Bu Bu Jing Xin (步步惊心) > Episode 1 Part I > Episode 1 Part II > Episode 1 Part III > Episode 1 Final Part
The next scene shows Ruoxi leaning against a pillar in the garden, reading a book about Song poems aloud. She soon sets the book aside with a sigh and thinks to herself that if were the modern times she would be considered a knowledgeable person, but here in the past it seems like she is half literate. She thinks to herself that it is fortunate that she is in her current body of Rouxi who is of privilege status, else she would have starved if she were elsewhere in the Qing dynasty.
She attempts to read the books again, but soon turns her attention to some ants that are crawling on a wall nearby. She ends up playing with the ants with a stick while the 10th prince sneaks up from behind her, wondering what she is doing. When he realizes that she was only playing with ants, he laughs aloud, signaling his presence to her/ The 10th prince teases her that she is a playful girl amusing herself with ants when he thought that she was seriously studying. He laughs again saying that he thought too highly of her.
Rouxi is fuming at his teasing. The 8th prince is also present; he asks her if she was studying, pointing to the book. She nods, but the 10th prince belittles her, picking up her book and waves it in the air insisting that she was not studying but playing with ants. Ruoxi narrows her eyes and replies, "Haven’t you heard there is a world in a flower, a bodhi within a leaf? Those look like ants, but they aren't really ants." The 10th blinks at her statement, while the 8th prince laughs saying that the 10th prince should study a little more.
Satisfied that she has the 10th prince dumbfounded, Ruoxi grins to herself as he is unable to retort and replies that she learned a little philosophy from Roulan. The 8th prince agrees that she does read and chant a lot.
The 10th prince changes the subject and asks Rouxi if she can recognize all the words in the book. To which she replies, “I know the words, but they do not know me. We are getting to know each other better.” The 8th prince asks her how does she do it, and she replies that she does so through guessing, earning another laugh from the 10th prince. He says that if that were possible there would be no need for teachers. The 8th prince, on the other hands, smiles to himself and moves on. The 10th prince follows, but turns around to ask Rouxi if she would like to go horse riding with them.
Wanting to get out of the house and doing something different, she readily agrees. On the way to the riding grounds, in the horse carriage, Rouxi looks out the window making small noises and muttering to herself. Her actions make the 10th prince curious and her asks her what is so interesting. But she refuses to tell him, until he promises to owe her a favor.
10th turns back, asking if she would like to go riding with them. She happily agrees, making a modern gesture of victory behind their backs. '
In the horse carriage, Rou Xi looks out of the window. She makes a small 'eh' sound before shaking her head, pulling the curtain back into place. 10th is curious and looks out of the window. He asks what she saw and Ruo Xi refuses to tell him.
He asks again, this time she demands he gives her something in return for her answer. The prince hesitates and Ruoxi assures him that it would not be anything he could not complete. He finally agrees. Ruoxi grins, stressing that the 10th prince has to remember because she has a witness, looking to the 8th prince. The 8th prince opens his eyes with a smile, and replies, "I will remember. You may tell him."
She grins again and tells him that she was initially puzzled as to why the carriage was able to move smoothly on a road that was so crowded, with people moving away from the carriage to give way to it. But the carriage did not have the banner or sign stating that it is the 8th prince carriage, so how did they know and make for the carriage. Her conclusion was that those who live within the city would be aware that only high-ranking officials would ride such a carriage. So even though they do not know who is in the carriage, making way would make everyone's life easy.
They finally reach the riding grounds, the 10th prince criticizes each of the horses that are presented insisting that there is a problem with them. So the 8th prince offers his precious and most gentle horse, Ling Long, for Rouxi to ride. The 10th prince is surprised that the 8th prince readily offered his precious horse, which is unlike him.
While waiting for Ling Long, Rouxi sees the 8th prince mounting his horse for a ride, and thinks to herself in admiration that he is handsome. Ling Long is soon saddled and Rouxi mounts it with much persuasion from the 10th prince as she is nervous, and admits that she does not know how to ride. The 10th prince laughs at her but offers to hold the reins for her while she is on the horse. The 8th prince rides off while Rouxo watches him, while the 10th prince leads her on Ling Long to a small clearing.
When she is back home, Rouxi excitedly tells her sister about her interesting day, praising Ling Long’s fine qualities and that its name suits it. Roulan looks on in surprise and Rouxi asks if she knows how to ride. Roulan asks her if she does not remember again and Rouxi nods slowly, with slight tension in her expression.
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