Under The Power: Episode 11

Lu Yi asks Jin Xia if she’s an orphan, Jin Xia replies that when she was a small child, she ran off and lost her family. Jin Xia says that she lived in the orphanage until she was adopted by her current mother. Lu Yi stays silent so Jin Xia says that she has a request but she’s unsure if she should even say it. Lu Yi tells her to ask, so Jin Xia says that since the Embroidered Uniformed Guard is excellent at gathering information and has informants all over the country. Jin Xia says that if she does well on this case and they catch the killer soon, she asks Lu Yi for his help in locating her birth parents.
Lu Yi says that he’s the Field Commander of the Embroidered Uniformed Guards, as such, he should be setting an example. Lu Yi says that he can’t use government resources for someone’s personal reasons. Jin Xia says that she understands but she looks disappointed. Lu Yi waits a moment before saying that rules are man made, therefore there can be a bit of flexible. Jin Xia asks excitedly if that means that he’ll help her, but Lu Yi says that he hasn’t actually agreed to anything yet, whether or not he helps her.. will depend on his mood. Jin Xia happily thanks him, and tells Lu Yi that she will find him when he’s in a good mood then!

A moment later and two other women from the opera troupe join Jin Xia in the pool. They start to gossip about the new male students that the master of the troupe added recently. The one woman mentions that she thinks that Li Shisan (Lu Yi’s alias) is pretty hot. The two women then go on about how good looking they think he is and Lu Yi has a pretty smug look on his face until Jin Xia calls the two women shallow. The women are slightly offended but say that Jin Xia sees his face everyday so of course she can’t appreciate his beauty. The women say that there aren’t many men that look so good now a days. Jin Xia admits that’s true, then says that if they like her brother so much, Jin Xia offers to set them up and maybe if they are lucky.. the feelings will be mutual and they will become a couple.
Lu Yi doesn’t like what he’s hearing so he picks up a nearby rock and throws it at Jin Xia, it hits her pretty hard on the head. Jin Xia immediately changes her tactics saying that her brother doesn’t like women and that his mood is unpredictable, so he might not be a very good match. Jin Xia then mentions that she heard Lu Shisan was interested in someone, the women complain that she hasn’t mentioned that before. Jin Xia tells them that they wouldn’t be able to control him anyway. The women ask Jin Xia if she controls her brother, but she quickly says no and that she’s lucky if he doesn’t control her. The other women tell her that she should admit to the truth, that she likes Lu Shisan! Jin Xia does a fake laugh and denies the truth. Jin Xia says that she would only like him, if she was looking for death. The other women don’t believe her though and they begin to fight by splashing water at each other.

Elsewhere Shangguan Xi and Xie Xiao say goodbye to Big Brother Sha as he sets off on his journey. After Big Brother Sha leaves, Shangguan Xi is about to say something to Xie Xiao but he interrupts her. He asks if she knows why he decided to stay. Shangguan Xi gets her hopes up and then Xie Xiao bashes her heart against the rocks as he tells her that he decided to stay for Yuan Jin Xia. Xie Xiao says that when he was little he was bullied and Big Shrimp Yuan saved him, from that day on he promised himself that when he grew up, he would protect her.
Xie Xiao says that when he saw Lu Yi ordering Jin Xia around like a servant, making her investigate both night and day, he was heartbroken. Xie Xiao says that during the incident with Big Brother Sha, Jin Xia even slashed her own arm in order to protect him. He asks Shangguan Xi how could he not treasure such a woman? Xie Xiao continues to say that after he heard what Big Brother Sha has said, he’s come to the conclusion that he will protect Jin Xia forever. (You deserve better than him anyway!)

A fully dressed Lu Yi meets the two women that were gossiping about him in the hallway. They greet him, then hurry away. In the pool, Jin Xia is excited to finally be by herself. As she relaxes, a shadowy figure approaches with a dagger. Lu Yi is in the hallway when a man comes up to him asking if he saw the troupe master in the bath. Lu Yi shakes his head saying that he hasn’t. The man says it’s really odd because he could have sworn that he saw the troupe master enter the bath. The guy says that it’s odd but that he’ll keep looking for the Troupe Master. Lu Yi has a horrible thought.
In the women’s bath, the man with the dagger turns out to be none other than the Troupe Master. He puts the dagger next to Jin Xia’s throat and demands to know who she really is. Jin Xia pretends to be innocent so the Troupe Master reminds her that she snuck into his room and stole a letter. Jin Xia claims that since she had just joined the Chunxi Troupe, she had wanted to browse around. Jin Xia says that she walked in there by accident, and after seeing the beautiful handwriting on the letter, she wanted to copy it. The Troupe Master isn’t dumb though, he reminds Jin Xia that she followed him into Lang Garden and then took the orchids that he had left there.

