Okay but can we talk about both the comedic and tragic potential of Xiaoshou?
1. Tragic, if E Shou ever falls in love with Wen Xiao she won’t ever be able to express it because her heart and mouth speak opposites
2. Comedic, everyone watching as E Shou repeatedly insults Wen Xiao to her face while snuggling up to her and Wen Xiao being like “awwww that’s so sweet!” because she knows it means that E Shou really likes her.
E Shou: *dreamily* you’re the ugliest woman I’ve ever seen. I hate your guts. 🥰🥰🥰
Time for some recent HorrorVale OC art dumping starting with Xiulan; there are a lot of images in this post, lmao
Just a minor redesign of Xiulan, a member of Jincan's personal ship crew. Basically just moved her chelae closer to her head like with the scorpion carhop I designed recently. Moving on...
Concept of a species of undead that are essentially Venice Carnival masks and costumes. Ectoplasm element, probably called masqueradekin? Still workshopping the species name...
Phone sketches of some netherling ideas: netherviper, netherladder, and a greater netherpillar. I seem to have a bias for netherlings based on either plants and animals, or inanimate objects...
The two directors of the Offroad Hospital in Sheol, Director Marbas (left) and Director Buer (right).
Another thought I had: a Fae Lord, member of the Fae Court. This one is the Muryan Lord, Gwenna.
I also wanted to design a non-combatant citizen of Niflheim, so here is Sasha. They're a gamer who lives in Niflheim's capital city.
One of these three images is the true liar.
and finally, the last image in this artdump of a post, is Valerie, a high society lady of Ys. Friends with Manon le Mor. She's some variety of seaweed.
I'm so happy you're watching Fangs of Fortune. It totally has both big found family!vibes AND a looot of queer subtext, and I figured that was in your alley, hah! Been meaning to nudge you to this drama, but never got around to it :P
Not to paraphrase Joey Tribbiani but...
i went in because I was intrigued by a few gifsets of Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing I saw around. I know Significant Pining camera shots when I see them.
But it took me like... half an episode to realize OH they're pulling Significant Pining camera shots on...
...everyone.
Everyone everyone! (RIP, you flew before you could walk babes)
Everyone everyone everyone!
Everyone everyone everyone everyone!
Okay, that's all the everyones I've gotten to so far...
BUT... I already contain suspicions that this dude is included in everyone.
(also totally here for the found family, I'm just in relatively early days and though I feel the slow-burn they're taking that on too gradually for me to be able to comment on it yet).
A Masterclass in Queer Coding II: The Not-So Secret Girl Love of ‘Fangs of Fortune’
Okay, I’ve analysed the fellas; ladies it’s your turn.
In my first post [Read Here] I posited that ‘Fangs of Fortune’ was meant to be interpreted as a bromance drama and used evidence of Wen Xiao’s side-lining within the show to make my argument.
There are multiple queer interpretations to be had within the show and my second essay will focus on the FxF and Lesbian coding within the drama. My final essay will wrap up the Bisexual Coding and Polycule dynamic of the show.
Wen Xiao plays a major role in Pei Sijing’s storyline and the two characters are depicted in an exceptionally romantic light to make a very compelling pairing within the show. Wen Xiao also has a brief but impactful encounter with the demon E Shou in episode 1 that is presented as very defining for her character. So let’s comb through these relationships with a fine tooth comb and examine the Baihe Girl Love of ‘Fangs of Fortune’.
Spoiler Warning for ‘Fangs of Fortune’.
Introduction
‘Fangs of Fortune’ is a show that advertises itself as a simple heterosexual fantasy romance show but is like being hit by a pride flag wrapped around a large gold brick. It’s my prevailing theory that, in its early stages, the show was originally envisioned as a straight up bromance show but due to the Censorship crackdowns that began in 2021, it had to transition into a heterosexually led drama.
Although several queer dramas from China have broken through in the last couple of years, most of them are banned from screening in mainland China or were created by external production companies in Taiwan and Thailand. The rules of the new censorship guidelines haven’t explicitly been spelled out, but I wonder if a female lead or confirmed heterosexual romance is now necessary if a show wants to air in Mainland China.
Unlike other bromance dramas, Fangs of Fortune is in the unique position where it isn’t based on a book. That means the show runners could essentially do what they liked with the pairings. And ‘Fangs of Fortune’ is an absolute masterclass in how to queer-code under such harsh restrictions.
Though the show repeatedly states that the Great Romance of The Baize Goddess Wen Xiao and The Great Demon Zhao Yuanzhou is the legendary one that will be told throughout the ages, the show goes out of its way to undermine that repeatedly.
From making Zhou Yichen equal to, and then surpass, Wen Xiao in terms of closeness to Zhao Yuanzhou to the point of even relegating her from the main plot; to the close relationship between Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing; to the bisexual coding of three main leads, the lesbian of the other, and gay coding of another significant character, this show is packed with queer subtext.
Unlike my first essay, which was me putting forward my argument that Yuanyi were the central relationship instead of Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou, this essay is a simple critical analysis of how the show presented its WLW characters and their romantic relationships.
