BU BU JING XIN
EPISODE 28
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CHINESE NEW YEAR
FIRECRACKERS TABOO: FIRST CHINESE NEW YEAR AFTER KANGXI'S DEATH
 
It is Chinese New Year at Yinsi’s residence. His brothers
Yintang, Yin’e and Yinti pay him a visit and greet him. They seem to be in a pleasant mood.
Suddenly, the loud crackling sounds of firecrackers are heard, and Yinsi, being the master of the manor, is genuinely furious.
He has given the order that no one is to let off firecrackers. Because
of the death of the Emperor Kangxi in the previous year, celebrating the Chinese New Year with
loud noises is going against the grain of Chinese tradition. It is taboo.
According
to Chinese custom, when someone in the family passes away, the New Year
celebrations should be low profile. Celebrations means joy, but death is a solemn matter. The
Chinese feel that one should show proper respect after the recent death of a family member.
Yinsi learns from one of his attendants that his son has
disobeyed his orders. The boy’s impulsive streak has overcome his sense of
decorum.
Yinsi does not want to offend anyone, much less the Yongzheng emperor.
  
Yintang is audacious when he says. ‘Why are you so anxious?’ ‘Nobody,’
he argues, ‘knows that the firecrackers
are being lit in your household.’
Yintang is quite a trouble-maker and in
need of a reality check.
Yin’e interrupts and warns them to exercise extreme caution. ‘No walls are safe enough to keep secrets
from the others.’ Walls do have ears.
Yintang spews out recklessly, ‘So what, if they know!’ He still holds a
grudge against their deceased Imperial Father because he had treated Yinsi
abominably.
‘No matter how vile a tiger is, he
will not eat his own cub. Has he ever treated you as his son?’
Yinsi stops the ranting, ‘It’s
enough!’ Yinti intervenes and stops Yintang’s loud vociferation about the
unfairness of it all.
They adjourn to the study where Yinti narrates to them how
Concubine De cut the Yongzhen emperor down to size for ursurping power. They
have a jolly good laugh.
Yinsi forbids his brothers from laughing as it is a grave matter. He reminds them of the official, who had betrayed the Yongzheng
emperor before, and had been brutally dismembered.
The Yongzheng Emperor would be able to guess the origin of any
rumours spread about him. Although there is a still and calm silence, it does
not mean that he is not ready to spring into action.
Yintang demands to know why he is giving up so easily but his question
is brushed aside.
Yinsi is reminded of Ruoxi's previous warning that the Yongzheng
emperor was his nemesis.
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RUOLAN'S DYING FEARS: YINSI TEARFULLY DIVORCES RUOLAN
Ruoxi is informed by Yinsi that Ruolan wants to see her. She
returns to his mansion to see her sister for the last time. Awaiting her is a sight not far different than what she has envisaged.
Ruolan is gravely ill and asleep. She looks ethereal in her sleep which would soon be permanent. She wakes up, appearing to be drowsy but is happy
to see Ruoxi.
 
‘Just now, in my dreams, I saw
Mother and she smiled beautifully.’ She wants Ruoxi to lie down
beside her to talk about things. Ruoxi goes under the bedcovers and they have
a heart-to-heart talk.
‘I know I will see Mother soon.
I never liked Beijing. Whenever I close my eyes, I see the boundless Gobi
Desert in the northwest. Under the sunlight, it’s icy mountains gives a
silvery glow.'
They talk about the silverberries which are fragrant but
tasteless, and the sweet grapes of the Northwest.
Ruoxi cries but Ruolan, having endured a lonely married life in a caged existence, tells her not to cry because she is happy that she will soon be able to meet their
mother, and Qing San, her beloved.
  
‘At first, Qing San did not want
to teach me horse riding because I was finicky and was a crybaby.’
‘When I first saw him with his
eyes full of laughter at my poor horse riding skills, I was irritated. There
wasn’t a day when he didn’t laugh at me.’ Viewers can imagine that he must have been laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face.
‘He made me
angry but he told me that he liked to see me angry. He said that I looked
alive when I was furious. I stuck too
strictly to protocol and I behaved with utmost propriety so the end result was
I looked like a refined wooden statue.’
Ruolan is tired again and sleeps for a little while.
     
