25 episodes in and we finally get some… sniffing.
EPISODE 21 – 25 RECAPS
The emperor, after a lot of investigation, has decided to lock up the crown prince and clear the name of his 3rd son, aka Ning Yi’s favourite brother, who died unjustly.
Ning Yi almost passes out from happiness.
Shortly afterwards, the Crown Prince and his useless uncle escape from prison and start to gather people to revolt. This is going to be a trainwreck for him.
By the way, does being locked up in this drama also mean losing the right to your hair tie?
Eventually, the emperor authorizes Ning Yi to handle the problem but asks him to be lenient towards the crown prince, which is like asking a kid to choose between broccoli and fries. Ning Yi is so ready to fry the crown prince.
But that’s kind of the point, the emperor understands Ning Yi’s rage towards the crown prince and he’s using Ning Yi to finish off the crown prince without putting his own integrity at risk. Yes, he’s that kind of dad.
Feng Zhiwei, on the other hand, is determined to protect the princess, who is the innocent party in this and is currently caught in the middle of it all because she wanted to talk sense into crown prince. It’s heartwarming that the crown prince tries his best to keep the princess safe. It’s moments like these that get him killed. He can’t just be good, but he can’t be a full-on villain, either. Tragic.
After a dramatic confrontation, episode 22 is where the crown prince dies by an arrow shower.
Right after this, the princess sets out to avenge the crown prince, the only brother who cared about her.
She holds Zhiwei hostage and sends a letter to Ning Yi to lure him into a trap.
Zhiwei, having grasped the situation, sends a messenger to Ning Yi to tell him to stay away. Hmm, can he stay away? In front of everyone, though, he plays it cool.
However, due to a misunderstanding, Ning Cheng thinks that Ning Yi has privately gone to rescue Zhiwei, which is totally expected from Ning Yi. So Ning Cheng flies to rescue his boss.
This leads to Ning Yi having to rescue both Ning Cheng and Zhiwei, who is now tied up in a house full of explosives.
So, Ning Yi and Zhiwei kind of have to dance around that house a little, helping each other fight against the ambush set by the princess, which is not a good ambush. Her trap feels more like the tantrum of a spoiled child than an actual strategy.
One thing leads to another, and we end up with Ning Yi being on top of Zhiwei on the ground.
Let’s break it down a little so we can see what the heck’s going on here.
First, Ning Yi plunges them both to the ground to avoid an attack.
He is not aware of what they look like yet.
Zhiwei is like: (o_O) ?
Then, sure that there’s going to be no more fighting, he looks down and sees Zhiwei staring at him. And who wouldn’t? No living soul had ever expected Ning Yi to be capable of this.
Ning Yi finally realizes it looks weird. What to do? Ning Yi’s brilliant strategic brain freezes for a bit there.
But it unfreezes pretty quickly and he turns his flirt on, obviously feeling bold.
And the sniffing (or cheek rubbing) starts.
That’s it, I’ve done my job. How to interpret this is up to you.
I wonder how Ning Yi does it, though, because the whole time he makes sure his face just hovers 0.25 inch above Zhiwei’s. It must be as exhausting as doing push-ups. Great arm control.
And of course, just like the audience, Zhiwei is pretty confused. But then, being confused is unavoidable when you’re involved with Ning Yi. I bet Ning Yi’s lieutenants, advisors, bodyguards, maids and spies are confused 95% of the time.
These episodes end with the appearance of the 7th Prince Ning Qi, who might or might not be a creep.
The one thing we know for sure is: he loves his mom. And I mean… any guy who treats his mom well can’t be bad, right?
RIGHT?
COMMENTS
See my comments about the sniffing.