So let’s examine the lesbianism of Pei Sijing, the queerness of her relationship with Wen Xiao, and the queer coding that runs through Wen Xiao’s character.
Part 1: Pei Sijing, the Lesbian.
The first indication of Fangs of Fortune not being a traditional heterosexual romance show is that both Zhuo Yichen and Pei Sijing are classed as main characters not supporting. Usually, heterosexual romance shows will keep the male and female lead as the main characters and everyone else is a side character no matter how much screetime they get. Fangs of Fortune differentiates itself by having four main leads.
Pei Sijing and Zhuo Yichen are equal to the supposedly main love story of the show. However there is no romance plot between the two of them.
Pei Sijing is absent from episode 1, but she is considered an equal lead to the other three. Unlike the other three adult leads of the show, Pei Sijing is not given bisexual coding. She has no obvious male romances and the closest male relationship she has is to her brother, Pei Siheng. The two share many deep conversations together as they patch up their broken relationship after their awful misunderstanding.
Pei Sijing has one other truly significant relationship in the show, and that is with Wen Xiao. Pei Sijing is exclusively given deeply emotionally impactful scenes with Wen Xiao that further her character going forward. The two comfort one another and seek each other out with Pei Sijing very obviously falling in love with her over the episodes.
Now, not to stereotype, but Pei Sijing’s costuming is pretty heavily lesbian coded.
[Pei Sijing’s hairstyling compared to traditionally male and female hairstyles in Imperial China]
Firstly, she is a rather atypical woman within the world of ‘Fangs of Fortune’. She wears all black and military style hanfus, she was a Commander of Chongwu Camp, and she was the one of the two Pei siblings who took up the family bow and a role that would usually go to a firstborn son.
There are female cultivators and fighters in ‘Fangs of Fortune’ (the Baize Goddesses, Ao Yin & Qing Geng) but they are often far more traditionally feminine in their clothing and hair while Pei Sijing favors military practicality. Wen Xiao and Qing Geng are very traditionally feminine by comparison and even Ao Yin’s different female forms lean in a feminine style unless she is actively fighting. Her true form as seen when she dies is exceptionally feminine.
Pei Sijing’s hairstyle, especially in her introduction in episode 2, (even with the braids) closely resembles a traditional male topknot style with a guan as opposed to a feminine updo. Her attire actually reminds me a bit of Anne Lister’s wardrobe in BBC’s ‘Gentleman Jack’ - a historical period drama about real-life Victorian lesbian Anne Lister - whose costuming was a mix of traditionally masculine and feminine elements of the period.
There’s a fantastic video about this here, if anyone’s interested, but I wonder if the costuming in ‘Fangs of Fortune’ did something similar for Pei Sijing’s styling:
In other xianxia or Wuxia cdramas, it isn’t uncommon for ‘Warrior Class’ female characters to adopt these kind of hairstyles or attire, but Pei Sijing very much stands out in ‘Fangs of Fortune’ as the only woman doing so within that world.
According to a few articles I read about the differences between men and women’s hanfus, women’s were often lighter with an emphasis on curves and embroidery, while men’s were heavier and more practical with trousers underneath since men were expected to do much more day to day.
Every other female character in the show fits the traditionally feminine costuming with light hanfus and/or light colors. Pei Sijing however, fits closer to the masculine style.
In a flashback to her brother, we get a hint that Pei Sijing would dress more feminine if she felt she was able to, and there is an outfit of hers that doesn’t seem to match anything else in her wardrobe. As I mentioned, all of Pei Sijing’s wardrobe is dark colors, but she wears a hanfu in episode 25 that is closer to a pastel shade.
After being close to Wen Xiao for some time, it looks like an outfit she may have borrowed from her. Given the context of the scene, this isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Later on in the show, like Zhou Yichen, Pei Sijing is part of ‘the gay camera angle of episode 27’ where she longingly gazes at Wen Xiao. Episode 27 reads entirely as lesbian heartbreak from Pei Sijing’s perspective since Wen Xiao is the only person she focuses on in this entire episode.
Therefore, compared to how Zhao Yuanzhou, Zhuo Yichen and Wen Xiao are given romantic entanglements with both men and women, it seems pretty obviously that Pei Sijing is strictly lesbian coded.
Part #2: Jingxiao
The relationship between Pei Sijing and Wen Xiao is a hugely significant one in developing both of their characters.
Significance of One Person
Wen Xiao is very obviously set up as one of the most important people in Pei Sijing's life. However, unlike Yuanyi who I would argue as the unquestionable lead pairing of the show with the thin varnish of Wen Xiao’s relationship to pass censorship, the show is a little more tragic in its presentation of this pairing.
Although the two are undoubtedly an equally compelling romance, the show presents it with a different lens. Unlike how the show uses direct comparison to present Zhuo Yichen as equal to and surpassing Wen Xiao in the eyes of Zhao Yuanzhou, the same doesn’t really happen for Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing.
