Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 41 (Recap)

kakashi: Ye Hua's and Bai Qian's relationship is not going well but at least, we get some ultra cute Sixteenth.
JoAnne: *still singing* He was only Sixteenth, only Sixteenth, and for her his heart took a blow; they were just wrong to fall in love, 'cause you know he's devoted to Mo.

Episode 41

Bi Fang picks up Zhe Yan and they're going straight to the West Sea! Where is your zither though, High God? Did you not come for it? Okay, I'll gif this, cause it's so funny. Why do these guys STAND on the phoenix?!
Maybe they don't ride it, they just sort of coast in the air path?
Bai Qian is sleeping but she's woken up by the rather panicked calling of her name. It's Nai Nai, rushing in with A-Li in her arms. It's past midnight and it does not look like he is going to wake up soon! Bai Qian is still not worried at all though. His face is rosy and that's a sign the effects of the wine are wearing off, the expert knows. Because Nai Nai obviously hasn't slept a wink for too long, Bai Qian sends the maid away to rest and carefully tucks in A-Li next to her in bed.
Thanks for that, at least, Bai Qian.
In the morning, she transfers some of her energy to him, but he's still out ... much to the chagrin of Nai Nai, who cooked some thick porridge for him, as per Bai Qian's request. Okay, NOW is the moment Bai Qian should have called someone - for me, before this, she did not do much wrong. (I reluctantly agree that this is the do or die moment, really.) After eating Nai Nai's porridge in A-Li's stead, Bai Qian goes to the Heavenly Spring. Wait ... why are there so many maids waiting for her outside? Did Ye Hua order them here because she asked for many maids?! I'm sure he did!
Not much after, Su Jin comes to Bai Qian's Hall (to pay her respects, she claims). Oi! You're not even allowed here, you bitch. Nai Nai manages to block her off, but barely. No picture for you, Su Jin.
Look at all the maids she gets that you don't get Su Jin. And they're prettier than your maid too.

