Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! BE mentioned in the last Open Thread, that he enjoyed my more impressionist take on things, so I thought I’d take a somewhat less blow-by-blow approach this set of episode notes. Let me know whether this works for you guys! Also, doesn’t Mei Changsu look quite incandescent in the candlelight, in this screenshot?

Here are our usual ground rules, before we begin:

1. Please don’t post spoilers in the Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point. If you really need to talk about a spoiler, it is possible to use the new spoiler tags, but please know that spoilers are still visible (ie, not hidden) in the email notification that you receive, of the comment in question.

We have quite a few first-time viewers among us, and we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

2. Discussions on this thread don’t have to close when newer threads open, just so you know! But as we progress through our group watch, please keep the discussions clear of spoilers from future episodes, so that future readers coming to this thread won’t be accidentally spoiled. Does that make sense?

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

My thoughts

Episode 16

This episode, Marquis Xie puts pressure on Zhuo Dingfeng and Zhuo Qingyao to get rid of Shen Zhui, and this turns out just as Mei Changsu predicts, in our opening scene.

As Mei Changsu puts it, Zhuo Dingfeng is at a disadvantage, with Marquis Xie exploiting him for political gain, and with them being in-laws, it’s even more difficult for Zhuo Dingfeng to extricate himself from the situation, if he wanted to.

On hindsight, this scene really does feel like foreshadowing, considering the events of the rest of the episode.

..Which is why, looking back, the remark that Li Gang makes, about it being such a shame that warm and pure-hearted Jingrui will be implicated by his father, and the way Mei Changsu muses that the words “可惜” (“kěxí”) which translate as “a pity” or “a shame,” are far from adequate to express Jingrui’s situation, feels so ominous.

By this point of the story, layering on Mei Changsu’s effort to have Gong Yu invited to Jingrui’s birthday party later in the episode, we’re already primed to expect that Jingrui’s birthday party is going to be an Unforgettable Event. 😬

I do love the detail, that Zhen Ping’s takedown of Marquis Yan’s entire list of martial arts experts, takes only a day. Tee hee.

For some reason, this tickles me quite a bit. It’s like Marquis Yan’s Big Collection of Formidable Fighters, which Tianquan Manor has gone to great pains to enlist, turns out to be.. well, nothing much at all, after all.

Also, I got a kick out of Zhen Ping’s disappointment in himself, for not having the foresight to come up with a cool fake name for himself, to duel with. Ahaha. I like him already.

I also just wanted to say, I actually really liked this fight scene, because it feels just flashy enough to be impressive, but it also feels fairly restrained, in the wuxia scheme of things. That restraint adds to the general feel of realism to our drama world, which I appreciate.

It almost goes without saying – though I’ll say it anyway – I found it very satisfying to see Marquis Xie and Zhuo Dingfeng so nonplussed, that their Formidable Fighters have all been defeated and are all injured and out of action for the foreseeable future.

I also find it quite gratifying that they are immediately clear on the fact that it is Mei Changsu who is behind the decommissioning of all their martial arts experts. Although this isn’t Mei Changsu’s main intention, it feels like he’s made an effective point in showing them who’s boss when it comes to Jianghu matters.

Next, we see that Xia Dong makes her way to her husband’s grave in the mountains, and I really like the detail, that Nihuang comes out on horseback, to send her off. It says a lot about Nihuang, that she makes it a point to send off Xia Dong like this, every year.

Nihuang sure has a lot of heart; she understands that this gesture will give Xia Dong some solidarity, on a very painful aspect of her life.

On a tangent, I also really like that we get scenes like this, of Xia Dong and Nihuang on horseback.

It adds to that feel of realism in our drama world, where we’re not just told that they are both strong women; we get to see them casually riding horses, which is something that dainty and delicate women definitely don’t do.

Xia Dong’s always come across as such a strong person, that it’s a little startling, and very poignant, to see her crying at her husband’s grave. Clearly, there is a lot of pain and struggle that she keeps very private.

I’m pretty sure that Mei Changsu isn’t in the mountains for exercise, like he says; I’m fairly certain that he is there specifically to pay his respects to General Nie.

I’m wondering why Mei Changsu would time his visit to General Nie’s grave to coincide with Xia Dong’s visit, and I’m guessing that, even though it’s not his main intent, it would likely smoothen his relationship with Xia Dong, for her to understand that he has a deep respect for her late husband.

