Love Like the Galaxy (2022) Episodes 45-46 Ramblings

It’s a tale of two families in these two episodes and how different are they indeed. Once they were almost in-laws but as circumstances would have it, they find themselves on opposing sides on a criminal case. The Cheng clan (bless their hearts) with all their ups and downs have never harboured the same sorts of deep-seated factional resentments that afflict the Lou family because the man who heads up the household makes all the difference in the world. It is fortunate that Cheng Shi is a good-natured man who does his best to foster harmony within the clan. He’s generous to his mother and brothers, protective of his children and adores his wife. He is the main reason why they are a far more functional cohesive family despite their imperfections.  

The tragedy that befalls the scholarly Lou family was not an evil brew that was concocted overnight. In fact the outcomes were many years in the making. Similar to the Liang family, it is a deeply divided household. In this instance the first chamber uses its authority/seniority to systematically repress the second. Lou Ben the head of the second chamber, from all accounts including that from Ling Buyi’s own lips was a man of great ability. If that map he bequeathed to Niaoniao was anything to go by, his downfall and demise is the country’s loss. Perhaps he was born at the wrong time and wrong place. Perhaps he was held back by small-minded selfish relatives to further their own interests. Regardless of what his justification might be, there’s no denying that to put his plan into action he had quite a number of people including civilians killed. It’s usually fun to play the blame game after the dust has settled as the list of contenders is a long one but it should be prefaced that Lou Ben himself was rather in too much of a hurry to achieve his goals. Still, who can blame him? Years of watching he and his immediate family helplessly bullied by his older uncle had taken its toll. In the end despair led to desperation. It was a gamble that he ended up losing which resulted in banishment for the surviving members of the clan.

Of course Tutor Lou was an unqualified scoundrel who like in the manner of Adam blamed his wife for “making him do it”. Fancy a grown man with authority using such a ridiculous excuse to exculpate his part in this man-made catastrophe. His own mediocre sons failed to gain glory for the family but that only seemed to spur him and the harridan he married to hold their nephews back with greater fervour. If their offspring can’t be the ones to bring renown to the family name, nobody else in the family should. No doubt the wife was afraid of losing her hold on bullying rights.

The Crown Prince, for reasons we can speculate, seems to be surrounded by disastrous people. There’s not so many that I’ve lost count of who’s been ousted from their positions since Niaoniao’s been privy to the hallowed halls of Changqiu Palace but there’s enough to see a pattern emerging. It must be time for him to get the boot surely when it’s so obvious that he lacks the chops to even surround himself with the right kinds of people. He should really take himself out of the equation before he becomes more of a liability for the royal family.

I may sound like a broken record on this but there’s something distinctly suicidal about a world that at its core is hostile to the aspirational model. A society that doesn’t ensure that talent and competence should be prioritized over status, rank and family connections is not only one that is breeding discontent but is also completely weakening its institutional integrity opening itself up to external attacks on various fronts. The aspirational model assumes outstanding and high achieving individuals can be found anywhere in the populace regardless of background. It not only mitigates against institutional corruption when individuals are given the option to fulfil their God-given potential but it is generally beneficial for a society that such people exist even if they are the exception rather than the rule — even if all they do is challenge the political/ruling/elite class from echo chamber group think. The outsider’s perspective can be useful in the betterment of society.

In contrast to the diminishing Lou clan, the upwardly mobile Cheng family represent that aspirational paradigm in that they are a peasant family that have climbed the social ladder through their contributions on the battlefield first and foremost. This has opened the way for brothers and sons to find other routes to personal success. Whether or not the ruling class thinks that it’s a good thing, is almost irrelevant. Yes, they can make a lot of noise and cause a little trouble for a reformist ruler. However the Lous first chamber and the Liangs are poignant examples of families who have been connected to the royal family or having a long family history of service in the royal court whose subsequent generations aren’t capable of contributing to the talent pool. 

While the Cheng family have their own deficiencies (what family doesn’t?) , the foundations are fundamentally sound. In large part it is because they never forget their humble roots and are accustomed to hardship. In a time of crisis, the family bands together to tide through the tough times. Cheng Shi married himself a strong-minded wife who rises to such an occasion and even Grandma Cheng manages to come to the party in the end thanks to Wan Qiqi’s bold declaration of love to A’Song. It’s a Pollyanna moment indeed, where goodwill becomes contagious. The difference here is that younger members of the family lead the way while the old guard, get out of the way, put aside their differences and give assent to the aspirations of the youngsters. 

If only the First Chamber of the Lou family had learnt that lesson earlier but they didn’t have their crisis moment to give them a timely wake up call.Everything had gone their way for the most part and there was no reason to eat humble pie until catastrophe struck. For Niaoniao it seemed also time to bid A’Yao farewell for good. The shock of his oldest brother’s misdeeds and Niaoniao’s part in bringing him to justice was too much of a blow for a completely amicable parting. Life’s unpredictable but who would have thought that the Lou tribe would be brought so low. 

Whatever observations were made about Ling Buyi in the previous post were unequivocally confirmed in a jam packed Episode 46. It’s obviously time for the curtains to be drawn open on his greatest secret which will no doubt have earth-shattering consequences for the palace and beyond. Ling Buyi is not Ling Zisheng but Huo Wushang and never was a truer statement made than when the emperor and his wives noted repeatedly that the young general was the remaining member of the decimated Huo clan. No wonder the revenge agenda has been such an obsession. He didn’t just survive a full-scale senseless massacre. He lost his entire family in one fell swoop because of multiple agendas at play. How does anyone recover from that?

In light of what’s now known Zisheng aka Wushang is indeed remarkable creature. He’s a far more impressive young man than even I have given him credit for. The presence of mind to live under a different identity. The patience to bide his time. The strength of character to put up with the humiliation he suffered. The devotion he gave to his demented aunt as “her son”. What a truly lonely life he must have had living with a secret of that magnitude and not be able to share it with anyone.

Now that Niaoniao has guessed his secret, she’s at a loss. What will she do with this information, is the 6 million copper coins question? I keep wondering whether she will confront him with it because that’s usually her style or will she keep it to herself in the hope that he will tell her himself. What is it like for a woman to find out that the man she has given herself wholeheartedly to has been lying to the whole world about who he is? This is question I’m glad I don’t have to answer. From his point of view I can understand why he hasn’t been forthcoming. At this point it feels to be something in the category of undercover cops or espionage. It is a dangerous secret to be privy to especially if there are other conspirators lurking about in the dark. Or it could be that he’s gotten so used to being Ling Buyi that it’s hard to think of himself as anyone else. Whatever else might be passing through her mind, Niaoniao would certainly understand on some level that this is a deception that he’s perpetrated on the world and not just her.

It’s difficult to say that this is simply a matter of trust between them but the issue has certainly grown to the point where the secret is much bigger than he is and the revenge agenda has already consumed him as seen in his interrogation scene with the traitor Peng Kun. The infamous Chinese torture techniques that I recall from one of the James Bond films, was undoubtedly perfected to an art form by the likes of Ling Buyi a couple of thousand years earlier. His renewed desperation undoubtedly comes from the fact that he knows that he’s very close to the truth and that the entire picture of the puzzle is now within his grasp. Hence the urgency to loosen Peng Kun’s tongue.

None of this bodes well for any kind of happily-ever-after that the leads talked about at the army camp. Not in the short-term at least The house they were going to build together and the garden she was going to plant — the idyllism is far removed from the torture chamber that Ling Buyi now inhabits. Sadly the best laid plans… blah blah blah… well, you know the rest.