Rachel

Oh lmao I can't relate....this show made me stop breathing for certain scenes and there are so many details and foreshadowing that even when I'm looking at my phone for awhile I had to rewind back 😅 So many mysteries that got me thinking too. But to each their own I guess.

I saw some clips on Weibo and I am distraught and depressed 😭🥹.

Well yes definitely. But my point was that emotions and revenge are not separate.

Do brother and sister recognise each other?
It'll be explained fully in Episode 7. Brother knew all along while sister doesn't. Will they officially reunite as brother and sister? No definite answer as of ep 12.

Deposed emperor is an interestingly complex character. He is having major growth moments. He is good but like many characters in this show, morally gray actions may be expected.

How many people are helping ML? Quite a few. There are remnants and old allies of the Liu Family helping him, and also new allies.

Well a lot a lot of people will die. It's only the beginning Based on the genre and the overall setting, you better be prepared 😭 It's nowhere near a fairytale.

The MC being born with white hair already predicts his fate of having a terribly bitter life 🥹.

Maybe because I'm an empath but imo wanting revenge is not completely a separate entity from having emotions. And I like how this show portrayed this complexity.

The following is what I personally understood so far from the show, but if it's too long-winded for you, you may choose to ignore.

We're not robots that can turn off our feelings even when we think that we want revenge. For Huai An, he and his family were betrayed by their closest people (Huben Army uncles and aunts). The people he hates so much now are some of the people who played with him, taught him when he was younger. I really like that he cried one tear for Pu Nichuan although he was resolute to have him die too. It shows that human emotions are complex.

For him crying when Han Ziling sacrificed himself is also very normal. Throughout the series, from the start even, it has been shown that he dislikes involving innocents and hates hurting his allies even more. His words to Chancellor Gao is that he would NOT sacrifice Gu Yu, saving him means he'll protect him forever. For Zhang Mo (the pageboy), the perfect plan was to kill of Zhang Mo otherwise his scheme would risk being exposed, but Huai An was unwilling. Han Ziling was someone he started using at first but he is innocent. Not only is he innocent, he is also a very good person and him and Huai An has formed a bond while surviving in Hidden Soldier Alley. As much as Huai An hates despicable people, he respects and admires good people (e.g. Gu Yu, Han Ziling). Unless you are extremely cold-hearted, a good person (who becomes your ally/friend) sacrificing themselves for you will definitely make you cry. Huai An has been shown to be far from cold-hearted despite outwardly being cold. His allies like Ye Zheng and Zhang Mo (pageboy) have said that he is kind-hearted and a good person. Another instance, Huai An spared the coachman who participated in killing his father despite wanting revenge, because he understood that the coachman was forced.

Ohhh true. I thought it was weird but I was thinking maybe the gold coin is made up of real gold and she wants money? 😅🤣

LOL I think that's the point. In the flashback when he was a young kid, his hair is legit completely white. But his hair right now is dyed grey because Wang Xing, the person he is impersonating, has greyish hair.

Everyone calling him "white hair" is not really saying that his hair rn is white but it's because seeing him with grey hair is reminding them of his nickname, "white hair". In episode 4, Pu Nichuan called him "white hair" once too while Huai An is in his black hair appearance.

Well, are you both smart and strong? I'm neither.

I want to watch some good storytelling and not a Gary Stu trampling on enemies. The MC must have some flaws.

I like that this drama has no dumb character! Some characters are definitely way more intelligent than the others but almost every single character can be considered smart (in their own way). Although frustrating, having intelligent enemies enhances the storytelling and plot.

Bai Wan's death is caused by Xie Huai An. He mentioned a travel pass that he wrote for Yan Fengshan. Yan Fengshan is no fool. I think that the travel pass will somehow be given to Bai Wan instead. This will cause the soldiers/assassins to kill Bai Wan. If this is really what is going to happen, my heart will break into a thousand pieces for Huai An 😭😭

My guess for Episode 13 based on the trailer (Spoiler)

Yes agree! It's even more significant to consider that Han Ziling is a scholar and not really suited for running 😭. At the end when he was surrounded by the Huben soldiers, he collapsed out of breath. I liked that detail.