There is so much depth of emotion in Mei Changsu’s expression, as he bows before General Nie’s grave. He clearly has an enduring regard for General Nie; even from that quick flashback to the battlefield, we get a sense for the unquestioning trust and comradeship between them.

I don’t think that Mei Changsu’s subsequent conversation with Xia Dong, about the eunuch murder case, was planned, because it’s Xia Dong who first mentions that she has work to do, and thus cannot accompany him.

However, I do think that Mei Changsu takes the opportunity to sound her out, when the opportunity presents itself, and I believe that’s why he made reference to the case.

I like how, when Xia Dong prods Mei Changsu about Jiangzuo Alliance’s possible involvement in the case, Mei Changsu pleasantly invites her to investigate as needed, but also points her towards taking a look at what other Jianghu masters are in the capital, at the moment.

Xia Dong’s already thought along these lines, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have an unofficial official take from the leader of the Jiangzuo Alliance himself.

The appearance of the savage beast (I think we can assume that it was the beast that was watching Xia Dong, at General Nie’s grave), along with Prince Jing’s troops in pursuit of it, felt a bit random, but since there are no random arcs in this show, we can safely conclude that this thing with the savage beast, has a purpose in our overall story.

I do like the little beat, where we see that Qimeng, who had previously insulted Mei Changsu by throwing a flying blade in Mei Changsu’s direction, has now clearly learned his lesson, and is much more tuned in to the possibility that he might have made a mistake.

I like how he’s tuned in enough to Mei Changsu’s expression, to ask Mei Changsu whether he’s said or done anything wrong.

I also like how Mei Changsu is gracious in his answer, and simply advises Qimeng to be careful of his words in the future (and not say things like only Prince Jing takes on thankless tasks like searching for a savage beast), for the sake of Prince Jing’s reputation.

I also like that detail, that it’s Mei Changsu who gives Qimeng the idea of luring the beast with its favorite food, in order to trap it.

I find this very amusing, because it’s not like Mei Changsu is some hunting expert, and yet, neither the guards from the Capital Magistrate’s office, nor Prince Jing’s soldiers, have seemed to hit on this very valid idea.

Our Mei Changsu is just all-around brilliant, it seems; his genius basically extends to whatever he decides to put his mind to.

Zhuo Dingfeng and Zhuo Qingyao trying to kill Shen Zhui is a pretty key arc this episode, mostly because it’s complicated by the fact that Jingrui’s grown suspicious enough of Qingyao sneaking around, that he’s decided to trail him – which is how Jingrui ends up saving Shen Zhui’s life, by basically jumping in front of him, so that the person Zhuo Dingfeng ends up stabbing, is Jingrui, and not Shen Zhui.

Yikes. What a way to find out that one of your fathers is trying to assassinate a new minister who has nothing but a clean reputation.

As Mei Changsu states in the beginning of the episode, it’s difficult for Zhuo Dingfeng to back away from this situation, and even though we can see discomfort and unease in his expression when he asks Marquis Xie why the Crown Prince has to kill Shen Zhui, he seems to feel that he has no choice, but to follow Marquis Xie’s orders.

It’s also interesting to me, that when Jingrui asks Zhuo Dingfeng why he’s trying to kill Shen Zhui, Zhuo Dingfeng not only tells him to stay out of it, he also says that if Marquis Xie were to find out about Jingrui’s interference, even Zhuo Dingfeng himself wouldn’t be able to protect him.

The hierarchy between fathers is so clear, isn’t it?

I won’t talk more about Mei Changsu’s visit to Miao Yin Court to get Gong Yu an invitation to Jingrui’s birthday banquet, since I already mentioned it earlier, but I just wanted to say that I really like this scene, where Mei Changsu is preparing to leave for Miao Yin Court, and we see him gazing at the fish lantern, and thinking back to the time when he and Nihuang had put up lanterns together.

It’s such a rare moment of vulnerability, when Mei Changsu looks a little flustered at the fact that Nihuang’s arrived, and has caught him entertaining fond thoughts of her – even though she can’t possibly read his mind.

I realize that I really enjoy these glimpses that we get, into Mei Changsu’s true feelings, because he keeps them hidden, so much of the time.

