Okkkk… we all knew this was coming. I mean, unless you’re watching this drama for the first time, in which case, I completely empathize with your rage.
EPISODE 51 – 56 RECAPS
Let me start by saying that the tragedy that happens here is no single person’s fault.
Xin Ziyan prioritizes Ning Yi and does what he can to protect Ning Yi’s position and feelings with what he believes is the best plan. The emperor is suspicious of Zhiwei and would like to make sure of her loyalty before making his decision. Qiu Mingying, Zhiwei’s mother, is way too stubborn to yield to the emperor and ends up letting her own son pay for it. So… I guess if we have to blame someone, it’ll be her. She is more of a liability than an active threat, and sometimes that’s way more annoying than a downright threat. But what can I say, I already expected this from her character.
Ning Qi is, of course, being the douchebag he’s always been. And that makes Ning Yi, Zhiwei, and Feng Hao the victims in this whole business.
Zhiwei’s mom and Feng Hao die by poison in one of these episodes. The poison is given by the emperor. He only wants to use it to pressure Mingying into a confession because, come on, he has no reason to want to execute someone who possesses so much valuable information. And the emperor is more than aware that Mingying is important to Zhiwei, and Zhiwei is important to Ning Yi, so killing Mingying is a wrong move on so many levels.
However, even though Zhiwei arrives on time to plead her case, the mom is just like: good luck being stuck behind, bye. And she gulps down the poison in front of Zhiwei. In the mom’s mind, she’s making things easier for Zhiwei. But it looks more like a challenge directed towards the emperor.
As Zhiwei screams her head off, crying, Xin Ziyan, the emperor and Ning Qi are like: ok, maybe I’ve gone a little too far.
I don’t think any of them is to blame directly for Qiu Mingying’s death, though, because she wanted to die. No matter what they decided to do, she would still find a way to die.
After their deaths, Zhiwei falls into deep mourning and no longer finds it possible to accept Ning Yi’s heart. Even after an especially loooong hug.
Zhiwei move on to have a little conversation about her “princess status” with Zong Chen, who is the last person anyone should go to in a time of grief (or in any time at all), in my opinion.
Xin Ziyan’s relationship with Ning Yi isn’t going too well, either. Xin Ziyan is starting to realize how Ning Yi’s hesitance can harm his family and his level of passion towards Ning Yi is dwindling. Things are falling apart.
Ning Yi, on the other hand, uses whatever card he’s got left to make the emperor spare Zhiwei’s life. He even implies that he would take his own life if Zhiwei is harmed.
Meanwhile, Helian Zheng has tried and found a way to cheer Zhiwei up: a dance.
A dance that’s going to traumatize anyone who isn’t prepared for it.
Poor Nanyi has no choice but to go along with it. I hope his therapy is paid for after this.
But, things aren’t exactly going well for Helian Zheng, either. Just when he successfully makes Zhiwei smile, he receives the news of his own father’s death. So now he has to go back to Jinshi — his kingdom.
The emperor, wanting Zhiwei to leave lest a rebellion happen in her name, arranges a marriage between her and Helian Zheng, which she agrees to.
Afterwards, Zhiwei and Helian Zheng have their first awkward conversation because they’re, you know, getting married. What makes it even more awkward is they do it right in front of Nanyi and a guard.
Arriving at Jinshi, Helian Zheng confronts his evil uncle, who is now in control of the whole kingdom and might have been the cause of his father’s death. It’s always the uncle, isn’t it.
Now, since this is not Pride Rock or Wakanda, where people can just settle the problems regarding evil uncles with ritual combat, Helian Zheng has to start doing some investigation.
In the meantime, Ning Yi meets his new nemesis: the Prince of An.
Hmm, are we supposed to hate him? It’s Yuan Hong, you know.
COMMENTS
Let’s talk about the layers in the emperor’s character a bit.
Even though the emperor is pretty ruthless in the way he decides Zhiwei’s fate, he does seem to care about what she thinks of him and he genuinely values their relationship. If Zhiwei were a man, she would have been like another Xin Ziyan to the emperor.
However, he knows for a fact that Helian Zheng’s kingdom is likely falling into chaos soon, but he still sends Zhiwei over there, which makes us wonder if he cares about her life at all.
Of course, the emperor is not completely heartless. We can see that from his little conversations with Ning Yi and his interactions with Zhiwei throughout. But I guess in his mind, sending her to a falling kingdom is still better than letting her stay here and be the reason for his own kingdom’s downfall? So in the end, no matter how much he values Zhiwei, he still ends up choosing the best solution to secure his own position and protect Ning Yi from the danger of “being in love”.
About Qiu Mingying’s death, even though the acting in this segment is superb, I find it hard to sympathize with either her or Feng Zhiwei’s grief. Sure, it’s only right that Zhiwei grieves for her mom, but the drama has never managed to make us care about the mom. Zhiwei herself also never places that much importance on her mom’s opinion. And like said above, Mingying is not an active influence in Zhiwei’s life or the plot in any way, she’s just a liability character. Like a ticking bomb. And for such a character to be written as the main reason for Zhiwei and Ning Yi’s breakup is, well, unjustified.
The only person I feel sorry for besides Ning Yi is Feng Hao, who is truly the innocent party in all of this.
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