Their relationship is painted as a painfully unrequited one. Or, that Wen Xiao has a love triangle with Zhao Yuanzhou and Pei Sijing and ultimately chooses him over her. Now, this isn’t to say that I think Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing aren’t canon or aren’t a true relationship. What I mean, is that with the censorship forcing their hand to follow through on Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou’s relationship in order for Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen’s to pass scrutiny, significant weight is placed on the idea of Wen Xiao loving Pei Sijing but not enough to choose her.
It’s important to remember that, within the canon of ‘Fangs of Fortune’, every love story is doomed. Every romantic pairing within the show ends in tragedy that it’s almost relieving that Jingxiao’s doesn’t end with one or both of them dead.
We get our first glimpses of Jingxiao’s budding romance and the direction it will take in their interactions during and after the Ran Yi arc. Through these episodes, we see how Pei Sijing comes to fall fiercely in love with Wen Xiao that begins with small moments of physical touch between them as they hold hands or link arms casually.
In Episode 5, when Pei Sijing examines the character Wen Xiao painted on her hand - later revealed to be ‘Dawn’ - we get a unique variation of what sounds like a snippet of ‘Return After a Long Dream’ - that I interpret as the gay love song of the show - that I don’t think plays at any other point. The song is originally sung by a female singer, but this version has a haunting masculine voice to it.
In Episode 7, Pei Sijing thanks Wen Xiao and credits her with helping her face and overcome some of her past trauma. Their scene together is bathed in warm, golden sunlight and we get our first full listen of 'Half of Me' - which is Pei Sijing's character song.
When the scene begins, Wen Xiao very deliberately says this:
Wen Xiao: The Great Demon invited us to his home in the suburbs of Tiandu for a drink and celebration. Pei-jiejie, are you coming with me?
The pronoun choice of ‘me’ rather than ‘us’ has a heavy implication on the bond of these two women in particular.
The first play of ‘Half of Me’ was a short snippet with lyrics in episode 2 that happened when Pei Sijing saw Bai Jiu and was reminded of Pei Siheng. We also get a few seconds of the instrumental version when she sees Pei Siheng in Ran Yi’s illusion in episode 4.
If we interpret the plays of this song as Pei Sijing’s heart being stirred, we have the platonic reasoning of her brother, but then we have the sunny warmth of romantic love that Wen Xiao inspires.
The dialogue continues as such:
PSJ: I didn’t want to get involved in demon stuff anymore. Or maybe I was just avoiding it. But in life, I see with my eyes, listen with my ears, and observe with my heart just to see through everything and live a sober life. So, I’ve decided not to run away anymore. The word ‘dawn’ has dawned on me. The day breaks. Thank you, for turning my dark night into a dawn.
Observing with the heart also links to a line about Zhuo Yichen in Episode 6. A conversation with his brother told him that:
Zhuo Yixuan: Your eyes lie, only your heart will tell you the answer.
This line later comes back to show how much Zhuo Yichen has come to trust (and fall in love with) Zhao Yuanzhou. So with Pei Sijing uttering a similar line about ‘observing with [her] heart’ only one episode later, we can immediately draw a direct comparison.
But the most obvious imagery is that Pei Sijing literally calls Wen Xiao the light of her life. Wen Xiao is the reason that Pei Sijing can now be bathed in the sunlight of this scene and her heart (her character song) can finally fully sing for the first time in the show. Wen Xiao is wearing white with light brown elements (almost golden) in her belt and inner robe that further invoke this imagery of a warm light.
By painting Wen Xiao in this manner, it characterises her as someone who brings warmth and joy to Pei Sijing and how she is a healing presence.
Later in episode 7, we get our first presentation of the idea that there is an unrequited element to Pei Sijing’s love. At Zhao Yuanzhou’s house, Pei Sijing arrives late and asks after Wen Xiao. The three men in the scene seem reluctant to tell her as Wen Xiao is playing on the swing with Zhao Yuanzhou. Pei Sijing looks a little taken aback despite the vaguely comical playing on the strings.
This can be interpreted as Zhuo Yichen finding the behavior childish. However, the music then changes to a sad one as Pei Sijing chastises Zhuo Yichen for letting the two alone together.
This first moment is brushed off slightly, as we then begin the investigation into Pei Siheng. The show splits up our characters into what I consider to be their true pairings: ZYZ & ZYC; PSJ & WX; and then Bai Jiu and Yinglei as the ‘kids’ of the group. However, this idea that Pei Sijing will seek out Wen Xiao, but she will be with Zhao Yuanzhou is first established in this episode.
Soundtrack
Though ‘Half of Me’ is a song about the Pei siblings and sung by both of their actors, the snippet we get in Episode 7’s Dawn scene - with no knowledge of any of that - sounds very romantic.
Even outside of the lyrics, the first showing of Pei Sijing's true character (through her song) being shown to the audience as part of her connection to Wen Xiao is a beautiful touch in their relationship. Wen Xiao also gets to show the extended play of her character song in the context of a FxF pairing, though not with Pei Sijing (more on that later) which I think is an interesting choice.
Since the first time ‘Half of Me’ is fully played is in the context of reflecting on her relationship with Wen Xiao, let’s take the context of the song lines in a romantic one and look for how it links to her.
