#meiruo

I was bored and rewatching Ruyi’s Royal Love In The Palace when something really interesting came to mind. Noble Consort Ying aka Barin Meiruo, our lady of shade, is an interesting character to say the least and I say so for the following reasons;

a) her noble birth; don’t get me wrong many of the women in the harem come from influential families of aristocracy. Yet, Meiruo is different; Qianlong has to constantly keep in mind that the Mongolian clans are extremely key for the peace of his nation and therefore he can’t really mess with her and in other words he is quite powerless against her. Everytime she calls him out or other women or more specifically calls out Imperial Noble Consort Ling he always kinda gives into her. Imagine having that power over the Emperor when she is just a minor consort of his! This may also have been historically accurate considering she had a considerable amount of power into the Jiaqing era

b) her upbringing; as a daughter of the head of the Barin clan, you expect she was brought up quite lavishly. However, there is very little conceit. If anything, her arrogance or strength comes from her clean conscience and strong character. Unlike Yanwan, she doesn’t rely on seduction or giving into Qianlong and unlike Yuyan, her clan power and again seduction isn’t the only thing that gives her power. It is because she is straightforward like Ruyi that really attracts Qianlong and that straightforwardness and good character can be attributed to her good upbringing which is why she doesn’t resort to harming other people for power.

c) her loyalty; it is almost a connection of souls when Ruyi and she meet. Ruyi meets a lot of people and she is quite hesitant about conversing them openly (ex Bai Ruiji). Yet with Meiruo they speak openly and become good friends. She confides her fears to her and Hailan, and doesn’t behave rudely with people who might not be as favored as her. Even when she loses her child, which she could quite frankly blame Ruyi for in her moments of pain, she doesn’t. Instead, their bond only grows stronger. Though she is favored, comes from a powerful clan and could blame Ruyi for her problems and overthrow her , she doesn’t. Even though her relationship with Ruyi isn’t like that of Hailan’s, Meiruo trusts Ruyi’s character and friendship. When Jingyuan tells Yanwan that she is a horrible woman for harming Ruyi, Meiruo backs her up and isn’t afraid of the repurcussion. During Ruyi’s funeral, everyone has tears in their eyes. Hailan knows Ruyi is in a better place and is sad that she couldn’t join her while Meiruo wishes that Ruyi should have finally gained some happiness.

d) her way with words; no one is spared from her angst or shade. Yanwan, Yuyan, and even Hongli has to bear the weight of her words. She tells each and every one of them what they ought to hear. She isn’t really afraid that she’ll lose Qianlong’s favor; her morality forbids her from not spitting out the truth and that is totally admirable. Her words don’t have anger; they are always straight to the point and hits the target. When she tells Jingse about the poor upbringing Yanwan is giving to her children, she doesn’t really mince words. She lets her know what an incapable woman Yanwan is and emphasises the fact that she wishes to become an Empress, like Jingse’s mom which is what really goes through to her and results in her downfall.