Mailyn

I hope so - then we'll get some good revenge scenes. What's the betting that the Meng family was behind it?

Hmmm...

...the M/L is the 'missing / presumed dead' cousin of the fourth prince ? Also, given the emperor's trust in him, does that mean that he (the emperor) knows...or that he doesn't know?

Does anybody else think that...

Firstly, this is not sado-masochistic behaviour - although it might seem that way to you. (I won't bore you with the physical and psychological differences.) Secondly, she is not falling for him at this stage and she is definitely not silly. See Da-mimi's comment regarding this above.
By episode 10 the characters - and the viewers - start to see many things differently. Who knows? By that stage, you might, too.

As for looking younger - I thought that, too, at times. Make up? Film manipulation? Face job? Imagination? Hmm...

Yes. You are so right. I confess, I didn't read it properly and thought that you were referring to the ML. I have just deleted - and rewritten - my reply to you.

Thank you. To be honest I have decided to drop it at ep. 6. The subs are driving me nuts and I am having trouble understanding what is going on. Also, the fact that they (the two brothers, etc.) expect her to believe that these two men are the same person is just ridiculous. From out POV, she is giving herself away by not letting on that she knows they are two different people. The director definitely did not do his homework.

I haven't seen any sign of that - but I am only on ep 5. What grudges - for her or for his brother? Is the synopsis wrong? Or has there been some misunderstanding that they work out?

Do you mean the director or the actress? Also, when you say 'fake', are you referring to the overall drama (which by necessity must be fake) or are you referring to the part where she is no longer blind, but faking it? I haven't watched it - is that aspect of it really that bad?

Some episodes I have watched on Daily Motion and some on Bilibili.

I thought that there were 19 episodes but there are only 18. Somebody had put episodes 17 and 18 back to front so I watched 18 not knowing that I had missed ep 17. So my original comments about bad editing probably confused some people.

Thanks very much for the lengthy reply. Actually, it is clearer to me now, but only because I had a very quick look on ff at the last two episodes and saw this as a flashback. (I think - unless these episodes on dailymotion (or was it BIlibili - I switch between them) were in the wrong order. (It wouldn't be the first time.) As soon as the better translations come, I'll finish it.

At the end of episode 17, the prince stops the FL from leaving his manor. Earlier, in the same episode (or the one before, I can't be bothered to check) the Chu Prince tells her who his contact is in the palace. At the beginning of ep 18 (which has bad subs) we see her locked up in a cage at a makeshift camp (having left the capital) wearing prison attire. Did nothing happen inbetween? I am waiting for the better translations before I watch the last three episodes. What is the point (from our POV) of telling her who the spy is?
Of course, she can always deal with him later as I assume that she will kill the Chu prince and then get her revenge on the 'Empress'.

Did I miss an episode or is it the editing? I have explained in a spoiler below.

I think that some people can fake it - and some can't. They don't have to be actors. Many men and women can pretend to be attracted to somebody for all sorts of reasons - and many can't. When it comes to romance dramas though, I want to feel a certain frisson (even at my age!) and so many main couples can not (or do not) achieve this in Chinese/Korean historical dramas; that or the directors won't let them in mainstream dramas. I suppose, even when they're kissing, and the like, they have to keep it pure - given the age of many of the viewers. Personality, I would like to see more sensuality. You are right about this particular pairing, though.

The novel might be here: https://joylife.fandom.com/wiki/Joy_of_Life_(%E5%BA%86%E4%BD%99%E5%B9%B4)_Wiki

The link that I used in the past was gone when I went to it and there was a notice about it closing down because of copyright:
https://www.lightnovelworld.com/novel/joy-of-life-759/chapter-746-30041322

If you want information about characters in the novel go here:
https://inf.news/en/entertainment/d6b7f44148e83ec8c3853670cccabfb2.html

There are different sections with summaries about the most important parts of the novel. Ask questions like 'What happened to the princes?' or 'What happened to Eunuch Hong (the young one)?' etc.

This one is similar:
https://min.news/en/entertainment/fd3c03fd981ea6aea93e7dc1c5f460ed.html

Oh, Thank you. I'd forgotten all about it after I dropped it!

The ML is both younger and less experienced than the FL and the ML in TTEOTM. Is there no chemistry because he cannot act well enough or is it because there is no real (off-screen) chemistry between them?
Have you considered that Luo and BL had real chemistry which did not need to be acted? (I am not stating that it is so - I am just playing devil's Advocate.)
How many actors are that good at faking chemistry in dramas (as opposed to people who can fake it in real life for whatever reason)?

Hi, Zay. Give me at least a day and I shall try to find the link. I haven't used it in a long while.

What I meant was that the site itself is legal and relatively safe. If people upload dramas illegally, that is a different thing. If it were not a legal site (it is like You tube, up to a point) one would not see the quality of adverts that one sees. When watching something on DM one doesn't have to worry about clicking on unsafe links or smutty adverts (which are just as unsafe) when just using the playback function. Nor does one risk being taken to unsafe sites every time that one pauses, rewinds, or lowers the volume, etc.

Having said that, I admit that have never actually been on Kiss Asian. I am refering to such sites as Dramacool, Dramanice, and most versions of Myasiantv, (of which there are many) etc. I am assuming that Kiss Asian is the same. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Watch free on Dailymotion - a legal site much safer than Kiss Asian. (Although many dramas are uploaded from there by people with accounts on DM.