Tbf was Yinglou wrong 😂? The main reason he has these women around is because of their daddy’s! If anything it makes me get why the harem women get jealous of a commoner because the emperor at least chose them and they were forced on him 😂! He’s a stallion pimped out to the most connections, don’t put all the blame on the women. The emperors eye rolls and kicks has me in tears. He’s not above killing her or hurting here, but he can’t because it would ruin his public image. Yinglou is amazing at this. I love her so much. Poor Gao’s mother. Her husband mad a bunch of people mad and she was then the sacrificial lamb?!? So instead of taking accountability and responsibility they blame her?!? Trash, complete and utter trash. I can kind of see why Gao is the way she is after seeing her mother so easily replaced after her horrible end. Then to add insult to injury she wasn’t allowed to be buried with honor. I don’t care about Gao’s little construction project be a better human 😢
The best part of 9:43-10:06 is when the one maid says "Anyone else would have her head!" and the emperor was literally on his way to cut Yingluo's head off. 🤣🤣 I genuinely find the Emperor and Yingluo's dynamic so interesting. I think one of the reasons the emperor dislikes her so much is because they are so similar. They're both scheming, they both want to get their own way, but the difference is he uses brute force (his authority as emperor) and she uses subtly and cunning. He knows *exactly* what she's doing (more or less), and hates the fact that he can't get rid of her because it would make his wife, who he truly loves, sad. I think the fact that Yingluo can run rings around him makes him suuuuper uncomfortable because he wants to always be in control- again, like another certain someone we know... Also, in the scene where she fainted to escape the Emperor's wrath- I think she actually fainted. My jaw was literally dropped during that entire scene, and the Emperor would 1000% have eviscerated her right then and there had he the strength. Yingluo actually looked like she was genuinely shaking at the end of that confrontation, and frankly, I would have been too.
Notes: -Can't find much on Gao Bin himself, but he did oversee some big projects, serving first as Minister of Personnel (which is how Gao has so much control over the harem) and then as Grand Secretary. Her family was honored by having their name Manchurianized from the Han 'Gao' to the Manchu 'Gaojia', effectively making them honorary Manchus. Her mother, Lady Chen, was a relative of Consort Chunyuqin, one of the Kangxi Emperor's wives (who was still alive in Qianlong's time). Gao also did have three younger sisters, from her father's third wife Lady Ma, but there was another wife, Lady Qi, in between. -The Drunken Concubine (also known as 'the Drunken Beauty', '贵妃醉酒/Guifei Zuijiu') is a famous opera about Consort Yang, the consort of Xuanzong of Tang (mentioned in the lychee poem analyzed earlier). The Emperor promises to meet her at Baihua Pavilion, but she waits in vain, because he decides to spend the night with another woman. In despair, she drinks wine and laments her sorrow and betrayal. Ironically, this is exactly what happens to the Empress here. The 'drinking wine without using your hands' move is also faithful to most stagings, AFAIK. Her costume here consists of an informal robe (pei) with long sleeves to accentuate movements (shuixiu), along with a headdress (toukui). Yellow, in opera symbolism, indicates a character is haughty, crafty and/or fierce. Yang Guifei is a 'dan', a female role, normally played by a man (a 'nandan') due to prohibitions against women on stage. -BAHAHAHA Yingluo roasting the Emperor will always be one of my favorite scenes. Imagine having the stones to call the most powerful man in the country a 'manwh@re' (even if it is entirely true, you have several dozen girlfriends dude). -...yeah I got nothing on the whole 'coughing up blood cures scabies' thing. The closest I can think of is maybe he was having trouble breathing/eating due to the clot (which would prolong his illness), and making him angry would cause his breathing rate to increase, thereby getting him to cough it up? I have an extremely surface-level knowledge of TCM; from what I can tell, an accumulation of phlegm is caused when the bodily fluids pool in one area, not being properly transported by the body's vital energies, and cause diseases in the affected area. Risk factors include overexertion, emotional imbalance (in other words, running a damn country), and being yelled at by your wife's maid, apparently. However, characters getting so angry they literally cough up blood is a common thing in C-dramas, so there is precedent. -The Emperor gets his revenge on Yingluo by ordering Doctor Ye to use goldthread while treating her, an extremely bitter medicine made from the rhizomes of Coptis chinesis herb, also known as 'huang lian'. It's used to treat ailments of the stomach and spleen, and clear out 'excessive dampness'. -To play extremely lightweight devil's advocate for Mingyu here, it's clear that Shu's only sucking up to the Empress to try and get closer to the Emperor, and Qing just goes along with whatever Shu says. There's no guaruntees they wouldn't have jumped ship to Gao eventually anyway, Mingyu could have just sped the process up. (pleaaaase redemption arc please please this show is making me look like a fool for liking a currently unlikeable character) -The painting the Empress gifts to the Emperor is Liu Songnian's 'Four Scenes of Landscape', which is actually painted on silk and currently resides in the Palace Museum in Beijing. It depicts the four seasons from the Western Lake in Hangzhou. Specifically, the one seen in the drama depicts summer, the second of four panels. -The Emperor speedrunning the five stages of grief as he hides behind a fence listening to palace gossip is the 2nd funniest scene in this arc (if the Roast hadn't occurred, it would've been the 1st.)
