#was a galaxy brain move on SPC's part

[astrarche-x]

rereading the spring hunt chapter and having feels about Ouyang's meeting with the Great Khan

Firstly, I find it quite poignant that it's the second time we see Ouyang have a panic attack and both times this happens when he has a face-to-face meeting with people directly responsible for murdering his family: Chaghan and the Great Khan. Like huh, the embodied trauma of it all.

Secondly, there's the fact that the Khan can see Ouyang's ghosts and asks if he's an Ouyang from Henan. He knows. And he still chooses to praise Ouyang's skills, rewards him and tells him to serve his masters "loyally and well"???? Like, I know that one reason is that he probably kind of had to say this because of manners/protocol etc. But I also think it underlines how, for the Great Khan, Ouyang is someone who can make amends for his father's betrayal in a positive way. He can be precisely what his father was not: a loyal, talented general who will bring success for the empire, and it is his LOYALTY that would allow him to restore the honour for himself & his family. And of course we know that this is could never happen because Ouyang really lacks some crucial info here and also he was never going to give up on getting his revenge especially on Chaghan (and this is not even getting into the whole ''former slave asked to uphold the regime who enslaved him'' dynamic). But just. losing my mind over the fact that Ouyang had the option to regain his honour by staying loyal to Esen - by doing precisely the one thing he wanted, the only thing that made him happy. And he still did the exact opposite.

And thirdly, that line of foreshadowing....... yeah.