#Author: Man Man He Qi Duo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

muses14 · 1 year

Text

Those Years In Quest of Honor Mine (Review)

Type: Chinese Novel (BL) Genre: Historical Author: Man Man He Qi Duo Rating: ★ (1.5) Summary: Yu Ziyou and Zhong Wan served different masters.

They had once been the closest of souls, and were the bitterest of enemies.After losing the fight for the throne, Zhong Wan brought his two young masters with him far toward the borders for the sake of survival. He relied on the little friendship that existed between him and Yu Ziyou when they were young. He borrowed some of his personal belongings while also dropping various hints around which made everyone think that there was something intimate going on between them.

Given the Yu Clan’s powerful authoritative presence in the imperial court, this appearance of a close tie allowed Zhong Wan to live a much better life than before. As such, the stories he cooked up began to carry more and more weight.

As rumors of their lovely romance spread a thousand miles into the horizon, Yu Ziyou, who was located in the distant capital city, eventually caught wind of his deeply moving and epic love affair. In a trance, Yu Ziyou, who had been completely brainwashed for seven years, believed in them. He guessed something special really did happen between them back in those years…

Characters: Zhong Wan He starts off in the novel at the age of 24. He’s described to be good looking and very intelligent. He is quite the flirt and teases Yu She on the regular. He has endured many hardships in life and was raised by an adoptive mother and father. He has a weak constitution due to something that had happened to him. Can’t go into detail without spoiling. He also has three step siblings whom he cares for. Yu She At the start of the novel he is 23. During his youth he was a very kind and strong willed individual and adhered to all rules. But as the years went by he started to change and had “bouts of madness”. I believe it is mental illness of some kind but it was never said which. Gradually he becomes less prone to wild behavior and mania thanks to Zhong Wan. Relationship: Uh, hmmm... Zhong Wan liked Yu She as soon as they met. They were 15 and 16 at the time. Zhong Wan loved to joke around and mess with Yu She, and Yu She would get angry. It was cute, honestly. Then they separated for years and reunite in their twenties and Zhong Wan still felt as strongly for Yu She as he did years ago, and it was quickly found out by the other. Eventually they both fess up to their feelings for one another. Their relationship wasn’t anything amazing to me. It was just there and had a few cute moments. Supporting Characters: Xuan Congxin. She’s the real queen here! I liked her a lot and was sad she didn’t get as much screen time as I’d have liked. The rest were meh. Overall: This novel was...boring. The plot is not strong and had “comedy” riddled in all parts. It felt intrusive when you came to serious topics and it ends with a joke or something witty the author wanted one of the characters to say by the end of the chapter. She said it took her sixteen years to write this, and it’s telling (at least to me) that it was written when she was young and got polished more and more as the years went by. The title drew me to this the most and was why I decided to read it. And I have seen people question others with something akin to “why read a novel you don’t enjoy much and then rate it really low?” Why not? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and while they did not enjoy it as much as someone else, feedback, whether negative or positive still gives it attention. Nothing is perfect, after all.

#novel review #dāngnián wànlǐ mì fēng hóu #those years in quest of honor mine #man man he qi duo

1 note · View note

dangermousie · 2 years

Note

How about danmei recs for beginners?

I love this ask but it's complicated by two things:

1. Like any ask, my answer is going to be based on my specific preferences - i.e., if your taste is towards contemporary fluff, I am not your person; also everyone loves Meng Xi Shi novels except for me, etc etc.

2. Normally the n1 author recommended would be MXTX and her three novels are a great beginner choice (yes, even Scum Villain's Self Saving System; one need not be familiar with Chinese web novels t enjoy this, being a dedicated fanfic reader would do) because they are irresistibly addictive and have served as a great entry point for many, but all the fan translations have been taken down due to them being properly published by an official publisher; however only first volumes of each novel are currently out in English so there is no easily accessible complete translation out there atm.

However, moving on from these, here are some recs. All are complete either in full translation or a combination of full translation and edited machine translation which is very readable.

Sha Po Lang by Priest - Priest is a popular writer for a reason and this is by far my favorite. This is heavily plotty but set in an alternate history steampunk setting. If you like fantasy and history, it's easy to follow, not insanely long, and has a slow-burn, understated couple in a very Victorian way.

Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by Man Man He Qi Duo - the politics is not too complicated or too dumb, and the main couple is amazing - if you do not love them both - so good, so damaged (one in much more showy way than the other but both are walking wounded), you have no heart. Once again, it's a fictional dynasty so no history knowledge is necessary.

