Deirdre19

If you look further down someone (I think it was Amy) already spoiled the reason for her illness.

I don't think the spies... ahm, travellers currently held by Qi were the first and only ones to visit Qi and bring back intel. So I don't find it all that surprising that he knows a lot about the other side.

It's a term used in detective dramas. The Red Herring is something that appears to be a clue but eventually leads nowhere.
In my opinion the ring shown on the unknown attacker's hand and the one on Wen Jun's assistant are similar but it doesn't mean anything.

I know! He is my favourite actor. Therefore my heart bleeds to see his talent wasted in such a badly written/directed/edited drama (Chong Zi).
If you haven't seen it, spare yourself the disappointment!

Yes, that's why when reading I though he was perfect for the role! The supposedly cut scenes are just a lame excuse to put the blame for the ruined plot on "censorship". They intentionally changed his character so much that it became ridiculous to see everyone afraid of him, even though he never did anything to justify this reputation...

It's sufficient to look at the text written by Amy under discussions "alternate version" to see that a pretty good plot would have been possible without resorting to anything that would even remotely attract censorship.
Blaming censorship is nothing but a lame excuse!

Yes, censorship can be a drag, but I feel like it is very often used as an overall excuse for bad directing/writing/editing.
Throughout history, censorship has always made artists more creative, only in the case of C-drama it seems to have made people lazier.

That would be good!
It could help to immediately wipe away the bad impression that people got from watching clown-faced LYF (some of the worst make-up I've seen, ever!)

This actor can do so much more, but never got a chance to shine in Chong Zi.

Oh oh, you really let loose there 🤣 🤣 🤣
There are so many rules around C-dramas, why can't there be one that script-writers/directors have to justify the changes they make to the source material? At least it would force them to use that grey matter between their ears every once in a while.

I think the 200 years mentioned for the ceremony is the age of the king when the ceremony is held, not the age of the prince who takes part in it.

I made the mistake of starting with the book before I watched, so I knew how good it could have been and in my mind I already pictured DW as this dark character only to find him turned into a paper-tiger. And don't even get me started on the silly FL...

I had to put TSL on hold after 4 eps due to an acute pink and sparkles overdose 🤣 it felt like some 🦄 on crack worked on the visuals.

🤣🤣🤣 Time for someone with a sonic screwdriver to help her on her way...

It think this was a Red Herring... they may have similar rings because of some other reason.

Right now my top suspect is Lord Xian Hou. He clearly dislikes the Qi and he would fit the description of "someone in a high place" that was given when they discussed the person behind the trade with Qi vital stones.

She feels a bit out of place here, since there are no other annoying characters. It's almost as if she crossed over from one of those dramas that are filled with these annoying delusional female characters (usually as an obsessive love-rival of the FL).

It's a light-hearted mix of detective and romance drama,. Even though it is a different genre it has everything that I would have wished to see in TJOCZ .... Here are the positive points from my perspective:
- Coherent script-writing without gaping plot-holes or worn-out clichés
- Adult relationships between most of the characters
- Pretty good fight scenes
- Decent acting performance by the whole cast
- No overly annoying or childish characters
- No love triangles with obsessive love-rivals
- No stupid misunderstandings that drag on for ages
- FL is half-way clever and doesn't permanently trip over her own feet
- FL can speak in a non-baby voice
- No excessive use of pastel colours or sparkles
- CGI is used sparingly and looks good

To me it feels almost like the people who we given this project went out of their way to ruin it! The actors are mostly doing a great job, especially the ones whose characters we hate so much, but the incompetent writing, the sloppy editing and the clownish make-up are just an insult to both the actors and the audience.

Check directors/screen-writers of the dramas that you disliked and avoid them like the plague in the future.
Just as an example, the obsessive-love-rival-king who bored the hell out of me with Legend of Yun Xi was also responsible for the plot-hole-riddled Blooms At Ruyi Pavillion and the I'm-too-lazy-to-come-up-with-an-ending Song of the Moon. The pastel-colour posters for those dramas are a hint towards endless boredom.
The girlie who thinks she's a better writer than the authors of the original novels and bungled the script for The Blue Whisper went on to ruin Unchained Love by dumbing down the characters and trying to turn serious material into a comedy.

If you watch Warm on a Cold Night you will see that another way is entirely possible. What we see here in Chong Zi is simply lazy and uninspired writing, heaping one old cliché on another one.