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Zhuo Qing and Xiao Zhongjing

Dashing Youth Promotional Video & Official Posters

Even the man who nailed his older brother to death on the city walls needs to get nailed sometimes.

Aaaaaah! Xiao Zhongjing and Zhuo Qing’s first scene was everything I wanted! Excuse me while I watch it fifty times 😸

I still can’t believe their first scene was at Xiao Zhongjing’s desk, like my first fanart and fic of them (though the teal color I thought his desk would be based on that one poster turned out to be a dark blue). This situation almost reminds me of how before reading the novel, all the fics I’d drafted with Zhuo Xin included him playing Go, and then his introduction in the novel also has him playing Go.

Their dynamic is so intriguing already

Emperor Tai’an in Dashing Youth episode 16

“Is there anything else His Majesty needs?”

A game between an emperor and his eunuch

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Zhuo Qing/Xiao Zhongjing Characters: Zhuo Qing (Dashing Youth), Xiao Zhongjing | Emperor Tai'an (Dashing Youth), Zhuo Luo (mentioned) Additional Tags: Power Dynamics, Mentioned Heterosexuality, Porn Reading, Kink Negotiation, Mentioned Sexual Content, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Tension Series: Part 5 of Small Fandom Summer '24 Summary:

Zhuo Qing doesn't question his emperor's request for erotic reading material. Nor does he question the nature of its contents, even when His Majesty asks him to look through it.

New official posters to promote episode 31! I’m incredibly biased, but this was the best episode yet. Episodes 16 and 28 were good, but this was such an excellent step up in tension, stakes, and action. Episode 32 looks to follow that upward trend!

Emperor Tai’an highlights in Dashing Youth episode 30

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Xiao Zhongjing/Zhuo Qing, Jin Wei & Zhuo Qing, Implied Baili Luochen/Xiao Zhongjing Characters: Xiao Zhongjing | Emperor Tai'an, Zhuo Qing (Dashing Youth), Jin Wei (The Blood of Youth), Jin Yu (The Blood of Youth), Li Changsheng (mentioned), Qi Tianchen (mentioned), Baili Luochen (mentioned) Additional Tags: Injury, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Praise Kink, Age Difference, Introspection, Bathing/Washing, Canon Compliant, takes place during episode 32, Blood Kink, Intimacy Series: Part 6 of Small Fandom Summer '24 Summary:

With a troubled mind and a heavy heart, Xiao Zhongjing visits his Grand Eunuch.

Dashing Youth ring-related musings

There is no question that Dashing Youth loves its rings. The indulgent ways the camera lingers on them is most prominent in the case of Zhuo Qing and Xiao Zhongjing, but there are other ring-wearers in the show, such as Xiao Xie, Master Tu, and Yan Bietian. Unsurprisingly, considering what rings (particularly thumb rings) tend to symbolize, the thing they all have most in common is their power and/or wealth. There are possibly deeper connections to be drawn between these characters, but I thought I’d focus on sharing my discoveries on the materials Zhuo Qing’s and Xiao Zhongjing’s are likely composed of.

My initial thoughts were along the lines of black jade for Zhuo Qing’s and carnelian for Xiao Zhongjing. However, in my search for similar rings online, I found that, among other colors, agate can come in black and red. Carnelian seems to often be compared to red agate, so my guess may not have been far off. Individually, the symbolism of carnelian and black jade likely fit the two characters a bit better, though them wearing the same type of stone could be seen as representing unification in their relationship.

Notable in this respect is their sun-and-moon symbolism, where Zhuo Qing is heavily associated with the Moon in terms of aesthetics and scene framing/transitions. Associating Xiao Zhongjing with the Sun isn’t a far leap, particularly considering the plaque hanging in Zhuo Qing’s hall, as well as the gold Xiao Zhongjing wears and the power he holds as emperor. The ring colors reinforce these associations, red-orange for the warmth of sunlight and black for the cold of the night.

“I remember many years ago when I was just an unpopular prince, I didn’t really get to drink good tea. But your grandfather only loved liquor. He threw a lot of tea away, so I got to taste some good tea. I loved drinking tea since then. Tea is great stuff. I don’t want to drink it alone. I want the world to know how wonderful it is. All the strife in this world is caused by the loss of oneself, which is caused by ignorance. I will set the world right by cleaning up evil.”

I love this scene so much. The way it gives meaning to the time Zhuo Qing brought him tea in season 1, the way it lays out his motivations, how it conveys some difficulty and underlying sadness in his past… The contrast between the potential tone-deafness of saying all this to Xiao Ruofeng, who nearly died as a child because his mother was an unpopular consort, and the possibility that Emperor Tai’an sees something of himself in him because Xiao Ruofeng and he were both once unpopular.

The donghua has set itself up to be a chess game between Emperor Tai’an and Xiao Ruofeng, and this scene is very effective in developing it (particularly in the way it contrasts tea with liquor, which holds significance to Baili Dongjun)

Yan Su & Jiang Kai as Zhuo Qing & Xiao Zhongjing in Dashing Youth 少年白马醉春风 (2024) and as Yang Su & Yuwen Hu in Queen Dugu 独孤皇后 (2019)

“As His Majesty wishes.”

Episode 11 certainly has some interesting differences and structural changes. I’m intrigued by the decision to have Emperor Tai’an playing Go on his own rather than against Zhuo Qing. It could indicate that Zhuo Qing is more like one of his pieces rather than another player in the game.

Ouch. This continuity/animation error hurts me as a Go player. The stone needed to stay white when he placed it. Otherwise, he’s played two black stones in a row and lost.

The Art of Detachment/Xuhuai Art continues to be awesome. It’s cool how when Zhuo Qing is flailing in the air, the ghostly aura is already covering him. I wonder if it’s more indicative of how quickly he can summon his power, even when he’s not in a position of coordination, or if the ability is not entirely in his control.

Wow. Having Zhuo Qing depowered this soon is a very bold choice. It does give him more time to recover, though, so maybe we’ll see more Zhuo Qing action in the future. Also, I know those are his pants, but every time I see them, I think they’re his legs.

Emperor Tai’an listing Baili Luochen among those he considers rebels… Something tells me they’re going to have a very different relationship in this show. Also, since Li Changsheng is beating up Emperor Tai’an now, I wonder if they’ll keep Baili Dongjun beating up Xiao Ruojin. It was cut from Dashing Youth, but the donghua might be able to show it.

The Rain Demon’s design is absolutely exquisite.

Anyways, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the aftermath of this episode. After Zhuo Qing got depowered in Dashing Youth, I had been desperate to see his emperor’s reaction. Ambiguity and missing scenes have their benefits, of course, though I’ll appreciate the donghua giving a taste of how it might have gone.

Tea with Emperor Tai’an 🫖

Bonus smirk:

The Grand Eunuch’s first appearance