Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花 - Episode 18 (Recap)

kakashi: This episode is a bit fillery, but the cuteness of Su Su and Ye Hua makes up for an awful lot. I know it's like the last evening of summer, before everything turns cold and dreary. Ye Hua's grand plan of dying in front of everyone ... ABORT, you fool!!!!
JoAnne: Seriously.  How could such a smart guy come up with such a stupid plan?

Episode 18

While Su Su has to listen to that delirious princess' ramblings about how she will make Ye Hua immortal, Ye Hua visits wounded soldiers. So this conflict with the Mermen, it has long since turned violent? Ye Hua notices that all of them honor Die Feng - naturally, since he has been doing all the fighting, not his uncle.
That also caught me by surprise, but I guess so.

Just in case you care for the Water King (okay, you don't, but hear me out), it is somehow understandable he has been trying to be friends with the Mermen. He has no sons and the Celestial Army is far away - it's either suck up to them or be conquered by them. Ye Hua knows how to fix this problem: be ruthless and leave no survivors. Uhm, darling ... that's genocide. Why don't you come to my tent (alone) and I will give you a lesson in international law? 
Okay, you teach him about international law. I'll teach him about international relations.

Morale is relatively low among the men at the camp - and most seem injured, some severe - but Die Feng introduces Ye Hua as the Crown Prince and that changes everything. He is their hope for peace ... or rather, their hope for an army to squash the Mermen.
He's my hope too. But not for squashing.  

At the entrance of the camp, Su Su has started to feel unwell. She is gagging! She saw an injured soldier, all bloody, and it made her want to throw up. They bring her to a clean tent and fetch an army physician to check on her. The verdict is ... this young man has the pulse of someone who is pregnant! WOOOOOOT! Way to blow your cover, haha.
That poor doctor, I was laughing.

How efficient, Ye Hua! He sends everyone out and then hugs her ... he seems happy and worried at the same time. He decides to send her back immediately ... or at least as soon as possible.
So cute. They aren't going to let us have this for long, are they Kakashi...

He cooks something delicious for her again (where did he learn how to cook?) and she asks him what he was like as a child. Well, one thing is certain, his mother had a very tough time giving birth to him (seven days in labor). He also tells her how he was separated from his mother at birth and how much he had to study every day (14 hours straight).
Poor little tyke.

He watches her sleep after this, a happy smile on his face and his hand on her belly. But the smiles fades and the worry comes back. 
I loved having my belly rubbed. Maybe I was a cat before, or a dog.

Oh, Li Yuan has arrived at the Mermen! But the king keeps him rudely waiting and then isn't particularly happy to see him. Li Yuan wants troops? Keep dreaming. And fuck off. They chase them away. Haha, that was short and painful.
I had to laugh - this guy has such dreams of grandeur and they always gets smashed so easily.

Mermen Daddy is drunk and should attend a banquet at the Water King's palace later ... to choose a wife. He sends his youngest son instead (wow, they're ugly), to choose a wife for his father. The Mermaid King will certainly take the woman, but he doesn't even start to think about stopping his plans to take over Chang Sea.
The gill/fin things. I keep laughing.

The Water King has his younger daughter Lu Xiu in mind for the Mermen. The "young prince" thinks he wants this pretty maiden for himself! It looks like he will get what he wants when a soldier appears, with some "urgent" message about some military affairs. The Mermaid Prince perks up. Military affairs? The Water King tries to calm his guest down, but Die Feng appears with Ye Hua in tow. Time to stop the charade?
Looks like the party is over, Fish Boy.

Oh yes, the Crown Prince is angry. The Water King claims, cowering, that he has carried out all his duties, but Crown Prince is not convinced. The Mermen have kept hurting civilians and the Water King never called for help. Also, he is currying favor with a son of the Mermaid King and tries to cover up a mutiny! (what mutiny?). Anyway, kingly Ye Hua is sexy.
I guess that the son will take the bride meant for the father?

Since he is severely pressured now, the Water King has the Mermen seized ... and beheaded. Because the Water King is dead scared now, he asks the Crown Prince for military help. Mission accomplished! They send the Mermaid King the head of his son and now war is certain.
Fish Dad did seem quite broken up about his son, at least.

Su Su does Ye Hua's hair ... and then he takes her back to their hut. It's pouring rain, but nice and cozy (if super dusty) inside. Sadly, he has to leave again ... but he promises to be back for the birth of their child. That's less than a day, Ye Hua, you know that?
I want to do his hair.
#lifegoals 

He stresses that she cannot, must not step foot outside this forest when he is gone. He says she could be "easily found by his family" now that she is with his child. It won't be good if she is found. So cryptic again, damn. "Wait for me", he says ... and he will find a place where he can plant the ten miles of peach trees for her.
I just want to slap him upside his damn head right now.

