Framing Lei

Ahem, I believe it is important to acknowledge that the Rat Housekeeper Li is likely a sadist hungry for power.

1)Zhongli chooses to brush up on his music skills in retirement.  I say this because Die Yi discovers him moodily playing the flute in his biggest display of emotion yet.  Die Yi does her best to force him to confess to her and fails though it is painfully obvious how he feels.  She is successful in luring him back to Plum Palace a.k.a. Ge'er's quarters as the resident cook in order that he can serve her.  This is a huge asset for Ge'er since Zhongli is very informed and a skilled healer.

2)Elsewhere, Ji returns to Pine Court (his living quarters) and immediately coughs up blood.  He downplays the fight but his head maid, who I completely forgot is Bi'er who, for all of you have forgotten, was told to live in secret beside Ji many, episodes ago by flamelord.  anyways, she tells him that he must rest for two weeks and hide his injury to protect his reputation.  He can use the fight with Li as an excuse to seal the court off.  Also, she tells him that Li, whom Ji was convinced was weaker to him, is far more skilled than Ji in martial arts to deliver such a complicated injury and must have been trained by a master pugilist.  (She also reveals that she is the secret third keeper i.e. the known two are Li aka housekeper and zhongli of azure hall; she was trained to take over Zhongli's position in the event he were to suddenly die.)

3)Xun Yi stops by to visit and forces her way in.  She tells Ji she is afraid that by the time  Ge'er awakens everything will be different.  Ji swears that he will do his best to protect his mentor's last wish of having her succeed.  When she asks what they will do, Ji surprises her (and me) by saying nothing.  Clearly this was a well staged coup, he explains, everything is to their advantage and right now they need to figure out how to counter attack (my respect for him has increased ten fold I did not know he was so smart).

4)Miss D is updated on Ge'er's status

5)Meanwhile, Ji tries to leave only to learn he is grounded to his quarters, it seems, because of his fight with the evil houskeeper.  He is extremely dissapointed in Feng but at this point all I can say is take a number as Feng has shown without fail that he will betray and hurt everyone around him without fail and find an excuse for it.  He may believe he is protecting Ji, but it's some lies.  Evil housekeeper tells him that he is being too lenient however Feng'er is adamant that no one is to bother the residents of Pine Hall or Plum Court.

6)MW, Ge'er awakens.  Unlike Feng, who uses his power to make others fear him, she is a foil in that she treats others with respect.  She goes to see Zhongli instead of having him come to her.  She asks how he is, and she tells him that they must observe the enemy and plan their counterattack.  In the meanwhile, she will feign her sickness to throw off Feng.

7)MW, Hueng reports that evil house keeper punishes anyone who questions Feng's actions, so everyone is afraid to speak out against him.  Ge'er is ill and has not investigated anything.  Hence he has taken the lead, and in spite of his questionable ways, he has made flame villa even more powerful than her father--no one can doubt that.  He plans to blame Thunderclap clan for the attack as the explosives were made by them.

8)Eveil housekeeper leads a slander campaign against Yu, whom he accuses of sheltering the enemy--Lei--during the next branch meeting.  However the branch masters defend Yu, whose virtue is without question.  And Thunderclap was already pardoned by the Imperial Clan after feng's wedding--they insist that they not get involved in what is likely an imperial issue.  However evil housekeeper insists that Lei set the explosives up while Yu was sheltering him.  He insists that they arrest him.  Uncle Murong says that they cannot act hastily, and that there is no motive.  Housekeeper says you will find out his motive when you arrest him.  (That is some good detecting).  Anyways, Feng says that he believes they should not be hasty.  First they will gather the evidence.

9)MW, Yu is completely fixated on Ge'er.  He desires to visit the villa and ignores the advice of his men who tell him he should not go because the imperial spies will give a negative report to the capital.  He journeys back under the guise of visiting his mentor's memorial.

10)Feng visits Ge'er in the meanwhile (and like Yu, he has her on a pedestal. if Yu believes she is perfect and needs to be protected, so does Feng, although he sees her as a carefree child only Yin Xue has ever treated her as an equal and respected her wishes )  She keeps her act up and is polite, though I think he needs to accept reality that he is on team evil and accept responsibility for breaking the hearts and shattering the trust of everyone who cares for him--he tells her he has evidence that Thunderclap did this.  She tells him that it isn't possible. He says its true.  She asks him if he really believes this.  He asks her if she thinks he murdered her father,and after a long silence she asks him how he could think she suspects him of murdering her father.  And then she asks him his plan.  He says wipe them out, and she says fine, just know that I won't spare anyone who killed my father, no matter how close we are (shots fired).

11)She then meets with Zhongli who reports that the branches he is meeting with were all expelled for stealing.  She wonders how he could find such people reliable, but then the thunderclap sect is divided at the moment.  how will he frame Lei?

12)Well, this is how Feng frames him.  The first branch letter he has is tied up and he threatens him to tell the truth, that Lei did this, and tries to give him silver but he refuses.  After two more men appear and testify Lei did, this one man is basically threatened that you can die or lie.  Ge'er appears suddenly and questions him, even though she is able to show an inconsistency in the man's reliability as a witness, he nevertheless offers false testimony, and so she leaves.  Meanwhile, Miss D is pissed to learn of Feng's decision to frame Lei.  She tries to confront him but he basically tells her she can do nothing since her silence makes her an accomplice and her brothers would be in trouble.

13)MW, Yu learns that Lei is now wanted as a criminal and anyone who aids him will be treated as an enemy of the flame villa.  He is reunited with Ge'er, who is so happy she breaks down in tears....

YIN XUE NEEDS TO COME BACK.

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