Suliabryon

Exactly! He could have easily done it and NO ONE would have dared hold him accountable about it. But he stopped because she asked him to.

No, he figured out her royal identity when they played Go. He knew she was a woman prior to that. He had also been trying to think of a way to distract Lord Li, and then he played that game with her. I think he knew his opponent at the pavilion was a young woman (from the monk, perhaps), but maybe not who she was specifically since he clearly had never seen her (or he would have recognized her when she first showed up at his academy). I think the game of Go they were anonymously playing against each other intrigued each other. You see the Princess imagining al of these possible players, and then she hides and sees him talking to the monk and realizes he's her age and gorgeous, so she finds a way to go to his academy and be near him. I think that's when they truly develop feelings for one another. I think he figures out she was his opponent while they're playing Go, as well as the fact that she's actually the Princess Royal. Maybe she said something that allowed him to put her true identity together- he is very smart. He knows his dreams with the young woman of Fengyu Pavilion will never be a reality because of her true identity, and so reveals her to the palace to both remove her from the academy where it's dangerous for both of them to keep entertaining these feelings, and gets to use her as a distraction for Lord Li at the same time.

At least, that's my read of the whole thing.

I think yes, Nanny and the entourage brought clothes for the Princess to wear back to the Palace, so no one would see her dressed as a man.

Right?? And it's very in character. He's already been protecting her all along from the shadows, this just sent him over the edge.

Oh man! thank you for telling me. I'm sure Deng Kai is absolutely going to play this with so many layers and it's going to be such a good tragic storyline, but I'm also glad to be prepared for how dark it is going to be.

I came here after watching today's eps and find myself mystified by some of the reactions.

Was I in the minority with how HOT I found it when Yan Zheng went completely cold and lethal on Guo after Changyu was hurt??? Seriously, it was SO 🔥🔥🫠🫠. And the fact that only her voice could stop him, and with just his name. EVERYONE in that room now has ZERO doubts about his feelings for her. I loved it so much! 11/10. And FINALLY seeing him able to be the feared Marquis we keep hearing about...like, you all DO understand that the way he is with her isn't what he's like playing his role as the Marquis, right? That he has had to be utterly ruthless and k1ll lots of people. So...like, this is a teaser for what we're likely to see when he returns fully to that role and takes his wife with him. But his "true self" the one he's never really gotten to be with anyone, is who he is when he's with Changyu. Which is one reason why he falls in love with her.

As for the Princess and Li Qing...you guys, YOU GUYS. He didn't just turn her in arbitrarily. They did a whole metaphor with the Go board and strategy playing. He CLEARLY has feelings for her. He wrote his best friend a cryptic note that just said "the dream of Fengyu Pavilion is over". One, he knows he wouldn't be considered a suitable match for her, so he believes that regardless of feelings, there is no chance for them and it's best for them both to end it before their feelings get any deeper. But TWO, despite his feelings he deliberately turned her in KNOWING the Empress Dowager would try to distract her with another match...and who that match would be. He was playing a much deeper game of Go than just with the Princess, he used her knowing it would get Lord Li called back to Capital.

And as for anyone who thinks Changyu is passive, come on! That girl is the LEAST passive FL I've seen in a long time! If she didn't WANT to have her braised meat stand work out of the place her new business partner and BFF prepared, she wouldn't do it??? Like, the fact that she goes along with it SHOWS us that she loves it and approves? Remember, this girl's whole goal in life is to scale up her pig butchering and meat selling business to better take care of her husband and sister. That was a major upgrade!

Okay, but I came here for the Deng Kai reveal! Why is my man playing a creepy villain?? 😭 I mean, he looks amazing in that white or gray wig, but I feel like he's going to end up being the father of that kid she's hiding, and that maybe it wasn't consensual?! Otherwise, why does she have so much trauma that touching him felt creepy? Someone who has read far enough into the novel, please spoil me in comments!

Just saying hello. ☺️ I can't remember what the last drama was we were both in the comments on. The Unclouded Soul, maybe? Or Glory. anyway, hi again. 😂

Thank you! Good to know. I'm glad he's not in love with the FL at least.

