BU BU JING XIN
EPISODE 31
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YUTAN’S SECRET: LOWLIFE YINTANG'S RUTHLESSNESS
‘Why do you look for me?’ Yintang asks arrogantly.
‘Are you not the least guilty
about Yutan’s death?’ Ruoxi
asks in an accusatory tone.
‘Since she had perceived me to
be her master, it is expected and befitting that she should sacrifice her
life for me,’ he retorted imperiously.
  
‘What guilt are you talking
about anyway? Since she died for me, I took care of the funeral arrangements
and her family. You don’t need to worry about her.’
‘Everyone says you’re cruel and
ruthless. As I see it, you live up to your reputation!’
‘Do you mean to say that Yutan,
in your heart, is just a mere pawn that you’ve hidden in the palace for 20 years?’
‘Just because she has failed in
her mission, are you just going to forget her? Is she someone who is not worth mentioning about?’
Obviously, Yintang has wasted no time in letting go of Yutan
and his memories of her. It is as if she has made no mark on his life and he has closed
that chapter so easily in his life. Ruoxi’s intention of meeting Yintang is to make him cross-examine
his life, and see the error of his ways.
‘Yutan is just a lowly servant. Having won my recognition as a tool, she must have acknowledged that it was a blessing for her. If you want
justice for your sister, go and confront your emperor. He is the real murderer,’ Yintang responds matter-of-factly, his words
cruel enough to slice her heart. He seems immune to Yutan's death.
 
However, back in his mansion, overcome with guilt and pricked
by his conscience, Yintang remembers how he met Yutan and trained her to be
his spy. He taught her to read and write. He romanced her so that she would be
pliant enough to be planted as a spy in the palace and to sacrifice herself for his cause.
There were undeniably
beautiful lovey-dovey moments together. There were lingering gazes from her. He
took advantage of her vulnerability but now she has exited his life. He scrutinises his actions. She was the Trojan
Horse that he has hoped would bring the Eighth Faction victory. After her
failure, he just wanted to write her off.
The momentous revelation is that he hates the Yongzheng
Emperor even more. He wants to lay all the blame on him and to get even with
him for his loss!
Yintang visits Yinsi to discuss the matter but Yinsi advises
him not to create any more trouble. He wants Yin’e to come back and not
quarrel with the emperor. Otherwise, the emperor would pick on them and find fault with them over and
over again.
‘We’ve been pushed into a corner,’ Yintang argues.
‘The dust has settled. He’s the
Emperor. If he directs me to do this or do that, I’ll do it. Whatever he
wants, it’s up to him. House Confinement. Imprisonment. Why give him more
reasons to blame us? Going against him not only brings harm to us but also to
all those around us.’
The emperor wants to see Yinsi, so he leaves for the palace.
Still feeling disgruntled, Yintang asks Minghui for her
opinion.
She agrees with Yinsi’s philosophy of letting go of the past.
She urges him to follow Yinsi’s advice. ‘We
need to even hide or disengage from the emperor, so forget about it!’
Frustrated, he growls, ‘I
will not accept it. If we’re going to suffer, he’s also going to suffer just
as much.’
He then confides in Mingyu something that is of great
significance about Ruoxi.
The viewers have realised long ago that whatever that spews from Yintang's mouth is full of evil and they are anxious for Ruoxi.
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RUOXI IS PETRIFIED OF THE YONGZHENG EMPEROR
Ruoxi has fallen ill
again and Qiaohui comes to serve her. But Ruoxi is panicky and demands that
Qiaohui leave the palace. She fearful for her future.
Yutan had feared for her fate and had mentioned ‘Bu Bu Jing Xin’ and now she has left this world. Qiaohui had also mentioned the same dreaded phrase so Ruoxi is paranoid about Qioahui’s fate which might prove to be similar. However, Qiaohui reassures her and reminds her that she needs special attention since she is pregnant. Ruoxi eyes her anxiously when Qiaohui explains that she is there personally to take care of her.
Later, Cheng Huan offers to play a beautiful piece of pastoral music
on her zither for Ruoxi.
Yinxiang and Yongzheng drops by but it is not accidental. Not long after,
Yinxiang asks to be allowed to take his leave. Ruoxi, stressed by the Yongzhen's Emperor's oppressive presence, also wants to leave but he retains her to have a
discussion on his intention to bestow on her a title. But, like his Imperial
Mother, she also thumbs her nose on his meaningless titles. She does not want
anything to do with him. Given half a chance, she wants to leave the palace.
‘I won’t allow you and the child
to leave. Don’t ever think of it! Do you now have only hate in your heart for
me?’
‘How I wish I only hate you.