I’m glad that Mei Changsu’s thought to have Shen Zhui’s residence heavily guarded by Prince Jing’s soldiers, because otherwise, Shen Zhui’s life would have definitely been in danger.

It really was quite satisfying to see all the troops come out of seemingly nowhere, and trap Zhuo Dingfeng and Zhuo Qingyao in the courtyard.

I just like the idea that Marquis Xie’s plan isn’t succeeding; this will surely send him a strong message, not to mess with Shen Zhui, right?

However, I do feel sorry for Jingrui’s sister Xie Qi, who’s heavily pregnant, and whom we’ve seen has been largely pining for her husband, because he’s always out doing his father-in-law’s dirty bidding.

What a shock it must be for her, to have her husband suddenly coming home with a serious injury that looks like it might possibly kill him.

And, seriously, how heartless is Marquis Xie, that he doesn’t seem to even care, that his son-in-law might be dying, and is only interested to know what went wrong in the assassination attempt?? I hope this turns Zhuo Dingfeng against Marquis Xie, though I’m not sure there is room for him to actually extricate himself now.

Meanwhile, Mei Changsu enlists Prince Yu in a similar fashion, as when he’d gotten Prince Yu involved in Nihuang’s rescue; he presents the illegal fireworks factory case to Prince Yu and nudges him to back Shen Zhui, because this will be a blow to the Crown Prince.

That’s sneakily brilliant, isn’t it? Because, once again, Prince Yu believes that Mei Changsu is helping him, when in actual fact, Prince Yu is the one helping Mei Changsu to achieve what he wants.

I kinda love the fact that Prince Yu’s always so grateful to Mei Changsu, when he’s actually being used. 😝😅

Episode 17

I have to admit, Banruo’s counter-plan, to blow up (literally, ha) the case against the Crown Prince, is an effective one. It’s so evil and heartless, though, to cause so many deaths and injuries, and so much damage, for the purpose of political gain.

I definitely see a glimpse of Prince Yu’s cold and cruel side coming through now, like in the way he describes the situation, saying it’s a pity that lives were lost, but that this was the only way to bring out the full value of the case against the Crown Prince.

Tsk. You can’t think of yourself as magnanimous ruler (wannabe), if you’re killing the people that you’d like to rule!

Of course, our Divine Talent Mei Changsu manages to turn the situation to his advantage, even though this is an unexpected and undesirable development, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

For now, I find Jingrui’s confrontation with Marquis Xie pretty interesting, because while Marquis Xie is furious with Jingrui and even slaps him for being disrespectful, the things that Marquis Xie says, when seen from his perspective, aren’t completely groundless.

It is true that it’s important for Marquis Xie, that the person he’s aligned with, does eventually take the throne.

With political machinations being the way they are, it makes sense that if Prince Yu were to eventually come into power, Prince Yu wouldn’t waste time in getting rid of his enemy’s camp, and Marquis Xie and his family – including the Zhuo family – would be one of the key pieces to eliminate.

Of course, one could argue that Marquis Xie could have just opted to abstain from all the politicking, like Shen Zhui is doing, but as we’ve learned, someone like Shen Zhui is more likely to dwindle in obscurity than be promoted for his honest hard work.

Marquis Xie has too much ambition for that. And so, even though I think Marquis Xie is evil and conniving, his stance actually makes sense to me. His new decision, to actively keep his political involvement a secret from Jingrui, makes sense too.

Poor Jingrui, though; he’s getting more and more disillusioned by just about everyone in his family.

On Mei Changsu’s side of things, I’m impressed (though not surprised) that he would deduce so quickly, that the explosion is the result of human interference, rather than an accident.

Also, props to Li Gang, for being able to correctly conclude (and so quickly, too!), that the person most likely to be behind the explosion, is Prince Yu.

I love that Li Gang’s smart and quick on the uptake; he makes a worthy righthand man to our Divine Talent.

The conversations between Mei Changsu, Nihuang and Prince Jing, at the scene of the explosion, are particularly interesting to me, this episode.

For one thing, if I were Prince Jing, I would be quite suspicious of the fact that Nihuang keeps jumping to Mei Changsu’s defense.

Even though she explains her behavior, saying that Prince Jing’s question-accusation, asking if Mei Changsu was behind the explosion, is offensive to anyone listening, there’s just something so visceral about the way Nihuang defends Mei Changsu, that I feel it’d invite speculation.

