Consort Jing’s) husband (Emperor’s and Prince Fu’s father, the previous Emperor). This is backed up when Cao Chunang reminds Xiao Duo of a Trojan Horse assassination from someone who was playing dumb and acting like a friend that happened in his residence before (Episode 10). And in Episode 2 when Xiao Duo points out that Consort Jing was framed and died tragically.
(The Attic’s Secret plot also foreshadows Yinlou being murdered by her husband [Emperor Fu] and her best friend [liberal interpretation here gives us 2 contenders: Bu Yin’ge and Beauty Li]. It also potentially foreshadows the murder of Cao Chunang. Let’s hope both of those are near-misses.)
This also makes sense as to why Xiao Duo singled Princess Hede out to show her the ropes on how to navigate court and earn Empress Rong’an’s favor, why he is constantly gifting her with books, why they have developed the closest thing we have seen to him having a friendship. She even has his token! Blink and you miss it, it is mentioned in Episode 9. He is just trying to take care of his little sister. (Given their age difference and the fact that they grew up in separate households, it 100% makes sense she doesn’t remember him or even that they potentially never met).
Over time they have formed an affection and loyalty and trust in each other that clearly transcends mere allies and is more indicative of a friendship. He has no problem confiding in her or asking her for favors. She has no problem lending him additional help in his missions, no questions asked and colluding with him (she recommends he use her as a decoy to return a false Jade to the Prince). She asks him if he wants to hang out. They ride in the same carriage. He comes immediately when her maid asks him to, even choosing her request over Yinlou’s distress. The question is why did Xiao Duo initiate such a relationship 3 years ago, when she came to the palace? Him being her brother makes sense.
It also affords deeper meaning to his “What the heck?” face when Yinlou says there is something between him and Princess Hede in order to antagonize Prince Liangxu. As well as his subsequent resistance to helping him woo her.
This unfortunately also means something that your brain connected half-way through the above paragraph and that is that he is Prince Fu’s full brother as well.
~~~~~~~~~
In Episode 10 when Cao Chunang is explaining who Prince Yuwen is to Bu Yinlou, he describes his older brother as Xiao Duo’s “rival”. This is a very significant choice of words, because rival implies 2 things. First, an equality or near equality. And second, a particular type of intimacy. But the significant part is that that intimacy is two-way, not one-way. Else, you would use the word “goal”, “opponent”, “enemy”.
And the fact that this intense emotional contention is two-way is intriguing. We understand what Xiao Duo’s problem with the King is (that he allegedly killed Ah Duo). But, what is the King’s beef with Xiao Duo?
“I don’t know what he’s doing at all.” Xiao Duo confesses to Yinlou (Episode 15)
An exceedingly strong redemptive arc has been built for West Shu, as well as three powerful symbols in play. The first, the relationship between Princess Hede and Prince Liangxu. This is a literal union of the two lands. The second, the friendship between Yinlou and Prince Liangxu, with the red herring?/heavy-handed hints as they call each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister’. But the most potent symbol is the fact that Princess Hede is currently carrying both the token of Xiao Duo and the jade of Prince Liangxu. This suggests an alignment specifically between Xiao Duo and the “power and authority” of Western Shu - which is King Liangshi, not Prince Liangxu.
But how could there be an alliance between King Liangshi and Xiao Duo?
This must mean their rivalry is dissolved. How would that happen? Well, it must have been fabricated. Okay, so they each are operating under false assumptions.
Xiao Duo targets the King because he has been led to believe that he is responsible for Ah Duo’s death. But why is the King so adamant in his targeting of Xiao Duo?
Something noticeable about West Shu is that despite being feared for their military power we have not seen them attack (not saying they haven’t in the past during the rebellion). They just maintain a vast spy network with multiple nests and strongholds. It is almost like they are looking for something or *cough* someone *cough*. You might notice that the King of Nanyuan’s house is named “Waiting for the Right Time”. You might also notice that he has an indentured servant specifically for the purpose of playing guqin music.
It is notable that the King takes Bu Yin’ge as his Concubine, not his wife and until she started throwing a temper tantrum he was spending the night of his wedding alone, ruminating while staring at and stroking his ring. Oh, you mean the one for his intended, that he has spent years looking for and that this is not the wedding night he imagined?
Oh you mean Meng Jieyu, who has been waiting for years for the man she loves who went off to battle to find her and is a proficient guqin player? It certainly isn’t going to hurt Xiao Duo’s alliance with the King that he knows where his love is or that his love holds a soft spot for Xiao Duo because she saw how respectful and infatuated he was with Yinlou.
So, for years Xiao Duo believed the King of Nanyuan had killed his brother and the King of Nanyuan believed that Xiao Duo was holding Meng Jieyu captive somewhere.
(And if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, each of them is going to find the other’s motivation extremely accessible and feel an innate understanding of each other. “The Yuwen brothers' parents passed away when they were very young. They depended on each other and are very close.” (Episode 6) And Xiao Duo will understand being willing to do anything for the woman he loves. The parallelisms between them will make the alliance and trust between them even stronger.)
Someone set up this misunderstanding between them and fed them each false information years ago. *cough* “The Prince of Nanyuan could never trust Xiao Duo.” - Emperor Fu (Episode 13)
Did I mention how much this guy plays the long game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, if the King did not murder Ah Duo, who did?
The fall-back red herring is of course going to be Empress Rong’an. This stems from the possibility that the people who murdered Ah Duo, were actually trying to murder Ah Duo (not mistaking him for Xiao Duo). Empress Rong’an has “done everything for” Ah Duo and clearly covets him. She would not have taken kindly to being rejected by the shiny toy she wanted in favor of a maid (Qiu Yuebai). Qilang says that Qiu Yuebai “offended a matron in the palace and was kicked out”. To this end, it is noticeable that Empress Rong’an does not hear the speech Qiu Yuebai gives to Xiao Duo’s steward, so is she recognizing Qiu Yuebai herself?
Honestly, this is a misdirect though. Again going back to trusting story and narration I believe the assassins were targeting Xiao Duo and not Ah Duo, which means the murderer was actually trying to eliminate a chess piece. And that is going to be the Emperor/Prince Fu.
I have NOT been okay with this guy since Episode 2 when he tried to dodge the bullet of helping out Prince Rong, because he was ‘scared’. He knew that the King of Nanyuan being Regent was a weak solution that was temporally finite and would eventually unravel to his benefit. A moment later Xiao Duo points out that there were 17 contenders for the throne of equal rank to Prince Fu and they have ALL died. Nope. Nope. Nope. This guy is in the long game. He is in the emotional manipulation game. And he is in the ‘to the victor goes the spoils’ game. It is why I have never once trusted his interest in Yinlou.
He confirms this later on when he says “When two giants fight, one will be injured. No matter who dies and who is injured I will be the one who benefits.” (Episode 13)
~~~~~~
So, how do we know that Xiao Duo is one of the 17 “dead” princes?
In Episode 5 Cao Chunang points out to Xiao Duo that no matter what Empress Rong’an is up to by targeting Prince Fu (which Qilang appropriately reacts to) as long as the Prince of Nanyuan dies she will not get her way (having the King be Regent with her over the child she maids found studying the family tree). This means she can kill or invalidate Prince Fu (the last male claim to the Emperor) and the Great Ye, the Murong family will be fine. This means there must be another male claimant somewhere.