Even if I want to, I can’t bring myself to hate you. I have a phobia of being
in this palace and I’m petrified of you, an emperor whom I don’t really know nor understand.
Why’re you so brutal? Your ruthlessness has terrorised and cowed me!’
‘Don’t worry so much. I’ll
forever be your Fourth Prince. But, you have to remember, I’m also the
Emperor of the Forbidden City.’
‘Many matters cannot be helped
but in the hands of a different ruler, they would be handled differently. You
always choose the most extreme methods. What is the gnawing hate in your
heart that compels you to take extreme measures?
Yongzhen has used the most cruel methods possible to deal with
the dissidents. The terror that has marred his rule has shattered Ruoxi’s
confidence in him.
However, he is visibly shaken by her words. He seems tormented
and full of suffering. Perhaps, at that moment, viewers empathise with him
and the heavy imperial burdens that he has to shoulder.
But, unable to sympathise with him, Ruoxi just walks off.
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YINTI CARES FOR RUOXI: HIS SECRET MESSAGE TO ROUXI
Ruoxi is amazed by Cheng Huan’s zither music. ‘Who chose the piece of music that you
played?’
'My new maid did, and I've been told that if you ask me, I’m to tell you but no one else. If I tell the others,
she might die.’
‘What else did she say?’
'She says that if you're willing to give up, ‘Two Seven’ will obey your wishes.’ It suddenly dawns on Ruoxi that the message, for her ears only, is from Yinti, the Fourteenth Prince! Double
Seven is Fourteen.
No wonder the emperor is so strict with the maids. Anyone can
plant a spy here and there.
Ruoxi, fearing for the safety of Cheng Huan's maid, instructs Cheng Huan not to let
anyone know of the message and that she must dismiss her new maid immediately.
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FLAMING GRUDGES: MINGHUI’S FATEFUL VISIT TO RUOXI
Gao Wuyong brings a list of titles for Ruoxi to choose as
befitting the woman of the Yongzheng Emperor.
Ruoxi has earlier rejected the emperor’s offer and now refuses to
budge because once a title is bestowed, she would be tied to the palace
forever. She can never leave the palace. At this stage she is already
thinking seriously of leaving the palace.
Qiaohui informs her that Minghui has requested to talk to her. While
they talk, Qiaohui is to be on the lookout for signs of spies.
Having been goaded by Yintang, Minghui is stupid enough to
unleash her anger on Ruoxi and to threaten her.
Minghui begins her verbal attack by defending her husband, Yinsi.
‘Yinsi has not been interested in
the palace struggles for a long time but he is blamed for everything, even
those not of his own doing. He has been made responsible for Yin’e’s folly
and lack of discretion in Mongolia. Is
it not enough that whatever the emperor orders him to do, he just obeys
without question? But, the emperor constantly finds fault with him. Yinsi is
worn down by the emperor’s relentless pursuit of making him the scrapegoat
for everything that goes wrong.’
‘Perhaps, you don’t know our suffering.
We live under the sword hanging over our heads!’ Ruoxi probably thinks of the Sword of Damocles.
‘In past, I was terrified thinking
of when the sword would come down, but now, the sooner, the better.’
‘Why did you come to see me today?’
Ruoxi asks with curiosity.
‘The reason why the emperor hates
us so much is not just because we have fought against him for power. There is
another reason.’
‘You’re so intelligent, so, you
should know long ago, why Yinsi, who was on friendly terms with Yinzhen, made
the decision to fight against him over the throne? Why didn’t he fight
against the Third Prince who was also ambitious to ascend the throne?’
‘Why?’ asked Ruoxi, badly shaken by her memories.
There was an edge of panic in her voice.
‘Yintang confided in me that
someone, not just once but several times, warned Yinsi to be aware of Yinzhen.
The person also gave him a list of persons whom he had to be cautious and careful about.’
‘The Yongzheng Emperor seems to
have hated the wrong person. Yinxiang’s ten-year house arrest could not be
blamed on Yinsi. The mastermind is someone else!’ Minghui barked.
‘If the emperor figures it out, would he be more sad or more
angry? I want to see the emperor’s reaction,’
Minghui says vindictively, with a smug smile sitting on her lips.
Her argument is, it seems the emperor, like a fool, has been
deceived. Ruoxi stands accused and she understands. She seems vulnerable to
Minghui’s veiled threat. Perhaps, Minghui thinks she has the trump card in
her hands and she wants Ruoxi to feel her power, or is it vengeance time? Yintang
wants to send the message that ‘If we suffer, you must suffer equally with
us.’ What she means is there must be equal distribution of suffering.
That said, she walks off with a complacent smile. Minghui does not seem to be intelligent. What she does not know is the trap she sets for Rouxi would lead
her sliding into her own trap.