Jin Xia hurriedly says that it’s a coincidence, as she just happened to be wandering around, ending up in Lang Garden. She says that she took the orchids because she can’t help stealing things. The troupe master doesn’t believe her, he orders her to tell the truth. Jin Xia insists that she did. The troupe master is about to hurt her but Lu Yi knocks him out. A moment later one of the women starts to head in their direction so Lu Yi covers the troupe master with his robe and joins Jin Xia in the pool, holding her close. After seeing Jin Xia with Lu Yi she calls Jin Xia a liar for saying that she doesn’t like him.
Lu Yi with a very fierce look tells her to get out. The woman says that she will leave when she finds her hairpin. After a quick look, she finds it then glares at Jin Xia before leaving. They stay in the pool for a few moments but Jin Xia pulls away and stares at Lu Yi. Lu Yi finally asks her if she’s stared long enough. Jin Xia gets embarrassed and tries to cover herself. Lu Yi smiles, flies out of the pool then picks up his outer robe and throws over Jin Xia’s head. He tells her to hurry up and get changed as they have work to do.

The troupe master gets rudely awakened with a bucket of cold water thrown on him. He’s hanging by his wrists so that Jin Xia and Lu Yi can interrogate him. The Troupe Master can’t see right away with water in his eyes so he demands to know who’s there and what’s going on, he even calls them bastards. Jin Xia calls him impudent, then says that insulting a government official is punishable by a sentence of being caned for 70 strokes. The troupe master can finally see clearly and can’t believe that it’s Lu Yi and Jin Xia. He says that since they infiltrated his opera troupe, how can he trust them? how does he know that they aren’t imposters? Lu Yi points out that they are in Yangzhou’s jail and if the troupe master doubts it, he’ll learn the truth after a few days of being there.
The troupe master can’t believe that he’s in jail, until he looks around then he demands to know why they arrested him, what crime did he commit. Jin Xia says that there’s no rush then says that they should talk about Yun Zheyue. She says that the day that he snuck out to Lang Garden to pay tribute to the dead, it was for Yun Zheyue, right? The troupe master pretends to not know the person though. Jin Xia tells him not to play tough, does he really expect her to believe that he would sneak out and pay tribute to the dead in the middle of the night without knowing the person?

Jin Xia then points to Lu Yi and tells the troupe master that he’s an Embroidered Uniformed Guard and that the troupe master should be aware of their interrogation techniques, so he better tell the truth now so he won’t suffer. Jin Xia says that it was supposedly the end for Yun Zheyue already but he shot to fame because of the “The Best Perfume” then died at the height of his fame. Jin Xia says that now that the Chunxi Troupe has returned to Yangzhou after so many years, someone else is murdered the same way. Jin Xia sarcastically call it a coincidence, then asks accusingly if the troupe master killed Yun Zheyue. The troupe master says that Yun Zheyue’s death that year was very strange, but the authorities sent many people to investigate it with no luck. He asks Jin Xia what makes her think that he did it?
Lu Yi hold up the paper and tells the troupe master that he found it inside the puppet. Jin Xia takes the paper from Lu Yi and holds it up close to the troupe master so that he can read it. The troupe master seems surprised to learn about a substitute singer. Lu Yi says that he’s been fortunate to learn drama from the troupe master. He’s learned that actors can put on make up and appear as different people. Lu Yi says that this tells people that life is unpredictable and always changing. It also teaches people values, however it’s still acting. Lu Yi says that in time it becomes difficult for people to tell the difference between what is real and what is fake. Lu Yi then says that even in real life some actors can get too into their characters and completely forget their real identity.

