i find the structure of mysterious lotus casebook to be quite interesting. right off the bat, we do get a rapid one case to solve after the other as the daily grind, but the show also has consistent tools it commits to in taking moments to pause and develop an interpersonal bond warm to the touch that would carry us from beginning to end. for li lianhua's character, there is a pattern in which space is created for him to stop and privately reflect on his growing relationship with fang duobing at the conclusion of every mystery that they solve together.
at the campfire outside lotus tower after the case of lingshan sect, there is a voiceover from llh as he ponders the memory of li xiangyi that fdb just shared with him. it informs us that he remembers fdb from their childhood. "so, it was you" (episode 3) is llh's unspoken answer after listening to fdb reminisce about meeting lxy and of his efforts to fulfill their promise to meet again. unbeknownst to fdb, lxy is right here beside him and is not any less emotional than he is.
llh is wistful as times in which he could easily say heroic words of encouragement resurface, solaced beneath his surprise that after all this time, there would be someone who holds on to lxy's good, amused that this silly young man he almost got off on the wrong foot with in a cat-and-mouse chase (or rather, little-fox-and-old-fox chase) actually caught him, just not in a way he realizes, and condolent that news of lxy's death must have made the boy back then cry buckets if he is tipsily sorrowful to such great extent now ten years later. this is the first moment of such display of personal gentleness from llh that we see.
llh decides to let fdb go in the morning. it seems that he has been coming and going for all these years, and he will continue doing so. yet, just one scene later, we learn that the effects of bicha poison have manifested in more severe and more frequent flare-ups as of late. he is immediately overcome (episode 3).
llh may give off the impression of being a major liar, but the softness that is revealed the night before and this very scene support otherwise. we will hear llh verbally communicate to fdb, "my condition… must have frightened you" (episode 30) much later, but as early as the sun coming up the next day after llh finds out who fdb is from his childhood, he already doesn't want fdb to see his flare-up. he doesn't want to scare him. llh perhaps is also leaving fdb behind so that he has no attachments to the world when he dies, but if he is already shielding him, he is already in and has tied himself to the mortal world.
after the conclusion of the case of xiaomian inn/yu city, we also get a similar moment of checking in with where llh is at with regards to this interpersonal connection that has sprung upon him. "lxy doesn't remember and won't go back. don't take such things so seriously, silly" (episode 5) is the mindset llh goes with after seeing fdb ready to fight to avenge and repay lxy's honour and kindness.
the case of xiaomian inn/yu city is rather illuminating for lxy as an individual in that between the end of the case of lingshan sect and now, llh's identity as lxy has become salient enough in his subconscious to be readily called upon without barriers:
(1) when llh accurately reads fdb's suppressed guilt over wangfu's death and encourages him to forgive himself, it is less a teaching moment and more a shared moment. recognizing that there are things they can never truly be in control of no matter how hard they try to protect those they are responsible for is life advice for not only fdb but lxy. "let go of yourself first" (episode 4), has lxy ever truly let go of and forgiven himself, yet? llh and fdb come away from this conversation and a shared drink not in hierarchy but as side-by-side to solve the case and bring justice to wangfu and all the attendants at yu city who were wronged as well by others.
they cannot change what happened, but they can make sure it is not forgotten, do their best to rectify it, and go out of their way to help others who suffered, too and in turn, heal themselves. to accomplish this in a partnership with someone of shared values and heart is tremendously meaningful and will be, in part, what drives llh to declare fdb as his very best of friends later in episode 19.
(2) llh is the most emotional we've seen him in cases thus far when the truth of what happened behind yu qiushuang's back is revealed. both llh and fdb are excellent professionals for their age to go about their work in a dispassionate manner, but yu qiushuang's story affects llh quite a bit. "none of the people she loved had loved her back, and none of them wanted to let her live" (episode 5). this, too, speaks of lxy's life: he valued a lot of people among his peers and work circle, but none of them gave him a rightful chance. none of them wanted to spare him. and, as we will find out in further episodes, just how many of them are not here for llh the person but instead want what lxy represented to come back against his will only to take more from him.
coming away from xiaomian inn/yu city and back to lotus tower, llh is confronted with the presence of that one person who is here for the llh he is now and is committed to defending the lxy he was then. llh watches fdb's sleeping face and silently responds to fdb's determined, albeit a little endearingly foolish, declarations. "lxy doesn't remember" (episode 5) is "it's been too long since and i am dying." "[lxy] won't go back" (5) is "i don't wish to go back and neither do they want me as the llh i am now back." "don't take such things so seriously, silly" (5) is "go and live the carefree life you were meant to had you not met me." he says all of this in voiceover with some reluctance and a shade of bleakness because unlike yu qiushuang, he has someone who puts lxy at such high, selfless first priority, and he recognizes the potential of such companionship. yet, he chooses to send that person away.
llh decides to let fdb go before the young man awakes. he has been coming and going for all these years, and he will continue doing so. yet, in the very next scene we see of llh, we find out that he has gone to his teacher's grave alone. as he dries his tears, he introduces fang duobing to qi mushan. it is when he begins talking about the person fang duobing is, from his skills to personality to tactics, that we see llh smile with a warm and alive glow for the first time in this visit. he chuckles as he says, "he's also a piece of work. luckily, i escaped fast. it's better to live free and unattached, is it not?" (episode 6). to pose such a question left unanswered is llh wavering, and he takes a long swig of his wine.
