TheMoonEmpress

Agreed. It was at least okay when it was just wei liang (actually even that wasn't okay because he literally spilled their military plan to attack the territory neighbouring Boya, which should be forbidden to disclose even to their people, let alone the Qiao's. Common sense) but in the Boya incident even Wei Qu behaved dumbly which was a surprise and brought the quality of storytelling down for me.

No. That's why he nipped it in the bud right in the beginning. But something or the other kept happening to this production

I have been following this drama very closely since its announcement, because it has LYN in it and the premise was also right up my alley. From the beginning, this drama was riddled with challenges. Even during its shooting period, it was peppered with scandal. First there was the so called scandal of LYN's previous marriage and even some details of his personal life were made public. Of course that was handled masterfully by LYN himself within hours. Then there was the SZE tax scandal because of which this drama went on backburner for some years. And even now that it's finally airing , there are whispers of scandal about Lady Xu actress. It's like someone is purposely trying to sabotage this drama by creating heck ton of roadblocks. It's so good that this drama was finally aired.

That's what I'm saying, I don't need full blown spice or even kissing scenes, just need the scenes which are obviously meant to convey chemistry between the leads to be better executed.

Yes, just do away with the aphrodisiac scenes, they're so outdated. And yes ,if it were modern irl kind of context, I would agree with you that it's supposed to be uncomfortable. But that's not the intended purpose of this scene in terms of the story the director is telling us through his direction. The team obviously wants it to be a highly charged scene which at least piques the interest of the MCs in each other physically . But the execution falls flat and creates a different atmosphere altogether. There's an aphrodisiac scene in Romance of Tiger and Rose and even The Sleepless Princess, which, although having the same inherent flaws of typical Aphrodisiac scenes, doesn't make the viewers feel uncomfortable in that forced creepy way. So I guess there is a way to execute it in a non creepy way with good direction and better camera language. Like if he had made the FL at least a little interested in him physically then it might not have fallen so flat.

I haven't read the novel so my expectations are tempered. And I don't even mind lack of spice or kiss scenes in romance drama, provided they show enough intimacy and physical chemistry. Sometimes even touch hands, almost touching, hugs or even eye contact can be shot sensually and beautifully. Even that would have been fine for me . Well hope it gets better later. Dubious consent is very difficult to pull off visually, that's for sure. It can quickly go into the creepy territory which is what happened here for me.

Yeah that was satisfying to be sure but the rest was just uncomfortable. I've seen hand touches and even almost touches that are shot more sensually than that bumbling scene lol (like in bridgerton season 2 or even Pride and Prejudice movie). Hope the director doesn't do anything like that again in the drama.

Yeah , if they really wanted to go there, I wish they had fully committed to the the scene and thrown a few closeups in there as well 😂

I agree, costume and styling are the best thing about this drama for me.

Hehe I'm tempted to do that tomorrow and see if anyone takes me seriously. If you have to keep announcing your empress fate then girl, you're a long way from being an empress lol

This is a question I've been asking myself too. They turn the smart button on and off for both our MCs

It's an intimidation tactic to make her feel flustered and imbalanced

I'm not sure they love each other yet. At most they're beginning to thaw around each other, which is how it should be . If they had fallen in love so quickly, it would not have been believable.

We love a hypocrite queen 👌🏽😅

I'm also struggling with her breathy voice, especially since everyone else is speaking normally. But I powered through my journey to you which had the same problem, so I'm sure I can do so now as well. At least in that drama, everyone was whispering lmao

Tbh even that shot of him getting out of the tub was unsatisfactory....it was soooo short lmao. Not even one full second 😅🥲

If anything, she is the one scheming behind his back, both in case of Boya and when she learned he attacked a neighbouring territory, she told her cousin to build a secret tunnel there for Qiao family's benefit! That is the height of scheming and plotting behind his back. Of course he will be wary and suspicious after the stunt she pulled in Boya. Yes she is trying to be a good wife but from his perspective he will obviously be cautious against her repeated scheming.

Yes, it was like he was forcing the moment to be sensual with the focus on his wounds (ahem ahem) and FL's unconvincing reaction to his perceived position in the bath...but it just felt forced and even rapey in the beginning. Like the MCs were too awkward and uncomfortable for it to be sensual. Made me uncomfortable as well lol.

Yes, that's a plot hole. Only when he finds it again does she grow suspicious.

OMG.....🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️off to read the novel