SpicyLime

Ge Zhaodi. A girl that Pan'er hires and take in to help work.

Not sure how far you are. But there is another ship for Chen lian. It's in episode 19 and I'm shipping them.

My prediction for Yinzhang is she will be single by the end of the drama.

I personally don't think he is a good match for Yinzhang. I just don't like him. Too aggressive. As for his intentions, I think he won't force Yinzhang into anything. In later episodes Yinzhang leaves the sisters and stays with Shen Ruzuo. I think it's temporary. The main reason I suspect is she wants to dedicate herself to her craft. I do not believe Yinzhang has a good match to any suitors on screen. She will probably end up single by the end of the drama, just concentrating on her career.

I get Ouyang, but he's still scummy. Did too many things for selfish reasons. The way he treated Pan'er is normal and understandable for the time period, but ewww. He never tried to fight for her. He only wanted to do what was suitable for him. Selfish AF. I don't think he'll get a happy ending. Because at the end of his trials and tribulations, everything that he went through will be in vain, and I think he'll lose it. He'll blame Pan'er when the only person to blame is himself for the actions he chose.

I'm waiting for episode 25 next week. Let me know if you want spoilers for those eps.

Ah got you. That makes sense. It was 19 for me.

Do you mean episode 19?

If so, YES. Dew drops or rain drops usually means sex in these dramas. If you ever watched The Story of Minglan there are water drops after Molan has sex. Also in The Story of Minglan after Lady Zhang wins the polo match, there is a water stream, and later on the story we find out she is pregnant.

The ML in an early episode said he doesn't really care about rules and etiquette like she does.

The FL tells him that other than the face he is familiar with, there is another face that is also her. Implying she doesn't care that much about etiquette either. She had to pretent to survive the harsh life as a slave.

When ML confesses he was once engaged, but never fooled around, she flirtingly teases him that while engaged with Ouyang, she followed the etiquette. Implying she is still a virgin. No sex until marraige. It also sort of means that she didn't love Ouyang that much (more like a business transaction type romance). ML says he doesn't care about that, meaning if she was not chaste, he would still love her the same. (passionate, true love romance)

FL says she doesn't want there to be any suspicion between them. The implications? How else better to confirm what she says is true, then to check himself? lol.

Finally, the look of content on their faces in the scene after. They were having a post sex intimacy talk. They def did it.

Ditto. Them burying the hatchet and having a at least a cordial relationship is what I want. Pan'er getting the blessing from the minister would mean a lot.

Ouyang will be his own undoing. I don't think the rumors about Gao Hui are actually true. It's more likely that Gao Hui was seduced by Ouyang, just like Pan'er. Gao Hui, really seems like a nice girl, but Ouyang is different. I don't think Ouyang was initially evil. He just lost his way and became obsessed with status and power. He's willing to do anything for it because of an inferiority complex.

Just think how tough it is for Pan'er to get over her lowly status. With GQF's coaxing she is starting to believe in herself more and more, but she still has a long way to go.

His bad points (so I don't think he deserves a happy ending):
-He doesn't fulfill his promises.
-It was ultimately under his orders to have Pan'er and co. beaten out of the capital, and he dares to try to play good guy after?
-He looked down on Pan'er, the one thing she hates the most. Be my concubine. LIke what? If you can't do it then release her, don't look down on her.
-He ran away like a coward.
-Manipulative.

There is a clip of Ouyang attacking Pan'er that hasn't been shown yet. I'm guessing this will be towards the final arc, where it goes full circle. It started with Ouyang, it'll end with him.

Losing everything is going to be a result, but it's all his own action in the end. Everyone has a choice and he choose poorly.

My understanding is that Minister Xiao (GQF's "father") intentionally made himself a target to flush out the hat demons into the open, but he miscalculated and as a result GQF almost dies while protecting him. Pan'er while shopping nearby hears the minister's desperate cries of "Qianfan". This gets Pan'er desperately in motion. She still doesn't want to believe it's GQF. Pan'er gets on board to find it is indeed a dying GQF and does her best to save him. She breaks down after that, realizing that the man she loves might die.

At a later episode it's revealed that if it wasn't for Pan'er's immediate life saving actions, GQF would've died.

Minister Xiao views GQF as his heir and did not approve of his marriage with Pan'er due to her lowly status. I'm still not sure if the minister is the true bad guy. Since he was targetted by the hat demons, I'm airing on more of the side of no. At the very least, I hope after seeing Pan'er's sincerity to GQF, the minister approves of their marriage.

My understanding is they had a falling out. Pan'er wants to push for a restaurant but Yinzhang want them to stay as a teahouse.

It's probably by this point too she finally finds out about Pan'er and GQF.

She didn't take any of her belongings other than her pipa to I forget the guys name. The guy who is aggressive with her.

Pan'er let's it go since she is old enough to make her own decisions.

I'm thinking she really just wants to perfect her craft before making a glorious return. But seriously kind of a bitch move with just the letter.

I said this a lot, but I don't think she will be coupled in the end. She will just want to advance her career.

Her sisters are just overprotective of her and even GQF knows she isn't the brightest kid on the block. She is like thst one sibling in the family that doesn't get it and tries to do things her way. She is slow and dense. That's why she doesn't get trust. Yeah it's a little fucked up but I can understand.

Like seriously though she is one tracked mind and can't really think of the future yet. That's what keeps getting her into trouble. And she fucking ran away but left a letter. That's the reason why no one trusts her.

