BU BU JING XIN
EPISODE 15
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AN AURA OF ROMANCE AMONG A SEA OF LOTUS: COINCIDENTAL MEETING USHERS
IN A NEW YINZHEN & RUOXI RELATIONSHIP
Yinzhen and Ruoxi are both walking towards the same direction in
the Forbidden City gardens. It is but a coincidence that both stop at one of
the pavilions.
‘Do you like the water lilies here?’ he asked.
It seems that she has been to the place before and loves the
tranquillity there.
‘I’ll bring you to a truly tranquil place. I like that place so I
had a boat made and it is moored here.’
He boards the boat and invites her to board as well. 
The place he has brought her is full of lotuses in full bloom. The
flowering lotus is a symbol of love.
It was serendipity for him when he first accidentally discovered this pleasant place. 
It is quite a sight to behold. But, imagine being alone in a
secluded place with an icy-cold prince!
He stops paddling and tells her he wants to rest for awhile in
the midst of the lotus plants which rise above the water, towering over them
and the small boat.
The environment is indeed tranquil and has a calming and relaxing
effect on her. Nature soothes and heals. The stress of the Forbidden City
rolls away.
  Ruoxi feels oneness with the environment.
Since she has nothing to occupy her mind, being surrounded and
dwarfed by the huge lotus leaves, she also decides to take a nap. She rests on her arm and places a
handkerchief over her face.
Then, she lifts her handkerchief and cheekily peeks at him. 
As silent as it is, the place offers an undeniable sense of comfort and
relaxation that she cannot resist. She closes her eyes and immediately falls
asleep on her side of the boat.
In repose, her face must have looked relaxed, lovely and ethereal.
Suddenly, when Ruoxi is jolted out of her sleep, she is shocked
to find Yinzhen staring at her. He has gone over to her side of the boat on
the spur of the moment.
His smouldering, warm and passionate eyes are gazing steadily and
fixedly at her. His two luminous orbs,
with a hint of playfulness, are baiting her to stare back at him. Her body
must have tensed and her cheeks must have flamed. A rush of adrenaline,
kickstarting a flurry of spasms, must have coursed through her body
They gaze at each other and one wonders if passionate feelings
between them are being stirred. Is he using his eyes to make her fall in love
with him?
Her startled response is to lift her right hand up with the
handkerchief to veil her face and to shield herself from him. He catches hold
of her left hand.
She gazes incredulously and open-mouthed at him. She tells him to
let go but he insists that she stops resisting and let go her hand before he
withdraws his hand. Even when she has submitted to his demand, his persistent
gaze burns into her and confounds her.
Magic is in the air. When he lets go of her hand suddenly, she
tells him to withdraw so that she can sit up. She straightens herself.
After some awkward moments, she asks Yinzhen whether he regularly
visits the place. He does it just occasionally to get lost in the beautiful surroundings.
Perhaps, Yinzhen has realised that he has been a bit impulsive because
suddenly, Ruoxi senses a mood swing. His demeanour changes and the icy look
takes hold of him again.
(The lotus is considered to be a sacred Buddhist symbol representing
purity, harmony and detachment from worldly cares. Viewers might not be aware that there were rivers passing
through the Forbidden City long ago and would want to know where in the
Forbidden City would one find a body of water with lotus plants in the past.
One likely place might be the Pipe River or
Tongzi He.)
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YET ANOTHER EXPEDITION TO THE MONGOLIAN GRASSLANDS 
Li Dequan drops in to inform Ruoxi of the impending Mongolian
Steppe trip which will include the presence of Yinreng, Yinzhen, Yinsi,
Yinxiang and Yinti.
She asks whether Minmin would be there and he replies in the affirmative. 
She wants to wiggle out of the trip but Eunuch Li tells her that
she cannot beg off this time. No concessions would be made in her favour as nothing
matters more than serving the emperor well. If the Kangxi emperor is not
satisfied with her, her future marriage might be on the balance. If her
actions incur the displeasure of the Son of Heaven, one negative word from him
would decide her fate.