The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha) and Stains of Filth (Yuwu) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat - honestly, Yuwu is probably a much better choice for a beginner, being shorter and less twisty and less gonzo but if I were ever to mention only one web novel to people, it would be 2ha - I have never read a web novel (and few of any other kind of novel) this tailored to me - so joyously gonzo, so emotionally searing, so luring you slowly into a delightfully picaresque adventure with a deeply hilarious cynical undertone and then whamming you hard and if you are like me, you find yourself crying, bawling really, going how did I get here? 2ha has a trigger warning list the size of its protagonist's equipment but it's so worth it. And so is Yuwu, a very different story with very different protagonists, but sharing 2ha's intensity and emotional heft. They have complicated narratives (especially 2ha, with its crisscrossing timelines) but nothing you can't manage if you've read fantasy novels.

Nan Chan by Tan Jiuqing - ahahaha this is being thrown off a deep end really. But sometimes that is what you need - this seemingly disjointed, deeply fantastical tale about a sentient fish and a human embodiment of a sword really is like diving into the Mariana's Trench but it gloriously pays off. And if you enjoy this, then you can def read most anything.

Mistakenly Saving the Villain by Feng Yu Nie - this is THE hurt/comfort fic of your dreams, trust me!

Golden Stage by Cai Wu Bin Bai - politics, power couple, a fast moving story. This is actually probably an easier entry point than Sha Po Lang (in some ways, it's a similar type of story) and I am ridiculously fond of it.

Wu Chang Jie by Shui Qian Cheng - once again, very mythology heavy, very long list of trigger warnings, but this is such an addictive, intense story and I love it so much, I cannot not rec it.

It's Not Easy Being a Master by Jin Xi Gu Nian - if you want to read disciple x his teacher story but can't get your hands on Scum Villain and 2ha looks too intimidating, this is a great choice. Like in the other two, disciple went evil and harmed the teacher in past timeline. Now, the teacher is being inhabited by a modern transmigrator who wants to avoid this fate; he doesn't know the disciple transmigrated too so it's gonna be hard. There are a lot of adventures, a good coherent plot and honestly a wonderfully functional OTP.

Spring Trees and Sunset Clouds by Wei Liang - this is a slow slice of life with slow healing (and some seriously dark underpinnings) and a truly good yet easy read.

How to Survive As a Villain by Yi Yi Yi Yi - a true delight about a modern person transmigrator into a book villain, who tries to survive since his original role is to torment and be killed by the protagonist. This throws the whole story delightfully off track.

And I am gonna stop now :)

#asks #cnovel

94 notes · View notes

firstsensibility · 3 years

Text

Danmei authors everyone should check out + selected works part 2

(all novels can be found on novelupdates with Eng tl)

Bó Mù Bīng Lún: welcome to the nightmare game

Little devil: monster & psycho

Cyan wings: They all say I've met a ghost, Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life, high energy QR code

Long Qi: game loading, glory, My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting

Can’t Play Chess: my husband is suffering from a terminal illness, death progress bar

Man Man He Qi Duo: FOG, Those Years In Quest Of Honour Mine

#danmei novels #danmei recs

52 notes · View notes

orsuliya · 3 years

Text

Alright! Time for part 3 of married!Awu/XQ headcanons. This time? It’s all about the children!

There is nothing unplanned about Awu’s second pregnancy. The subject of children comes up again not long after Awu reunites with Xiao Qi after the so-called death of the latter. Their days in Ningshuo may be filled with the hustle and bustle of preparing for the upcoming march on the capital, but evenings and nights? Those are for holding each other close in search of comfort and reassurance. If not for that, Awu would scarcely have the strength to let Xiao Qi out of her eyesight during those first days and weeks.

During one of those quiet Ningshuo evenings Awu finally breaks. She has had to be strong for so long, all the while half-believing she would never be allowed the luxury of being weak in her husband’s arms again, that even now it takes time for her to let go and simply cry. When tears finally do come out, so do all of Awu’s past fears, leaving her one by one in an unstoppable torrent. Fear for those reliant on her, for the orphaned country and for her own fate; all of those are carefully listened to and soothed with words, silent affection and sense of complete togetherness.

One of those fears? Had you died, had you truly left me alone, what would I have of you for all the years to come? she asks, her voice muffled, her face pressed into her husband’s neck. There is a good reason why she was prepared to die after exacting her revenge. Far too many sleepless nights in Hulan had been spent imagining the long, dreary years of her widowhood. Ten, twenty, thirty years of loneliness, seeing her nephews and nieces being born and then growing up, with nothing, not even her husband’s sword to put in that bloody chapel; would that have been her fate?

