PeachBlossomGoddess

Yalah - all this gila woke peeps making a mountain out of a molehill.

By today standards, regardless of whether Li Mao is her cousin or her half sibling, it would be incest. But up until the 1980s when it was deemed illegal for scientific reasons, it was common for maternal cousins to marry.

As long as she is properly chaperoned and there are no heavy intimate scenes, I am all good with it. But hey, you do you. Plenty of dramas out there where 30+ year old actresses play 16 year olds. Maybe go knock yourself out with one of those.

It makes complete sense. It is all about balancing power.

Prince Jing'an and Xiao Wuyi have a 200k Beifu army - that is enough power to change dynasties. They can be kingmakers if they so choose or seize the throne themselves. Throughout Chinese history, powerful generals have ascended to the throne - Tang, Ming, Song etc were all great dynasties founded by generals.. The emperor needs them to keep the enemies at bay on the one hand and fears them on the other hand. He is sickly and vulnerable, his cousin Prince Changsha means to seize power. Although Prince Jing'an is a titular prince, he is a wàixìng wáng/外姓王 or prince with a different surname meaning he is not of the same bloodline as the ruling imperial family Li. They were probably enfeoffed as wang/prince in recognition of their contribution to the country - Prince Jing'an (his father) probably helped the founding emperor establish their dynasty.

Per the Grand Tutor, the ED is reckless and incompetent. She wants to eliminate any threat to her son's throne (and her power) at all costs. She doesn't care if the defective crossbows cost them 5 cities (which Wuyi took back) as long as it undermines Wuyi's military power. She also pinned it on Prince Changsha, killing two birds with one stone. Wuyi had no intent of rebelling until he discovered the ED's duplicity - he was not willing to step down or allow his men's lives to continue to be endangered by this reckless biatch. But the emperor gets the big picture and he stepped in to do the right thing - by installing Prince Qi as regent he checks the power of the ED and balances the power of the court. Of course at that point, Prince Qi cannot marry his maternal cousin Jiayu - that would make them too powerful and look like he is seizing the throne. He has also tied his fate to guaranteeing Wuyi's loyalty - if Wuyi rebels, Prince Qi is dead.

As for why Jiayu had to marry Wuyi - Jiayu's mother is a Princess with the ruling surname Li - she is either a cousin or the sister of the emperor. A marriage between Wuyi and Jiayu binds the Xiao family to the ruling Li family. It also allies the Xiao family with the Xie (Grand Tutor's) family. The power dynamics and setup of this story is all about balancing power and interests. That is the game the Grand Tutor is playing. And if Prince Qi is really his secret illegitimate son, then he is scheming to put his son on the throne. If the sickly emperor dies with no issue, it is clear that Prince Qi is next in line to immediately assume power. He is most likely the mastermind behind everything. The ED is too stupid and near-sighted to plan so far and so deeply.

There are some translation inaccuracies. For his legitimate wife He Yuanji, I think Princess Consort or Primary Consort is the more correct translation of 世子妃 (shìzǐ fēi) in the context of this drama. Jiayu should be 世子侧妃/shìzǐ cè fēi or Secondary Consort. I am not there yet in the drama but I assume he wants to promote Jiayu to Primary Consort. That would make sense bc he obviously hates ED He and his Primary Consort is the niece of ED He. Besides, Jiayu via her mother is directly related to the ruling Li family. She takes precedence in rank over ED He's niece and should be promoted to Primary Consort or legitimate wife. Maybe the way that happens is he divorces ED He's niece.

I think Princess Consort is the more correct translation of 世子妃 (shìzǐ fēi) in the context of this drama. Probably was AI translated.

Your ignorance is astounding and frankly embarrassing and boring. Ask google what those terms mean- it’s free.

Hi good to see you here!!!

Fact check: a pedophile is someone who preys on pre-pubescent boys or girls. At 17 she is way past pre-pubescent and above the age of consent in China (14) and most places in the world. It has nothing to do with their age gap. At least know your facts and don’t use words and terms you clearly don’t understand. If age gaps bother you, don’t watch it - it’s your loss. It’s just a drama, ie make believe. No need to get your diapers tied up in knots.

She is a 17 year old playing a 16 year old. Seems alright to me.

Yes his official wife is Princess He. Her aunt is the Empress Dowager.

I haven't watched ep 5 but Xiao Wuyi had no real intention to marry Jiayu - he only asked for her hand bc Prince Changsha wanted to marry her. He had limited time in the capital and he needed to goad Prince Changsha into executing his plan to rebel. He also figured out that the real mastermind behind the massacre of his army was the Empress Dowager. The emperor is sickly and both Prince Changsha and Xiao Wuyi are the biggest threats to her son's power. She was the real person behind the army's procurement of substandard repeating crossbows and not Prince Changsha. She framed Prince Changsha to set them against each other, thereby protecting her son's rule and her power as regent. Once he learned that Prince Qi and Jiayu were in love, he meant to let them escape together during the coup. But her father intercepted her and summoned Prince Qi (his disciple and probably his illegitimate son) to the palace. At the palace, Prince Qi was forced to assume the role of regent to prevent Wuyi rebelling and the Empress Dowager from trying to kill Wuyi. Wuyi would have to marry Jiayu to secure his loyalty to the throne (Jiayu and the emperor are maternal cousins). And as regent Prince Qi could stop the Empress Dowager from trying to kill Wuyi and his army. Prince Qi as regent will keep the peace by balancing power between the two sides. Obviously the Grand Tutor is scheming to put him on the throne.

Not sure about that - the Douban comments so far are pretty good. Don't be shocked if Chinese audiences are much more broad minded. The age thing does not bother me at all - I think people must be super bored to get worked up over something like that.🤷🏻‍♀️

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He turned a defeat into victory. Its basically a variation of the famous Empty Fort stratagem in the 36 Stratagems of War. They were defeated so he acted as bait to lure the enemy into an "empty fort", closed the city gates and set fire to all the granaries and provisions, locking the enemy in to a certain death. This took place far from the capital at the border so Ai Mi's character is safe.

I was skeptical about the ML as well - I think he is naturally a very gentle person so its hard for him to project that ruthless warlord aura. But I think he has done a surprisingly decent (though I wouldn't say award winning) job so far.

Haha - this drama is very funny!!!

Ah, ty for your kind words. Been too too busy this year I can barely keep up with even one drama a time! Its too bad they used Zhao Na for this even though she is still an upgrade from that erotic web novelist...😅

British dark comedy The End of the F**king World. Should be on Netflix.

Thanks for the review! I caught the start and some bits of the action scenes while my dad was watching it but didn't sit through the whole thing.