Meanwhile, Yin’e and Yinti drop in to see Ruoxi.
Yin’e regretfully informs her that he would be sent to Mongolia
soon and would only be back after a year. They also update her on Yintang’s status.
He had been sent to Tibet the previous month.
The Yongzhen emperor has implemented the ‘Divide and Rule’ strategy. Yintang is sent to Tibet, Yin’e
to Mongolia, Yinti would be sent to Zunhua, Hebei and Yinsi remains at the
palace.
For the Yongzhen emperor, his greatest rival and enemy is
Yinsi. He is keeping his arch enemy close to him.
Yinti makes it clear
that if the Yongzheng Emperor wants her, he should spell it out clearly. If
so, he should bestow a title on her and if he does not want her, he should
let her be free.
‘Do you want or don’t want to get out of the palace?’ Yin’e
questions her.
‘I don’t really know. Sometimes,
I want but sometimes, I can’t bear to leave.’ They regard her with bafflement.
Yinti reminds her, ‘Do
you remember what I said to you many years ago at the Laundry Department?’
She conveniently walks off without answering because she is
informed that her sister has woken up from her sleep.
 
Ruolan is sitting up and choosing an outfit to wear. She wears
the hairpin given to her by her beloved Qing San. She says he would be happy
if she wears it. She wears her favourite lake-green riding outfit and
deerskin boots.
She gets up and turns around to show herself to Ruoxi but is
unsteady on her feet, thus, falling, crumpled onto the bed.
Ruoxi holds her tightly to
her chest, and Ruolan whispers that she loves the beauty of the descending
sun, the sunset in the Gobi Desert.
Gasping from exertion, she whispers, 'Half the sky is coloured red. I want to go
back.'
'But I’m afraid. All my life I am part of the imperial Aisin-Gioro clan. I don’t want to be their ghost. They won’t allow Qing San and I to meet.'
  
Suddenly, the truth dawns on Ruoxi. What her sister is implying becomes crystal-clear. Her eyes seem like deep pools of anxiety. Her sister's misery matches her own.
Driven by intuition, Ruoxi gently tells her sister she has to do something important and she has to go off for a while.
Where is she heading to in those crucial moments when her sister is near death? Ruoxi rushes
to Yinsi’s place and kowtows to him.
  
She pleads with Yinsi to divorce her sister, Ruolan. Yinsi evades the
issue and declares everything is decided by the emperor. She says she would
take responsibility for it and she would discuss it with the emperor later.
There is a pressing need to do it as her sister’s life is fast ebbing away.
Her sister seeks the annulment of their marriage. Ruoxi
explains that Ruolan is afraid that if she becomes a ghost, she would not have any freedom
to meet Qing San.
‘Ruolan’s heart is not with you.
She has been separated from her beloved for 20 years. Let her be free to find
her beloved.’
Yinsi looks fatigued. He does not take offense at her frank words. Her intention is made explicit and there is no room for doubt. His defeated smile and flagging spirits reveal his mental turmoil.
Minghui appears and encourages him to fulfill Ruolan’s final wishes. She prepares the ink and brush for him to write out the declaration
of divorce. His eyes are like two luminous pools of water.
Ruolan seems to believe in reincarnation. It is a humiliation for
him to realise that his dying consort does not want to be with him in her next life.
Ruoxi thanks Minghui and Yinsi for the letter of divorce.
  
After reading the letter of divorce, Ruolan happily declares
she no longer belongs to the Aisin- Gioro clan. Not long after that, she passes away
peacefully. And that is what Ruoxi wants for her sister as well, that is, her transition from life to death should be peaceful. The viewers know right from the beginning that Ruoxi
is also a firm believer of reincarnation.
Yinsi is deep in thought in his garden. It must have hit him
like a thunderbolt that his dying wife, the one whom he really loves the
most, has never loved him and wants her freedom so that she can be free to
love and to be together in death with her beloved, Qing San.
Minghui approaches and
sympathises with him.
‘You’re hurting inside, I will
share your pain. I know that I will not have Ruolan’s place in your heart. I
will be true to you and will not forsake you. If you cry, I will also cry. If
you’re in pain, I’ll be one with you in pain.
You’re never alone.’
This is a great declaration of passionate, undying love of a
woman to her man. It is in clear contrast with the sentiments of Ruolan who
does not have the slightest interest in Yinsi.
He turns to her, face soaked in
pain, and leans helplessly on her.
‘Lay
your burden down.’ She pats his back in a moving gesture of love. Only then does he realise that Minghui loves him best.
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LOVERS’ UNION: RUOXI FINALLY SURRENDERS TO YONGZHEN
‘Ruoxi, whatever I promised you, I
have already done so. But this, I definitely cannot promise you. I’ve already
taken your sister’s name out of the royal family records. She’s permitted to
be buried in the Northwest. I sent a decree to your father for her to be
secretly interred with Qing San.’
  