On her way to the bath, but Bai Qian overhears two maids (who are loyal to Su Jin) talking about hers. Mainly what an "old woman" she is and that she knows no shame, going for such a young man. Bai Qian has them reassigned to another job on the spot. Well done, Queen. Pffft at her stressing several times how she isn't angry etc. She is extremely vexed.
I do love her pettiness, on the one hand - but on the other, you have to nip that kind of shit in the bud or it grows like a cancer throughout the ranks.
Uh-oh, Ye Hua has come to see where A-Li is and is clearly very concerned when he finds him lying there. He grabs his son and hurries out. Right then, Bai Qian returns. Quite outraged, Ye Hua demands to know whether she has given A-Li wine. He has been sleeping for so long! What is going on! She's as nonchalant as before and says he'll wake up in time, stop fussing. But Ye Hua is very angry. She should have come tell him! She should have summoned the Medicine King!
I wonder if they have kings for everything. Medicine King, Tailor King, Jewelry King, you name it.
She doesn't understand why Ye Hua is so anxious. She once drank wine and slept for five days without waking. Her parents didn't care (pffft, haha). Besides, she thinks Ye Hua pampers his boy too much. He will grow up to be effeminate this way! Now, Bai Qian .... that's a very sexist thing to say, dearest. Also, this is about the worst thing to mention to Ye Hua in this situation. Him, who was deprived of ALL love because his grandfather did not want him "pampered".
Wow, a love for the ages derailed by differences in parenting.
He snaps the following words at her ... words that sour their relationship considerably: "You did not raise A-Li, so you have been regarding him as a stepson. If he were your own son, would you still be able to say these words?" This is very unfair of him. Of course she would have treated her own son exactly the same! That's Qian Qian for you. Plus, she truly loves this child - the way she tucked him in when she put him into her own bed was proof enough.
Who would NOT love that little Riceball? He's adorable!
Deeply hurt, she snaps back at him: "Sure, such a lively and likable child couldn't have been mine. It's just a shame that the woman who gave birth to A-Li has already jumped off Zhuxian Terrace." Whoa.
She says she never learned to be kindhearted and merciful and is therefore unable to treat A-Li well. Ah, but his other consort is very kindhearted, she heard. She should take care of A-Li, then he wouldn't have to suffer with her, Bai Qian.
OUCH.
Ye Hua is being very adult about things when he tells her she need not tell him things like this to anger him, she knows that's not what he meant. He leaves quickly ... and Bai Qian stews in anger. First the bratty maids, now being scolded by the Crown Prince! Luckily, she is not left to ponder this for too long, because Nai Nai has a freak out and comes running out. She left the room and noticed A-Li is gone when she came back! She thinks Su Jin took him. Not for the first time, Bai Qian realizes something is quite amiss with that Su Jin.
Go! Go take your anger out on Su Jin! Do eeeeeeeeeeet.
Ye Hua got the Medicine King, who has put A-Li into a sobering bath. The doctor, too, says not to worry, A-Li will be fine - he was never in any danger. Ye Hua is relieved, but still riled up. 3rd Uncle (who comes running too, concerned) notices that he isn't happy at all - which he should be, now that he brought Bai Qian up to Heaven, no? Wedding and all? Ye Hua says nothing ... but yes, he is anxious. About many things, I think. Things are NOT going as planned.
I hope they warmed up the set for that poor kid.
Cut to mortal Dijun, who is traveling in disguise (why?) and is attacked by assassins (*sigh*, Si Ming....). Fengjiu is with him, of course (why?) - and takes an arrow for him. Twu wuv. Almost through the heart. Looks lethal. It hurts so much, she starts calling the Emperor Dijun, which confuses and scares him.
I do blame Si Ming for this, honestly. Why couldn't they have a cool story?
He carries her to town and ends up in Yan Zhi's inn. Of course, it's a small world. Yan Zhi sends Dijun out of the room and then gets ready to heal Fengjiu. Outside, Sixteenth is attacked by Dijun when he comes up the stairs. Why???? Leave our Sixteenth alone, you ugly Emperor!
SO ugly. How DARE he hurt our adorable Sixteenth?
Xuan Nu pops in and sniffs the air: foxes have a good nose and she knows, this is a royal fox lady, lying there. Since there aren't many options, she quickly guesses her identity. Her face lights up, excellent! She can use Fengjiu's body to wake up her son.  Girl, have we not DONE this already? How'd that turn out for you? Yan Zhi opposes this crazy idea very much (it's evil magic). She tells Xuan Nu to give up the dead baby and bury it, but Xuan Nu does not believe her son is dead! Poor crazy momma. Well, Yan Zhi knows of another way. Yup, that way. The divine fungal grass way.
It's a MUSHROOM. Call it a MUSHROOM.
After this, it takes some time for Yan Zhi to heal Fengjiu ... and when she gets outside, Dijun is STILL threatening sweet Sixteenth with his sword. Once he has rushed inside to see his wife, Sixteenth is at least rewarded by some (shoulder to shoulder) closeness to his lady love. It's been five years they spent together.
Are we sure there's been no nookie? Not even during Chinese New Year Celebrations with wine and stuff?
Five years? she echoes ... time to move on! That scares him - where will she go? "Anywhere", she says. Sixteenth: "Then, I'll go with you". Because she needs protection! OMG I'm dead he is so cute.
He's in a new drama. I'm going to watch it for him. I can't remember the name though.
The Emperor's men come rushing in then and he talks about a person named Cao Jing we most certainly have never met, who apparently plotted some rebellion. He orders the whole Cao Clan to be massacred. That includes the Crown Prince. Oh, so is this a relative of his (and his Taoist mother), this Mr. Cao? Is this a new Si Ming storyline, to make things difficult for mortal Dijun? Do I care?
This is crazy talk, Si Ming. Do you need a vacation? It must be stressful with both your buds away.
Deeply moved by how his "Jiu'er" would take an arrow for him, he has the arrow turned into a ... I don't know, talisman of sorts? He adds Dijun's balls, er bells Fengjiu has kept wearing around her ankle all this time to them. This is so cheesy I want to throw up.
He's ruining Dijun for me, Kakashi.
Up in the Heavens, our Gossip Champions meet and giggle over Miao Qing's dismissal. There are problems wherever there are women, says the wise Uncle Three, how good that Kunlun never accepted any. Looool. Wrong on two counts, Uncle Three. He then is eager to see the Book of Mortals and read about how Dijun is attacked by assassins. Only ... Si Ming discovers that somebody is messing with his story! Dijun survived the assassination as he should have but lots of words went missing. Someone from the Celestial or the Ghost Tribe got mixed up in his fate.
Oh ho, so Si Ming doesn't have complete control? Or is this like the computer eating your file?
Bai Qian really wants to see A-Li and since he is still sobering up, she goes to see him. At Zichen Hall, Ye Hua is working on his documents while his mother (and fucking Su Jin) hover over A-Li. Of course, Le Xu speaks badly of Qian Qian. She is an unmarried woman and does know nothing of children, blablabla. I don't like her AT ALL. She says A-Li will have a hard time after the marriage etc. SHUT UP. Awwwwww, Ye Hua speaks up for her. Good for you!
I'm going to call them The Bland Bitches since their clothes are always so neutrally colored.
A-Li speaks about his "mother" and Le Xu is all "who taught you that, the high goddess?". A-Li says it is his mother! She looks exactly like the woman in his father's painting. Cue anxiety from stupid mother Le Xu about that fact that Ye Hua likes someone who looks exactly like Su Su.
Has she not noticed it herself? Maybe I should call them The Blind Bitches because neither of them ever get the message.

