KJ2025

Feast or flood?

Zang Hai is talented in silver work. Was this a personal thank you to Xiang An Tu or another means of manipulation? In spite of her original comment she was very pleased he personally made her something. She reeled him in nicely for a date😂 there was no way to refuse. It was awkward at first but them finding clouds in the stars was quite sweet. He left off with his astronomical training and continued with her in make believe images in the stars. These two are a well matched pair. I am pretty sure I am correct with this. She added a dangly to his hairpin but wore it on date and his eyes keep glancing at it.😁His demeanor completely changes when he looks at the sky outside home. He goes straight to the Marquis with his findings. It directly contradicts Chu’s auspicious rendition and he wants the Marquis to tell the emperor so the drought region can be protected from flooding. The Marquis is too cowardly to change the emperor’s mood. He covets a higher position and sees the collateral damage of the flood giving him an opening. He forbids Zang Hai from mentioning it. I am glad Zang Hai still values life. He went right to his mentor and devised a plan to get the news out. Not only would that get his name in for Chu’s job but also save the people when dam gives out. They cannot rely on any maintenance from these corrupt officials too used to stealing public funds. He is very successful but finds himself at the end of the Marquis’ sword. He asks the marquis to give him seven days to prove flooding. That is the amount of living time he has left if wrong. The eunuch is also questioning around about Lu Jin’s death. He knows there is something off, but there are so many masquerades from every corner that even the spider has to test each thread to see where the fly is. He also has the altar object on his mind thanks to the forged letter. Zang Hai did well because even the sister said it was her brother’s handwriting. The contents of the letter still seems odd to them but they are now exploring more answers. Zang Hai is a master of psyops. 👏🏻 The Marquis has a doom of death dream. I actually chuckled when he felt around his throat when he startled awake.😝 It is interesting that among the faces was also one of undead from around the object. Was this his imagination or memory? There are definitely two thinking of object…..is the third one also? Or is the third focused more on the two? Waiting to see what happens with flood prediction.

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Conflict of spies

Lu Jin is a McGyver of assassin tools. He was really a good one to have lead of security. Can’t say I am sorry the bad guy lost this one. He went through a squad of people before he even got to whip Princess. She took him out pretty effectively and it was genius using the body as decoy. She would not have wondered at Zang Hai’s lack of corpse fear if she knew what his job was.😝 Interesting negotiations for her assistance. I can only wonder what she will want him to pay up when the time comes. The young prince was finally getting a night out with father and b stepmother came in and messed it up. She knew conversation of Dongxia would trigger him. However, had he known better, he would have listened to story because it is likely the third person was talked about in the father’s ramblings. The eunuch goes to Marquis’ home and when results aren’t happening to his liking he has already set a scene to kill Zang Hai. This was interrupted with the finding of Lu Jin’s body. I am not sure what was in the letter but it is an amazing feat that they hid a forgery inside the body. The layers to these machinations go beyond counting. The eunuch knows he has revealed too much to Zang Hai so I wonder who is going to make the next move. The body price is going up each move. I get some satisfaction that the eunuch is ill at ease with Zang Hai. Hope it’s a someone walking over his grave experience for him. Hopefully he can meet his son soon. The flames will point the way.

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Old acquaintances reunited

Mr 8 is a miss…that was interesting. And that she is best friend of tower owner who turns out to be the spoiled princess that marked Zang Hai’s back. It should have been obvious but I really didn’t go there. But the Marquis planted her in the perfect gilded cage. Zang Hai has made a tentative peace with her and she pointed out a Dongxia merchant to him. The second surprise was the second son figuring out exactly who he is. Zang Hai was showing him ledgers to show how his step mother was molding him to be a spendthrift and failure thinking that would gain him assist from close quarters. What he did not expect was to be recognized as the bully seeking info about father. We are finally getting filled in on some of the happenings of that day from a different perspective. The son knows what the Marquis did and hated it. But at the same time it is his father. So he has given Zang Hai one day to remove himself from Marquis and the city or be exposed. This is a big unexpected curve ball to be tossed. This is the first time Zang Hai has to decide if he can kill an innocent to continue his plans. The tower owner has purchased a theater for her friend. She is planning to use the proceeds to help the people of Dongxia. I wonder what she will think when she learns she and Zang Hai are from same place? The second son has gone to his mother’s grave. He is speaking aloud and telling her what is going on in his life. He has just started to talk of Zang Hai not knowing Zang Hai is behind with his father’s device preparing to kill him…..as much as this needs to be done, once killing in cold blood is a point of no return. The prince is an innocent tho his family most guilty.