“Half of Me” - in itself, the title indicates that of being someone’s other half. This is usually a romantic sentiment.
“How does the dark night stand alongside with the dawn?” - this line is sung by both siblings, but ‘dawn’ likely refers to Wen Xiao. In Episode 7 this song plays fully as Pei Sijing directly describes Wen Xiao as a dawn lightening up her life.
“If you are a spring evening, I am a silent distant mountain / You are a sad firefly guarding the last night” - Wen Xiao’s character theme is called ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ so this can be read as a direct reference to her within this song. Pei Sijing directly references Wen Xiao as a light in her life so the imagery of the firefly guarding the night is also an excellent parallel.
“Let regret stay before dawn” - although this line is also sung by both siblings, ‘Dawn’ is the character that Wen Xiao painted on Pei Sijing’s hand in episode 5. Pei Sijing credits Wen Xiao as bringing the dawn into her life and finally allowing her to move forward from her grief and regrets.
So, with the veneer of a song about siblings, the show artfully slips in some references to Wen Xiao in Pei Sijing’s life. After the first attempt to save the Wilderness, Wen Xiao and Pei Siheng come to rest their heads on Pei Sijing’s shoulders indicating that both are strongly connected to Pei Sijing’s heart.
In the song ‘Little Verses’ - the fun one that the entire cast sings - the two of them are paired up together for the duet moments. When the song first plays in episode 14, Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing are paired up together as Wen Xiao coaxes smiles out of her by getting her to dance and drink with her.
“[Wen Xiao]: In the bustling world / Stained traces/ the mystery of time and - [Pei Sijing] the joys and sorrows of life / In simple terms let’s discuss love and hate.” - The two of them finish each other’s sentences in the second verse. This is a very cute interaction within the song and suggests a like mindedness between the two women.
“[Wen Xiao & Pei Sijing]: If it’s a predetermined fate I’ll fight against it” - this line is very interesting as neither Pei Sijing nor Wen Xiao particularly fight against their fates in the show. The only fate Wen Xiao has is to become the Baize Goddess and supposedly fall in love with the Great Demon who shares the token. So this line could be read as the two of them fighting the predestined heterosexuality to be lesbian lovers together.
However, the show sells us the unrequited sense of Pei Sijing’s love as Wen Xiao’s song ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ holds little to no references that can directly be credited to Pei Sijing. What is interesting about Wen Xiao’s character song, is that despite it being very romantic, it is romantic in a vague sense.
Given the number of romantic options Wen Xiao is given in the show, this actually works perfectly as many characters could fit the subject of the song. Zhuo Yichen, too, also has very little references in Wen Xiao’s character song and the show explicitly makes them a romantic pairing option. So, Pei Sijing is paralleled to another more explicitly stated relationship in the show.
“Spring Breeze, she seems to have many stories”, “Spring Breeze, she seems to have too many things on her mind” - This could link to the idea that there are several figures that could be who Wen Xiao is thinking about and many love stories that could be told with her.
“In this world, the writing is mottled, love and hate are absurd and wrong” - Pei Sijing directly questions Wen Xiao about why she cares about demons so much while they investigate Pei Siheng in episode 8. She is also one of the characters who comes around from hating demons indiscriminately to caring about them and becoming more open minded. Her conversations with Wen Xiao put her on this path of realisation so she helped her realise how absurd her hatred was.
“There is a blank position” - implies that anyone could fill this position since it isn’t shaped like anything in particular.
Other lines in the song refer to Zhao Yuanzhou, highlighting Wen Xiao’s bisexuality as she is attracted to both him and female characters. Other lines could be linked to her other female love interest, or even to Yuanyi as she observes them.
Although, this song does not play fully for Pei Sijing in the show, the instrumental version scores the scene in episode 17 when Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing talk about their respective traumas and Wen Xiao rests her head on Pei Sijing’s shoulder.
Another key soundtrack moment is in episode 25, when Pei Sijing and Wen Xiao talk together after Zhuo Yichen’s name is cleared. The instrumental version of ‘Dream Candle Clothes’ - the song only otherwise used for canonical heterosexual pairings in the show - plays in the background. Sneaking in that particular song to score one of Jingxiao’s scenes automatically links the two of them to other core romances within the show.
So, even if Wen Xiao’s theme not fully playing ties into the sense of how she will inevitably choose Zhao Yuanzhou, ‘Fangs of Fortune’ very cleverly adds the instrumentation of it and several key love songs in the soundtrack to underscore the deep emotional importance of Jingxiao’s relationship.
Hand Holding & Physical Affection
Like with Yuanyi, the show goes above and beyond to undermine its central heterosexual romance for the sake of Jingxiao’s queer one. Up until Pei Siheng’s return, Wen Xiao is exclusively the one who seeks out and comforts Pei Sijing. Pei Sijing returns the favor after the attempt to fix the Baize Token fails by coming to comfort and reassure Wen Xiao on the mountain.