@@marfa.h3526 I believe the reason why The Emperor wasn’t getting better even though he was being treated for his illness was due to other reasons hence why the coughing up the phlegm was necessary for the medicines to actually take affect. Something else was blocking the medications to work and that is indeed plausible.
My favorite thing about the emperor's sickness is that the empress keeps covering his mouth to keep him from getting out an order to kill Yinglou and then interrupts him after the plan was explained to give her a punishment. The two just have a great relationship.
Yingluo speech of mocking the Emperor is so funny to me. It's so entertaining and it's kind of satisfying to watch someone spout their brutally honest thoughts in an absolutely disrespectful way to the most powerful man in the country and get way with it. Although I don't think she would've gotten away with it in reallife, I still enjoy the scene. And yeah, even though don't support a lot of Shu's actions, I can totally see how her plucky and oppurtunistic attitude can be cute.
Fun fact, I had something similar happen to me a while ago along the lines of the emperor's sickness. Back in May last year I was sick, coughing constantly and having high fevers. One day I woke up while coughing and a huge blood clot came up, I was so terribly scared I ran to the doctor, the same evening all symptoms were completely gone. So yeah it's possible that the sickness wasn't going away because of blood stuck in his bronchial ways, the body was so focused on the clot it wasn't fighting the illness properly, that's what my doctor told me at least
After sneaking up on the maids, that frustrated eyeroll the Emperor does when he realizes "Ah, h*ck, it's already out and I'll look like an ungrateful tyrant if I do anything to YingLuo" is absolutely hilarious.
I love that crazy episode where Yingluo pisses the emperor off. And it's hilarious that the emperor tries to be sneaky when eavesdropping on the maids, and his whole entourage crouches down behind him
I replay Yinglou blowing up at the emperor all the time it’s so hilarious.. Yinglou is like ur ride or die bestie that sees u hurt and is automatically ready to jump in and throw hands
This is my favorite Empress, easily. And Shu is adorable. She does a good job being a little menace after Mingyu continues to act a fool, but then also grows up later in the show, which I liked.
Did this Gao contribute to Qianlong getting rashes again...? 😂😂😂😂 And Mingyu, she dares to ignore Empress' command 🙃 (She is lucky this empress is not Langhua, otherwise she will be married off to a creepy eunuch) 😂😂
her reaction when the Emperor accuses her of trying to seduce him after he "catches her" singing in the gardens that one evening is absolutely hilarious and adorable 💕
you have made me start watching the next episodes again before you drop. I love Nie Yuan's version of the Emperor. I find his relationship with the Empress charming.
Yes that’s partly why Qing is with Shu later on she’s mentions she has 100 plus people in her family and she’s doesn’t want to risk their lives by crossing anyone
Yay! Yu gets a best friend. Gao... I get it now. The justice she wants and the fear of being replaced. I get it with a cold father that got rid of her birth mother within days... ouch. The empress is so dedicated to the emperor. And Yingluo. She was so willing to trust her and the oh so subtle glaces they both give... AWE MY GAWD. I love it! And I agree with Yinguo. A prostitute. He just doesn't get punished. However, I truly and wholeheartedly agree that he is deeply in love with the empress. (Fun Fact, this was true in real life as well. They were childhood sweethearts) Also, Drama Recaps: your comment about 'getting hands dirty for necessity'. TRUE! I agree. In Empresses in the Palace, Zhen Huan has a quote about not wanting to fight for no reason, but to defend herself and the people she loved.
