SpicyLime

When this first aired, I gave myself like a week before watching an episode. Now, I'm caught up and almost done with the novel ^_^;;;;

It's pretty organic and makes sense. While he is madly in love with her, she is insecure about herself and doesn't think she deserves to be treated so well. She also doesn't have a concept of love, since lacking it her whole life. He doesn't push her, but at the same time gets frustrated since she doesn't give him any sincerity, even though she relies on him. She slowly realizes all the things she initially hated were for her own good. LBY really broadened the horizons for her, and it took her awhile to realize she was really mistreating him.

What is your opinion on Lou Yao?
--Lou Yao is a puppy. He sincerely loved CSS. But just like a puppy he needs to be taken care of by a owner (i.e. CSS). You can beat him and he will loyally come back to you. You can mold him into whatever you want and they will obey. For CSS he was a safe choice and could be controlled, like a puppy. With Lou Yao, I don't think CSS would be able to develop the deep affection she later has with LBY. I think CSS was more like a mom/caretaker than a wife. He wanted to make sure that Lou Yao was taken care of and knew that Lou Yao wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

Will there be his story in the second part?
--He provides some help for CSS and LBY in the second part. He gets an HEA with He Zhao Jun. After some trials and tribulations he is in a loving marraige with his new wife and they have a baby together. He Zhao Jun also mellows out has a amicable relationship with CSS.

And why exactly CSS cancelled her marriage with him?
--I copied this from another post I made regarding Lou Yao and the cancellation.

Lou Yao had a prior engagement to He Zhao Jun, the daughter of a General. The He family and Lou family have pretty close ties. However, their engagement fell through since He Zhao Jun was kind of a spoiled brat and treated Lou Yao poorly. Later we find out, she was just giving him tough love in an attempt to make him stronger. General He and his son were killed fighting off rebels and his last wish was that his only daughter could marry into the Lou family and be protected. General He did not know of Lou Yao's new engagement with CSS. If he did, he probably would not have made such a wish. The Emperor finds out of his last wish and is put in a tough position. He can't simply force Lou Yao's current engagement off, as the Cheng family has done nothing wrong and are loyal. However, the words get out of what happened regarding General He and the whole Capital knows.

CSS does not want to give the marraige up at first, but after remembering the tragedy of war and those who sacrifice themselves, she begins to sympathize with He Zhao Jun and starts looking at the situation from outside of herself. He Zhao Jun returns to the Capital and invites CSS to follow her. Unknown to CSS it is to witness the beheading of a rebel. They start to argue and He Zhao Jun eventually tosses the bloody head in front of CSS. He Zhao Jun appears to be a changed person after the death of her family members and promises she won't bully Lou Yao and will be a good wife moving forward. CSS is at a loss for words when LBY arrives and admonishes He Zhao Jun before taking CSS away in his carraige. LBY aptly deduces what is bothering CSS and reminds her that the deaths of those around her are not her fault. Hearing his words CSS snaps back into reality and immediately breaks down in tears. After she is done crying, she resolves to break off the engagement. CSS gives Lou Yao words of advice and tells him to be strong and start standing up for himself before returning the love token and destroying the marraige contract. This officially ends CSS's first engagement.

I hate his character. If it's any consolation, LBY owns him and gets him to cry by finally destroying the thing he cares about the most, his ego. His family fame and status also drops a few notches. He gets put in his place.

If it's not clear, CSS NEVER liked him. If anything you could argue that CSS was just using him to fulfill the dying wish of the Empress. If the marriage actually went through, I would not be surprised if she just divorced his ass right after the Empress passes away.

Him suggesting their break up, was it in the heat of the moment or was he serious about it?
I would say heat of the moment, but I think he was dead serious. If she wanted to leave, she could. He wouldn't stop her.

How will they patch up?
CSS resolves from that moment to treat LBY with sincerity. She immediately looks for him to have a serious talk. However, LBY gets into trouble for beating up the fathers and brothers of the maids who bullied CSS. The Emperor orders for him to be flogged. Unknown to CSS, it's a ruse. The Emperor wanted CSS to feel bad for treating LBY poorly and to realize her own feelings. CSS is heartbroken seeing LBY getting beaten for her. She begins crying and screaming for them to stop hitting him and to hit her instead. Afterwards she sneaks into his room to take care of him. They make up. The way she thinks now is different than before. She now always considers LBY before doing something.

