“We need to find a beautiful woman to trick the other nations delegates into thinking we have fairies-”

“I am putting jinshi in a dress.”

“What”

“Im putting him in a dress and making him dance.”

“You cant-“

Spoilers for the Shi Clan Arc but only if you’re not caught up…

Jinshi and Maomao are actually far more alike in their tendency to deny their status or place in the world than either of them realize.

Maomao’s whole schtick as an unreliable narrator is talked about a lot- how she underestimates her value to others and doesn’t claim her La Clan status (which honestly puts her up there with the likes of Loulan and the other consorts, really, as far as noble birth/named clan politics goes).

But Jinshi does the same thing in reverse. The same way Maomao doesn’t want to “get involved” or denies things she knows to be true, Jinshi does the SAME thing in trying to cling to his eunuch persona instead of taking charge of the situation in his role as the prince.

Because he so vehemently doesn’t want the status that he has- the same way Maomao doesn’t.

In this case, though, he’s kind of leaning on it as a crutch or hiding behind it to stay comfortable. Because to come out of hiding so to speak is an irreversible act- once he reveals he’s the Moon Prince to everyone by leading the army there’s no going back. But as a eunuch he wasn’t expected to marry or to be in the line of succession or to involve himself in politics outside of the rear palace. His sole responsibility as Jinshi was to ensure that the Emperor sired as many heirs as possible- which in turn solved his problem of not wanting to be considered to rule.

But this act of hiding and not claiming his title is a PRIVILEGE too- because he has a choice so many don’t have. He has the Emperor’s permission to hide his role but anyone else caught impersonating someone would see dire consequences.

That’s why Lakan is so aggressive with him about not acting- in his eyes this man who claims to care about his daughter and has been possessive of her in the past has the power and authority to tear down the kingdom to find her but he just… won’t. Because to reveal his identity would force him into other responsibilities he doesn’t want anything to do with.

So to me Lakan has every right to call his bluff.

And that’s what is so interesting to me about Jinshi as a character is that it fully relies on this “oh what a burden it is to be royal” trope narratively while also NEVER letting him off the hook about his privileges in life. It’s so refreshing to see the ‘gilded cage’ trope treated with such nuance. Especially in a romance sub-plot and especially with a male character.

And further on in the light novels, it never stops being examined. The slow burn romance that everyone is so addicted to is so instrumental to the stripping down of both Moamao and Jinshi’s characters and showing their growth and acceptance of their own identities- even the ones they don’t want to claim.

Maomao, after Lady Gyokuyou places Jinshi's hairpin back in Maomao's hair: Um, should this mean something?

Everyone present:

I WAS SCREAMING SO MUCH MY MOM HAD TO SHUT ME UP 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

happy Frog Friday yall!!! 🐸

ep spoilers below (screenshots)