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A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

The three search in the tomb and find it has been raided by three different groups. They see the remains of those who were killed in traps or killed each other. Zang Hai tries the turtle again and we are all disappointed that nothing is there. He follows the teachings of his father to pay respect to the dead and instructs his friends to help repair the tombs and contents. While he is positioning the body he sees that the pattern is different on two squares. When he fixes the pattern a new puzzle is revealed. One square is missing and there are several words to choose from. The quote he recognizes being from the mentor not the tomb couple. After figuring out the puzzle a device his father created is discovered. It is like the device his mentor was going to use against Marquis and changed mind about fuse. Zang Hai carefully adds gold filament to incense. This will cause a distraction so he can escape tomb at dowager’s memorial service. His mentor shows up and fingers the incense but I did not see him remove anything. At the lighting of incense Zang Hai tries to stall because prince isn’t there and device didn’t go off. He figures the device got moved and another set of incense sticks would fix it. The Marquis refuses to wait and gets suspicious of Zang Hai. Zang Hai wants revenge but he has never killed someone in cold blood. He is sweating bullets and it’s obvious something is amiss. A servant adds to it by bringing his improvised incense sticks up where gold thread is evident. There is a thorough search of the incense container but nothing is there. He has to concoct a story that isn’t as seamless as he usually is when speaking. When he leaves he is looking around and the masked man shows him the device he took. They have a candid chat and Zang Hai is enlightened that this three day threat may have originated from the Marquis. He also reminds him that there were two others that were enemies of his family and that if he impatiently kills the Marquis, he may never discover who third person is. I was mistaken on the fish keys last episode. There are three not two. The Marquis and eunuch have two of them but the third party is unknown. So Zang Hai changes his game plan. He confesses to Marquis that he received a threat to kill him. He shows the Marquis the items he received and played up that two days were wasted because he couldn’t find sender. He begs for mercy and tells the Marquis he wants him to have time to make himself safe. The Marquis isn’t really bothered by the threat which indicates he did most likely authorize the death threat to test Zang Hai’s loyalties. He is told to not hesitate to report such things in future. Since he passed that test I think the Marquis is getting ready to pull the son card to see how Zang Hai will do with next level test when paired with son as advisor. It is also a mystery why second son did not go to dowager’s memorial service. This is the first time Zang Hai showed a true chink in his armor. He failed the test but has been given a chance for future redo thanks to his mentors. Hopefully his disciple bro won’t do anything reckless in the interim.

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New alliances

I am glad they explained how the stone worked. I have to admit it was funny seeing him try to get the dam opened again. That was a very clever plan, it is just sad none of the other men could benefit from it. I was surprised to see him in a carriage with the Marquis. I guess I shouldn’t have been because how else can he be dealt with? That was a very candid conversation with a viper poised to strike. He did make valid strategic points about how the Marquis’ chosen ones weakened as much or even more as assisted him. Zang Hai played his hand well but there is no telling how a cornered person will act. He lucked out and his life is at least temporarily spared. The back up plan with arrow launcher, probably to indicate new enemies, was also clever and here I did laugh when first he wants the fuse to hurry up and then it’s like no no stop burning 😂His mentor is a good guard for him. I like that he checked in on him personally to check in Zang Hai’s wounds. I am also relieved none of them thought to poison the darts. Zang Hai is now in an official position with a set raise and given lodging right next to the Marquis. He is even invited to dinner. He gets to sit next to the girl that scarred his back, the brother that tried to literally bury him, and the Marquis who slaughtered his family before his eyes. How he even managed to stay in the room is a feat in itself. I do not know how he is going to react being the son’s advisor. He will shift it to his advantage but I am still curious how this pairing will play out. Is the Marquis trying to limit Zang Hai? Or have his son improve his choices? That remains to be seen. Seeing his mentor at the book store was fun. These meetings lighten up a whole lot of intense storytelling. The meal at the tower was funny. When the gal finally says he knows….😂 he is helping the second son and himself getting the treasury items back but I bet he doesn’t find out about that special jewel anytime soon.😝 These two could really help each other out and he has already proven himself to be far more honorable than any of the royals….so now to see where this new partnership leads.

