Note: Episode 38 is also known as Season 2 Episode 14.
Everyone should feel sympathy for a character like Lishu. She’s a little girl who’s been through a lot, and it shows more than ever in this episode. This series is tragic in a way that isn’t immediately obvious until it suddenly smacks you in the face. Case in point: this fifteen-year-old concubine. Lishu is always expected to act like an adult, but you can only fake for so long before you start to break. This episode highlights the emotional turbulence of Lady Lishu.
Episode 38: The Dancing Ghost
Episode Rating: 8/10
Maomao heard Lishu’s story about the ghost she saw and suggested reporting it to Jinshi. Naturally, after it was reported to him, Jinshi asked Maomao to come with him and get to the bottom of the issue. He was bolder with Maomao compared to before and called her by name without embarrassment. He was probably extra confident because he had one up on her, knowing that Maomao had to keep his secret.
At the Diamond Pavilion, Lishu’s ladies-in-waiting were still mistreating her. Ignoring this for the time being, Maoamo figured out the mystery of the ghost quickly and easily. The “ghost” was caused by a series of coincidences, including the angle of an engraved copper mirror that produced the image of a woman’s face on the wall. The curtains moved in a ghostly way because of leaking hot water vapor from under the rotten floorboards.
Despite the fact that the ghost definitely wasn’t real, Lady Lishu was still upset. She said the woman’s face resembled her mother’s, and that perhaps her mother came from beyond the grave to scold her. Lishu’s mother died shortly after having her, robbed of the ability to do what she loved most, which was dancing. Lishu’s only keepsake from her mother was that copper mirror, so she treasured and cleaned it every day. The poor girl broke down into tears and sobbing as she thought about her mother.
Only the head lady-in-waiting, Kanan, tried to comfort and empathize with Lishu. The other women were condescending and unhelpful. One especially inconsiderate woman – the former head of the ladies – tried to take away Lishu’s mirror, and then acted outraged when the emotional young girl screamed at her and grabbed it back. Jinshi quickly shut down the mean bitch by calling her out for the socially inappropriate act of wearing a hairpin that was not meant for her status.
Some time later, Jinshi sat lost in thought about how to get Maomao on board with his true identity. He also worried about making sure Lakan was on his side, since he was so hard to predict politically. Needing a break from his worried thoughts and the piles of paperwork, Jinshi went to see the new eunuchs. He saw the long-haired eunuch with the limp and noticed that he only used one hand. Gaoshun explained that the young eunuch was a former slave who was so badly abused he lost feeling to half his body.
(Side Note: I think that the mysterious “eunuch” is Suirei in disguise. If she was partly paralyzed from that powerful anesthetic drug mixture, I wouldn’t be surprised. Alternatively, she could just be faking the paralysis.)
At the end of the episode, we get a cliffhanger, of sorts. Xiaolan accidentally got in the way of a delivery, causing the driver of the small coach to spill his cargo, which was ice for the highest ranking concubines. Xiaolan had ruined it, and this blunder would probably get her fired. To be continued.
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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