Hikari Hana

Now I understand why some viewers find this incestuous. Growing up calling everyone older than me uncles or aunties eventhough they are not blood related to me is natural so I always find it weird when some viewers feels it icky when they are not even blood related. For me, the term uncle is just a term to explain Lin Mao's societal standing within the family, as he is the elder while Yixiu who is his sister's niece is considered the "next generation". Since he has no blood relation to Yixiu, that's the context of the term "uncle".

You're not the problem. Someone do enjoy male lead character that is domineering (read: possessive and downright abusive) so that's why they think chemistry is chemistrying between Lu Jiaxue and Yining. That's why Gu Junpyo is so famous back then (iykyk). I love Ci Sha but the drama does a good job at making me (and Yining) so repulsive of Lu Jiaxue.

Sorry, didn't think that would need to be put under spoiler.

Watching episode 23, I'm starting to understand why Yining doesn't want to tell Shenyuan about her relationship with Lu Jiaxue. It is frustrating but after seeing the flashback (I think from the trailer) where she was holding him tightly when they were together in the past as they were talking definitely would make a lady like her keep quiet about it. I always thought she had innocent like romance with him - never once I thought they would be that intimate. Now I see why she doesn't want to tell anyone about her relationship with Lu Jiaxue because it involves her reputation, and she's probably embarrassed for having that kind of relationship with a guy when she was younger.

Not to mention, he "killed" her and now even want to kill her beloved Third Brother, so someone knowing their relationship would really complicate things. Of course we know Third Brother doesn't care about those, but Yining has always been protective of him and she doesn't want him to get hurt because of her anymore than he already did that's why I understand now why she withholds this information from him.

Lin Hairu is the Second Uncle's wife. Which means she is Luo Yixiu's aunt. Lin Mao is Lin Hairu's sister, so for Luo Yixiu, Lin Mao is her aunt's brother. Even though Yixiu calls him uncle, they are not bound by any restrictions if they were to get married since Lin Mao has no ties to the family except being Lin Hairu's brother. Yining, on the other hand, would face a huge backlash if she were the one falling for Lin Mao (hypothethical situation) because he is her mother's little brother. So Yixiu and Yining's situation is different therefore their relationship with Lin Mao will also be different.

Maybe because they're riding from home and usually the ladder is provided at the gate? I don't know. I remember another different drama did this, so it never bothers me when LSY's carriage doesn't have any ladder for the ladies.

I felt that once, when Luo Shenyuan and Luo Yining visited the orphanage and he helped her to get out of the carriage. She did feel shy and looked at him differently. After that, their dynamics went back to big brother-little sister, who cares for each other as siblings and her gaze towards him feels more like someone who is looking up at her brother. That's how I feel now (up to episode 13). So, I'm thinking that maybe during that time (with getting out of the carriage), she just felt shy due to so much physical contact and how she was being carried.

I don't think he knows it. If he knew it, he would probably banish Yining way before she could get justice for her mom.

I don't think the ML loved the FL since they were young. From the brief snippets that we see so far, he seems to be mindful of how he acted around her like how a servant would. She was so bossy and overbearing, and he simply did what she told him to do because he was a kind kid who just wanted to survive in that nasty household. That's the kind of vibe I was getting when they showed their childhood memories.

I see. That's interesting. Thank you for the reply. 😊

I share the same sentiment. Family politics is so much fun to watch when the FL is good at turning around the table. So far, Yining shows that she's not to be trifled with when it comes to getting justice.

I should watch Minglan or Sword and Brocade again now that I have to wait new episodes.

For anyone who has read the novel, I'd like to ask the reason why Grandmother dotes on Yining when she knows Yining is not even a Luo descendent?

I love this too. I can see some semblance with Minglan, and I don't mind it. It's a testament of how good Minglan was. Plus I love watching women driving each other bonkers but the female lead is no pushover. This makes the drama of family politics much more engaging.

I personally feel halfway is just nice. It's not too soon that it is out of character for Li Rong to truly embrace her love for Pei Wenxuan since her upbringing and past life should impact the way she sees and does things, and hopefully not too slow (I'm hoping now that she has asked him to wait for her, the drama will focus more on her mission to prevent the past from repeating itself).

She never reciprocated his feelings wholeheartedly because she is scared, and believes that love is a weakness. I know she is a frustrating character with the way she seems to be wishy washy, but for me, her commitment towards PWX is evident when she talks with PWX about what has been holding her back. For a proud character like Li Rong, being vulnerable and asking him to wait for her is a huge step. That's her commitment in trying to make their relationship works. Not only this, but all the pillow talks or stair talk she has with PWX before shows how she is trying to meet him, which is a big deal for a princess like her. If she didn't take PWX seriously, she would already keep trying to make her relationship with SRQ work while also stringing PWX along.

Which is why I like it when PWX tells her those issues of hers. The proud, logical, and strong willed First Princess won't understand it unless someone spells it out for her, that what she thought was right is wrong. For me, although Li Rong is so flawed but I'm so happy to see her working on her issues, and that's what the trajectory of her character is about.

From the way I see in this drama (I judge this based on drama only), SRQ and LR's relationship for the past 20 years doesn't have the same intensity as LR and PWX's short marriage. LR and SRQ's relationship seems to be one-sided with him always trying to please her, like a servant following his master. When I watched how they interacted on the screen when they lived together, I almost thought he was her eunuch. So, despite having been together for 20 years, so what? The intensity of her feelings between SRQ and PWX is quite evident, with the latter shown to have more depth and intensity when it matters.

I agree that the way the director directed the scene is questionable.

However, based on how I understand Li Rong and the way she behaves between Pei Wenxuan and Su Rongqing, it's clear that whatever things Pei Wenxuan does and do affects her so much because he's the only one who holds the key to her heart. Meanwhile, with Su Rongqing, despite all those longing eyes that she had and has for him, it stems from her logical side of things. She understood his revenge. And this new SRQ is yet to kill her, so she could compartmentalize it since he doesn't have the same emotional impact on her as PWX does.

The easiest way to see how she feels for these two love interests is to see to whom she gives her biggest reaction to? Since their first life, it's always what PWX did that affected her. SRQ is like a breeze coming into her life. He could be felt, but it was never that strong. That's how I understand and see Li Rong's characterization.

I think what she believes is that as long as the Shangguan family has power, the Emperor can do nothing to them. That's why the Shangguan family keeps wanting to expand their power by having another Shangguan as the Empress. That way, when Li Chuan becomes an Emperor, the Shangguan controls both the court and the harem.

From what I gather from this drama (I never read the novel, so my judgment is solely based on the characterization shown on the screen), Li Rong believed Pei Wenxuan loved her AND Qin Zhenzhen. When she confronted him, he didn't deny it. As a princess and a woman, that was a humiliation.

Instead of waiting for him to come around with his feelings which might or might not come, she knew she should just move on. And that was when Su Rongqing came and filled in the gap in her heart. While Pei Wenxuan, being the nice guy that he was, let her be because he believed that would make her happy. And so, they lived that way for 17 years because they never really talked about what they wanted from each other, hence why they died having so much miscommunication.

From what I can see, Li Rong wanted to prevent the tragedies of past lives from repeating and also making sure that Li Chuan can safely be the next Emperor. And luckily for her, her goal is aligned with Pei Wenxuan.