You know, there’s a line between a ruthless villain and a despicable one, Ning Qi has crossed that line here. And of course, the actor did a great job of conveying that transition. Is it on purpose, though? Did they really want to make Ning Qi into this kind of villain or did the writing quality just simply dip?
EPISODE 56 – 60
So it turns out that Helian Zheng has a fervent admirer at home who is determined to win his affection. And I mean, girl… I get it, ok, he’s a great catch, but, like, have you seen him dance? Because I have. And all I’ve got to tell you is: just… just run for your life.
We learn that Helian Zheng’s evil uncle is really not that hard to defeat at all. They solve the problem in literally one episode.
Just when the princess who’s after Helian Zheng is starting to become a little interesting as a character, she dies, trying to save him. I swear this drama keeps killing off the interesting female characters who could’ve been Zhiwei’s allies and friends.
Before Zhiwei’s wedding with Helian Zheng, she and Ning Yi set out to say farewell to each other, and naturally things get a little emotional.
Feng Zhiwei asks Ning Yi why he wasn’t there when she went through the most miserable days of her life. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that he was… I don’t know… trying to save your life. But don’t listen to me.
Comes the day of the wedding. Helian Zheng cannot look any happier.
That is the face of a guy who does not care if lighting hits him the next second.
Before they walk into the hall, Helian Zheng acknowledges Zhiwei’s reluctance and promises to respect the distance she has set.
After the ceremony, the queen mother gives them her blessings. And like most moms in these times (and modern times), she tells them they’d better give her some grandkids soon.
Luckily for them, just when the queen mother looks like she’s going to make them read Twilight fanfics for bedroom inspirations, some bad news comes from the border.
The Prince of An is on his way to wage war on Jinshi. So Helian Zheng carries out his promise to protect Zhiwei by… letting Zhiwei lead an army to meet the Prince of An. Yeah, that’s great, you want to know what Ning Yi would say about this? I mean, I understand this is Zhiwei’s idea and Helian Zheng trusts her, but does this entire kingdom really have no one for the job that they have to push their newly crowned queen into it?
Back at Tiansheng, Ning Qi kills the princess in order to get Ning Yi into trouble. I’m not kidding, he just shoots the princess with a crossbow. That’s it, there goes my last thread of sympathy for this guy.
Things don’t go too well for Zhiwei, either. She loses the battle and gets captured by the Prince of An. Yes, let’s go. It would be a crime not to let these two gorgeous people interact for a bit.
During captivity, Zhiwei and Hua Qiong play a game on the Prince of An, refusing to tell him which one of them is the real queen of Jinshi, hoping to prolong their lives until backup arrives.
When Ning Yi gets there, he tries to outsmart the Prince of An. But for the first time, he is unsuccessful. We can see that he tries HARD, but ends up being mentally exhausted.
Lastly, we’re introduced to two new villains here. They target the emperor because they are the survivors of the previous dynasty. They don’t look very interesting. They have no resources and no political support. They just rely on small, underhanded tricks to get by. There’s no way they’re actually going to overthrow the emperor of Tiansheng.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to do some damage to Ning Yi and Zhiwei, as if Zhiwei’s mom and teacher haven’t done so already.
COMMENTS
Unfortunately, the drama has reached a point where it feels like the writers just make it up as they go along. And it’s a pity that Yuan Hong has to be a part of this arc. With his acting skills, he could’ve contributed to the drama a lot more if they’d made him one of the main villains instead of a random dude with no established background who just randomly outsmarts Ning Yi.
First of all, Ning Yi’s mother is alive? I’m not sure the story has spare time for this. In the beginning, Ning Yi’s dead mother and brother serve as a motivation for him to strive for the throne. It also motivates him to become a better ruler than his father. Now they throw his mother into the mix and Ning Yi’s main goal is being forgotten. The character is having to be a cunning politician, a heartbroken boyfriend: and his relationship with his brothers, father, and close assistant is nowhere close to being resolved. Do we have time for a mother?
Also, what’s up with Zhiwei’s tantrum at Ning Yi about him not paying enough attention to her? Didn’t you push him away, girl? I can understand if she holds a grudge towards him because his family sucks and his father tortured her mom. But accusing Ning Yi of not caring enough about her is just below Zhiwei’s level of EQ. Unless she’s just saying these things on purpose to make Ning Yi hate her. In that case, she should know that Ning Yi is too smart for that. It was just a waste of a conversation, that’s all I’m saying.