Plus, there’s the way she expects Prince Jing’s men to obey Mei Changsu without question, when Mei Changsu says not to report the use of army provisions to the Ministry of Defense, even though this is a breach of protocol.

Again, very suspicious. I wonder if this will nudge Prince Jing to wonder a little bit deeper, about Mei Changsu’s identity? After all, it’s extremely out of character for Nihuang to protect someone vehemently like this, particularly someone she’s supposed to not know very well.

Another thing I find worth mentioning about the conversation, is how we can see that Prince Jing is still adjusting to trusting Mei Changsu.

Given his straightforward personality, it’s not that surprising that he would ask Mei Changsu whether he was behind the explosion, because the way Mei Changsu lays it out, is startlingly detailed and precise.

It is admittedly rare for someone who isn’t involved in the execution of a thing, to be able to trace events and people’s involvement with the kind of accuracy that Mei Changsu has.

Because Prince Jing is still getting to know Mei Changsu, in a manner of speaking, I can understand why he would consider Mei Changsu a possible suspect.

It’s noteworthy, though, that once Mei Changsu clarifies that the explosion was not his idea, Prince Jing does back off and apologize.

Also, how intriguing, that when Mei Changsu stops Prince Jing’s man from reporting the use of army provisions, Prince Jing goes along with Mei Changsu’s request, even though it’s against protocol (and protocol is clearly very important to the straitlaced Prince Jing), and even though he doesn’t yet know Mei Changsu’s rationale.

This means that Prince Jing is learning to trust Mei Changsu implicitly, which is an idea that I like a lot.

I also like Mei Changsu’s rationale on why he wants the use of army provisions to go unreported. It is true, that if Prince Jing does everything according to protocol, no one would know of the good deeds that Prince Jing has done for the people during a time of crisis.

However, if Prince Jing were to get into a little bit of trouble for not reporting the use of the army provisions, it would blow over easily, plus, it would also provide opportunity for righteous officials to speak up for him in court, thus bringing attention to Prince Jing’s exemplary handling of a crisis situation.

Talk about a small tweak reaping big rewards.

In particular, I like Mei Changsu’s answer, when Prince Jing expresses discomfort at doing good deeds in order to gain attention, “If you did things for others to see, then it’s a problem of your moral character, but if no one knew of your good deeds, then it’s a failure on my part as your advisor.”

Very well said! And, it does look like Mei Changsu’s given Prince Jing a lot of food for thought as well.

How interesting, that in the scene where the Emperor hears the details of the factory explosion case, Prince Yu does not act as the Crown Prince expects.

Even though Noble Consort Yue’s plan makes a kind of sense, for the Crown Prince to get his planted advisors to have Prince Yu aggressively attack the Crown Prince and push for his punishment, thus triggering the Emperor’s suspicion, Mei Changsu is clearly one step ahead (or ten!).

Instead of pushing for the Crown Prince to be deposed, Prince Yu earnestly asks for the Emperor to have mercy on the Crown Prince, thus triggering the Emperor’s wrath – and a harsh judgment on all involved in the case.

Hur. At this moment, doesn’t it seem like everyone in the race kinda knows how to push the Emperor’s buttons to get what they want? If Mei Changsu hadn’t interfered, Noble Consort Yue’s plan would have pushed a different set of buttons, and gotten a different result, I feel like.

I also just wanted to say that I love Shen Zhui in this scene. The way he responds when the Emperor asks him if there is evidence to refute the Crown Prince’s story, that everything was his clerk’s doing, is so subtly brilliant.

“From the split of profit every year, for 5 years, Lou Zhijing always got 2 tenths, while Han Li got 8 tenths. I just think that this Han Li must be quite extraordinary, for a clerk employed by the Crown Prince, a small sub 4th rank official, to be able to reduce the profit of a 2nd rank official, a Minister of State Revenue, to such a degree.”

Muahaha. I love it. What a clever good egg Shen Zhui is.

That scene of the Crown Prince throwing a tantrum while under house arrest in Guijia Palace, is pretty great, especially when he gets further aggravated by the report that instead of getting into trouble because of the report by the Ministry of Defense, Prince Jing got praised by the Emperor instead.

Very excellent.

