MariaB

No, they are cousins. The late emperor and MXY's father were brothers.
The current emperor was the younger brother of the late crown prince, aka MJL's father.

He was summoned by the dying emperor to protect the crown prince. By the time he arrived, the emperor had died, the Eastern Palace had burned to the ground and the Crown Prince and almost all of his descents were eliminated from the succession. He was a loyal subject in the middle of a coup d'état, of course the people in power aka the Marquis would not have allowed the edict to be presented at court, which was the general's only shot to survive. Even if that edict made its way into a court session, without allies there were 0 guarantees someone would be willing to risk their lifes to confirm that it was indeed the late emperor's writing and seal.
(If you remember when Ye Li brought the edict, the Duke grabbed it before it could be presented to the dowager empress and confirmed it was real).

Hence, the general hid the edict and waited for allies.
He had 2 options, either wait for the Duke to come back to the capital and support him, but there were no guarantees he would live to see that day come, or hope that the Master of the Lishan Academy, who was a well-known ally of the old regime and supporter of justice in general and was coming to the capital, would help him.

I could experience all the heartbreak and anguish Ye Li felt on that mountain. MXY will never be able to make it up to her (especially since he acted like a sulking teenager) and I'm glad he will be tortured by what he put her through when he decided to break all his promises to her and banish her. At one point I was even considering if it would not be better for her to be left to live peacefully in her own delusion. I'm still torn, especially after seeing her re-live the deaths and funerals of all the people from Lishan.
I know there's a baby on the way and it's cdramaland, but having someone so psychologically fragile go through postpartum is frightening to think of.

I stopped watching last weekend after episode 28 and binged today episodes 29-35. Best idea ever!

In the novel he was actively involved in the scheme. FL refused to talk with him from then on. I'm really unhappy with the middle ground the screenwriter came up with, but I assume they wanted to use SML a bit more in the current era.

I just came from facebook and people there are still discussing the 2nd of July as the "tentative" release day. It's too quiet on weibo though and this should be a big production, so maybe it got pushed to later?
It's like the thing with Chasing Dreams, at one point there was a melon for May, and now June and we don't know if it's going to air before end of July.
I wish they had more transparency...

The official announcement on the weibo account of the drama Love You In The Dark (红掌)
https://weibo.com/u/5021989852
"#Tencent's 2026 Drama Slate#
Is it destiny or an inevitability?
Debating righteousness, yet love turns to ruins.
#Red Palm#
Director: @Huang Tianren Director/
Screenwriter: @Jiu Yehui @Mou Xiaoya
Starring: Guan Xiaotong @Guan Xiaotong Chen Xingxu @Chen Xingxu--CHEN (in order of surname stroke count)
Production: @Tencent Video @Fleet of Time Film & Television"

Tried to submit her role in the upcoming drama, but it doesn't exist yet in the database.
Anyway, the official announcement on the weibo account of the drama Love You In The Dark (红掌)
https://weibo.com/u/5021989852
"#Tencent's 2026 Drama Slate#
Is it destiny or an inevitability?
Debating righteousness, yet love turns to ruins.
#Red Palm#
Director: @Huang Tianren Director/
Screenwriter: @Jiu Yehui @Mou Xiaoya
Starring: Guan Xiaotong @Guan Xiaotong Chen Xingxu @Chen Xingxu--CHEN (in order of surname stroke count)
Production: @Tencent Video @Fleet of Time Film & Television"

Can you watch it on rednote? http://xhslink.com/o/8Uk6wwy6WME
I'm uploading screenshots with subtitles from the app in the phot section, the video cannot be downloaded (the part where they are whispering is not translated).
https://kisskh.at/photos/LwZqBx_3

My first poster edit that got approved! 💃💃💃
I cannot wait for the drama to be released 😁

On MangoTV:
https://glb.m.mgtv.com/b/881552/24454971.html?t=videoshare&externalsource=v_play&tc=jXKKosRPSAN7

I can watch express episodes normally on my Philips TV, I was shocked my sister couldn't on her Samsung TV due to DRM. Very strange, I'm not sure why the restrictions happened on some TVs.
I usually watch on my tablet, which is why 4k resolution is a moot point for me, I just care about the extra episodes and I don't want to watch on illegal sites.

I'm OK with the regular subscription plan with 1080p from WeTV and Youku, I don't need 4K for older dramas and for the ones that I love while they are airing, I purchase express during the 1st week (and this includes 4k for WeTV).
For iQIYI I managed to get the sale on the New Years Festival and I have yearly premium VIP (express, 4k included) for whatever shows they decide not to geoblock.

I don't have Netflix since I cannot view the shows from different Wi-Fi networks and you cannot share the account. I also hate their translation in general and most especially the fact that they do not translate the lyrics.

For those interested in a bargain, there is a sale (due to the Dragon Boat Festival) on Youku and WeTV, ~ $40 for a yearly subscription (that is 40% off).

For those interested in a bargain, there is a sale (due to the Dragon Boat Festival) on Youku and WeTV, ~ $40 for a yearly subscription (that is 40% off).

For those interested in a bargain, there is a sale (due to the Dragon Boat Festival) on Youku and WeTV, ~ $40 for a yearly subscription (that is 40% off).

They messed up the episodes released on Sunday (yesterday). Instead of just one episode (11), in the mdl airing calendar it says three episodes (11-14). I'm requesting the calendar to be fixed. Good catch!

She's not worth even a spit if she were on fire.

I'm on episode 5 and I like it so far. I would have liked to see more from Zhou Yiran, but it's still early in the story.
I really like the cinematography and some of the directorial choices.

I'm giving this drama a break until the weekend and binge watch, one episode per day is too little for me, especially with the narrative tension rising.