She hits him – not too hard, but hard enough for it to be more than a playful tap – when he says that, in time, she would remarry and find happiness again. Would you?! she demands angrily, then softens, once she reads the answer in his eyes. A man should take responsibility from the beginning to the end. Not even a bloody sword to be mounted on the family altar, she laughs tiredly. You owe me, my Prince Yuzhang, you owe me and I shall be your most merciless creditor. Give me a child with your smile, one with your hands and eyes, she demands, pressing insistent kisses to that smile, to those hands and eyes, and then and only then will I consider myself satisfied.

He would, you know, he would have given her a dozen children if that were only possible, but surely she must know that it is not, it can never be in this lifetime. Awu can have anything else for the payment of his debt; he knows he owes her and will give her all that she may wish for that she does not already own. She wants children? Fine, she may have all the orphans in Ningshuo for the raising, if that will bring her joy. But he doesn’t, can never regret putting her health above all else and would give her five more miracle flowers if he had to…

Yes, Awu finally shuts her husband up, unable to take any more of this lethal sincerity. How? Well, the exact method I shall leave to your imagination, but the gist of it is as follows: Xiao Qi is not getting off that easily. They can and will have that child. How? Well, Awu might have plotted with Doctor Shen towards that goal and it will work this time. Maybe not now, maybe it will take another few months or years of fiery needles, but it’s not like they are in hurry. There is no way Awu will agree to have a child in the middle of a civil war, so her husband should really get on with restoring peace in all Cheng. Not right now! In the morning should be soon enough.

____________________________________

It does take some time, first to restore peace and then for Awu to actually get pregnant. In the meantime, she does take all the orphans in Ningshuo as an advance on that debt, not to mention their first son and daughter, Xiaohe and Qinzhi.

Doctor Shen, who – struck with a sudden premonition – had moved to Ningshuo among much grumbling and trembling over the contents of his priceless apothecary, is rewarded with the dubious honour of playing witness to Xiao Qi’s complete meltdown. The first thing our brave general does upon hearing of his wife’s pregnancy is to hug her and refuse to let go for a good while, not that she protests. The second thing? He panics like he’s never panicked before. Doctor Shen comes upon his noble patron, well, not hyperventilating, we’re talking about Xiao Qi here, remember. But certainly in throes of a good old anxiety attack. It’s… an experience for the good doctor, that’s for sure.

Thankfully Doctor Shen manages to talk Xiao Qi out of his wildest ideas. Like, for example, shutting Awu in her rooms in the middle of Ningshuo Fortress and standing guard over her until the baby is born. Yeah, that was not Xiao Qi’s proudest moment. Doctor Shen promises not to tell anyone of this sudden bout of unreasonable behaviour and keeps his word… for about three days, when he gladly throws Xiao Qi under the bus in order to ensure Awu’s full compliance with his own, medically justified safety measures.

Mind you, even Doctor Shen cannot work miracles, which he comes to bitterly regret in those next few months. Panicked Xiao Qi and worried Turnip Wang make for a truly hellish duo and Ningshuo soon experiences a steady trickle of accomplished doctors from the capital. Some of them have clearly been dragged out of their comfortable practices under duress, for others it’s quite an adventure. The latter soon find themselves put to work; no use in simply standing around and deliberating over a stunningly healthy woman when there are actual patients in need to be seen to!

____________________________________

Awu considers Xiao Qi’s debt fully repaid the moment she sees her son smile for the first time. Xiao Qi, an overachiever that he is, doesn’t quite agree… and a few years later they try for another child; this time it’s a daughter. One - as Xiao Qi likes to brag - as beautiful as her mother and isn’t it lucky that he has an army fit to guard the greatest treasures in all Cheng? Awu thinks that it would serve him right should Treasure the Younger marry an officer of that very army in the future. She doesn’t, by the way, but that is an entirely different story.

The children are named Yunshuo and Yunning, which is a reason of much good-natured teasing. Even among the children themselves. Yunning, once she grows to an age when she starts to assert her dominance, insists that really, her brother should listen to her in all things. He may be older in years, that much is true, but Ning always comes before Shuo, everybody knows that!

Jinruo’s words come true after all: Xiao Yunning is Awu’s tiny copy, only, according to Awu herself, twice as bossy and confident. Xiao Qi never questions this claim, at least not out loud, but Uncle Asu has no such qualms and immediately provides a good half-dozen stories to that effect. Now, Yunning has every chance to grow up spoiled with a mother who applauds her strong character, a father who might seem strict, yet folds like wet paper at the first sight of a trembling lip and a whole bunch of playmates only too easily coaxed into following her commands. And she very well might have... if not for one Hu Yao (who is alive and you won’t convince me otherwise, ha!). The younger Hu, a true Ningshuo legend, enjoys great authority among recruits and veterans both; she proves a match for a head-strong girl like Yunning, although only barely. No, Hu Yao’s pupil doesn’t become a general in her own right, choosing another path instead… but she keeps up with her training in the years to come.

