Thuc Duyen

She has helped FTY & ZL in the emperor’s dilemma with regards to the renovation of the mausoleum & changing the late emperor decree. She may help in the future. I observed his (YJX) reaction when the emperor was telling ZL off & he didn’t seem like he was happy that ZL failed so perhaps he may want to compete with ZL fairly & not rely on his family?

The way YJX is responding to his dad & Mr Yu was annoyed that his son didn’t bother listening to him Lol.

Agree. I feel bad for her as she has to do everything to save herself. I do think that she is smarter & perhaps wiser than FYK.

I love it. I am just waiting for YJX to rebel against his parents Lol.

That was my understanding in the drama. The young emperor does not want to be seen as the one that changed the wishes or laws of the late emperor. This is related to filial piety & political legitimacy. Pursuant to Confucian statecraft, amending or overturning a former emperor decrees was seen very risky. It would mean that the ancestors were wrong which would lead to the current emperor losing the Mandate of Heaven so the current emperor is very reluctant to renovate the mausoleum but could not say so to his grandma ( the ED).

Thank you so much. For me, we respect our parents and grandparents but in terms of hierarchy, I think the grandparents would come first unless they are horrible grandparents.

The one I like very much is Madam Wei, she’s as smart as her dada chancellor Tian.

She’s a great actress in these evil roles. She was great in the Glory drama. Madam Yu & her husband are very smart in their schemes, using their allies to set traps for ZL & FTY. I’m worried that ZL alone may not be up to the task to them down. I remember that in the novel, it took ZL & his people years to investigate, take steps to take the Yu family down.

Could you please elaborate on that quote?

Fingers crossed.

Ikr, these small warnings are signs of bad things happening in future episodes.

Agreed, I feel that a big showdown is about to happen between the Yu family & ZL and it will be difficult for ZL to come out a winner. ZL may need a lot of help from FTY, perhaps general chancellor Tian, Madam Wei, Madam Wang.

He’s a nepo baby, it is always someone else’s fault. He was the one wanting to break his fingers & throwing a temper tantrum (refusing to sit regional exams) in front of Madam YU should Madam Yu force him to marry FTY, he said he hates her right? What changed 😂?

I think that YJX may fall for Miss Wu as she is gentle & tries to learn from FTY. There was a scene of YJX glancing at Miss Wu at ZL & FTY wedding in Ep 25. I would like to know why Yu dada made that comment about the emperor?

She cracks me up. I love her when she told FTY that her help is worth more than gold LOL 😂.

I find this analysis of today’s episodes by another poster on X quite interesting which makes me think again & worries me about the upcoming storm for ZL & FTY:
“
Post
lune on X: "watching eps 22–23 tonight, i found a pretty interesting direction in the story. i really like how tingyun stood her ground regarding the salt inspector conflict. in a way, she also became the one holding zhaoling back from going too far with his ambitions (even though i know"
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lune
@senaalessa

watching eps 22–23 tonight, i found a pretty interesting direction in the story. i really like how tingyun stood her ground regarding the salt inspector conflict. in a way, she also became the one holding zhaoling back from going too far with his ambitions (even though i know this’s probably only temporary 😔).

some of viewers might see this as the first crack in the trust between tingyun and zhaoling. but to me, it was also a very wise decision on tingyun's part. she knows that if she doesn't slow zhaoling down now, there could be an even bigger threat waiting for them in the future. there's one line of hers that i think is especially important: “zhaoling must not forget the roots from which he grew”… so i think im starting to understand why, if you pay close attention, the 匾额 (biǎné)/name plaque outside tingyun's room is shown so often, with the words “virtue blesses the hometown”.

if the director intentionally keeps highlighting that with the same meaning im thinking, i will genuinely appreciate the visual storytelling!! tingyun wants to support zhaoling's career in government, but without letting him forget the foundation and the people in the northwest who helped shape him. meanwhile, zhaoling thinks he simply needs to follow the emperor's will and remain a loyal subordinate.

zhaoling grew up without much of a social structure or established rules. he learned how to navigate life through experience and through the masters and friends he encountered along the way. so to him, even when it comes to the emperor, loyalty as a subordinate comes first. but tingyun understands much earlier how complicated and dangerous aristocratic politics can be. in a way, she becomes the anchor that keeps zhaoling grounded. i find the differences in their idealism quite interesting. even its still relatively mild and gets resolved pretty quickly for now. the salt reform conflict itself is actually quite fascinating too for me. if the writer were to explore it more deeply as one of the central themes, there would be a lot to unpack. but since this’s ultimately a romance drama and doesn't seem to be leaning too heavily into political strategy, let's just enjoy their fascinating love story as the main highlight hhhhhhh 😭🤍“

Poor girl, she is now learning to say no & save herself. What’s funny is Yake seems to be triggered when Madam Wei mentions about her modest origins. Girl is not smart, lies & flaunts her husband’s family name to elevate her status but yet wants to be on the same level as Madam Wei.

Madam Wei is so funny & savage.

It was very satisfying.

I would normally sympathise with Yake as a woman but she deserves it. Instead of being honest & doing good deeds, she’s scheming against Madam Wei & poor Miss Wu. I’m glad that Yake is exposed by Madam Wei & rejected by YJX.