Say_do

He played a fatal move against him even before they got married.

He was not necessarily toxic, because all the things he did saved her from situations she did not want, but did not really have the power to handle herself. If Li Guangcai and CXZ's men were not there, she would have been forced into marriage. It was Prince Sui that wanted her in that case and after he was blocked the first time, he sent a small army to kidnap her. CXZ's army wiped them out. The man prevented kidnapping, rescued her from a successful kidnapping and hostage situation, prevented her from what Ziyu tried to do, making her be a woman of the palace so he could have her. These were things she absolutely would not have been able to handle herself because they played politics with their power and positions.

It showed a realistic portrayal of how a man in those times, with power and position, used to having his way, slowly evolved to becoming more accommodating because he found something that was more than worth it to protect.

Also, the other very big factor was that they had already started sleeping together because LMT in her pursuit of medicine, mistakenly mixed an almost fatal dose of aphrodisiacs and gave him to drink when they were in the hot spring. She thought it was medicinal wine for his kidneys lmaooo. So he lost control. Then found out she was a virgin too. So to him, they were practically married, but without a ceremony. He was already thinking about their future before the revelations happened. This was him taking responsibility and going after what he wanted at the same time. There are actually more details in between that explain things, but I can't write all of them.

She loved his looks lmaoo. She really liked handsome men. They took away all her quirkiness and made her so serious because they thought it'd make her look better. LMT could be annoyed at CXZ's high handedness, but still loved him. And she still did the thing she wanted in many cases. They both compromised with each other. They annoyed each other, they argued, but they were such a great unit. I never felt like either one was weak, dumb or a pushover.

Ahaaa, you were being sarcastic. I agree in that case lol.

She was naive, but still won't take away the fact that she did those things. Ignorance never really excused a crime.

You may have loved the novel more if you read it. Unless you appreciate unnecessary tension and misunderstandings to create love triangles.

Because in the novel, once she found out she was being lied to, he knew too that she found out and they had the confrontation. They were honest immediately. And they did separate, but she never entertained another man or Ziyu coming close to her. She always stepped away, avoided them, everything because she was neither interested nor confused. LMT was a strong, very ambitious and very intelligent woman. She was never weak even though her hands took years to heal. What the drama is doing is a disservice to her character, CXZ and a drag on the story.

Are you joking?

I hate seeing the words male wife and simp so much because I see it everywhere these days. Why do we want all men to be like that? I'm tired. CXZ was very domineering and headstrong. Once he made up his mind to be with LMT, he went for it. He did not stalk her or go around looking like a wounded puppy. That is not attractive and not his character. The novel played with a realistic portrayal of a powerful man in those times. He originally wanted LMT to be a favoured concubine because with her background and reputation, she really wasn't fit to be his primary wife. And the best part is that he made the proposal to her. But she obviously refused. Then he thought he could get over her. Also, after she left, he concluded that they were quarrelling and not separated lmaooo. When he made contact with her, he told her that she better not get married if not he'd bring his entire army to deal with whoever dared to propose to her. And he actually did it when someone tried to force her to get married lol. He sent Li Guancai to her hometown to basically stand guard for him so that no one would succeed in their marriage plans. And when he was finally able to leave the barracks, he came to her. CXZ was not a wimp. He was a powerful man used to his way that pursued what he wanted. But at the same time, because of LMT in his life, he learned to give a way out to others. Because he loved her, he made some concessions to make her happy.

Many times, he was so annoying I wanted to wring his neck, but I just had to appreciate the characterisation of the character. Especially because we don't see a lot of that these days. Male characters these days have very little evolution because they strip a lot of them of a lot their masculinity and they have to start out almost perfect to be accepted by the audience.

I have and it's what sent me down this rant today. I will never understand how cdrama writers ruin great novels by adding stupid cliches that are unnecessary. How will a novelist do their best to create a good story and you ruin it? I read the novel in a breeze once and it looks like I understand the characters better than the writers that definitely consulted with the novelist for the adaptation. If the original writer also contributed to this plot now, it'd be very disappointing.

The novel. The last war in the novel.
And in the novel, she was not involved in the ore smuggling.It was really her uncle.

They turned something great into a cliche and I can't stand it. CXZ was no soft boy. But he tried his best to make concessions for LMT even when his natural response was to not agree. But he also held his ground when it was of the best because even she was a bit reckless and he was headstrong. It made it more beautiful.
Why does a woman need to turn aggressive to be strong? Why does she need to be manipulative?

