BBJX Episode 6-10

All taken from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com

 Bu Bu Jing Xin: Ep 6

“I just want to find someone who truly loves and treasures me. Not a someone a man plays with in his free time. I’m a person, not a thing. I don’t want to be passed around.”

Ruo Xi rejects 8th’s offer to become his wife. But she doesn’t want to become the Emperor’s concubine either. So, 8th uses all his connections to try to get Ruo Xi out of the concubine selections.
[insert rant here] I understand that Ruo Xi simply wants to find true love, and not be treated as a possession. But in her situation, 8th, 10th, and 13th are as good as you can get. I think it’d be better to just go with one of the princes rather than risk being stuck in the palace as the emperor’s concubine. In JPLH, Qing Chuan + emperor wasn’t even considered. Hopefully Ruo Xi will completely avoid getting together with the emperor. o_o I bet they’re only taking this route to show the palace life and the beautiful Forbidden City.

Ruo Xi enters the palace as a servant. If she doesn’t become a concubine, she has to stay a servant from age 20 to 24. Serve 4 years as a servant, be the emperors concubine, or be 8th bro’s wife? HMMMM.
[insert another rant here] 8th bro wants to marry Ruo Xi. It’s been CONFIRMED by his own words. I’m still kinda weirded out by this pair. What ever happened to 4th? Anyway, at least 8th understands that if Ruo Xi marries him, it should be her own choice, not forced upon her.

4th bro & 14th bro have a great bromance, as they both appeal to the Empress to take Ruo Xi off the concubine selection list. I love the bromance in BBJX. Ruo Xi ends up being the Emperor’s personal tea servant. She quickly becomes the Head Tea Servant, and has two other subordinate servants. lol, leave it to them to be incredibly serious about tea. 8th tells her he’ll try to get her out of the palace when he gets the chance. I think Ruo Xi’s responses to 8th bro’s advances are rather ambiguous. I mean..he’s holding her hand and such, promising to get her out of the palace…for what (*hint hint* HE WANTS THE WEDDING BELLS TO RING!) I think Ruo Xi thinks that since she already rejected him, 8th got the marriage idea out of his head. Nope, not at all.
4TH BRO SCENE!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!

Ruo Xi asked 14th to find out 4th’s likes and dislikes. 4th, being the super smart guy he is, figures out that 14th was just asking for Ruo Xi. So he confronts her and tells her she might as well ask all these questions directly. Ruo Xi obliges and quizzes him on what he likes/hates.

“What’s your favorite fruit? Grapes.” *they both awkwardly look at 4th’s purple clothes* ROFL.
“What weather do you hate most? Scorching hot days.”

“That’s because you’re an ice block.”

“What are you most scared of? Crying women.” OMG I LOVE THAT ONE. 4th says all this with a completely straight face.

Um, I’m on 4th’s side now. He’s just so much funnier than 8th. And I like his overall composure–he’s calm, collected, and super observant/smart. He always looks like he’s evaluating the situation in his mind. I really need more 4th bro scenes!!

Bu Bu Jing Xin: Ep 7-10 (Caps)

 

Ruo Xi attempts to avoid 4th bro, but fails. 13th points out that 4th was the one who interceded for her and got her off the concubine list. Ruo Xi maintains a safe distance from him, carefully giving him her thanks. This scene is SO beautiful with the autumn leaves, omg.

We get another stunning shot as the camera zooms in on Ruo Xi & 8th bro. Basically, every 8th bro/Ruo Xi scene feels the same, even though they are filmed beautifully. 4th bro scenes are much more memorable to me.

Ruo Xi gets to go on an expedition with all the royal family. It’s basically like a family trip. 13th meets a Mongolian princess who’s great at dancing and horseback riding. They become friends and there’s some hints at a possible romance. Ruo Xi gains the Emperor’s favor by designing intricate tea cups, one for each prince. 4th gets a magnolia design, because magnolias are his favorite flowers. D’AWWW.

Ruo Xi asks for horseback riding lessons from 13th. But both nights he’s supposed to teach her, 4th bro shows up in his place. Ruo Xi makes up excuses to try and get 4th bro to leave, but fails. 4th bro teachers her how to ride under a full moon.
My only qualms about this scene was that it was so obviously not real. The grass was obviously animated, and you could tell there was a backdrop. It would’ve been better if they actually filmed out in a field.

The second night, Ruo Xi tries to leave, but 4th bro grabs her arm and pulls her in for a hug. AND THEN HE KISSES HER.
OMG. GO 4TH BRO!!!!!!
Ruo Xi struggles and bites him. 4th bro is undeterred, and says he thought that’s what she wanted. You can’t blame 4th bro, I mean..she always avoids him and even gave him a magnolia tea cup. Ruo Xi is kinda sending him mixed signals here, no wonder 4th is confused. I was surprised when he took the initiative. And he’s so frank about it!

Ruo Xi is infuriated by 4th bro’s bold move. Even 13th assumes that she likes 4th bro. She gets mad at him, and he cutely does the ‘Ok’ sign with his hand. OMG, I love 13th!!!! Ruo Xi wonders why she’s getting misunderstood by everyone. She tells herself she has to be careful not to mess up, as she silently sheds a tear.

