American Perspectives: Manipulated Bribery ("Twisted Fate of Love" Ep. 34)

 

Feng Xi decides to meet Lord Wen, Dong Yue's father from the past, in the middle of the night.

"For which instruction might Prime Minister have summoned me in the dead of night?" asks Lord Wen.

"I would like to collaborate with Lord Wen to handle a matter," responds Feng Xi.

"I'm just a low ranking officer of slow witted character," says Lord Wen.  "I'm afraid there's nothing that can be of use to you."

"I want you to leave the capitol for Mengshan County to look for the one thing."

"I have never stepped foot in this place in my life," says Lord Wen.  "Besides the thing that Prime Minister wants, might also have nothing to do with me."

"I wish to have the Mount Hao King's Surrender Document that was handed to General Ming," says Feng Xi. "Would this really have nothing to do with you?"

"The Surrender Document? It really does exist..."

"Do you really believe that the Ming Family colluded with the enemy and sold out their country?" Feng Xi asks. "Back in the day when you first started your official career, because of your crappy temper, you provoked a lot of people.  If it hadn't been for General Ming's support, you wouldn't have kept your official position."

Lord Wen keeps his composure, and conceals his sense of surprise.  "How do you know about my matters with General Ming?"

"I know not just about you," continues Feng Xi.  "Every military officer and official who received the act of goodwill from the Ming Family, I know about them all."

 

Beautiful purple and white lanterns are hanging from the rafters as Feng Xi, Dong Yue, and Wen Xin walk together on a very pleasant evening. Dong Yue is wearing a gorgeous peach colored Hanfu, and the three are smiling.

Wen Xin jumps up to try and grab a riddle hanging from a rafter.  Dong Yue and Feng Xi gently laugh at her attempts before Feng Xi lifts her up, and has her grab it.

"Who asked for your help?" asks Wen Xin.

"Who let you grow so slowly?" asks Feng Xi.

"I'm only ten years old!" says Wen Xin.

"As a ten year old, you might not recognize these words, I'm afraid," says Feng Xi.

"Simple and boring!" says Wen Xin.  She hands the riddle to Feng Xi.

"Without exception, you must not lack a bit of understanding," Feng Xi reads.  He pinches Wen Xin's cheek. "You malicious little rascal, what crafty ideas are you conjuring?"

Wen Xin pushes his hand away. "You're the one who's malicious. You can't even guess something this easy, so I don't need your help."

"Feng Xi," asks Dong Yue, "did you think of something?"

"These lantern riddles are truly too difficult for a child.  When she's older, she'll naturally be able to guess correctly." He hands the riddle to Dong Yue.
"Wen Xin," says Dong Yue, "aren't these kinds of boring riddles your favorite?"

Wen Xin grins brightly at Dong Yue.  They both look at Feng Xi who has no idea what the two are up to. He looks slightly uncomfortable. Dong Yue smiles at him.

Feng Xi sighs and puts one hand on each side of his head, with two fingers on each hand up, looking like horns.  He kneels down to Wen Xin's level, and bends his fingers.  He looks up at her and smiles.  Dong Yue and Wen Xin laugh.

 

Wen Xin is immediately distracted. "Bunnies!" she yells and darts off to a table full of stuffed animals.  "Boss, how much does this little rabbit cost?"

"Young lady," says the seller, "I'm sorry.  This little rabbit was already purchased by this Lord." He points to the man standing next to her.

Wen Xin's face drops as he hands the rabbit over to the man next to her.

"I also want one," says Wen Xin.

The seller looks uncomfortable. "However, this is the last one."

Feng Xi bows to the man who purchased the rabbit.  "Brother, please wait! This young girl really likes the rabbit you have.  Would you be willing to part with it?"

Dong Yue nudges him and whispers, "What nonsense are you saying?"

"Shh," says Feng Xi. He turns back to the man.

"I'm sorry, I bought this as a present for my daughter.  First come, first served.  I can't yield."

Wen Xin looks very disappointed.

"Feel free to name a price," says Feng Xi.

"What a jerk!  Do you think I look like someone who lacks money?" He smirks and walks away.