Lu Yi says that if his guess is correct than the troupe master is actually Wu Yinhua. The troupe master gasps that Lu Yi could figure it out. Wu Yinhua says that it’s true that life is like a play and vice versa. Wu Yinhua says that it’s been so many years that he should let go too. Jin Xia asks if that means he’s admitting to murder but Wu Yinhua says no. Jin Xia demands to know why he was paying tribute to Yun Zheyue then and why did he set up those chimes that cause hallucinations. Wu Yinhua asks Lu Yi for mercy if he tells the truth. Jin Xia can’t believe that Wu Yinhua is trying to negotiate, she says that because he killed someone, not even the Emperor can save him. Lu Yi raises his hand to silence her and tells the troupe master that it depends on what he says.
Wu Yinhua says that he didn’t kill Yun Zheyue although he did once have the urge to do so. A flashback starts as Wu Yinhua says that they studied together under the old master of the Chunxi Troupe. It was their master that gave them their names, they started out as apprentices and practiced diligently. Eventually the old master of the troupe wanted to pass on his title of troupe master to one of them. Wu Yinhua says that he had originally wanted Yun Zheyue to get it until his senior brother sent him poisoned tea. The only reason he wasn’t poisoned was because he bumped into the girl delivering the tea, knocking it over and breaking the cup on the ground.

Wu Yinhua says that the thing he hates most is a person that is two faced so he wanted to show Yun Zheyue some karma by using the same poison that was meant for him to damage Yun Zheyue’s throat. Wu Yinhua says that it worked as Yun Zheyue couldn’t sing anymore and began to break down. Wu Yinhua says that after awhile the old master began letting Yun Zheyue sing again, and that he was even better than before. Wu Yinhua didn’t understand how that was possible, it never occurred to him that Yun Zheyue would have used a substitute. Yun Zheyue’s fame rose once more and he became the most famous singer in Yangzhou again all thanks to his performance in “The Best Perfume”. Wu Yinhua says that when Yun Zheyue performed, it was always a sold out show while Wu Yinhua was forced to sit on a bench backstage. Wu Yinhua says that there is justice since Yun Zheyue was murdered after he became so famous. Wu Yinhua says that no one can escape justice. Lu Yi asks why he put the chimes in Lang Garden.
Wu Yinhua says that Yun Zheyue’s death that year was so strange that he kept having nightmares. Not long after Yun Zheyue’s death, Wu Yinhua began to feel ill and his voice wasn’t the same anymore, he feared Yun Zheyue’s ghost wouldn’t move on because of his murder. Wu Yinhua then bought Chunxi Troupe, and hired a Fengshui master to set up protections around Lang Garden, he put the chimes up to ward off evil spirits, however every time there’s a storm, opera singing can be heard from Lang Garden and people would even see the scene where Yun Zheyue died. Wu Yinhua says that because of this people thought that the Lang Garden was haunted, so the troupe’s members either left or went elsewhere. This is why Wu Yinhua took the Chunxi Troupe elsewhere, if he got the chance to re live the past, he would do things differently. Lu Yi says that if what Wu Yinhua has told them is true, then he’ll agree to his condition. Jin Xia is greatly surprised to hear that Lu Yi would let Wu Yinhua go if he’s telling the truth.

Jin Xia and Lu Yi are leaving the prison when she asks him if he truly believes that Wu Yinhua was telling him the truth. Lu Yi says that actors are madmen and those that watch them are fools. He asks if Jin Xia thinks that he would trust the actor. Jin Xia doesn’t understand why he would agree to the troupe master’s request then. Lu Yi tells her that there are many strange cases recorded in the Embroidered Uniformed Guards archives. He says that there are a few cases where scenes from the past played out during thunderstorms. Lu Yi also says that compasses stop working. He then says that those that experienced such phenomena were just like them, under the stimulation of a certain sound. Lu Yi goes on to explain that because the eyes can’t tell what’s real or fake, they gradually fall into the illusion.
Lu Yi tells Jin Xia that means that stuff wasn’t set up by a person and that the Lang Garden itself isn’t haunted. Lu Yi asks why Jin Xia was capable of thinking logically in the Capital, but out in Yangzhou her observational skills seem to have regressed. Lu Yi wonders if it’s because there’s someone to protect her, that she doesn’t use her own brain. Jin Xia hurriedly says that he must be joking because if the sky were to fall, she would protect him first. Jin Xia says that she saw Wu Yinhua’s hands and that they are too fair to have ever held a needle. Jin Xia says that if he hasn’t held a needle, how could he kill with one? She points out that the killer would have been trained with the needle and that the callouses on the hands from such training would be obvious, however he doesn’t have to use his own hands in order to kill someone. Lu Yi says that since she has deduced this much, she can go check up on the Troupe Master’s testimony. After Jin Xia leaves, Lu Yi orders Cen Fu to go check out those that are trained to use the long needle.

