>>280327837 >>280328241 > Ancient Chinese culture was deeply enchanted by the world of insects, with the cicada revered as a powerful symbol of transformation and rebirth. Its life cycle—spending years of dormancy underground before suddenly emerging as an adult—captured the imagination of the ancient Chinese and came to symbolise both spiritual purification and unexpected achievements.
This transformative process of the cicada became a metaphor for a journey from impurity to enlightenment or transcendence, embodying physical and spiritual immortality. For grieving families, cicadas offered hope—a wish for the soul of the deceased to rise again in a new form, symbolising renewal and spiritual rebirth [9]. https://www.maadigitallab.org/blog/2024/12/03/jade-cicadas-a-journey-through-time-and-culture/
>>280330411
We were so close to greatness... >To summarize the side story, "Sazen's Secret":
>So, Sazen did find Loulan on the snow half-feverish since she did get bruised from the bullet wound on her chest + several bullet grazes on her arm and her body in general. Since Loulan was, like, have very disheveled clothes, Sazen initially lusted after her (dude WHAT THE FUCK) and thought to actually exchange sexual favors as payment for him saving her but got intimidated by her stare and her demeanor (seems also he regretted this thought eventually). Also he felt like Loulan would, like, "eat him" if he actually make so much of a sexual move, so instead he just tended to her wounds and shared his furs (which he sneaked out of the Shi clan fortress) as they traveled to a secret forest hovel where he used to gather herbs.
>So Loulan was joking with Sazen as she's like, "So, you don't find me sexy?" (GUUUURL PLEASE) and she recovered during this time. Sazen didn't really touch her due to the intimidation he felt, and help her recover all throughout the winter. Some time later, when Loulan sufficiently recovered to walk, they decided to hightail out of the hovel and travelled together to reach a village south of the fortress. He didn't take any of Loulan's belongings including the hairpin due to the intimidation LOL
>Loulan then gave Sazen all the locust book from the fortress (which she fortunately managed to sneak out) and noticed he also has the other medical books from the fortress while they decided to part ways on that village (seems like she knows he plans to sell them for money and just leave him be). Loulan remarks that Sazen should be an apothecary (since he did heal her that well) and he took her words to heart a bit, knowing they'll never see each other again as Loulan plans to move further south to the sea ports. He decided not to tell anyone what happened due to this.
>>280324691 (OP)
Genuinely my favorite character in all of anime this past year.
She's obviously very polarizing, but that she took what she had to work with and pulled off something this big was quite impressive. >>280324950
My impression was that she sold the hair pin before she got on the boat overseas so that, on the chance that someone from the palace found it for sale on one of the trinket stands and somehow ends up back at the palace (perhaps on another girl's head), it would be her last message to Maomao that she made it. I think Maomao said as much that this is where they might find it.
>>280334030
I'm consistently impressed by how well this story lays out small details like this in advance. I've lost track of all the times some seemingly small throwaway comment ended up being vital to some plot point or character's background.
>>280324950 >>280332806 >>280334030
This is the big true
Silver and gold hairpins are the marks of royalty and it's not just that others shouldn't make ornaments with those materials, it's that that are prohibited by law. So a merchant that finds one and is brave enough to return it to the court along with information about where he got it would probably find a heafty reward for bringing it back to where it belongs
It's basically inevitable that it ends up back in jinshi's hands and when they see there's a bullet hole and learn of the girl who sold it, they will know that she survived
>>280338545
She really was something else, and this is almost certainly what she planned.
All the details about this were great. When she picked the cicada up from the table, it was surrounded by possible symbols of her past time in palace.
By choosing her beloved insects instead, it's like it was confirming Shisui was the real person inside all along, not Loulan.
>>280348020
Given that Suirei was spared even after all that she was involved into, her kid would've definetly been spared, and likely so would've been her by virtue of having giving birth to it
>>280350258
I know. What I means is that if the royal blood connection managed to get Suirei spared then for sure it would also save Shisui's kid as well. Especially since it would be directly related to the current emperor, not the previous one
>>280351345
Suirei was spared because Shisui was able to negotiate for her life with Jinshi, not because she has royal blood. The royal blood was just used to help her case. Jinshi and the emperor could've just as easily chosen to execute her. Surely you don't think having royal blood means you're automatically off the hook from execution with all the infighting and power struggles for the throne royal families had throughout history? We're talking about the children of the great villainess whose treachery nearly brought the country to ruin. It'd be risky to keep them around lest they try to claim the throne.
>>280352951
Every so often, I like the idea of someone getting away with everything.
The end of this was satisfying in the way something like one of those old caper/heist movies.
When the FUCK is maomao gonna use the bathroom on screen?? It’s been like 50 episodes with no maomao on the toilet or whatever the fuck they used in ancient chink land???
