BU BU JING XIN
EPISODE 8
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KANGXI
DRAWS COMPARISONS: THE PRINCES AND POPULAR FLOWERS OF CHINA
There is something incredibly fulfilling about being able to
serve up the choicest of teas in a plethora of tea-sets to those who
appreciate tea.
Ruoxi has spent time stretching her creative muscles to produce
her creatively designed collection of tea sets for the royal family to use
and to admire.
The emperor’s eyes light up as he inspects the tea-sets and
appreciates her creativity and her initiative in producing the different
tea sets that reflect the personality of each prince. Her culture of
excellence deserves the respect of the emperor.
The peony is the king of flowers. It symbolises love,
affection, wealth, good fortune and aristocracy. To the ever positive Kangxi
emperor, the peony is precious
and regal and thus, suits the Crown Prince perfectly.
The magnolia is the symbol of
perseverance, dignity, nobility, beauty, and love of nature whereas the white
magnolia is associated with purity and perfection. The emperor describes the white magnolia as
cool, noble, dignified and pure just like Yinzhen.
Plum blossoms survive in harsh conditions
and bloom by the end of winter against the snow and frosts, so, the plum
blossom is admired as an icon of endurance and perseverance. Souls are
tempered in the depth of experience, growing in inner strength and unyielding
courage.
The emperor notes the similarities between Yinxiang
and the plum flowers. Yinxiang has perseverance and humility. Ruoxi knows
that he would later be put under house arrest and live a harsh life. He would
persevere and grow in inner strength.
 
Ruoxi is praised for being meticulous and paying careful attention to the nitty-gritty details and
making observations of the princes. She has disarmed the emperor with her
wisdom and he is swept away by her deep and accurate understanding of his
son’s characters and personality.
The emperor asks her about what she thinks of his children. She
is cautious with her answer. Her perceptive opinion is that ‘All fathers know
their sons best. Everyone has their own unique characteristics and
personality like the different flowers.’
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LOCKING LIPS: A KISS TO REMEMBER - MORE THAN JUST HORSE RIDING
LESSONS FROM YINZHEN
Ruoxi meets Yinxiang and demands to know why he did not meet
her the previous night. He had promised to teach her riding. She has cause to
complain because he has given his word and is honour-bound to keep it. She
has almost skinned him alive, so, he promises to meet her that evening.
Yinxiang complains to Yinzhen that he is a victim of Ruoxi’s
anger. She seems like she would
swallow a person alive.
'No wonder people say that women and villians are hardest to
deal with.'
Yinzhen is the opinion that she has her own unique individuality
and a strongly marked identity.
Yinxiang teases him about his intimate knowledge of Ruoxi only
after one riding lesson.
'Don’t underestimate horse-riding. It speaks volumes about a
person’s personality. Don’t look at her at a superficial level. She may look
reserved and cautious. Actually, she is fearless. Her courage is
from within.' It seems that the more he understands her, the more he likes her.
Minmin, the daughter of Lord Suwan-Guwalgiya, comes looking
for Yinxiang. She infoms him that the Mongols are playing the game of
‘Hunting for Sheep’ again and wants him to participate. She says she won’t
lose to him again.
Yinxiang almost punctures her swelling hope that he would
comply with her request but, Yinzhen, harbouring a motive, encourages him to go
ahead. He offers to teach Ruoxi riding again.
Minmin works her magic on Yinxiang, and he makes an impromptu
change to his plans. He seems to be easily swayed by the pretty girl, and breaks his
promise to Ruoxi for the second time. What would she think of him? Imagine
her anguish again after telling him off about his broken promise the first time
round.
Yinzhen seems to be happy about teaching Rouxi riding. He is
attracted to her and wishes to be alone with her. He thinks the attraction is
mutual.
When he appears that night, she is shocked but remains
reluctant to spell out her negative feelings towards him. She freezes. She
wants to avoid him as she seems to be scared of him.
 
He draws her to him and purposefully kisses her but she resists
and bites him. Blood shows on his lips.
Her face must have been flushed pink. If Yinzhen is prepared
to use force, resistance on her part cannot stop him. He seems certain that she
is attracted to him but soon realises his assumption is wrong.
He thinks that she is playing a game. He draws her to him once
more, and as their faces come closer, he says suddenly, ‘Why should I use
force?’ He is saying he would respect her wishes. Perhaps, he knows that she
is not ready for an intimate encounter.
Would Ruoxi be playing into his hands? Is he provoking her to
like him? Is he slowly worming his way into her heart? When he stares at her,
she seems unnerved and confused. Tension simmers in the quiet starry night.
 