Elsewhere, Xie Xiao is telling his father that he wants to marry Jin Xia. Xie Bai asks his son if he wants to anger him to death, did he forget about his arranged marriage to Shangguan Xi? Now he wants to marry Jin Xia? Xie Xiao says that he knows that marriage is set up by the parents but if his father truly wants him to marry his Senior Sister, he can’t do it. Xie Bai doesn’t understand why, since the two seem to have a good relationship and everything in gang is already managed by Shangguan Xi. Xie Bai doesn’t understand why his son doesn’t consider Shangguan Xi good enough to marry. Xie Xiao says that even if his father doesn’t consent, he’ll still marry Jin Xia. Poor Shangguan Xi overhears the two talking about it from the doorway.
Xie Bai tells his son that marriage isn’t a child’s game. Xie Xiao says that if the worst were to happen, he could give up the whole gang to Shangguan Xi, take Jin Xia and go somewhere else. He says that he’s found someone that he wants to spend the rest of his life with, he hopes that Shangguan Xi can be happy for him. Xie Xiao says that because Shangguan Xi understands him most in the world, she won’t care what others think. (Except she’s head over heels for him.. ) Xie Bai says that Shangguan Xi has sacrificed a lot for the Wu An Gang, so she’s the only daughter in law that he will accept. He tells Xie Xiao that if he wants to get married then he’ll have to marry Shangguan Xi.
Xie Xiao says that what his father is doing is unfair to both him and Shangguan Xi. He asks if his father is using the marriage to bind her to the Wu An Gang forever. The two argue some more but Shangguan Xi leaves with her heart in pieces. Xie Bai angrily orders his son to leave before having a coughing fit. Xie Xiao reminds his father that his health is poor, so he shouldn’t get so angry. Xie Xiao says he’ll leave so that he’s not an eyesore to his father anymore.

Jin Xia is sitting alone at a table wondering about the child she saw in Lang Garden. She also remembers that the child she saw was singing “The Best Perfume”, so who is playing tricks? And who is that child?

Shangguan Xi sits by herself looking depressed. She remembers back to a time she and Xie Xiao went to Gusu to set up a new division. They were attacked by the local gang there. They ended up getting captured and even though Xie Xiao could have escaped on his own, but he came back to rescue her and got severely injured in the process. Xie Xiao grabbed her hand and from that moment she decided to be by his side and protect him for the rest of her life. In the present Xie Xiao finds her alone at the table and calls out to her. It takes her a moment to break from her memory before she responds. Xie Xiao has come to ask her for a favour.
Shangguan Xi pulls herself together before asking him what he wants. Xie Xiao wants her to go with him to the official’s building so that he can propose to Jin Xia (Can I smack him now?? This is cruel..) Shangguan Xi is spilling the tea because she hasn’t noticed that the the cup is full. Xie Xiao ever the clueless one, doesn’t notice. He says that everyone in Yangzhou knows that the two of them were meant to be married 3 years ago so Jin Xia has probably heard about it by now. Xie Xiao is hoping that by having Shangguan Xi come with him, Jin Xia will see that their innocent and that their is no romantic feelings between the two of them. Xie Xiao says that it will also silence the gossips. Shangguan Xi takes a sip of her tea saying that it turns out he can be considerate, he just hadn’t found someone he card about enough yet. Xie Xiao doesn’t realize that she’s actually scolding him.

