AleksandraSucur

My thoughts from the beginning of this drama, lol. 👌

I don't have any theory, I'm just completing a puzzle with pieces popping up episode after episode offering logical explanation for weird behaviour of all the characters.

The emperor never hated NH, he just mistreated and mistrusted him, while favoring NR for a reason: from the emperor's perspective, the powerful Gao clan and their allies in the court (led by the Gao chancelor) are "real wolves ready to tear him to shreds", as he clearly told NH's mother. Was he wrong about Gao chancelor? No. Was he wrong about NH? Only partially. Uncle Gao had a role in NH's upbringing, as mentioned in the latest ep, he put a great effort to make NH as ruthless as possible, spreading the word around about it (even when it was false), messing with his decisions and life. Although NH, as a child, totally unintentionally ingratiated his empress to take him out for a hunt, she was assassinated during that hunt by his uncle's people. That Gao was untouchable for the emperor not only bc. he maneuvered the majority of civil ministers, but bc. NH was a commander of the only victorius army (the armies have double loyalty: to the emperor and to the clan which established them) in the country, that's why he always percieved the interests of the two as inseparable and his own life threatened.

But now, after the emperor realised NH had built up a parallel force WRC and Nightwalkers (beside the army in which Gao uncle has his people, loyal only to him and able to intercept and destroy the message for help during the Pingrong Battle), in an effort to districate himself from his uncle, after he denounced his uncle's embezzlement of the relief fund in order to save SH and with Gao (unfortunately, only apparently) out of the picture... ofc. the emperor starts to notice things he didn't (or couldn't afford to) notice before, when he was desperate to counterbalance Gao's power with any mean available, such as a designation of CGH (a defeated general!) to the command of the imperial forces. So, it is not about "siding" with or against NH (or NR - whose naivety was clear to the emperor even before, but he had no choice other than to back him) but about the timing in which one can realise what's going on. The emperor has already noticed CGH's obsession (with the Pingrong Battle) and determination to pursue his personal vendetta against NH for the deaths of his father and 20K soldiers to the point he proposed to the emperor to fabricate evidence against NH and take over his army, but now, NH isn't part of "the wolves pack" who threatened his rule any more and can be useful to counterbalance CGH's insanity.

Finally, I don't expect this drama to end tragically as in "the script", with FL's family dead, triple stabbing etc. The events ("major plot points" included) already differ from the script (ML never fell for or slept with her sister who is in love with another person), there's no reason they stop to differ at this point...

This drama is very well written, with different pieces of a puzzle (you call "clues") steadily popping up, offering logical answers for weird behaviour of almost all the characters (FL is just one of them), gradually completing the whole picture.
Such a writing - well thought to offer gradually and a posteriori one piece of motivation and/or explanation for a considerable number of previous characters' actions in each and every episode - is a rare craft, which both the scriptwriter and the author of the original novel of TPG simply do not have.

Ep 33-34, marked with the word "hearth" in English.
31-32 are explained with a white horse, tomorrow is marked with a prison.

can someone link tiktok previews of next eps, for us who can't open it on iqiyi?

you're right. CGH is totally convinced he is a good guy. Not only. When NR told him today he was acting badly, he felt ENTITLED to use every (bad) mean still being a good guy. He is convinced that taking revenge against the "bad guy" NH (responsible for a series of evil things in his eyes) is a GOOD and GREAT PURPOSE, and working for such a purpose qualifies him as a good guy.

That's how the obsession works, I've only pointed out this obsession is well grounded and logical.

The general conviction NH played a part in empress's death comes from the emperor. In his dialogue with NH's mother, he called her clan (led by Gao chancelor) and allies in the court "wolves" ready to tear him to pieces.

The emperor is convinced NH, as a child, ingratiated the empress to take him to the hunt, luring her to a mortal trap. It isn't that far from the truth, NH indeed ingratiated the empress, he just did it completely unintentionally and unaware other people (his uncle probably) would plan to assassinate her once she took a prince to the hunt.

It's NH's maternal powerful clan (in particular, the wolf chancelor Gao) which makes the emperor so biased towards his NH and so acquiescent to Nan Rui. Now, with Gao (unfortunately, only apparently) out of the picture, the emperor starts to notice other people (he used to counterbalance Gao power) also can be wolves

If the emperor believes his 9-y old son responsible for the death of his wife, who are all others to doubt that, for how illogical is this emperor's belief...

Imho (which evidently differs from most of opinions expressed below), CGH's obsession with NH is greatly logical. They were friends in their childhood, distantiated after the tragic death of the empress (who was his aunt, a sister of his father), death for which NH has always been considered guilty.
In a critical moment, in a desperate battle, nonetheless he decided to trust him again and asked him and his army to help them out from the enemies' encirclement. The help never arrived, his father dies with 20K soldiers. The enemy army captures him and, as their prisoner, he is utterly humilated by NH, who asks for his liberation from the enemy in order to "torture him himself".
His frustration is not limited to this trauma, because the constant feeling of being a loser to NH in every way increases even more after the break up of his engagement with SYM and her betrothal to NH.
So, it's perfectly normal he isn't normal any more: the frustration and sense of inferiority suppressed his moral compass and he is ready to fight NH with every possible mean, moral or immoral, it doesn't matter any more.

