Frost_edelweiss

You may need some additional and background info, so I suggest you peek at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ahZC1fiOqA&t=13s&pp=ygUlbG92ZSBsaWtlIHRoZSBnYWxheHkgaGlzdG9vcnkgc3ltYm9scw%3D%3D (and check also the two other videos connected there, made by same Youtuber).
and, for a laugh, pause with this fanvid :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYd8dENwbFI&pp=ygUnbG92ZSBsaWtlIHRoZSBnYWxheHkgZmFuIHZpZGVvIGxldml0YXRl (you can piece out where all this fits in, in the drama, if you are patient and interested enough to watch it.)

It's a "tough love" story, so not at all like what you may be used to.
I was very lukewarm about it, to start with, even found it triggering (not liking the mistreatment of the girl by her relatives), hung on, comforted by those who had read the book and without spoiling, told me it would get better. They were so right. I ended up as a fan of that drama, which grew better and better for me. The characters who looked outrageously greedy and uncaring, or conceited, torturous, were not as bad as they first felt. There were reasons for their behavior.

I got back again to beginning, better understanding what I found I had not seen properly. The slender hand and Ling Buyi's thoughtful gaze when he rode up to the narrow road the carriage took. The piercing gaze which noticed the girl crouching in hiding behind the railing. So many small details. The names of the twins and their connection despite different upbringing.
Shaoshang is a string of the guqin, a difficult instrument with a long history and esoteric values. It's one I was fortunate to get to learn to play from one of the last masters in Beijing in the 2000s. A scholar's instrument, not so much for dance tunes or songs, because it sounds muted and mournful or introspective. It's not really designed for orchestras and concert playing : more to serve as counterpoint for solitary meditation or reading of poetry in a quiet garden or alongside a brook on a mountain. Like one of my homes. Playing the guqin can be an aside from doing divination, like Shaoshang's twin (also named from another string) does, with simple stones instead of hexagrams from coin tosses or sticks, interpreted from the Yijing mysterious oracles.

Those twins resonate differently, but have a deep connection. Their tune is different from Zisheng/Ling Buyi,/Shiyilang/Huo Wushang (played by the spectacular Wu Lei) who is playing along another very complicated tune, with his murky past, his secrets, ruthless cruelty except for the woman he chose, and his links to the imperial family as unofficial prince, held in high esteem by the emperor, his Consort and Empress, and the future Crown Prince.

I watched the BTS of Wu Lei studio, admiring his routine to keep fit, and fit the character in its most challenging episodes, and taking pains to learn the rudiments of guqin playing. Wu Lei is a serious actor who really likes to improve his skills along his acting journey. Zhao Lusi is a guzheng player, so she also has some affinity with the sounds of ancient China and ancient poetry, and she is a gifted actress. The Emperor, the Consort, the Empress, Shaoshang's family and best friend, her suitors, were all playing remarkably well.

But enough about it. Either you'll get into the story or you won't. It takes a certain mindset and patience, and I am not surprised many drama watchers get daunted by this drama. It's like guqin or Chinese opera: some like the sound, some can never appreciate it. Most people like one sort of flavor, and frown at alien tastes. Same thing. On top of it, it gets so addictive that it cannot easily be watched simultaneously with something else: it "commands exclusive attention" and time for it; So if you plan to watch another drama, you may not be able to get into LLTG.

It is not as easy a watch as say, Love between Fairy and Devil. It is not wuxia, only ancient History of a period at the very beginning of the Eastern Han dynasty with values that are not the same as ours.. Some reading about the period ( or watching the companion piece videos on Youtube ) is helpful. Those who have as a strong belief that a drama should show everything with a complete introduction might not like this story, become disoriented, fidgety. Those who like being challenged to do some research and learn more than they knew might love it, as I did. Different mindsets and views about drama watching experience are at play there.

Totally what I like about this mini drama too !

