Getting to know the Charming Su Mo Ye

Credit: Tencent, Eternal Love of Dream

Mi Gu, Tang Qi’s trusted assistant wrote in her latest blog post that there has been a lot of interest in the second prince of The West Sea. He charmed his way into our hearts during Aranya’s Dream Arc in the television adaptation of The Pillow Book, Eternal Love of Dream (ELoD). So let’s find out more about the most sociable character of the Four Seas and Eight Realms, a second-generation affluent, Su Mo Ye.

Su Mo Ye first made his appearance in the book, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom (TMOPB). His background was explained through Bai Qian’s perspective. He was revealed as the Second Prince of the West Sea, a good friend of Bai Qian’s fourth brother, Bai Zhen and the younger brother of Die Yong. When Bai Zhen went to the Crystal Palace of the West Sea to visit his drinking buddy, Su Mo Ye, the prince revealed that his elder brother was gravely ill.

After finding out that Die Yong was ill, Bai Zhen offered to have Zhe Yan of Ten Miles Peach Forest heal him. Zhe Yan then found Mo Yuan’s primordial spirit residing in Die Yong’s body. This led to Bai Qian arriving at the West Sea and taking over the care of Die Yong, Ye Hua coming to apologise to her and the events leading to the quest for the Ying Zhou Immortal Grass.

Su Mo Ye’s most important role is in Aranya’s Dream Arc of the Pillow Book. The reason why Lian Song requested his help to enter Aranya’s dream was that he is the son of the Queen of Serpents, the Goddess of Mount Qi. Lian Song needed someone who could suppress the power of the four pythons without injury and Su Mo Ye’s bloodline fitted this criterion perfectly. The second reason why Su Mo Ye agreed to enter Aranya’s Dream was that he was Aranya’s teacher and wanted to investigate the truth behind her death.

Su Mo Ye was often misunderstood as a fine and dandy playboy. His elegance and good looks have attracted the attention of countless ladies. However, it is not that he intentionally courted them, on the contrary, the ladies were the ones who pursued him.

His sincerity towards his disciple Aranya was extraordinary. He rescued Aranya from the snake pit when she was fifteen years old and raised her till she was sixty. Although Aranya was not related to him by blood, Su Mo Ye had always regarded her as family.

At the time when trouble was brewing in Fanyin Valley, Su Mo Ye went back to the West Sea to take care of some matters. When he left, Aranya was still a lively girl. When he came back, all that was left was her grave. The Bi Yi Niao clan claimed she had committed suicide by hanging herself. In Aranya’s dream, Su Mo Ye asked Feng Jiu to re-enact everyday of Aranya’s life in order to find out the true cause of her death.

From Feng Jiu’s perspective, his willingness to enter a dangerous place like Aranya’s dream to find out the true cause of his disciple’s death made her see Su Mo Ye in a new light. Feng Jiu thought that people sometimes perceived Su Mo Ye as having an unusual temperament, which was true. He was genuine about his emotions, whether it was smiling warmly, smiling indifferently or smiling heartily. What was rare was that he could simultaneously yet sincerely project these three kinds of smiling faces akin to a Thousand-Faced God.

Su Mo Ye is a second-generation affluent with an impressive noble bloodline. He mingles and socialises amongst other affluent deities just like himself such as the Heavenly Clan’s infamous Third Prince Lian Song and Qing Qiu Nine-tailed Fox Clan’s fourth son Bai Zhen. Su Mo Ye’s daily hobby of making tea matches his identity, status, name and appearance. Even the name he gave to the tea, Bi Fu Chun, exuded elegance.

Although he is a noble who seems to enjoy life, Su Mo Ye is much more than that. In the Pillow Book, Su Mo Ye is praised as the most intelligent deity in the West Seas and also the best strategist of his generation. Besides being smart, he is also someone capable. In Aranya’s dream, he helped Dong Hua Di Jun create a magical artifact. Even though he didn’t know what the artifact was at the time, he still spent seven to eight sleepless days and nights forging it.

For a first grade, elegant and accomplished man, Su Mo Ye’s biggest heartache was Aranya. In the book, Feng Jiu silently speculated that Su Mo Ye was using official business as an excuse, and went back to the West Sea because of a broken heart.

True to his outward personality, he was unwilling to show his sorrow, and chose to leave with grace. It was only through Aranya’s dream that he revealed his true affections towards his disciple, Aranya. Seeing this soft side of Su Mo Ye, many felt a sense of sorrow and pity towards him and praised him for being a gentleman that is hard to come by.

Su Mo Ye is indeed an elegant and graceful character. He takes on life with a dandy and carefree demeanour. Even when his heart was broken, he still faced the world with a devil-may-care attitude. It is only through Aranya’s dream that we catch a glimpse of the real Su Mo Ye, the man behind the mask of nonchalance, of his secret longing for Aranya, his devastation over her death and his willingness to face danger in his quest for the truth.

Note from Mi Gu: After telling Su Mo Ye’s story, I only have this to say – fortunately, Miao Qing kicked up a ruckus and refused to marry this ‘playboy’. She is not a good match for our exemplary, Su Mo Ye.

Miao Qing is the princess of the Eastern Sea in TMOPB; for those of you wondering who she is. If you could recall, she saved A Li in Mount Jun Ji from an evil spirit and then offered to serve Ye Hua and A Li while they were staying there. She is betrothed to Su Mo Ye but refuses to marry him for obvious reasons.