However, what stands out about Jingxiao is that they have far and away the most physical affection of any couple in the show. They have far more physical contact between them than the boys - likely due to censorship passing it off as ‘gal pals’ - with moments of resting their heads on each other, hugging and holding hands and arms being treated as just as significant as any physical interaction between Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou. (They also have more physical displays of affection than the main heterosexual pairing).
Even when there is no reason to, Wen Xiao holds Pei Sijing’s hand or clings to her arm like she is being escorted by her. Especially during scenes with all four main leads, these two are often paired together and sharing physical closeness. It’s a defining and beautiful part of their relationship.
The show also has a particularly funny moment of undermining heterosexuality to support queerness in episode 20 when Wen Xiao escapes and is found by Zhao Yuanzhou and Pei Sijing at Bai Jiu’s house. Her reaction to Zhao Yuanzhou is fairly bland but when she sees Pei Sijing, her face lights up and she grips her arm as they both smile. Even Zhao Yuanzhou has a ‘well damn okay, I guess’ kind of reaction to this which is pretty entertaining.
Costuming
[Wen Xiao’s outfits and color palette]
[Pei Sijing’s outfit and color palette, plus comparison of male hairstyles in Imperial China. (Far right; Pei Sijing’s pastel hanfu in episode 25 that looks nothing like her usual wardrobe)]
In my first essay, I pointed out that costuming was a key indicator of character development and paralleling within ‘Fangs of Fortune’. Zhou Yichen and Zhao Yuanzhou have opposing but complimentary color palettes setting them up as well-matched opposites.
I also mentioned that Wen Xiao had a similar thing happening with Pei Sijing.
Almost all of Wen Xiao’s costumes are white or pastel that is the Yin (traditionally feminine) to the black and darker colors of Pei Sijing’s Yang (traditionally masculine) attire.
They often contrast each other. If Wen Xiao wears pink, Pei Sijing wears blue. If Wen Xiao wears blue, Pei Sijing wears red. If Wen Xiao wears silver, Pei Sijing wears gold.
When they first meet, Wen Xiao wears Pink & White while Pei Sijing wears Black & Dark Blue. When Pei Sijing arrives at the Demon Hunting Bureau, she is now wearing Black & Red and Wen Xiao has switched to White & Blue so they still have this theme going.
In episode 7, we continue this running pattern. Wen Xiao wears silvery blue and white with silver accessories and Pei Sijing wears gold accessories and a dark green and gold hanfu.
Since meeting Wen Xiao, her hair has started to become slightly more feminine. Although her ponytails still lean towards a traditionally masculine style, her downtime hairstyle has more qualities of a feminine updo with a hairpin. This theme in their costumes continues through the rest of the episodes.
The one exception in Pei Sijing’s wardrobe is in episodes 25 - 26 where she briefly wears a pale blue dress that doesn’t match anything else in her wardrobe. It’s very pastel shaded and actually is a lot closer to something that Wen Xiao would wear. This comes after the scene where Zhao Yuanzhou, Pei Sijing and Yinglei chase after Zhuo Yichen in the storm when he first becomes a demon, so it isn’t hard to assume that Pei Sijing was gifted or perhaps borrowed one of Wen Xiao’s outfits.
And, in keeping with the Yin and Yang costume design of Jingxiao, this outfit is blue while Wen Xiao wears pink.
The Lesbian Heartbreak of Episode 27
Now, although I fully believe that all of the main trio are bisexual characters, I’ve already covered how much Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou’s relationship is constantly undermined in my last post with regards to Yuanyi. That being said, it’s also undermined in regards to Jingxiao.
However, while Yuanyi is a little more obvious, the implied perspective from Pei Sijing is one of lesbian heartbreak.
I don’t know how else to interpret episode 27. If we analyse the show in that Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou are an official couple, episode 27 very much reads as Pei Sijing’s heartbreak over this choice. The 'gay camera angle' of this episode as Wen Xiao hugs Zhao Yuanzhou features Pei Sijing crying as she looks longingly at Wen Xiao (and not the boys who just came back from the dead)
Now, although this is an utter gut punch, I think this comes from a place of the show having to bend to the censorship. They could show that Pei Sijing is deeply in love with Wen Xiao and show moments of Wen Xiao’s reciprocation, but they ultimately had to bend to heterosexuality. Without this forcing their hand, the two could have happily been in a relationship together.
This is an episode where Pei Sijing has reverted to one of her earlier looks. It’s the exact same look she wore in Episode 2 when she arrived at the Demon Hunting Bureau with the red and black contrasting Wen Xiao’s pale blues beautifully. But it shows a sense of Pei Sijing pulling back and reverting with the loss of a deep love with Wen Xiao.
Since every possible romance in the show ends in tragedy, it’s almost nice that this one ends only with heartbreak and not with the death of one or more of their pairing. It also parallels Zhuo Yichen & Wen Xiao’s relationship where they too end because of their attachments to other people rather than death.
But that’s why we have fanfic. We can interpret that the show was loudly telling us that these two were a core romantic relationship of the show and give them the ending that censorship couldn’t.