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Job with the scholars

After making it through he is then accused of knowing building secrets.😝 This guy is determined to give Zang Hai grief but Zang Hai stays humble and then tells them the dowager will show a sign when it rains. He also told them that he was 100% sure they would have rain that day. He is laughed at but when the eunuch is called in he comments on the freak storm that showed up after a beautiful day. This has the Marquis’ attention. Zang Hai asks to kneel before dowager to ask for blessing while he places a stone under coffin so it will move on the wet surface. The Marquis calls him out for that and is deciding if he is going to kill Zang Hai or not. He escapes this first round and ends up with the scholars to learn building techniques. He was given an audience with the Marquis that was blocked by his supervisor. He is forced into taking a job of sealing the ceiling so that rains won’t destroy the ancestral hall documents. That night Zang Hai tells his old mentor how he missed a prime opportunity but that since it really did storm he couldn’t take blame for damages. Zang Hai recognizes that the supervisor keeps the underlings worthless and steals from the inventory. He is tested a second time when he is left alone with the inventory while everybody else leaves. The supervisor is leaving directions for him to be arrested immediately if anything is amiss. So now to see if he makes Zang Hai the fall guy or if Zang Hai proves him a thief.

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Zang Hai is born

The boy finds himself on a boat with a masked man. He is encouraged to cry and then talk. After a good cry he chats with his new benefactor. He finds out his father had made plans to get them out of the city but was interrupted by the Marquis of Pingjin. He is asked how he would like to live with or without vengeance. The young boy chooses vengeance and is taken to a new location where he can be trained for the next ten years. He is immediately changed with cosmetic surgery and his fingerprints were altered or removed. He is told the changes are slight but that it will completely alter his appearance so that no resemblance to his parents remains. He finds himself in a barricaded room where he is challenged to use the poem his father taught him to escape the wooden puzzle locking him in. It takes him three days but he masters the hexagon that will grant him freedom. His lessons continue so that he is knowledgeable in construction and geomancy like his father was. When he hits twenty he is given further instructions in how not to be seduced. He learns to bottle the hate in his heart where it cannot be seen and to let his outer expressions present what people expect, but not necessarily his real emotions. After passing half of that test his benefactor comes back with a puzzle. He is asked questions while unlocking it. He told exactly how many tiles were in two different locations and gave exact recall of what happened to his friend and family even after all these years. He is shown the drawing of the Marquis and recall in detail the vengeance he still has. He is told with the dowager ill that there is a rare opportunity to get close to the household even tho he has not completed his training. He is given a new identity and what his training specializes in. He is shown drawings of those closest to Marquis and recalls what each did the night of the massacre. I am thinking the second son is the one he and friends captured to find out information. I find myself annoyed that a jealous coworker helped cause this for his ‘friend’s’ job. He accepts the challenge and believes the kinder mentor is going to accompany him. He finds out again not to be deceived by kindness. He is called by his name and his response is who is that? My name is Zang Hai. Another eventful episode.

