AleksandraSucur

I am contemporarily re-watching that drama bc I've noticed I've never rated it meanwhile forgetting its content.

Imo, they aren't similar. Minglan is calculative and cautious bc. of what happened to her mom, but she received a lot of love from her grandma and is very stable and mentally healthy. They are both well written characters: which one is better probably depends on taste. I prefer Minglan, maybe bc. I'd probably be scared of Ye Li if I were to meet such a person in reality. She is too deranged and for how much her condition is understandable, her moves, thoughts and decisions are too unpredictable to handle. Ye Li is similar to another memorable (although less well written when compared to Minglan and Ye LI) FL: Shaoshang from LLTG, who suffered from the abandonment syndrome and was also cunning, manipulative and unpredictable and just like Ye Li, never shared her intentions and plans with other persons, carrying out her revenges relying only on her own.

the scriptwriter has a diabolic mind, I hope she donates her brain after death, as the experts can look a bit into it, lol.

Omg, so the ML's brother gave the edict to FL's mom and FL's father took it from her and gave it to the Qin consort, so as the Muyang gang can easily condemn ML's bro to the death. And this thing costed the loss of three cities raided by an enemy country (Cangbei) where Muyang smuggled the weapons. Meanwhile, the old emperor died, CP was killed and the gang helped empress dowager to install a kid as an emperor, committing all sorts of crimes in the process (like Lishan people who were escorting MJL) and even after that (7 Lishan scholars who were out before their isolation).
Heh, it's interesting ED reprimanded Muyang he doesn't know to choose honorable persons, but she should tell such a thing watching herself in the mirror first.

Poor A'Yao, feeling guilt towards his bro for all these years bc. he abandoned that pass after a quarrel with his bro for saving Ye Li, convinced he would have blocked the enemy forces if he stayed there.
And now that girl he saved, daughter of that wretched man, is his wife, with her infinitely deep bag of lies of all sorts, including those "for his own good"! He'll be really angry when he finds out about the sorts of that edict... poor man.

You're too kind ❤️
It's me who misunderstood your intention. But in direction of what you've intended, there were better precedents outside China that led coups d'état in order to seize the imperial power: Irene of Athens (Byzantine empress), Elisabeth of Russia and later her niece Catherine the Great who militarily deposed her husband, lol.
In Chinese history, the one whose actions resembles Guo Jin's the most is Cixi. She even led two coups (one wasn't enough): Xinyou Coup (when she allied with prince Gong, stole the seal and executed members of the regency council) and 1898 coup, when she stormed the Forbidden City with military units, placed the emperor (her own son) under house arrest for the rest of his life, and executed his top reformist advisors. Then she ruled through a puppet boy.

Ah, ok, sorry, I was misdirected by the verb "based" or "inspired", interpreting it too literally.

Although Qingshuang wasn't present in the scene between Ye Li and ML's brother on the scaffold, which occurred after her mother's death and before her reaching Lishan, nor in the scene she handed the pastries to the ML in cage, for some reason I am unable to explain, I think Qingshuang was with Ye Li when they've reached the mountain. We don't know when exactly capt. Li descended the mountain and how Ye Li established such a strong relation with him, sending him to Ye's family 3 years before her marriage, but capt. Li knew Qingshuang, he knew she existed as a person and knows Ye Li is imagining her presence. Their connection could be possible only in two cases:
1. he somehow broke the encirclement and descended the mountain after Ye Li and Qingshuang were already there
2. He met Ye Li, her mother and Qingshuang at the temple or somewhere else along Ye Li's trip (which took time, given she returned to the capital to meet ML's bro and ML in cage) after her mother died. If Qingshuang was already dead, he wouldn't have known her or would have known she was dead, as well.

The reason of the death is another thing. But we have sufficient elements to think she is really dead and buried in that graveyard.
As for the teasers, Ye family is no good. From the very start we know they've sent her away in fear they might be implicated in the contention between the academy and the ED. Even with the elements we have now and her dying along the way to Lishan - they are at least indirectly responsible. If there's more (eg. someone sent bandits after them or similar things), it would only additionally confirm what we already know: they are no good.

In "my" scenario, MJL wouldn't release him before bringing down both the emperor and the ED, helped by Muyang's neurosis and mutual distrust between these three persons. In secret, MJL is probably already preparing for a coup... adding fuel to these compromised relations would be easy and his intervention would seem more natural and would be accepted at least by neutral ministers.
So yes, thank you for confirming this action wasn't logical.

But he would have obtained the same result even without making him a corpse, ED would still suspesct Muyang abducted him and maybe even killed him. And with the benefit to bring him out to testify against Muyang in the future (btw Yuan was already been abducted by Muyang people and saved by the ML's people). It isn't working together, MJL could have explained him he detained him for his own good, preventing Muyang to do so and even protecting the ED, whose authority would be diminished if the emperor's people succeded to bring him to the court first. Because that was the reason why the emperor encharged two groups of people (the ML's and the eunuch's) to save, protect and bring Yuan to him personally - to put the empress in the hard spot, bc. Muyang's faction was always perceived as hers.