How curious, that Banruo seems so intent on visiting Mei Changsu’s manor. I wonder what she has in mind, because surely she isn’t as interested in his decor as she claims.

And how presumptuous of Prince Yu to show up uninvited at Mei Changsu’s residence, and with Banruo in tow, no less, when Mei Changsu has other invited guests at his house. I guess royalty can do things like that, and not have it be considered rude, though I do think it’s rude.

Just because you’re royalty doesn’t mean people enjoy your company.

I wonder what Mei Changsu has in mind, devising that treasure hunt for his guests, and what Banruo has in mind, snooping around.

She’s definitely not interested in that rare music score like Yujin and Xia Chun are. I’m also not sure whether to be worried, when Banruo comes upon that false wall / hidden door. Has Banruo stumbled on something she shouldn’t have, or is this also part of Mei Changsu’s plan?

Episode 18

As it turns out, Mei Changsu had created that treasure hunt with a purpose, and that was to invite people – like Xia Chun and Banruo – to snoop around and have them come up empty.

Apparently, Mei Changsu’s remodeled his house sufficiently, that the secret passage to Prince Jing’s manor, is now well disguised. Ooh. That’s certainly one way of neutralizing any suspicions that people might have towards him.

And, the plan is effective, too. Banruo does happen on the secret chamber, but does not clue in to the hidden passage which is hidden within the secret chamber. It’s kinda like.. our current-day two-factor authentication, isn’t it? 😆

Anyway. I am pleased that Banruo comes out of this looking suitably contrite and embarrassed, and I’m also rather glad that Prince Yu is vaguely displeased by her actions, even though he tells her that there’s no need to apologize.

Prince Yu is right; Banruo’s sneaky behavior does make Prince Yu look like he’d gone to Mei Changsu’s manor with a hidden agenda. Well, maybe it’s time Prince Yu rethinks how implicitly he ought to trust Banruo?

I kinda love how huffy Nihuang and Commander Meng are, sneaking back into Mei Changsu’s manor, after bidding an official farewell, and demanding to know what on earth Mei Changsu is thinking, allowing people to ransack his house like that.

It amuses me, that even though these two know Mei Changsu well, they still can’t grasp his thoughts and plans, until he unveils it to them.

..Which is what happens next – again – when Mei Changsu tests Commander Meng with the suggestion that Commander Meng accompany him through the secret passageway, to visit Prince Jing. Commander Meng agrees readily, only to be shot down by both Mei Changsu and Nihuang.

It’s rather odd, actually, that Commander Meng has been under the impression that Prince Jing knows about Mei Changsu’s true identity, since Mei Changsu has been emphatic about keeping his identity a secret from the start.

However, I rationalize that in Commander Meng’s eyes, if Prince Jing has agreed to work with Mei Changsu, it’s natural that this truth would be shared.

The way Mei Changsu explains it, however, it really is better for Prince Jing not to know.

Although I get Commander Meng’s pure-hearted desire for Prince Jing to know that Mei Changsu is, in fact, his long-lost best friend Lin Shu, Mei Changsu’s point – that the reason Prince Jing is collaborating so well with him now, is because he doesn’t need to care about how the plans affect Mei Changsu, and only needs to focus on whether the plans are beneficial – makes a lot of sense.

I would believe Mei Changsu’s point, that if Prince Jing were to know his identity, he’d be too concerned with keeping Lin Shu safe, to be properly focused on the goal of winning the throne.

And, given that this is a dangerous undertaking, they simply cannot afford for Prince Jing to be distracted, particularly by something like this, that would hit him at such an emotional level.

I do appreciate that emotional beat, where Mei Changsu raises his voice just a touch, to defend the way Prince Jing looks upon him.

It is true, that Prince Jing only sees Mei Changsu as a strategist, and therefore, has the right to test him or treat him with suspicion as he sees fit. I just like this idea, that Mei Changsu would get (even a little bit) worked up about it, and defend Prince Jing, because he’s typically so calm and controlled.

I also like Mei Changsu’s point, that while Prince Jing might not be good at power play, it is precisely this quality of his, that will make him a good and wise Emperor.

It’s really sad, though, the way Mei Changsu talks about having crawled out of hell, and poison having seeped into his bones, and that’s why he should be the one to do all the insidious and vicious deeds.