Ruo Xi is warming up to 8th bro. She has an obvious crush on him now. 8th bro sends her letters and presents frequently. I’m still weirded out by 8th bro hitting on his wife’s sister. And shouldn’t Ruo Xi be a bit weirded out too? I mean, she’s from the future where guys don’t have multiple wives. O_O

Time for another pretty 4th/Ruo Xi scene!!! 4th starts walking toward Ruo Xi. She backs up and almost trips, but 4th CATCHES HER WITH ONE ARM. He says that he doesn’t regret kissing her. AHHH!!!!! I just love 4th bro scenes so much.
Crown Prince is demoted by the Emperor. Suddenly all the princes are trying to gain the title of Crown Prince. Ruo Xi is determined not to let history happen, because she knows that 8th bro will get demoted. But she fails, and 8th bro gets demoted anyway.
By episode 10, Ruo Xi has been in the past for three years. Uh, what? I felt like it’s only been a year at the most. This really puts things into perspective, showing just how long Ruo Xi has been friends with 13th, and how long she’s been serving in the palace. By now, she’s adjusted so much to being Ruo Xi that it’s natural to her. I think they could’ve focused a bit more on her inner turmoil as she tries to come to terms with being in the past.

OMG I love 4th bro. 4th and 8th visit Ruo Xi to drink tea. 4th bro broods over how he got blamed by 14th & his mom for not speaking up on 14th’s behalf. Ruo Xi demurely hands 4th bro a fragrant tea thingy, (I really have no clue what it is) and 4th bro takes it from her WITH THIS LOOK IN HIS EYES. OMG. The piano song during that moment is so perfect!!! It’s so bittersweet, just like this scene.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE 4TH BRO!!!

“I can’t control my feet. Why do I always have to follow him? 8th Prince, to love him, I can’t do it. Don’t love him. I can’t forget him. What should I do?”

BBJX episode 5 (from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com)

Bu Bu Jing Xin: Ep 5

 

Ming Yu is actually LIKABLE for once, as she shows off her amazing horse riding skills. I give her credit for that. Then she taunts Ruo Xi & Ruo Lan, hinting that they should have great skills too. 10th tries to keep Ming Yu in line, but the poor guy is obviously overpowered by her. Poor poor 10th. He seems to have accepted his marriage though. Ming Yu paired with 10th is actually kinda cute, when she’s not being a brat. Ruo Lan steps up to the challenge and displays her horse riding skills. 8th looks on in pride.

Here’s where I ship 8th and Ruo Lan SO MUCH. I mean, they’re already married, they might as well end up together.
8th gets to talk to Ruo Lan alone, and begs her to forgive and forget. He doesn’t want her to be so unhappy and cold toward him. He wants to do all he can to make her happy. But, Ruo Lan continues to carefully treat him with reserved respect. Which gets me wondering what 8th bro did so wrong that Ruo Lan has been avoiding him all these years.

8th: “Ruo Lan, what do I have to do to give you happiness? We’re already married. Will the rest of our lives be like this? We can’t even count as acquaintances!”
Ruo Lan: “If Bei’li is willing, I’m willing to be so.”
8th: “Ruo Lan, I’m unwilling! I would rather you be angry at me or hate me. I will try my best to repay you.”

Poor poor 8th. Unrequited love always hurts.
Later on, we find out the back story–Ruo Lan loved the guy who taught her how to horseback ride, but she was forced into the marriage with 8th. 8th/Emperor sent the guy to the frontlines of the battlefield, so he died. Ruo Lan miscarried her baby when she heard about his death. So to this day she can’t forget him.
OH. SO IT’S THE UNREQUITED LOVE CARD!!! COMBINED with the forced-unhappy-marriage card!

Now that Ruo Xi can’t be besties with 10th, she’s moved on to 13th. 13th is my favorite prince aside from 10th. Why doesn’t Ruo Xi just marry 13th? 13th is fascinated by the concept of ‘democracy’ which he heard from Ruo Xi’s drunken talk. He speculates that in a different society, people could all be equal, chase their own happiness, and be free from the emperor’s control. Um, if 13th isn’t compatible with Ruo Xi, I don’t know who is.
She even gets him to do the PEACE SIGN with her. They are so cute together!! WHY AREN’T THEY THE OTP?!?!? They talk about self-determination and revolutionary ideas! They’re ‘ancient people with modern ideas’!

13th and Ruo Xi become drinking buddies, along with a very intelligent courtesan. Ruo Xi, 13th, and the courtesan are just about the most progressive thinkers out there so far. 13th can’t bear to see Ruo Xi suffocated by the palace life if she gets chosen by the Emperor. The courtesan comments that it’s a pity she was born in this era.

Erm, these screenshots are simply because this scene was so PRETTY, especially the middle right pic, with the blurred beads for bokeh. And the bottom two pics–I love the angle!!! Anyway, 8th bro is still kinda confusing, because he randomly gives Ruo Xi an expensive bracelet. Er….

“Dad, Mom, I miss you so much. How can I not miss you? If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid I’ll forget who I am. Heavens, just who am I? Am I Ruo Xi or Zhang Xiao?”