Ofc. that story would be a lie and Yuan wouldn't probably believe it, but he would have no options but to accept it.

But you are probably right, the scriptwriter maybe needed smth for MJL to "cross the line" and couldn't figure out smth more logical and coherent with MJL's character. Although MJL isn't depicted as super smart, he has a professional advisor who was there and who would have logically been against such a move. Yuan was ED's person of trust, but he was still a high imperial official, if the truth who murdered him ever comes out, MJL's reputation, which is already bad in other ways, would hit the bottom.

Her mother died in the temple where she was depicting Divine Mother and was burried in the temple's graveyard. They've took shelter in the temple during their trip from the capital to Li-mountain, but she was ill, disappointed, angry and... she died there.
I doubt FL would pay respects and let her disabled husband pay respect to her mother on his knees before a false tomb.
FL then reached Lishan alone (or with that maid she imagines all the time)

Hm, there's one significant difference between Wu Zetian and Guo Jin. Wu Zetian was proclaimed empress during her husband's rule and was de facto ruling in his stead during his last years, after his stroke. She was so favoured by Gao Zong (they had 12 children together and the title of heir to the throne was conferred only to her sons) that he left a written edict entitling to deal with the politics in a sort of joint rule independently of the fact the designated heir has already come to an age (both her sons she was co-ruling with were adults when she installed them)... Guo Jin was UNFAVOURED, never ruled instead of her husband and there was another designated CP in the moment of the former emperor's death, whom she burnt together with his wife, children (with the exception of MJL) and Eastern Palace to the ground. Whether she ascend to the throne herself or installed an underaged prince, what Guo Jin had done was literally a coup d'état, in both scenarios. While Wu Zetian's rule, at least in the case of co-rule with her sons, installing and removing them from the throne, had solid legal basis. Her direct ascension was triggered by constant opposition and manipulation of the traditionalists. She was a de facto ruler for many decades and when a de facto condition is so long, de iure confirmation of that condition was meant to settle down an intolerable situation. Guo Jin had no de facto experience nor de iure justification. She simply usurped the power.

For how much I rack my brains, I cannot figure out a valid reason for the assassination of that Yuan investigator/military inspecto in the weaponry smuggling case. MJL said "it wasn't the right moment" to reveal Muyang was behind that smuggling but if the timing was wrong, he could have just detained that officer, obtaining the same result as with his murder: the empress would suspect Muyang as she is suspecting him now, the emperor would appear stupid bc his people were unable to prevent the officer's abduction and Muyang would also become nervous as is his now, maybe even more because unable to find out with whom Yuan talked, ie. who else knows he is behind the smuggling. After all, his people abducted Yuan first with the intention to shut his mouth for good.
Keeping inspector Yuan alive to testify in a future moment against Muyang is an addional argument against the assassination. Anyone has any idea why MJL killed him?

Me too. I suppose the strong psychological aspect and puzzle box narrative of TFJ caught us totally off guard! Our curiosity simply cannot drop such a delicious hook. 😂
Indeed, this year beside Swords into plowshares, I can't recall another drama I was dying awaiting the next eps, I've thought of Silent Tides but now checked and it was released in 2025...

Hi, Salwa, nice to see you here.
The overall style (attires and make-up) looks a lot like Tang and/or 5dyn-10kingdoms, the capital is evidently Chang'an, deductable from the name of capital prefecture, but the dynasty in the story is fictional and there are some confusing elements in military armour (heavy Song armours) and furniture which doesn't belong to that period (eg. the shape of some chairs, typical Ming decorations under the tables), indicating the art dep. didn't bother much to copy the Tang style to the letter.

It's a treat to watch a drama of this kind also bc we can have exchange our ops here, my dear

I like your theory, it actually corresponds to mine (modern and scientifical), but lets see how the plot will develop, that's why we are all so excited 🙂

I'll repeat what I've already said: DID, dissociative disorder, is a condition which can relate to different mental pathologies, including the PTSD. It can also manifestate (or "develop" to use your term) in other mental disorders/pathologies.
But I am totally sure she doesn't suffer from schizophrenia., bc people suffering from schizophrenia show a series of other symptomes, like thought or movement disorders, she simply doesn't have, so we have to rule it out.

I can't call myself an expert either, but I've been in contact with practically all sorts of mental health issues (as well as all sorts of physical disabilities), including schizophrenia and PTSD.
In my opinion she is the PTSD range, schizophrenia needs some genetical and biochimical preconditions and that's why it's uncurable.
And I agree with you her conditions are troubling, and can present problems with knowledgeable viewers under this aspect, but as of wp 11 I didn't feet any flaw in the script, so I suppose they've done their research well and lets continue watchin' 🤗

That's why I've said, we should brace ourselves to learn what happened on the Lu mountain to understand her.
I am definitely scared