In Episode 1, during his big scary speech when he gets to the line “Do you think I am not qualified?” the camera focuses in and literally shows nothing but his hand and his ring. Again, a brilliant hidden-in-plain-sight move as the audience thinks the seal is being referenced and not the camouflage jade within it revealing his status as one of the Princes (and ultimately the Emperor).
In Episode 8, Yinlou is talking about her madiao card “It doesn’t stand a chance when put up against you kings and generals.” She is obviously speaking of him metaphorically (people with extreme power), but the comment causes him to pause for a second and slide his eyes sideways to look at her.
He tells Yinlou when they are leaving Mingding tower (Episode 16) “After I get rid of the Prince of Nanyuan, I will ensure your cousin regains his freedom.” For all of Xiao Duo’s influence and ability to manipulate things - for him to guarantee something is a bold statement. And what he promised can only be guaranteed by two titles (The Emperor and the King of Nanyuan). This statement stuck out significantly, particularly since immediately preceding it Liang Cheng says his “indenture is in the Prince’s hands. No one can help me.” (Except, you know, maybe the Emperor?)
The fight scene on the ship (Episode 15) is also particularly significant. We see Xiao Duo dispatch Cao Chunang to stop assisting/protecting him and aid/protect Yinlou. I can’t quite explain it, but there's something about their body language. It is almost like he is officially conferring a status to her.
If you notice after this Cao Chunang, who has spent multiple episodes attempting to dissuade Xiao Duo from focusing on Yinlou, to refocus on his mission and literally earlier that day to let go of his feelings for her and not act on them, now actively encourages Xiao Duo to consider her in his overall plans. Heck, he even kneels before her in Episode 18.
This moment is extremely significant. Before Xiao Duo has shown extreme favor to her and offered protection to her both officially in his known identity, position and title and personally in his unknown identity. This is the first time he officially, not personally declares a status, claim and duty on her using his unknown identity, title and position.
When entourage finds Xiao Duo and Yinlou at the fishing hut, Qilang is briefly confused by the the advice Cao Chunang is offering to Xiao Duo, concerning taking Yinlou into consideration as part of his arrangements in case he dies, as he was not aware of this alteration of official conferred status or that he has officially taken her under his protection.
In Episode 2 we see Xiao Duo lecture Prince Fu “You can’t protect yourself, much less those you love. Only when you have the power can you talk about everlasting love.” He is manipulating Prince Fu to step up and take action, but we can see the theme of these words have been weighing on him throughout Episodes 17 and 18.
Other call-out quotes include:
•“You are the Emperor. Even though you have been silent and without desires.” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu (Episode 2) •“With your appearance and your bearing, if you were an ordinary man you’d be a perfect match for the royal family. You’d be a perfect match with Princess. But you became a eunuch by accident.” - Yinlou to Xiao Duo (Episode 10) •“If you just do nothing, one day you and the entire Murong family will be eradicated completely.” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu (Episode 2)
~~~~~~~~~~~
Who the heck is Yinlou?
We know she grew up in West Shu (she says it is her mother’s hometown in the pear tree scene), until she was 12 (Xiao Duo says this in the carriage ride after they visit the old Bu residence). Specifically, she grew up in Jinguan City (Episode 16) and most likely took the same route to along the river she did with Xiao Duo to arrive at the Bu residence (Episode 8 drunken ramblings).
Yinlou tells Xiao Duo when she is drunk, that the other children bullied her because her mother was becoming a concubine.
I find this statistically odd. It takes a very particular type of family with a very narrow and specific status for them to look down on someone for being a concubine. Which pretty much limits her to one status (royalty).
The other possibility of course is that she is from a territory/family that does not acknowledge the wife-concubine system and practices monogamy. Each of these possibilities are further reinforced by the fact that Yinlou seems to find the family dynamics and customs of calling her birth mother ‘aunt’ and her father’s wife ‘mother’ to be unnatural, foreign and disrespectful to her birth mother. Also, her mother’s speech in Episode 16 about finding the man who is the only one for her AND she is the only one for him absolutely reeks of monogamy. (This speech is also born of the fact that the fact that the two men in her life were love mistakes on her end [it seems the first was a loveless arranged marriage and the second an affair that manipulated her] and she wants her daughter to find a man that is equally devoted to her as she is to him)
(Next 14 paragraphs pulled/minorly adapted from previous posts, you can skip down if you have read them before)
Yinlou’s father went through an exceeding amount of effort to claim a woman he didn’t like (who was not yet his concubine and society would not have cared if he abandoned) and to claim an illegitimate daughter. Illegitimate daughter. Illegitimate daughter. We have had this fact thrown in our faces over and over.
Why the heck would he claim an illegitimate daughter? Not the daughter born of a concubine. An illegitimate daughter. Not even an illegitimate son, which would make sense to carry on the family name, as he only had a daughter. An illegitimate daughter. You only do that if you truly love the mother (which he clearly didn’t) or if there is a clear benefit to doing so.
Like being members of a dynastic line that once brought prestige, but now brings shame or could even get you labeled as traitors?
Funny how that happens in reconstruction periods post civil wars and annexation.
Ohhhhhh….you mean like the one between Shu and Western Shu/Nanyuan?
This also explains why Prince Fu is so obsessed with her opinion of him. Not with her. With her opinion of him.
Xiao Duo cares if Yinlou is angry. The Emperor asks if she is angry with him. Xiao Duo honestly couldn't care two figs about Yinlou and is wrapped up in his guilt about being unable to keep his promise and protect Prince Rong. The Emperor puts on a show of mourning and asks Yinlou if she can forgive him. Xiao Duo cares if Yinlou is frightened and kneeling on the ground. The Emperor wants to make certain she sees him as her savior.
Why is he so obsessed with her liking him? Maybe because he needs her to like him. Because he knows when her real identity comes out, a marriage by force wouldn’t stick. He needs her to like him because he needs her to choose to marry him. To choose to stay when better options or simply another choice (freedom to leave) become available.
In Episode 9 we see the Emperor come in and rescue her and order the men be flogged right in front of her. Then he is all “Don’t be afraid. I am here to protect you.” Meanwhile, Xiao Duo charges right past him, his priority to get her off the ground where she is huddled like a frightened deer. He also makes sure she knows who is touching her and helping her up by putting his sword right in front of her face (because for goodness sake if you are surrounded by people getting flogged and someone touches you to pull you up and you don’t know they are a ‘safe’ person, that would freak you out) He also, does not merely help her up, but steers her body just slightly so she is faced away from each of the beatings. His next order of business: get the beatings to stop or shall we say relocate. She is not an idiot. She knows his men are going to beat those guys up, most likely do some light torture and then ultimately kill them. But there is literally no reason to expose her to that.
This is the difference between saving someone and staging a rescue. This is the difference between caring about how someone is feeling and attempting to manipulate how they are feeling.