‘Why don’t you allow me to take my
sister home?’
‘I’m scared that once you leave,
you’ll never come back!’
‘I know you and your sister are
alike. You don’t like the Forbidden City. I am afraid that once you leave for
the home you dream of, you’ll never come back. Trust me, your father and
younger brother will make the proper funeral arrangements.’
Ruoxi is worried about Qiao Hui. She has worked for the Ma’ertai
family for along time. She has grown up with Ruolan and they are close. She is grieving and
alone in Yinxiang’s place.
Cheng Huan appears and lights up Ruoxi’s heart.
Later, when Ruoxi is bathing in a tub of water filled with red
flower petals, she is reminded of her sister’s advice.
‘It’s rare for a person to
meet their true love in their lifetime. You must appreciate the person who is with you. Make sure you protect and treasure your love. Or else, if your
happiness is gone, you’ll regret it.’
When getting ready for bed, Yongzheng comes in and looks at her
lovingly.
   
He whispers, ‘I want you.
Don’t worry. I’ll wait until your heart is willing. Do you remember that we
made a pledge to be honest with each other? Can you tell me what I’ve to do
for you not to refuse me? Ever since you moved into Yangxin Palace, you’ve obviously
been cold and loath to be with me. That’s why I am afraid of wanting you. When
I saw you playing and laughing with Cheng Huan, I decided I don’t want to
wait. I want you to have children with me, and I want to see you laugh happily
with them. That would be my greatest happiness.’
She has resisted him because she knows everyone’s ending but not
her own. She playfully jokes with him and makes some ridiculous demands.
‘I want to be installed as the
empress.’
He refuses gently. ‘I
married the empress when we were young. She has never done anything wrong.
Her child died very young.’
‘The you cannot see Concubine
Nian.’
‘Do you wish to make it difficult
for me?’
‘Is it because (she is the sister)
of Nian Gengyao?’
‘So what can you promise me?’
Ruoxi asks.
‘Now, I own the entire world,
but you are unimpressed,’ he quipped.
‘What I can give you is my heart,’ offers the Yongzheng emperor.
‘Do you know why I have not given
you a title? It’s because I want to see you all the time. If you have an
official title, I would have to flip your name tablet to see you. Do you
understand? Will you accept me?’
Then, Ruoxi symbolically takes off her hairpin to let her hair
down freely. It is a hint to the viewers that she is throwing her inhibitions
away, an indication that she is willing to surrender to the Yongzheng Emperor.
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YINTI IS GIVEN HIS MARCHING ORDERS: DEMOTION TO THE ROLE OF A GUARD
AT QING IMPERIAL TOMBS AT ZUNHUA
Yongzheng,
Ruoxi and Yinxiang observe some royal children playing together.
Nian
Gengyao and Longkodo arrive to discuss politics, so. Yongzheng leaves.
Yinxiang
and Ruoxi discuss Cheng Huan. She is surprised that he does not
want to raise his own daughter.
Then,
they discuss Yinti, who has been sent to Zunhua in Hebei to guard the Qing imperial tombs. Yinxiang argues that at least, Yinti would not be entangled with the politics of the
Forbidden City, and he could live a tranquil life there.
‘If Yinti is in the Palace, he would oppose
the ‘Son of Heaven’ and would not give the emperor any 'face'. Think of the disrespect, the determined and vehement opposition mounted against the Yongzheng Emperor! How would the officials perceive the Dragon Throne?’
‘Ruoxi, there are certain things that are not
within your control. You should just let go!’
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