He hides the hut when he leaves, like before ... but will this be enough?
I know the question is rhetorical...

Ye Hua brings the Water King's plea for troops to his grandfather and gets a month to subdue the Mermaid Clan. A month?! Oh shit. "Seven days", Ye Hua says. That's still seven years, but we know Ye Hua has plans. Uncle Three still thinks Ye Hua is crazy (he even gets a bit angry at him), but Ye Hua has no doubts. And again, the warning: be very careful about the Heavenly Lord. He won't be spoofed easily.
You look like you might be worried, Ye Hua.

Outside Ye Hua's palace, Su Jin awaits (there are many maids cleaning under her watchful eye because they're expecting Ye Hua to get married soon ... when Bai Qian comes out of seclusion). Damn, Ye Hua looks SO ANNOYED whenever he sees her. He also does not look at her at all. Uncle Three tells her they are headed for Consort Le Xu's.
I love how he treats her. It's practically my favorite thing in this drama. Never, for not one minute, does he give her even the slightest shred of hope. That doesn't matter when you're batshit crazy, of course, but I still love watching him ignore her.

On their way there, about a thousand maids congratulate the Crown Prince on his upcoming wedding. I bet Ye Hua doesn't feel all that great - even less so when he comes face to face with his mother, who is so glad to see him. This is a goodbye, but Ye Hua cannot, with no word and no gesture, admit this. His mother is sad, of course ... that she is so distant from her son, that she wasn't allowed to be his mother.
Bye, Mom.

She is very sentimental ... and says she's anxious about the upcoming military campaign. Ack, horrible. Okay, Ye Hua is almost crying now. But I guess she doesn't know her son well enough to see how deeply moved he is.
I joke, but he does love his mama.

Down in the mortal realm, Su Su is sad and lonely. She has a small baby bump and tells her child she feels like a mistress.
He treats her like one. I know that's not his intention but his secretive behavior just makes me mad.

And then, it's time for war. Just like Mo Yuan, Ye Hua sports some fantastic communication device on his head! Third Uncle is in armor too. And .... I'll be damned. Su Jin! Su Jin is there, in armor! Uncle Three takes her outside, to rather politely but firmly tell her she's insane. She cannot even lift a sword! But she "wants to live or die with the Crown Prince".
You do have to respect her commitment to the game. But man, do I hate her.

At that, our favorite uncle tells her to quit this shit. She cannot have Ye Hua. But she is all "who can predict what will happen in the Celestial Palace?" Horrible. Horrible! Quick, have a picture of Uncle Three, looking good.

I hope he at least gets back together with Cheng Lu at the end. He's such a good guy at heart.

Ye Hua orders the troops out this very night. Everyone thinks that is much too hasty! But that will be their advantage, says the Crown Prince - nobody expects them to attack so quickly. When they're alone, Uncle Three warns Ye Hua again; now that Su Jin is around, faking his death will have to be done even more convincingly. "Being cut by the Mermaid Clan's Soul Slayer is sure death", says the Crown Prince. WTF, man.

Okay, he's so handsome he's even handsome in his little tin man weathervane hat.

He is confident he can calculate exactly how much he will let himself be cut - so that his wound is truly severe, but he won't die. Of his uncle, he asks to be brought to a secret location afterwards - and have him report to the Heavenly Lord that he disintegrate like smoke. He wants to be free.

That's true love, there. For an idiot.

Comments

OMG I want to scream! Uncle Three should not let him do this!!!! But I guess he cannot be stopped. This seems like the only hope for him and Su Su and he is so desperate. A child! How can he bear to even miss one second of his child's life!

He does have pretty compelling reasons for wanting to opt out, I will admit that.

I feel very sorry for him, actually. The moment he fell in love with a mortal woman, his life got derailed ... but not only his life, her life, too. And the life of the people he cares for up in heaven, though there aren't too many of those. Uncle Three time and again questions his decision by mentioning his duty as a Crown Prince. Indeed, by trying to disappear, he becomes a traitor to his own people, so to say - and it is so not like him. He may think that his love to Su Su is everything he needs right now, but in the long run? What will happen then? Will he not feel deep remorse and guilt for abandoning his people? He keeps saying that they will easily find another Crown Prince, but come on! You know exactly how much effort the Heavenly Lord put into you, how many hours he prepared you to be the Crown Prince. Another? Easily? Hardly. 

I just keep thinking that even if he abdicates he's still immortal - he's doing this knowing that he will spend thousands of years without her, once she gets old and dies. The smart thing would have been to quit early on, before he truly fell in love. That wouldn't be much of a story, though.

So, this is pure desperation and everybody can tell him that it is a stupid, stupid, reckless idea. I'm very much afraid now.
Yeah, this won't end well.