Upon their arrival at the grasslands, the spirits of the maids
are lifted. No wonder the Kangxi emperor regularly goes out on such
expeditions. He goes to the Mongolian grasslands not just to strengthen his
ties with the Mongol lord but also to be close to nature and to be closer to
his roots. Soon the Mongol lord would arrive.
Ruoxi thinks to herself, ‘But I’m not prepared.’ She recollects
that in her previous trip, she had made up a pack of lies and pulled wool
over Minmin’s eyes about Yinti being her beloved. Her lies; white lies or
otherwise, would be devastating to her relationship with Minmin. How can she come
clean with the truth? She has to confess and accept the consequences. But, what she
is most fearful of is that it might compromise the political relationship of
the Qing emperor and the Mongol lord.
Ruoxi goes to Yinti to appeal to him to help her appease Minmin
but being peeved by her rejection of Yinsi’s love, he spits out that it has
nothing to do with him. He tries to wither her with a stare of accusation. His
words were edged with derision and contempt when he scoffs at her that she is already a master of manipulation.
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UNCOVERED -
RUOXI’S WHOOPING WHITE LIE: RUOXI & MINMIN - HORSE RACING
The Kangxi emperor calls for a meeting with the princes. He tells them to
welcome the Mongolian Lord, Suwan-Guwalgiya with respect.
On his arrival, the Mongolian lord, being lower-ranked, pays
obeisance to the emperor by kneeling.
At the welcome audience for Lord Suwan-Guwalgiya, Yinti asks
to be excused leaving Ruoxi to deal with her problem.
He has wriggled out of the audience by feigning a painful
stomachache and he hid himself elsewhere, being too embarrassed to face Minmin.
The two rulers exchange pleasantries and exchange niceties
about their children. All the pleasant words were like music to the ears of
both parties.
The Kangxi emperor seems to be happy with his expeditions to
which he devotes three months in year.
Minmin smiles at Ruoxi, and Ruoxi remembers Yinxiang’s words.
Even if she were a goddess, it is futile if Minmin did not touch his heart.
Ruoxi notices that Minmin has sneaked a look at Yinxiang and
she grieves for her because of her unrequited love.
The emperor questions the princes about Yinti’s absence. Ruoxi
knows that he is keeping a low profile to avoid meeting Minmin. Yinsi comes to Yinti’s rescue and explains
that he has lost his appetite. Kangxi gives another one of his didactic
lectures on the importance of paying attention to one’s health.
The Mongolian lord agrees and says he also pays attention to his
meals. Spring and Summer are ‘yang’, Autumn and Winter are ‘yin’. Eating
habits ought to be balanced to strengthen one’s health.
Yinzhen steals a glance at Ruoxi and gives her the eye and
Minmin peeks at Yinxiang again.
Later, Yinsi and Yinti have a discussion on how to solve the
problem of Minmin.
Yinsi advises Yinti not to let his broken love relationship with
Ruoxi cloud his judgement. As much as he hates to admit it, Yinti is not
willing to punish Ruoxi. They agree to help the embattled Ruoxi and explain
the actual situation to Minmin and not to let Ruoxi be dragged into their political
problems. They are unafraid of invoking the emperor’s wrath.
Ruoxi goes out of her way to find Minmin with the intention of
apologising to her but Minmin is anxious to know if Yinxiang has any
affection for her.
Ruoxi could imagine Minmin choking with deep resentment when
she reasons with her that since her father does not want her to marry
Yinxiang, she’d better forget about him. And Ruoxi spares her none of the
harsh truth when she conveys the message to Minmin that Yinxiang is not
interested in her. However, she feels agony and anguish for the Mongolian
girl.
Being a headstrong and wilful girl, she tearfully demands to
talk personally with Yinxiang. She wants to know her shortcomings, and in what
ways is she unable to measure up to his other wives.
She mounts her horse and coincidentally Yinxiang and Yinti are
riding towards them from the opposite direction.
Minmin notices Yinti and is confused by his unexpected presence.
