MoyaRose

Ah, yes. The classic “elite warrior loses once and immediately pivots to seduction” trope. Because obviously, after seven consecutive wins, one loss means it’s time to trade in the sword for a dance fan. Forget training, regrouping, or plotting a comeback—clearly, the only logical move is disguising herself as a dancer to get close to the guy who beat her.

Do they think women have a self-destruct button labeled “defeat = sexy espionage”? I mean, I get that she’s infiltrating for revenge or strategy, but why does it always have to involve seduction? If the roles were reversed, would Ji Bo Zai be out there twirling on stage to lure his opponent? Doubtful.

This isn’t your typical historical fiction—it’s wuxia. In this genre, while the king oversees the country, there are many individuals more powerful than him, so the usual deterrence you’d expect in standard historical fiction doesn’t apply. His relationship with Lord Wei reflects this dynamic—there’s no fear or deference between them. The only tool the king has to keep Lord Wei in check is the Empress.

Exactly! It would be a much better story if, instead of spiraling into madness over someone he can’t have, he found someone who actually loved him the way he needed. Like, imagine the growth! Instead of being the poster child for unhinged pining, he could heal, evolve, and realize there’s more to life than chasing the unattainable. But no, let’s just keep him stuck in the misery Olympics, because apparently, that’s more entertaining.

The princesses are safe because the king is their father, and his family leaving and hiding would ensure their safety since there are places even the king’s reach cannot extend to. He resigned as a guardian to avoid implicating them in his actions. His character is consistently portrayed as hot-blooded and impulsive, unable to stand by and watch others suffer. After watching him attempt to kill the Silver Hong in episode 15, it’s clear that he doesn’t care about authority. He raised his sword to kill the king, fully aware it would end with either his death or the king’s. There’s no logical reason for him to respect the authority of a corrupt king when he clearly has the power to overthrow him. The real issue with the script lies in its failure to explain why, despite the power of the bureau and the guardians, such an inept and corrupt emperor is allowed to remain on the throne.

Why do these dramas always have some love-starved loser who’s ridiculously obsessed with the female lead?

By telling his family to leave, he showed that he had thought everything through. He didn’t believe he was invincible or that he could escape punishment—he was prepared to face the consequences. He told them to leave to avoid being implicated by his actions.

He died in the book. It should be explained in part 2 why.

You think the story was rushed and all over the place just because you couldn’t follow it? Since when did your inability to connect the dots turn into objective fact? What exactly was illogical about the king protecting his brother? He’s been acting strange all season—how does that not track? They focused on the old man because the show needed to give us a reason to care about Chouzhou Xu Qian meeting someone who values people as much as he does. It ties directly to the core theme about not oppressing others, which earned him that A+ rating at the start of the show. Maybe you weren’t paying attention or just can’t connect the dots, but here you are making sweeping judgments about why other people loved it. Bold of you.

We could’ve had an epic showdown with the emperor—classing ideals, powers colliding, tension so thick it’d crack screens—and then the robed man could swoop in with his nonsense to stir the pot. Instead, we got 30 minutes of dream-sequence memory-loss filler no one asked for. After the powerhouse that was Episode 39, Episode 40 fizzled out hard after the 11-minute mark. Who told them this budget was S+++? Because aside from the Dharma Giant and a few slick CGI moments, I don’t see it. Still love the show, though. Season 1’s an 8.9 only because that ridiculous last episode dragged it down.

There is zero reason this emperor still alive and in power.

Such a great actress.

She’s important to the plot because she gave him the courage to act freely when he thought she was the grand princess and played a role in the Pingan case. But even if she wasn’t, romance doesn’t need a purpose to exist. It’s just there. Also, no one needed you to announce your decision not to watch t if there is a season 2. Some shows will be your thing, some won’t, and that’s perfectly fine.

That speech by Xu Qi’an at the end, about how all life has meaning whether you succeed or fail, is incredibly encouraging. Sometimes, with everything going on, it can feel like you’re living for nothing. Hearing someone say, “I’ve been there, I’ve done it, I’ve lived it,” is exactly the kind of reassurance that’s needed. Very beautiful.

They want to infiltrate so Number Two Friend can look for the records of her missing father. Lord Wei helped Wang because he plans to leave to fight the Witcher Sect, and he needs someone to keep the court stable while he is gone. The bead bracelet is a magical artifact that can hide you from detection so you can leave Dafeng, so the indication is she is connected to the Sangbo case.

We’re not sure yet. When the witch was talking to the one in the robe, she mentioned they needed to get rid of him. But if they really wanted him dead, they would’ve already done it. This might just be part of their scheme, especially since the hand mentioned that something was implanted in Xu Xian that wasn’t there before. So, it was either them or the leader of the Alchemy Bureau who did it.

A witch attacked him and implanted the hand in his body. Xu Xian’s current body is stronger than the last vessel, so the hand doesn’t need to kill to absorb energy and recover.

This is fantastic, and the best part is there’s no irritating character hogging the screen, so you can watch it over and over again without skipping anything.

I loved when Lord Wei slapped the isht out of those officials.

I’ve read plenty of these novels, and they manage just fine without centering men, so no, I’m not “looking at it with modern eyes.” My issue is that they market this as female independence when it’s anything but.

LOL, if they actually stuck to the time period, she’d be dead for plotting against her husband while cozying up to another man. Even him showing up to support her publicly would’ve been a death sentence. Funny how they’re so selective with “historical accuracy” when it suits their need to shove romance into the spotlight.