On New Year’s Eve, Ruo Xi realizes that she even forgot to pray for her parents. (a custom on New Year’s) She broods over how she’s scared of forgetting herself. I enjoyed this little bit of self-reflection because it’s bound to come up when you’ve switched bodies, thus switching identities. How can she stay true to who she really is, rather than just adapting to the role of Ruo Xi?
8th randomly appears and comforts her. Um, ok? Aside from how beautiful the scenes are with 8th/Ruo Xi, I don’t really get what’s up with his random appearances and gestures of kindness. I’m a bit confused. So far though, I think 8th should just treat Ruo Xi like a daughter or a niece. After all, she is his sister-in-law. Aside from the amazingly shippy moments, I’m not really shipping him with Ruo Xi. Because she and 13th are meant to be, although they’re not the OTP.

BBJX episode 3-4 (from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com)

Episode 3
 

Time for Ruo Xi to enter the Forbidden City! All the princes and family celebrate a special summer festival. Here’s where I feel terribly for 10th. The Emperor notes that he’s ‘of marriageable age’…and in a moment of STUPIDITY, decides to pair 10th with MING YU. THE LOOK ON POOR 10TH’S FACE. And right at that moment, literally ALL the other princes looked down and GRIMACED for poor 10th. (All these subtle details are actually humorous to me) I FEEL SO SORRY FOR 10TH.

Ruo Xi broods over 10th’s horrible engagement, and begins to realize that life in the Forbidden City isn’t glamorous at all.

Why? Isn’t he a prince? Doesn’t he have a high status? Why is it that someone with such a high status has lost something so precious? Freedom? Is this the fate of everyone in the Forbidden City?
“Why is it that our fates can be decided by a single word from the Emperor? Why was I brought here…The education I’ve received taught me that my destiny is in my own hands. Now I’m suddenly told that everything is up to fate. Resign myself to fate? I’ll never do that.”

Understandably, Ruo Xi is now conflicted over what her own fate will be. If she never returns the the present, will she be stuck in an unhappy marriage like 10th? Of course, she wants to decide her own destiny, but now she has to come to terms with the controlling Emperor who has everyone in the palm of his hands. I like this conflict a lot, as it shows that Ruo Xi is now beginning to understand the rules of this society more and more.
Episode 4

Ruo Xi mopes around, as she ponders the woes of life and 10th’s cruel fate. In actuality, she’s just angry that the emperor has the power to control her life. She bitterly tells 8th and 13th that this marriage is being forced on 10th by a certain SOMEONE. Oh no. You DO NOT speak against the emperor. 8th bro is infuriated and harshly warns her never to say that again. 13th explains that the Emperor is the authority, and is never to be questioned. I think Ruo Xi is being more self-centered in her moping–she’s not mourning the fate of 10th, but rather, her own fate.

OMG 10TH IS KILLING ME. He’s been drinking away his troubles the past couple days. Ruo Xi goes to comfort him. OMG the disappointed look in 10th’s eyes when Ruo Xi flatly REJECTS HIM.

“Are you willing to be my Ce-fujin? I’ll treat you well! I promise..”
“I’m not willing.”
“I know. Even if I ask you to be my Di-fujin, you wouldn’t agree…Now, it’s even more impossible.”

“Ruo Xi, have you ever liked me?”

“I did.”

AND THEN 10TH REACHES FOR HER HAND…BUT SHE DRAWS AWAY…AND HE STOPS. OMG. This is the saddest hand-holding-attempt scene ever. AND THE MUSIC IS SO PERFECT.

“Actually, I’m still happy. The truth is, these past two days, I’ve wanted to ask you face to face, but was scared to hear your answer. Scared it’d be an answer I didn’t want. So I didn’t ask.”

I love 10th so much. He says that he’s never been good at studying, and will never catch up to his amazing brothers. Only 8th bro treats him well. Everyone else talks about him behind his back. Ruo Xi assures him that she’s happy when she’s with him.
[insert rant here] I really felt the heartache in this scene. I feel SO BAD for 10th. Yes, Ruo Xi rejected him gracefully, and I understand why she did–she only views him as her good friend. BUT. BUT. I think she has so many other things to consider. IF she’s stuck here for the rest of her life, would she want to risk an unhappy arranged marriage with some other random guy? Or would she rather spend her whole life with her bestie? And you know 10th is completely earnest! But, you gotta remember the “decide your own destiny” theme, which I think will be a biggie in BBJX. I’m still really disappointed, and I shall mourn 10th’s fate.

So, now that the drama with 10th is done, I guess the directors decided to give us a 8th/Ruo Xi shippy moment. AKA the most beautiful scene yet. Ruo Xi goes out walking in the snow. We get a beautiful shot of the icicles on the tree, and Ruo Xi catching a snowflake in her hand. So pretty!!! Suddenly 8th bro starts walking next to Ruo Xi. They plod on in the snow.

Ruo Xi trips, and 8th quickly catches her. There’s a moment of tension between the two.

She pulls away her hand.

