Episode 13 Summary: The Missing Prince

Just a Heads Up: The drama is beginning to slow down, I imagine, in order to begin the arduous process of setting up for an epic second act and to develop the characters more. The missing prince may either be 1)just one of many crimes that will be brought up later to punish someone or 2)a way of keeping some action in the episode as it sets up for later.

--The episode begins with Li'er interrupting the emperor yet again threatening the servants with death and questions and instead showing her more practical side: we are wasting time by questioning these people focus on finding my son

-Li'er is granted permission to leave the harem and to search the entire palace. He sends Zhao Gao (bwahahaha) to accompany her in the search. They check everywhere, some places twice. Zhao Gao makes an insensitive request, asking her to halt the search because he doesn't seem to be in the palace. Always observant, Li'er in the midst of all her worry and concern, (maybe this is her battle mode) notices this but says nothing. Her servant rebukes him for his comment and points out that he cannot empathize with her because she has no kids (I disagree with that) and he shoots back with 'well just because you have a child doesn't make you an expert' ( an uncommon acknowledgement of servants having children in a drama)

-Li'er doesn't have time for this and shuts them down before telling him that if he is tired he can rest but she will keep searching. This makes him look bad so he will keep searching.

-Meanwhile, Ru'er is happy to hear that Li'er is upset over her child being stolen but when she learns from her servant that she intervened on behalf of the servants, she interprets it as Li'er scheming, even during difficult times instead of a genuinely practical request (but it is normal to interrupt it that way given the scheming environment Ruo'er has survived in for years; Li'er is the strange one for not scheming)

-Elsewhere, Senior Brother, who is apparently a guardsman going by the name of Han, must submit to a search as Li Zhong searches for the assassin. For reasons unknown, instead of simply asking the guards to remove their armor and shirts to check for injuries inflicted on the assassin, he administers a test believing the injured person will stand out (clearly the guy who broke in is skilled and would be able to survive this kind of test)

-Li'er thinks longingly of Jing in the privacy of her room, stroking the scarf he gave her, and apologizes for losing their child. Elder desciple sneaks in despite the risk, to check on her, and she learns he tried to kill the emperor. Now this is an important scene because she ALMOST tells him that the emperor is actually kind of kind, but realizes it and stops before she completes her sentence. She informs him that she suspects Zhao knows something

-The Grand Dowager, meanwhile, thinks the emperor will get over this, she tells her servant (does she even know her grandson? when has he EVER gotten over anything? he is an eye for an eye vindictive man, and patient too--he wouldn't let anything go!) she just hopes that Ruo'er doesn't do anything stupid and restrains herself (so she knows her)

-Ruo'er pays Li'er a visit and is not only insulting but basically says even if I have no kids, i am close with Fusu who will likely be emperor one day. Li'er does not rise to her provocations and instead is, as always, very direct. She tells her that it is great she is close to Fusu, but advises her that she should not have any children. Why? She explains that if she had a son, she might try to get rid of Fusu. As a result, the emperor would have her killed off early on. Also, being from a foreign state, her son, if crown prince, would also contend with her family trying to use him and harm the Ying family. No, she tells her that if she wants to live long, she should be happy with Fusu and also encourages her to not be too controlling because it could backfire. Li'er tells her that she is telling her this because she doesn't want her son to be involved in the fight for the crown and that she could care less if the emperor likes her or hates her. So she implores her to stop wasting her time on her before leaving.

-Afterwards, Li'er tells her servant that she believes Ruo'er is involved--that she is like an arsonist coming back to see the result of her actions.

-Elsewhere, Jing looks like a hot mess. He is leaving Lan'er and family, despite Tuang's suggestion that he try to walk and work through the depression basically and Lan'er telling him that he should wait for her father to return. He thanks them and is on his way.

-Li'er meanwhile requests a private audience with the king, and she makes this request while looking at Zhao. The room empties, and she proceeds to tell him that she thinks the emperor kidnapped her son (at first I was like OMG really? but then they are almost giving her the qualities of a modern day investigator---she has to question and rule everyone out so to her everyone is suspect). She reminds him that he even killed his own brothers in front of his mother, and he tells her that while he did those things it is not his style to sneak around and act covertly--and I believe that he would do it in front of her because he is pretty vindictive. And he doesn't need to sneak around. He's the emperor!

-She states that even if he didn't do it she believes the person who did it is int he palace

-Meanwhile, in the barracks elder brother hears the guards talking about a ghost at the southern palace, and it CRIES. HMMMMM. Sounds awfully SUSPICIOUS.

-He goes directly to the king, which is pretty bad since he could have been killed on site, and explains what he has learned. Ghao Zhao urges the king not to listen to such nonsense--and as smart as he is, the emperor doesn't find this behavior strange at all--and he investigates. They find the baby with the Queen Dowager.

-She hands the child over without question and explains that a servant girl said it was an abandoned baby. The emperor challenges this and how she could have thought this and yet again, Li'er jumps in and points out that in her isolation the Queen would not have known a prince was born. The emperor let's it go and turns to his retainers, including Ghao Zhao, and promises to punish them on (I presume for their failure to find the child)

Thoughts: SO there have been some reasonable little cracks in the plans of persons in the palace who don't seem to have Li'er's or the emperor's best interests at heart. And Li'er is increasingly comfortable bringing out that purple scarf so it's just a matter of time before the emperor finds out. Lady Min's hopes that Ruo'er will basically be the reason for her own downfall will also happen, and the Grand Queen Dowager continues to state she is getting old and feeble...so that'll be interesting. If and when Ruo'er falls, Min Dai would be a far more intelligent enemy in the harem for Li'er to contend with. And Zhao is basically gunning for war so it is all a matter of time....

I just don't like some of the more ridiculous plot holes in the show. But overall it is good.

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