AleksandraSucur

what is his great plan? It could only be to take the throne and revenge against his brother and step mother. He doesn't care for the people, otherwise he wouldn't be ready to sacrifice an entire city. What did he wait till now in order to that? The dude kept death camps for so many years, training a few girls/assassins to seduce and marry to high officials is certainly not a big deal. From that point, it looks easy-peasy for a girl to enter the emperor's chamber, finish him and commit suicide. Once deprived of her legit son, the dowager is powerless, he can kill her after taking the throne and finding how to make antidotes. Maybe with some veeery painful poison.

I think it's far worse for his ego to be anywhere near his psycho bro. And it's not just ego, he's risking his neck, too

right

This Jinxiu seems like a shi**y place to live. Especially for a prince.
If he was truly clever, he would have stayed in prosperous Susha as an in-house son-in-law: with his brainless wife, he could have enjoyed riches, women, hang around with his ally Murong Yao, could enter PM's clique and have fun giving a hard time to FSG. He saved enough antidotes to give one to a profi farmacists to discover the ingredients and produce them on his own.
And if he wanted a revenge against his bro, he could have worked for the war from Susha. His entire army would have defected to his side, also bc they weren't paid from Jinxiu treasury but from Murong Yao, that's how they've survived without salary.

I suppose the scriptwriter(s) wanted his wife to face a reality check, that's why they ought to go to Jinxiu.

heh, in this case, FSG is acting like a hero and XJS like a villain.
Lets' hope he is an ecception to the rule and continues to live as a hero.

Neither do I understand the logic of becoming evil due to sufferings. Besides, FSG suffered too in his childhood, the only difference he was not poisoned.

yup

yup, my thoughts as well

I've also just started, I'm at ep 2- not a big kick opening like Fated Hearts but so far it isn't annoying either.

Me too. Their dialogues are definitely memorable

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