AND THEN HE HOLDS HER HAND. AND WALKS WITH HER THE ENTIRE WAY…HOLDING HER HAND. OMG. This amazingly executed shippy moment is just not possible in the modern day. This is the whole she-trips-and-he-catches-her scene DONE RIGHT.
[insert rant here] OK. Am I the only one a little freaked out by 8th making a move on Ruo Xi? I mean, she’s his wife’s younger sister! Yeah, in those times, things were different (concubines, first & second wives, etc.) but STILL.

10th, understandably, doesn’t want to marry Ming Yu. He accuses 8th bro, saying that he doesn’t even love his first wife.

“Even if you have all the riches in the world, sacrifices must be made…Love between a man and a woman is but a lovely dream. It is not everlasting.”

10th bravely puts on his hat in preparation for the wedding. 10th, I applaud your courage.

This episode is on a roll. 13th gets his scene too. I LOVE 13TH! He takes Ruo Xi out to go drinking. In the woods. He’s loaded his horse with bottles of alcohol and is determined to drink them ALL. Ruo Xi isn’t pleased because she has a bad impression of 13th. I, on the other hand, would be thrilled.
Ruo Xi quickly gets drunk and spills the beans to 13th that she’s from the future. 13th isn’t affected by the alcohol at all.

BBJX episode 2 (from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com)

^top left pic-10th bro’s expression is HILARIOUS. Ruo Xi is bored out of her mind, and starts talking to ants. Suddenly 10th pops up out of no where, and sits there next to her with the FUNNIEST SMILE EVER.

^love the bottom right angle through the embroidery holder

8th bro and 10th bro invite Ruo Xi to go riding with them. The whole way, 10th bro and Ruo Xi bicker. And…8th bro just sits there with his eyes closed. The entire time. ROFL, this made me crack up so much even though I’m not sure it’s intentional humor.
Ruo Xi is eager to ride the horse…but she doesn’t know how to horseback ride. 10th teases her for not knowing how to even after she acted like a know-it-all. She makes him hold the reins and lead the horse. LOL these two are so adorable together.
Ruo Xi tries to hint to Jie Jie that she ought to go out with 8th bro more often. (note that 8th bro is Jie Jie’s husband) Jie Jie keeps quiet, but accidentally pricks her finger. There’s definitely more to her marriage angst than meets the eye. Qiao Hui (Ruo Xi’s maid) ambiguously says that sometimes in a marriage, the two people are certainly fated to be together, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy together. *hint hint unhappy arranged marriage*

^Can the cinematography get any better? LOVE LOVE LOVE the angle showing the tree, and the bottom two pics where the tree is blurred, and Ruo Xi ponders 4th’s words.

Um. I really love 4th bro. Ruo Xi sees him, and just about dies inside as she tries to pretend she didn’t see him and walk away. Buuuut he calls her out on it, observing that she doesn’t seem to want to see him. She lies that that’s not true. He promptly says that he thinks she doesn’t want him to talk about why she wanted to seek death.

4th bro: “Seeking for death, but looking for life. Since you don’t want to say it, then fine.”
Ruo Xi: “…you’re walking around in a dream, once you’re in a dream, you want to wake up, but you can’t. What would you do?”
4th bro: “6 words. Make the best you can out of it. Understand? Strong wood breaks easily.”
Me: *gawks, in awe of 4th bro*

As Ruo Xi ponders his words, I ponder his words also. Make the best you can out of it. Ruo Xi takes his words to heart and decides to cheer herself up.

^top right pic: Gotta have the bromance.

Everyone is preparing for 10th’s bday celebration. He asks casually if Jie Jie is going to organize his celebration. The other brothers ask if he wants Ruo Xi to plan his bday party. 10th attempts to deny it, BUT YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE. HE IS SO ADORABLE THAT WAY.

Ruo Xi finds out that Jie Jie isn’t highly esteemed by the servants because 8th bro doesn’t visit her often. So they think she’s not favored by him. *recalls all the drama in JPLH where the different wives battled over the emperor’s affections*
Unfortunately, we cannot escape from all the wifey-drama in JPLH. 8th bro’s other wife is in competition with Jie Jie. Her bratty sister, Ming Yu, ATTEMPTS to bully Ruo Xi, but epically fails because Ruo Xi doesn’t know who she is, and frankly doesn’t care who she is. Ruo Xi has a faint memory of her pushing her down the stairs. OHOHO, so that’s why she fell!!!
Ruo Xi makes 10th spit out everything he knows about the wife that bullies Jie Jie. He admits that she and her daughter are quite the scheming pair. They even dare to insult him! Ruo Xi just goes, oh. 10th: HEY! To get even with the brat, Ruo Xi sets a huge dog loose, right near Ming Yu. I LOVE HER GUTS. Poor 10th bro just gets caught up in the middle of it all. Ruo Xi sarcastically says “Little animal, no humanity. Don’t blame 10th prince!” and bursts out laughing.

^The end result of Ming Yu & Ruo Xi’s fight. I feel so bad for 10th bro.

BBJX (from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com)

These are taken off from www.mydramatea.wordpress.com . I love how she wrote about the story , but I took the liberty to edit some of it with my own words as well and share it with my friends reading this...

Enjoy....