Xiao Yunshuo, affectionately called Xiao Xiao, is no warrior in the making, being of a rather gentle disposition, something that he never grows out of, for all that this gentle disposition later turns out to hide a character of pure steel. Oh, make no mistake, Yunshuo is perfectly competent with weapons and on horseback, but it is not something that comes naturally to him, nor does he find much joy in fighting. This becomes blatantly obvious once he starts advanced training. Every child under Awu’s care is taught enough to be able to defend themselves or know when to run away, but nobody is forced to persist with military training, should they not wish to. Yunshuo persists all the same, making continuous progress. It’s only natural that he does: he’s rather frighteningly smart, that boy, and he works hard.

A bit too hard, as it turns out. Xiao Qi becomes suspicious of his son’s behaviour and makes sure to ‘accidentally’ come upon one of Yunshuo’s solitary and completely unsanctioned training sessions. Why, he asks and becomes rather angry once the truth starts coming out. No, not with Yunshuo. With himself, for not preventing this whole issue from existing in the first place. See, Yunshuo thinks it shameful that he, the firstborn and only son of Prince Yuzhang, the greatest general and warrior Cheng has had for generations, will never be able to become a worthy successor to his famous father. No, nobody has said anything, but Yunshuo is not stupid, he knows what he is and is not capable of!

Xiao Qi takes a minute to consider his next words carefully. In the end, he tells the truth: when he was a bit older that Yunshuo is now, he had no valuable skills, no education, no family and no real hope for the future. Signing up for an army was pretty much the easiest choice to make for somebody who didn’t really have all that much to live for. Killing people? Is not that difficult. All it takes is a good sharpened sword and some basic training. Learning to protect people, well, that was a bit harder; took Xiao Qi some years and a lot grief and pain to master that. Everything else – building a true home, making peace for yourself and everybody else, and creating a lasting, better future? That’s Awu’s forte and her work. There is no shame in having different skills, explains Xiao Qi. Find what you do best and make sure that it is of use to somebody. That’s it. Whatever Yunshuo’s skills, as long as at the end of the day he is be ready to use them to protect what is dear to him, he will be a warrior in his father’s eyes.

Xiao Yunshuo takes his father’s words to heart and, when the time comes, relays them to his own children. He never becomes a one man army, for all that he takes care not to let his skill with weapons go to rust. He does, however, become a great lord and statesman, and a startlingly brilliant strategist to boot; his advice is greatly appreciated by his older brother, the brave General Xiao Xiaohe… as well as by his brother-in-law, the Emperor of Cheng himself.

In Ningshuo, despite all his merits and great dignity, Xiao Yunshuo stays Xiao Xiao long, long after becoming a father himself.

____________________________________

Xiao Yunning is widely held by the ministers of Cheng to be the cause for at least a quarter of their grey hair. And all because of one rather tiny, if rather infamous deed. Okay, maybe not that tiny… But it is not Yunning’s fault that Xiao Qi had made such an impression on a bunch of delicate noblemen over twenty years earlier!

Once His Imperial Majesty, one Ma Jing, successfully negotiates puberty, it becomes a matter of national importance to supply him with a wife of appropriate station, character, beauty and fertility, the first and the last being the most important, of course. The true war over who will become the Empress of Cheng does not start until His Imperial Majesty becomes a fully-grown man; that is not until the Prime Minister’s eldest daughter comes of age. Having another Wang Empress is seen as inevitable by many; others are rather eager to see the streak of Wang Empresses die a final death. The idea of courting a foreign princess gets briefly thrown around and then soundly rejected. It’s a pity that all of His Majesty’s marriageable cousins with even a drop of Ma blood have the same family name, says somebody who sounds suspiciously like a true Classist Wei. For a moment there is complete silence as the thoughts of everyone present turn to the one cousin who is neither a Ma or a Wang.

See, Xiao Qi and Awu could easily make their daughter an Empress… if they thought that it would make her happy. They have nothing against Jing’er, why, he’s a beloved nephew to them both and they have taken a good measure of his character during the time he spent in Ningshuo, which amounts to a good couple of years. If they were to be honest, Yunning could use a husband this good-natured and conciliatory, and Jing’er would do well with an Empress of Yunning’s strength of character. There is also the matter of a rather touching childhood crush… but since Yunning herself has nothing but derogatory words for this whole imperial marriage mart mess, there is nothing to be done. Nothing to be done at all, as Xiao Qi quite readily assures his brother-in-law, adding that being an Empress is not an easy fate and one that he would not wish on anybody. Asu, long-used to not truly understanding Xiao Qi’s ambitions or rather the lack thereof, takes this assurance on its merits and goes back to planning his own daughter’s imperial wedding.

