#TGCFReadAlong ch 29
another short chapter!
summary: Qi Rong has Lang Ying beaten for stealing, and orders him to be taken to be imprisoned. Xie Lian cannot directly show himself so he interrupts by pushing his divine statue over. He takes the opportunity to speak with Lang Ying and learns his child died as they were trying to escape the drought. Xie Lian gives him a red coral pearl and tells his deputies to go to Yong'an to investigate, while he goes to talk to the state preceptor.
#TGCFReadAlong ch 29
qi rong is the sort of person to get snacky while watching a man being heavily beaten. "Truly, the very image of a villain." indeed.
#TGCFReadAlong ch 29
endlessly mad about the heavenly officials' airs and arrogance and disinterest in actually interacting with common people to understand them and their needs
cut for suicide mention
#TGCFReadAlong ch 29
upon seeing the golden statue of the crown prince begin to topple: "Qi Rong looked as though he'd just seen his own mother kick out the stool while hanging herself"
YIKES. this really shows just how much qi rong has hung all of his stability (what stability he has) on xie lian and xie lian's position of authority
#TGCFReadAlong ch 29
tgcf often refers to people's pupils shrinking when they are surprised or shocked. I don't think I've ever read an English language book that referred to pupils in this kind of context before! does anyone know if this is a cultural thing or just an mxtx thing or what?
@soph_sol i can’t think of any examples of pupil response as an indicator of surprise in eng-literature either *but* i will note there is scientific evidence linking the two! Only she has it backwards—we’ve got a decent body of evidence showing *dilation* as a response to surprise not contraction
@Satsuma that's so funny, I love it!
@Satsuma parrots will contract and dilate when excited: "pinning"