KJ2025

A taste of your own medicine

The chancellor is very at home with farm chores. He is assisting the granny by getting her a good supply of firewood and tilling the soil for her. In conversation, he and Princess discover it’s the wicked chancellor that has absconded with their land and forced the men to leave their families to earn money to send home. The two men signing them up seemed to be the two the chancellor’s sister tried to apprehend for women trafficking. The little girl takes them to town under pretense of helping them find a carriage, but then alters her plan to have them ambushed. She wants to save the princess, but exchange the chancellor for her brother. The chancellor warns the princess of interfering in the fates of others and that the little girl could be a danger to her later. The princess is unaware that the chancellor found her half map and is trying to figure out the machinations the princess is involved in and how they will work against him. I also hope he noted that the half he saw was half of what he received so her details were accurate. They are each getting a sense of the other’s past hardships that keep them either guarded in his case or over protective in hers. The one thing they do agree on is something is very wrong about this settlement. Is the chancellor making himself seem guilty as charged because he is responsible? Or is someone framing him so that his enemies will be from all quarters if he tries to correct things? The 4th Prince and sister are having their own adventure. It is funny that they end up at same place. He taught his sister well with land navigation. The water fight in the kitchen area is fun. The chancellor refused to participate and accepts his own taste of medicine with a grumpy retreat calling them childish. So the question I have is are the counterfeit money and human trafficking related or two separate rings of criminals with broad collateral damage? The 4th prince seems to be one that would listen best, but also the weakest to actually do anything to help them. I was hoping the chancellor’s aide and the bodyguard would have been the two to find them. They are far more useful in a fight.

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High stakes

The princess goes all in to rescue bodyguard. The chancellor spends three days teaching her how to play the game. She already has card counting skills and great memory so she is a quick study. He tests her one last time and warns that it is a dangerous enterprise and once there they are committed. She has the mannerisms and eye expressions down now to be a formidable player. It takes awhile, but she beats the house and is now playing psycho prince. The goal is his jade piece to open the lock. The prince changes up the game but fortunately chancellor signaled her how to bet. He deftly swaps jade pieces and heads for the vault. There, he finds myriad traps and sets one off. I still have no clue how he escaped that, but he managed it. The princess has her own traps to survive. She has lost and this next hand she has upped the stakes. She has put a 500k gold price as her worth, and risks selling herself to psycho. She is definitely aware of the stakes of that move but takes it anyways. The chancellor shows up just in time for her to call it. The prince’s mask is removed and yelling of a vault break in, where Princess is accused of being a partner in crime. The chancellor grabs her and they head out in the chaos, but her tattoo has been revealed and now all of the women are being checked at the exits. She bravely offers to stay behind and trust that he will come back and save her. He wants to know why she would do so much for a servant and was surprised and moved when her response was ‘she is not a servant, she’s my family’. This has a childhood flashback where someone saved him but must not have survived. He was unwilling to leave her and agreed with her comment of them being fated. The chancellor has arranged for bodyguard to be rescued. He and Princess may not be so lucky. He has a backup plan, but they are currently barely hid in the room with psych prince, as he is ordering for all closets to be opened. There are people right outside their door as the episode ends. This was a very tense episode and regardless of their preferences, they are being tossed together in life or death circumstances where trust is demanded from both of them. The looks shared between these two as they run through the gauntlet making their choices is absolute fire.🔥 I am hoping if the backup plan is the prince upstairs, that he and other prince will move their arses and help them out.😬

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Challenge made but is it accepted?