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ROUXI’S
MISCARRIAGE - YONGZHEN VENTS HIS ANGER ON YINSI
Ruoxi thinks aloud and blames herself for the neverending struggles in the palace; Yinsi’s punishment, Yinxiang’s ten-year confinement
and Luwu’s death.
Qioahui is afraid that if it reaches the ears of the emperor,
the outcome will be horrible.
Yinxiang visits her but she
refuses to see him. He is shocked by her treatment towards him and wonders if he has wronged her in any way.
'You have done nothing wrong. I was wrong. Today, I met Minghui.'
‘What did she say?’
‘She sends Yintang’s message
that ‘If they suffer, we have to suffer equally with them.’
‘Does Yintang know about your relationship with Yinsi?’
‘He should.’
‘I want to ask you about your relationship with Yinsi. Was it up to
the stage of intimacy? Did anything happen?’ The questions are direct and unrelenting.’
‘Is it important?’ she responds, evading the important question.
That question probably makes her feel small as her morals are being
questioned. Being truthful would have been better than being vague so that
nothing is left to the imagination. Viewers know that nothing ‘intimate’
happened between Yinsi and Ruoxi.
‘If the emperor knows of the relationship, the person who will
suffer is Yinsi,’ she says with a quiver of fear in her voice.
‘I’ll handle this if you’re worried.’
‘I don’t deserve such good
treatment from you!’ Ruoxi cries in gratitude.
 
Then, she falls to the ground and blood forms on her dress. From
the angle that the scene is shot, viewers could easily guess that she has a miscarriage. She has lost
her baby.
The emperor arrives in time to see her agony, and he orders the Imperial Physician solemnly, ‘Listen well. Save the
baby or you’ll accompany them in death.' The physician explains that he could only save
Ruoxi.
The physician later confides in the emperor that Ruoxi will not
be able to bear any more children.
Aghast, the emperor orders him not to divulge the terrible news to Ruoxi.
Ruoxi wakes up from her nightmare and faints again. When she reawakens,
she is told that the emperor has been with her throughout her ordeal except for the
time he is in court.
Qiaohui blames herself for what has happened but Ruoxi gently reassures her that it is not her fault.
‘Many things are fated and cannot be avoided.
You don’t know the length and breadth of the story. There is no effect without the cause,’ Ruoxi tries to clarify the situation.
Viewers might blame the Yongzhen Emperor. Is the loss of the
baby due to the punishment of the heavens for Yongzheng’s cruelty?
 
The Yongzheng emperor vents his anger on Yinsi because of
Ruoxi’s poor condition. He is in a huff, and mercilessly berates Yinsi. All
sorts of complaints against Yin’e are brought to Yinsi’s attention. The
emperor also brings forward complaints against his wife, Gololo Minghui, whom
he accuses of being up to no good all these years.
‘Minghui even complains that
I’ve spoilt your relationship with the other brothers when I bestowed the
title of ‘Qinwang’ on you!’
Poor Yinsi! He is being blamed for every wrong that the others
commit.
He kneels and says that he is ready to be punished.
‘The Imperial Family will not
tolerate that kind of consort. Divorce Guololo Minhui and send her back home
within 3 days!’
‘Why are you forcing me into a
corner? I’ll take Minghui’s crimes upon myself. I’ll rather die than divorce
my consort.’
Yongzhen threatens, ‘If
you disobey my imperial edict, I’ll have to execute your entire family.’
Yinsi sneers, ‘As soon as
you ascended the throne, my whole family have become offerings to the dead.
I‘ve no more aspirations or goals’. My aim is to grow old with Minghui. If
this is not allowed, you might as well kill us.’
‘I order you to kneel as a
warning to the others!’
When Yinxiang learns of the punishment, he discourages
Yongzheng from prolonging the punishment.
‘Kneeling is no good for Yinsi’s
legs. It might cripple him.’
Yongzheng cries, ‘Don’t
you remember what happened to your legs? He’s the cause of it.’
Here we see the thinking of the Yongzheng emperor, ‘An eye for
an eye, a tooth for a tooth!’
Yinxiang, being forgiving and kind, stares strangely at
Yongzheng. The emperor finally decides to forgive Yinsi. He instructs Gao Wuyong to
send Yinxi home on the condition that he has to walk back to his manor. Think
of the length of the journey in the huge Forbidden City and you would understand the Yongzheng Emperor's cruelty.
Upon reaching home, Yinsi falls exhausted to the ground and is
helped by Minghui who has been waiting for him.
Minghui lovingly puts him to bed. Later, she takes his robe and
something falls on the floor. It is the imperial edict given to Yinsi to
divorce his wife.
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