Frost_edelweiss

I assume the emperor, as surrogate and quasi adoptive father (since Ling Buyi firmly rejected Ling Yi) bestowed the Zisheng courtesy name upon Ling Buyi once he came of age at 20. He is supposed to be a 21-22 year old general if I am not mistaken.
Receiving a courtesy name was a custom so that's the reason.

From what I understand, this custom survived into the 21st century for some wealthy families, but is slowly dying out. In the drama Forever and Ever, Zhousheng Cheng and his lawyer both have courtesy names that are revealed to the ML's fiancée. The people I know must not be wealthy and/or clannish enough. Or they are "raised red" CPC members, so they don't go with old feudal customs and don't have courtesy names, although some changed their legal first name voluntarily, when they came of age, a possibility that is I think is ratherunique to China.

I have seen a few more, but agree with your list and ranking
I started from The Legend of Condor Heroes and the adaptations of Chinese literature classics such as The Dream in the Red Chamber.
Personally I add additional categories like wuxia, xianxia, ancient history, BL.

Of course. Since I didn't resist the fast track. And because I was glued to screen for all that time, suffering during the 4 day breaks, and rejoicing when my new addiction popped up on time, I cannnot give less than 10/10 x2 (part 1 and part 2).

I hope the rating will keep above 9 😁

1 Blowing and feeding of potions has been addressed by IyaGongzhu.

I would just like to add that this belongs also to the tropes department for "love", "comedy" and "romance" dramas. The best example to my mind was the "feeding the God of war the lingzhi" grown magically by fairy JinMi in Ashes of Love. It combined the trope with a surprise effect that was quite memorable. Here, around 21:38 mins in the 6th episode : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ZebY9I9gI - A helpful person has also given in comments timestamps for cute or sweet tropey moments incl. that one.

5 Accidental or awkward kiss is one of the tropes of romance dramas. There's a quite a catalogue to draw up there : piggyback ride to enebriated or injured female, etc etc. This will indeed make crowds chuckle in mock disgust. When there's "love" or "romance" in the title or description, some form of itis bound to pop up, and it can be amusing to note the variations on the tropes.
The one in LLTG was quite funny : pinching ML's cheeks instead of the reverse, and having the enabriated NiaoNiao spur her "steed" with gleeful shouts as parents looked on, stunned.

3 This is popular festival culture, very important for most people in China and around. You can read about the Lantern festival that concludes the Chinese New Year 15 day festival.

During that period people can't sleep at least the first three days, because of constant explosions of fireworks and firecrackers (yes, there are accidents once in a while so sometimes they are banned and replaced by balloons exploding) and scheduled visits to family and friends and eating, eating, eating, going to Temple fairs both to pray and be entertained. And finally on Yuan Xiao day the many activities include moon gazing, lighting lanterns, riddles, lion dances and eating small white rice balls stuffed with red date paste or black sesame, boiled in water that can be laced with guihua flowers or not : this is the delicious tangyuan or yuanxiao rice ball that evokes the moon. Lighting lanterns depends on where you are, sometimes it is replaced by going to parks that have exhibitions of huge lanterns in many shapes and colors.

The individual ones can indeed be inscribed or sculpted on the paper with wishes. Making them is a nice handicraft to learn, just as papercuts to glue on windows for the festival.
"Each of the various types of Chinese lanterns comes with its own set of meanings, but generally speaking, all of the lanterns signify a wish for a better and brighter future. - The meanings and superstitions behind colors are very important in China, so the intended message of any given Chinese lantern can vary depending on its color."

The history of the lantern goes back, interestingly, to the Eastern han dynasty (25-220 AD) : they used hot air balloon effect to be set off in the sky, and the silk or paper covers would be decorated with different traditional Chinese characters. "As these lanterns caught on in Chinese culture at the time, monks adopted them to celebrate the Buddha. They adopted lanterns as part of their rituals of worship on the twelfth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. - One very devout emperor requested his subjects to follow this practice and people started lighting lanterns to honor the Buddha. As part of the ritual, believers would carry the lanterns to the palace in Luoyang."

But there are other festivals which use lanterns : Dragon BoatFestival is one (Fri 3 June 2022) This one will make use of floating lanterns,which can also be used at other large-scale events. "They function in the same way as flying lanterns, but they have varying shapes, including lotus flowers and hearts. "

Mid Autumn Festival is another occasion (Sat 10 September this year 2022)
"Flying lanterns, which are propelled by hot air generated by a little flame inside, are like miniature hot air balloons. These are only released at night during special occasions like the Mid-Autumn Festival."