It’s as if he’s saying, he’s already thoroughly poisoned physically, so he might as well absorb the moral poison as well, on Prince Jing’s behalf. 😭

I’m suitably intrigued by the reveal that we get, from Banruo’s conversation with Prince Yu, that Grand Princess Liyang had once been in love with a prince from Southern Chu, who had been sent as a hostage to Jinling.

Piecing that tidbit together with the fact that Grand Princess Liyang had married Xie Yu soon after the hostage prince had left Jinling, it’s not that much of a stretch to guess that Jingrui could be that hostage prince’s son?

And maybe that’s why it was so important, to have Grand Princess Liyang married off, because she’d been pregnant?

Ohhh. Well if that’s true, it would explain why Marquis Xie seems so harsh on Jingrui?

I kinda love the fact that the first time we see the secret passageway being used, it is Prince Jing that makes the first move to seek out Mei Changsu, and in the early pre-dawn hours, no less.

This gives me a good amount of satisfaction, because now we can see that Prince Jing’s trust in Mei Changsu is growing. He absolutely feels the need to speak with Mei Changsu before leaving on his 3-day trip to Xishan to oversee the defense rotations, on the Emperor’s orders, and that urgency of his, pleases me.

How intriguing, that the urgent matter which Prince Jing wishes to consult Mei Changsu on, is the marriage alliance with Southern Chu that Concubine Jing had heard about.

It’s rather surprising to me, actually, that Mei Changsu would have such a ready, simple answer to Prince Jing’s conundrum at being a likely candidate for the marriage alliance.

He tells Prince Jing that all they need to do, is make sure Prince Jing’s 八字 (“bāzì”) literally, eight characters (this refers to an astrological concept that a person’s destiny is determined by the characters assigned to their birth year, month, day and hour; more details can be found here) doesn’t match the princess’s.

This seems like a bit of an anticlimax, for Prince Jing taking such a big step to seek him out like this.

However, this does provide Prince Jing with further evidence that Mei Changsu is way more prepared than one might expect, and also, an opportunity to probe further, why Mei Changsu would choose to support an unfavored prince such as himself.

The sense that I get from this conversation, is that Prince Jing is testing Mei Changsu, somewhat.

Although Mei Changsu deftly goes back to his original claim, which is that he would best prove his mettle as a strategist by successfully putting an unfavored prince on the throne, it definitely feels like Prince Jing isn’t quite buying what Mei Changsu is telling him.

On another note, I feel like Mu Qing breaking down the tally between the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, and concluding that both princes are losing key personnel in the fight with each other, is good foreshadowing for what happens next, with the Emperor’s dilemma over whom to appoint as the next Minister of Justice.

As Xia Dong puts it to Nihuang and Mu Qing, with the fight between the two princes being so fierce, they’d both rather see a neutral party take up any vacated positions, than see their rival’s personnel take them.

This is exactly what the Emperor does, in selecting Cai Quan to be the next Minister of Justice. I’m pretty sure, though, that Prince Jing must have been coached ahead of time by Mei Changsu, to mention vaguely that he’s only worked with the Ministry of Justice once, for the Duke of Qing’s case – which is what prompts the Emperor to remember that the case had been written very well, and then seek out the person who’d written that case.

Again, this is just the sort of obtuse prompting that seems to work best with the Emperor, because it pleases him to think that he came up with the idea all on his own, and this is exactly the artful manipulation of the Emperor, that Mei Changsu seems particularly adept at.

Maybe it’s because Prince Jing is a bit of a stiff actor; the Emperor’s chief eunuch Gao Zhan seems to regard Prince Jing with a touch of wariness, in this scene. I wonder if / how this might factor into the way Gao Zhan speaks of Prince Jing with the Emperor, going forward?

How curious, that we end the episode with Commander Meng finding a way to “accidentally” discover the secret passageway in Prince Jing’s study. This is all so clumsily executed, that it doesn’t seem like something that Mei Changsu has endorsed, right?

My first thought is that Commander Meng just doesn’t want to be left out among his friends (ha), but let’s see.

Meanwhile, the Emperor happens on the back wall to Concubine Jing’s quarters, and decides to pay her a visit, after having conveniently forgotten her for the many years since Consort Chen’s and Prince Qi’ deaths.

Ahh.. It looks like Concubine Jing might soon be brought out of the shadows, doesn’t it?