indeed, when llh and fdb next bump into each other, llh carries himself differently. compared to the greyness and heavyheartedness of before, llh is lighter and more spirited. there is a fondness to his amusement because how many coincidences can there be for two people to part and reunite over and over again, a youthful mischievousness tugging at the corners of his eyes, and a gaze that lingers for a beat longer than necessary whenever fdb isn't looking (episode 8).
the two make an arrangement with a set of totally unserious threats and conditions to work together once more. fdb makes a few jabs to make it known that he is still angry from having been left on the side of the path, yet he bears no reservations in worrying about the heart disease llh reluctantly lies to him about having, trying to convince llh to leave without him in case of danger, and shielding llh with erya from even the dust and debris of the tomb. llh goes from deciding it is better to have no attachments to this world to stepping into the frame to get fdb out of tough situations and staying for longer than needed if it were true he doesn't care, to listen to fdb's chatter and ask him questions because he is genuinely interested in what he thinks. through it all, he finds fdb all too easy to tease, and without admitting it, quite fun to be around.
as the case of wei manor/yipin tomb comes to a close, llh's moment of reflection comes different from previous times. whereas he refrained from making any sort of reciprocation known to fdb before, he now chooses to physically return to the depths of the tomb to find fdbb and agree to let him consider him as his partner. with it known, fdb gets back to work and goes off to take the case witness out with them. llh stays behind to watch him run ahead of him with an extra bounce to his steps, and he smiles.
additionally, whereas previous reflections were followed by fdb waking up to a missing tower and a missing person, llh is now here to tap him awake and wait for him to arouse. llh could have gone off immediately to where his investigations take him next and leave all attachments behind, yet he goes the long route and runs through the dark just to reach fdb so that they can go together.
the two of them have been stepping beyond the boundaries of their initial arrangement for working together throughout the case without really admitting it; here, they make it clear to each other that all previous hard feelings have been waved off. fdb's bold "i already considered you to be my partner" (episode 8) and llh's teasing "what can i do, i can't shake you off anyway" (8) opens the start of the next chapter of their relationship.
warning: full spoilers ahead.
such a tacit agreement is a particularly important stage for llh and fdb's relationship. while it is not as secure as episode 19's direct declaration and drinking to each other to officially put a name to what they have, it marks the start of a shared understanding between two people that from now on they will hang out together and see and talk to each other every day. furthermore, this moment and the backdrop on which it takes place becomes tremendously monumental when all secrets are revealed. knowing what we know (episode 39), llh and fdb have come together here in front of llh's ancestors', princess longxuan and prince fangji's, memorials.
at the start of the case of wei manor/yipin tomb, llh and fdb make an arrangement to work together, reluctantly as they appear on the surface. they finish the case admitting that they genuinely enjoy each other's company. perhaps, this is just a component in the larger framework.
one of the first things we learn about fdb is that he overheard the imperial edict that he is to be paired with the princess of the imperial family; he is unwilling, so he leaves home to pursue a life in the unruled jianghu (episode 1). he bumps into llh as soon as he steps foot into the free world. he tells llh that he ran away from home to escape marriage (episode 2). we later find out that fdb's arranged marriage partner is the one and only royal descendant of the current rule; the emperor does not have any other children, much to the empress dowager's concern (episode 35). finally, in a bombshell, it is revealed that after all this time, from massacre, schemes, and perhaps karma, the current imperial family is a big sham. llh is the real, one and only descendant of the royal bloodline (episode 39).
when fdb took his life into his own hands and went into the jianghu, he found the rightful person he was meant to marry had the royal bloodine not been lost. llh is the true descendant of both the nanyin and the central plains royal family. there is a fated arrangement between llh and fdb, the two butt heads, they part and reunite, they develop real feelings, and, on their own terms, they agree to walk together from here. is this not the larger arranged marriage framework?
from the very start, llh and fdb's story is already one of both fate and choices they make for their threads to be continually entwined. they have the historical marriage arrangement going back a century silently tying them to each other, but even without knowing that, fdb received a personal token from lxy in childhood that he holds on to. in episode 15, su xiaoyong talks of a practice in which personal tokens are given out as an expression of romantic love and settling down. as adults, llh craftily takes fdb's personal token from his belt to pay for their admission fee to a black market. llh ultimately gets it back for him, and he gives it to him in front of princess longxuan and prince fangji's tombs. the imagery of passing personal tokens in front of one's ancestors' memorials is striking.
the bows of traditional marriage include paying respect to one's ancestors. llh and fdb will go at their own pace; fdb has his personal token back now, and it is his to give out. fdb declares llh as his partner, and llh gives the nod for him to stay with him, every exchange of words and smiles witnessed by princess longxuan and prince fangji.
and, perhaps in another moment of fate and choices, all the way back in episode one when llh could have left as soon as he tricked fdb, and maybe we wouldn't have our show, something made him hesitate and stay for just a little longer. then, he chose to turn around and leave those extra few words that fdb would determinedly hold on to to find him again. because they had then, they have now. they will always, always find each other again. this is llh's attachment to the mortal world.
