AleksandraSucur

Come on, it was a rare attack of his honesty... She annoyed him, harassed him... now she'll taste a few slaps she never tasted and the audience is expecting

it's easy, just rewatch the scene she told her brother she'll change XJS.
No, he didn't say all these things you've ask for, but if your brother tells you there's smth off, then you see "your love" so concerned about another woman, will you not go just a bit more cautious, even if you're young and naive?

Interesting and well organised analysis - I agree totally but would add a few details which would maybe change your "predictions".
1. FSG and XJS are "specular characters". They've both suffered their good share of injustice, they've both undertaken a military carrier, they even both love the same woman and yet they are so different. FSG is ruthless and angered too (we've all seen the whipping, kicks etc) but has his bottom lines he'll never cross: death camps, using children as baits, shooting the person closest to you, sacrifying civilians and all other XJS' sh*t ... FSG's sufferings instead made him decisive and he'll rather die than give up his principles, while XJS is one of the greatest hypocrite ever written. "I don't kill women" was the phrase he told FSG's sister when she fell for him. The 2 sworn brothers and a sister sit around his table and eat with him bc. "there are no lowly persons in this world", yet, he was the one who owned the death camp they've survived and were freed to be his puppet-killers. And so on. Yes, he is poisoned and FSG isn't. We don't know when, why and how he was poisoned, but can you imagine FSG being posioned and making all these unredeemable things in life bc of it?
2. Xiyang. Lets not talk about things you've mentioned, let's talk about a girl who is just so self confident she'll change an adult and experienced man she knows nothing about, who openly told her (in his rare attacks of honesty) he'll never love her, who feels annoyed and harassed by her, and who will most probably pass her down to his debauched bro for his own self-preservation, what are her chances to contribute to his redemption? No, he'll do the opposite: he'll slap her, humiliate and use her (and we, the audience, won't even blink), no way he'll be moved by this brainless, pampered and a troublemaker girl. Eventually, we'll cheer if she is his doom (that would be a redemption for her), but they'll inevitably both die

FSG told her who he was, you've probably missed it.
And she answered that she would change him.

Her age and naivety justify her self-centrism, obsession over a man who clearly told her he'll never love her (in his rare moment of honesty), giving a sh*t to abandon her father and brother who care dearly for her while not knowing how will she and her hubby assure the peace - the basic reason why this marriage even happened, talking nonsense to her "love" instead of hearing what he says and so on?

We were all young and naive, but not so stupid not to understand when so. didn't share feelings and thoughts. When we were young and naive, we also sometimes lied to our parents, but we would have never shamelessly stolen smth really important to our family. Loving so. else never means abandoning all other people you care for.

And where does this confidence that she can change an adult man we know nothing about come from? Yeah, maybe you're right, she is not at fault, her brother and father are at fault for pampering her and not giving her a slap when she deserved it. Maybe that's her tragicity, bc. she'll certainly get slaps from her dear hubby.

yup

no need to enter the screen, don't worry XJS will slap her for you both...
She'll annoy him for sure, just wait patiently

Don't worry, your fav will slap her for u. 😂
Later... "all men must die" 😂😂
Yeah, incredibly well written, no dull moments and making sense all the time. At least, untill now, lets hope it'll continue with this pace

Could be, PM and daughter asking each other "did you know he was checking on the emperor once a year?"
But think - if he is - it's a recent, not an old thing

number 4. the amnesia was vital to the story, totally functional to the plot, was credible, well done and did not last long. And we are grateful to the a**hole antagonist SML who shot her and caused her amnesia, because without it, it would be a completely different and not such a great story.
number 5: ML & FL chemistry, physics, mechanics, dynamics. optics, electromagnetism... 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
number 6: father-son interraction, apparently cool & great emperor regularly gets doses of clapbacks from his even greater son
number 8: "meanie and hypocrite"
number 9: villain from number 8 marries a princess who doesn't have enough brain cells to be a villain, yet manages to annoy and harass him
number 10: a series of unforgettable betrayals
number 11: most memorable ML's getting on and off the horse
number 12: the most memorable sword fight between a sworn sister and brother: the two cry, scream, bleed, feel pain (one for a betrayal, the other for being betrayed) and fight (BGM: Killing Me Roughly/with his swords instead of Killing Me Softly/with his words...)
and so on...

I agree with you, but you made me think of all other memorable things this drama gave us: initial BDSM vibes, whipping, biting, insults, toying with knives, hairpins and similar piercing objects, continued with other forms of physical and mental closeness: heavily drinking, sword-dancing, cheek squeezing, applying medicines and dressing wounds, teasing each other (even after they've survived a boat explosion), bickering and boasting... Their interraction is hot, energetic incessant, vibrant, dynamic.
Father-son interractions: emperor's apparent coolness and FSG's sharp clapbacks.
FSG's jumping on and off the horse.
And many, many more, I truly can't decide among so many memorable scenes

Even a villain must have some brain cells to be a villain, that's why she is not one

Don't compare Juliet to Xiyang! You are the second person who makes this comparison while the two are such a different persons! 1. Juliet didn't fall for Romeo after their first meeting 2. Juliet was courted and loved by Romeo, her feelings were reciprocated all along, she was never delusional or obsessed 3. Juliet cared about her family much more than they've cared for her (her family saw her as a mere pawn and nothing else, they've promised her to an older man for their power game and never asked about how she felt), she was discussing the situation and how to solve the enmity between their families with Romeo.
The tragicity of the two is completely different: Xiyang will end tragically bc she totally deluded herself and became obsessed with one sided love, while being self-centred and confident she can change people she doesn't know at all.

