Episode 6 Summary: Antidote

-Li'er makes the life altering choice to ride to the city, just as the Emperor planned her to, in order to obtain the life saving antidote for Jing.

-The details of their meeting are very specific. As she rides to the city the emperor is shown getting ready. As she walks into the city on a cloudy, misty day escorted by guards the emperor is shown walking towards his throne flanked by his guards. It is all very stark. In the very empty throne room (which I think essentially describes Zheng: alone) she waits, looking tired and worn out from her ride. And the emperor observes her from the shadows, first asking her why she does not kneel, and so she drops to her knees, head bowed in supplication. The emperor makes some personal remarks 'you've lost weight since I last saw you' and then she looks up, and the camera slowly rises, filming everything from her line of vision, beginning with his feet, and up his robes, and then his face. This is all for dramatic effect to show the viewer how shocked she must be to see that the emperor is the merchant she met.

-She doesn't understand why he is doing this, and basically says so, and he is direct: I want you (yes, he says that). She is given the illusion of choice: you can enter the palace and be mine, and in return receive the antidote, or choose not to and not receive the antidote. But then Jing will die. She asks for three months in return for the antidote, and he agrees.

-After she leaves, the emperor remarks to his retainer 'Am I not clever?' with the statement that she is the only person who can arouse jealousy in him. This is so far about as close as he has ever gotten to admitting out loud that he actually loves her.

-Li'er returns with the antidote, and explains to Tuan the nature of her ordeal, and her promise. She rationalizes her choice, and explains that this is not necessarily a bad thing because now she will no longer be an obstacle in Jing's lofty ambitions of helping the world. This is probably the optimist in her but at night, she cries herself to sleep (so sad!) and has to hide these fears and pains because she does not tell Jing the truth. Why she lies, I don't know, because he will find out eventually. Maybe she just wanted to enjoy these last few weeks.

-Meanwhile, during this time the emperor thinks about her a lot and maybe he feels a smidge of regret but I think he has reached a point in his way of thinking that he must be cruel to achieve his goals--for instance, solidifying his power, stabilizing his state, and ultimately conquering the other states all require him to be extremely ruthless. Why should he be any different in his personal affairs, and can he even afford to be different in his private affairs?

-Li Su, a retainer of Lu Buwei, who so impressed the emperor earlier, continues to offer advice. In front of the ministers, when asked what he should do, he advises the emperor to focus on toppling Han as it has grown weak and is near them. it will shock the other states. The advice pleases him, and he is promoted to officer.

-Jing plans to go on a journey, a short one, and I think she plans to use his time away as her chance to return to the Emperor. Tuan is her ally in fabricating lies in order to make the transition as painless as possible.

Note: I think it is interesting to note note that the relationship between the Emperor and Li'er is essentially one built out of lies, mistrust, and coercion. Now anyone can tell you that this is not a good recipe for romance. In fact it has everything you should try to avoid in a healthy relationship. But that is modern day views. Let's go back to the ancient world. Now women in China were never greatly empowered. And the emperor is basically a god. Given the war and the disease and chance of death at any moment, this is actually a pretty good deal for her. Especially since he seems to really like her.

But Li'er is no ordinary ancient world woman, so we can reject all of that. What I think makes this so pitiful for Li'er is that her childhood is so different from Zheng. She was loved, she was raised by an extraordinarily honorable man who sacrificed his life for his country. There was always someone there for her, and that allowed her to grown into such a positive and happy person.

In stark contrast, Zheng has been deceived and hurt by everyone around him, and he has grown into an extremely ruthless man who relies only on himself. This is a recipe for disaster. She even grew up free, without the restraint of palace rules and intrigue. If two people could be more different, then this is it. Just some thoughts.

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