被他田家背后的人抓住了把柄
“the people behind the Tian family will use it against us,”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
万一扑空了
“but if we find nothing,”
被他田家背后的人 抓住了 把柄
“the people behind the Tian family will use it against us,”
说我们以权谋私
“claiming we abuse our power for personal gain.”
“We can't afford to slip up; their backers are waiting for an excuse to ruin us.”
In Chinese bureaucratic culture, direct confrontation is less common than looking for an opponent's procedural flaw (把柄) to legally or morally dismantle them.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
to seize leverage; to catch someone with dirt on them
Crucial expression in Chinese interpersonal and workplace politics for getting hold of incriminating material against an opponent.
the person/people behind the scenes; the backer
Refers to the unseen power broker or patron pulling the strings for an individual or family.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“and bring the Tian family to justice in one stroke.”
“the future of our family rests on your shoulders.”
“Could the Tian family be using the same trick again—”
“We still haven't figured out a single way to compete with the Kuroda family.”
“this is the Tian family's retribution. They deserve it.”
“How did the Tian family suddenly become involved in this?”