Luckily for Princess prior experience kept her from the trap of the tea with crab cakes diarrhea. This also saved her body guard. She now knows the chancellor has set her up so pretends the food poisoning worked. He knows something is off with the timing but continues with plan anyways. The crown prince is a sadistic psychopath and the chancellor intends to frame him for the princess’ murder. There’s just one problem, his lady assassin failed and it isn’t the princess dead. She dressed like a servant to escape and that slow turn and smile at the close aide that didn’t recognize her was beautiful. She swapped garments with bodyguard who fended off assassins quite well. I love her character. They figure out they are duped and the search widens for princess. The pig’s blood was a big ew😝 but to plunge a dagger into herself is upping the game. She seeks shelter from the prince she was supposed to marry. He has a servant tend her but the servant refused to stitch her up without anesthetics. By this time the chancellor has arrived and tells her to stop faking injury so they can go home. When she doesn’t get up, he uncovers her and sees a large deep gash. She told him the cover story she told Prince but she pointed the finger at him for not believing her. He stitches her up and told the servant any scars would be where only he could see it so didn’t have to be stitched well. After the chancellor left banquet early, psycho crown prince beats and kills a servant. The sound effect of him crushing her larynx was too real😬 He gets her home and watches over her at her request. There is a flashback to her mother and we see a proud free spirited strong woman sharing knowledge with her daughter. The wife is nervous seeing actual emotion from the chancellor. She is the only one that has the real map but nobody else knows that yet. Our princess does an excellent job drawing a compilation of the paintings in his study. She gives enough intel for antidote with the caveat to get the real map. She has figured out the chancellor doesn’t have it yet. She is on thin ice with both countries. She offers the chancellor the chance to work together and find out who set her up and hiding the real map. He gives her a huge grin and she grins back but there is yet to be a true alliance. I liked how his aide grinned at the pouty bodyguard when she is told to wait outside the door. These two are a bit of cuteness in a very harsh unforgiving environment.

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Orchid proposal

General Liang and maid so cute.🥰 He wants to provide for her….she reminding him she makes more😂 ManMan is expecting and Shao’s mom has him believing charms can be made from pregnant mother’s items. ManMan would have such a laugh with this. It is absolutely ridiculous to believe this is true, but considering the source it is actually quite sweet. Who would have thought his mother would actually encourage a grandchild from this union. Shao sends Liang to Boya to get things from cousin rather than his mom’s sweet but awful offerings. This gives Fan a moment of happiness thinking it a direct request from ManMan. Here Shao is quite thoughtful. 🥰 Things are taking a good turn in the Wei house finally. I love that after her laborious pouring over books for a name that our usually clueless father to be has the perfect nickname for his daughter.🥰 They are going to be such wonderful parents. ManMan has one of her prophetic dreams. She senses the danger around her father while he is unaware. Lord Wei sends General Liang to fetch the father in law and the general will now have opportunity to get his proposal orchid. He leaves happily anticipating a welcomed return and a promise of a future wedding. The snakes are always around to spoil things. I am not sure who did the teaching of children to chant rival names for the Qiao brothers. It was definitely to call out the governor and it is a known fact that the prefect would never do or encourage such behavior. The advisor is most likely in YuLou’s pocket and wants to be in service of the brother most successful. So it is in his best interest to help undermine the prefect. Liangya’s biggest snake is now getting ready to bully the Qiaos. YuLou was quite successful in turning him against the people who raised him and made him happy. A dark cloud is coming over what should be a good day.

