This post is for Forward Forever Episode 1 Recap
A Little Backstory…
- Legend has it that at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Shizu had a mysterious guard with him, named Yan Shi Fan. After a hundred years, the emperors changed but the guard’s power was still strong. The enlisted people were all children of the Eight Banners. They have prominent titles on the surface and secretly serve the Emperor, becoming the most mysterious defender of imperial power.
- A Yi suffered when he was young. His entire village was slaughtered, his home burned to ashes, and his mother disappeared. He became an orphan. 13 years later, he and Da Sha arrive to Jing Cheng in search of his mother and the murders of his village.
- It is 1908 and the new and old cultures have overlapped. E Er Ji Chong Li Ming, a nobleman of Manzhou’s Zheng Bai Qi, titled Bei Le returns from studying abroad. He studied in Europe as a teenager, and later went to Japan to study at a military school. Now that he has returned to China, he is full of energy and new ideas, drives cars, wears Western clothes, and has a Western hairstyle. He is a well-known figure respected in the Imperial City.
Chong Li Ming Meets A Yi
- Jia Chang An, a rich playboy and nephew to Rui Zhen, the infantry commander, causes trouble in the city. A Yi hits him to protect the innocent. Chong Li Ming passes by and helps A Yi from getting caught by the soldiers. Chong Li Ming wants A Yi to work for him but A Yi declines. He gives his card to A Yi and tells him it’ll help him out of trouble.
- A Yi heads back home to Da Sha with food. A Yi has a rouge box from his mother, the only item connection he has in finding her in the city.
The Changing Tides
- The Empress Dowager is sick and keeps a watchful eye on the Emperor, locking him in his chambers. She doesn’t agree with him adapting to new ways and his ideas of reform. She gets her eunuch to search for the Emperor’s Party list.
- Chong Li Ming visits his father, Shen Xiu and plays chess. His father reminds him not visit Shu Er Tai who was involved in saving the emperor. Chong Li Ming believes only the emperor can save the corrupt Qing Dynasty. The next day, Chong Li Ming visits Shu Er Tai and shows him a medical report. Shu Er Tai is hopeful that the Empress Dowager might pass soon and they can change the law with the Emperor.
- A Yi brings his mother’s rouge box to an antique shop for clues. Jia Chang An comes and frames him for stealing, arresting him to the infantry prison.
Yan Shi Fan
- At night, Chong Li Ming attends the Yan Shi Fan gathering. The Empress Dowager has given them 12,000 silver. Rui Zhen warns Chong Liming to keep a distance from Shu Er Tai and to avoid being implicated. They get news that members of Tongmenghui will arrive to the city. They have a chance to catch the reformists.
- Meng Gou secretly buys weapons from foreigners. They’ve prepared for the foreigners to rebel and he, Si San, and Wa Ge Na kill them, taking the weapons as their own for Shen Ji Ying.
- Chong Li Ming chats with Ke Yan Xin about Shen Ji Ying. Chong Li Ming wishes for Shen Ji Ying to remain neutral for now.
