The Vendetta of An 长安二十四计 - Discussion - Episodes 10-11

Welcome to the episode discussions for The Vendetta of An! Join us as we walk down the long road to revenge...

🔥🗡This post is for episodes 🩸10 and 11 only🩸 please use spoiler tags for express episodes or previews, thank you!🗡🔥

Discussion Schedule: Posts will follow the Youku regular VIP schedule. Posts will go up in late afternoon/evening Pacific Time (16-18ish hrs after they go upon Youku).

📅Youku Airing Sched: 2 eps/day through 12/19. 1 ep/per day on 12/20 and 12/21. After that not announced yet.

Links all discussions at bottom of post

Host Notes:

Thank you for reading!

... Previously on The Vendetta of An ...

Fun fact: The drama was filmed at Xiangshan World Studios, other notable dramas that have been filmed there include Nirvana in Fire and The Longest Day in Chang'an. The studio has both Song and Tang dynasty inspired sets, among others.

[DETAILS REFERENCE CORNER]

Character Flashcards: linked post contains title card pics from all currently recapped episodes, scroll carefully (sort comments by 'old') if you are watching slower than release schedule.

Timeline: no new info these eps, see post for 6-7 for timeline.

Rogue's Gallery Update: Yan Fengshan is on his way to Chang'an

❌Dead: Pu Nichuan, Liu Ziyan, Wei Qianting

❗Captured: Qingyi

❓Whereabouts unknown: Yan Fengshan, Hooded Figure

Episode 10:

in my notes I just refer to Xie Huai'an as H which is why he has been getting just his first name in the recaps while most everyone else I use their full name, sorry if this is weird and inconsistent

[RECAP]

Opening Flashback**:** Before Huai'an arrived in Chang'an he stopped to play weiqi at a pavilion in the woods with Han Ziling. He tries to talk Han Ziling out of responding to the Emperor's summons, but Han Ziling really wants to rescue Xiao Wenjing. Huai'an knows Han Ziling would be in danger though and suggests sending someone disguised as him to the Emperor instead. They make a wager that if Emperor kills fake-Ziling, then real-Ziling will owe Huai'an a favor.

Later in Chang'an the two meet up and Han Ziling asks how Huai'an knew he would be killed. Huai'an says that any man of Gu Yu's would never harm Xiao Wenjing and it was a warning to Gu Yu to stay out of the situation (implying the Emperor wants the option of harming his brother to remain on the table). The man sent to die in Han Ziling's place was a wanted criminal whose family was compensated with 1000 liang of gold.

"It seem's you're not a good man, brother Xie," Han Ziling says.

Huai'an responds, "A good man can neither help you nor save the person you want to save."

Huai'an asks him for his favor - Han Ziling needs to infiltrate somewhere for him. We see a montage of Han Ziling becoming Li Sangeng the trash collector of Hidden Soldier Alley.

I always like when historical dramas show the lives of everyday people (palaces are beautiful but they don't exist in a vacuum!) so I've been enjoying the Hidden Soldier Alley sets and the trash details, the paper making workshop, the sense that real people are going about their lives.

Hidden Soldier Backyard: Huai'an and Han Ziling bury Di Lu in his own backyard, masking the smell of the grave with wine poured over top of it. They come up with a cover story in case people start asking questions, Di Lu was well liked and his absence will be notable. Han Ziling has a few interesting lines here, he says:

"Scheming.. both you and I know how to do it. But in the end, its still a blade going in white and coming out red."

We also see Huai'an apologize to Di Lu's body before covering him with dirt. Even so, Han Ziling is much for affected by their actions and Huai'an reminds him they would likely be the ones dead if Di Lu had survived. Han Ziling repeats Di Lu's words from earlier in the night, that liking a man has little to do with killing him, in the end "people only kill to save themselves."

Han Ziling goes home and as he closes his gate he does a slide down it to the ground, remembering the killing. We cut to Huai'an in his home, calmly washing his hands.

Questionable Buns: A few days later (or the next day, idk), Huai'an is in his workshop when 'Li Sangeng' arrives to place an order for a travel pass. He fed a aman named Li Mingtai some "questionable buns" so he would get sick and give Huai'an an excuse to visit his home in person with the delivery as Li Mingtai lives close to Zuihua Tower, where Gu Yu is being held.

As part of his undercover mission Han Ziling has a made a detailed map of Hidden Soldier Alley and used his trash collecting to collate information on all the households.

Han Ziling asks Huai'an about his relationship to Gu Yu and Huai'an tells him:

"For me, my family, and the realm, Gu Yu is someone I can't afford to lose."

Inside Zuihua Tower, we see Gu Yu he is being held inside a nicely furnished room and an attendant has brought him a basin of water to wash his face with. The attendant tells him she can do "whatever he wants" except let him leave. He rejects her implied offer and asks for a small carving knife and piece of wood to keep himself busy.