He pretends nothing has happened. Mortified, she wonders if
his anger is still brewing. He is inscrutable, and purposefully does what he
has come for, to give her riding lessons.
The next morning when the princes practise their archery, the
emperor detects that Ruoxi seems restless.
Has she lost her soul? Her thoughts seem to have flown
elsewhere. The previous night’s disturbing scenario plays in her mind. A
thousand questions must have occurred to her.
The Crown Prince, Yinreng is a skilled archer. He shoots
bullseye but the First Prince is even better. They seem to be very competitive.
Perhaps the First Prince wants to prove that he is the better one.
It is obvious that the First Prince is not
favoured by his imperial father despite his brilliant archery skills.
Although he is the first son based on age,
his mother is not the empress. Yinreng’s mother was the empress before she
died.
Ruoxi thinks of Yinsi. The jade bangle given to her by Yinsi is
a reminder to her to be cautious. But she has failed in this respect. Swallowing
hard, she feels sad for making mistakes. She cries.
It is interesting to note that Yinsi has already wormed his
way into her affections. She is anxious about him and wonders whether he has
done better than her. It is now clear that her real feelings are for Yinsi, and
not Yinzhen.
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RUOXI
THROWS A TANTRUM: HER ACTIONS HAVE BEEN MISINTERPRETED
Yinxiang
teases Ruoxi about the riding lesson. He eyes her, and then he looks at
Yinzhen. There seems to be tension between the two.
Ruoxi
demands to have a tete-a-tete with him that night. He finds her behaviour to
be weird.
Yinxiang
is curious about what had happened between them the previous night. Yinzhen
asks Yinxiang about Ruoxi’s feelings towards him.
Yinxiang
thinks that she is a meticulous worker and, most likely, she is concerned
about him like what an attendant should be, but she keeps her distance.
Yinzhen suddenly announces that he would not be giving her horse riding
lessons in the future, and Ruoxi might not want to learn horse riding
anymore.
 
Ruoxi
visits Yinxiang that night and angrily demanded for an explanation from him for not
keeping their appointment.
He
explains that he has not lied to her. The first time he had been held back by
Yinreng who wanted to have a discussion with him. As for the second time, he
had been invited by Minmin to play games. But, he is too embarrassed to
mention it. She is furious with his broken promises. Her righteous anger is
not watered down.
Finally,
when he tells her the truth, Ruoxi realises that he likes Minmin and has
chosen the Mongolian girl over her.
He accuses
her of taking a fancy towards Yinzhen. He, as a friend, is doing her a favour
by giving them the opportunity to be together. He analyses the situation.
When she serves Yinzhen, she pays him special attention and she acts rather strangely. When she serves tea to the Crown Prince,
she is cold. He finds it interesting that she has asked him about Yinzhen’s
likes and dislikes.
He
tells her that Yinzhen also likes her. That is why he has agreed to teach her
horse riding. His character is such that he would not teach any servant horse
riding.
She is clearly agitated and irritated. She protests and insists that she does not want to
listen anymore.
He
continues anyway and stresses that he may look cold but is actually warm and
loyal.
She is
totally upset and tells him angrily that he should not be a matchmaker. She,
as Yinzhen has correctly predicted, does not want to learn horse-riding
anymore.
It is then, that the scales fall from her eyes, and she suddenly realises the truth. It has seemed impossible that Yinzhen would have fallen for her. Has she unwittingly led him on with her display of unnecessary interest in him? 
She is
upset with herself and she knows it is all her fault. She has been too attentive to
Yinzhen because she knows about his future as an emperor. She has been trying
too hard to be respectful to the future top man of the Qing Dynasty but the others have misread her motives.
 