He again uses violence to stage being her savior in Episode 13 “Yinlou! (This is a very disturbing ‘Mommy, look at me! Look what I can do. Look what I did!’ moment) I won’t allow anyone to hurt you! (He wasn’t even trying to hurt her) I can protect you now. (Oh, this is not good.) Only I can protect you! (Nope. Nope. Nope. I’m out.)
The level of staged manipulation here is beyond blatant.
And the amount of contrived emotional intimacy he is so in-synch with Eunuch Sun in manufacturing goes far beyond ensuring that your date is going in the right direction. The fact that he painted his nickname on the lanterns is so disrespectfully manipulative and literally serves no other point than getting her to ask what the characters are so he can pry her nickname out of her.
(Start reading again here.)
As for specific lineage, her mother is from the Zhuo family of the Qiang tribe, which is a minor cadet branch of the Yuwen line, who married into the main Yuwen line in an arranged marriage.
We know her mother’s maiden name, not her married name from Yinlou’s nickname Zhuo Ying. She tells her cousin he is her “only cousin”, which at first blush stands in contrast to what she tells Tongyun when they board the boat in Episode 14, “My cousin’s family is there too.” Yet, he is her only cousin? Why did she not visit her aunt and uncle also? Well, her mother is dead and her father is back in the capital. So that only leaves siblings or I believe half-siblings or specifically half-brothers.
So, her cousin being an indentured servant is a unique thing that I would classify as another (similar to eunuchship) kind capture method. It is evident that before he became an indentured servant he was well-to-do and highly educated. (He is indentured to play the guqin, not the zheng).
At this point the only named tribe that we have heard of surrendering to West Shu is the Qiang tribe (how Xiao Duo identify’s Western Shu’s horse hoof-prints is that they are Qiang hoofprints, which surrendered their calvary to West Shu).
She grew up in West Shu, but with her mother’s family, not her father’s.
Oh and I forgot one minor detail - her cousin’s name is Liang Cheng! The King’s name is Liang Shi and the Prince’s name is Liang Xu. Which means her mother’s husband was the father of the King and Prince of Nanyuan, which makes her their half-sister.
Being indentured is obviously the result of something that went down in the rebellion, that there was an attempt to shelter Yinlou and her mother from, by having them go live with the Bu’s (her father’s family).
Yinlou expresses concern to her cousin that he will be implicated in Xiao Duo’s investigation of the King. She asks if there is any suspension on his part about their (her cousin and her) connection. It seems in general her step-father’s family has no idea she exists and her mother’s and cousin’s family have taken dramatic steps throughout her life to ensure so.
This also explains why Xiao Duo is so anxious about her visiting her cousin, even when he is ignoring her - he urges Cao Chunang to urge her to not spend time there or visit with her cousin. (Because seriously, he has figured out who she was a long time ago).
There is also the whole Prince Yuwen hostage subplot, which serves no purpose except to acquaint Yinlou or reacquaint her with the royal family of Western Shu/Nanyuan. And the heavy-handed hints of Yinlou and Liang Xu calling each other ‘Brother’ and ‘Sister’ while apprenticing at the Dream House together. And that is the only way you are ret-conning that to make it okay that he is watching her practice the rather on-the-nose entitled ‘Love Choice’ dance.
(This also makes Xiao Duo’s comments that “You are the most valuable thing in this room” and that “The remnants of Western Shu can’t stop causing trouble” (Episode 11) unintentionally hilarious.)
The rivalry between the King of Nanyuan and Xiao Duo dissolving and reforming into an alliance, as well as the reveal that she is the half-sister of the Yawen brothers are going to happen just in time for Xiao Du and Yinlou to have a refugee from the Emperor (and a few more romantic scenes) before the final curtain action, twists and quasi-betrayals of the last few episodes.
~~~~~~~~~~
So we have consort Jing and potentially the old Emperor (the Emperor before the one that died in Episode 1 [ the father of Prince Fu and Princess Hede & Xiao Duo and maybe Ah Duo]) living in exile? In hiding from the rebellion? We know they were not in the capital nor in West Shu.
They were betrayed, the lotus hit, government relief was redirected (which at this point basically means help from family members was manipulated by family members). They sold all of their ancestral lands and properties (Don’t think I didn’t notice that detail at the lantern festival, that your family had several homes to sell off Mr. Pauper Prince). Everyone dies of sickness and starvation and Xiao Duo and Ah Duo make their way to the capital, most likely expecting aid from family upon arrival. Opps, that was not a good call - family is in GoT mode at the moment. Ah Duo is captured and made a eunuch? Xiao Duo hangs around the capital trying to get together a plan and not abandon his brother and then 1 of 3 things happens. One, someone targets Ah Duo, not satisfied with merely making him a eunuch. Two, someone targets Xiao Duo and kills the wrong boy. Three, someone targets either Ah Duo or Xiao Duo (it doesn’t matter which one) to redirect the survivor’s attention away from the remaining Prince’s and the line of succession and on vengeance. They pin the murder on the King of Nanyuan.
This is either Prince Fu’s direct action or he takes advantage of the knowledge.
Either way the result is the same with Xiao Duo taking on Ah Duo’s identity.
Bu Yinlou’s mother has an affair and manages to hide her daughter to be raised with her family. She grows up very close with her cousin (potentially same household). Something happens with family politics in the rebellion and the Qiang tribe is captured by the Yuwen tribe. The family scrambles to ship Yinlou and her mother off to the Bu’s (her father’s family) and her cousin becomes indentured.
The Bu’s are not happy about this tie to illegitimate traitor and treat Yinlou and her mother Cinderella style. Then one day an order comes that the Emperor wants concubines.
Fast forward 3 months and then hit play on Episode 1.
1 
1. Monosyllabic drunk Xia Duo: “Tree.” (Episode 5)
2. Cao Chunang’s response to Xiao Duo saying Yinlou can put Denghuo anywhere she wants: “Oh” (Episode 16)
3. Tongyun and Cao Chunang barking at each other, so as to be the first one to speak after Bu Yinlou declares “I am going to make a solemn vow. If I ever see him again, the one who speaks first is a dog!” (Episode 8)
4. Yinlou: “That’s my chicken!”, Cao Chunang: “Do you have something against chickens?”, Qilang: “Her Highness is fighting a chicken?” (Episode 19, 18)
5. “I may have drank a little, but I’m not stupid.” (Episode 5)
6. “The banquet is ready. But the chef is unsure about desserts. Do you like salty or sweet ones?” “I like expensive ones.” (Episode 10)
7. Xiao Duo’s trying to pay attention and follow Bu Yinlou’s dish orders at the restaurant, so he knows what she likes and being completely baffled, “What bean? What chicken?” (Episode 16)
8. Xiao Duo as he is being dragged away by Bu Yinlou to go shopping at the Temple Festival. First the ‘Leave it. It’s fine,’ hand gesture to Cao Chuang, then the ‘Help me’ face backwards. (Episode 18)
9. Xiao Duo’s challenge face after Bu Yinlou issues her ‘solemn oath’ about speaking first. (Episode 8)
10. Xiao Duo: “What will you do if I push you too hard?” - I am woman. Hear me cry. (Episode 4)
11. Yinlou dreaming about kissing Xiao Duo and getting straw stuck in her mouth. (Episode 15)
12. Cao Chunang and Qilang eating ‘popcorn’ while watching a prisoner being tortured. (Episode 1)
13. Yinlou: “What? Are you surprised that I’m favored?” Tongyun: “Extremely surprised.” (Episode 6)
14. Random eunuch reporting to Eunuch Liu: “There is laughter in the Nether Palace. And I keep hearing “Greetings” and “Long Live”. It’s strange. I’m the one who has gotten scared and screamed a few times.” (Episode 7)
15. Bu Yinlou telling Xiao Duo he isn’t well-liked to his face. (Episode 9)
16. “He doesn’t look like a good guy, right? He doesn’t look trustworthy at all. What a coincidence, I think so too.” - Yinlou to Prince Rong (Episode 3)
17. “Go all out. If you break anything, I’ll put it on the bill.” Meng Jieyu serenely playing the guqin as WanWan chases Prince Liangxu around her porch, kicking him and knocking over furniture and decor (Episode 12)
18. Xiao Duo: “Let her go. Leave her alone…what are you waiting for? Go and take a look!” (Episode 11)
19. Xiao Duo using the Zhaoding Bureau's manpower and resources because of Yinlou: To ban prostitution (Episode 11), to buy dinner (Episode 16) and to study how to woo women manuals (Episode 7)
20. “I don’t know if he’s stupid, but I really want to read the novel they are talking about.” (Episode 11) Is utterly hilarious, because the novel they are discussing, The Attic’s Secret is a plot drop. She doesn’t need to read it. She is living it.