It is not about the rebellion. I actually have no problem with the rebellion because it is about the rightful heir getting back what should be his. I am talking about how the ore that was smuggled armed Japanese terrorists on their borders. They almost lost a county to them and guess who they sent to this dangerous mission again? Yes Lord Huaiyang.

It is not actually necessary. Going the original route had the exact same effect. What they need is distance and time, not all the going about in circles and love triangles. LMT left CX and went back to her family. CXZ stayed in the military because he had to wrap things up and he slowed down his march because of the plotting he knew was going on in the capital. LMT revitalised her family escort business and took it over, and after a couple of incidents, became a woman with an independent household. In the beginning, they both thought they could be without each other, but they were having a really hard time, especially Moru and the army because CXZ was going through it and was working Moru and the soldiers hard lol.
Also, LMT confronted CXZ immediately after she found out he lied, and after she found out who he was. There was no "don't tell me the truth" anything. They are adding things that take away from the beauty of the novel.

I think it is obvious by now that I'm struggling to adjust with the creativity in the changes. I think they are doing a disservice to the character of LMT. Strength and intelligence can't only be shown in cruelty and revenge.

Not once when I was reading the novel did I think that LMT was weak. I always marvelled at how smart she was and how decisive. She could see through situations easily even when she did not have all the information. LMT trying to kill CXZ before she heard the full story was always wrong. There were two obvious clues that he was not as bad as she thought. One, he saved her life. Two, even though she was his enemy, he spared no expense or effort to treat her. A woman that he knew possessed martial arts skills and was raised in an escort agency, and so should have the cunning and talents. He was so focused on getting her hands to be strong again and did always tried to stop her from doing anything to impede her treatment. And novel LMT confronted him outright. Then she left him as soon as she was able. And when she left, she went to her maternal family. She was not involved in the rebellion.
If they are trying to make her seem strong and intelligent with this new direction, it is not working for me at all. It is doing the opposite to me, because now it feels like she is being driven by her emotions and not logic.

The revelations in the story were very Blossoms in Adversity like. It made the characters refreshing and different and extra smart.

I wish they didn't play the jealously arc at all. CXZ was worried that when she regained her memories, she might choose to go with Ziyu, but before and after that happened, she ALWAYS kept her distance. She did not allow him to come close to her, not to talk of touching her.
When she got back her memories and forgot CXZ, she put things together. So when Ziyu tried to explain the "misunderstanding", she called him out. Ziyu is not a victim. He is actually very cunning and uses everyone around him for his own benefit. They better not change that. It'd be very annoying and a disservice to his character because it was a good plot twist at the end of the novel. He basically plotted LMT's exit from the mountain by using Yunner. He did it in such a way as to get the power she wielded easily and still have an explanation ready so that she would come back to be with him again. The only thing is that he didn't expect her tendons to get cut and her to almost die. People might think Prince Sui is using him, but he is using Prince Sui too.

Contrary to what he says in the preview, his goal is more important than her feelings and everyone else's. It is very obvious because he knows how she's like and he is still acting like this when he is married. Does he want her to be a mistress or concubine? Because there is no way he will agree to divorce Miss She right away. He needs her father rn.

The love triangle is her staying with him, taking the flowers from his hand and CXZ watching all of it play out. They are spending time on unnecessary things. LMT in the novel never went back to Ziyu even after she got back her memories and completely forgot everything with CXZ. Isn't that a remarkable testament of character? She hated the guy and was wary of him and wanted to escape, but just by observing him and asking questions about what he knew happened to her, she was able to piece together that Ziyu wasn't trustworthy.

From ep 24 preview, I absolutely hate the direction they are taking with Ziyu. I obviously don't know the details, but just seeing him like that is pissing me off.

Are they trying to make his character innocent? Because he is not innocent. And there was absolutely no love triangle in the novel. Why are they making such a situation here? Because they changed the sequence of things, it makes sense for LMT to meet with Ziyu and come to the conclusion she came to in the novel. But they are doing too much. One meeting and conversation are enough. Why are they making her accept him coming close when she used to create distance with him? This is the thing I dislike the most about the changes.

LMT did not make drastic moves in the novel, but she was undoubtedly extremely smart and cunning. And she came to proper conclusions quickly. For example, Ziyu ain't shit.

Yes. That's the same thing I was thinking. He deserves the hair pin stab just for that lol.

It was actually a logical statement. She's not qualified to be his wife. Historical dramas that have powerful male leads marry the female leads as their only wife are actually really fantasy. Such happening in those times should have been very very rare.

Out of all the things CXZ did to LMT, the one I can't forget is the carriage incident. When he set her up and caused the carriage to fall apart and eject her in public. That's the thing he deserves payback for the most lol.