So, I don't know if this was intentional, or just me over analyzing things, but I suddenly realized that this whole event reads a lot like a symbolic representation of the plot of the quest up to now.
In the first part, Ling Qi finds herself witnessing a conflict between representatives of two factions, each denouncing the other as barbaric. Ling Qi is unnoticed, but in a position to swing the tides. She also has no understanding of the nature the conflict, but she does end up picking a side, her choice encouraged by the discovery that one group is opposed to someone who has given her help in the past. She also has a friend who likewise has no stake in the fight, but feels some pressure from the warring factions to take certain actions. This friend ultimately follows Ling Qi's lead.
The prince represents Sun Liling and Kang Zhihao and their factions. They renounce the Bai as monsters and call Cai mad for illogically supporting Meizhen. They justify their actions using the fact they are currently favored in the imperial court, using this to sway others to their side. The vengeance spirit represents Cai and her faction (which includes Meizhen). She denounces the other faction as breaking the proper codes of justice and honor. Meizhen is also represented by the moon symbol. It was seeing that symbol defaced that solidified Ling Qi's decision to attack the prince, just as her opposition to Sun and Kang was largely driven by her relationship with Meizhen. Shen Hu generally represents Ling Qi's other, unaligned friends, and in this part especially represents the GF group, who are not directly invested in this conflict, but end up following Ling Qi's lead once the fighting breaks out. Ling Qi drives off the prince, but hesitates to do more than that; likewise the Sun and Kang factions are defeated, but not out of the fight. This is in part because of the rules of the sect, but also Ling Qi's nature. Although she gives help when called upon, she doesn't truly understand the nature of the conflict and doesn't fully commit herself to the side she chose to support. Even when enemies like Yan Renshu make things more personal, she is content to drive them off, rather than permanently neutralize them.
The next part is the choice to go to the village or stay and meet the king. Meeting the king offers the chance for Ling Qi to get a much better sense of the higher conflict, and possibly shift things one way or the other, as well as the possibility of further rewards. But this also involves great risks; Ling Qi has gotten some information from the spirit, but there is still a lot she doesn't know, and she can't be sure how the king will react. He is a powerful being with an inhuman mindset that is difficult to predict as Vengeance himself warns. She may be getting in over her head. This represents Cai's offer of vassalhood. It's an option that carries many potintial rewards, and the opportunity to become more involved in the higher political conflict. At the same, it was a major commitment made with relatively little information. Cai, as represented by Vengeance, showed gratitude for Ling Qi's unexpected assistance, but did little to try to sway Ling Qi's descision, preferring to offer the basic facts and let her judge. She did, however, admit to finding her own mother terrifying and dangerous, just as the spirit warned Ling Qi of the King's current temper.
The choice to go with Shen Hu to the village represented the option to stay in the Sect. This would have involved distancing herself from politics of the higher nobles to focus on training with her friends and protecting the province with the sect military. Shen Hu again represents her other friends; not just the GF group, but also Su Ling and LI Suyin. These are people who are less interested in getting involved in the higher conflicts of the empire, and are content to follow their own, humbler way in the Sect. Su Ling, with her desire to protect defenseless mortals, is symbolized here especially strongly.
Finally, we get to the meeting with the king. Ling Qi comes face to face with a creature of tremendous power. It turns it's burning gaze on her and asks her a simple question about her intentions. Ling Qi is shaken, but manages to come up with an answer. The being is somewhat intrigued by Ling Qi ambition, and so gives her knowledge as well as the opportunity for greater power, though to obtain it she must participate in a difficult trial. The parallel with Shenhua is obvious. The back story we get of the conflict seems to mirror current events. We have two factions with conflicting ideologies. The reasons behind the conflict may mean little to Ling Qi personally, but to the factions involved they are deadly serious. For a time, both factions were kept in line by a higher authority, but now that authority has waned, and they factions are now attempting to completely destroy each other. This matches the current situation. The imperial family and the ministries are losing their ability to reign in the fighting clans. Lines are being drawn, and everything is building toward a major conflict. Shenhua seems to be preparing to launch her own Wild Hunt to tear down the structures of the heretical and bring the empire to what she deems the "true" way. And at this point, Ling Qi has little choice but to swept along. Now, it's a matter of what she prioritizes most in the coming conflict. does she need the power to defeat her enemies? The power to survive the coming trials? Or does she wish to forgo those rewards, and put herself at risk to shield her friends and/or the mortals from the coming conflict?