21. “I didn’t want to. I just can’t control my legs.” (Episode 15)
22. “Stop talking. I get a headache when I hear you talking.” - Yinlou to Prince Liangxu (Episode 11)
23. “Auhhh. Auhhhh.”- Cao Chunang imitating Yinlou when she is stumbling over her words trying to ask Xiao Duo for help setting up a date for Princess Hede and Prince Liangxu. (Episode 12)
24. This poor man will never get to drink his tea.
25. “You didn’t even scream, though it hurt, so I screamed for you.” (Episode 15)
26. “Do you even know how to fish?” “No.” “Then why are you acting like you do?” “I’m not, I just look like I do.” (Episode 15)
27. Xiao Duo thanking Yinlou for making him soup. (Episode 15)
28. Yinlou being unable to wreck Xiao Duo’s room, because she decorated the whole thing. (Episode 17)
29. Yinlou meticulously planning the wedding of Bu Yin’ge and then winning the dowry off her through gambling. I mean she basically did all the parts of a wedding already. Might as well, you know - get married in secret, right? (Episode 17)
30. Yinlou’s angry shopping. (Don’t even get me started on the lyrics of the opera being performed in the background as she is getting drunk - “It was my wishful thinking. I waited for you day and night, but your heart is as steel, as iron. You have let me down, like a poison that takes my life.) (Episode 18)
1. Yinlou gravitates instantly to Xiao Duo’s side (his *cough* right-hand side *cough*) while Princess Hede is berating Prince Liangxu in all his cross-dressing glory. They look like they have stood like that 100 times and end up leaning into each other and having a side whisper conversation. “No one dares to punish you here.” (Episode 10)
2. Yinlou and Xiao Duo’s repartee as she teases him about the clothes he is wearing that day as they walk through the forest. (Episode 9)
3. Yinlou laughing at the story Xiao Duo is reenacting for her as they sit on docks at Dream Cloud Pavilion, finally just sinking into being with each other. The combination of the casual intimacy and that this is a moment that belongs to the characters and that we as an audience will never truly have access to it is just beau idéal. (Episode 16)
4. She stops biting him, because she recognizes the sound of his voice. (Episode 5)
5. Xiao Duo has stopped eating cherries. Maybe, because there hasn’t been bitterness in his life recently?
6. In order for Xiao Duo to slip her the madiao card as a clue, he has to have had the card on him. Which means he walks around carrying her card with him. (Episode 9) We see this again in Episode 13, he has placed them on his desk and later on the tea table in his bedroom. He just instinctively carries them with him to the different rooms of the house he is in throughout the day.
7. The forged papers to get into Jinguan City “A merchant Bu Fang Jiang and his wife”. He uses her last name and the nick-name she gave him as his forged identity! (Episode 16)
8. Xiao Duo names the house they live in at Dream Cloud Pavilion“Doing as One Pleases,” because Yinlou told him she wants to be a free person. (Episode 16, 8)
9. “Who is Eunuch Liu. It’s okay if you hit him. What? Did you not hit him hard enough? Do you want me to hit him again on your behalf?” (Episode 8)
10. It’s ugly. It’s cute. It’s ugly. It’s cute. It’s ugly. It’s cute. They are adorable.
11. Xiao Duo protecting the kite he made Yinlou from the rain. (Episode 8)
12. Xiao Duo makes a goldfish kite for Yinlou and buys her a goldfish lantern, because her mother regards fish as gods who bring good fortune and transform calamity (he listened to her) (Episode 7, 12, 5)
13. Bu Yinlou calling Xiao Duo Eunuch Ba’s father in Episode 16 and them informing Eunuch Ba he will be “a dog without a father from now on.” (Episode 18)
14. Bu Yinlou is not offended, disgusted, angry or insulted by Xiao Duo’s misinterpretation of her command to “Take it off”. She isn’t stupid, she didn’t misunderstand his misunderstanding and there are a lot of reactions she could have had to that. She was just agitated because she was on a mission and that mission was: Boots! (Episode 17)
15. “That’s my money you were throwing around…I meant if you don’t like it, feel free to throw it away. Don’t worry about me.” (Episode 8)
16. She is going to cook him noodles in the morning. (Episode 16)
17. Before he tries on his shiny new boots, Xiao Duo puts Denghuo on the bonsai. (Episode 17)
18. When the Emperor orders that eunuchs at the mausoleum that were fighting with Yinlou to be flogged (in front of her) Xiao Duo charges forward to where she is huddled on the floor (she hasn’t been given permission to rise from her bow) and before he helps her up he puts Denghuo’s scabbard in front of her face (because for goodness sake if you are surrounded by people getting flogged and can’t see anything and someone touches you to pull you up and you don’t know they are a “safe” person that would freak you out). (Episode 9)
19. Yinluo read up on his sword when she was guarding the monastery. (Episode 15, 6-9)
20. During the scene where Yinlou is drunk and telling Xiao Duo about her childhood and her Father coming to to pick up her and her mother and how she wants to be free, she takes Xiao Duo’s hands and they end up holding hands for several minutes (toward the middle of the scene) Blink and you miss it. (Episode 8)
21. Bu Yinlou and Tongyun are talking about the luxury of not having to walk and being carried into the house on a sedan. Did they miss the marriage symbolism? Subtle Xiao Duo, real subtle! (Episode 10)
22. “Chief Xiao, where are you going in such a hurry?” “Home.” (Episode 10) “When will you come back?” “With you waiting for me at home, I’ll come back as soon as I can.” (Episode 20)
23. Xiao Duo is prepared to pull any trick he can to keep Yinlou from going back to the palace, because she said he wasn’t a man of his word in Episode 11. (Episode 13)
24. Yinlou winks at Xiao Duo. (Episode 14)
25. Xiao Duo initially nods in agreement when Yinlou asks him if he thinks she is beautiful, before realizing he shouldn’t. (Episode 15)
The thing I was enjoying about this show was the gestalt. It has a nice balance of the machinations of court politics and GoT escapades, a nicely paced escalation of romance, intimacy and anticipation, some fairly unique humor that keeps surprising me and making me truly laugh and it has even folded in some darker explorations of both history and latent inclinations and how they might be slowly massaged from a person. All carried out by characters that are neither recycled nor redundant. While it is not the best show (I am not going to give it an A, B+?), it does what it does and carries what it carries extremely well (which to be honest is something several A shows don’t even manage).