Bu Bu Jing Xin: Ep 1

Gorgeous scenery!!!

So, Ruo Xi  is at the palace of 8th bro. At first she doesn’t believe she’s in the past, but she quickly realizes that this is reality. She finds out that she (or, the real princess) fell down the stairs and got a head injury.  So, even though she’s disoriented, has a different personality, questions everything, the maid thinks she’s simply lost her memory.   
Ruo Xi puts two and two together, and concludes that to get back to the present, she must fall down from the stairs again. But she decides not to when her maid begs her not to.

IT’S 8TH PRINCE!!

Ruo Xi’s other genius plan? Get run over by a horse. That’ll get you back to the present. I admire her guts, but she made the wrong decision to stand in front of 4th bro and 13th bro’s horses. Because they are gentlemanly, chivalrous PRINCES who are able to stop their horses from trampling over her. 13th bro immediately gets off his horse to help Ruo Xi…

AND OMG. 13TH BRO FOR THE WIN.

4th bro has this strong, composed air about him. He may not seem as openly concerned as 13th bro, but he is quite observant and wise. He knows that Ruo Xi purposely tried to get run over, and he warns her not to try it again. 

….And then there’s 10th bro. I think this picture pretty much sums it up. He is hilarious. He stares at Ruo Xi while he’s eating. She smirks at him, and surprises him completely. But then she downs a lot of rice..and starts choking on her food, and he smirks AT HER. I rather love these two.

BBJX plot, cast and pictures

Zhang Xiao (Cecilia Liu), a young woman from the 21st century, suffers a near-fatal accident that sends her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's (Damian Lau) reign. She finds herself trapped in the body of one of her previous incarnations: Ma'ertai Ruoxi, the teenage daughter of a Manchu general. In this new timeline she has an elder sister, Ruolan (Annie Liu), who is a concubine of the Kangxi Emperor's eighth son, Yinsi (Kevin Cheng). Ruoxi initially tries to return to the future, but she soon adjusts to life in this era. She meets some of Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen (Nicky Wu), tenth prince Yin'e (Ye Zuxin), and fourteenth prince Yinti (Lin Gengxin). She also forges a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang (Yuan Hong).
During Ruoxi's stay in Yinsi's house, Yinsi falls in love with her. She initially rejects him but later agrees to marry him if he gives up competing for the succession to the throne. Since she is from the future, Ruoxi is aware that Yinsi's ambition will ultimately lead to his death in prison after Yinzhen becomes emperor.
After breaking up with Yinsi, Ruoxi's interaction with Yinzhen changes her unfavorable opinion of him, and she unwittingly falls in love with him. Meanwhile, Yinsi and his supporters, acting on Ruoxi's advice, frame Yinzhen for plotting against the crown prince Yinreng (Zhang Lei). Yinxiang steps forward to take responsibility and is ultimately sentenced to house arrest. After this incident, Yinsi realizes that Ruoxi is now romantically involved with Yinzhen. Yinreng is deposed after his criminal ways are exposed and is imprisoned for life. Kangxi then begins showing preference for Yinti and offers Ruoxi as a concubine to him. However, Ruoxi boldly defies the emperor's order, and as a penalty she is demoted to the laundry department.
Kangxi eventually dies of illness, and with military support from Longkodo (Zhao Jialin) and Nian Gengyao (Xing Hanqing), Yinzhen stages a coup and seizes the throne from Yinti to become the Yongzheng Emperor. Yinzhen then releases Yinxiang from custody and makes Ruoxi his consort. Ruoxi's happiness, however, is marred by Yinzhen's paranoia and his ruthless persecution of Yinsi and his followers. She is often caught between the rivaling factions of Yinzhen and Yinsi.
When Yinsi's wife (Shi Xiaoqun) tells Ruoxi that Yinsi acted against Yinzhen years ago because of her advice based on the knowledge of the future, she is shocked, and her despair causes her to miscarry Yinzhen's child and is unable to conceive again. Enraged, Yinzhen blames Yinsi and his wife, issuing an edict forcing them to divorce, which leads her to commit suicide. Ruoxi fears Yinzhen's punitive actions against his brothers and confesses the truth to him and Yinxiang. Yinzhen is stunned when he understands why Yinsi plotted against him and starts treating Ruoxi coldly. Ruoxi is unable to withstand the mental stress and asks Yinti to help her leave the palace. Yinsi knows that Yinzhen will not allow Ruoxi to leave and decides to intervene. He discloses details of his past romance with Ruoxi, and an angered Yinzhen eventually agrees to let Ruoxi and Yinti leave the Forbidden City.
Despite Yinti's excellent care, Ruoxi's emotional anguish deeply affects her health, and she begs him to send a letter to Yinzhen, requesting to see the emperor one last time before she dies. However, a misunderstanding between Yinzhen and Yinti causes the letter to be thrown aside unread. Ruoxi struggles to stay alive, but after three days she concludes that Yinzhen's absence confirms that his love for her has ended, and she dies. When news of Ruoxi's death reaches Yinzhen, he rushes to Yinti's house, regretting his actions after learning that Ruoxi still loved him.
Back in 2011, Zhang Xiao regains consciousness in a hospital and is informed that she had been in a coma for weeks. She wonders if her experiences in the past were real or imaginary. After recovering, Zhang researches the Qing Dynasty era, only to find that history remains on its proper course, and there are no records on Ma'ertai Ruoxi. However, she later visits a museum where she recognizes some Qing Dynasty-era artifacts and sees a lady in a Kangxi Emperor portrait that resembles her. Meanwhile, a man who looks like Yinzhen also visits the exhibition and encounters Zhang Xiao but does not recognize her. Zhang is unable to control her tears as he walks away.