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Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

The wife comes to the celebratory dinner and makes her stance clear. The Marquis plans to banish children and wife so that Zhifu’s condition can be hid. Again kudos to the actor playing eldest son. He really does this well. All the supporting cast make their characters shine. There is no bad acting anywhere. Production makes all the scenes believable. Petition drum interrupts the Emperor welcoming ZhiXing to court. The Marquis’ wife shows up in ceremonial robes and petitions the emperor to charge her husband for bribing Martial arts test officials to make ZhiXing first in exam. This is being investigated and the Marquis is tossed in prison. I am not sure what is going to happen to ZhiXing. He is shaping up nicely and this is a major slam. The eunuch was all smiles as the wife brought out a ledger that incriminated the Marquis and personally presented it to the emperor. She just did all his work for him. The Marquis is not worried. He has his own backup plan for the eunuch. What he did not expect was to encounter Zhinu. I am not sure Zang Hai timed this well. I almost agree with Marquis he was too impatient and played his hand too early. His laughter at his son delivering the evidence to Zang Hai makes me wonder what else there is to the story. Is he acting for Zang Hai’s benefit or has Zang Hai been fooled to believing something is true that isn’t? His eyes popped that Zong Hai knew about the queen, but it still seems that something is missing. His real attitude about insignificant people puts him back where he belongs as evil as eunuch. He does have a sense of honor but it is only for a specific class. Anything lower gets a different moral code with no thought about the justice of it. We find out that Chu had been his informant for quite awhile and probably was instrumental in causing the alter collapse where they expected the astronomer to die. That plan had a wrench tossed in when not only did he live, but he left with Gui seal. Now was the astronomer following orders from somebody or was this his own plan? Too many are dead that could answer these questions. AnTu does not believe that her mother is the third person. I think deep down she realizes this has to be the case but she is not ready to think her mother could deal with Cao and Marquis not only for the seal but to knowingly slaughter a group of innocent people to blur the truth. She will have to ponder on this awhile. She sees where Zang Hai is on the matter but she is not ready to think he is right just yet. ZhiXing wanted to nix Zang Hai killing his dad after telling him the story of the fish. They both know that this isn’t going to happen and I think both have regret with this. The Marquis laughing…did Zang Hai get duped about something or was he laughing at the other two coming to similar fates? Only he knows the answer. None of them have the entire story or one of the three would know where the seal is and the other two would check them in using it. Who was behind the astronomer taking the seal and who hid it? Was this done by Dongxia or another party we still need to meet? There are still as many questions as answers. The one thing we do know is that the Marquis’ wife is willing to burn down the entire house along with her son’s disgrace. ZhiXing is the innocent here. I would really like to see him get a decent ending. I really don’t want to see him serving Cao and I hope the emperor can hold him guiltless of his parents’ corrupt natures. The military is a good spot for him. He has cleaned up his act and the only thing he was ever guilty of was being lazy and gambling too much. I hope the emperor still lets him serve even if a different position out of court. Working up the ranks will be a better fit than amongst all these corrupt politicians. At the end of the day we have to wonder if Zang Hai will become as bad or worse than those he wants to destroy? This is the real question. He has no family to ballast him. He only has mentors that guide him on this chosen path. Even his friends only want blood. So when and if he completes his objective……what will he become?

