There’s a telling scene in Episode 19 where Zhao Ling exits a building and outside are his men waiting for him. On seeing him, they accord him the respect of his rank and flank him as they move out. The entire sequence speaks volumes. Whatever honour he garners after his five-year stint on the battlefield is rightly earned. He is on the track to worldly success. He has and is fulfilling the potential that Fu Tingyun and others saw in him all those years ago. Even then his leadership skills were never in doubt. He was always able to rally followers around him. But he’s transformed into something else. The rag-tag team is now a well-oiled machine fit for a different purpose, refined and hardened by a myriad of battle experiences. His return to the capital is marked by a certain degree of fanfare even if there’s a lingering perception of him as an upstart. More importantly he’s become the emperor’s primary enforcer. playing a different set of high stakes game in the political arena. The endgame is the same — kill or be killed.
Clearly the five years of separation is not about a test of loyalty and fidelity but a test of his mettle. Can Zhao Ling be the success story that the emperor saw him to be all those years ago?
Zhao Ling is special undoubtedly. More special in the fact that at a young age he has taken on the responsibilities of a head of household and wrestled with all the joys as well as woes of shouldering the needs/demands of those in his charge with so few resources at his disposal. It takes a certain kind of energy and perspicacity to hold it all together despite the odds.
Yu Jingxiu serves as a stark contrast. Apparently even with the head start he’s been blessed with, he’s turning out to be nothing more than a paler progeny of his powerful parents. In fact he’s turning out to be the biggest joke in the room — an overindulged child who throws tantrums when things don’t go his way because he is accustomed to being given things at the asking. Even when Mother Yu doesn’t approve of his choice of a wife, she relents eventually. This is a man child accustomed to getting his own way. The moral lesson of the day is clear: Be careful what you ask for because you might get what you want.
The wife of his choice isn’t necessarily bad. She’s obliging and dutiful even if she’s over eager to prove a point. More often than not she’s out of her depth. Unfortunately for her she’s married to someone who has an over inflated view of himself, hence she can’t hold his interest. Aside from all that there was deception at the start and she really doesn’t have the social wits to navigate the complicated world of the prominent set. Moreover she has no discernment judging by how much she allows her maid to affect her thinking. Honestly she’s just not clever or strong-minded enough to be a part of that household.
In a way, Fan Yake is right. Life is unfair. That world seemingly belongs to those who are born to privilege. However, that is only one side of the story. Enjoying privilege doesn’t necessarily mean that life gets easier. There’s also the maintenance side of rubbing shoulders with the upper echelons of society. Her poetry parties are a case in point. Respect doesn’t come easily even if they marry up. Not at all. The wealthy set can sniff out desperation and it’s clear to them that that the overly sensitive Fan Yake tries too hard. Indeed if all she had wanted was privilege and power, she would be hard headed enough to survive that world. As it turns out, the happiness that she seeks eludes her still.
In fact she should have seen from what happened to Tingyun and her family’s entanglements with Madam Zuo that privilege doesn’t necessarily make life easier. Even long-standing clans/families can collapse into ignominy with one wrong decision or if they offend the right people.
The elderly Grand Secretary Tian is a humorous and fascinating example of someone who knows that his position is precarious in the political tug-of-war of which he’s a part of. His persona as an indifference fence sitter is deliberately cultivated to ensure his political (and personal) survival as retirement looms large. Factional politics has been his bread and butter. He knows too well that one wrong move will upset the powerful and everything that one has build disappears overnight. He is an old political fox even if he gives a different impression. He plays the doddery old man as an indirect way of supporting the novice Zhao Ling.
As this show is fundamentally about marriage, it’s amusing to see domestic conflicts between the leads. They reunite the capital after 5 years apart and instead of going to see her right away, he stays away to protect her from the dangers of the job. She’s understandably upset and gives him the silent treatment when he finally makes his grand entrance. It seems petty on her part and yet it’s completely relatable. A woman wants her man to prioritize her by being present even if it’s not practical or safe. She wants living proof that he cherishes her by including her in his considerations. Two becoming one flesh encompasses all of life not just the marriage bed. It’s a promise that comes with blood, sweat and tears.