So, 8 episodes more. Ah yes, the cool site has them, but still in "raw" after 16. YoYo English releases 2 episodes a day on YT, so that's a small week to go before getting to the dramatic episodes foreseen in episode 1, "one month and a half later".
I am not in a terrible hurry to finish it : taking time is ok. I may either continue snacking on it as dessert from the main fare, or go back to watch the end later...

It was a nice aside from the main fare of two longer and heavier dramas I am watching simultaneously. But now, Legend of Shenli is about to drop on screens.... which may cause me to put on hold something for lack of time. Will decide on that tomorrow.

Dramas and movies can be a risky job, fraught with accidents, when it's costume especially. I remember Chen Xingxu mentioning he got almost paralyzed, hurt his back so bad he had to stay away for a while after he got trampled by a horse, when the saddle he was on got loose and he fell off. LYX has been repeatedly injured, and Wu Lei almost lost an eye when a prop exploded into his face. There's the instance of the gun that went on with live ammo to kill one actor some time ago in the US.
Jeremy Tsui already had health concerns. Perhaps he's decided it's time to do something less risky. Wishing him all the best in new career (maybe teaching drama, if he doesn't want to do something completely different?) I hope he made enough money from his career on screen to retire peacefully and be remembered as the fine artist he was/is.
Added a heart and a 10 for Yong'an Dream (which I really enjoyed): that's free for everyone here, whereas flowers may be too expensive for some to show appreciation.

oooooh you're also harsher than I am! But I agree with you there 😂
Remember her stuffing a lollipop into poor Lin Yi's mouth while he was supposedly driving ? Cringe festival in too many moments.
I am now working on forgetting that drama.

Is this 24 episodes? Episode 16 felt like a fitting end, despite lacking the ring expected after Lin Xian measured Xiao Man's finger while she slept.

Ah, finally, we are not so much in sync there then.
Among my fondest memories of c dramas are Love Like The Galaxy, The Legend of Condor Heroes, One and Only, Ashes of Love (the 60+ episodes ones or tragic endings did not deter me from re-watching many times!) ...
And predating those were Raining in the Mountain movie by King Hu, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and a slew of kungfu movies!
So I am just out of Eternal Brotherhood moving on to Burning Flames, lol! While checking on the side on the second Lin Yi that I am not through yet with. And a mindless fluff mini one, that's cute and pretty with lush countryside.

lol !!! twinty, you're harsher than I ever will be with those actresses!
But we agree on the ones we like, or at least one certain one, I know 😊

peeking over 😊

Probably. Although I really like all sorts, from romances to slice of life, xianxia, wuxia, medical, war, you name it. My preferred dramas recently were A Journey To Love, and Eternal Brotherhood (despite the Princess Ning salad overflow), frustrated that the latter got cut off at ep.24 and we have to wait for the rest of the story which is not even a proper "season2" (it was filmed with the rest, and is just awaiting a time slot to air, because of the new reg about 40 max and up to one year before you get "continuation" -- that wait here will likely be much more detrimental to that drama than making LLTG into a Part1/Part2 drama was.) I don't mind long dramas, when the story justifies length. There are many shorter items which are much more questionably filled with fillers or open ads festivals.
Will satisfy my craving for more action with Burning Flames, perhaps, while I go on with my Lin Yi twin watch ; I already did a Chen Xingxu twin watch earlier, both dramas were not spectacular, rather forgettable too, but I still like those actors, the actresses they were paired with : much less.
Wishing they could get some better script and really sweet pairing like with Zhang Jingyi, Zhao Lusi, Bai Lu, Seven Tan, Xing Fei, or even Zhao Liying, Yang Mi or Yang Zi, Janice Wu, or Dilraba -- I know, my wish has already come true with booting Love on The Turquoise Land CXX & Di: good for him, he'd already long time ago expressed that he wished to play with her (Although I hoped CZY would do it. But he is moving away from too much typecasting, so I'm patiently in wait for his DNAD and TWOT and perhaps the costume one that got rescued from the shelf.).