We get a scene of Wang Pu interrogating a captured Baiwenhu soldier, who won't give up any information on if others have also infiltrated Hidden Soldier Alley. Wang Pu burns him alive. Then Wang Pu says he is going to go visit the visiting military commanders.

Brief cut to Gu Yu working on a carving.

More Reunions and Reveals: As Huai'an walks home he stops briefly to exchange whispers with the trash collector. Han Ziling tells him about the Baiwenhu soldier being captured and killed.

At home, Huai'an notices the silhouette of someone inside his own. Inside we see Old Woman Gatekeeper is allowed to leave her post on occasion. She knows Huai'an was the last person to see Di Lu and wants to know where he is. After a beat, Huai'an tells her the truth. She says:

"White Hair, White Hair... if you hadn't dyed it I wouldn't have recognized you."

They have a bit and back and forth about how she must know he is after revenge and how she could turn him in, ending with him calmly threatening her with Qingyi's life, "if nothing happens to him, nothing happens to me."

We learn Qingyi is her disciple and Huai'an addresses her as 'Aunt Xin.' He tells her that he will leave no enemy alive but still has some humanity, she was one of his father's earliest subordinates and still remembers that bond.

Later she is back in her chair at the entrance to the alley remebering their conversation and then we get an older memory.

Flashback: A young woman walks through the forest and finds a child eating the offerings left in front of a headstone, "Grave of Liu Ziqyi, beloved son." She tells him he is allowed to eat the offerings and child Qingyi asks for her help surviving. She says she only knows how to kill and this path would bring him no good. He confesses to murdering his opera troupe so he could escape them, he's already on this path.

We cut to the prison and see adult Qingyi performing an opera style dance in his cell. This unexpectedly made me tear up.

We get a scene of Wang Pu visiting her in the alley and checking in on investigation into Di Lu's death, she says she didn't find anything but can kill all the suspects for him if he wants. He declines the offer. Neither seems to trust each other but he has brought her a blanket and bows to her as he sets off, saying he is leaving for a few days.

Deposed Emperor and his Axe Again: At Liu Family Dungeon, Xiao Wenjing is bringing food to Wang Xing and seems less enthusiastic about prison warden duty than he was before. As he approaches the bars I immediately guess Wang Xing is going to be dead and he is.... but not really! He was doing a scheme to get Xiao Wenjing close enough to headbutt. They fight, its clumsy but effective, Wang Xing is still tied to the chair but ends up getting free. He escape up and out of the cellar with Xiao Wenjing chasing after him through the streets with his axe in hand (did no one see this...?) .

They end up in the back lot of a building and fight again. Neither is a trained fighter and I though the fight choreography of them as not-fighters was quite good. They were equally matched in their desperation.

Xiao Wenjing gets Wang Xing pinned up against the side of the building and tries to reason with him but it turns out Wang Xing has his own revenge scheme he wants to get back to.

Wang Xing was sent away on a 3yr mission, leaving his wife and daughter behind, seems like Shen Xiaoqing scooped him on his return and he hasn't seen his family yet. A woman living alone can be vulnerable and his wife was preyed upon by a man in their neighborhood. Wang Xing wants to kill this man.

He describes his wife: she runs a breakfast stand in Wazi Alley, in the Guiyi District. She often wears a purple robe, faded from many washes.

Wang Xing makes a final attempt to escape but Xiao Wenjing catches him in the back with his axe. Then we see Wenjing dragging Wang Xing's body back the way they came.

Emperor Axe Murder Count: 2

Big Bad Incoming: Huai'an is in his office when Han Ziling enters, remarking on the empty courtyard outside. Huai'an says Wang Pu gave him an assignment to forge some top secret travel passes so he sent the other workers home. He hands one of the passes to Ziling to read.

"Height six chi, square forehad, broad face, a nose that rises straight up to the brown, and long hanging earlobes. From Binning to Chang'an.

Is this Yan....?"

"Yes"

Yan Fengshan is on his way.

[NOTES]

📜Schemes and Secrets: Huai'an knew Han Ziling before, cover story for Di Lu death, questionable buns, Old Woman/Aunt Xin reveal, Wang Xing revenge scheme of his own, secret travel passes

Setting aside tracking shots of blood on blades for now, I keep forgetting to notice

Episode 11:

[RECAP]

Opening Scene: The Emperor is playing his flute again when Chancellor Gao comes to have a chat. Tomorrow is the day the regional military commanders arrive and the Emperor says they will be resistant to handing over power and likely have some schemes of their own. He wants Gao to try and predict what they are up to and also asks for an update on Huai'an. Gao says Huai'an is working the rescue of Gu Yu and but, the "he's out of our control, we can't predict what he will do." They mention how they predicted that they could defeat Xiao Wenjing's men when they overtook the city and Chancellor Gao references an old saying:

"It's easier to seize power than to hold onto it."

