Fan Bing Bing finally has a bad angle!

I was wrong! Thanks to a commenter that corrected me – there’s going to be more episodes since the time of each was shortened. I always wondered why the episodes suddenly became 30 minutes each – just assumed because they cut out so many ‘inappropriate’ scenes that they were all automatically shortened.

So today… everything unravels!!! And this is when Mei Niang finally takes power!

The episode begins with the Emperor holding a late-night meeting with his chancellors to remove the current Empress Wang, and to make Mei Niang the new Empress Wu. All the chancellors from Zhang Sun Wu Ji’s style say no, because of the prediction, as well as how Mei Niang used to serve the old Emperor. If I was a chancellor I would be against it too – she was technically his stepmom. The chancellors that are lesser known, are on Mei Niang’s side, and agree that she should become Empress. Since Empress Wang has done nothing wrong, other than not bearing a son, there should be no reason to remove her.

After the meeting, the Emperor goes to Mei Niang’s place. She’s a villain at this point, but you really don’t hate her for some reason – you know she’s manipulative and calculating, but you can’t bring yourself to blame her. She talks to the Emperor, and says that she doesn’t mind being a zhao yi (a lower ranked concubine), and she doesn’t want to get caught up with all the drama with the other consorts, concubines, and Empress, and more importantly does not want to cause the Emperor to be pressured by his chancellors.

But we know, that she does – she wants to become Empress and she wants to get rid of Zhang Sun Wu Ji, because she blames them for the loss of her first child. Even though she’s lying, and we know she’s just manipulating the Emperor, I don’t hate her. In fact, I slightly admire her ability to read people and calculate because it seems like that she’s more intelligent and above many of the others.

Her words touch the Emperor, and he shows his affections towards her – they had a very small and cute moment (it was so brief that I didn’t bother capturing since would’ve been blurry) where he picked her up.

They end up in his sleeping chambers, so I’m positive they had just slept together.

She suddenly faints.

I swear, I should make a collage of the instances she faints in this drama.

None of the doctors know what happened to her – she just fell into a deep sleep. Why?

Earlier on, Mei Niang sent Empress Wang and Consort Xiao a piece of writing on how to be a good wife to the Emperor.

Normally, only the Empress could write such a piece – so Empress Wang was very pissed. It was like Mei Niang was taunting them since the Emperor only favours her. Being pissed and angry – she summons the same sorcerer to cast a voodoo spell on Mei Niang.

Sorcery is not allowed within the palace – once Consort Xiao hears of this, she quickly notifies the Emperor (indirectly through servants) that Mei Niang’s coma could be caused by voodooism. Hearing this, the Emperor quickly searches the concubine’s living quarters.

Plot twist – they find it in Consort Xiao’s living quarters!!!

Upon hearing this, the Emperor is furious and banish Consort Xiao into Ye Ting.

Second plot twist: this was all planned for Empress Wang. Mei Niang meant to piss Empress Wang off and intentionally put that sorcerer by her side to cast some voodooism onto Mei Niang. Empress Wang was lucky enough to have thought ahead, and put it in Consort Xiao’s living quarters because the doll would work anywhere anyways, and she didn’t want to be caught with it. Lucky her. I also liked how they explained how Mei Niang could be in a coma (a fake one) – she just took a pill apparently beforehand so it makes it look like the voodoo worked.

BELOW: Screencap heavy because Bing Bing and Viann Zhang are so gorgeous in this part. Viann (Consort Xiao) looks the best with less make up I think, she looks so pretty here. I started following her on WeiBo, apparently she’s in “只因单身在一起” Singles Villa! Makes me tempted to watch it.

      

To summarize the screencaps above, pretty much Consort Xiao told Mei Niang that the Emperor was partially at fault for the loss of her first child, and that he facilitated it to keep her in the palace, but not because he truly loves her, but because he wants to prove that whatever the previous Emperor had, he could have too. Mei Niang leaves, but she’s upset.

Now the real sh*t goes down *u*.