"You! Do you even know--" Feng Xi shouts after him.

Dong Yue stops him. "Wen Xin is here.  Don't be angry with people!"

Feng Xi approaches Wen Xin, and puts his hand on her braided hair. "Girl, fear not!" he picks up a stuffed tiger. "You can have this little tiger.  Let it help you catch the little rabbit."

"Dummy, if a tiger sees a rabbit, won't it just eat it in one gulp?" asks Wen Xin.  She runs away from him in a huff.

Feng Xi looks at Dong Yue, dumbfounded. "You don't believe anything I say, do you?  Just you wait!"

 

The following morning, the Lord who had purchased the rabbit shows up at Wen manor. "Is this Lord Wan Ye's official residence?"

"Sir, you are?" asks a male servant.

"My lovely name is not worthy of being mentioned.  Please give this to your esteemed household's daughter.  You can just say that I didn't recognize a famous person.  I didn't know Wen Xin is Lord Wen's precious daughter.  Please forgive me."

Wen Xin runs up to the gate. 

"Young Lady," says the Lord.

"Did the little rabbit really come back?" Wen Xin asks excitedly.

"Yes, the big tiger helped catch it."

"It seems the toad didn't lie this time," Wen Xin smiles, referring to Feng Xi.  She graciously takes the rabbit and runs off.

 

Feng Xi is carefully looking over a detailed map in his study. Dong Yue walks in, and she is livid. "Feng Xi, when will you stop deceiving me?"

"How did I deceive you?" he asks.

She gives him a scathing look.

"Are you referring to the demotion of Wen Ye by His Highness?" Turns out, the stuffed rabbit for Wen Xin had been part of a scheme to get Lord Wen in trouble for bribery, by indicating that the Lord who purchased it gave it to Wen Xin in return for favors  from Wen Ye.

"It was His Highness who demoted him, but you're definitely behind it," says Dong Yue. "When you set up that rabbit doll, you already schemed to use Wen Xin to frame Lord Wen."

Feng Xi drops his head and sighs.  "I didn't mean to harm them this time.  Don't be anxious."

"How can I not be anxious? It's not like you didn't know what kind of person Lord Wen is."

Feng Xi looks up at her and speaks. "I know Wen Ye is an upright and honest man, but actions in this world come with a price.  What Wen Ye did, comes with a price."

Dong Yue is incredulous. "He was ordered to conduct the investigation.  Must he use his life to pay for this?"

"He is only banished from court, not beheaded. Why are you talking about paying with life?"

"The road to being banished from court is dangerous.  Can you ensure Lord Wen won't encounter any mishaps?"

"How do you know he would encounter mishaps?  Do you think I would suddenly kill him to silence him?"

"I didn't mean that." says Dong Yue.

"I promise you that nothing will happen to Lord Wen. You don't have to worry anymore."

"I know something will definitely happen to him," Dong Yue insists.

"So...you still don't trust me.  For everything I do, I have my plans and reasons.  Although it's not what you want, it will never harm you."

"Yes, you have your plans.  You have your chess game.  However, Prime Minister Feng, please don't use the people around me as your pawns again." She turns and quickly leaves the study, in tears.  "Father was demoted and stabbed by gangsters," she thinks to herself. "On the way to Mengshan County. As an upright and honest official, he refused to collude with villains, and was harmed by those evil officials."

Feng Xi thinks back to a recent, private, meeting he had with Lord Wen. 

"So everything you did," says Lord Wen, "is to reverse the verdict of the Ming Family.  What's your relationship with the Ming Family?"

Feng Xi hesitates. Can he trust Lord Wen? He pulls a small wooden box out of his Hanfu sleeve, opens it, and slides it over to Lord Wen.  It is Second Prince Pang Xi's seal.

"You are..." Lord Wen begins.

"My real name is Pang Xi," Feng Xi explains.

Lord Wen gets up to bow to him, as Pang Xi is the Emperor's son. Feng Xi gestures him to stop.

Lord Wen slowly sits down.