Cecilia Liu as Zhang Xiao, a nondescript white-collar worker from the 21st century (from the year 2011). After suffering a near-fatal accident, she has an out-of-body experience and travels back in time, becoming stranded in the 18th century for 21 years (1704-1725) in the body of a previous incarnation, Ma'ertai Ruoxi, the daughter of an 18th century Manchu aristocrat. Despite her modern outlook, she is forced to adapt to life in the 18th century. Throughout the series, she is romantically linked with three of the Kangxi Emperor's sons: Yinzhen, Yinsi, and Yinti. Ruoxi's romantic entanglement with the princes are complicated by her knowledge of their future political struggles and feuds. She is initially unaware of a predestination paradox by which her actions would ultimately shape the outcome of history. Near the end of the series, Ruoxi dies after the revelation of her inadvertent role of the princes' feud, causing Zhang Xiao to reawaken after several weeks in a coma.

• Nicky Wu as Yinzhen, the fourth prince. He is destined to succeed his father as the Yongzheng Emperor and is Ma'ertai Ruoxi's true love. Nicky Wu also plays a mysterious 21st century man who meets Zhang Xiao in a museum weeks after she returns to her own time; he is speculated to be a present-day incarnation of Yinzhen.

• Kevin Cheng as Yinsi, the eighth prince. He is Ruoxi's first love interest and Yinzhen's rival for her affection as well as in politics.

• Lin Gengxin as Yinti, the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen's full brother. He is also in love with Ruoxi.

• Damian Lau as the Kangxi Emperor, the ruler of the Qing Dynasty.

• Yuan Hong as Yinxiang, the thirteenth prince. He is a bold, staunch supporter of Yinzhen and a close confidant of Ruoxi.

• Mu Tingting as Lady Ulanara, Yinzhen's wife and Ruoxi's rival in love.

• Zhang Lei as Yinreng, the crown prince.

• Ye Zuxin as Yin'e, the tenth prince.

• Han Dong as Yintang, the ninth prince.

• Annie Liu as Ma'ertai Ruolan, Ruoxi's older sister and Yinsi's second wife.

• Shi Xiaoqun as Gororo Minghui, Yinsi's wife.

• Guo Zhenni as Lüwu, Yinxiang's love interest.

• Chai Wei as Chenghuan, Yinxiang and Lüwu's daughter.

• Cao Xinye as Qiaohui, the Ma'ertai family's faithful maid.

• Ye Qing as Yutan, Ruoxi's best friend.

• Kang Mingtong as Yunxiang, a maid in the palace working with Yutan under Ruoxi.

• Cristy Guo as Minmin, Prince Suwan-Guwalgiya's daughter. She develops a crush on Yinxiang and befriends Ruoxi.

• Ba Sen as Prince Suwan-Guwalgiya

• Zheng Kai as Irgen-Gioro Zuoying, Minmin's suitor and eventual husband.

• Deng Limin as Li Dequan, a eunuch and personal attendant to the Kangxi Emperor. He was Ruoxi's benefactor and mentor.

• Zhou Yancheng as Wang Xi, a eunuch who is Ruoxi's best friend and Li Dequan's godson.

• Hu Zhonghu as Gao Wuyong, a eunuch and personal attendant to Yinzhen.

• Chen Jingyu as Yinzhi, the third prince.

• Wang Xiaodong as Yinqi, the fifth prince.

• Gao Sen as Li Guangdi

• Lian Teyue as Imperial Physician He

• Liu Yuxin as Gororo Mingyu, Yin'e's wife.

• Dai Chunrong as Empress Xiaogongren, the empress and mother of Yinzhen and Yinti.

• Liu Jie as Consort Liang, one of the Kangxi Emperor's consorts and mother of Yinsi.

• Zhao Jialin as Longkodo, Empress Xiaoyiren's younger brother.

• Xing Hanqing as Nian Gengyao, a Han Chinese Qing general.

• Ma Tianyu as Huang Di, Zhang Xiao's boyfriend in the 21st century.