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Reunions

After all of Shao’s complaining he finds out that ManMan did not get help. BiZhi lets them know he was not aware of the need to assist and figured ManMan had returned home. Lord Wei and generals know this wasn’t the case and retraced her steps to determine what had happened. Fan’s concern is expected, but that she didn’t realize ManMan would go to battle in support of Wei with no backup shows how little she understood the responsibilities of military leaders. I am annoyed when she gets a friendly smile from ManMan, but really, how else would loyal cousin act. She refuses to throw family or spouse under the bus and will shoulder it all for both sides. Shao still inserts foot in mouth but at least got first hug right.😝🙄 I appreciated his candid conversation later acknowledging he was stupid and what he really meant. Fan talks BiZhi into returning home but I’m not sure that was a wise move. She wants to make sure her cousin is ok but it seems too little too late. While I am most unforgiving of her, even Shao knows the husband had no clue what their wives had done so he kindly greets BiZhu and counts him as family. Fan’s dad is a shite. He made no effort to acknowledge his own daughter because he was too busy kissing Shao’s ass. 😝 Here is where if Fan had told him everything, they could have been glorious heroes together and her husband finally accepted. But the irony of a Qiao looking down on one not participating in battle is quite the irony. BiZhi doesn’t deserve this but is the consequence and fallout from his wife’s poor decision making. The uncle is the most contemptible of the lot and I am sure is going to make himself center of focus. He is so obtuse he wasn’t aware how bad he looked shunning his daughter and husband. This is why Lord Wei stepped up because he wanted his wife to be as comfortable as possible in an awkward situation. He will now finally learn what her favorite things are after all this time. I give him credit for reflecting on their treatment of his wife when she arrived. I am sure there is a part completely amazed that she truly loves him after all the poor treatment she received. I hope this visit gives some healing for the families. Liangya’s leader is still retreating.😝 He and his friend prefer scorched earth treatment while his advisor tries to steer him in a gentler direction. The general that left with reinforcements will be called to task but his advisor will hopefully gain the ears of city officials. This isn’t over yet and round two is going to be equally ugly or worse. The only good thing is Lord and Lady finally together and hopefully getting a chance to be together. Gpa would approve. I think he would kick uncle’s ass and tell him to behave himself and welcome BiZhi to family. Unfortunately without that influence, uncle is gonna be a thorn in the side and a pain in the arse for both families.😝Ci might be a good buffer but with niece and nephew being victorious and his daughter with no glory…I don’t see him getting past that and BiZhi having to take the brunt of that storm. Maybe some of those 500 horses will give BiZhi a way to hide out from family squabbles. BiZhi can’t even tell the truth of it or will put Fan in an even worse light. I am glad our favorite couple is finally in the same place at the same time. I just wish they were home cause this family reunion might not be too peaceful.

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Marching forward

Yan makes his way to family. It is bittersweet. He has opted to bear the rumors solely so that Shao and ManMan can have a happy life. He has stepped up well. The severing of finger was shocking and the name of wine rather sad, but it was a fitting parting of ways and assurance that Wei family ties will always be strong. It was refreshing to see Yu Lou’s plans fall apart and justice served. He did the correct thing with punishment because she always did tend to cut off nose to spite face. This just made it plain for all to see. Yu Lou did have the right of it….he should have killed her.😝 She has now made allegiance with Liangya. I am not sure if she set all that up or if serendipity worked in her favor. But now she will have the position she said she feared most. The seriously bad part is ManMan’s plan for her family with tunnel will look like a sneak attack and work against Boya and Wei. Her sister is going to be most unhappy as she has already felt shunned due to hunt. Our two lovebirds can’t get a break. This would have happened eventually but YuLou has pushed the agenda forward exponentially to her slight. She will indeed bring hell to Lord and Lady Wei.

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Husband hunting

It was a nice scene with the refugees. I wish Lord Wei would have paid a bit more attention to the married couples😝 The sour fruit to ma in law kinda funny😂 This time he was astute enough to see the prank. I am glad older sis got a visit from mom and brother. You could tell the mom started off lamenting the poorer trappings.But once she saw the instrument BiZhi had made and realized he was the leader of the soldiers she understood the quality of the man far outweighed the possessions. Her daughter had a lovelier home than she did because their love as a couple shined through. I would challenge her to find a ray of love shining anywhere in her home other than from son😝Let them both bask in family love for awhile and maybe just stay in Boya. Yan acknowledged and challenged Lord Wei. While he said one thing his painting reflected something else. He wants to find true love. I do not think he covets Lady Wei but rather the idea Lady Wei inspires. I am disappointed that Lord Wei is running away. He has no excuse after her candid pledge to him. I did like his slip that Lady Wei would be handling things. His friends are getting tired of babysitting him. They need to get braver and call him out on it. 😝He is still very conflicted as the bath scene showed, but he needs to reconcile his pull from the past to his push for the future. His legacy needs to be more. He is headed the right direction with her by his side he just needs to stop acting childishly stubborn. Can’t wait to see his reaction to Lady Wei’s involvement with hunt. She will be hunting the two legged dear. 😂 I was wondering why Yan looked familiar. LiuDuanDuan is a very good singer. He has quite a range but I really enjoy his low raspy rocker tone. Does he sing any of the OST songs?

