Raymond Ardin

A Duke has no duties per se, because peerage and government position are two separate things. The former is an honorary nobility title, while the latter is an actual job. Obviously, being a noble means that you're pretty much guaranteed a high position in court if you want one, but it is also possible to be an "idle" Prince or Duke who's unemployed, has no political or military power, and just lives the good life off family money. A lot of Princes did this for self-protection (so the Emperor wouldn't see them as a danger to their throne).

Aristocracy was something a bit different. Regardless of noble titles or government positions, there were some very ancient families that were extremely powerful and prestigious. They were pretentious scholars who often looked down on the ruling Imperial family because 1) some founding Emperors had lowly births, and 2) they got their thrones through war (violence was considered a lowly pursuit by the aristocracy). The same aristocratic families controlled the government through the ages, and they held onto their influence even as empires rose and fell. Until Empress Wu Zetian basically destroyed the aristocracy by using the imperial exams to level the playing field and replaced almost all of them with poor scholars who weren't (openly) prejudiced against her.

I haven't read the novel, but logically, if he was related to the Emperor, his title would be Prince. The title of Duke is usually reserved for non-royal founding fathers and their descendants, while the highest peerage one can get based on military achievement is Marquess, which is less prestigious than Duke but pretty much equal in terms of practical power.

I was immediately struck by how cute she was when I first saw her in Pearl Eclipse. But she looks much older than her age. She was 12 in Pearl Eclipse and even here she's only 14 but could totally pass for an adult.

He's hilarious, so much so that he almost tricks you into believing he's just a harmless jolly fat guy. But he is very evil. Wasn't it him that sent the assassins to wipe out the pharmacy?

The ending was satisfactory, but honestly, I feel like you could watch episode 1, skip right to episode 19, watch the rest, and not miss much. Everything in between is mostly just filler/fluff. It would've been a lot better if the FL's amnesiac personality was charming and charismatic, but instead she's cringy and annoying most of the time. She also has a mature face, which doesn't match her childish whiny voice and silly personality at all.

He acts only with his eyes. The rest of his face doesn't really have expressions lol

Yes. She saved him when they were children, and then her family (and her entire village) was massacred by the villain who was looking for him.

And his parents are nice too, if dumb as bricks.

What's the song (duet) that was playing in episode 1 when she got buried alive?

Xue Zhao's not dead?

The primary audience for these types of romcom dramas is women, so it can't be what men like.

FLs in dramas targeted at men tend to fall into one of two categories: the sweet, demure, super innocent, deer-in-headlights type, and the badass kung fu master who can kick his ass but falls in love with him anyways... or a harem with both.

Personally, I'm most attracted to personalities like Yukee Chen's Zhou Min in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre... smart, charming, mischievous, playfully naughty, with a mysterious smirk, attached to a morally ambiguous character like an assassin or thief.

I think they're more afraid of him than anything. He probably has a reputation as a sadistic psychopath because he does all the emperor's dirty work (killing and interrogating/torturing criminals).

He discovers her real identity in episode 8. His real identity is revealed in episode 22.

I'm assuming the magic jade sent them back in time. I mean, if it could transfer her soul to another person's body, then why not?

I disagree. Even though the sister is a villain, she's a much more challenging and interesting character to play, which puts Liu Xiening's acting range to good use. Zhao Jiamin is gorgeous, but she's a relatively newbie actress, so she's well suited to play a straightforward character Liu Xu.

Who do you mean? There's only the ex-husband, no? I doubt the Li brothers are in love with her, especially the one who has to become a monk now lol. None of the other guys who like her can really be considered enemies, at least for now.

I don't think it's necessarily ageist... her character is supposed to be under 20 years old, so they should try to make her look as young as possible to make it at least somewhat believable.

This drama is proof that it's perfectly possible to have an immature and bubbly character that is not annoying at all. The innocent and childish version of the FL is just cuteness overload. I don't understand why other dramas can't do this. Almost all other "cute" and "bubbly" FLs are unbearably whiny and irritating.

I've only seen one of her dramas (Ni Chang), but she's possibly the most adorable-looking actress I've ever seen. Not necessarily the classic definition of beauty, but just cuteness overload.

I like them both, but they look nothing alike?