Trope Talk
To highlight Jingxiao’s relationship as a romantic one, the show used several key romance tropes to indicate it to the audience.
The first, is that Wen Xiao and Pei Sijing’s introduction scene is a beat for beat recreation of Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou’s introduction scene in episode 1!
1. Wen Xiao/Pei Sijing are doing something with their colleagues
2. All of a sudden those colleagues fall to the ground unconscious
3. Zhao Yuanzhou/Wen Xiao walks slowly towards Wen Xiao/Pei Sijing as they maintain eye contact.
4. Wen Xiao slips and is caught by Zhao Yuanzhou/Pei Sijing.
Now not only does this reinforce that Pei Sijing is also a love interest for Wen Xiao, but it also hilariously adds to the implication that there is nothing unique about Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou. It’s another example of the show undermining its supposedly central heterosexual narrative while bolstering its queer ones.
Not only that, but Jingxiao hit one of the most common romantic tropes of Asian dramas - the Fall & Catch. Such a blatant trope immediately gives this pairing a tangible romantic weight.
Fall & Catch Tropes in Cdrama, In order: Jingxiao (Fangs of Fortune), ZYZ & WX (Fangs of Fortune), JYL & ZYX (The Untamed), TY & LSC (Falling into Your Smile), WZ & YY (Beauty of Resilience), Hualian (Heaven Official’s Blessing), Wangxian (The Untamed), BQ & YH (Eternal Love, 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms), [Unknown], JYH & CY (The Blue Whisper), Yuanyi (Fangs of Fortune), QG & F (Fangs of Fortune), SG & BJ (Ancient Love Poetry), WYL & EQL (Story of Yanxi Palace), BFX & FLX (Who Rules the World). -> Also includes the instrumentation of ‘Return After a Long Dream’ unique to Pei Sijing thinking about Wen Xiao]
As evidenced by the video above, the ‘fall and catch’ trope is a staple of Cdramas and is an excellent way for ‘Fangs of Fortune’ to quickly connect Jingxiao to this long line of lovers within minutes of their introduction to each other.
I’ve already talked about costuming and how the blue of Pei Sijing is the opposite to Wen Xiao’s pink, but ‘Fangs of Fortune’ also uses elements of western color theory at certain points in the show. Wen Xiao walking in white towards Pei Sijing wearing black (who I’ve already established dresses in a fairly masculine way for the period) down what is essentially an aisle, gives wedding vibes in their first encounter.
So, by using classical romantic tropes, ‘Fangs of Fortune’ was able to immediately convey the significant romance of Jingxiao to the audience.
Part #3: Wen Xiao and E Shou
However, Pei Sijing is not the only female romance that Wen Xiao is given in the show. Here we will focus on Wen Xiao’s bisexual coding and her introductory relationship with the Deceptive Beast, the Rabbit Demon E Shou, in Episode 1.
Love at First Sight
When E Shou first sees Wen Xiao through the veil of her hat, it is accompanied by a romantic swell of music. This is also the first time the audience sees Wen Xiao clearly, so we are seeing her framed through the eyes of E Shou (behind a veil - which feels very bridal) and accompanied by this sweeping romantic instrumentation.
E Shou, as a Deceptive Beast, is able to get the truth out in regards to whether Wen Xiao is holding salt or sugar, but then seems to relax in her company and gives the slip that she is a demon almost immediately. Throughout the scene, she treats Wen Xiao with civility until Wen Xiao pins her wrists. Even as they walk through the rain, E Shou has given up trying to hide that she is a Deceptive Beast and Wen Xiao immediately understands all of the opposites in her words.
Like both the male leads, Wen Xiao is heavily bisexually coded in ‘Fangs of Fortune’. In this, her very first scene, she has what I can only describe as a ‘flirty fight’ with E Shou, at the restaurant.
She refers to her as pretty twice in this scene and wraps her arms around her at a few points during the fight. Even dosing E Shou with the demon powder is almost like blowing a kiss to her.
Bound by Fate
As they walk in the rain, their wrists are bound by the red string that Wen Xiao will later bind herself and Zhuo Yichen to Zhu Yan (more on that in my planned bisexual essay).
Within Chinese folklore there is the Legend of the Red-String of Fate - that two people joined by red string will never be parted. And it is only after Wen Xiao unties the string to free E Shou and lets her run from Chongwu Camp that she is tragically killed and they are separated.
Within Chinese folklore, the Rabbit God Tu’er Shen is the God of Male Homosexuality. Now, while Wen Xiao and E Shou are obviously both women, the concept of fated homosexual love is immediately present within their scenes together.
Honesty; The Tragedy of a Deceptive Beast
At the end of the episode, Wen Xiao reads her books on demons and discovers something about E Shou; that while Deceptive Beasts speak only lies, they can reveal their hearts in their last moments.
E Shou’s last words were to Wen Xiao and were the only true words she would ever be able to speak in her entire existence. This is an incredibly romantic trope in any other context.
E Shou: Jiejie, thank you.
Wen Xiao: Are you blaming me? It is indeed my fault. I’m sorry. I’m too useless.