My biggest cultural shock when getting into Cdramas was how much they cough up blood lol. The first time I saw this was actually this scene in Yanxi palace and I was like "alright his last moment on earth the emperor is gonna die and get replaced" but no😭 they always do this, someone's sick, Blood. Someone's enraged, blood. Someone's shocked, blood. It's also so funny how the doctors can diagnose any disease known to man by pluse-rate but they're okay with everyone coughing up alarming amounts of blood.
as someone said in the "Zhen Huan" reviews, hematemesis (vomitting blood) is the Chinese equivalent of fainting in the West and grabbing your nape due to hypertension and/or chest pains (not limited to heart attacks or angina pectoris) in South Korea
I love this channel and this drama. It's nice to refresh my memory of this drama and to enjoy your nice commentary at the same time.❤️ This episode was hilarious. Pffftt the scene with the emperor and his whole entourage sneaking behind the bushes.🤣 I burst out laughing because it was so unexpected. And then I had to explain this video to the person next to me😅
I don't fully understand the concept but there was a belief that anger would make you throw up the angry blood for some reason. I've seen it in several comics😅
Maybe I'm wrong but from what I've heard the main story of the drama is a slow burn type romance? Like I'm definitely going to watch it (when I have time 😭) but would it work well for a recap? Is there... drama? Lol
@@dramarecaps4217 definitely! It may be a slow romance, but the romance is not the point. You have a very shrewd female lead with another uber strategist male lead. Zhao Liying is amazing! there is a grandma who is my fave!!! I am sure your mom would like her. And the useless father, head of the household is zaddy... you should definitely do it. there is also the book , which is quite different from the story. It is my favourite period drama, devoid of obvious ploys to appeal to modern sensibilities...
If all it took was 1 time for the empress not seeing anyone that day for Shu to run to the enemy’s side then that is questionable about her true intentions imo.
@@dramarecaps4217 yes Definitely Mingyu was being 💯 rude, homegirl just doesn’t like them, she dislikes all the consorts and concubines as she thinks they steals the emperors time away from the empress 🤣😂 trust when everyone here is telling you that You will route from Mingyu later on. 🌸
I really feel like she showed up in the middle of the worst time of the empress's life and because she wasn't fighting anybody The empress just let all the things go. Maybe she got lucky and is from just the right clan that allowed her to get a good position
I love the crazy sicknesses they come up with. With just as crazy cures. And with Chinese dramas, if they throw up, is always blood, except for morning sickness. And their is usually a soup for everything. Cures, birth control, abortions...you name it. Lol
when Ruyi and Suoxin poisoned themselves in the cold palace, we actually got to see food-vomit! I was so surprised, given that these drama shows usually just have the actors make a delicate gagging noise while covering their mouth with a handkerchief and leave it at that. First and only time I've seen it.
Every medication was herbal in those days, they still use different types of soups to cure certain illnesses in Asian cultures, even here in the west lots of people are reverted back to herbal medicines instead of synthetic medicines.
@Winter74575 I get that because that is what was used back then. But herbal soups as a very efficient contraceptive, and I mean very.. it can be a bit far fetched.
@@y-mefarm4249 I thought the same as well but then I also wonder, why some of these women weren’t getting pregnant more regularly, for instance it took Consort Ling many years before she actually got pregnant in real life and according to historical records she was very much favoured and active with the emperor since around 19 years old but had her first child at nearly 30 years old. So there must’ve been a very effective herb that they used to make soups for sure😅 PS. I actually just looked into it a bit and yes IT’s definitely a fact about their contraceptive soups, they used similar herbs in ancient Egypt and even in Europe. 😅
@Winter74575 In ancient Egypt they used crocodile 💩. If these herbs were so effective why are they not being used now? It's also possible that lead and mercury was an issue. Mercury was used in medicine back in ancient China. Lead cups, dishes and incense burners. Not to mention what was used in the actual incense which was burned constantly. Another funny thing is taking a woman's pulse to know they are pregnant and knowing if it is a boy or girl.
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