Flatbread Stall Secrets: We see Huai'an carefully approaching a wall and pulling out a brick from, he peers through to a man working. Who is he spying on? It's Ye Zheng at work! Ye Zheng takes a break to lean on the wall and they have a check-in. Ye Zheng reports that the 4 regional military commanders have arrives and Shan Xiaoqing is tracking their movements. They discuss how its likely the Emperor will try and kill the commanders if they don't rescue Gu Yu in time, better for them to be dead than allied with Huben.

Huai'an tells him that he has found Gu Yu but he is waiting, he has an additional scheme in mind. He passes a note in a bamboo tube to Ye Zheng, saying to give it Chancellor Gao.

Ye Zheng tells Huai'an that Xiao Wenjing killed Wang Xing, but not to worry about it, "it wasn't his fault."

Vigilante Origin Story: Xiao Wenjing goes to a market street and finds Wang Xing's wife and daughter at their food stands. He orders some buns but is distressed when his attempt at conversation with the little girl leads him to find out she doesn't even remember her father anymore. He continues to watch them the rest of the day from across the stress. After closing up for the night, we follow the woman and her daughter into their home, seeing her carefully lock the door. Outside a man stumbles down the street with a bad vibes and starts aggressively knocking on their door and shouting and threatening them. Xiao Wenjing strikes him repeatedly with his axe, killing him. We see him dragging the body away somewhere.

Emperor Axe Murder Count: 3

If these characters are important why aren't we told their names: This show is kind of strange in how it decides when or when not to give us character namecards, I can't quite figure it out. Anyway, we are at a restaurant with the 4 regional military commanders. One of them is late and the others are not surprised. One of them says:

"Are we just here to eat lamb? Didn't we enter Chang'an to devour other people."

"Not necessarily," another replies, "if we do a bad job, we will be devoured instead."

They talk about how they came to this same restaurant 30 years ago when they took over the city with the founding emperor and how now his son wants to take back their military seals. They dont seem pleased about this. One of them says he'll be alright because at least he owns this alley, this does surprise the others. He says the lamb they are eating came from his shop.

Tea Time Tuesday: Chancellor Gao is in a tea house, he asks one of his men for an update. The man says all of "their" and "our" men are in place. Gao says:

"On the night of murder, one should savor tea to the fullest."

Outside on the street, Xiao Wenjing approaches a building where Ye Zheng is leaning casually. He sits down on the steps and Ye Zheng remarks that his attitude and behavior lately has been strange, "like a hitman." Wenjing says he just wants some porridge, Ye Zheng suggests tea instead.

Ye Zheng gets him up to speed on the commanders vs. emperor situation and how each party is set up relatively nearby. He gives the note from Huai'an to Wenjing to deliver, he'll go in first and clear the way of assassins. Wenjing reads the note and is shocked, he confirms its a big deal a little too enthusiastically and I become suspicious of him. Then Ye Zheng hands him the seal that the Emperor gave Huai'an and I predict this could lead somewhere bad (but I'm wrong).

Stumbling Upon a Scheme: They see a messenger and realize they need to act quickly to stop Gao from taking out the commanders. Ye Zheng runs off to chase the messenger leaving Xiao Wenjing to stumble around looking for the tea house Gao is in. He eventually finds it, but first he stumbled into a tavern full of assassins and he warns Gao about this. Gao doesn't seem concerned. Cut to Ye Zheng who has knocked down all his imperial guards stationed in a building nearby. Xiao Wenjing says that Gao's plan has been foiled by his men and he wants to get Gao out of danger eventually leading to him leaning out the window and shouting HELP! SOMEONE IS AFTER THE MILITARY COMMANDERS! to further disrupt the plans. It works. The commanders here this and think its a trap. Their men get taken out by hidden a different set of imperial guards under the guidance of Commander Wang.

Xiao Wenjing has impressed Chancellor Gao but still not won him over. When Gao tries to order Commander Wang to continue their plan to take out the commanders, Wenjing hands over the message from Huai'an: Yan Fengshan is returning to Chang'an, likely to negotiate with the commanders and so the commanders need to stay alive to serve as bait for Yan Fengshan. Upon hearing this, Chancellor Gao addresses an unseen corner of the room saying, "Your majesty, you should be the one who makes the call."

The camera pans up and we see the tea house is 2 stories with a balcony area overlooking where Gao has been sitting, the Emperor steps forward and looks down at them. Xiao Wenjing is very flustered to be face to face with his brother and acts the anxious and subservant pageboy he is pretending to be. Emperor approves of Huai'an's plan.

