When last we left the warlord and the beauty, Man Man’s brother was about to fight Yu Lou’s cousin.
Wei Shao quickly calls a time-out to save his brother-in-law’s life
Because Yu Lou’s cousin chops off the top of Ci’s spear and tries to kill him. No one is impressed by this vicious behavior. Wei Shao calls for his own special spear to replace the broken one.
It’s Wei Shao’s brother’s spear. Yu Lou has Memories and Feelings.
Liu Yan sees Wei Shao and Man Man holding hands, and Also Has Feelings.
Back to the fighting! I like the fighting. This time, Ci is dominating, but Yu Lou’s cousin pulls out a hidden dagger and thrusts!
Is he dead?
We see Tao and Liang being cute and happy that he won. So I assume he’s not dead. Then we see he’s not, because Ci Is Good At Fighting.
Yu Lou’s cousin gets disqualified. Yu Lou begs to be allowed to stay in the competition. Then, she announces she’s not there for Bian, but for Xue Tai, who has rebelled from Bian.
I’m not sure what this means, but I think she’s announcing she’s available.
Wei Shao and Wei Yan check on Man Man and Ci. Wei Shao can’t stop being Wei Shao and says Wei Yan wanted to check on them. He’s also not done being the patriarchy, though to be fair, he gives Ci advice and doesn’t just scold him.
Once Wei Shao leaves, Man Man explains the history of the spear to Ci
Then it’s on to the feast, where everyone gossips about fighting and pretty women. Wei Shao delivers a speech to get everyone on board with the canal business, which was the goal of this big event.
Liu Yan is more worried about the Wei having strategic advantages via the canals than the people having water. Ci speaks up to remind everyone of the suffering people experience during a drought. Wei Shao put aside family grudges to nobly build canals. What about everyone else?
Liu Yan would rather murder everyone. Yu Lou makes noises about being supportive.
Wei Shao and Ci resolve differences I don’t remember seeing
There’s been some tension, made worse by Yu Lou, and scolding, but was it that bad? Anyway, Man Man exaggerated the truth to make Wei Shao the biggest hero ever, and now Ci is into him. Wei Shao apologizes for being hard on him earlier, which is fair.
Man Man also told Ci what to say at the feast.
Wei Shao worries that Man Man does these things for him because of promises and duty. He was narrow-minded before, asks her not to blame him, and no longer wants to hide things or lie to her.
He asks if she wants to become his true wife. Oh my. She takes his hands and asks if she isn’t already truly his wife. Then we get a true hug.
I’m not sure what Yu Lou got from the deer hunt
But now she’s after Liu Yan. She spreads the truth of how he became King via Killing Everyone, so no one comes to his “no-canal” party except her. There, she expresses sympathy for the whole “murder is sometimes right” mindset.
She’s hoping that, as like-minded people, they’ll collaborate in the future.
Liu Yan knows he’s being used. After she leaves, the man who murdered an 8-year-old cries about his family upbringing. Man Man is wrong, he doesn’t see people as ants, he was born one. And Yu Lou is the same. Sure Jan.
Ci leaves, Yo Lou tries to move in
She needs Wei Shao’s protection since men are all over her like ants, and invokes his brother’s name.
Wei Shao goes to Man Man with the situation. He doesn’t think it’s right to let Yu Lou be here after what happened with Ci, but there’s his promise to his brother. They decide to let Yu Lou stay in the guest house.
Yu Lou learns that because of Man Man’s mourning, they have yet to consummate. So maybe she can consummate instead. Wearing sexy robes, she invites Wei Shao over late at night to help with canals and pass on some books that smell like her. She tries to get close, but he’s out.
Man Man looks uneasy when she sees the books.
And now the poet is back!
With a gift for Man Man. A rubbing of the poetry inscriptions she wanted to see. Wei Shao’s generals deliberately stir things up by telling him about this gift.
So Wei Shao outdoes the poet by ripping one of the stone slabs of inscription out of the mountain for her. Man Man, the poet, and I are horrified by this cultural atrocity.
Man Man puts the poet in charge of restoring the inscriptions. Wei Shao is unhappy, but Man Man is in charge and annoyed, literally pushing him around. He lets her.
Wei Shao needs a drink with his cousin. Wei Yan finds his romantic problems funny until he learns Man Man and Wei Shao are In Love. But he’s no longer a villain, and reassures Wei Yan that the poet only admires Man Man’s talents
He wonders what Wei Shao would do if someone forced their way in between them. Not him of course, but… Yu Lou? Wei Yan suggests there are different ways of living up to his brother’s promise, from giving Yu Lou gifts to marrying her. The latter doesn’t interest Wei Shao.
Wei Yan promises to take care of the poet. Some feelings just need to be cut off.
The poet doesn’t plan to stay anyway
Oblivious to the silly chaos he’s causing, his only interest is in exploring the world.
Wei Yan tries to cut off his feelings for Man Man by setting the mountain goddess portrait on fire, but can’t.
Wei Shao is being petty, and Man Man is amused by his childish behavior. She reassures him of her feelings and says she’ll send the poet away.
Wei Shao is still in needy mode, unable to stop asking questions about the poet. He even calls himself petty (no, that’s me) and knows he should not mind so much. But Man Man tells him not to bottle things up and be honest. He leans his head on her shoulder, and they gaze at the moon.
Yu Lou has more urgent, late-night canal needs
But Wei Shao remembers Wei Yan’s advice and waits until the next day. He’s sending her back with some gifts to prove she’s under his protection.
Yu Lou yammers on about their childhood bond, her fate, and why she doesn’t want to marry Man Man’s ex. Unless that would help Wei Shao?
Wei Shao is not interested, and Yu Lou suddenly has a headache that supposedly started when she took care of him when they were children. He leaves without another word.
Then there’s a whole lot of silliness about the poet’s massive arms
Staring at the bare, well-muscled specimens, Wei Shao is overcome with… lust? No, not that kind of show. But now Wei Shao is insecure and needs to prove things by weight lifting.
Before he leaves, the poet gives Wei Shao weight-lifting advice. He insists he has no interest in fighting. Will this lead to anything interesting? Like him actually fighting? Who knows? For now, the poet is leaving to visit some canals because he’s so inspired.
The entire family sees him off. After Wei Shao and Man Man leave, Yu Lou spots Wei Yan picking up a handkerchief of Man Man’s.
At the office, the generals discuss the Liu Yan problem. They still need more people to help with the canal. Liang suggests they work with Bian, but this does not get a ton of enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Wei Yan sees Man Man bringing him soup. Is it Man Man? Or the maid?
We didn’t see even one CGI deer
The whole deer hunt thing felt very whatever. I’m not even sure if Yu Lou’s cousin got to keep fighting. Why did he try to kill Ci? For ruining their earlier plan? Or was it part of Yu Lou’s plan? What is her plan? And Liu Yan’s? I know they both want power, but how is this getting it for them?
I’m glad the Yu Lou trying to seduce Wei Shao thing wasn’t dragged out. With all the progress he and Man Man have made, a fake-out would be annoying. Instead, having failed to keep one of his promises to his brother, he’s struggling to keep the other. It’s not about Yu Lou. This tracks.
I liked seeing him go to Man Man for help with Yu Lou, too, instead of her having to read between the lines and manipulate things.
I have a feeling the Wei Yan in love with Man Man situation will resolve soon. I’m way more interested in seeing how Wei Shao handles someone he’s so personally close to being in love with his wife than any of the silliness with the poet. I want angst, not weight lifting, and I think I’ll get it.
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