Episode 17: Reunited &---Li'er, don't do that!

So this episode continues to highlight that for all her noble talk, Li'er is a heavily flawed and imperfect person, so she is similar to the Emperor in this regard, but while we might be upset at how high handed the emperor is, everything he reports to do, no matter how ruthless, has a goal of uniting the country, while everything she does seems to create chaos and fracture relationships-- -We open to Jing, who is furious about Li'er's evident betrayal, as it appears to him. In his anger, he tells Han that she has betrayed not just him, but their state and her grandfather for choosing the enemy (really he is upset that she has left him) and he even draws his weapon on Han, whom he accuses of helping this to happen/failing to avenge their grandfather (he does not believe Han when Han reports his assassination attempt). -Han refuses to talk to him when he is upset BUT Han doesn't really gauge how angry he is because he tells him to calm down and they will talk when he is more rational (so this basically invalidates his feelings because he is all about Li'er did this for you, which throws oil on the fire because he does not in anyway seem to care or notice that Jing is angry. he is telling him to accept it when he should have been like 'yea this really sucks that this happened and it isn't fair') -Jing severs his ties with Han and storms off -Alone with Lan'er, Han waxes philosophical on how complicated life can be and how it can ruin chances of people being together (I like Lan'er's more simple view because sometimes it seems like these people create unnecessary problems) -Back in the palace, the emperor is preparing to have all the palace maids flogged to death when it is announced that Madame Li has returned... -So Li'er returns. This entire episode she refuses to look the emperor in the eye (which most of us know can be indicative that you are hiding something) and their reunion is filmed in a dramatic way--she is arrested and in prison is shocked to see that Qing'er, her servant, has been severely beaten. Throughout all of this, Qing'er is all about making Li'er know that she doesn't take her leaving personally (if this were a drama about servants we might see some resentment but it follows the old rule of servants being loyal because they are more like slaves and whatever ill falls the master falls onto them) -Li'er indeed is upset about what happened to Qing'er and Zhao Gao seems excited to have her tortured (i cannot tell if he is sadistic or if he is mad because Li'er doesn't seem to give a hoot about their rules) but the emperor intervenes, and puts out an order that without his permission no one is to hurt her. Now begin the questioins -Li'er's answer is SO REHEARSED. That, coupled with her not looking him in the eye, make for a bad story. But her story is SO BAD. She tells him that she felt restricted and so wanted to go out and experience some freedom and that basically she left to escape the oppression of palace life. Readers, this is completely against her personality. And she is also insulting the emperor's intelligence with this story. but their relationship is sort of like two people dancing together (in a way very different from Jing, with the swords in the woods) so he decides to accept this. we know he doesn't believe it. he now wants to catch her in a lie (it's like fencing almost, where you try to score a point by getting past the other guy's defense) -so problems in her story appear as she repeats she was just 'waling around' while he was gone. And she refuses to tell him how she managed to escape the outer palace. UH HUH. So the emperor , and i give him credit, does not lose his temper. He tells her that she broke the rules and will have to be punished, and he coldly accuses her of treating the palace like an inn. He does get really up in her face and forces her to look at him but he gets nowhere and leaves. -Zheng decides he needs to improve his guards and Li'er, alone with Qing'er, says 'I'M SORRY' (i burst out laughing. she doesn't say wow, i shouldn't have left because i didn't think you would be hurt or i'm sorry for hurting you it's just--I'm sorry ROFL) -Meanwhile, Ghao Zhao learns that li'er leaving coincided with Han's. I mean he has it in for them, and I don't blame them because he very literally almost was executed because she left! Of course he has it in for her! He doesn't want to die! -Han is retained, and brought to the emperor, and painted as a criminal. They figure out that he couldn't possibly have gone home because he returned to soon --unfortunately, Li'er left before they could get their stories straight so....you know....--and once Han learns that Li'er is in prison he makes up a story that he abducted her. WELL. Now someone is lying here. -Han is arrested and tortured but his story does not change. The emperor is quietly angry because now he has to deal with his ministers knowing that his guards were useless, that there is someone in their ranks who should be executed already BUT he is hesitating because he knows that Han probably is important to her so if he executes Han then he risks further alienating Li'er. -Throughout all of this, Ghao Zhao strokes the emperor's jealousy by pointing out how she left to be somewhere else, how she was likely with another man this entire time doing who knows what (when she can't even look him in the eye!) -Meanwhile, Ru'er reports to the Grand Dowager all that is happening. The Dowager looks weak, and her health is not great, but it seems she was planning on leaving things alone since the emperor last yelled at her but now she has to return because the inner palace is in chaos, making them look bad to the rest of the world, so she has to take on the issue of Li'er, the source -The emperor confronts Li'er, who is evasive but her mental thoughts are so bad--she is angry with Han for making up the story to protect her--DOES NO ONE ELSE NOTICE THAT HAN DOES TO HER WHAT SHE DOES TO EVERYONE ELSE? SHE IS EXPERIENCING EXACTLY HOW JING FEELS. And she doesn't like it. But she can only see herself, and what she does, because now she has to figure out how to help han. -So she plans to help Han by persuading Qing'er, who was just nearly killed on her behalf, to smuggle her into the prison to see Han. no note, no sending of messages. naturally Qing'er has some reservations but Li'er promises to stay. OMG. Conclusion So I am in a state of confusion. Now I am wondering if her character is being written this way tho show how imperfect she is and how she hurts people, just like the emperor, but she feels her reasons are noble while his aren't. thus they aren't that different.

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