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Choosing gifts and star gazing

The generals have gone along with plans to fake an attack from traitor Wei’s assassins. The prefect believes he has been rescued by General Liang. The traitor is dealt with before he can gather troops and the soldiers have been promised no punishment if they assist in building the canal. Everything is going smoothly and Lady Wei is pleased with the progress and wants WeiShao to reward her. He goes to town with his generals and all of them give him ideas for what to buy for her. They were actually sweet and thoughtful gifts but he tossed them all aside. 😂 He comes back with a receipt for 500 steeds very pleased with his purchase. She could not have pouted any more over the very thought but his suggestions of replacement were even worse so she cut her losses with the horses. Her maid reminds her that the men in her family will be very pleased to receive such gifts if she sends them home.🤣 Lady Wei then carefully plans a night of stargazing and dresses up and starts pointing out stars. First her husband bundles her up like a child and then he invited the canal planners to join them. The engineer immediately understands her intent and says three is a crowd. So Wei Shao tells Lady Wei she can go back early. The next day the prefect then tells Wei Shao that his daughter wants to marry one of his generals. We all thought the romance had budded between her and the lady’s man general, however, she wants to marry the maid’s general. This was unexpected. Lady Wei tells her husband straight up that he wouldn’t accept it. He has no clue about his general’s personal preference for the maid and says she is wrong. She then challenges him to a wager. The general of course refuses and now he is in hot water with the maid. General Liang tells her a rather lengthy tale about the weapon miniatures they all carry and the significance of them. She is not impressed and annoyed he is talking so much when he hands her his and says he wants her to have it. Wei Shao has to admit defeat to the wager and now to see what the prize will be. I know that Wei Shao is not street smart with women and seduction. That is actually part of his appeal. However, he can’t be completely ignorant of what his wife wants from him, so I am hoping they start acting married soon rather than jr high school crush stage😝

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The man behind the mask

QinLan and QuZhou are so cute. I wish these two were a pair. They do well as siblings and partners in crime so they do get to lighten the mood. I just selfishly wish it was more since they are so well suited. It has been a long wait in finally revealing to QinLan who wears the mask. It was even funnier that Li puppy also had one to confess about. Zhang Zheng officially joined the mask group tho sighed a bit at being level 8. Qing Mu Yuan is going to have extra fun teasing him. We got to see a bit of DongFang Chu Ri’s story and see where the blade and sword skills came from. It is sad that the only way they can free everyone is to destroy the black fox. The greedy nobles made her what she became. I am hoping when HongYe asked about the names of the slain that it included the thousands of demons killed by the talisman spellcaster. They were killed before humans were. It was funny to see HongYe’s friends and family cringe at not having gifts for his birthday. HuaiZhu reminded him the party was the gift. His betrothal letter collection🤣 HuaiZhu one of these must be written correctly. He did at least let her know his sincerity…….several times. 😂 By wedding day he may be advised on which one has vows correctly stated. 🤣

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For whom the bell tolls

I have no words for how much I despise this family of demon sword makers. There is no level they won’t sink to. The fact that I feel this so intensely shows how well the episode was made. Hong Ye is to be commended for disguising his pain so well and I am relieved that Huai Zhu found a way to help as well as harm. Together they will hopefully thwart the sword maker”s plan. Collecting those demon cores for dinner entertainment is just …. And those three families clawing for swords from them. I know part of it fear for noncompliance, but I think all of them would have taken them without being threatened. I did note one other that did not comment on taking or refusing a sword. That small child at the end. The vile lie they told….i wish Huai Zhu would have destroyed that forge. I am not sure yet why Hong Ye forced the condition the sword had to be made. His plan might require for the sword maker to believe his plan with sword was successful. I am curious about who will ultimately end up with the demon lord’s core sword. And I am hoping it is used to cause great grief for that core hunting group. When he saved her from the bell sound, I am wondering if Huai Zhu realized who she was with minus mask. I think it is tickling the back of her mind. They have been discovered and hopefully the child will not be put through any more.

