Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 37 (Recap)

kakashi: Poor Ye Hua. There is not much of that eager puppy enthusiasm left ... okay, scratch that. He is still very eager, but Bai Qian isn't, or at least, she is making him doubt everything about him and her. It's a new phase of heartache for our Crown Prince brought on by her panicked rejection of his deep feelings. It hurts.
JoAnne: Not as much as having your eyes plucked out though, I bet.

Episode 37

The carpet in Li Jing's throne room is completely ruined and Xuan Nu sobs and begs and is just utterly insane. I noticed that too. I wondered why they let everything get so threadbare, but then I figured she must have had them in an unused building. She has lost the ability to look like Bai Qian and to her, this is the end of the world, her only chance to move her husband's heart. This is not a man who wants to stand by her though - angering the Celestial Tribe and Qing Qiu is what he is afraid of and he puts the lives of his people before her well-being.
To his credit, I think he's horrified by how things turned out and that he feels some sympathy for her.

He has his wife thrown into the Arctic Land prison to await execution. It does pain him, but despite all her ramblings about how she did everything she did just for him, he never asked this of her, didn't he. In the prison, her continued ranting awakes another prisoner ... yes, it Li Yuan, forgotten but surely not forgiven. He has been vegetating in the dungeons for all these years, without being able or allowed to die. I wonder: does Li Jing secretly hope his wife will escape? 
He'd have to be an idiot.

Cut to Ye Hua ... thinking about those words Xuan Nu said about his love Bai Qian and her Master. Especially about how Bai Qian fed Mo Yuan her heart's blood for 70'000 years. Poor darling.... TT_____________TT Uncle Three comes to joke about Ye Hua's unscathed state. He cuuuuute.
I need to see what he looks like in real life. BRB. Hmmm, not bad.

Ye Hua though .... nope, definitely NOT in the mood for jokes. On his mind: Mo Yuan (note though that he has not said a word about his whereabouts to anyone). Did his uncle know Mo Yuan and Si Yin back in the day, he wants to know? Was he really his favorite disciple, like the stories say? Well, absolutely so and then some more, says Uncle Three.
My theory is that he wears that boat looking thing on his head as a reminder to keep his ship alive.

TT_________TT Ye Hua now thinks his Qian Qian forgot about him because she wanted to forget their love altogether and not "just" to punish him for taking out her eyes. He is right about this, actually, but of course, it has nothing to do with Mo Yuan and everything to do with how much he broke her heart.
If he takes something to forget her...

He heads for Qing Qiu after this though, to brew Bai Qian medicine. That's typical Ye Hua for you: he may now doubt that he stands a chance at all with this woman, but she still needs his help and he will provide it. Well, this will be fun! There is another guy with Bai Qian right now and he is very much anti-Crown Prince (for letting her get hurt so much) and very much in love with our Fox Queen. We have met him before, but not in this form. This is Bi Fang! Zhe Yan's mount (the phoenix)
Oh that's who he is! I was just looking at pictures (he's cuuuute in real life) and thinking 'Bi Fang? Who the hell was Bi Fang?'

This is as sudden for us as it is for Bai Qian. She even thinks this is 4th Brother, playing a prank on her. Okay, as we know by now, Bai Qian is extremely dense when it comes to romance and it seems this bird-man hid his feelings because of her engagement until this moment. But not anymore, after she was so hurt and Ye Hua failed to protect her! Plus, Bi Fang thinks Ye Hua cannot make Bai Qian happy (I beg to differ).
Ahh, but his crush is so cute. How could I have forgotten this?

As does Ye Hua, who is approaching with the medicine. He is completely ignoring Bi Fang, even though it's pretty clear he heard every word. Bai Qian is quite embarrassed though and she tries to explain to the enamored bird-man (while Ye Hua sits between them, quietly fuming) that she was first engaged with the Celestial Tribe and she wouldn't go against proper etiquette. First come, first served!
He was awfully brave considering the difference in their levels.

Angry and crushed, Bi Fang leaves. Ouf, this made me anxious! Points for Ye Hua for staying outwardly cool and collected throughout this. Bai Qian isn't cool and collected though, she radiates "awkward, awkward, awkward" and tries to get rid of Ye Hua as soon as she can, by claiming she is tired. That's always her go-to excuse for getting rid of him, he states. What he is saying is: you won't get rid of me that easily, woman.
I'd be saying I was tired too... but then suggesting couple naps.

He moves closer. Bai Qian thinks to herself that she's just "gotten rid of one" and now comes the next! But Ye Hua has been carrying a question with him for a while. As he touches her face, he wants to know whether it is him, Ye Hua, the person - or just their engagement that has her act the way she acts with him. I see major heartbreak in your future, boy. 

I'm ready to comfort him as soon as he needs me.

