EPISODE 17 RECAP
The father of the lady insists that his daughter throw the embroidered ball again because there’s no way he’s letting her marry a beggar. Xiaoyanzi protests and it escalates to a fight.
Luckily, they bring a lot of money along. Er’kang’s father gives the beggar a big fat gold tael as a wedding gift, and the emperor adds on a piece of his calligraphy work as a bonus, then he quietly says something to the lady’s father. Probably along the line of: hey I pay your wages so just do what my kids want.
This voids all the “poor street beggar” argument. The lady’s father announces that the wedding ceremony will be held as soon as possible. After all, you can’t say no to a son-in-law who has been blessed by imperial grace.
Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi are glad that they have done a good deed. They love playing matchmaker. Although, one person isn’t too happy: Yongqi.
Xiaoyanzi adds fuel to the fire by suggesting that Yongqi could have stayed to be the happy groom if he hadn’t rejected the embroidered ball. That’s it, Yongqi has had enough, he can’t stay quiet anymore.
That evening, Yongqi and Er’kang ambush Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi. They need to talk to the girls. I mean… of course Yongqi needs to talk, but what does Er’kang need to talk about?
Er’tai offers to keep watch for them and even points them to two conveniently private locations where they can go and talk. Okay, let’s go, confession time.
Since Xiaoyanzi is completely oblivious, Yongqi lays it out slowly at first. He starts out with an idiom: the person I like is far away, but close at sight — not a great approach, because Xiaoyanzi deduces that he has a crush on Ziwei. Her cluelessness is so epic.
No, missy! He is not in love with his half-sister. When Xiaoyanzi gets it wrong the second time, Yongqi loses it and spills everything. He’s been pining after her ever since he accidentally shot her at the hunting field.
Now that Xiaoyanzi understands that Yongqi isn’t trying to snatch Er’kang’s girlfriend or has the hots for Jinsuo, the next problem manifests: Xiaoyanzi does not think of Yongqi as a man at all. He is a brother to her, she has never had any interest in going beyond that.
What if you could? Yongqi asks. Xiaoyanzi is muddled and can give no answer at the moment, so Yongqi leaves her with: I like you so at least mull on it.
The scene switches and we get… Er’kang’s face.
He’s got a few things to sort out with Ziwei because… here’s the situation: he is worried when she’s depressed, but he is also worried when she’s happy. Boy, it’s hard to keep Er’kang calm. What is he worried about now? Everything there is to worry about. And the closer Ziwei gets to the emperor, the more uneasy he feels; he also wonders if she still thinks of him nowadays.
ZIWEI: You’re overthinking it.
ER’KANG: Yeah, maybe I am. I should stop.
ZIWEI: Nah, keep it up. I like it when you panic.
And nothing makes Er’kang happier than hearing that someone appreciates his paranoia. He attempts a hug but Ziwei knows better, she tells him to cut the poetry and get to the point before they get caught staring at one another in a dark corridor.
Er’kang does have some good points. One: sure, let’s all remember what our ultimate goal is. Two: don’t tell the emperor anything on a whim. Three: always keep a distance from the emperor to avoid any misunderstanding; he doesn’t know who Ziwei is yet, and you know how emperors are — whatever women they want, they get; not to mention that Ziwei reminds the emperor too much of someone he used to love. Four: give me a hint sometimes to let me know you’re thinking of me. That’s not a good point, Er’kang, you should’ve stopped at three.
Then, they both stop chatting and start watching Xiaoyanzi and Yongqi on the other side of the yard instead because that’s the real drama over there.
Xiaoyanzi is unable to sleep that night. She isn’t sure why Yongqi likes her when there are a lot of noble ladies he could have chosen from, and she also isn’t sure if she even wants him to like her that way. She’s literally just here to have fun; now thanks to Yongqi, she has to think about breaking the law some more.
The group continue to travel along the countryside. One day, it rains. The carriage’s wheels get stuck in the mud. Everyone has to get out so the men can push the carriage forward. The emperor offers his umbrella to Ziwei, who freaks out and runs because not only is he her father, he is also the Emperor of Daqing! Son of dragons, descendant of gods, ordained by the heaven, and… whatever else you can think of. And by letting him take care of her, she’s breaking all kinds of moral codes.
Er’kang’s dad and the other scholar see this and run over to offer Ziwei their umbrella so the emperor can keep his; otherwise, they would be breaking moral codes too. which results in the funniest scene ever.