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Beauty is as beauty does

The first thing I liked about this was SM holding the phone out of the reach of Vendai guy🤣 Have to say it is fun to see a gal do that 😂Making her way back she sees policemen ready to take him away and TQ takes the phone from her as evidence. She now knows he can see. It’s very awkward and before she can make up yet another lie he lets her know he’s aware they were all fake. So she then accepts her fate and apologizes in every form to include the alpaca. TQ jumps a bit at that change and says he knew it wasn’t his alpaca at the zoo. He accepts her combined apologies and says it is all now over. One thing about TQ as he analyzes situations is that he considers the part he played in them and evaluates himself truthfully. He critiques himself often and combines that with the actions of others. She kinda ruins the moment when asking about her job.🤣 but I know that part of it is she is feeling very light after all the guilt she’s been toting and wanting assurance that things are still ok. Mean girl is out and GY stops further gossip. But for this, I really wish they would give all the gory details. SCC is in the elevator and TQ notices she has a button missing and offers his jacket. She is appreciative but notes in mind that for SM he put it over her shoulders. So this puts further proof in her mind he’s not interested in her. The reaction of the seniors with the pictures just makes your heart full. SCC and WY use tech to take their photos back to their 20’s so they can refresh their memories of their youthful splendor. There was one exception. This sweet woman had been a widow for a very long time. Her husband had died young and she opted to never remarry. SCC took their youthful picture and aged it for her. Her tears of joy seeing him age will stay with me a very long time. This writer can frustrate the crap out of me with things like QST death and thoughtless girls and then 2 episodes later use those same girls in scenes that give me great joy and long term memories. TQ arrives and gives a bouquet to the widow and learns that her husband had given her flowers in place of a ring. The smell of the bouquet brings up memories from others and now they are ready to accept the perfume samples after a nudge from SCC. As TQ listens to SCC encourage the ladies that beauty is timeless and perfume is good for young and old, he is reminded of the various things her disguises had said. He is completely entranced again and can’t take his eyes off of her. This drama is so special. It makes you feel deeply whether it’s good or bad feelings and it has people talking whether they love or hate it. The pure number of animated conversations makes this a success regardless of numbers😁

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Let’s make a deal

This episode starts with GY being surprised by LY. she has him celebrate with her at a fancy meal because the character he helped inspire was well received. Everybody is wanting to bargain for the wire mesh and TQ has to decide if he wants to make a deal with the husband who runs the company or the wife that developed the product. He meets with SCC disguised as FJ and there is a cute case of unraveling the sweater thread. She tries to persuade him to not talk to the police about what happened and showed him her file that proved the jerk husband had a habit of hitting. TQ apologizes and says he is going to tell the truth. This turns out to be a great twist on the husband who thinks he has things wrapped up in his favor bribing TQ with the patent. TQ admits the first thing he saw was FJ hitting her husband, and while the jerk is smiling TQ also includes a verbatim account of the previous dialogue between them which gives a very clear picture of who was in the wrong. This made me smile because it was verbatim. And he looks the jerk in the eye and said “I promised I would tell the truth” 🤣 There is another sweet scene where GY turns up at LY’s place with boxes of comics a manufacturer wants signed for his daughter. She reveals something of herself when she is touched by the love the father has for his daughter and agrees to sign every one of them. As a thank you to TQ for helping her case SQL sets up a meeting with FJ at the lab. SCC reluctantly agrees to be FJ but is in for a shock when TQ requests her to go along. With teamwork the ladies survive.😂 Mean girl strikes again on work projects because she thinks she outmaneuvered WY by choosing number 5 instead of 3. I’m thinking she needs another meeting with Sun Wukong🤣 FJ gives TQ a gift. Everybody is waiting to see who wins the right to sell the patent.