Xie Xiao asks Shangguan Xi for help as she’s the one that treats him the best in this world. She tells him that he’s talking like an older man, like Master Xie. Xie Xiao says that of course he sounds like his father, since he’s his son. Xie Xiao is excited to have her help and leaves. Shangguan Xi finally finally allows the tears to flow down her face, as heart breaks yet again. (She deserves a lot better than that ignorant fool! )

Jin Xia heads back to Lang Garden by herself but is too scared to go in so she crouches outside the gate shivering. While she’s there, she starts to hear the singing. Jin Xia gathers up her courage and peeks between the crack in the gates to see a small child singing. She goes to him and finds out that he is real and not a ghost. Jin Xia asks the child who taught him the song? The child replies that his sister taught him. Jin Xia asks if the child didn’t mean brother instead of sister, then asks him a few more questions which makes the child start cry. Jin Xia tries to get him to stop crying but it doesn’t help.
A woman comes running and tells Little Bao to quit crying as she’s here now. Jin Xia asks if the child is hers, she says yes then demands to know what Jin Xia did to make her child cry. Jin Xia apologizes then tells her that she’s a government official, before asking who taught Little Bao the song. The mother doesn’t know since they work outside and Little Bao constantly runs to play in Lang Garden. The mother asks if something is wrong but Jin Xia tells her no. The mother than scolds her child for playing in the haunted garden as they walk away. Jin Xia thinks back to what Little Bao said about a sister teaching him the song. She remembers that Wu Yinhua said a woman brought him the poisoned tea… could it be?

Jin Xia goes back to report to Lu Yi. She tells him that if the troupe master isn’t lying, he had investigated the whole Chunxi Troupe back then and didn’t find a substitute singer. Jin Xia says that maybe it’s because they are looking in the wrong direction, once they had found out about the substitute singer, they suspected Wu Yinhua. They suspected him because he met all the criteria.. and he was a man. However Little Bao said that an older sister taught him the song. Jin Xia looked into it and there were only 3 women in Chunxi Troupe that year. An older woman that did the cooking and two apprentices. One of the women performed beside Yun Zheyue during “The Best Perfume” while Jin Xia couldn’t find any information on the other woman.
Jin Xia says that she can’t find anyone related to the other woman, and she’s not mentioned in the files either. Jin Xia says it’s like the other woman didn’t exist. Lu Yi says that a person that has a voice that indistinguishable between male and female is very rare. Jin Xia mutters that the killer has hidden very well. Lu Yi says that it’s not hard to guess that there is this killer and a mastermind behind the scenes. Lu Yi says that they can easily catch the killer but they can’t touch the mastermind. Lu Yi says it’s best if they can get the killer to confess. Jin Xia asks him if he knows who the killer is. Lu Yi admits that he does but that there is no evidence. Jin Xia suggests that they perform another opera to set up a trap for the killer.

Later that night, Mayor Wei thanks Lu Yi for the invitation. Lu Yi rises out his chair and politely says that since the mayor came all the way himself, Lu Yi should have welcomed him first. Mayor Wei says that he couldn’t trouble Sir Lu, he’s too kind. In the entourage is a Lan Ye. The performance begins with people throwing fire sticks. Mayor Wei whispers to Lu Yi that he thought they were invited to see an opera, so why is the stage decorated so oddly. Lu Yi says that it’s a new opera that he thought up recently, thus the design.

Shangguan Xi is sitting a different area watching the performance, Yang Yue is trying to get her to eat something yummy. (He’s in love with you and much better than stinky Xie Xiao!) Yang Yue asks if Shangguan Xi feels okay as she doesn’t look well. Shangguan Xi asks Yang Yue why he cares so much about her, she’s fine. Yang Yue asks if she’s still upset with him, then says that even if she’s busy with work, she should still get some rest. Yang Yue even offers to make her a bowl of soup to help her feel better (he’s such a cute lovesick puppy). Shangguan Xi thanks him for his kindness but says that she’s fine. While all this is happening Jin Xia is performing on stage, but there’s no thunderstorm yet, so the actors stall for time.

Mayor Wei asks Lu Yi what the opera is about since the more he watches the less he understands. Lu Yi tells the mayor to be patient, since the whole Zhou Xianyi case has given him such a headache. Lu Yi says that he met a Buddhist monk that some amazing skills, so he invited everyone over to witness it. Mayor Wei sceptically asks what amazing kills? Lu Yi tells him the skills needed to call out spirits. The wind finally starts to pick up as the storm rolls in so the real performance can begin. Jin Xia and I think it’s Xie Xiao.. call out the spirit that starts to sing “The Best Perfume”. When Jin Xia and Xie Xiao ask the singer for their name, they claim to be Yun Zheyue. The audiences gasps as he’s supposed to be dead.

Roll those end credits! That’s the end of Under the Power: Episode 11!
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