Well...I'm just grateful he isn't in love with the FL and even if he's a villain apparently has a romantic pairing of sorts? I'll see how it goes. Thank you!

Okay, someone who has read the novel please spoil me! It looks like Deng Kai is playing....SML?? IDK if his character Qi Min is the SML or not, but someone please just tell me ahead of time if he's playing a villain or not. Then I can mentally prepare myself going in.

Right??? Ha and then he was genuinely worried when her stomach started making strange noises, but at first he was definitely like "oh, no. You should wait a day....for reasons." 🤣

I thought of this, too! 🤣

I had the exact same thought! I was like "why aren't they just flying on his bird?"

And then I realized we're talking about shameless Mu Qingyan. OF COURSE they couldn't take the bird. That would make the trip - and his alone time with the love of his life, which he worked SO hard to get - too short! This man is a master manipulator and schemer. He knows what he's doing, lol.

God, how much do I freaking LOVE Mu Qingyan??? In general, but also in this episode specifically. Him sitting there all indolent with his tea while Zhao Zhao is sitting in the next room OBSESSING about that kiss, and everything about this man in this moment says he knows exactly what he's done and has zero regrets. His smug smirk while Yuqi is calling off the engagement. Him flat out telling her that HE is the only man in her heart, she's just afraid to admit it. Carrying her up the mountain. Him telling her how he used to hate the rain but when he's with her, suddenly he finds it enjoyable (Sir, please! You with your smooth talk.)

Zhao Zhao: "What wrong with him? He's even calmer than I am."

Zhao Zhao. Girl. This man isn't calm. He's HAPPY. He's having the time of his LIFE, traveling beautiful landscapes alone with the love of his life (you) who has just broken her engagement with another man. He is feeling 100% confidence right now that you will finally embrace your feelings and agree to be with him, all he has to do is wait.

Them fighting side by side at the end like they'v e been doing it all of their lives was the perfect capstone.

Shout out in this episode: Langbo actually made me laugh when she briefly acted in defense of Zhao after the broken engagement, furiously glaring and declaring that men truly are useless - a statement I don't agree with, where would these dramas be without the MLs? - but hilarious in this context. Nothing bonds girls, even frenemies, like being scorned by a man. Meanwhile, Yuzhi trying to eat his breakfast while everyone is side eyeing him. 😂

You guys, how many times have we all seen the short cut of that kiss scene in the trailers, and it had so much emotion even then, but the reality was so much more!

First of all, how he held that tea and didn't spill a drop even while he was kissing her!

And I know some people are finding the FL's resistance annoying, but this moment (and a few others we've had, like the almost kiss at the healing spring) where he gets past her prickly defenses and she can't hide how she really feels makes it all worth it.

I understand Zhao Zhao. She feels the weight of her family and her ancestral home, her duty to the Six Sects, her honor to uphold her Aunt's legacy, not to mention the family "curse" of women who hold cursed fates like her Aunt's...and hers. She fell in love with the leader of the "demon sect". In her heart, she knows they're just a sect like any other. Just people, not truly demons. She's said it herself. But she can't reconcile the fact that his sect and hers have over 100 years of burning enmity. Their sects are enemies, but she loves him. She can't give up all of the pressure she feels to remain upright and loyal to her family/sects/etc. She also loves her family, and being with him feels like she'd be turning her back on them.

Meanwhile, Mu Qingyan fell fast, and fell hard. He is the most manipulative and scheming ML I have ever seen, and he has NO shame. He will do anything to keep Zhao Zhao by his side. He only draws the line at things he knows absolutely would be deal breakers for her. (Full disclosure, I love him so much! In all of his scheming, manipulative, shameless glory!) But he's also so frustrated by her refusal to even acknowledge that she loves him, when it's obvious to ANYONE with eyes. Even her own sect members know it.