Throughout this scene, E Shou shakes her head at Wen Xiao’s words. Though Wen Xiao, doesn’t know it, E’Shou is able to tell the truth; she doesn’t blame her. But heartbreakingly, in the moment, Wen Xiao would have seen these as lies and that E Shou was indeed blaming her for her death as it’s only later she finds out that Deceptive Beasts can share their true hearts when they die.
As E Shou dies, we get the first introduction of ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’, a beautiful song within ‘Fangs of Fortune’ that is Wen Xiao’s character song. Although I don’t really class solo character songs as straight up love songs in cdramas, the lyrics of ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ are very romantically inclined, so the fact that we get the first introduction of this song for this relationship is interesting.
Outside of a romantic context, it shows that this moment is a defining one for Wen Xiao. Indeed, she does think about E Shou in future episodes showing how this encounter left a deep mark on her.
When Wen Xiao reads her book on Deceptive Beasts we get this dialogue;
WX: Deceptive Beats look innocent with a human face that speaks well.
- flashback -
WX: Speaking one to thing but meaning another. Speaking of evil but meaning good.
- present -
WX: Born as a Deceptive Beast, they are destined to speak against their will. Their heart and mouth contradict each other.
E Shou: Jiejie, thank you.
Wen Xiao, is clearly hurt by the thought that E Shou’s gratitude was a lie and that she truly blamed her for her death. But then she reads on.
WX: In a Deceptive Beast’s life, they can only follow their true heart and speak their true thoughts in the moments before death.
E Shou: Born as a Deceptive Beast, they are destined to speak against their will. The heart and mouth contradict each other. They can only follow their true heart and speak their true thoughts in the moments before death.
Wen Xiao: Run!
E Shou; So, Jiejie, the “thank you” that I said… was sincere.
The way E Shou repeats Wen Xiao’s words indicates that this is not only true but that E Shou was thinking this herself when she gave her last words to Wen Xiao. It is also sadly poetic as if they were of one mind.
As Wen Xiao reads her book and reminisces on E Shou’s death, ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ plays once again, underscoring the importance of their scenes together.
Soundtrack
Within one episode, ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ has played twice for these two showing just how tied to Wen Xiao’s character E Shou became in such a short time frame. So let’s analyse the lyrics of ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ for this pairing.
“The little city traps the small us” - Wen Xiao and E Shou were trapped in the street and could not escape from Chongwu Camp together.
“Reluctant to leave, unwilling to ask, unwilling to accept” - Wen Xiao is unwilling to accept E Shou’s death and was reluctant to leave her behind. She stayed with E Shou until she died and faded into nothing.
“Yesterday’s dust clouds my eyes” - a painfully poetic line that could indicate that the dust of E Shou’s death hangs like a cloud over Wen Xiao.
“Spring breeze, she seems to have many stories / There is a name in her heart” - if the Spring Breeze is Wen Xiao, it’s interesting that the first play of this song is for E Shou, since we could infer that E Shou is the one now imprinted on Wen Xiao’s heart. The many stories once again implies that Wen Xiao has many possible love stories in the show.
“In this world, the writing is mottled, love and hate are absurd and wrong / I can’t write about this cause and effect” - in the second play of these lines, they actually play over an image of the past Zhuo Yichen as he mourns his brother’s death before transitioning into Zhao Yuanzhou waiting by the sea. Which gives another tick in the direction of Yuanyi’s compelling enemies to lovers arc. The hate and love between them are both absurd since it wasn’t Zhao Yuanzhou’s fault but falling in love with him was a confusing experience for Zhuo Yichen. In regard to E Shou, Wen Xiao never hated her but the deep impression of their encounter could be read as it being absurd that she came to care for her so quickly and a potential love story was abruptly squashed by the hatred of Chongwu Camp.
“A dream, a pair of hands, a glass of wine” - During her fight with E Shou, Wen Xiao tangled their hands together and took a drink. Sharing wine is also a recurring theme for Yuanyi within the show.
“I’m waiting for a light, for a person” - since this song plays for E Shou, it can be read that E Shou was a person she was waiting to meet but this connection was severed before it could truly begin.
It should be noted that ‘Spring Breeze Does Not Ask’ plays for E Shou twice in a short amount of time and doesn’t play for Zhao Yuanzhou until episode 14 on the bridge scene. So E Shou’s impact really shouldn’t be overlooked.
Their whole dynamic becomes the first of the tragic doomed romances in this show. Every single romantic love story in ‘Fangs of Fortune’ ends in tragedy usually with one of the pair dying.
Costumes
In regards to costuming, the two also follow the pattern of having a complimenting color palette in their pairing. While Pei Sijing and Wen Xiao often fill the black & white dichotomy, Wen Xiao and E Shou have a contrasting pink and blue in their costumes.
These can possibly be read as male and female colourings since stereotypically pink is a girlish color and blue is a masculine one. Within this scene, E Shou is a lot more ‘girly’ than Wen Qiao with her long eyelashes, fluffy robes, plaits and hair accessories. Wen Qiao takes a much more leading role, steering their encounter and leading the ‘dance’ of their fight. She wraps her arms around E Shou’s shoulders and holds the umbrella to shelter her. So while this is a very gendered way to look at their dynamic, the costuming does lend itself to viewing their pairing through a romantic lens via these choices.