Rather surprisingly it’s Jing’er who becomes the greatest obstacle to Asu’s dynastic plans. Somehow he never really says no… but no mercenary father can ever pin him long enough to force him to say yes to any of the myriad of candidates. This stand-off lasts for some time, to Xiao Qi’s quiet amusement and Turnip’s frustration. Awu, on the other hand, becomes rather pensive, although she refuses to share her suspicions with anybody. It’s not like she has any proof…

...until her daughter provides her with all the proof she could have ever wished for.

The day another group of potential candidates is to be presented at court, Xiao Yunning pulls a Xiao Qi, causing many a minister to relieve their old trauma. Yes, she marches into the throne room accompanied by six of her companions, most of which do rather poorly at concealing weapons under their dresses. Yes, she climbs the stairs without as much as a by-your-leave. Yes, she does all of that while wearing clothing in a colour appropriate for the occasion. In this case? Wedding red. The main difference is that Ma Jing is a much wiser Emperor than Ma Zitan and grants Yunning’s petition immediately and with good grace.

The reason why Yunning did what she did, leaving Jing’er with no choice but to accept her suit? Well, that childhood crush might have been rather more than a crush. Really, Yunning would have had it in the bag the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, were His Imperial Majesty not such a noble bore. I cannot condemn you to carry this burden with me before you really know what you want, he said, every word disgustingly noble and self-sacrificial. You are not somebody who can be caged, so go and spread your wings and I shall wait for you for as long as it takes, he offered in a rather suspiciously bland tone of voice. Really, one could almost believe that Jing’er actually bought into that silly rumour that Xiao Qi requires every prospective son-in-law to fight him with live steel. Which, by the way, is not true. He only ever fought two rather persistent young lordlings who couldn’t understand that Qinzhi’s no means no.

Everything ends rather well for all interested parties, although Turnip keeps grumbling about having an unfairly deceitful brother-in-law. Awu quickly shuts him down, if only to get in her own portion of shameless teasing. See, if Xiao Qi wanted to avoid such situations, then he should have given his children a better example. This quickly devolves into a round of Yuzhang-style teasing, which prompts a stark realization from Xiao Yunning. She might be the Empress-to-be now, but even being thrice an Empress would still give her no power to stop her parents from being a pair of embarrassing old people in love. Jing’er, ever the conciliator, shows his diplomatic skill by proposing that she might have her revenge… by being one half of a pair of embarrassing young people in love.

The Wang Princess of that generation, a rather lovely and wise young woman by the name of Wang Xu, is not all that sad about losing a chance at the throne. Why, her tastes were always rather specific and in general ran more to generals than delicate young nobles. Now, this Xiao Xiaohe looks like an interesting specimen and certainly worthy of taking a closer look, should one be in-market for a pet general of one’s own...

#Awu and XQ headcanon time #I am losing the plot and all my dignity to boot #who cares not me #I have some very naughty headcanons about big hands and pregnant bellies #but that is best left to an adult-only edition #I am always open to inspiring asks wink-wink #which may come one day who knows #monarch industry #the rebel princess

43 notes · View notes

too-many-feels-and-sideblogs · 3 years

Text

one of the fist (among what is still a pretty small number of) danmei novels i've read was those years in quest of honour mine, by man man he qi duo, and while i got it on jjwxc from the get go, i wanted to support the author some more bc i really enjoyed it, so i ordered the physical copies. i've seen stuff floating around of a traditional chinese edition of tyqhm that looked very pretty, but i wasn't able to find it, so i got the simplified chinese one.

the first book arrived today 🥺

(forgive my bedspread lol)

my chinese is abysmal (i can only read simple sentences...) so it's not like i can read it, but i'll probably lend it to my one friend who can and was very excited about me getting this lol

i always buy the stuff i'm reading a translation of on jjwxc, but this is the first time i get a physical book, so i feel pretty excited haha

#p #the poem on the sleeve is the one from the confession scene right?#i read a 青々子 something haha #tyqhm

1 note · View note

theannypetite · 2 years

Text

Batch #17: BL Webcomics

As promised, here's the new post! A little later than usual, but, still. Today it's a pretty short batch post covering webcomics adaptations of Chinese novels that I've read.

