KJ2025

Tales of my impending death exaggerated

The third prince seems interested in the princess. That is swiftly blocked by the chancellor for her to freshen up before meal. The chancellor gets to sit between wife and consort. Since her family is present, I’m somewhat surprised that he flat out ignores his wife. Oldest brother not happy about it. The toasts are started with improv poetry and crown prince left out of it. He sits there sulking for most of it. Our couple does a decent job acting impaired by the wine. They go off to explore and find the poorly hid mine entrance. The 4th prince is hiding from all of them to bury himself in book reading. He is still reflecting on ideals vs reality. The sis comes in and forces him to stop wallowing and do something. He needed the kick in the pants and hopefully she will stay out of trouble. Chancellor and princess go into mine and discover an actual silver mine. They both have clearer pictures of what their respective royals are up to. Eldest Meng son sets his trap of flooding the mine and covering entrance with heavy boulders. He considers plan full proof and gives Prince directions and timetable so that the couple will be found dead and ghosts reason to avoid area in future. What was not expected was for emperor looking for something and chancellor strolling up with lost item. The Princess is going to a tent with a mysterious bundle and crown prince can’t stop himself from being the bully first and engage brain after the fact. After ordering everybody out he grabs the bundle from her and it turns out to be royal consort’s robe. She gives him a nice resounding slap and immediately debunks the missed pendant story eldest Meng son tried to generate. This time the prince takes his own lashes tho only ten. The princess comments that Lian’s revenge has started. The two pour over the map and figure out where the miners have been stashed. The chancellor hopes to find them soon. The princess rolls her ankle and the chancellor carries her in his arms watching the royals complain of his lack of propriety. He ends up sleeping on floor beside her but I think is to guard her more than be close for his assigned duties from emperor. Counted down a point because again their escape is mentioned not shown. This is third time getting out of tricky situation explained in a sentence as afterthought.😝 This is lazy from writer or editor or both. The actors, both main and supporting cast, are doing an excellent job and the tension between the couple is very believable. There are trust issues of each other , but both willing to cooperate to fulfill their agendas. As long as they are headed in same direction they will support each other to complete the mission. What happens after their goals are met will be interesting.

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If we’re spending the night pillaging, I’m throwing you the knives

Another suspenseful episode. Eldest Meng son has to be tired of cleaning up the psycho prince’s messes even if they are close in bond. He makes one mistake after another thinking the Meng family supports him personally. They support his title and resigned that he’s the option. I did not realize he is brother to chancellor’s wife. They seem close in spite of the circumstances. After seeing the uncle’s punishment to her brother while knowing who is really at fault, the wife may actually be safest where she is. The chancellor is harsh but rather fair overall. She was only confined after a deliberate betrayal and then only confined, not harmed or starved or particularly mistreated, just secured so no further betrayal can occur. However, if her family has similar tactics as the poison princess has to deal with, she has more reason to fear them. The 4th Prince is young and idealistic. His only mistake is expecting people to do their jobs lawfully and well. He did at least get the village to unite, but now they have to be evacuated. Their upright official went right to the crown Prince and only wanted to follow him. 😝 He merits flames too. So now Meng has ordered the entire village to be massacred. I also did not know the Chancellor and 4th Prince are cousins. It was sweet that the idealistic fervor of the Prince was a direct result of cousin. We get a glimpse of the man the chancellor was before tragedy struck. The princess thought the worst of him with the child, but he returned the favor with the drawing. The chancellor wisely calls for backup but there are a lot of mercenaries sent to slaughter everyone. It is taking its toll and it will be a close call if they can really save the people. The granny went back and I really don’t want her to be the sacrifice for the prince’s optimism. I like the princess ready to throw knives to assist. I don’t think chancellor saw that one coming. He expected her to shrink and cower. She did become fearful when he made her leave his side. But she learned from his bamboo cutting how to get a blow in. Of course they end on a cliffhanger and princess is in the water caught in weeds starting to faint. And we do not know about granny with the two well meaning, but not so great rescuers.

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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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Wisdom in negotiations

Li Su was sent home in literal pieces. This was a bit harsh but considering the crimes he did, it was equitable as justice/vengeance. His family had to know what kind of a man he was, but if not this was definitely a good reminder. Wei Shao was displeased that he did not have a census of the people and that they feared and ran from him. Qiao Man recognized the people liked her better than Wei Shao. She was winning them over feeding them as reward for helping rebuild the streets and wells. She was still trying to negotiate a wedding in Xindu so that she could keep the seal of Panyi. She recognizes that she needs to direct the people’s loyalty to Wei Shao so she acts like a selfish and cruel bridezilla. The people turn on her quickly but Wei Shao knows what she did. He doesn’t understand why she would help him and thinks it is another trick from her family. She is left to pay the price for her family’s treachery and it is quite a high one. The mayor was bold enough to stand up to him. His advisor again suggested that he surrendered to LiSu to protect the people, not because a coward or bad person. He was returned to mayor status and given the seal of Xindu. Wei Shao was softening up to Qiao Man until he saw his grandfather’s armor piece on the wall. It brought everything to the fore again and he made it almost violently clear his distaste for Qiao Man’s offering of the Panyi seal. She was offering him this to help provide food for Xindu. It is currently overrun with refugees and there is not sufficient food. But again, Wei Shao sees this as a deceptive way for Qiao family to make a truce with him. He wants it very clear he will not make the mistake of trusting them again. He has already drawn his sword on her neck and even marked her and cut some hair. He has a right to be very angry and even unforgiving. But she had no more a part of those events than he did. I am hoping he wakes up to that fact soon before he actually hurts her. She is a courageous young woman that she hasn’t already run away to defy him. She not only deals with his wrath but now the harsh treatment from the Xindu people because of the viscous things she said to make Wei Shao stand up and do the right thing. Ironically she said she gave him the seal because he was ‘kind’. Still waiting for that one. Liu YuNing can smirk quite evilly. Song ZuEr is doing an excellent job being the intelligent, capable woman who can win him over given sufficient time. Wei Shao deserves some kindness in his life and she deserves a man who is brave and strong. I think they are unexpectedly well matched if their family differences can be put aside. That remains to be seen.

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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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