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Love has fireworks

This episode follows Lin’s reaction to the traumatic events that occurred with the accident. What I hope he eventually gains from this experience is to see just how valuable the information and assistance from the ‘replaceable’ people in the hospital is and how invaluable to saving lives. He is so gifted in this area and it’s where his heart really is. It was a revelation that he almost did not text XiGuang at all. He wanted her to know how he felt with no contact while in hospital. So he let himself be careless in whether or not it went through. He is still aching over the lack of contact recieved and doesn’t know what to do with it. Many commenters were furious with her reaction to him. But she doesn’t even know of the circumstances of his accident. She has only seen the handsome boss that had a grudge towards her and the possible bf that has treated her with meticulous care. She had every reason to think he would contact her if something happened to him. Especially since he gave her every reason to think things were cleared up between them. His hug to his mom was so poignant. I wish he would have told her the cause of it. But I am happy that he is finally going to investigate the circumstances of the date invite with his friend. The one thing he did learn from this experience is that communication can be lost in translation. This will hopefully happen soon. They have been dragging this out over 20 episodes now,😝This did show how hard it cut him. It is not matching up with the girl running to him in the hospital hellbent on finding out what happened to him and why she wasn’t in the loop. It revealed the deep fear he had that when the chips were down she wouldn’t be there for him. If she knew that, I think she would be upset he would think that of her. She stated as much when she said she would check up on a stranger much less him. This broke through his final wall and this drama will hopefully get a move on showing the fake daughter to be the inconsiderate person he thought XiGuang was.😝 There was a cute family outing while Lin and family heading on to airport. Xu has stepped up to look after his friend and send everyone else home to make what they could of holiday and get back to work. Chris thinks Xu is bf material because of this. While he is concerned for his friend, it is clear he sees this as a chance to contact XiGuang. It is interesting how he and Lin keep having these encounters while heading opposite directions. I could not believe Xu almost sent that nosy text to XiGuang. As if he had any right to know her feelings about anything. They showed a homey scene when he was Jiang Rui’s tutor. This is why she fell for him. He was the handsome and super intelligent chef that was making meals for them. In spite of the hate his character is getting, he is not satan. 😝 But he is very linear and tunnel visioned in his opinions of others. He also arrogantly thinks he is approaching others from the only correct view. He never once bothered to have a conversation that wasn’t academic or work related. We really don’t need to see any more of his interference with XiGuang. I would much rather see him grow up, grow a pair and consider Chris a very good option. She makes him his better self. They give us a glimpse of the Sheng family machinations and it seems the wife is the instigator and the husband lets her run the show. Nie is chatting with him and it is just one of those scenes that make you wanna throw up a little and move on. These two losers have caused a lot of grief and the worst of the lot hasn’t even shown himself yet. I have not decided which side of the fence the gpa is on, but I think I am liking the butler.

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Chun Ge’s resolution, festival and next item recovery

ChunGe’s dream state allows him to work out his issues and understand the motivation behind the actions of friends and family that he’d been resenting. BiZhi even offered him a replay, which he realized he did not need. This let the three friends find each other and find out the original plans was for his benefit. They leave happily and he sees the cucumber porridge his mother put in thermos for him. He ate the porridge with gratitude and left a nite if sincere thanks to his parents. The next item revolves around a version of chess that is also used for fortune telling. They head to the time rift market and find Market Lord out of sorts. She is reminiscing about earlier times and miss g the happiness and fun of festivals. BeiLu suggests having a festival there and is very animated.🤣 The chess game made it a cold food celebration and I am kinda with market Lord that something else would be better. They persuade her into it so she gives them a clue about when would be most auspicious time to look for chess board. There is a queen of the stage and BiZhi has sent the biggest amount of flowers to her. There is an awkward moment when the singer gives thanks to husband for flowers and then realizes he wasn’t the one to send them.😳 He does manage to smooth things over and get an invite to the person her really wants to see. They all arrive at almost same time to the home of the elder celebrating birthday. The door is opened by a couple eerie children and they make their way k side. Upstairs, the elder Wu is talking to a memorial and promising revenge. So this is looking like a knives out party.