So, why has the writer seemed to have aborted the micro-pacing needed to carry the audience from episode to episode in order to enjoy the deeper meanings and larger picture? So many people like to criticize comedic elements and romantic pacing as filler or fluff, but the truth is they are the grease that keeps the wheels turning (and if we are honest with ourselves, why we actually watch, while convincing ourselves it is for the larger framework. Without the wider dimensions fleshed out through humor, it doesn’t matter how pretty a worldscape you have shaped is, and without the romance you have no human investment in the politics at play.)
If I am swimming in a puddle of plot and not being moved forward by a current, I won’t stay for the gem you have crafted. It wasn’t that the pacing was off, it was that there actually seemed to be no pacing. A bunch of scenes vomited out and it genuinely did not seem to matter in which order they were presented to me.
You also need to keep some sort of coherence between plot and Story.
The scenes of reconciliation hit me appropriately, because Story had not reached this point yet and so I was vested emotionally in the fruition of these scenes.
The scenes of Xiao Duo’s confession and backstory fell flat, through no fault of the actors who delivered a consistent calibre of acting across the various scenarios, and used all the appropriate body language, inflections and micro-expressions they should have for the tone required in those scenes. It is simply that those scenes shouldn’t have existed.
The plot required Xiao Duo to reveal his secrets to Yinlou (or her to reveal that she knew them, honestly doesn’t matter), but Story had already advanced beyond this point. I had no emotional resonance with these scenes. The emotions of myself (the audience) discovering aforementioned secrets had already been experienced. The emotions of Yinlou having already discovered them had been experienced. At this point their inclusion should have been handled either with a slice-of-life humor scene or a negative space confession (think the 2 of them having that conversation on the docks that Tongyun and Cao Chunang witnessed in Episode 16)
Contrawise, the scene of Yinlou learning Xiao Duo is not a eunuch felt…abortive? Almost, like when your favorite song comes on the radio and you turn up the volume. Except something was wrong with the control knob and I couldn’t turn the music up.
The acting here was exquisite. Xiao Duo has always struck the balance between being aggressive enough that Yinlou feels pursued, while holding space for her to declare the boundaries. Yinlou’s combination of anticipatory breathing, innocent trust, shock, and deliberation about implications was spot on. The choice of the director to use a bath to highlight the vulnerability of the moment, fantastic. And yet it didn’t hit the crescendo I needed.
Was there originally more to this scene? Did they change the dialogue in post? Xiao Duo is saying words, but his mouth isn’t moving. (Was this supposed to be one of their wordless conversations, because it wasn't as evident as the previous ones?) Why did we not get a response from Yinlou after her processing? That is so far outside the realm of her character, to the degree that it actually pulled me out of the Story. This is honestly THE scene of the show - maybe not from narrative perspective, but certainly from emotional investment. More important than the wedding, than identity reveals, than love confessions, than secrets, than the inevitable quasi-betrayals to come and it looks like everyone involved understood this and gave it their all - except post? What in the Gorgon’s gaze?
(Side note: Is he in the bath [clothed] with her? He must have been lowering her in. Thank you, Mr. Director!)
What happened here? I have always attributed Story to the collective, pacing to the writer, tone to actors, execution to the director. Looking back I now realize about 80% of my frustration with the writing in this show is actually frustration with the editing. I can tell you I now have a profound appreciation for the impact of editing and am grateful to this show for showing me how synergistic these layers are. I also want to stab someone in the eye with a salty french fry.
So, I am not certain if Ah Duo and Xiao Duo (Yes, I know these are not their names and I understand the naming conventions, but this is what I am going to call them) are twins. If they are awesome - the child actors look it, there is a plot drop that they are and it fits the GoT/soap opera vibe. If they are not, then Xiao Duo is the older brother, they are half-brothers and do not share the same surname. Which is fun when you realize Xiao Duo’s name might not be Xiao Charlie or Xiao Peter or Xiao Charming, but we potentially know neither his first name nor his family name.
So, Ah Duo got murdered. But honestly in the dynastic GoT world that this show is set in, statistically he was not the target, but rather Xiao Duo. To me it feels like a super obvious audience misdirect to simply have accidentally killed the wrong brother. So, the assassins were not targeting Ah Duo, but Xiao Duo. So, the assassins think Xiao Duo is dead and Ah Duo is alive. The smart move here is to let them keep thinking that. And the way you do that is taking over the vacuum identity of your brother (Ah Duo’s) life to fulfill the assassination and buy yourself safety and time - which happens to include impersonating an eunuch.
“You survived not just through luck, but by judging the situation and being able to compromise and endure the pain an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to bear. If that’s the case, than how can you be an ordinary person?” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu in Episode 2
Why are they targeting Xiao Duo and not Ah Duo? If they are full brothers, it is because Ah Duo is no longer a threat. Being made a eunuch is actually a kind conquer move (eliminates competition through the continuation of the line, while not murdering the person). If they are half-brothers it is because Xiao Duo is royalty and Ah Duo is not. Same mother, different father. Xiao Duo’s father being the Old Emperor (the one before the one that died in Episode 1)
This brings us to Xiao Duo’s gun. I mean Chekhov’s ring. I mean…
The first time I saw the ring it reminded me of a fidget ring, with the dark green being the spinner. To me it is a rather obvious overlay. Overlay over what? Xiao Duo’s jade. We know it isn’t Ah Duo’s jade, because we see his jade is still intact (we see it being laid out when Xiao Duo lights incense). Xiao Duo needs to hide his jade (his identity), but also have it readily available for when the time comes to reveal. (Yinlou: “What’s wrong? Every time there’s a problem, you will touch your ring.” Episode 15) The fact that he put his seal on it is a brilliant, on-the-nose, hidden-in-plain-sight move.
This is actually an interesting segue-way into a combination of their secret identities, that is what each of them knows of the other’s respective identities. In this case, how much Xiao Duo knows of Bu Yinlou’s identity: We see that he has looked into her general background à la the conversation they have in the carriage in Episode 8. We also see he has been shifting pieces of information about her around in the background of his brain, when in Episode 13, he rattles off facts about her not receiving letters from her mother, that the dowry list did not include a contribution from her mother and that her mother is absent from each of the family residences.
In Episode 2, we see Xiao Duo playing with/inspecting/mulling over her hairpin. He seems to recognize the hairpin and spends the evening looking at it. Almost like he recognizes it in spirit. I got very Dumbledore innately understanding Nagini because of Fawkes vibes here.