"Actually, Lord Wen, you only need to know this. Many spies from the Left Prime Minister and the Crown Prince are loitering near the Feng Manor recently.  It's difficult for me to obtain the Surrender Document.  Besides, if the Surrender Document comes from me, it will be difficult to gain the trust of others."

"Hence," Lord Wen adds, "you want to use my help to deliver the Surrender Document to the hands of the Crown Prince to gain his trust, and finally, the trust of His Majesty."

"This is the only way to gain the trust of His Majesty. However, if you leave the capitol hastily, someone will notice. Others will believe this only if you are demoted.  To pay this kind of price, I wonder..."

Lord Wen bows to Feng Xi and says, "I will not hesitate under any circumstances."

Feng Xi points to a location on the map. "This is where I want you to go, Mengshan County."

Feng Xi is upset that he cannot reveal this to Dong Yue, and all he can do is hope that she'll trust him.

Yu Rou is standing by the Moon Garden pond feeling completely out of the loop.  She sees Dao Le approaching. Maybe he'll have something to tell her.

"Sister Yu Rou," he says.

"I haven't seen his Lord in a long time," says Yu Rou.  "Has he been well recently?"

Dao Le proceeds with caution.  He is aware of just how insidious Yu Rou can be, and he's Team Dong Yue. "He...He's been pretty busy recently," he says quickly.

Yu Rou is desperate. "Then...how's his appetite?  How's he sleeping?  Dao Le, you have to remind him to pay attention to his health, no matter how busy official business is."

"I will," promises Dao Le.

Yu Rou sighs. "To be honest, my saying this is unnecessary.  He has Dong Yue by his side to take care of him, hasn't he?"

Dao Le knows she's information seeking, and because Dong Yue and Feng Xi recently had a spat, he is finding a way to proceed carefully. "Yes.  Sister Yu Rou, actually--"

"No way!" Yu Rou interrupts. "I'm not at ease.  Take me to see his Lord, won't you?"

"Sister Yu Rou, don't be like this!  Uncle really is quite busy."

"What's he so busy with? Spending time with Dong Yue?"

"Uncle is going to meet Lu Yuantong at his private house in the Eastern Suburbs," Dao Le slips.  She was not supposed to know that!  "This is an important matter.  No one can disturb his mood."

Yu Rou desperately grabs his wrist. "I won't disturb him. Please take me to see him.  If I see him only once, that'll be good."

Dao Le is in over his head.  His experience with women's dynamics is limited, and it shows. "Sister Yu Rou, feelings can't be forced." He removes her hand from his arm. "You should let go."

Before Yu Rou can say anything, Dao Le walks away.  Yu Rou knows he's right, but she doesn't want to believe that her 10 year wait was a waste, that maybe she should have kept looking, like Feng Xi had suggested since Day 1.

Lord Wen and Dong Yue are standing outside of Wen Xin's bedroom, patiently trying to get her to open her doors.

"Wen Xin, open the door," says Lord Wen. "Older Sister Dong Yue is here to pick you up."

"I'm not opening the door!" shouts Wen Xin.

Lord Wen turns to look at Dong Yue.  He tries again, calmly. "Look at the time, now stop acting up.  I'm leaving."

"Why aren't you taking me along?" asks Wen Xin.

"I'm doing this for your sake, as I was demoted.  I'm not going on a leisure trip, and the journey is dangerous.  How can I take you along?"

Wen Xin pulls her bedroom doors open.  "No, you aren't doing it for my sake. You just want to get rid of me because I'm a burden."

Lord Wen kneels down to her level. "Wen Xin, don't you usually like playing with Sister Dong Yue?  What's wrong with her taking care of you?"

"Sister, I don't have any problems with you," says Wen Xin.  "I just don't want him to be able to get off that easily." She runs off.

"Wen Xin..."

"Lord Wen," Dong Yue explains.  "I understand Wen Xin's personality quite well.  I'll go persuade her."

Lord Wen bows to Dong Yue. "I'm sorry to bother you with this."

Dong Yue bows in return.  She picks up her skirt and quickly goes looking for Wen Xin.

