Half good,

(This episode is equal parts boring and interesting--it has a couple of really,really interesting scenes) Hence I gave it a 7.0 because I would re-watch it just for those interesting parts.

Security Officer Hueng--Prince Yu's only female guard--meets with Miss Feng as she investigates this case.  Meanwhile, imperial soldiers come for Prince Yu.  The innocent days are over as he is now summoned back to the palace.  He has a private audience with her father and he asks Yu if Ge'er is suitable to be the Flame Master.  Yu says no, but he hopes that one day she will be, and promises to support her.

Just before he leaves we have flashback of toddler Ge'er with Yu, showing 1)he has been disabled for many years and 2)he and her have known one another forever.  She gives him a bell in this flashback, and it is this same bell which she gives him before he leaves, and he promises to write and she promises to visit.  Ge'er doesn't yet realize how complicated his life is....

As he leaves, she wonders if this is is a bad omen.  (YES, THAT IS AN EXTREMELY HEAVY HANDED PLOT LINE.)

Back at Blossom House, Miss Feng meets an official--something she never does--thinking it is the prince or someone related to him.  It is in fact the crown prince,and he has come back to silence her for good. (Confirming, that yes, the prince being asked to return was indeed a bad omen, at least for poor Miss Feng whose only crime was seeking justice for her family).

MW (meanwhile) Ge'er has a few awkward run ins with Feng'er.  She meets with her father and he offers her the flame seal.  She refuses, insisting that one of his disciples should accept it.  Her father seems to be bothered by this but does not force her.  Her reason is that she has never participated in official affairs.

MW crown prince meets with his brother, another prince. They are planning on poisoning Yu using an enchanted cup that looks special.  (The narrative offers no reason for this extraordinary dislike other than the fact that Prince Yu, who is disabled and by default likely excluded from the line of succession, is favored by their father and something of an amateur sleuth)

And Miss Feng is found dead (Body Count 1)

MW we learn that Ge'er can cook.  It makes her seem more feminine and down to earth but also shows that she has a skill to survive when on the road.  Her maids make her promise to not sneak away again.

Now we go to an interesting scene. Why? Because it expands and develops this father-daughter relationship. Ge'er has tea with her father in the now empty Bamboo Villa.  Her father tells her that times will be hard now that Yu is gone.  She asks him if he is proud of her (good line, and I appreciate her directness in asking something that children often wonder of their parents).  He tells her that he is, and wants to know why she would think that.  Ge'er admits that she feared she disappointed him by rejecting the seal(this entire conversation adds more depth to their characters).  Her father tells her not to worry, that he understands why she did that and understands that she will one day lead.  He then asks her if she plans on leaving.  She says yes, and explains she needs to learn how to survive...and it would be good to be away.  She admits she does not hate Feng'er and believes he is most suited to inherit but her father seems to think this is impossible. He refuses to consent to her leaving.

Ge'er goes for a walk and runs into Yin Xue who promises to help her leave if she takes her with him. She agrees.  Yin Xue then meets her father and we learn a few more pieces of information: 1) via flashback, her father while covered in blood in his youth thanks Yin Xue WHO HASN"T AGED A DAY for helping him and promises him his daughter exactly 19 years later (not twenty, but 19) 2)that Anye Luo is going to re-emerge and get revenge on ALL the pugilist sects 3)Ge'er would be safer with him away at Misty mountain so her father agrees.

(see that was the trick of making your target think that they have the power but really they don't i.e. he tricked Ge'er into thinking she had some power...)

So we know that Yin Xue is 1)Immortal and 2)A Master of great power......why is he interested in her? His interest in Ge'er is almost like a fairy tale.

MW back in Luoyang the prince receives the gift from his father, learns that his evil brother is behind it, and is told by said brother to stop investigating or there will be more than a dead courtesan.  He also is directed to a mysterious woman--second wife of the thunderclap clan--who can cure his hearing.  he accepts so as not to be rude.

He tries to reject the medical aid of this woman.  But she is able to convince him because she will tell him why she wants Yin Xue dead.  She tells him that Yin Xue is a 100+ year old monster who hurt her family.  She then teaches his medical doctor the technique and he can hear.  Yu decides to accept her aid so long as she promises no people are hurt and together they can bring one hundred years of peace.

He tells Officer Hueng 1)to stop investigating they will take this slow and 2)to find out about Yin Xue from Mentor and 3)to protect Ge'er (i also just noticed she is ghost queen from eternal love).

MW
Everyone else parts ways. Before she leaves, her father forces her to take the golden seal.  She reluctantly accepts it and promises to return it when she gets back.  Miss D and Master L leave together, and have no real direction; he is just following her. Ultimately they are separated when her brothers summon her and issue a warning for himto stay away. He shrugs this off and speaks to his secret guard who have been secretly watching from the shadows this whole time...

MW--A VERY interesting scene
In the woods, Ge'er gathers wood and admits she has nothing to light the fire.  She then uses her Flame Fist (a.k.a. magic).  But what about food?  WELL Yin Xue causes a bow made of ice to appear and he shoots down a bird in THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.  

Ge'er compliments his bow (yes his bow) and then an extraordinarily flirtatious scene unfolds, in which he tells her he can teach her how to make a bow,she giggles, and then he KISSES HER.

BUT WAIT.

This is all in his head.  Confused by what he has just been thinking about, he wanders off, distracted.

--I will say this, his character is unpredictable for me.  He is coy, I can't tell when he is being truthful, and he is subtle.  Now he is supposedly bad but good....hmmm
-this is the first time we here anyone mention the name of what I assume will be the primary antagonist who, if the bloody flashback of Ge'er's father is any indication, has a good reason for revenge (it would be even more interesting if the puglist league attacked them for no reason)

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