Yes. It's just too much nakedness and really questionable behavior that's frowned upon : if it's a glimpse of six pack abs in shower or such, it's ok.
Even those shrill haters who tried to stir up a scandal against Hidden Love were beaten down by the Beijing News official mouthpiece newspaper column rising to challenge them and confirming there was really nothing there to frown about.
Conventional c-drama bath scenes are better covered in bubbles, lol, and in bed scenes, you only get to see naked shoulders; at most, feet intertwining suggestively, like in Ashes of Love. Girl may dodge a lot, like in Amidst A Snowstorm Of Love, but intimacy if not graphically portrayed, is implied, as in the missing period mention. Period pains are often sweetly relieved by MLs who don't look bothered by them (Falling Into Your Smile).
Age difference is also difficult to portray, so She And Her Perfect Husband was not that much of a success, but there still was the rather steamy The Forbidden Flower. It was cut a bit, but still very suggestive, and yet accepted by censorship, not vilified by an army of haters.
Anyway, it is less regulations that cause the cuts, than directors' and production's choices to pussyfoot and avoid "potential trouble" with audiences that may have a lot of shrill watchdogs on the lookout to kill a drama for being unwholesome and unfit to be screened for all audiences (porn is forbidden in China).

For thrills and intimate moments, just watch The Forbidden Flower.
Or Lighter and Princess, Road Home, Hidden Love, very short Maid's Revenge, You are my Glory (skip some technical engineering parts if that's not your liking -- I did not, because I was interested by those parts too; the "I can make it lower" part is quite sweet), maybe also Here We Meet Again (despite a bit lengthy, Vin Zhang who is an excellent kisser, squeezed the best of sweetness out of Janice Wu Qian)...
Even Only For Love (despite the phones playing third wheel).
There are cuts in those too, but even without knowing where to watch them, they are still quite alluring (and thrilling), more so than Love o2o. Or this item. 😊

Indeed.

MDL bugs. Happens. To me also sometimes, although I try to go back and check so I can delete superfluous repetition too. 😊

Your comment "hiccupped". Did you want it to be posted twice ?

Your comment "hiccupped" (posted twice?)

The end was mawkish and crap.
The turtle bit was not even half checked with Google and veterinary advise: anyway, the stray dog "shelter" bit, too, was half baked stupid. What sort of audience was targeted there
The love and hate in first episodes was best part, before it went dragging.

The script was not good and I can't stand Zhou Ye's nods in many episodes. as if she wanted to imitate old fashioned bobble-head staring dog dolls glued on car dashboards Her pouting and eating like she can't put food into her mouth without half of it popping out, and then adding mewling sounds in lieu of answers to table companions (such as in ep6 22:02). Can't she shake out of those nasty habits, which mar much of her "romantic" acting parts?

Lin Yi was average here: must have grown tired by the repetitiousness and drag. His best looks : in black and leather in episode 9, and in the FPS combat gaming parts.
I think all chemistry was on him, not on Zhou Ye who did her parts as if they were a chore.

Kissing and sweet scenes : forget it! Even the silk nightgown moment was quickly "covered" and put away. When "Gu Xun" wanted to explain his mistake while cornering "Qianling" against a wall in the office -!!!- (same ep.9), she looked mildly puzzled (when she should have been reacting with a slap and a sharp lash of outspokenness). That scene was quickly toned down by "Jiang Junnan" dismissing it all with the technical Japanese term : "kabedon" (sighing) as if that was just goofy and acceptable behavior on the office floor...

Anyway this is a forgettable item; nothing to learn from it, except patience faced with lackluster script, subpar acting, and time loss.
7 from me, because I still like Lin Yi and thought Melody Tang was cute and playing well in character for her part, and I don't like to rate below 5.

Disappointed.

yep, that one is not a masterpiece.

Me too 😂
strayed on to that small drama because of a YT "FULL" which turned out to be a recap of episodes 1-7, went on to watch on YoYo English channel until 10, now waiting for the rest 😂