The Princess of Hui has arrived at the capital city! She is beautiful and — check this out — smells wonderful; because she was born with a sweet fragrance and it has stuck with her till now.
Party time. The emperor’s family and the King of Hui sit down for a huge dinner outdoors and some entertainment: dancing, opera, acrobatic stunts, etc.
Yongqi takes this opportunity to ask Erkang how his last conversation with Ziwei (that concerns Qing’er) went. Erkang tells him the truth that Ziwei didn’t take it so well and has been low-key freaking out over it.
Yongqi is a bit surprised, in his mind, if a man is admired by many women, his woman should be proud. Oh, the way a boy’s mind works.
In the end, both boys wonder whether either of them will have the bad luck of being picked by this Hui Princess as her husband. They certainly think very highly of themselves, don’t they?
Well, sorry to disappoint you, Erkang and Yongqi. The Princess of Hui has standards, OK? She came here to be… THE EMPEROR’S wife.
Wow…
Okay, clarification. It’s the princess’ father who decided to marry her to the emperor as an act of diplomacy to strengthen their alliance. The princess herself is pretty miserable about this.
But what can she do? After seeing her dance at the banquet, the emperor is entranced by her beauty and agrees to the arrangement right away, he even dashes down from his dais to greet her personally. This is not a side of Huang-ah-ma I needed to see, BTW.
And just like that the two dads seal poor Princess Hanxiang’s fate. And everyone’s reaction to this is gold.
Love how the empress and Lady Ling just glance at each other here. Despite their hostile relationship with one another, they understand they share the same misfortune of being an emperor’s wives.
Xiaoyanzi is annoyed that the emperor can’t even take care of the wives he has right now, yet he brings another one home. Specifically, both Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi feel bad for Lady Ling.
But little do the girls know the emperor is not having a good time with Princess Hanxiang at all. She refuses to talk and acts like he’s invisible whenever he visits. I can’t say I feel sorry for Huang-ah-ma, you really do have too many wives, dude.
Finally, after some threats from the emperor, Hanxiang starts to talk. She doesn’t exactly say what the emperor wants to hear, though: I don’t want to be here, but I’ll put on an act for my father and my people. Girl is not afraid to die at all.
Xiaoyanzi barges into Hanxiang’s place, followed by Ziwei. And in front of everyone, she explodes at the emperor, shouting things like: you’ve let so many women down, you’re an irresponsible man, etc. Man… the emperor sure did not expect this much roasting when he stepped out of his residence today, did he?
In a moment of fury, he hits Xiaoyanzi. It’s like a slap. A really… hard slap that could have seriously hurt Xiaoyanzi. Xiaoyanzi is shocked. Ziwei is shocked. Even the indifferent princess shows a little emotion.
The emperor regrets his action immediately. Ziwei steps up and plays her card with him (with swelling eyes): You have been a benevolent father to me, but today you have destroyed that image because of one woman. Well, that must burn.
Back at their place, Xiaoyanzi throws a tantrum at Yongqi and wants to “escape” the palace. Despite Ziwei and Erkang’s advice, she insists on giving up her title and leaving right now. And she says that if Yongqi loves her, he’ll come with her.
While Yongqi kisses Xiaoyanzi — yeah, it has to be done to prove to her that he is different from the emperor since she was accusing him of wanting to betray her — Erkang and Ziwei talk about their own problem: Jinsuo.
It’s a thing that happened last season, Ziwei kind of asked Erkang to take care of Jinsuo if she died. I don’t see how this is a problem since Ziwei is still alive and well.
Anyway, because of that arrangement, Jinsuo thinks that she “belongs” to Erkang now, but you know Ziwei and Erkang, they’re too progressive to condone a harem. So the problem is: what are they going to tell Jinsuo?
Well, whatever you two decide, I’m fine with it, just don’t drag it out for too long.
Later that day, the emperor visits his two very upset daughters. They give him the silent treatment and even refuse to greet him. Hah, they know what they can get away with.
The emperor admits that he was wrong to hit Xiaoyanzi, then throws Ziwei’s card back at her: so I have destroyed my image as a benevolent father, huh? Big words from a timid princess. Are you going to ruin your own image as a filial daughter now too?