The question "why he asks everybody else except NH about the message?" has only one answer: he can't condemn NH (for a thing which can be considered a treason when connected with NH's later victory over the same enemy) without an evidence. Actually, as the emperor said, he can't even start an investigation against NH without some new evidence. Therefore, he is not looking for the TRUTH about the message, but for an evidence (he can't fabricate on his own) which will condemn NH or, at least, open the possibility to investigate NH in that war

Lu Yi should be a very common first and second name in China. The actor Li CHang plays a scout who ought to deliver the message during the Pingrong Battle, while the actor Zhong Ming looks like a minister - probably having the identical name (but maybe differently written in C-characters) - who stands behind Song Yude and next to minister of justice in the court.

Good point, although I wouldn't put it in your words. Their actions are indeed determined by "the script" (/scriptwriter) but they are not just "paper people" - in one of the trailers we see these fictional people rebel against this predetermined set-up, the whole drama is a parody on period fiction C-dramas and bts dealings in the industry. Imo, given all the hints we've got till this point ("plot armour" for the ML in exchange of script modifications, people with no name or named "passerby 1, 2,3...), the final intended message for the audience will be to have respect for the characters, because they "truly live" in that fictional set, where they still have (or will fight for their) right to take their own path even independently of the original script, or smth similar, we'll see but hints already pour freshness and keep our interest high

The uncle, who faked his death in that explosion. He has helpers who are unknown to us in this moment but who were able to track YM as a target to kill. The uncle tried to impede their marriage even before seeing her as an obstacle to manipulate his nephew. But probably it still isn't the whole story, we still don't get the motivation to kill her.

CHG would never kill her, he is just blinded and limited.

I'm so sorry for Liu Xueyi, since Blood of Youth he played only in this type of overly twisted, overly dragged and boring dramas in which his great acting skills feel suffocated & stiffed. Even Meng Ziyi, who is not the first-tier C-actress for sure, deserves to perform in better and more plot-wise stories.

I've skimmed quickly through the original novel - a neverending prolapse of dialogues, stuffed with insignificant or even unrelated characters and subplots - discovering the "original sin" is inside the novel: events feel repetitive and/or dragged, spinning around the same problems and similar arcs because nobody is coping with the main complication (her poison and connected blackmail) until the very end. That's why the plot and the relation between the leads is doomed just to circle around, passing through already seen and reseen subplots and clichès (distrust, misunderstandings, memory loss etc).
And the screenwriter only added to the nonsense and bore, probably thinking that certain exaggeration will increase the tension. After checking, it's far from surprise, last year this writer managed to ruin even such a nice, uncomplicated and lighthearted story as Wrong Carriage, Right Groom...

Hoping for the actors they'll have better roles in better dramas in the future.

With such an uncle, ML needs no enemies.
But without such an uncle (on whom he certainly couldn't have relied), he wouldn't have established WRC and these great Nightwalkers.
I'm a bit disappointed finding out he saved S(B)H because he knew SBH was innocent, the theft of the relief fund never happened, it was just his uncle's embezzlement.. Yet this was an additional reason for his uncle to want SBH dead...
This uncle probably also killed the empress and hindered the message for help in Pingrong Battle to come to NH. Exile is insufficient to punish such a villain, he'll definitely cause more trouble in tomorrow's eps.

ah, that uncle is no good...

Btw, what was in that teaser?

CGH definitely overestimated himself, as you've said.
He detained a PRINCE assuming he is burdened to prove Shangguan He's innocence, given the lack of evidence he was the thief from 3 years before, while ultimately hoping to prove NH's connection with Waning River Crescent. As always, he relies on the emperor's hate towards his son (the judgement of a prince is before the emperor and miistries), but his presumption and overall frame has no sense for the emperor, who doesn't fear some Waning River as he fears the Qi family (apparently) backing NH. Now, with Meng family (backing the Crown Prince) out of the picture, the emperor will be delighted to know his other son doesn't rely on Qi family and created smth like a powerhouse on his own.
Btw., I think he will willingly remain in prison just to help the escape of SH, probably passing the keys (as he did before) and enticing SH to meet SYT

The first name on the cast list is the name of the leading character's perspective. We follow this story from the Song Yimeng's pov or, better, from the pov of a mediocre, unsuccessful actress whohas to play Song Yimeng, a character played by Li Yitong, so it's totally logical she is listed first

Fl didn't listen, she is so abrupt and prejudiced that she doesn't know who's the person her sister actually met (and fallen for). She read the script very superficially, believing she knows everything, so she never inquires or deepen anything. "There is no greater fool than one who thinks (s)he knows everything." (Italian proverb)

It looks she read the script veeery superficialy, no wonder she had no success in the industry.
But this role can actually increase the popularity of the real actress, Li Yitong, as this character is much out of ordinary... It isn't written perfectly, it isn't either delivered perfectly, but such inconsistencies somehow add to a character full of flows.
She is superficial, biased, unattentive to what other persons say, believes she's always right while jumping to early conclusions, misunderstanding and complicating things, but for how much she annoys me (let's think to have a sister like her 😱 ), I continue to watch having a feeling there's smth iconic about this character, smth we will remember long after this drama ends