She
feels frustrated and smashes some teapots onto the floor. She thinks her
every move is wrong. She is reduced to despair. The other maids are worried about her state of mind.
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THE DEATH OF THE 18TH PRINCE: KANGXI - STATE DUTIES VERSUS
PARENTAL DUTIES
Meanwhile, back at the Capital, Yinsi asks
Minister Li about his opinion on how to deal with a problem. The minister
talks out of turn and admonishes him for being hesitant and indecisive. He
lacks confidence and seems to be too dependent on the opinions of others.
An attendant appears, bearing the news that
the 18th Prince is gravely ill and might be dying.
Yinsi invites Minister Li to accompany him
to visit the sick prince.
The court, helmed by Yinsi dilly-dallies
over whether to report the matter of the dying prince to the emperor. His
decision is important and Yinsi does not want his decision to be twisted out
of proportion and made an issue of by the Crown Prince and his clique.
Should they call the emperor to come back? The
logic is the emperor is in the midst of strengthening his relationship with
the Mongols and also strengthening his power. If he returns to see his sick
son, the Mongols might perceive him as a weak leader, being worried about
family matters instead of dealing with the bigger picture, matters that
pertain to the empire. There are political implications.
However, Yinsi is not wrong about the
Kangxi emperor. Family takes precedence over politics and government matters,
so he decides with Minister Li’s approval to send a messenger to report the matter to
the emperor. Yinsi is also thinking of the future, hopefully with Minister Li
siding them, in the power struggle.
The emperor is worried about 18th
Prince who is dying. He decides to return to the palace and orders everyone
to prepare to head for home. Rouxi is afraid of offending him for talking out
of turn. She tells him not to be worried.
Before they leave for home, the emperor soon receives the sad news
that the 18th Prince has passed away. He is inconsolable and wants
to be left alone.
The princes arrive to convey their
condolences. Yinzhen requests Ruoxi to take care of the emperor as he treats
her as his daughter. She prepares nerve-calming tea for him. Ruoxi comforts
him, saying that the 18th Prince is loved by the Heavens, that’s
why he is in heaven.
The emperor is in deep sorrow. Among his
children, the 18th Prince is the most intelligent and his closest
child. 'He writes and paints to please me.'
The Crown Prince, who is brought up by him, also shows his intelligence at a young age. They have been very close but the older he grows, the more wayward he becomes. Yinreng’s mother had passed away at his birth, so, he dotes on him. The emperor must have been sad that the heavens has swallowed up his most intelligent and his favourite son.  
Yinxiang is sad about the news of the death
of the young prince and hides himself. Minmin consoles him.
However, the lecherous Crown Prince Yinreng,
who is selfish and is unmoved by the tragic news, arrives drunk and demands
that the Mongolian princess accompanies him on a drinking spree. The chivalrous
Yinxiang tries to protect her and claims her as his companion while Yinreng
clicks his tongue in anger.
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RIVALRY BETWEEN THE FIRST PRINCE AND CROWN PRINCE, YINRENG: THE
FIRST TIME - YINRENG IS STRIPPED OFF CROWN PRINCE TITLE
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince is admiring the beautiful tribute
stallions gifted to the emperor by Lord Suwan-Guwalgiya. Encouraged by
the jealous and scheming 1st Prince, Yinzhi, he decides to ride
one of them despite the protests of the stable-boys.
Yinreng has not, in his arrogance, realised that all the knives of Yinzhi have been sharpened against him. 
The clock is ticking and the hour is near. Yinzhi quickly reports
to the emperor that the Crown Prince has stirred up trouble by riding one of
the horses which have been gifted
to him. Yinzhi tries to put
the Crown Prince in bad light.
The Crown Prince is admonished for disrespecting the throne and
Lord Suwan-Guwalgiya.
The emperor has not been feeling well but the Crown Prince is merrily
causing trouble. He is deeply distressed and has no choice but to severely
punish him.
The Crown Prince is not taking this lying down. He rushes to the
tent of Yinzhi, the First Prince, whom he accuses of scheming to take over
his position of Crown Prince. He accuses Yinzhi of having an evil heart.
Yinzhi argues that he is more suited to be heir-apparent since he
is the oldest by birth order.
‘Age, he says, translates into superiority.’ He boasts that in
terms of ability, intelligence, personality, he wins hands down over Yinreng.
‘I’m not spouting nonsense. In fact, even Yinzhen or the other
princes are better than you!’
By saying this, Yinzhi is dragging Yinzhen and the others down
with him. The relationship that Yinzhen has carefully cultivated with Yingren
is seemingly being destroyed in one calculated move by the Yinzhi.
The Crown Prince, being enraged, shouts that he is the offspring of
the Empress so, even if he is deposed as the Crown Prince, it will not be
Yinzhi’s turn yet to replace him.
But Yinzhi is all bile and vitriol. He argues that as the oldest child, he has all the qualifications to be
heir-apparent. He accuses Yinreng of committing many crimes.
It is not just the issues of riding the emperor’s tribute horse and misusing the tribute money for personal gain. He has also been fooling around with the emperor’s concubines. He predicts that the Crown Prince’s head would roll. It is not that the emperor does not know, he knows what has been happening.
Yinreng thunders, ‘You’re all the same. You want me dead! You
want to be the Crown Prince! We’ll wait and see!’
With that, he marches off to see the emperor. He tries to creep
in and invade the privacy of the emperor. He demands to know whether the emperor
is going to break off their relationship and to strip him off his title.
The emperor orders him to be dragged out and they do so with
him screaming his lungs out. Li Dequan sends out an order that the Crown
Prince cannot approach the emperor’s tent.
Ruoxi knows the time for the demotion of the Crown Prince has arrived. The unrepentant Crown Prince has forced his way into the emperor’s
quarters. The emperor is in no mood to entertain his waywardness.
A court is quickly convened.
‘I let him have his way for 20 over years. He cannot take over the mantle
of our forefathers. He shows me no love when I'm not feeling well. He knows I'm saddened by the death of 18th Prince, yet, he shows no compassion nor love for me. He lacks filial piety. He has committed countless
transgressions but he is unrepentant and has not turned over a new leaf.'
What punishment would the emperor mete out to the Crown Prince?
‘I will strip him of his title!' Having overexerted himself, the Kangxi emperor faints.
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