#ZhangGongAn update: book Xu Deng is definitely not the same character as series Xu Dong, although I still think there might be some inspiration there. (It might also be wishful thinking, because I liked series Xu Dong so much.)
#ZhangGongAn The murder of Ma Lian (conceited rich scholar) happens in the book as well, but it’s tied into a bigger mystery that made my head spin. I… think I understand what happened?
I like how the bigger story involves lost manuscripts and hinges on recognising which famous calligrapher’s handwriting was used as a model by a particular scholar! But I’m still not really sure how Wang Yan’s delinquent younger brother got pulled into the whole thing. (The bit where Wang Yan slapped him and yelled at him was great, though.)
#ZhangGongAn: I am obsessed with the Lan Jue-Wang Yan-Gu Qingzhang (Shulin)-Liu Zhihui dynamics in the flashback scenes here; it’s even messier than in the show. (For one thing, instead of unnamed scholar friends on the periphery, it’s Liu Zhihui, a single troublesome dude getting involved.)
#ZhangGongAn: Also obsessed with Zhang Ping being every bit as autistic rep as in the show, and how much he infuriates Lan Jue, to the point where he feels himself regressing back to the old self who hadn’t spent ten years pretending to be refined and serene. 😂
LJ: “You don’t understand, I was just different from them, a different kind of person, and it was very hard for me!”
ZP: “All people are different from one another.”
LJ, sulking to himself: You’re different too! Why doesn’t it bother you?!?!
Meanwhile, Chen Chou, wandering through the snow in the gathering gloom, being directed to a place to shelter by an old woodcutter who then suddenly vanishes and discovering that it’s an old, abandoned temple full of cobwebs: Why do all the genre tropes have to happen to me?!
#ALeagueOfNobleman gave us so much and I would never complain, but it did hold back the scene where Lan Jue faints while being impeached in front of the Emperor* and wakes with his son howling at the bedside, officers from the Ministry of War turning his room upside down, and an expressionless** Wang Yan standing at the head of the bed to inform him he’s been… poisoned!
Then a messenger comes in to say that Dali Temple wants to take over the case from the Ministry of Justice because it’s so politically important and Wang Yan gets to tear his head off. 😄
it’s Wednesday
** I know, that’s what it says in the text, but we can all imagine his expression
The emperor: congratulations on doing so well, Zhang Ping! I’m promoting you to be a county magistrate!
Zhang Ping: mn.
The emperor: congratulation on doing so well, Lan Jue! I know you asked for a vacation, but instead I’m promoting you to babysit my delinquent little brother who just caused an international incident and got expelled to the countryside!
Lan Jue: th-this unqualified lowlife thanks his majesty for his holy grace 😰
Zhang Ping, getting to know the lie of the land before he takes up office: this is a nice town
Innkeeper: it’s all thanks to the old county magistrate, who redeveloped the two main streets, invited prestigious banks to build branches here, gave jobs to all the beggars who could work, and put just business laws in place! 😍 what a shame he was forced out by wicked politics.
Zhang Ping: mn
Innkeeper: by the way, do make time to see our principal tourist attraction, Granny’s Temple of Definitely Not Sacrificing Any Small Children, No Sir
Zhang Ping has a new boss who can’t stand him, thinks he’s a smartass sent to spy on him, and keeps yelling at him… and he’s right (except for the spying part)! Get that boy some forensic rigour, Feng Tai!
Zhang Ping, meanwhile, is grateful for all these useful tips. His new boss really cares about helping him improve! It gives him a warm feeling.
POV: the guy who took your job after you got fired for bullshit political reasons has just stopped you from jumping off a mountain and now he’s dragging you all over the county to “solve a murder mystery” that somehow involves backtalking the Queen Mother’s eunuchs and destroying everything you tried to build up. You keep telling yourself you don’t care because you’re totally going to kill yourself properly as soon as you get the chance, but then finding yourself wrestling this arsehole in a back room of the yamen, with your teeth in his neck? And the worst part is, he thinks you’re both having a great time working together!
#ZhangGongAn: after putting this book aside for several weeks, I’m back!
Many thanks to past me for writing this thread so I could refresh my memory of what’s going on. Unfortunately, the current mystery is deeply connected to nuances of Daoist texts, the bagua, feng shui, and character riddles, none of which Google Translate has handled well. I’ve been skimming through Lan Peizhi, Wang Mowen and Zhang Ping being impressed with one another’s cleverness & just assuming they’re correct about it.
@villainousfriend I've no clue why bat gua is gossip though! Actually come to think of it, maybe that's what your original question is about. Oops. Sorry. Now I am also wondering why it's slang for gossipy/nosy
@geraineon I finally watched the whole video this morning and that was really cute - I subscribed to her channel. :) (Although that's pretty much symbolic with the amount of youtube I watch.)
@geraineon According to Chinese wiki/forums, there are generally a few theories behind bat gua = gossip.
When tea houses told their stories in the old days, the shop was often shaped in the form of a bat gua, and eventually 'story-telling' evolved into bat gua and generalised into listening in aka keeping an ear out for gossip.
HK gossip magazines imitated Brit adult magazines and posted photos of naked women in order to increase their sales but were scared the society would spit on them too so certain parts of the photo was covered by a bat gua picture, and eventually bat gua = gossip
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