He understands that the hairpin is a secret jade, because he has a secret jade. And in some extremely non-subtle stage direction, he is holding the hairpin in the same hand he wears his ring on, which effectively puts the two side by side.
Continuing down the path of things Xiao Duo knows about Yinlou, they include the Fish Immortal necklace (her mother’s jade) - which was literally her first interaction with him (dropping the necklace for him to catch, while she was being hung) He has also interacted with it many times since then - when she prayered for the pear tree and when she put his seal on it.
He knows her mother’s true family name (Zhuo) à la Yinlou’s nickname. He knows her mother’s falsified family name (Chen) à la visiting her grave and just checking into her background. He knows she was bullied by other children because her mother was becoming a concubine (circle back to that). He knows her cousin is an indentured servant (circle back). He knows that Prince Fu is rather fixated on her. “I’m afraid Prince Fu’s feelings for her are true. Otherwise, why would a grounded Imperial Disciple go through all this trouble to save a mere Lady.” (Episode 2)
He knows a heck of a lot about her and if he hasn’t figured it out yet, it is because he is too busy falling in love with her. Although adrenaline does seem to help his brain move those pieces into place (Episode 13).
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So, who is Xiao Duo’s mother?
The third option (I cut my thought-process on eliminating the other two because this thing is long) we have is Consort Jing. The plot drop of the novel Attic’s Secret reconfirms that Xiao Duo replaced his “twin” brother and came back to life. The book also says that their mother’s best friend (aka Madam Chen) had an affair with Madam Xiu’s (Consort Jing’s) husband (Emperor’s and Prince Fu’s father, the previous Emperor). This is backed up when Cao Chunang reminds Xiao Duo of a Trojan Horse assassination from someone who was playing dumb and acting like a friend that happened in his residence before (Episode 10). And in Episode 2 when Xiao Duo points out that Consort Jing was framed and died tragically.
(The Attic’s Secret plot also foreshadows Yinlou being murdered by her husband [Emperor Fu] and her best friend [liberal interpretation here gives us 2 contenders: Bu Yin’ge and Beauty Li]. It also potentially foreshadows the murder of Cao Chunang. Let’s hope both of those are near-misses.)
This also makes sense as to why Xiao Duo singled Princess Hede out to show her the ropes on how to navigate court and earn Empress Rong’an’s favor, why he is constantly gifting her with books, why they have developed the closest thing we have seen to him having a friendship. She even has his token! Blink and you miss it, it is mentioned in Episode 9. He is just trying to take care of his little sister. (Given their age difference and the fact that they grew up in separate households, it 100% makes sense she doesn’t remember him or even that they potentially never met).
Over time they have formed an affection and loyalty and trust in each other that clearly transcends mere allies and is more indicative of a friendship. He has no problem confiding in her or asking her for favors. She has no problem lending him additional help in his missions, no questions asked and colluding with him (she recommends he use her as a decoy to return a false Jade to the Prince). She asks him if he wants to hang out. They ride in the same carriage. He comes immediately when her maid asks him to, even choosing her request over Yinlou’s distress. The question is why did Xiao Duo initiate such a relationship 3 years ago, when she came to the palace? Him being her brother makes sense.
It also affords deeper meaning to his “What the heck?” face when Yinlou says there is something between him and Princess Hede in order to antagonize Prince Liangxu. As well as his subsequent resistance to helping him woo her.
This unfortunately also means something that your brain connected half-way through the above paragraph and that is that he is Prince Fu’s full brother as well.
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In Episode 10 when Cao Chunang is explaining who Prince Yuwen is to Bu Yinlou, he describes his older brother as Xiao Duo’s “rival”. This is a very significant choice of words, because rival implies 2 things. First, an equality or near equality. And second, a particular type of intimacy. But the significant part is that that intimacy is two-way, not one-way. Else, you would use the word “goal”, “opponent”, “enemy”.
And the fact that this intense emotional contention is two-way is intriguing. We understand what Xiao Duo’s problem with the King is (that he allegedly killed Ah Duo). But, what is the King’s beef with Xiao Duo?
“I don’t know what he’s doing at all.” Xiao Duo confesses to Yinlou (Episode 15)
An exceedingly strong redemptive arc has been built for West Shu, as well as three powerful symbols in play. The first, the relationship between Princess Hede and Prince Liangxu. This is a literal union of the two lands. The second, the friendship between Yinlou and Prince Liangxu, with the red herring?/heavy-handed hints as they call each other ‘brother’ and ‘sister’. But the most potent symbol is the fact that Princess Hede is currently carrying both the token of Xiao Duo and the jade of Prince Liangxu. This suggests an alignment specifically between Xiao Duo and the “power and authority” of Western Shu - which is King Liangshi, not Prince Liangxu.
But how could there be an alliance between King Liangshi and Xiao Duo?
This must mean their rivalry is dissolved. How would that happen? Well, it must have been fabricated. Okay, so they each are operating under false assumptions.
Xiao Duo targets the King because he has been led to believe that he is responsible for Ah Duo’s death. But why is the King so adamant in his targeting of Xiao Duo?
Something noticeable about West Shu is that despite being feared for their military power we have not seen them attack (not saying they haven’t in the past during the rebellion). They just maintain a vast spy network with multiple nests and strongholds. It is almost like they are looking for something or *cough* someone *cough*. You might notice that the King of Nanyuan’s house is named “Waiting for the Right Time”. You might also notice that he has an indentured servant specifically for the purpose of playing guqin music.
It is notable that the King takes Bu Yin’ge as his Concubine, not his wife and until she started throwing a temper tantrum he was spending the night of his wedding alone, ruminating while staring at and stroking his ring. Oh, you mean the one for his intended, that he has spent years looking for and that this is not the wedding night he imagined?
Oh you mean Meng Jieyu, who has been waiting for years for the man she loves who went off to battle to find her and is a proficient guqin player? It certainly isn’t going to hurt Xiao Duo’s alliance with the King that he knows where his love is or that his love holds a soft spot for Xiao Duo because she saw how respectful and infatuated he was with Yinlou.
So, for years Xiao Duo believed the King of Nanyuan had killed his brother and the King of Nanyuan believed that Xiao Duo was holding Meng Jieyu captive somewhere.
(And if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, each of them is going to find the other’s motivation extremely accessible and feel an innate understanding of each other. “The Yuwen brothers' parents passed away when they were very young. They depended on each other and are very close.” (Episode 6) And Xiao Duo will understand being willing to do anything for the woman he loves. The parallelisms between them will make the alliance and trust between them even stronger.)
Someone set up this misunderstanding between them and fed them each false information years ago. *cough* “The Prince of Nanyuan could never trust Xiao Duo.” - Emperor Fu (Episode 13)
Did I mention how much this guy plays the long game?
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So, if the King did not murder Ah Duo, who did?