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Accident on the slope

Whoever did the camera work for them while on the slope made these episodes enjoyable to watch. Wingman got hit on the slopes and was a critical patient. Fortunately Lin came across the scene and had him prepped for CT scans and gave the hospital his observations while en route to the hospital. The docs there of course can’t imagine why a neurosurgeon isn’t practicing medicine. They showed some history with that. At the time he was all in for being a top surgeon with a very unique niche. He was not content to be a ‘replaceable’ person at the hospital. Lin went with the patient to the hospital and served as a consultant for the doctor performing the emergency surgery. On the way, he tried several times to contact XiGuang but her phone had died. He did send her a text as last resort, but either she never got it or it was never sent due to the intermittent signal. He did get a call through to his mom saying what happened and where he would be. Now all Xu’s colleagues are also with them at the hospital. XiGuang decides to stay max time on the slope followed up by some shopping where she got her phone charged enough to turn on. She only had his last txt of still on the slopes in her phone. She and Jiang Rui are noticing he’s late. He finds it funny and she’s getting worried. They find out there was an accident that went to county hospital and saw his snow board in the infirmary. They hit the road and get to the hospital. She sees him there and is very emotional. She is very glad he’s ok but she is mad he didn’t inform her where he was by any means. He is stunned because he still sees her as the girl that left him in the hospital and never contacted him. Had he not been in his head with that, it would have dawned on him to mention that he tried to contact her and did send a text. She had found out through the moms what had happened and the time frame. We know her investigative work from college days.😝 I don’t know if his phone said cancelled or unsent, or if her phone will at some point receive it, but for now, she is being stubborn and not taking his calls. She has a right to feel upset but even Jiang Rui noted she was taking it to the next level of anger. That paused her a bit as I think she’s evaluating where Lin’s place is with her. Lin is processing the very anxious girl that was worried sick about him and upset no text or message. He is also trying to puzzle out some things. I hope they let these two get sorted sooner than later. At least she only asked Xu why he was there and otherwise left him be. She instinctively went to where her heart was, now her head needs to catch up. Jiang Rui has atoned for his blabbermouth ways and is doing his best to be lil bro comforter. Ya gotta smile when he is the voice of reason.😂 Not sure where Lin was headed, but he has changed his mind and heading somewhere else. Now gotta wait to find out how these two get reconciled.

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Love is a battlefield🤣

ChunGe is having a day. He arrives to work less than a minute late and gets grief from his supervisor. He plans on participating in the batmittin game with his secret crush and he really wants to do well. He rolls his ankle and has to sit on the sidelines icing it. His best friend BeiLu shows up in time to sub for him. But this time, ChunGe doesn’t want to be on the sidelines. He contests the sub since BeiLu left the clinic but is rebutted that he has 6mths he can still play. So BeiLu saves the day and plays well, winning the game and everybody’s praise. His friends don’t desert him while he’s sitting there pouting. They want him to get ankle checked and tried to accommodate him. Instead of leaving with them, he pushes them towards the fish dinner he can’t eat and he goes home continuing his wallow session. Mom has sea cucumber porridge for him to help his poor health. She has spent hours and years making this just for his health needs. It’s not that he’s ungrateful, it’s just he needs a night off from mothering. His dad comes in and has it out with the ‘useless’ ingrate son. Both parents are stunned when he yells back agreeing with them and all his anger just pours out as he lets them have it about how he is really feeling. He finds himself at Yashe and BiZhi offers him a daybed to crash on. Turns out the rock pillow influences dream state. He is his character in a video game and all his coworkers have joined him. BiZhi is a great swordmaster that has given him a blast of internal power and a couple rules. He heads home to find things out of sync because the leader has been injured. While protecting his crush, he flexes that inner energy at a bully clan that’s been bothering them. He ends up getting the sect leader talisman and an invite to a secret meeting. While there, the bully clan has started taking out the sect leader and they learn it was an inside job of betrayal. Episode ends with them surrounded by enemy and their strongest guy taken out of the fight.

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BiZhi is mellowing and Lu Feng’s followup

Lan finishes her story and Lu Feng gives her the bracelets and they get to say goodbye. The trio trick the guard into following them and then gives him knock out meds and his special sachet so dog will follow him around awhile.😝 The evil sister is killed, whether by ghost or helpful servant posting as ghost, we may never know but her evil reign has been cut short. Ironically the princess hides in the funeral procession and finds a horse waiting for her with provisions to be on her way. She happily looks back bidding farewell to the city that bound her and is off on a new adventure. Her best life.🥳 When they return BiZhi plays dumb about being set up to take Lu Feng to the past. He accepts that is was a kind thing to do and leaves it at that even tho teased by BeiLu. BeiLu’s idea of working out😂🤣 There is a thoughtful moment when BiZhi just enjoys a gentle breeze and reminds BeiLu that while it sounds cool to change the weather at whim. Nothing manmade compares to true nature and how it touches us in ways manipulated scenery cannot. I am disappointed Lu Feng is a mess drinking and has not improved his life at all since returning. I do not know if dream or market lord that gives him a visit with lan in time rift market where she urges him strongly to live a good life. The pink sky at the end is like a reminder hug to live better.

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