Wen Xin is sitting at the edge of the river outside Wen Manor, throwing rocks.  She is a mix of anger and tears.  She has a love-hate relationship with her father, and her mother is dead.

Dong Yue deliberately approaches her.  Dong Yue sits down beside Wen Xin, as the rock throwing escalates.

"When I was young and in a bad mood," Dong Yue begins, "I also liked to be lost in thought by this riverbank.  Actually, I'm just like you.  When I was young, I also used to throw tantrums at my father. I never had the ability to speak my mind the proper way."

"I don't have anything to say to that man," says Wen Xin.

"Sometimes the more important some words are, the harder it is to say them."

Wen Xin scowls, continuing to throw rocks.

"Later on," continues Dong Yue, "I thought of a solution.  I put all the things I wanted to say on a paper boat, and let it drift in the water, letting it speak for me."

"Would he be able to hear me if I do that?" asks Wen Xin.

"If you say it, and there's no result, it's still better than regretting it in the future because you never spoke of it in the first place." Dong Yue joins in on the rock throwing.

Wen Xin lowers her arm, and she's on the verge of tears. 

Lord Wen is walking to the pond.

"The truth is," Dong Yue explained to Lord Wen earlier, "that Little Wen Xin has too many things to say in her heart, and she doesn't know how to open up."

"It's all my fault for not knowing how to interact with children," says Lord Wen.

"If you like, just go to the riverbank that Little Wen Xin really likes, and take a look."

Lord Wen is observing the riverbank, and he sees a myriad of paper boats in a variety of colors, all made by Wen Xin. He picks up a blue one. He unfolds it, and it reads, "Father, I know that you don't want to abandon me.  I just don't want to leave you." He picks up an orange boat and unfolds it. "I know it's not your fault that mother passed away.  I've never blamed you.  I promise I will listen to you.  Come back soon, all right?"

Lord Wen sighs.  He's feeling very sad.  Wen Xin sees him and runs up to him.

"Father!" she shouts.

Lord Wen turns around.  "Wen Xin!" They run to each other.  They embrace.  "Wen Xin." He is crying.  "I never realized you were such a good child. I'm sorry.  I didn't purposefully want to set you aside.  I just thought I was too useless.  If I hadn't been so weak, your mother wouldn't have suffered this much.  So I put all my efforts into the court because I wanted the family to be impressed by me.  I wanted to make myself a mighty leader and a righteous official.  However, these are just excuses.  I was wrong, but just didn't have the courage to face you or your late mother." He hugs her tightly. "I was so wrong."

"Father, don't cry."

"The things I said, you might not even understand them, Wen Xin."

Dong Yue is observing them from a distance.  Softly, she says, "Father, I understand."

Dong Yue and Lord Wen are having a conversation in front of the Wen Manor before he has to depart. 

"This time, it was due to your efforts that my hardships with my daughter were untangled," says Lord Wen.

"This is what I should do," responds Dong Yue. "The road is long.  Please be cautious on the way, Lord Wen."

He bows to Dong Yue.  "I will."

"On your way to Mengshan County, you will pass through Shangting station.  There are many bandits hiding out.  Lord Wen, please stay far from them."

"Thank you for the reminder, Miss. I will entrust my daughter to you."

"Lord Wen, do not worry.  When we go to Feng Manor, I will make sure she doesn't interact much with the Prime Minister."

"Miss Dong Yue, there is no need for you to strain your relationship with the Prime Minister because of my business.  This time, I was demoted due to my own negligence.  It has nothing to do with others."

"Even if he is completely innocent, he still shouldn't have reacted like that," says Dong Yue.

"You might know only a person's face, but not his mind," says Lord Wen. "Perhaps the Prime Minister is not as we see him."

Dong Yue is skeptical. "Lord Wen, you usually dislike Prime Minister's overbearing and domineering characters. Why today--"

"It's late now," Lord Wen interjects. "I should set off.  Goodbye," he bows.

"Father," Dong Yue slips.

He gives her a surprised expression.

 

"Twisted Fate of Love" can be viewed on Viki or Youtube. Dialogue adapted from the English subtitles translated by "Twisted Love Team at Viki.com"

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