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Cards displayed

The game is afoot and the banquet has started. The impeachment petition is making the rounds when eunuch Cao shows up. He burns it and the fighting commences. He has the officials trapped so they can’t leave grounds and brings in Zhifu who is in pretty bad shape. Then it is Deja vu with Marquis family lined up for slaughter. What is different about this scene is he doesn’t have the same loving desperation the astronomer had for his. Even the eunuch is surprised by it. The ladies are having their own battles in the treasury. The princess is in the secret room when she is shot by an arrow from crossbow. Zang Hai lets her know it is poisoned and tells her it was part of his plan. He is visibly shaken when he sees AnTu’s face under mask. He knows she dealt with Cao because he heard her. But something isn’t adding up. He reveals his identity and shows her the remains of his parents. He sets fire to the room after bowing to them. He slips AnTu the antidote and takes her home. He leaves her outside the gate but makes sure a servant is called and sees her. She is definitely part of the game but not an enemy. The deal she struck most likely had to do with her mother and definitely some promise for Dongxia if it wasn’t for her family. She is bound to Dongxia and would do anything to help and protect them. The Marquis and eunuch are going at it but the psycho Lu is always between. The eunuch has already injured himself to make it look like Marquis tried to murder him. His sly face so reminds me of Voldemort when most snakelike. It is not just the look but the vibe he gives. A cobra always ready to strike. He is self serving in protecting himself but not afraid to get his hands dirty. His guards are like a cult he has brainwashed to be his personal bodyguards and assassins. I did like that the general still left in Marquis got several good shots in and caused psycho some damage. Second son shows up and helps save the family but is stabbed too close to heart for my liking. Fortunately he will survive and while close , missed organs so he will heal just fine. He got a visit from dad and was given a father’s blessing and endorsement. He will continue family legacy. Zhifu has developed a crazed fever because of injuries. Even if he recovers he is not expected to be mentally sound. The mom has plans for the younger son I am sure, but she should keep in mind he saved their sorry asses even after she killed his mom. I hope she checks herself but it’s not likely. At core she is evil and vengeful. Her usefulness has worn out so she can be cast aside by Marquis. He connected the dots together and figured out that Zang Hai was pulling the strings. Zang Hai did have a valid rebuttal so it remains to be seen where the Marquis’ loyalties will lie after this bday. He proved himself wise in moving the fish key. It’s like he knew something was up. AnTu is going to join Marquis in being in a bad place with Cao. But that viper always makes sure he can build a scenario against everyone he encounters. And he has the ear of the emperor. Funny how we never see him. At some point his mouthpiece is going to be out of the way and emperor might have to actually speak for himself. Now that Dongxia Princess and Zhinu are acquainted it remains to be seen how these two can outwit and survive the officials. Zang Hai has convinced Marquis his best move with emperor is to take responsibility and look remorseful. Now to see how emperor decides between Cao and Marquis. And who really knows where Gui seal is?

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Is this heaven or hell?

Sima Jiao has been locked up for 500 years. He is the last of his clan and maybe even his kind and everybody wants something from him. They have him locked up for his blood and abilities and he has had enough. He plans on literally blowing up the mountain that confines him but needs one more thing for his plan to work. Now enter Liao Tingyan from the future. She has knowledge of games and is on the phone in a taxi when there is an accident and she finds herself in a ‘gameworld’ she is familiar with. She takes it in stride pretty well and sees it as a much needed work break. Since she doesn’t know how to escape, she goes with the flow wanting only to stay low key and have good food and good rest. She is taken to a mentor that informs her she is a filler for a group of women chosen to take care of the grandmaster. She is less than enthused but assured she won’t be chosen. She gets a taste of the mean girls all vying for top position to serve the grandmaster. She is more than happy to let them have the glory and tries to sneak away. She is literally escorted up the stairs til she resigns herself and goes peacefully. Once there she is told to sit and wait for a spiritual crown. Turns out, she has one. She now goes where huge cobras guard the way. She wants no part of it and looks for a way out. Sima Jiao sees her and is intrigued by her boldness. He cuts off any path of escape and she knows from horror movie watching the single person always ends up dead so she throws herself into the middle of the crowd hoping not to be seen. As the women are interviewed, one gets tossed across the courtyard and another killed. Turns out this one was an imposter and he knew. Liao Tingyan is kneeling and notices his well manicured feet.😂 She finds him pretty and surprised he is so mean. When he comes to her the fire emblem on his head is activated. She is from demonic clan and that was unexpected. He throws everybody out and they are all glad to go. Tingyan sees two distinct groups form but knows she has nothing in common with either one. Her leg hurts and unexpectedly she gets help from Ruling. They part ways and Tingyan goes off by herself. At the realm where she appeared from modern world, she was made an imposter assassin. She has no clue this is her role, but they are counting on her to set them free from the barrier that confines them. I enjoyed this first episode. I liked fl as BaoBao and wanted to see her in something new. She is hilarious and I find her as engaging here as I did there.

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