So he kisses her here, and it's so many things at once! How many times has she dodged "almost kisses" now? Three? So he gives her no opportunity to dodge this time. And she's so flustered she loses her ability to cope, lol. Just shoves him away when he goes in for a second kiss and runs like a scared rabbit. Probably not the reaction he was hoping for, but it's also its own kind of acknowledgement of her feelings, and he knows it. He drinks that tea like a guy downing a shot, lol. It's like this bittersweet moment. He finally kissed her. It broke past all of her walls. And she still ran away from him.

I think them holding hands through the hole she kicked in the wall was one of their sweetest moments so far...again an admission of feelings without words...but this was him losing his patience with her.

Also, how freaking cute was literally everyone working together to break Zhao's engagement?? Ha ha ha. The Six Sects disciples don't want to see her married to a dude who will never love her, and the Li Sect disciples want her as the young Madam to their young Master, so intentionally or not, they all ended up contributing to getting Zhou to call it off, lol. I like to think it was intentional. Like they all had a strategy meeting about how to do it, lol.

I also want to say how much I dislike her Master's interference. Stop projecting your own unrequited love for her Aunt onto Zhao's situation, you selfish prick! You can't force her to love Yuzhi. I cannot WAIT until we find out the painted mask demon is MQ's Uncle and that Zhao's Aunt was in love with him. And speaking of Yuzhi....dude everyone can see her feelings for MQ. After having Lingbo chase you so unrelentingly, why are you now doing to the same to Zhao?! Ugh. I really dislike these kinds of "SML" storylines.

I hate dailymotion so much. I pay IQIYI/YOUKU/WeTV/VIki because I can't stand ads, and I suffer through poor subtitles on YT because I pay to have no ads there, too. But Dailymotion you're stuck with them and that is apparently the ONLY place that has this drama. IQIYI and Tencent/WeTV have both had more short dramas lately, but Tencent wants you to "rent" them so you're paying for more than the VIP membership. Sigh. I wish IQIYI had this one.

OMG I love it sooooooo much already! He is so calculating and scheming to get what he wants and she sees through it every time....and still helps him. This is also definitely a "he fell first" situation, lol. When he found out she's betrothed and was super jealous and she's like "What's wrong with marrying this guy? I get to be mistress of [whatever the name of the place was] and he's nice and we get along. There is no reason for me not to marry him." Girl is SO smart and perceptive in other ways and OBLIVIOUS in this. 🤣

I love the depth they're giving the previous generation's backstory. You can feel the weight of their friendships , the complexity of some of the romantic bonds that happened, and the things they've all suffered - and those who've ended tragically as "heroes" - impacts those who remain.

They're really building up the story and I love it.

Zhou YiRan's acting is so top tier. All of the subtle things he does with a look or tilt of his head or just his eyes. You can see the calculation of his character and all the layers of emotion. He's such a bad@$$, too! Pretending to be more frail than he is most of the time, but you know he could take out half that sect without breaking a sweat. When he casually jumped off the bridge and called in that giant bird I was like "Sir, you are such a freaking bad@$$." I can't wait until he gets to really be who he is.

And this is probably my favorite role so far for Bao Shang En. Her character is also complex - a girl who would much rather just be left alone to enjoy a regular life and the beauty of the world, but who also knows deeply and personally the evils that hide in it and has prepared all her life because of it. So she just wants to enjoy a nice meal, but that doesn't mean she isn't very good at martial arts. And despite her overt wishes, she also can't stand by and ignore injustice. She grew up idolizing her Aunt, who saved the world, but also watching her suffer the consequences of that act in a horrible, slow and agonizing death where she wasted away for over a decade as a shadow of herself. What a way to learn your idol is only human and just as vulnerable as anyone.

I love the slow burn. You already see the connection they're forming, and he's already fallen for her. But it's going to take some time for her to realize how much she cares for him. She keeps breaking rules for him, though.

They actually have trailers up for eps 1-5! No subs, but you can definitely hear his voice clearly.

Off to watch! Even though I'm going to guess it doesn't have Eng subs. 🤣

OMG

That's always what I think, too! Yes, the people of excellent taste, ha ha.