To her credit, I know she really cares about her sisters and is trying her best though. She just hasn't hit that point yet. Leaving the shelters of her sister is a good thing. It'll force her to grow up.

I have a feeling that she went there to perfect her craft. I'm pretty sure it's after discovering GQF and Pan'er are engaged. She's too freaking dense...seriously...I know she is immature, and this is probably they way they will show her maturing...but ugh. She could've handled it better instead of being mysterious.

She'll be back by the time the restarant opens.

I went by the pairings found in the MVs and whatever teasers I could find. It only ever showed Yinzhang looking at Gu Qianfan. My logic is that if she had a pairing in the show, they would've shown it. Like with Sanniang. I'm still in the camp that Yinzhang is not ready for love. Still too naive. She needs to work on herself and her career first. I'm still feeling that she will remain single by the end of the story. This might be the direction they go for. If anything maybe a hint of a possible romance by the end of the story, but not a subplot even.

At this point with keeping the main pairing hidden, also the fact that she is dense, borderline delusional, regarding Gu Qianfan, she might cause drama with the main leads once the reveal happens.

Omg please soon give me more Sanniang romance. As of ep 20 I feel so bad for her. I know it'll work out in the end but damn, my heart.

Also I hope they dedicate an ep or 2 for a wedding. Pleassse. Better be grand af too.

Thanks. I think it'll help people understand that Pan'er was really at the bottom of the barrel at one point and how she is trying to rise up.

For visual the ranking would be something like this, highest to lowest:

-Emperor/King (Empress around here as well)
-Royal Family (Princes, Princesses, relatives of the Royals etc.)
-Nobility (Dukes, Marquis, Counts etc.) - Gu Qian Fan
-Officials (Different ranks within) - Ouyang Xu and Zhao Pan'er's father before his guilt.
-Rich Merchants - Zhao Pan'er (TBD)
-Merchants - Zhao Pan'er (at age 16??-24)
-Common People - Zhao Pan'er (at age 16)
-Slaves or Servants
-Prostitutes / Exiles / Prisoners / Pariahs / etc. - Zhao Pan'er (at age 9)

During that time reputation was King. Once you have been branded, it's difficult/impossible to be unbranded.

Being at the bottom of the barrel no matter how good/rich you are, so long as someone is above you in the ranking, they can and will always look down at you due to the mere fact that you are below them in the system. Slaves and Prostitutes were not treated as humans, but seen as property. In fact for a time you could kill them without facing any repercussions.

Pan'er is a proud person, but under that she has always been ashamed of being a "music prostitute." She had to perform for customers. She (for her own dignity) tries to distance herself from other's of the same low class by saying things like, she opened up a business, she is living on her own, she is chaste while exiled, etc. But, in society's eyes it doesn't matter. The fact remains that she was a "pariah." How frustrating for her, when no matter how hard she tries, she can't get away from her past status and the pre-judgement.

When Ouyang abandoned her it was mainly due to her lowly status. In Ouyang's eyes and societal norms, marrying Pan'er as his wife would stain his reputation. So what if she provided everything for Ouyang? It doesn't matter since she was once a Pariah. He would not be able to climb the ladders of the officialdom. Pan'er was not willing to become a Concubine. She felt it was beneath her, but the rest of society believes that's the best she can ask for. Concubines were not people, they are essentially slaves.

It's even harder for Pan'er to accept that GQF would actually marry her as a wife because of their difference in status. GQF who is the son of Nobility (even higher ranked than Ouyang) belongs to a class that would typically never think to marry a "lowly" merchant, let alone a "prostitute." Doing so could ruin the family's reputation and have them drop down in the ranking. They would literally be shunned out of existence by others. Pan'er can't help but think that GQF might just be pitying her, and doesn't actually see her as a potential wife or love her. She has been insecure her whole life because of status.

Hope this helped.

Pan'er was punished and outcasted since she was the daughter of a guilty Official. She was a slave during that time until an amnesty (pardon) was annouced. After returning from exile, she then built her teahouse using the wit and skills she learned during the time on the streets as a "music prostitute."

I'm 50/50 on Pan'er's family being exnorated for their crimes due to framing. I feel it would be a cop-out. Her way out should be something more related to her business and fighting for equal rights. She's owning up and learning to deal with the shame she felt as a music prositute and accept that it's a part of her. When GQF first brought up her dance she felt anger and shame. But now she is owning it. That's why she danced at the end of the episode 16 for the first time. It's really well done. Yay for actually showing character growth. I applaud the writer.

From my little knowledge of the Song, merchants were still miles away from nobility. But, GQF really doesn't care about that. I'm pretty sure he is legitamately happy with the fact that Pan'er is owning her previous life.

Love will find a way.

I thought about this as well. My guess is that it's a scheme being used to stir up trouble. Fake monsters. The emperor is really religious too so it might be a plot point to get power. I don't think there will be super natural in the end.

Fake monsters would make sense. Real monsters I feel would just be too out of left field for this story.

Edit. Lol love your avatar.

GQF gonna propose and we gonna get out first kiss in ep 17? Glad they gonna do this early instead of last minute.

O wow. I only guessed this based on what I couldn't find. But totally makes sense.

Since GQF is taken, I can actually see her end up single and maybe just concentrating on her craft. She is still young and immature compared to PE and SN. Maybe not ready for love. I've watched all previews and MV and teasers. I can't definitively find her pair like SN and PE.

Looking forward to this. Through the series SN is always talking about her son. She misses him so much. I know that DCF is just bring fooled by OY. He is probably a good guy. I didn't realize until someone pointed out but DCF is an actor from Minglan.