I know I’ve said the nest post was supposed to be The Living Waters, but I’ve been unwell and tired these past months, and haven’t had the energy to finish the review. It’s felt like a heavy weight on my shoulders, even, which doesn’t help when I need a nap every few hours to get by. So I wanted to do something easy, hence a batch post! The theme is BL webcomics that are adaptations of Chinese…

View On WordPress

2 notes · View notes

cnovelartreblogs · 2 years

Text

Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine (20 posts)

#tyqhm

Alternate Titles:

当年万里觅封侯

Dangnian Wanli Mi Feng Hou

Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine

Those Years in Quest of Honour Mine

Author: 漫漫何其多/Man Man He Qi Duo

Resources:

read the English translation of the book book

manhua on Bilibili

Characters:

lin si

mu zhi

prince ning

prince ning's wife

steward feng

xuan congxin

xuan rui

xuan yu

yu she

zhong wan

Ships:

wanshe (zhong wan/yu she)

#mod post #tag wrangling #tyqhm

1 note · View note

lianchuann · 3 years

Text

aaahhhhh i’m really enjoying Meet Me After School. Then I saw that the author of manhua is Man Man He Qi Duo. They are also the one who wrote AWM:PUBG, FOG, and Do You Remember My Name.

I haven’t read the first two but I dropped the last one. DYRMN is actually really cute (the scenes are cliche but istg i can’t remember how many times i hit the table because of fluff 🤧) but the pacing is too fast for me and that is not kinda to my preference since I’m a sucker for slowburn.

Anyway! read Meet Me After School in webcomics. I feel like it is underrated. The cp is lovable idiot x tsundere (´∀｀)♡

#meet me after school #manhua #man man he qi duo #lian reads

0 notes

shishaxz · 4 years

Text

Esos Años En Busca De Mi Honor

Titulos Alternativos:

Ten Thousand Miles in Search of Honour * Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine * 当年万里觅封侯

Author:

Man Man He Qi Duo (漫漫何其多)

Capítulos:

104 + 2 Extras

Yu Ziyou y Zhong Wan sirvieron a diferentes maestros. Alguna vez habían sido las almas más cercanas y eran los enemigos más amargos. Después de perder la lucha por el trono, Zhong Wan llevó a sus dos…

View On WordPress

0 notes

fishylife · 4 years

Text

Spoilers for the rise of phoenixes ep 40

Okay this was another jam packed episode.

- I love how Ning Yi and Feng Zhiwei just send each other secret messages like “shit’s going down” with zero details (that we know of), and each of them comes up with their own elaborate plots to get the job done. I mean, my guess is that their secret messages don’t have much content to them in case they get intercepted, but I kind of love how every single character, when they’re plotting something, are very thorough with it.

- Ning Sheng in general is/was smarter than Ning Chuan, so I sort of expected him to pull of a more graceful coup than just trying to take the throne by force like Ning Chuan did. Near the end though, I think he just got desperate because he realized that his father was fully backing Ning Yi, who would not let him remain alive once he ascended the throne, so he had to do something or wait to be killed.

- That moment in last episode where Xu Qirui saw his older brother again was kind of sweet, you know? Like an old man, happy to see that his older brother was alive. Maybe not the healthiest (seeing as he was very thin) and mute now, but alive nonetheless. I love that Ning Yi’s strategy to gain allies is to help them, rather than to threaten them, like he did when he tried to look for Gu Yan’s family for him.

- asdjfkl; Gu Nanyi didn’t kill Ning Yi even though they were his orders because KILLING NING YI WOULD MAKE ZHIWEI SAD ;_; our robot is finally learning to feel. More on Gu Nanyi later.

- I would have expected Nanyi and Ning Cheng to have some sort of interaction by now, seeing as they’re the bodyguards for Zhiwei and Ning Yi respectively. Plus, they’d probably make a good comedy duo let’s be real.

- I’m speculating about why Fuzi wanted Ning Yi dead. My guess is that he’s on the same boat as Qiu Mingying, and he attributes the death of her husband to the 8 year old Ning Yi. I think this mindset will serve to be a huge challenge to Zhiwei in the coming arc(s). Of course Zhiwei will want to be on good terms with her mother, but her mother would HATE that she was fraternizing with the enemy. In any case, I don’t agree with Qiu Mingying because I can’t attribute huge political dealings to a child. But for her, I guess she can only see it in black and white.

- I’m starting to understand Ning Yi’s strategic approaches. I think he lets crimes play out so that he can catch people in the act, because that’s easier to prove than preventing something from happening. I think that’s why he always risks taking poison. So anyway, in this scenario of Ning Sheng’s coup, he and Wei Zhi let Shaoning exchange the edicts in the box so that everyone could see/hear for themselves that the one in the box didn’t match the copy that the Emperor had next to his bed, and also that Ning Sheng had that real version hidden in his clothes.

- I didn’t think much of Minister Yao at first, but now, I kind of love him? He’s such an uncle. Before, we saw him going over to Ning Yi’s for some tea and gossiping on what happened at court. And he also looks out for Wei Zhi as one of the young’uns in the court.

