You must admire Charmaine Sheh for being able to cry so much without showing the slightest sign of a headache. Of course this is what is called acting but is it good acting I wonder?
This episode shows how despicable Chiu Yan is, how useless the mother is, how senile the king could be and how poor Cheung Ping is so naive that she places her trust in the wrong person, that is everybody else other than herself.
I now know why Chiu Yan is so universally hated by all viewers of this series, except of course Sonija Kwok's biggest fans. She decided Tong Po Lun was not her type (you know, everything that is not Sai Hin like he ordered his men to kidnap girls and rape them, very rude to the king, very arrogant, not a gentleman, very rough, probably likes sex a lot with the way he looks at Chiu Yan with that lustful eyes, doesn't help that he has got this moustache that is really very undesirable looking) so how she can get rid of him without offending Tin, grandma and that man himself since she was the one who said I love him and all?
Who else? The woman who in this series constantly gets the garbage, the one who gets the leftovers that is Cheung Ping, the dustbin. Yes, dustbin because she seems to get all the rejected goods from Chiu Yan. She says that Cheung Ping is the one who admires and loves him, and she being the nice sister decided that that's the best way to end this three way affair. General of course is very happy to hear this. But Cheung Ping is in prison, right? But evil sister concocts a plan, said mommy is being abused, wants to see Cheung Ping. So she dresses Cheung Ping in her best dress, make up and all and lo and behold, bumps into Mr General himself. One look at Cheung Ping and general quickly asked the king to marry Cheung Ping to him. Poor Cheung Ping went back to prison blur and really not having any clue what is going on. King was of course at the senile point, doing the most ridiculous things and objected to this man's arrogance but Tin said, "Better let him have Cheung Ping, so that this powerful general will become our relative". I thought he is already a relative of Tin? So daddy declared, "Alright, let him have his lust appeased and the he can get back to Shanxi!". I thought they all loved Cheung Ping? How can he say that, that let her daughter be used as a sex tool?
Anyway, Cheung Ping was told daddy will organise this marital kung fu extravaganza where any eligible man can vie for Cheung Ping's hand but of course general was meant to be the winner. Sing Hing quickly told Sai Hin and all of a sudden Sai Hin had this honour attack; meaning wife to be just died, cannot go fighting for another woman's hand, princess or no princess. Mommy, daddy objected but Sai Hin decided to go for it, and so Sai Hin was branded a bastard. I don't see a difference with him being a bastard before Yoke Han died and a bastard after Yoke Han died, because either way he is still a bastard. One breath he asked God to take care of poor lonely Yoke Han, in the second line he wondered about Cheung Ping and again we have that intercut scene with both of them praying and wondering aloud at the same time. Imagine if Yoke Han didn't die, sooner or later Cheung Ping will marry Sai Hin because obviously his heart is at somewhere else and Cheung Ping's heart will always be his. Disgusting.
Anyway, when Cheung Ping found out what will happen she cried and cried and cried. Mommy told Chiu Yan to bribe the guards and see Cheung Ping and tell her to be ..., repeat after me everybody, the most often quoted words ...
But ahhhhh Chiu Yan didn't do that, instead she bribed the guards to cover the tiny window to shut her wailing and crying. Poor Cheung Ping, now in total darkness, literally.
At the meantime mommy was trying to get the king to listen but he was too full of himself. He said he heard Cheung Ping crying and he said, and he dare say, "Why she only knows how to cry and cry? What about the country?". What a horrible father. Obviously Ming Dynasty should be doomed with useless king and useless everybody. Anyway daddy refused to listen and instead we hear him talk a speech like challenging his ministers to be king for a day and see how difficult it is. My dear sir, have a conviction in life, be decided and then you'll be a good king. At this moment he is neither here nor there. Anyway the king permitted Queen to see Cheung Ping, so she ran to see Cheung Ping. Saw Cheung Ping, hugged her and cut, next scene we see her next to the king looking pitiful and the king almost senile looking. And then she began to say something, perhaps something important, something stern, something brave, something useful .... and then when she opened her mouth ... PAKKKKK! No electricity and I could not see that momentous 10 minutes before the rolling of the credits for this episode. Least to say I was pissed.
I wonder what was said? I bet nothing. I am sure I won't miss much. My heart cried in sadness when I realised I will miss also Holland Village later that night (Xiao Xin! Jing Jing! Ah Ming! Missed all that!) and it was so hot (though raining) that I was sweating all over. Electricity was only restored at about 2 am by which time I was like in a microwave, being cooked alive. And that is my room by the way.
Anyway, useless mother also. She has the most opportunity to say something to the Queen and it took her long enough to say I don't know what. Daughter already being bullied like this and still be patient. Cheung Ping knows only how to cry, when to cry and what to cry about. By now she should have known Chiu Yan was up to no good since though asked repeatedly, she has yet to answer Cheung Ping's one question; how come Yoke Han is dead. Poor Yoke Han.
Now I have one major complaint for this episode and the entire series. I noticed that this series concentrates on the useless stuff, like Cheung Ping crying for Sai Hin and vice versa. I feel she cries more for Sai Hin than for her own mom. Anyway, that scene when mommy saw Cheung Ping in prison, I was hoping mommy would ask "Did Chiu Yan come to see you?", "How come it's so dark in here?" or Cheung Ping asking mom, "Mom why you never turn up to see me and Chiu Yan that day?". Nope, the writer decided all these were not important, what is more important is seeing Cheung Ping crying and the king going senile. If that scene is shown, no way Cheung Ping should ever trust her sister again and her mom might confront Chiu Yan about her devious ploy. But no, like mother like daughter, blur, stupid and really good for nothing except a tear or two. I find this series very inadequate emotionally though it's starting to be like a Taiwanese Qiong Yau drama. Inadequate simply because we have cry cry cry laugh laugh laugh and yet nothing to connect the crying, the laughing. It's like somewhere some scenes are lost causing this detached emotional display that I absolutely hate watching.
The scary thing is I read in this forum dedicated to this series I think at tvseriesfans.com. Someone asked didn't Charmaine played Cheung Ping in Crimson Sabre and someone said Crimson Sabre is a book, this series is based on real historical events so this Cheung Ping will be more accurate.
Excuse me, if there was a Cheung Ping, and if she was as beautiful, gentle, passionate about politics, outspoken, intelligent as described in such historical facts or even in the opera, this Cheung Ping we see on screen is an insult to such a real princess. Nothing is true, but I like to believe when faced with such impending doom, the real Cheung Ping will be like the Crimson Sabre one; more proactive.
I also just found out Dai Lui Fah means The Emperor's Daughter, something like that. So far I see only tears tears tears.
Oh yeah, something about nicknames. Now my whole family calls Chiu Yan SUPERMAN and Concubine Tin as TANAH TERBANG. Cheung Ping is still LONG FLAT but so far Cheung Ping sounds nicer than her nickname.
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