She thinks - all the time awkwardly coughing - that it is of course only because they're engaged that he can freeload like this and got one of the best rooms and has not long since been kicked out, but she says the opposite, that it's not just because they're engaged .... d'awwwwwz, look at the HOPE in his eyes!

*squees*

It's brutally crushed when she continues. She babbles about him "working so hard" with the documents, about him cooking for everyone. She appreciates it a lot! It's give and take! "Since you've given me a peach, of course I have to give you a plum." Or a loquat, if there are no plums. Clearly, if she were engaged to another man, he would not treat her as well as Ye Hua does. I feel SO BAD for him. I think she's overwhelmed by him, by everything ... she doesn't know how to deal with him and what she is feeling for him or rather, she doesn't want to know. She also very deliberately misunderstands everything he is saying, poor pup, all the time carefully avoiding bringing up her own feelings.

To be fair, I think his intensity would be a bit overwhelming for someone who believes they've no experience at all with love.

His tolerance has a limit though and it has been reached. "Qian Qian, I love you", he whispers.

Poor guy, he's trying so hard. And it's not like he's your random guy falling in love - he knows exactly what he had and lost with her, so it makes it all doubly intense.

And our befuddled dense Fox Queen thinks how weird it is that she's had no romances for millennia, and now she suddenly has two. Is she really comparing Ye Hua to Bi Fang?! So cruel. She is physically pushing him away, but she's also rejecting everything he says, repeatedly. He is talking about loving her forever and she is saying love in a relationship goes away anyway, so why bother with it in the first place.

I don't get why she said that. Was it because of what she's been told about his reputation? Or because Li Jing disappointed her? Her family marries for life, so it's not like she doesn't know that people do stay together, too.

To make it worse, she offers to look for a few "young and beautiful side consorts" because "someone his age" should go through a few relationships and not be tied down by an engagement to and old woman like her. Damn, that is SO HURTFUL. Also, she advises him to get rid of those budding feelings for her quickly before they become stronger. Once he is as old as she is, he will understand that you lose interest in something like love.

Just rip his heart out with your bare hands, Bai Qian.

Is she saying what she truly feels? he asks (looking crushed and sad). Yes, she is. So is she saying this to upset him then? he continues. His sincerity is palpable and it finally dawns on her then that he might truly love her ... she has to think about this for some time, she concludes. Think quicker, you dummy! It pains him so!

Why wouldn't he be sincere, you idiot?

He gently puts her head on the pillow next and tells her that A-Li is resting well in the Heavens. He wanted to take her there too, to recuperate in the Chicken Soup bath, "but that Mount kept getting in my way". It's up to her if she wants to come or not. She says she'll come. He nods, but he looks like he's ready to cry, actually.

I'm ready to forgive him, guys. Can we stop now?

Once she is asleep, Ye Hua goes to see Mo Yuan's body in that special cave. He marvels at their likeness - and wonders whether Bai Qian let him near her because he reminds her of Mo Yuan? Later, he talks to Die Feng about how and why Si Yin stole the body and hears that it's most likely because (s)he knows how to bring him back.

Oh well I'm sure that's very reassuring for Ye Hua, right? Let's just keep kicking the guy, shall we?

Worse and worse for Ye Hua. Still, she said she'll come to the Heavens, so he heads to the Hall of Beautiful Youth, where Nai Nai is gently rocking a sleeping A-Li on her back. What a good soul. A-Li was lucky to grow up with her. She is very surprised (and maybe also a little bit unhappy) to hear that the Crown Prince would open up this Hall for someone.

She is good but I do think she feels some jealousy at being set aside in A Li's affections, maybe.

After Bai Qian wakes up, she goes to see her Master too, despite her poorly state. She is still hoping for him to wake up, like Zhe Yan said he would, but she thinks the old Phoenix might have been lying. She says a kind of goodbye, because she is getting ready for a trip to the Nine Heavens. We are left to wonder, once more, what her feelings for her master are. Is she really just hoping to reunite with all the other disciples at Kunlun?

How does she think that will go? She'll just pretend to be a boy forever?

She seems to be feeling a bit nostalgic overall. After she's stepped out of the cave, she goes to the lake, thinking how beautiful the scenery in Qing Qiu is and how little she was able to show Ye Hua, since he always was so busy with cooking and stuff. I think she is feeling sorry for what happened earlier. She may be dense, but she is a sensitive person and she has realized that he was sincere.

It was sort of like kicking a puppy, Bai Qian.

It's a warm day, so she steps into the water to cool off a bit. Ye Hua, who cooked dinner and came looking for her, sees this and completely panics. To him, it looks like she's going into the water to harm herself! He must be traumatized, deeply, by what he witnessed at Zhuxian Terrace. Reflexively, he force-beams her over, into his arms, clinging to her like he is the one drowning.

But why would she...