I know it's going to be sad but I'm interested in seeing how the deposed emperor will react when reading his letter. I'm sure Han Ziling's death won't be in vain!

Actually although Xie Huai An is hellbent on revenge, I realised that he really tries not to involve innocents. When he heard that Wang Xing died and after killing Di Lu, you can tell that he feels extremely sorry. Of course, feeling sorry is of no use as those people are already dead, but this show manages to bring out the feelings that those "enemies" he killed are real, living people and not merely cannon fodders (as portrayed in other media). The characters are so memorable despite having little screentime. I still remember Zhou Mo the funny magistrate, Zhang Mo the loyal pageboy, Di Lu who is friendly to newcomers, Wang Xing who just wants to protect his family, Pu Nichuan who actually participated in Huai An's father's death but is also a silly man crushing on the tavern lady, and of course, Han Ziling. Han Ziling is such a respectable man. He is a scholar but he yearns to serve and die for the country and people. I'm very sad that he died but I'm also relieved that he didn't die in an ugly way. His death can be considered one of the better deaths in this show 😭.

The interaction between Han Ziling and Huai An right before Han Ziling sacrificed himself was also very well done. Huai An dislikes involving innocents but he hates having his allies die for him. Even Gu Yu said that Huai An usually gives the survival path to others. In the early episodes, I actually thought that Huai An would sacrifice his allies when utmost necessary but I realised from how he felt about Zhang Mo (the pageboy) to Gu Yu (his conversation with Chancellor Xiang) to Han Ziling, that Huai An will not sacrifice his allies. He will instead sacrifice himself. However because both Han Ziling and his goal is to ultimately kill Yan Fengshan and both of them know that it can only be done if Huai An is alive, Huai An sort of "accepted" Han Ziling's sacrifice. But from what I saw, Huai An will probably blame himself, he will also never forget this and it will spur him on even more to kill Yan Fengshan.

I knew that death in this show is inevitable, that it was going to be a huge bloodbath. I'm glad that so far the deaths were portrayed well. Han Ziling can be said to die with honour. But I'm afraid that this is just the beginning of allies dying left and right 🥹.

Probably quite long since he is Yan Fengshan's top strategist. He is also a coward so he knows how to retreat and survive when needed...I hope he dies earlier though :')

Who do you mean by man in the prison? Are you referring to the guy that was forced to give the golden coin? If yes, that man is Qing Yi from Huben Army. He was stabbed once in the front and once in the back by both siblings.

Xiao Wuyang wants to kill Yan Fengshan not really because of revenge but it was explained briefly in the first episode that after the founding emperor died, Xiao Wenjing became the emperor (now the deposed emperor) and was controlled by Yan Fengshan. The royal family's imperial authority is basically being taken over by Yan Fengshan and he controls the whole country through Xiao Wenjing. Under the Yan Fengshan and the puppet emperor, the country was suffering and there were a lot of problems too. Later on, Xiao Wuyang succeeded in his "rebellion" and took over the throne, making the imperial authority fall back into the royal family's hands. However, because both Yan Fengshan and Xiao Wenjing (deposed emperor) are not dead yet, Xiao Wuyang's position is not stable. As long as Xiao Wenjing is shown to be alive, Yan Fengshan may use him to rally people and take back the throne.

Is Xiao Wuyang a good person or not? I would say he definitely can be considered good so far. He seemed to truly care for the people/country and not for the throne. But good or bad in this show is complicated.

Has Huben revealed the motive for killing Liu Family? Not yet. There are some hints here and there but nothing fully revealed.

In episode 9, around the 39:32 minute mark, Wang Pu is seated at a table just behind the trio (Di Lu, Xie Huai An, and Li Sangeng). He has been staring at Huai An for a long time. Wang Pu knows and is not easily tricked...

The camera work is on purpose too, panning out to show the trio + Wang Pu and then zooming onto the back of Huai An's head.

The details in this show are crazy! I got this from bilibili. It's about episode 9.

Whoever becomes Wang Pu's wife is super unlucky. Not just considering the fact that he is a psycho (so far), his introduction scene already cursed his wife several times 🤣

Thanks for sharing! :) I'm happy that so many of the cast members are there together. Everyone looks great. Cheng Yi's jacket reminded me of mint choco somehow 🤣