The fall-back red herring is of course going to be Empress Rong’an. This stems from the possibility that the people who murdered Ah Duo, were actually trying to murder Ah Duo (not mistaking him for Xiao Duo). Empress Rong’an has “done everything for” Ah Duo and clearly covets him. She would not have taken kindly to being rejected by the shiny toy she wanted in favor of a maid (Qiu Yuebai). Qilang says that Qiu Yuebai “offended a matron in the palace and was kicked out”. To this end, it is noticeable that Empress Rong’an does not hear the speech Qiu Yuebai gives to Xiao Duo’s steward, so is she recognizing Qiu Yuebai herself?
Honestly, this is a misdirect though. Again going back to trusting story and narration I believe the assassins were targeting Xiao Duo and not Ah Duo, which means the murderer was actually trying to eliminate a chess piece. And that is going to be the Emperor/Prince Fu.
I have NOT been okay with this guy since Episode 2 when he tried to dodge the bullet of helping out Prince Rong, because he was ‘scared’. He knew that the King of Nanyuan being Regent was a weak solution that was temporally finite and would eventually unravel to his benefit. A moment later Xiao Duo points out that there were 17 contenders for the throne of equal rank to Prince Fu and they have ALL died. Nope. Nope. Nope. This guy is in the long game. He is in the emotional manipulation game. And he is in the ‘to the victor goes the spoils’ game. It is why I have never once trusted his interest in Yinlou.
He confirms this later on when he says “When two giants fight, one will be injured. No matter who dies and who is injured I will be the one who benefits.” (Episode 13)
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So, how do we know that Xiao Duo is one of the 17 “dead” princes?
In Episode 5 Cao Chunang points out to Xiao Duo that no matter what Empress Rong’an is up to by targeting Prince Fu (which Qilang appropriately reacts to) as long as the Prince of Nanyuan dies she will not get her way (having the King be Regent with her over the child she maids found studying the family tree). This means she can kill or invalidate Prince Fu (the last male claim to the Emperor) and the Great Ye, the Murong family will be fine. This means there must be another male claimant somewhere.
In Episode 1, during his big scary speech when he gets to the line “Do you think I am not qualified?” the camera focuses in and literally shows nothing but his hand and his ring. Again, a brilliant hidden-in-plain-sight move as the audience thinks the seal is being referenced and not the camouflage jade within it revealing his status as one of the Princes (and ultimately the Emperor).
In Episode 8, Yinlou is talking about her madiao card “It doesn’t stand a chance when put up against you kings and generals.” She is obviously speaking of him metaphorically (people with extreme power), but the comment causes him to pause for a second and slide his eyes sideways to look at her.
He tells Yinlou when they are leaving Mingding tower (Episode 16) “After I get rid of the Prince of Nanyuan, I will ensure your cousin regains his freedom.” For all of Xiao Duo’s influence and ability to manipulate things - for him to guarantee something is a bold statement. And what he promised can only be guaranteed by two titles (The Emperor and the King of Nanyuan). This statement stuck out significantly, particularly since immediately preceding it Liang Cheng says his “indenture is in the Prince’s hands. No one can help me.”
(Except, you know, maybe the Emperor?)
The fight scene on the ship (Episode 15) is also particularly significant. We see Xiao Duo dispatch Cao Chunang to stop assisting/protecting him and aid/protect Yinlou. I can’t quite explain it, but there's something about their body language. It is almost like he is officially conferring a status to her.
If you notice after this Cao Chunang, who has spent multiple episodes attempting to dissuade Xiao Duo from focusing on Yinlou, to refocus on his mission and literally earlier that day to let go of his feelings for her and not act on them, now actively encourages Xiao Duo to consider her in his overall plans. Heck, he even kneels before her in Episode 18.
This moment is extremely significant. Before Xiao Duo has shown extreme favor to her and offered protection to her both officially in his known identity, position and title and personally in his unknown identity. This is the first time he officially, not personally declares a status, claim and duty on her using his unknown identity, title and position.
When entourage finds Xiao Duo and Yinlou at the fishing hut, Qilang is briefly confused by the the advice Cao Chunang is offering to Xiao Duo, concerning taking Yinlou into consideration as part of his arrangements in case he dies, as he was not aware of this alteration of official conferred status or that he has officially taken her under his protection.
In Episode 2 we see Xiao Duo lecture Prince Fu “You can’t protect yourself, much less those you love. Only when you have the power can you talk about everlasting love.” He is manipulating Prince Fu to step up and take action, but we can see the theme of these words have been weighing on him throughout Episodes 17 and 18.
Other call-out quotes include:
•“You are the Emperor. Even though you have been silent and without desires.” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu (Episode 2)
•“With your appearance and your bearing, if you were an ordinary man you’d be a perfect match for the royal family. You’d be a perfect match with Princess. But you became a eunuch by accident.” - Yinlou to Xiao Duo (Episode 10)
•“If you just do nothing, one day you and the entire Murong family will be eradicated completely.” - Xiao Duo to Prince Fu (Episode 2)
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Who the heck is Yinlou?
We know she grew up in West Shu (she says it is her mother’s hometown in the pear tree scene), until she was 12 (Xiao Duo says this in the carriage ride after they visit the old Bu residence). Specifically, she grew up in Jinguan City (Episode 16) and most likely took the same route to along the river she did with Xiao Duo to arrive at the Bu residence (Episode 8 drunken ramblings).
Yinlou tells Xiao Duo when she is drunk, that the other children bullied her because her mother was becoming a concubine.
I find this statistically odd. It takes a very particular type of family with a very narrow and specific status for them to look down on someone for being a concubine. Which pretty much limits her to one status (royalty).
The other possibility of course is that she is from a territory/family that does not acknowledge the wife-concubine system and practices monogamy. Each of these possibilities are further reinforced by the fact that Yinlou seems to find the family dynamics and customs of calling her birth mother ‘aunt’ and her father’s wife ‘mother’ to be unnatural, foreign and disrespectful to her birth mother. Also, her mother’s speech in Episode 16 about finding the man who is the only one for her AND she is the only one for him absolutely reeks of monogamy. (This speech is also born of the fact that the fact that the two men in her life were love mistakes on her end [it seems the first was a loveless arranged marriage and the second an affair that manipulated her] and she wants her daughter to find a man that is equally devoted to her as she is to him)
(Next 14 paragraphs pulled/minorly adapted from previous posts, you can skip down if you have read them before)
Yinlou’s father went through an exceeding amount of effort to claim a woman he didn’t like (who was not yet his concubine and society would not have cared if he abandoned) and to claim an illegitimate daughter. Illegitimate daughter. Illegitimate daughter. We have had this fact thrown in our faces over and over.
Why the heck would he claim an illegitimate daughter? Not the daughter born of a concubine. An illegitimate daughter. Not even an illegitimate son, which would make sense to carry on the family name, as he only had a daughter. An illegitimate daughter. You only do that if you truly love the mother (which he clearly didn’t) or if there is a clear benefit to doing so.
Like being members of a dynastic line that once brought prestige, but now brings shame or could even get you labeled as traitors?
Funny how that happens in reconstruction periods post civil wars and annexation.
Ohhhhhh….you mean like the one between Shu and Western Shu/Nanyuan?
This also explains why Prince Fu is so obsessed with her opinion of him. Not with her. With her opinion of him.