And thank you so much for the details.
Np.

This is the kind of story I like to watch. I like push and pull love stories otherwise it becomes too boring to watch.
And I heard that he will get banished and CSS will get engaged to YS. When will it happen?
LBY and CSS were supposed to get married at the start of the new year. Shortly, before the wedding, LBY goes on a killing spree and kills off the Ling family who are responsible for the death of his real family. He is exiled off to fight in the frontier and the engagement is broken off. This happens around 3/5 the way through the novel. CSS stays in the palace for 5 years under the tutelage of the Empress. However, the Empress is sick and dying. Her final wish is to see CSS get married. To carry out the final wish of the Empress, CSS agrees to the engagement with Yuan Shen. However, right after the engagement LBY returns from his exile. CSS denies her feelings at first, but ultimately gives in and returns back to LBY's side. The engagement with Yuan Shen is broken off. When CSS confronts LBY she admits that she was never angry with him and was more worried that he was angry with her. The two are together again.

I'm not sure how the pacing will be for the drama.

Will there be any misunderstandings between the main couple after their marriage?
They don't get married, but they get engaged right after Lou Yao's engagement is cancelled. They have a lot of push and pull fights while they are engaged and there is even a cold war. LBY had spies that secretly kept track of CSS and reported everything to him. That's why he's always able to protect her whenever she is in trouble. When CSS found out she gets pissed off. She refuses to talk with him outside of putting on a show for others. LBY calls off his spies, but when CSS gets bullied again, rather than tell him about it she tries to take care of it herself. She causes a hot mess and LBY once again pulls her out of it. LBY is angry and confronts CSS and tells her that she is not sincere to him while he has given his best for her. He gives her the freedom to leave the palace and walks away. This is kind of suggesting that they should break up. CSS breaks down in tears and finally realizes her love for him. From that point she will love him wholeheartedly.

Will CSS fall in love with LBY before the marriage or after the marriage?
Who loves whom more? (I want LBY to love CSS more.)
CSS falls in love with LBY during their engagement. LBY has always loved CSS unconditionally. It takes time for CSS to fall in love with LBY. Once she falls in love, she is ride or die. Their love is equal. They are willing to die for one another.

There is some spoilers in the discussion thread RE: translated excerpts. You can also check out the spoiler post below.

I still have like 40 chapters to read.

https://kisskh.at/687167-xing-han-can-lan#comment-10500111

Hypocrites and people that can't admit their own faults and shortcomings are the worst type of people.

Good points.

The author makes it very clear that marraige between Yuan Shen and CSS was never going to happen once LBY returned.

The marraige was never up to to Yuan Shen. It was up to CSS. When LBY returns he makes this very clear and CSS understands. Once the decision was made by CSS to return to LBY was made, Yuan Shen had no say in it and CSS would've broken off the engagement no matter what. Yuan Shen never had a choice. He knew from the very beginning, but didn't care. He just coveted CSS. He's very selfish. He only relented once he owed LBY a favor for saving him and his family, otherwise I have no doubt he would not stop interfering with the leads. The "favor" he returned was not helping CSS or LBY, but finally getting out of their way. IMO he's the worst type of 2nd ML. Although I understand his character, I feel nothing for him.

Some of these parts were added to the drama. Probably to make Yuan Shen seem more like a love rival. In the novel, they don't interact with Yuan Shen quite as much. I can't stand the scenes with him. He always had ulterior motives when he interacts with CSS (i.e. to flirt and get her to like him). LBY is different, he likes CSS, but will do it regardless if she returns his affections or not.

Yeah No Joke. I sometimes just look at the colors they usually wear or their hair accessories to remember who they are. Wang Yan Ji usually wears purple. If you watched the MV she shows up at the 2:59 mark holding a flame stick.

No. The one marrying Lou Yao is He Zhao Jun. LOL. There are a lot of characters, I can't keep track. Just watched tomorrow's episodes and I think you'll know who I mean. CSS and Wang Yan Ji get into a fight at a banquet.

As I understand it... Yuan Shen thinks he has this idea of how CSS really is. He's really proud of the fact that he thinks he is the only one that can see a part of CSS that no one else knows and is the only one that can appreciate and understand her. He assumes that if any other suitor knew of CSS's true personality, no one would be able to handle/deal with her. He believes LBY only knows CSS at surface level. He has no clue about their interactions and the deep love that LBY has for CSS.

