AleksandraSucur

He is a scholar, that's why he admires her talents and courage. He also feels smth tragic about her constant gender-crossing, and that hardship of hers reminds him of his mum's hard life and tragic death. That's the reason for his "protectiveness".
In general, he isn't prejudiced towards women and is so for another reason, beside his mom: his assistant (who is head over heels for him), a girl more efficient and protective than any man being also proficient in martial arts. I expect him to be drawn to his assistant the moment she passes through a certain hardship. Working for a bad guy (PM), he has many grey shadows (well, even the ML has them), but he is decent enough not to fall for a spoiled girl like PM's daughter.

exactly

Me2.
And I don't understand why all these persons are so annoyed with Chu Zhao? Instead of usual 2nd lead/antagonist stereotype (idiot, obsessive, self-centred, irritating...), we've finally got a decent, polite and good-looking 2nd, who is functional to the FL (ie., her personality can attract other men, not only the ML) and to her relationship with ML (adding some necessary pepper and stirring up competitive emotions in the latter).
Besides, his being attracted to the FL makes a lot of sense, too.

She was excited to see "the surprise" but ended dissapointed: "It's just an erotic picture, no big deal"
XJ - (gulp) you never feel shy...
"Only hypocrites pretend to be a prude..."
XJ --- (the cloud above his head: - does she really think so or is just provoking me?)
"but you are a true gentleman who follows the sages..."
XJ --- (- no doubt, she is provoking and pretending to be all-knowing about the subject, now I'll land her on the ground): - Oh, really? Do you really think a true gentleman behaves like me?

And then he literally lands her on the ground. Or better, on the erotic picture (and under a red veil).

As always, Feinu enters abruptly from nowhere just to interrupt their provocative play: Dudu... Why, Feinu, why don't you stop doing this to us?

and with a disclaimer he did it in order to know her better "being still a strong sus". Yeah, a sus, lets' see what will be his excuse next time 😁🍿

I totally agree with you. The script kept the core entanglement simple, easy to comprehend, creating just a short range of expectations: the development of their relationship in order to get their revenge/redemption/justice. I also appreciate this simplicity a lot, it gives us the opportunity to enjoy how the actors impersonate their characters, all the details in a military environment the production put into, the fights, camerawork etc., without being distracted by unnecessary complications

He'll make CQQ addicted to those oblivion pills. Poor girl.
I like Yang Yang's presentation of Han Li here - reserved and a bit shy, reflexive, dettached and cool, is this representation similar to donhua/novel?

you're right... but this drama displayed a richer variety of costumes, habits, interiors... and very accurately in details.

The effort they've spent in visuals and costumes is insane. Pity the story isn't particularly engaging and many eps are slow-paced and even dragged, bc. this drama represented the Tang aestethics most faithfully, it's truly the best. So, it's 8/10

Thank you very much

I've liked it a lot, as the efforts of its protagonist to get the soul of his mother from hell well expressed killer's efforts to bring justice and pay respects to her teacher.

Is that aria we've heard in the latest case from a famous Chinese opera?

the fourth case efficiently cropped long and tedious novel chapters. It reminded me of an old Italian movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DUbYMfCGJQ

I'm currently at chpt 230 and frankly don't know what to say, I am hardly enduring. All these C-web novels authors have a presumption to write "War and Peace" - and these 230 chapters already abundantly beat Tolstoi's W&P - the difference is: for how already boring is Tolstoi, his narrative was dealing with real events which were realistically and craftily narrated (ie. have some historical, chronical and educational-artistic value) while these novels contain so much nonsense and so much unrealistic things treated as realistic that you may get bored, annoyed and irritated at any moment.
These novels are made with a help of AI templates, the latter formed on audience's preferences (which often tolerate nonsense) and already existing patterns, so their artistic value is next to zero but they serve this exclusive purpose to be adapted (as an "original novel" source) one day in a drama. What will be included in the drama from that endless prolapse of words depends only on the screenwriter(s). In this drama, the first criminal case was badly written already in the novel, but more in line with the characters outlined in the novel than it was the case in the adaptation, second was waaay too long in the novel (the screen adaptation probably could have not been better than this, having in mind it occupied at least 80 if not more chapters), the third was excellently cropped, and now we are watching the fourth (in which the adaptation inserted the second couple romance).
Although unsatisfied with the start, I appreciate the screenwriter's effort to maintain a sort of balanced length/pacing (of the cases).
So, if you're not specifically interested in the generation of narrative, I wouldn't recomend you to read the novel. But given your personal interest in criminal justice, maybe you'll be delighted with a variety of cases, idk

The cameraman is so obsessed with mirrored shots... rather than watching, I feel I'm peeking at this drama 🫣

Incense burner will be counteracted by the second pill, the one the've put under the tongue, mind my words. 🙃😂
More 8 than 8,5 but it's true it gets somewhat better

the motivation of murder is not proportionate to the type of murder.
You can continue as much as you wish, but the motivation is an important part in sentencing the criminal cases, and if the type of murder is disconnected from the motivation, there is a HUGE problem (in real world courts).

There are terrible feminicides all over the world. 99,9% of them happen after some kind of rejection. Ofc, a rejection never justify a murder, but such murders occur as outbursts, as raptus, not followed by beheading after a strangulation. Beheading a person is beyond feminicide, it is beyond any kind of torture a male can inflict to a woman, beheading - especially in East Asian culture and perception - stands for "victim, I hate you so much that I assure you'll never have peace in the other world", I've disconnected your head from your bod, that's how much I hate you

As a crime, it simply doesn't make sense, fullstop

Come on, don't speak nonsence, who'll behead a person pregnant with you?