She is shocked upon discovering that he is a prince and is not the beloved of
Ruoxi. Angered by the web of lies that had been woven to deceive her half a
year ago, she is determined to report the situation to the Kangxi emperor. Her
temper spirals out of control.
Yinxiang, however, uses his charms to stop her. He stares at
her; his gaze boring steadily into hers but she offers no resistance.
Looking past him, she does not say a word about the incident
to the rulers when they approach.
When the emperor enquires as to why she is frowning, she lies
that Yinxiang does not allow her to race against Ruoxi.
But emperor thinks it is a good idea for them to compete with each other in a horse race. 
Minmin promises to forget the whole thing if Ruoxi wins the
race.
 They race but being the less skilful rider, Ruoxi could not hope to win the race so, she uses a hairpin to prick the horse to make it go faster. In the end, she wins the race. 
Minmin has actually wanted to let the matter go but the shock
has muddled up her thoughts. She has not expected that Ruoxi would risk her
life to win the race. Ruoxi cherishes their friendship and is fearful that
her lies might jeopardise their special friendship.
Yinti and Ruoxi thank Yinxiang for his help and request that
he does not tell Yinzhen about their secret.
Ruoxi advises Yinxiang that if he does not like Minmin, he should not marry her. But
Yinxiang is surprised. If an imperial edict is issued, he cannot go against
the Kangxi emperor but Ruoxi demands that he does not marry her.
Yinti also does not want Minmin to marry Yinxiang because of
Yinsi’s ambition to ascend the throne.
Yinxiang sides with Yinzhen, and since Minmin is the precious
daughter of the Mongolian lord, their marriage would upset the status quo.
The political ties with the Mongols
would strengthen the position of the Yinzhen Faction.
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UNREQUITED
LOVE: MINMIN GIVES UP YINXIANG
Minmin throws a tantrum and has caused some distress to her
father and brother. Prince Heshu, her brother, could not calm her. Her father
wants her to abandon her demand to marry Yinxiang. He wants to betroth her to Irgen-Gioro Zuoying, a prince from one of the
eight main clans of the Manchus.
Minmin has observed Ruoxi’s close relationship with Yinxiang. She
questions why her friendship with Yinxiang is so different.
Ruoxi explains to her the harsh realities of court life in the
Forbidden City and the acrimonious relationships between the princes' consorts and their concubines. Ruoxi is analytical and perceptive when she describes her
experiences of court life, hoping to dissuade Minmin from living in her
fantasy world.
Later, after Minmin has calmed down, Ruoxi steels herself and explains
that her father loves her and he does not want her to marry Yinxiang in order
to protect her. If she stays in the grassland, no one can bully her. It strikes Ruoxi that Minmin is immeasurably precious to her father.
Ruoxi advises her that she should not miss finding the ‘Star’ that belongs to her. If
she gives up her ‘Moon’, she would be able to find her ‘Star’. Her 'Star' would be a
better choice because he would love and cherish her.
Minmin confides in Ruoxi that her father would allow her to marry
a man of her choice but he prefers Irgen-Gioro Zuoying.
She is thankful to have a friend like Ruoxi as she is moved by
her empathy and love. Minmin cries. She then asks for Ruoxi’s permission to
call her ‘elder sister’ or ‘jie-jie’.
Minmin declares that even if she finds her ‘Star’, she will not be able to
forget Yinxiang’s smile and his songs. She wants to perform a special dance
for him so that he would always remember her and that she has performed a
dance for him.
ZUOYING SAVES THE KANGXI EMPEROR FROM THE CROWN PRINCE’S EAGLE
One day, the Crown Prince shows off his new pet, a black eagle
and also his eagle training skills.
The eagle flies around the camps, and Yinreng wants to boast his prowess in having
reared and trained the bird.
However, the fierce bird flies towards the Kangxi emperor and gives him
a huge fright.
 But Prince Zuoying saves the emperor with his own eagle. The Kangxi emperor is impressed with his eagle training skills. 
Being completely upset with Yinreng, the Kangxi emperor admonishes him,
saying that a lesson is to be learnt from the incident.
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