Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

‘Rumors tend to spread rapidly. The further and wider they spread, the more they deviate from the truth. At times, rumors cease to remain mere rumors… legends and myths may be somewhat similar in that regard.’ – Maomao

These two episodes are focused on the theme of subterfuge or how perceptions are manipulated to create the illusion of something which is not actually true. A pair of envoys from a foreign land have come to court – two strikingly beautiful cousins with a close resemblance, ostensibly there to discuss new trade deals.

The envoys come bearing gifts, including a full-length mirror for each of the top 4 concubines. They also come with a seemingly impossible request. It turns out their grandfather had made a similar visit over 50 years ago and was entertained by a ‘Moon Fairy’, a vision who glowed as she danced for him. They wish to see the vision for themselves.

Jinshi is at his wits end but Maomao comes in with plan which just might save the day, though at the cost of Jinshi’s dignity. They hold a banquet for the envoy at the site where the Moon Fairy was previously sighted. On the way back to the palace in their carriage, the envoys suddenly see a vision appear out of nowhere, dance briefly and disappear just as suddenly. It appears to be the Moon Fairy from their grandfather’s tales. Or is it? In truth, it is Jinshi dressed as a dancer and supported by some common tricks from Maomao to give the illusion of an ethereal creature dancing. However, it serves to bring the envoys down a notch and Jinshi can breath a sigh of relief now that it’s over.

In a B-plot, Gaoshun asks Maomao for help with a ‘friend’ who has 2 daughters that are practically identical. The daughters live a sheltered life, restricted from leaving their room which has only one exit with servants watching over the 2 windows to the room as well. The sisters pass their time doing embroidery. Yet, despite all these precautions, one sister falls pregnant. An intriguing locked room mystery indeed!

Various theories about accomplices are debunked. And interestingly, Gaoshun looks uncharacteristically flustered when Maomao asks him if the sister was really pregnant and asks her to only focus on whether it would have been possible for the sister to slip the surveillance. Hmmm… sounds more and more like a cover story and one that Maomao isn’t buying. Perhaps inspired by the mirror that Gyokuyou received, she suggests that the sisters used a similar full length mirror and their similar appearance to give the illusion of 2 sisters in the room when in fact, one had snuck out, which Gaoshun accepts as plausible. It is an interesting contrast how a mirror, which would normally be perceived as an instrument of truth revealing the physical beauties and imperfections of the person before it, is here used to create a cloud of lies, to deceive the viewers.

Now this plot seems unrelated to the main storyline on the surface but considering Gaoshun’s reticence and Maomao’s observation about the similar features of the envoys, it seems likely the two are connected. Though we are left in the dark about this even as the episodes end.

The episode ends with the envoys piqued to have been one-upped and a reference back to the perfume incident from the caravan indicating a return to that in the next episode. Should prove to be interesting.

Stray Musings

• Maomao finally gets the promised ox bezoar from Season 1!
• Shisui pops up again – seemingly not of much consequence as yet but we shall see
• The mirrors which seemed like such a generous gift are in fact backhanded gestures from the envoys to indirectly stress their own beauty above the consorts. Politics is indeed a tangled web to pick apart.
• Funnily enough, the original Moon Fairy turns out to be the money-hungry Granny from the pleasure district
• Maomao learns about the women’s clinic on the palace grounds, a well-run, cleanly kept place the palace attendants frequent when they are ill. However, we find out their treatments are limited despite their knowledge as only men can be medical officers and only they can brew medicines. So Maomao little side operations for Jinshi are actually illegal and he warns her to be discreet about it. Something that promptly flies out the window in the next scene when the woman running the clinic discovers the secret from one of Gyokuyou’s other attendants.
• Some of the tricks Maomao used to create the illusion of the Moon Fairy include a black cloak to cover Jinshi in the black of night to give the appearance of a magical reveal when the cloak was removed, releasing glimmering moths to provide an otherworldly aura while he danced, and having him dive into the lake and swim underwater to provide the illusion of a magical disappearance.