This week was another simple episode, but there are still lots of things being planted for the future! And of course, has it’s moments of hilarity ensue with the reunion between Jinshi and Maomao. Never a dull moment with these two!
While shopping for new padded coats for Chou-u at the second-hand shop, Maomao and Chou-u came across an intriguing garment. The shopkeeper boasts that it belongs to a Heavenly Miaden who had disappeared in a lake. While that may impress some (including Chou-u), Maomao could only roll her eyes about it because not only she knows there’s likely a logical reason how it actually unfolded, but she herself has already witnessed a Celestial Maiden drop into the lake (that being Jinshi during the the stunt they pulled for the Li envoys). But there’s an interesting observation to be had from it, and one that ends up scoring Maomao a large free haul of padded-coats to their liking.
The garment was made by a foreigner from the west. Maomao recognizes the scriptures embroidered into the fabric because she has seen Luomen write a lot of it before. This particular garment is made out of asbestos, which helps create fire-resistant cloths (which is why one of its many names refers to it as “fire-rat’s cloak”). As such she was able to raise the price to about ten times what the shopkeeper was originally selling it for by putting on a show that showed how coal didn’t burn the fabric, and marketed it to by-passers as the story’s ‘Heavenly Maiden’.
That said, as Maomao had pointed out, the story behind the Heavenly’s Maiden’s Fire-Rat Cloak is actually quite dark. It’s more so about a tale of a foreign woman of status who had been likely kidnapped. Since the villagers could not read/understand her country’s language, she woven a plea for help through the garments she had to make and sell for the villagers. When that failed, she made the Fire-Rat Cloak, and used that to (supposedly) pull off a successful escape from what would’ve been a forced-marriage, or further imprisonment by setting herself on fire during the ceremony, and jumped into the lake to pull off her escape.
What’s the point of this? Well the description of the girl reminded Maomao of the women who had served as the Li Envoys (back in season 2). It made Maomao wonder if perhaps this supposedly ‘Heavenly Maiden’ may have been a spy or something along the lines too.
Bearing that in mind, while Maomao doesn’t know it yet, we’re presently aware that there is this supposed ‘maiden’ going around offering so-called “medicine of salvation” (really obviously laced food) to the vulnerable right now. And as if that problem quietly making headway wasn’t bad enough, now there’s even books circulating the streets telling the tale of the fall of the Shi Clan, Jinshi’s role in subduing them, and the terrible woman Loulan leaving a scar on the Moon Prince’s face. You may as well call it a “Gossip Column” if you must. But these things can be problematic should it turn into a source of spreading claims that the Emperor is being punished by the heavens for eradicating the Shi Clan, and promoting civil unrest/sowing distrust in the leadership. After-all, they say sometimes say locust plagues come about when an emperor fails to govern properly. It doesn’t matter that it’s a natural occurrence, people will believe what they want in face of grief, fury and starvation.
For the mean time, not much can be done about that, so the pressing issue is to locate the missing second volume of the Insect textbook. Thanks Ukyou’s help, they were able to get ahold of the books Sazen had sold in other towns, but unfortunately he did not pick up the volume Maomao needs. The first volume does not have any information on the locusts as she had hoped, so that’s where Jinshi is needed. The job to locating the second volume has now been entrusted to Gaoshun, as they will have people check the Shi Clan’s stronghold in hopes for finding it. After-all, it may prove to hold critical information how they will be able to fend off the locust plague. Time is of the essence.
While Jinshi was aware of the crops failures in the north, despite having read Loulan’s note, he didn’t fully understand the looming threat until he got to sit down with Maomao to discuss it together. Unfortunately locusts plagues are something that lasts years, so sending extra provisions from the south (Binan-shu) is not going to be a fool-proof plan should it spread further and last longer. So they need to find that book and fast.
But poor Jinshi, as if working undercover as an eunuch wasn’t already tiring enough, now fully recognized as the Moon Prince, the pile of work has only increased. He’s getting worked to the bones! The guy is so sleep deprived and overworked, that you can see the bags in his eyes, he’s deadass exhausted. Maomao had suggested to him to take a nap while he was there, and had asked if he has trouble sleeping alone as a joke… and that’s when things severely veered off track. Had she not asked him that, the whole nonsense that followed probably wouldn’t have happened. But because she did, and Jinshi decided to answer “yes”, staring pointedly at her, that’s when Maomao turned what would’ve been a straight-forward route to a much needed power snooze, into a full blown circus. Naturally, she had Granny make the preparations, and offering him tea to help reinvigorate him (which he (understandably) spat out), had Verdigris’s courtesans and their services ready for offering, from special massage treatment in the baths, and a lady to have by his side. But we all know Jinshi absolutely does not want any of those services, and will avoid them at all cost.
So considering all that nonsense that only sapped the energy out of him even more, Jinshi asking to sing a lullaby seemed to be a fair payback for it. Needless to say, it speaks volumes just how Jinshi can actually sleep soundly (if not even better) with Maomao by his side. For one, he doesn’t have to worry about her pouncing on him when he’s asleep– as he has to worry about with many others.
But man, while he finally got some good shut-eye for an afternoon, the problems keep coming and they are just gonna get bigger no thanks to the “special food” being distributed to impoverished areas suffering from starvation from failed crops. When is the poor guy ever going to rest properly at this rate?!
That being said, despite all the chaos that had ensued, Pairin has certainly picked up on the fact Maomao showing signs of caring significantly for someone else other than her father Luomen. Naturally Maomao will continue to deny it, shrugging it off and carrying on with her day.
Note of correction: I had actually forgotten the name ‘Sazen’ wasn’t the Shi Clan’s guard original name, and mistakenly referred to him as such last week (a week early so to speak haha). The name ‘Sazen’ is actually the one he came up with today to help hide his true identity from Chou-u. I’ll keep it as such though because he’s referred to as Sazen now anyways.