- In this case of Ning Sheng’s treason, I felt that the Emperor actually expressed his frustration and anger. While both Ning Chuan and Ning Sheng were part of the Chang family, I could see that the Emperor had different approaches to these two sons. Let me explain. I think most of us can agree that Ning Sheng is smarter and less arrogant than Ning Chuan. Because Ning Chuan was a little less aware of surroundings, I think the Emperor could afford to be a little distant with him, even dealing with Ning Chuan’s treason at arm’s length (sending Ning Yi and Wei Zhi to deal with it while staying elsewhere). In addition, Ning Chuan’s mother was no longer alive and his only other backing was from Chang Hai, who wasn’t exactly the smartest Chang out there. So I think the Emperor felt he could just hold Ning Chuan at arm’s length, and he might self destruct.

- In the case of Ning Sheng, he is smarter, and he also has the backing of both his mother, who is the most senior consort, as well as his uncle who is the head of the Chang family and the Duke of Minhai. Despite being behind Ning Chuan in terms of seniority, it really seemed that Ning Sheng had a more robust backing as the reliable son of the Chang family. Now, I’m not going to pretend that the Emperor was a loving father. As an authority figure, I think he felt that he had to be hard on his sons. We only ever saw him as a loving father with Shaoning, and I think that was only because she’s a girl, and also because as he said, he didn’t really consider her a descendant of the Chang Family. However, Chang Guifei, Ning Sheng’s mother, was still in the picture. It’s interesting because the Emperor and Chang Guifei knew that they were at opposite sides of a conflict, and yet they still had to pretend that they felt something for each other. What I’m trying to get at with all of this is that I think Ning Sheng had more going on for him, so the Emperor couldn’t afford to be that cold with him. If he was too cold with Ning Sheng, Chang Guifei would get on his ass.

- Okay, so back to the actual events. In Ning Sheng’s treason, the Emperor personally got involved. As Ning Sheng said, the Emperor had already put his plans in motion when Duke of Minhai came to town. He also put the name of his heir in a box to get Ning Sheng all riled up. In the end, he was there, in the room, when Ning Sheng’s treason was revealed to the world, and the Emperor personally had words for him. You could tell that the Emperor was mad when Ning Sheng and Shaoning were talking about how cruel the Emperor was for putting his own son to death, even though Ning Sheng had been revealed to have tried to kill his own father.

- I think the reason why the Emperor got involved personally was for a couple of reasons. One, is because Ning Sheng was sort of the Chang family’s last go at getting their descendant on the throne. Shaoning, a girl, was unfortunately never going to get that chance. The Chang family was always a thorn in the Emperor’s side, and he was really hoping to finally loosen their grip on his empire (by way of removing their power via his own sons). I think the second reason is because he was disappointed that Ning Sheng was also up to no good with his treasonous acts. Ning Chuan had been killed not long ago, and I think it was a bit of pent up frustration that not one, but TWO of his sons wanted him to die so badly. I think a secret third reason that the Emperor was so riled up was because he knew that Ning Sheng would understand why he was so angry. He set up a trap and Ning Sheng took the bait, and Ning Sheng should’ve known better, but he followed the path of treason.

- That being said, I do sort of feel a little (just a little) for Ning Sheng. Everybody by now knows that the Emperor trusts Ning Yi the most. Once Ning Yi ascends to the throne, the only fate left for Ning Sheng is death. There is a chance that Ning Yi might be the benevolent ruler and spare Ning Sheng, but considering what Chang Guifei did to Ning Yi’s mother, and the hate that Ning Yi has for the Chang family, mercy is unlikely. So you could reason that staging a coup was Ning Sheng’s only shot at survival.

- Again, I love how when it comes to execution of strategies, the easy misunderstandings do not play big roles. While I wouldn’t say that this take down of Ning Sheng was sly, but it was effective, and did what the Emperor needed for a peace of mind.

- Chang Guifei pleaded with the Emperor for Ning Sheng’s life. She was willing to kill herself if it meant sparing Ning Sheng, and in the end, the Emperor allowed it. That being said, I think Ning Sheng will probably stay in the Zongzhengshi for the rest of his life. Ning Yi stayed there for 8 years when he was accused of abetting his brother, and Ning Chuan was also sent there.

- The Emperor said that this was the only time he felt that Chang Guifei acted more like a mother than a daughter of the Chang family. Before, you could say that Chang Guifei was using her son as a tool to gain power for herself and her siblings. In the end, she pushed Ning Sheng onto a path that could only had led to death for himself if unsuccessful.

- Chang Guifei mentioned that the Emperor will only have four children left (Ning Yi, Ning Qi, Shaoning, and the fourth prince that we also saw at the academy?). So I guess we won’t be seeing any more new princes or princesses in the future episodes.