Back to the commanders, they learn all their men were taken out and the one who owns the alley says they aren't good at coming up schemes, they need some help from Wang Pu who has once again been lurking in a restaurant. Apparently its a go to move for him. He praises the commander who owns the alley and tells him Yan Fengshan is on his way to Chang'an.

Meanwhile the Emperor and Chancellor Gao chat about they have realized the commanders are likely already allied with Huben.

Motives Check-In: Huai'an visits Han Ziling at his house and asks him why he wanted to take on the Emperor's mission so he could save Xiao Wenjing. Ziling says "It's because of a misunderstanding."

Flashback: Han Ziling drinking at a restaurant indoors, he is drunk and criticizing the current emperor, saying he is weak, incompetent, and might as well have not taken the throne at all. "He should become a scholar instead," he says. The camera turns slowly revealing original flavor Xiao Wenjing also drunk at this restaurant at a table behind Han Ziling. He agrees with Ziling's assessment of himself. Drunk Emperor says,

"He doesn't even have the freedom to choose. If he had the freedom perhpas he wouldn't have wanted to be the emperor."

Han Ziling leads them in a toast "to the poor soul called the Emperor" before some imperial eunuchs come into the restaurant and haul the Emperor out. As he is leaving he despairs that he is supposed to be allowed out for two hours each month. As his carriage spirits him away he continues despairing, "I don't want to go back!" Han Ziling gets up and watches him go, seeing the imperial retinue and realizing his mistake.

Back in the present, he finishes telling Huai'an his story saying, "that's how I found out he had been suppressed by Yan Fengshan the whole time. Although he was the emperor, in reality, he was just a bird living in a cage." His run in with the Emperor led him to read many of his papers and he came away with a favorable impression of him and thinks he truly cares for his people. Huai'an chuckles and says he wrote them when his heart was innocent, but ultimately he proved to soft after ascending the throne, suppressed by Yan Fengshan and unable to maintain a peaceful realm. Han Ziling admits he's probably the only person who would want him to be emperor again. He has written a letter to the deposed emperor he entrusts to Huai'an, in case something ever happens to him.

Then Huai'an lies to Han Ziling about knowing the wherebaouts of Xiao Wenjing.

Fraternal Feelings: Xiao Wenjing himself is sitting on Bai Wan's porch looking contemplative which is freaking Ye Zheng out. He tells him about seeing his brother and how he suprised himself by realizing he doesn't hate him. "Perhaps I don't love the empire as much as I thought." Ye Zheng seems proud of him and reassures him its ok.

Secrets through the wall again: Huai'an and Ye Zheng are back to their Pyramus and Thisbe routine and catch up on the night's events. Ye Zheng praises Xiao Wenjing's actions. Han Ziling also asks Huai'an about his plans for once this is all over, saying he should reunite with Bai Wan and live a softer life. As Huai'an contemplates his words, spotting a pale butterfly trapped in a spider web nearby. He releases it and watches it fly away.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure: Han Ziling finds Wang Pu in his courtyard poking around. Wang Pu has noticed he organizes all the trash he collects according to where it came from. Ziling says this is so he can sort through it for items to reuse or resell but Wang Pu is suspicious. He reveals he has been using it find clues on the hidden Baiwenhu soliders in his Hidden Solider Alley. He finds one and heads out with is men.

Wumei and Baiwenhu have been hiding out and scheming with Huai'an. The episode ends with a confrontation, choreographed by Huai'an it seems. Huben forces storm a courtyard and get taken down quickly by arrows and Baiwenhu soldiers. Wang Pu watching (and snacking) from a safe distance away.

Wumei gets to show off even more of her skills, descending in red and single handedly taking out the rest of Wang Pu's men. Another arrow shoots through the gate to take out the last Huben soldier and the gate opens to reveal Gu Yu on horseback as the one wielding the bow.

Wang Pu looks genuinely shocked.

[NOTES]

📜Schemes and Secrets: secret wall convos, Commanders vs Emperor, Huai'an secret note, Xiao Wenjing quick thinking, Emperor hiding in balcony, Hidden Solider trash clues, Gu Yu already rescued

[REFLECTIONS]

These episodes are really dense, not a moment wasted and the run time is quite long. They are really making the most out of their 28 episodes. Maybe its just because I watch slowly with note taking and screencaping but it really feel like so much happens in each ep. In a good way! But also a slow way, I gotta get quicker at my note taking 😅

We are just over a third of the way through the show, how are you all feeling about the pace?

🔥🗡This post is for episodes 🩸10 and 11 only🩸 please use spoiler tags for episodes or previews of episodes beyond these, thank you! 🗡🔥

Links to Discussion Posts:

Index | Masterpost (Eps 1-3) | Eps 4-5 | Eps 6-7 | Eps 8-9

Other useful links: Airing Schedule | DramaWiki | MDL| Weibo | Flashcards