Xiao Duo cares if Yinlou is angry. The Emperor asks if she is angry with him. Xiao Duo honestly couldn't care two figs about Yinlou and is wrapped up in his guilt about being unable to keep his promise and protect Prince Rong. The Emperor puts on a show of mourning and asks Yinlou if she can forgive him. Xiao Duo cares if Yinlou is frightened and kneeling on the ground. The Emperor wants to make certain she sees him as her savior.
Why is he so obsessed with her liking him? Maybe because he needs her to like him. Because he knows when her real identity comes out, a marriage by force wouldn’t stick. He needs her to like him because he needs her to choose to marry him. To choose to stay when better options or simply another choice (freedom to leave) become available.
In Episode 9 we see the Emperor come in and rescue her and order the men be flogged right in front of her. Then he is all “Don’t be afraid. I am here to protect you.” Meanwhile, Xiao Duo charges right past him, his priority to get her off the ground where she is huddled like a frightened deer. He also makes sure she knows who is touching her and helping her up by putting his sword right in front of her face (because for goodness sake if you are surrounded by people getting flogged and someone touches you to pull you up and you don’t know they are a ‘safe’ person, that would freak you out) He also, does not merely help her up, but steers her body just slightly so she is faced away from each of the beatings. His next order of business: get the beatings to stop or shall we say relocate. She is not an idiot. She knows his men are going to beat those guys up, most likely do some light torture and then ultimately kill them. But there is literally no reason to expose her to that.
This is the difference between saving someone and staging a rescue. This is the difference between caring about how someone is feeling and attempting to manipulate how they are feeling.
He again uses violence to stage being her savior in Episode 13 “Yinlou! (This is a very disturbing ‘Mommy, look at me! Look what I can do. Look what I did!’ moment) I won’t allow anyone to hurt you! (He wasn’t even trying to hurt her) I can protect you now. (Oh, this is not good.) Only I can protect you! (Nope. Nope. Nope. I’m out.)
The level of staged manipulation here is beyond blatant.
And the amount of contrived emotional intimacy he is so in-synch with Eunuch Sun in manufacturing goes far beyond ensuring that your date is going in the right direction. The fact that he painted his nickname on the lanterns is so disrespectfully manipulative and literally serves no other point than getting her to ask what the characters are so he can pry her nickname out of her.
(Start reading again here.)
As for specific lineage, her mother is from the Zhuo family of the Qiang tribe, which is a minor cadet branch of the Yuwen line, who married into the main Yuwen line in an arranged marriage.
We know her mother’s maiden name, not her married name from Yinlou’s nickname Zhuo Ying. She tells her cousin he is her “only cousin”, which at first blush stands in contrast to what she tells Tongyun when they board the boat in Episode 14, “My cousin’s family is there too.” Yet, he is her only cousin? Why did she not visit her aunt and uncle also? Well, her mother is dead and her father is back in the capital. So that only leaves siblings or I believe half-siblings or specifically half-brothers.
So, her cousin being an indentured servant is a unique thing that I would classify as another (similar to eunuchship) kind capture method. It is evident that before he became an indentured servant he was well-to-do and highly educated. (He is indentured to play the guqin, not the zheng).
At this point the only named tribe that we have heard of surrendering to West Shu is the Qiang tribe (how Xiao Duo identify’s Western Shu’s horse hoof-prints is that they are Qiang hoofprints, which surrendered their calvary to West Shu).
She grew up in West Shu, but with her mother’s family, not her father’s.
Oh and I forgot one minor detail - her cousin’s name is Liang Cheng! The King’s name is Liang Shi and the Prince’s name is Liang Xu. Which means her mother’s husband was the father of the King and Prince of Nanyuan, which makes her their half-sister.
Being indentured is obviously the result of something that went down in the rebellion, that there was an attempt to shelter Yinlou and her mother from, by having them go live with the Bu’s (her father’s family).
Yinlou expresses concern to her cousin that he will be implicated in Xiao Duo’s investigation of the King. She asks if there is any suspension on his part about their (her cousin and her) connection. It seems in general her step-father’s family has no idea she exists and her mother’s and cousin’s family have taken dramatic steps throughout her life to ensure so.
This also explains why Xiao Duo is so anxious about her visiting her cousin, even when he is ignoring her - he urges Cao Chunang to urge her to not spend time there or visit with her cousin. (Because seriously, he has figured out who she was a long time ago).
There is also the whole Prince Yuwen hostage subplot, which serves no purpose except to acquaint Yinlou or reacquaint her with the royal family of Western Shu/Nanyuan. And the heavy-handed hints of Yinlou and Liang Xu calling each other ‘Brother’ and ‘Sister’ while apprenticing at the Dream House together. And that is the only way you are ret-conning that to make it okay that he is watching her practice the rather on-the-nose entitled ‘Love Choice’ dance.
(This also makes Xiao Duo’s comments that “You are the most valuable thing in this room” and that “The remnants of Western Shu can’t stop causing trouble” (Episode 11) unintentionally hilarious.)
The rivalry between the King of Nanyuan and Xiao Duo dissolving and reforming into an alliance, as well as the reveal that she is the half-sister of the Yawen brothers are going to happen just in time for Xiao Du and Yinlou to have a refugee from the Emperor (and a few more romantic scenes) before the final curtain action, twists and quasi-betrayals of the last few episodes.
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So we have consort Jing and potentially the old Emperor (the Emperor before the one that died in Episode 1 [ the father of Prince Fu and Princess Hede & Xiao Duo and maybe Ah Duo]) living in exile? In hiding from the rebellion? We know they were not in the capital nor in West Shu.
They were betrayed, the lotus hit, government relief was redirected (which at this point basically means help from family members was manipulated by family members). They sold all of their ancestral lands and properties (Don’t think I didn’t notice that detail at the lantern festival, that your family had several homes to sell off Mr. Pauper Prince). Everyone dies of sickness and starvation and Xiao Duo and Ah Duo make their way to the capital, most likely expecting aid from family upon arrival. Opps, that was not a good call - family is in GoT mode at the moment. Ah Duo is captured and made a eunuch? Xiao Duo hangs around the capital trying to get together a plan and not abandon his brother and then 1 of 3 things happens. One, someone targets Ah Duo, not satisfied with merely making him a eunuch. Two, someone targets Xiao Duo and kills the wrong boy. Three, someone targets either Ah Duo or Xiao Duo (it doesn’t matter which one) to redirect the survivor’s attention away from the remaining Prince’s and the line of succession and on vengeance. They pin the murder on the King of Nanyuan.
This is either Prince Fu’s direct action or he takes advantage of the knowledge.
Either way the result is the same with Xiao Duo taking on Ah Duo’s identity.
Bu Yinlou’s mother has an affair and manages to hide her daughter to be raised with her family. She grows up very close with her cousin (potentially same household). Something happens with family politics in the rebellion and the Qiang tribe is captured by the Yuwen tribe. The family scrambles to ship Yinlou and her mother off to the Bu’s (her father’s family) and her cousin becomes indentured.
The Bu’s are not happy about this tie to illegitimate traitor and treat Yinlou and her mother Cinderella style. Then one day an order comes that the Emperor wants concubines.
Fast forward 3 months and then hit play on Episode 1.