I've dropped that drama. In general, in any drama I skip fireworks (and many other redundant things and tropes, I find them terribly irritating), but this drama managed to keep my attention throughout each and every second of all episodes till now, infusing sense even in scenes I usually find repetitive and annoying.

Listening to Xiyang's nonsense yesterday was already bad, but being sexually harassed by her is a way worse. XJS won't accept such a heavy life with this idiot. He gave his best to persuade her to go back but being she such a tough nut(s), he probably already plan to get rid of her by passing her to his debauched bro.

On the bright side, I think this was my first time I didn't FF-ard fireworks, that says enough how enchanted I was with FSG + FYX ❤️ in the same frame. And they (the fireworks) were different than those I usually skip, fire sparks were all around, not in the sky. In the sky instead I've seen aurora borealis but was too smitten to think of the impossibility of the phenomenon. They are in Susha, a fictional empire, and even if it were a real one, I wouldn't doubt the aurora: these two together make everything possible. I'm so in love with them!!!

Don't count today's eps, we already know what will happen in them from the previews (princess's escape from Susha and leads' love confession). The remaining 20 eps must cover following subplots at least: 1. the story of the second "couple" (lets say they are couple) in Jinxiu and potential entanglement of the princess with the debauched emperor, 2. secrets of that medicine kingdom 3. truth behind the conspiration and death of the former empress. And a few battles, assassination attempts we've seen in trailers, destiny of that female death camp general, sworn brothers etc.
The gain for Murong the father which induced him to conspire initially could have been a deal with PM to hold military power (held by the imperial couple till that point) while the other controls civil powers and the throne. It may seem too simple but it isn't unreasonable.
Lets see 🤓

If both Zhuang PM and Murong the father conspired against the former empress - a highly logical possibility, one family isn't enough - it is a sufficient reason to take down the first prince in itself: if he succeeds to the throne, he'll investigate that conspiration and they'll all lose their heads.
The risk to fall to Jinxiu is low, given their internal situation (the emperor is fooling around with wives and daughters of his court officials, the prince with military power is poisoned, striving to take the throne from his bro, while the latter wants to take over his brother's army and fiefs, the state finances are a mess, the soldiers are not paid..). The cooperation with XJS at Pingling aimed to take down FSG (and only his battalion) with dishonour. His eventual defeat and death there wouldn't change the basical stalemate and balance between two states.
XJS is in contact with both MY and Zhuangs, beside the fact that someone helped him to create and maintain a death camp in Susha and that person could have not been MY, bc he is too young, XJS is older than FSG, FJX and MY.
Being this older generation implicated in the current situation, then it's logical to connect it with the conspiration against the former "warrior empress" of Susha.
Besides, we are almost in the middle of the drama, it would take a lot of time to elaborate eventual rivalry between Zhuangs and Murongs and such a subplot would probably annoy the audience who is after the romance.

so, we see this thing more or less in the same way. ☺️
As for the point 2, I think that scene was just casual, aimed to distract us. Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was only MY who created this alliance with XYS on his own. But with XYS having a death camp in Susha, the numbers don't add up somehow. He dismantled the death camp in Jinxiu when FL was still very young and so. must have helped him to transfer that female manager to Susha and MY was still too young, too.
point 5. you're right, we haven't seen a single scene, but we can't rule out smth only bc we haven't seen it (yet). I also think there's no much time (tomorrow, dedicated to lovey dovey will pass the half of the drama) to explain the rivarly between nobles, so I think these two families were working together

this emperor is not a stupid person. Read below

below

1. the emperor was a "warrior emperor". His wife (FSG's mom) was also a warrior (probably even a better one), it means they've expanded Susha territory to the detriment of Jinxiu, maybe even neglecting the rising power of certain noble families who were managing things for him in the capital, so he was forced or induced to marry the PM's daughter
2. to stop that expansion, Jinxiu state (their former emperor) had a strong motivation to ally with so. in Susha who'd fabricate evidences and frame "the warrior empress". This person was probably Murong the father, who always stayed at the border, so had chances to make deals with the enemy state, exchange false documents, and still wants to stay there. And then dropped the "evidences" to the PM, who was happy to liquidate the empress and make his daughter a new one.
3. There's certainly more about these Murongs: as a teenager, FSG was probably recruited in their army (if not even helped by MY in doing that) who may have befriended him to spy on him. But he didn't die in any battle, achieved merits, formed his own battalion etc. He is the firstborn and with military achievements a natural successor. Who refuses to forget his mother and will certainly investigate his mother's case once on the throne.
4. We've seen that by opposing his son all the time, in reality the emperor fortifies him. He doesn't investigate his first wife's "treason" and forces him to call another woman "mother", because he fears these nobility forces, thinking they won't harm his children if they accomodate... If FSG continues to bring up his mother's case, ofc. they must kill him.
5. There's still a slight chance Murongs and Zhuangs are not allies but rivals, with opposite interests in Susha, allied with different power fractions in Jinxiu. Murongs work with XJS and Zhuangs with empress dowager who put the current emperor on the throne of Jinxiu and is a real force behind him