This entire beautiful encounter happens while Zhuo Yichen and Zhao Yuanzhou meet each other. Their meeting forever alters the course of both of their lives, so it was interesting to see that this was who Wen Xiao was paired with while this was happening.
The First of the Doomed Lovers
Every love story in ‘Fangs of Fortune’ is doomed and E Shou and Wen Xiao’s encounters together very neatly falls in line with the other love stories we are shown throughout the show. Other than Jingxiao (and Zhuo Yichen + Wen Xiao), every love story in this series ends with the deaths of one or more of the pair involved. Here are all of them in order:
[Doomed Lovers of Fangs of Fortune: Wen Xiao & E Shou, Ran Yi & Lady Qi, Cheng Huang & Baize, Qing Geng & Fei, Zhu Yin & Prime Minister, Li Lun & Zhu Yan, Zhuo Yichen & Wen Xiao, Bingyi & Ying Long, Wen Xiao & Pei Sijing, Princess Longyu & Wen Zongyu (+ his wife), Ao Yin & Li Lun, Wen Xiao & Zhao Yuanzhou, Zhuo Yichen & Zhao Yuanzhou]
Episode 1: Wen Xiao & E-Shou; E Shou is killed
Ran Yi Arc: Ran Yi & Lady Qi; Both of them die
Sun Dial Arc: Cheng Huang & Baize; Both of them commit suicide
Plague Arc: Fei & Qing Geng; Fei kills himself and Qing Geng dies later
Wilderness Arc: Prime Minister & Zhu Yin (it fits the category neatly!); Prime Minister betrays Zhu Yin. Both of them die later killed by Zhu Yan and Ao Yin respectively.
Dream Bureau: Li Lun & Zhao Yuanzhou; Li Lun fakes his death in this arc.
Rescuing Zhu Yan: Zhuo Yichen & Wen Xiao’s relationship is pretty much signalled as never going to happen here. (Edit: I can’t believe I forgot about these two smh)
Demon Arc: Ying Long & Bingyi; Ying Long dies. (Pei Sijing & Wen Xiao heartbreak but they don’t die so yay?)
Villain Backstory: Wen Zongyu & Princess Longyu (+his wife); He betrays Princess Longyu so she murders his wife. She later dies after seeing him again.
Poison Arc: Ao Yin & Li Lun; Ao Yin dies (I see it as unrequited but she definitely loved him)
Second Wilderness Arc: Li Lun & Zhao Yuanzhou (again); Li Lun goes into the branch and then dies in the finale.
Final Arc: Zhao Yuanzhou & Zhuo Yichen (though Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou can apply as well, but I’ve already given my thoughts on this); Zhao Yuanzhou dies.
Ergo, E Shou and Wen Xiao’s brief encounter slots perfectly into this running theme of doomed lovers. They set the theme going forward with how tragedy is at the centre of every love story in ‘Fangs of Fortune’. I really hoped that we would see E Shou again in another episode but it wasn’t to be. Therefore, to summarise, we really need more fanfiction and fanart of these two.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although not the central focus of the show, queer relationships between women shape an important part of the narrative in showing character development of the women involved in them.
Pei Sijing is only able to develop as much as she does through her connection to Wen Xiao, who in turn has significant character moments surrounding both Pei Sijing and the demon E Shou. While both love stories are ultimately doomed to a sad end, as is the case of every love in this show, the audience can infer the deep devotion and bonds between these women and we, as fans, can write and envision a happy ending for our ladies.
I have one more essay I plan to write on ‘Fangs of Fortune’ where I plan to explore the excellent bisexual coding of the three main leads in detail and also how the relationships can be viewed in a polycule dynamic.
If you want to read my first essay, where I explore Yuanyi’s relationship and how their love story defines the show, please click below:
A Masterclass in Queer Coding: The Not-So Hidden Bromance of ‘Fangs of Fortune’
[Coming Soon - but not too soon because I need a break:
A Masterclass in Queer Coding III: The Not-So Subtle Bisexualism of ‘Fangs of Fortune’]
As I write my GL essay on ‘Fangs of Fortune’ I’m revisiting the utter tragedy of another ‘Love Story Untold’ with E Shou and Wen Xiao. Why is there no fanfiction of these two? ;-;
I know we have Jingxiao perfection but ugh these two managed to hit such a tragic untold romance in the first episode that I was so hoping we would somehow see E Shou again.
I hereby dub this ship Xiaoshou. Which ironically when I typed it into a translator engine spat out this:
小寿 (xiǎoshòu) - Little Longevity
Which is a pretty tragically ironic ship name for this short doomed pairing.
If I use the actual characters ‘Xiao’ and ‘Shou’ of their names I get this:
潇兽 (xiāoshòu) - Elegant Beast, which fits in a Beauty & The Beast way I suppose.