4. is actually in line with the requirements of a traditionally well educated person or scholar mastering the four arts -"They were the mastery of the qin (the guqin, a stringed instrument, 琴), qi (the strategy game of Go, 棋), shu (Chinese calligraphy, 書) and hua (Chinese painting, 畫), and are also referred to by listing all four: 琴棋書畫; qínqíshūhuà."

Even today, good education includes some intrument playing, some visual arts practice, some calligraphy and if possible, knowing some games, or... being able to sing karaoke songs or perform solo or with others to sing on stage at university events.
Best there is combining singing with ancient poetry such as the olden goldies from Teresa Teng's 1983 Dàndàn yōuqíng album that had 12 immortal songs with lyrics from Tang and Song poets. Such as Dàn yuàn rén chángjiǔ (Wishing we last forever) .

Being conversant with the trends of mandopop, zhongguofeng, gufeng and mixes of edm like the Mangzhong (Grain in ear) song can be useful. Here's a performance by Zhao Lusi, playing her guzheng, singing and dancing that song which sounds light hearted but in fact is not; it was composed by a gufeng-edm group out of her native city Chengdu and became an instant hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKGr8RfqHok
(digging deeper for that song will lead to esoterica about Chinese solar terms and zodiac, so one can accrue culture from popular songs too ! 😁 )
I am also fond of this modern Pipa Xing song sung [😮] by singer& actor Leo Luo/Luo Yunxi on a poem by Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJWZVoAd750

Dancing hip hop and singing Masiwei & Tia Ray's latest rap & humor song or Luo Tianyi's "Sun Quan The Emperor" or Z.Tao's "Ice Cream" has not yet been included in the modern version of the four arts unless you are an aspiring performer for a battle like Chuang. 😂

Thanks for the link, I went to watch the livestream and caught the cast introducing themselves and having fun with toys, leather puppets, questions about the drama, and impersonations. Wu Lei was in his trailer on set for another drama, tuning in virtually, and was open mouthed flabbergasted when Li YunRui (Yuan Shen) and Yu ChengEn (LounYao) went dancing and ... partly reenacting the tango/self defense scene ? It was quite funny.
I hope someone will post a recording on YT with English subs for the international audience. Still the feed broke off abruptly on a frozen screen so I probably missed parts. What I saw and listened to was nice.

Nah don't worry, they'll just be released like on the initial schedule for those who could not or did not want to join the fast track. You can go camping or do whatever you used to do in the gap days as before.

My alien starship is currently somewhere with a beam to Singapore 😂😂👽
Just watched a good part of the livestream, going back to episodes on the Express plan. Like in a rave party or a lively fan convention room-party spilling over to 24/24 times who knows maybe into the weekend. Fluids and necessary supplies have been foreseen. I'll be sampling the Qianlizui next 🤣🤣🤣

Yes, as a fitness addict and weightlifter, it's not surprising that strain can show for WL. The Wu Lei studio clip about his diet and fitness training shows he is aware and takes care of his health, and from other videos I got that he is really careful not to endanger himself recklessly. Once smilingly enquiring about risks before doing things like sea diving or handling live critters with cutting pincers 😁
Worst that can happen is his falling from wires or horses or has a prop exploding into his face like in 2021 on another project, or burns like in the beginning of shooting LLTG that had him taken tp treatment from which he took minimal time away from set... Hoping that such injuries will not happen as many times for LeiGe as it did for Jackie Chan (old time fan of 成龙 Chéng Lóng here, liking also his songs).
I am not really worried about LeiLei, just conscious that the people who bring us wonderful moments on screen don't always do it as easily as we could think from lighthearted BTS moments. It is work indeed. And not as risk free as office work. So, respect to these humans!

Going back to marathon watching myself now. With a lot of fluids and what's otherwise needed to keep up stamina together with my fellow alien friends in deep space 🤣🤣🤣 Leaving MDL for a while

No FL has three suitors but is only engaged to them successively, breaking off to accept next. Engagement. Not entering as concubine in a harem anywhere. Even the Emperor has no concubines, just as in the historical model of Guangwu who had two wives, but no concubine. The first was a Royal Consort, who let the newly minted Empress title to the second wife that she accepted her husband wed for political alliance ; the other performed peacefully and dutifully but was amicably deposed 16 years later to make way for switching title of Empress to the first wife. The former Empress still got another high title and moved with her youngest son who was made vassal king. Both Ladies and Emperor were on good speaking terms throughout their lives.
No ladies get oppressed for or coerced to sex in this drama (although there's one moment when FL character comforts and gives hope to a rape victim after the fact, due to a massacre). As in many c-dramas there is a minimum of touching and even kissing, and no full nakedness, only a memorable wounded torso that FL character helps with treating in an emergency.