- Ning Yi’s mother being framed still hasn’t been addressed yet, but for now, I think it’s implied that Chang Guifei had threatened and forced Wang Cairen to hide the incriminating evidence in Yan fei’s manor. In a previous episode, Chang Guifei was going to Ning Yi’s mother’s old manor to arrest trespassers. When she peeked in, she saw Ning Yi speaking to a “ghost” of his mother, and Ning Yi said that he’d get justice for her death. When Chang Guifei came back to her own manor she was incredibly shaken and Ning Sheng reminded her that it was just Ning Yi playing tricks. Here’s the thing. I think all the big players knew this was a trick. Deep down inside, I think Chang Guifei knew this was a trick too. Instead, I think it was a combination of the guilt and the fear. Maybe she held a tiny bit of guilt for framing someone, but I highly doubt it was anything more than a sliver. I would allocate another tiny sliver to the fear that ghosts are real, and Ning Yi’s mother’s ghost was going to get her via supernatural means that she could not plan against. But I think the real fear was that fact that now it’s established that Ning Yi’s going after her. Before, Ning Yi had basically no power at all, and he was just a thorn in her side. However, now it was clear that Ning Yi had the full backing of the Emperor. Even if Ning Yi was going to frame her, the Emperor would turn a blind eye to it. But she also knew that Ning Yi was smart enough that he wouldn’t need to frame her; instead, he just had to work to uncover the truth of her past crimes, and the Emperor would let him. So in summary, I don’t think Chang Guifei was scared about Yan fei’s ghost coming to get her, I think for the first time she realized that everything she had earned could be taken away.

- Ning Yi still hasn’t formally gotten the confession he needs from Wang Cairen, and I think that will be addressed in the next episode or two. This may or may not cause Ning Qi to turn against him officially. Ning Qi has always been a fence sitter, but if Ning Yi does anything that may mentally scar his mother, Ning Qi will not hesitate to turn on his brother.

- In a flashback scene, we also saw that the Emperor had killed Yan fei by his own hand, so I wonder if Ning Yi will need something from his father for a peace of mind. I mean, I don’t know that Ning Yi will even get an apology from the EMPEROR, but I guess Ning Yi might just let the Emperor know that he’ll never fully forgive him for abandoning him and his mother.

- When Shaoning lost Ning Chuan, she turned to Chang Guifei and Ning Sheng, who were closest to her, seeing as how Chang Guifei was her aunt by blood. With all three out of the picture, I think Shaoning will have more opportunities to think for herself. While I think she will still blame Ning Yi for his attacks on Ning Chuan and Ning Sheng, I think it will now be easier for Wei Zhi to win over Shaoning.

- At the end of the episode, Nanyi and Zhiwei were just chilling at the Wei manor. Zhiwei asked where Huaishi was and Nanyi literally just went “hoes ain’t loyal.” Zhiwei sympathized with Huaishi because she was like damn bro I’d leave if I could shit’s too wild for me here.

- And then immediately after that conversation Huaishi returned with a pirate’s map of Minhai and Nanyi was like damn bro I’m sorry for all the shit I talked about you. This boy bows for no one and he bowed to Huaishi. As we know, Nanyi follows the way of Jianghu and only bows to those he deems worthy. Anyway, it looks like Zhiwei, Huaishi, and Nanyi want to run away? :o I wonder if it will happen. Anyway, I love this lil family. When we first met Huaishi, I thought he was going to blackmail Wei Zhi about being a woman at the academy. So I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that he was really just a guy looking out for a fellow friend. And Feng Zhiwei and Huaishi teaching Nanyi to be a human is cute too :3

- As I mentioned in a previous post, I think that after Ning Yi gets justice for his mother, then he’ll move a bit to the side, and Feng Zhiwei will take center stage. I guess we might revisit the case of the ninth prince of the previous dynasty.

- We actually haven’t seen much of Qiu Shangqi, Qiu Mingying, or even Gu Yan in the past episodes. For the Qiu siblings, I think we will learn more about how Qiu Mingying came to marry her husband, and just some more background on how she came to become the mother of Feng Zhiwei. I don’t know how big of a role Qiu Shangqi will play, but I hope he will be level headed about the whole situation.

- As for Gu Yan, he will also be torn between the two dynasties. He’s from the past dynasty, but I feel like he’s just trying to do his job well. I’m really rooting for him because he seems like a well-meaning guy.

- Now that most of the major princes are out of the way, I think the story is going to get less straightforward and I won’t lie, I’m a little anxious about what’s to come! :x

Sorry this is just a stream-of-consciousness post but I think this is nearing the end of Emperor + Ning Yi + Feng Zhiwei dream team and we’re going to see our faves be put against each other :(

#thinking out loud #tv #the rise of phoenixes #天盛長歌

0 notes