And then kisses her and hugs her close, so overwhelmed by his anxiety, so glad she is safe, so relieved that this most horrible trial is in the past. If this doesn't move her, if this doesn't make her realize how damn much this man is in love with her, she's a rock just like Dijun!

But if I was her I'd still be freaked out - why is he so in love so fast? That's more weird than thinking he's just trying to seduce her.

Well, she lets him hug her until he has calmed down enough, so she IS moved. He is the one to break the hug this time, stepping away from her, feeling a bit foolish, maybe.

Maybe just a little bit.

They head back to the fox den after this, in silence, she half a step behind him. She is definitely noticing him much more now, him and his moods. She wonders why he has not said a single word about Mo Yuan since they are back from the Ghost Realm ... and then bumps into him, when he suddenly stops. Her brother and Zhe Yan have come!  

Here's a couple for the young kids to emulate, haha.

Zhe Yan makes a remark about how nice the atmosphere is for a date (pffft) and then adds they have come to see Bai Qian "beaten half dead", as Bi Fang put it in an angry letter to them. She snaps back at him, angrily ,and Zhe Yan is a "woaaaah, what's going on with all this anger", but he did it deliberately, didn't he. He enjoys vexing people. He even brought her a present! A fan. Painted by the Water King of the West Sea. She graciously accepts his apology gift.
That is a pretty fan. We did the Mikado in 8th grade. I was one of the Three Pretty Maids. We learned to snap our fans open and fan ourselves prettily. It's all I remember except for the opening line of our song.

After learning all about why they went to the Western Sea and them learning in the process of her calling Die Feng "senior" that Ye Hua knows everything, they head back to the fox den. Ye Hua, who didn't say anything but quietly observed remarks how he did not expect her to get angry over words. She says it's only because Zhe Yan is so much older than her. She would never bicker with a young immortal. And he says: "I wish you would bicker with me about everything". Awwwwwwwww.
Careful what you wish for, Ye Hua.

Just then, Mi Gu brings word that the Ghost Lord Li Jing is here - and has waited to see her for half a day already. (Zhe Yan snickers - what a perfect time to get here!) Bai Qian: "Kick him out of the cave!". Mi Gu: "He is at the entrance. He hasn't come in". (pfffft) Bai Qian: "Let him leave whenever he wants, then!"
She really does not let things go, does she.

Zhe Yan thinks she has to face this, dragging things out will just increase his worries. She has to resolve this today! To her, there is nothing to resolve anymore. It's been settled long ago. That makes Ye Hua happy.
Happy Ye Hua makes me happy.

Comments

The number of gifs in a post is a good indicator for how much I liked an episode :) Judged by this, I liked it very much. It was not a pleasant episode to watch though. Bai Qian's rejection of Ye Hua was really brutal. I suffered for him! She is so clueless and thus utterly hurtful, especially when she mentions young and beautiful women she wants to get him. Just stop! I am glad she realized at the end though how much she hurt him. Dummy.
I hope they don't drag this out forever and that poor Ye Hua really doesn't spend the rest of eternity trying to win her back.

Okay, I get it (partially). She is still extremely confused about all of this. How would you deal with someone who seemingly skips all the steps and is so madly in love with you from the second you meet? He's like a steam engine, meters away, rolling at you at full speed. To give her credit, as soon as she does realize that he must be sincere, she tries to wrap her head around it with her own sincerity. It changes things for her. And his little breakdown when he thinks she is harming herself ... that really drives it home. Her reaction to him at the lake is completely different to the reaction in the cave.
Yes, it is. And I do see why it would be necessary and reasonable for her to hold him off, because it is weird to be so in love so quickly. It's just hard because we know why, and we (well, at least I) want them back together soon.

She goes from awkward stammering and pushing away to quiet contemplation of what this really means and how to deal with it. He is in love? This is not just a political engagement? It is quite telling that she has not once asked herself about her own feelings. It's like they do not exist for her. In all her considerations, she thinks about HIS feelings and that they cannot be what he says they are (because she is old, because he is young, because of what her parents said, etc.). I think this is typical of people who have been badly hurt.
Come on, though. Her first love ended before it began, decades ago. Time to move on, girlfriend. Although, to be fair, she was asleep for most of it. I guess for her it really just feels like yesterday.

She does not WANT love, not his, and definitely not her own for this man. She knows that love makes you so damn vulnerable. Without love, you can lead a quiet life. You can get married and be a family and be happy. Love makes things messy. Love can get you hurt so much you want to kill yourself.
Su Su knows that. Bai Qian doesn't.

The drama complicates things by making Ye Hua think that Qian Qian never considered him at all. That what they had was everything for him, but not much for her. That she has always been waiting for Mo Yuan to return and only reacted somehow to him because they look like identical twins (*hint hint*). The sadness he must feel over this... Poor, poor baby.
That would hurt a lot, yes. But if he thinks about it, it's clearly not true.