I’m still so fucking hung up on the whole thing of Changyu mistaking the princess using the ben gong form of address for herself for Bengong being her name…
Not only do I love it and find it fascinating and funny from a linguistic standpoint… and I adore this kind of linguistic/translation quandry… like howwww do you translate a joke like this that is essentially untranslatable because the forms of address on which the joke relies don’t exist in other languages?
But also… I love that it again highlights the so very different life that Changyu has lead… the chasm in knowledge and experience between a commoner of the time and those in government/in the palace.
Because of course she would never before have heard someone referring to themselves as ben gong. Why would she? That form is used exclusively by royalty. When would she ever have come into contact with royalty.
She when she hears someone saying “You saved ben gong. Ben gong thanks you.” of course she’s going to think the person is referring to themselves in the 3rd person and that their name is Bengong.
Why would it even remotely occur to her that they are actually saying (effectively) “You saved this princess. This princess thanks you.”