Some torture scenes though. If this triggers you, and you can't take battle scenes, then part of the drama is not for you. You could skip... (and if you are prone to mental trigers, watch ep 1 and skip directly to 5 or 6 before coming back to 2,3,4 after a while, when Mom's behavior will be more comprehensible.)
Check this short video that helpfully assembled some of the most painful moments in the drama (maybe 5% of the drama),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UI20-USIK8 (battlefields)
but be aware that this one is overwhelmingly peppered with hilarious moments that skilfully relieve stress. Check this other fan MV to see a glimpse of what's up 80% of the time :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYd8dENwbFI (humor)

If you have a desktop screen amplifier, it can help when projection is not possible.

I had already noticed Wu Lei's hands showing inflated veins ; it's a blood pressure condition that perhaps should be monitored. I know someone who got a brain stroke at 30 some (recovered luckily) after working too hard, ignoring this condition, only raising his arms to let the blood flow less hurtfully when his hands showed those signs.
Although it's admirable that Wu Lei has this dedication to his art and athleticism, I just wish that his dangerous profession won't get him hurt more than he already was in real life.
He's such a god on screen : even among aliens he's earned deep respect. 😔💜

Yeah, just signed in to the Express Package (less than 10USD equivalent) so I'll be able to watch at ease.
Came in somewhat with a delay due to a complication in my real life incarnation that had to be sorted first. Only disappointment: the acceptance page stated this does not support cast. So I'll have to watch on a tablet.
That's OK. Did so for entainment when I was travelling on trains or planes in another previous incarnation. Memories memories.
Digging up the noise canceling headset(s) that go with the tablet, hauling in snacks and coffee, and Gargleblaster and Qianlizui and high grade Wuliangye, Chouchen mead and assorted ingredients for cocktails and Mojito (Jay Chou devotee, this one and the Fearless Huo Huo Huooo songs are on a loop to prepare for revels 🎵).
Here are the links for the curious that would not be cognizant with those mandopop gems :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-biOGdYiF-I (Mojito)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al7USRMI6Ug (Fearless)
Putting on the magnfying device to watch with my fellow alien friends from various worlds, coming shortly at my invitation. Not as good perhaps as cast to wide screen smart tv, but still better than the small tablet - or smartphone.
Lucky that the cargo hold has the magnifyer stored not too far down in the junk that piles there...
As I wrote, I am grateful for this providential plan that will satisfy my craving and liberate needed time in the weeks leading up to September, as some stuff also really need my attention on Earthling ground. I do have three heads and a handy teleporting device , but have not yet graduated to Time Lords time tweaking as well as I'd like. 🤣
Goodbye and happy watching, fellow addicts of LLTG !
Greetings from this friendly alien from deep space 👽😂

aha! so she just waded into the river and disappeared and is going to show up again ?

Three carriages take off in three directions. Lou Yao & He Zhaojun travel to Hua county. They say the 1st chamber Madam took off to her original family, with Luo Li the daughter if I am not mistaken. The ex Imperial Tutor went in another direction having shifted blame for 2nd chamber on his Madam. With the two not really identified worthless sons of First Chamber, I think. (Those that Luo Ben blamed the Imperial Tutor head of family for being biased about).

We shall need a season 2 then with the offspring ! Looking exactly like their parents would be fine . 😁

Hmm after her scrutiny of the portrait in the Huo memorial episode, I think CSS suspected as I did that Ling Buyi was not to be the one people thought he was, but perhaps he did not know himself ? In that case, why would it be a lie to have let CSS believe he was Ling Buyi ; after all he only claimed he was Shiyilang when he first gave an identity. Zisheng being a courtesy name, he ought not to have received it before coming of age ? So that's likely not a lie either.
Although the allergy now certainly had to be remembered, so how could he have forgotten how he was exchanged, and why? Still some mysteries to clear ahead, but I have not read the spoilers for this and am contentedly tagging along.

HUO Wushang 霍无伤
Wúshāng as in wúshāngdàyǎ 无伤 大雅 (harmless/unimportant !!!)
Listen to that song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al7USRMI6Ug (Jay Chou, somewhat fitting now for this part of LLTG )
霍 Huò can also mean "suddenly" ; homophone with 或 in 或者 Huòzhě (or) ; but different from 活的 Huó de (live)