During Mei Niang’s visit to Consort Xiao, someone tells Empress Wang that the Emperor has fainted at Mei Niang’s living quarters. Empress Wang immediately rushes to see if he’s ok. There’s no one there – her servant leaves to see what’s going on. Empress Wang is left with Mei Niang’s baby, Princess An Ding. Seeing An Ding, realizing it’s Mei Niang’s daughter, she puts her handkerchief over her face and attempts to choke her to death, until An Ding suddenly smiles at her. Empress Wang stops.

AND THEN shady Princess GaoYang suddenly emerges from the doors after Empress Wang leaves – seeing that she didn’t kill An Ding, she’s disappointed.

…SO SHE DOES IT HERSELF!!!!111!

I can’t even… How could anyone do that to a child? This was in actual history (but no Princess Gao Yang was involved, it was either the Empress Wang or Mei Niang who did it) so I can’t believe that someone would kill a baby for power or out of hate.

I wonder how they kept the actor baby so still. Like normally the tummy still moves up and down even when they’re sleeping. But anyways, Mei Niang finds out An Ding’s dead, and she cries uncontrollably. She faints again. Yes. At this point I am definitely creating a collage of her fainting.

I would like to add I love Rei An and he is the sweetest eunuch in all of drama history.

I would also like to add, throughout this whole entire drama this is the only bad angle of Fan Bing Bing. LOL.

I always thought she was so beautiful from every angle, but no one can defeat the from down to up angle. She clutches her deceased child in sadness.

She noticed the marking on her baby’s neck, coincided with markings on Princess GaoYang’s ring.

She finally starts suspecting shady Princess GaoYang. She doesn’t tell anyone except for Rei An though, because she too, wants to remove Empress Wang.

Empress Wang is removed by the Emperor, while Mei Niang mourns for her lost child.

They had a very sad scene here, where Mei Niang accuses the Emperor of facilitating the murder of her children, and blames him for not protecting her and their children.

Bing Bing is crying so hard in this scene she literally drools. My gosh.

Suddenly we cut scene to Princess GaoYang telling Bian Jie, her monk lover, that his revenge is well underway.

I hate you so much Princess GaoYang!!! First of all, your lover is a monk, he wouldn’t have been able to marry you anyways. And secondly, since he’s a monk, he wouldn’t condone all the horrible things that you’ve done. And thirdly, really? Ruining lives and killing just so you could get revenge? So selfish.

Meanwhile Li Ke returns again to Chang An to mourn the anniversary of death of his father. Zhang Sun Wu Ji is on high alert because he is certain Li Ke is going to commit treason and try to usurp the throne. At this point I don’t know either, he seems quite shady and I can’t tell what he’s thinking. According to Wiki (obviously the most reliable source for history) Princess Gao Yang and company tries to overthrow the Emperor Li Zhi, but got caught, and Fang Yi Ai, who’s GaoYang’s husband, implicates Li Ke too, in order to be spared (since Zhang Sun Wu Ji hates Li Ke). But we aren’t following the history closely so I don’t know what they’re going to do.

At An Ding’s funeral, Mei Niang intentionally speaks to Zhang Sun Wu Ji. From him, Mei Niang learns one thing, that ties everything together. She asked him if he found Li Ke suspicious. He said, yes, and that normally those that plan to overthrow the Emperor normally keep close ties with other royalty. Li Ke keeps close ties with Princess GaoYang. Suddenly Mei Niang feels like the death of An Ding ties into something bigger. Mei Niang requests to meet the ex-Empress Wang.

Mei Niang wears more and more make-up as she becomes ‘eviler’. I really don’t like what she’s doing to her bottom lashline and really prefer her initial make-up. But from her meeting with ex-Empress Wang, Mei Niang confirms that ex-Empress Wang never killed her child (why lie when you’re about to die anyways?).

Episode 83 Trailer

I don’t know how far ahead this trailer is reaching but Mei Niang finally becomes Empress?! She only becomes Empress (historically) after Zhang Sun Wu Ji is taken down. They always show things from episodes that are way ahead, so I wonder when this will all come down. Soon enough I suppose, since both Empress Wang and Consort Xiao are now out of the picture.

Her outfit is so gorgeous! It doesn’t really look Chinese though, moreso Japanese. And how many years have passed? Li Zhi has a moustache? This looks like an epic scene. Can’t wait to see it HD in an episode.