CSS feigns cluelessness on how Yuan Shen feels about her. I think very early on, she knows that Yuan Shen likes her, but she hates dealing with him because he is persistent (he NEVER stops). So, CSS just plays dumb whenever Yuan Shen tries to "flirt" with her and tries her best to avoid him. CSS dodges left and right and even suggests the type of girl that would suit him best. He gets pissed at this, since he is trying to win the affection of CSS. This is a sign of his obession with CSS and hypocrisy. It's okay for him to dish, but it's not okay to be dished.

Later it's revealed that Yuan Shen figured out what CSS is really like, but just pretended not to know, since he was just too stubborn and obsessed to believe that he could not win CSS over. He NEVER gives up. Nobody turns him down. He is a gentry of the Capital and all girls love him, right? Wrong. There never was any room for him in CSS's heart.

CSS is actually more like LBY. They have a deep level of understanding for each other. CSS actually likes the love and protection that LBY provides, but she is afraid of facing the unknown of being in love. But once she accepts LBY she is ride or die with him. The love that they have is unbreakable. FINALLY, Yuan Shen admits defeat and stops his pursuit and is forced to face the reality that CSS will NEVER love him.

To sum: He's a pompous dick who won't take no for an answer. He gets envious of LBY who actually wins CSS heart and is a sore loser.

The Emperor is not going to let CSS hang and dry. He plans to give his blessing for CSS and LBY to get married. He just can't outright do it right away, or it'll look disingenuous. The Emperor is actually really crafty. Him and the Empress and going to be CSS's backer, which is as good as it gets. Nobody is going to be willing to mess with CSS.

I don't think so. I think that's someone else. We should see Wang Yan Ji in episode 21. If you watched the Story of Minglan, Wang Yan Ji is played by Kira Shi, the actress that plays Mo Lan.

Wang Yan Ji. She is the one that continuously spreads rumors about CSS and causes problems for her behind the scenes (Wang Yan Ji has a delusional one-sided love for LBY).

CSS gets back at Wang Yan Ji by convincing the Emperor that she needs to be severely punished for slandering her name. Ultimately Wang Yan Ji is forced into a hasty marriage with a man that she dislikes and is forced out of the Capital. All this, due to picking a fight with CSS.

It looks like they get engaged in 21. But the love and affection is a slow burn. A lot of push and pull between them and everything in between. CSS will have several realization moments before she falls in love with LBY.

As I understand it. LBY is already engaged to CSS at this point. LBY proposed marriage in episode 21, and unless they change it in the drama, it's "accepeted" immediately. Yuan Shen is an envious dick though, and thinks he knows CSS best. What he doesn't know is that LBY already knows everything about CSS's, including her temperment. The person that doesn't understand CSS is Yuan Shen. After CSS is bullied, LBY destroys all those bitches. However CSS knows that these bitches are being egged by someone else pulling the strings. She straight up cuts the head off the snake. CSS is not to be trifled with.

NP. Couple points to add. There is no "real" love triangle as I understand. CSS only really loves LBY. Nonetheless, other than LBY she gets engaged two other times. It's not because of love though.

It's a slice of life drama, where the FL is a flawed character who learns to mature through the various situations she gets involved with. At the end she finds out the meaning and importance of filial piety, serving your country and what true love is.

It depends on your cup of tea. I gloss over the scenes with the 2nd MLs. The leads only meet a handfull of time before they get engaged (they don't get engaged until episode 21, and this is right after her previous engagement with 2nd ML is cancelled). Once they get engaged, the romance really begins. The FL is not stupid, but she is immature. The attitude is: I'm smart and self-sufficient and don't need anyone to take care of me type immature. She maintains this attitude for awhile even though the ML has to save her multiple times. She also doesn't believe in etiquette and is cunning and holds grudges. She slowly grows throughout the interaction with the supporting cast, especially when she enters the palace. It takes her a long time to understand and start trusting the ML and eventually fall in love with him. When she fully lets him in, there is no return, it's ride or die.

A lot of the love rivals cause annoying problems for the FL, but that's why it's called a drama. Each time it gets resolved relatively quickly. When she can't handle it, LBY is there to assist. Actually he is always there to help her, she just doesn't realize it.

If you can wait for all episodes to be released first, then I'd wait. This is one of those dramas that if you get into and like, you can't put it down.