Bu Bu Jing Xin

BBJX is a period drama (Qing Dynasty) with plot that revolves around history (with a dash of fiction), romance, conflict and politics.
Zhang Xiao, a young woman from the 21st century, suffers a traffic collision after work that sends her back in time to the Qing Dynasty during the Kangxi Emperor's reign (in the year 1704). She finds herself trapped in the body of a young daughter of a Manchu aristocrat, Ma'ertai Ruoxi, a younger sister of Ma'ertai Ruolan, who is a concubine of the emperor's eighth son, Yinsi. Stranded in the past, Ruoxi must adjust. She meets some of Kangxi's other sons, including the fourth prince Yinzhen and his full brother, the fourteenth prince Yinti. She forges a close friendship with the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang. Using charm and wit, Ruoxi wins the emperor’s favors and becomes his lady-in-waiting, attending the monarch and his family.
During Ruoxi's stay in the Forbidden City, she and Yinsi develop a mutual attraction. She initially rejects him but later agrees to marry him if he gives up competing for the succession to the throne. Ruoxi knows that Yinsi's ambition will ultimately lead to his death in prison after Yinzhen becomes emperor. Yinsi refuses and Ruoxi warns him to be wary of Yinzhen, giving him a list of those who would support his ascension.
After breaking up with Yinsi, Ruoxi's falls in love with Yinzhen. Meanwhile, Yinsi and his supporters, acting on Ruoxi's advice, frame Yinzhen for plotting against the crown prince Yinreng. Yinxiang takes responsibility and is sentenced to house arrest. After this incident, Yinsi realizes that Ruoxi is romantically involved with Yinzhen. Yinreng is deposed for his criminal ways and imprisoned. Kangxi then begins showing preference for Yinti and offers Ruoxi as a concubine to him. However, Ruoxi boldly defies the emperor's order and is demoted to the laundry.
Kangxi eventually dies of illness and with military support from Longkodo and Nian Gengyao; Yinzhen stages a coup and seizes the throne from Yinti to become the Yongzheng Emperor. Yinzhen then releases Yinxiang from custody and starts a romantic relationship with Ruoxi. In an attempt to keep the secret that Yinti was named heir before their father's demise, Yinzhen places him under house arrest. Ruoxi is often caught between the rival factions.
The ninth son, Yintang, manipulates Yinsi's wife Gororo Minghui into telling Ruoxi that Yinsi acted against Yinzhen years earlier. Ruoxi is shocked by this revelation, and in addition, remembering Yinzhen told her once that he initially had no desire to become an emperor, she realizes her actions are inadvertently shaping events (see predestination paradox). Her despair causes her to miscarry and become critically ill. Enraged, Yinzhen blames Yinsi and his wife, issuing an edict forcing them to divorce, which leads the latter to commit suicide. Remorseful of the consequences, Ruoxi confesses the truth to Yinzhen and Yinxiang, leading Yinzhen to treat her coldly. Ruoxi is unable to withstand the mental stress and asks Yinti to help her leave the palace. Yinsi knows that Yinzhen will not allow Ruoxi to leave and decides to intervene. He discloses details of his past romance and an angered Yinzhen eventually agrees to let Ruoxi and Yinti leave.
Ruoxi's emotional anguish affects her health. She begs Yinti to send a letter to Yinzhen, requesting to see the emperor one last time before she dies. However, a misunderstanding causes the letter to be thrown aside unread. After three days, Ruoxi concludes that Yinzhen's absence confirms that his love for her has ended, and she dies (in the year 1725 at the age 35). When news of Ruoxi's death reaches Yinzhen, he rushes to Yinti's house, regretting his actions after learning that Ruoxi still loved him.
Blaming Yinsi and Yintang for Ruoxi’s death, Yinzhen charged his half-brothers for ambiguous offenses and banished them from the imperial household. Both would eventually die in 1726, as Rouxi predicted.
History remains on course.

****************************

Cecilia Liu Shi Shi (刘诗诗) as Ma'er tai Ruoxi

Nicky Wu (吴奇隆) as 4th Prince Yinzhen (whom eventually become the Emperor YongZheng)

Kevin Cheng (郑嘉颖) as 8th Prince Yinsi

Lin Geng Xin (林更新) as 14th Prince Yinti

Yuan Hong (袁弘) as 13th Prince Yinxiang

These are the selected 5 characters that were the core-actors that made the storyline flow so beautifully. Throughout all events and circumstances, the princes grew up with Ruoxi and would protect her from the harms of the palace, and they all loved her. As romantic as it is, I find it "troublesome" for a girl to be loved by almost everybody. Emperor Kangxi loved her (as a daughter), 8th Prince loved her, and she returned his love, but as fate twist and turned, she find herself in love with 4th Prince. The notorious Crown Prince also requested her hand for marriage, and at the end 14th Prince found out that he loved her too!

It's not the love story that enthralls me, but the emotions conveyed by their love, especially 8th Prince & 4th Prince. They convey their emotions by the body language, and eyes. On the surface 8th Prince seems humble and nice, but every actions has a secret intention. While 4th Prince seems cold and furious, but deep down, there's a warmth to his heart.

A tinge of comedic moments also enlightens up the plot. The casual relationship between Ruoxi and 10th Prince are really funny. And also the BFF relationship she has with 13th Prince was delightful to watch too!


With the captivating storyline, i cannot stop my self but to finish up 10 episodes at one go! The plot keeps you asking for more, and you felt as though you are living in the era too!



It's really a beautiful drama, with nice costumes and scenery. I heard that BBJX 2 (based on modern story) will be produced, and they are retaining the same casts!