Comments

OMG I hate Ye Hua's mother. Always have, always will, but now more than ever. What a meddler who has no clue. All those people judging Bai Qian all the time - no wonder she's so touchy! She's too old, she is too unmotherly, she is too BLABLA, she is too BLABLA. I said so before and I will say so again - A-Li was completely fine after too much wine, Bai Qian was sure he would be, but nobody believed her because she is "an unmarried woman", childless at that, and those have no clue. This makes me really angry. She is not living up to motherly ideals society has, so let's stereotype her as this uncaring, thoughtless woman!
I am uterus, hear me roar?

Ye Hua's hurtful words in front of the Hall are the essence of this and I get Bai Qian 100% for being wounded and very angry. This is NOT her child (she thinks), but she never said a word about the fact that she, with her status!, is to marry a man who has another woman's child. She accepted A-Li from minute one, and more, she really cherishes him, like a real mother - the mother Bai Qian with her character would be/is. Not every woman is the same as mother. To tell her she is treating him like a lesser child .... that is about the worst thing someone could have said to her. Booo, Ye Hua, boooo.
But as a parent, isn't it a deep fear that someone else will not love your child as you would? Even if you love them and respect them and know that they're a good person?

That she would lash out because of her hurt feelings and tell him fine, apparently, I'm heartless, so make sure your son is taken care of by someone who isn't ... like Su Jin, is a very natural reaction. She know by now that Ye Hua cannot stand Su Jin (and she secretly likes it), so she knows this hurts him in turn. It's immature, but this is how many people fight - someone hurt me with words, so I will hurt him back. Actually, if this is all Ye Hua has to hear from her about this, he is getting off lightly.
I liked the argument, actually. It was as real as his desire to constantly get in her pants is real.

End of rant.

I have found out with the mortal Dijun thing is not at all working. Because it leads nowhere. Whatever happens down there, we are told again and again it has no consequence for their real life. If that is the case, why should we even bother with it?! It's not helping that there are continuity issues. And it's not helping that there is another and another and another stupid Si Ming plan thrown at them. 
I'm very disappointed, but I do still love Si Ming. I just think maybe he isn't doing his best work here.

Can we at least spend more time with Sixteenth and make sure he'll get some, too?
Oooooh, yes, I want Sixteenth to be all happy and in love with his pretty Princess.