Why you should invest your EPF in Unit Trusts

FINANCIAL SECURITY
By LEE KEE CHUAN

THE money in your EPF account is the money that will feed you and your family from the day you retire until you pass on. It will be good if your children give you monthly allowances when you retire, but it may be prudent to plan your own retirement financial security.

Your EPF money, therefore, deserves your serious attention. There are unit trust fund promoters who will approach you to draw it out to invest in their EPF-approved unit trust funds.

The question is: Should you invest for potentially higher returns (by exposing your EPF money to higher risks) or should you just be content with the EPF dividend rate?

Firstly, let’s look at why EPF introduced such a scheme. According to the EPF website, the “EPF Member’s Investment Withdrawal scheme allows you to withdraw part of your savings in Account 1 for investments to increase your retirement fund to support your life after retirement.”

This means that you are given the opportunity to make your EPF money work harder for you.

The second reason is actually the most important. Inflation erodes your purchasing power. Over the last five years, EPF has distributed an average of 5.4% dividend annually while the inflation rate averaged 2.7%.

Thus you should make the best use of the withdrawal scheme allowed by EPF to ensure that you preserve the purchasing power of your EPF money in future.

Thirdly, you should let the power of compounding work for you.

Albert Einstein famously said: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it.”

Thus you should let some of your EPF money compound at a higher rate of return.

Even a small positive difference in annual return can make a big difference over time. To give you a better idea of the power of compounding, let’s use the Rule of 72.

If your money earns 5% a year, it will double in 14.4 years. If it earns 7% pa, it will double in 10.28 years. For 9% pa return, your money doubles in eight years. If your return is 11% pa, it doubles in 6.55 years. If you earn 13% a year, your money doubles in just 5.54 years. (To calculate the number of years for your money to double, divide 72 by your rate of return.)

But before you start picking up your handphone to call your unit trust agent or if any overzealous unit trust agent shows you this article to convince you that you should invest with him or her, please finish reading the rest of this article.

Let me give you a word of caution first. To invest your EPF money successfully in unit trusts, you must follow the advice below as investing in any unit trust fund carries investment risk, meaning the price of unit may go up as well as down.

To help you decide whether using your EPF money to invest in unit trust is for you, I bring up these two points to help you.

Firstly, by withdrawing your EPF money and investing in unit trust, it will not earn you any EPF dividend. Add in the upfront sales charge by the fund house of 3%. This is the opportunity cost that you need to consider.

Secondly, there is the investment risk of unit trust funds that you must consider. There was a report in www.thestar.com.my way back in Aug 8, 2006 that reads: “The Government, alarmed over the more than half billion ringgit losses reported from investments in unit trusts involving Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors, has directed the EPF to impose stricter conditions on such investments.”

The same report also mentioned: “A Malay daily reported over the weekend that EPF contributors who invested an estimated RM600mil in unit trust schemes had suffered losses.”

Having said that, it is still a good idea to invest your EPF money in unit trust schemes to earn potentially higher returns. However, you must ensure the following few points are adhered to when you invest.

You must have an investment method to start with. The dollar cost averaging (DCA) is a good one to start but make sure you stick with it for years.

Those who withdraw a few times and then see if they make money will not benefit from cost averaging.

There was a case of an investor who religiously withdrew his EPF money every three months to invest in unit trusts in the last 11 years, starting in year 2000.

When he reviewed his investment in August this year due to the recent market turmoil, he was glad that his unit trust investment using his EPF yielded 6.95% compounded return.

This case shows that you must stick with a method that invests at regular intervals consistently over a considerable period to be successful in making your EPF money grow and increase your retirement fund.

This is because a regular investing method such as DCA can reduce the investment risk by diversifying the timing risk of investing.

How about investing your EPF money using value averaging (VA) regular investing method? If you have read my article two weeks ago in this column, you will know why VA is the smarter version of DCA.

By using the reconstructed data from the same case I mentioned above, the back testing done using value averaging on an EPF-approved Malaysian small cap fund is really interesting.

The VA method yielded annual compounded return of 13.21% over the similar period.

The result is consistent with the research done by Professor Paul Marshall, who concludes that value averaging does show a performance advantage over dollar-cost averaging, without incurring additional risk.

Value averaging investors sleep soundly at night. You deserve a good night sleep too. Start using VA.


• Lee Khee Chuan is a Chartered Financial Consultant, Certified Financial Planner and a Fellow of Life Management Institute, USA. He is a graduate in political science, psychology and economics from National University of Singapore. He can be contacted at 016-888 0138.

source: The Star

Troubling people

I often sit and wonder how life would be if and when I grow old. I just hope and pray I will never trouble my children or the people around me too much with too many demands and sorts.
I do so hate having seen dramas in all forms and demands by parents towards children or sick people in the past and present.
I have also encountered people who suffer an illness (even a mortal illness) in silence and never making a fuss or troubling their loved ones unneccessarily until the end. These are the people I truly respect and wish to emulate.
Why would one want to put people surrounding them in a flurry or stressed out because of their incessant demands I have no idea, except for perhaps a selfish need to make people suffer along with them. Victims of such people would only barely tolerate them until such time tolerance turns to resentment and eventually hatred .
I pray and I wish I will never do that to my love ones and family.....