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he wanted to give her a proper and honorable status. concubine to wife would mean a lot of humiliation for her, they aren't married in the same way and don't have the same rites

shocker: mydramalist viewers find a nuance, flawed ML and label him a red flag snob!

yeah him forcing the hand with the imperial decree isn't exactly very nice of him, but it doesn't negate the other heroic things he's done in this drama; he has a life outside lanxiang too. it doesn't take away the fact that he is FL's benefactor, who risked his life to bury the shen family, even though she doesn't know it yet.

he's not a black and white character that's either completely heroic or not. he has his principles and compassion, but he's also clearly battle hardened and has his own grey principles where he'd rather do first and make it up later. is it right morally ? no. but that's why he's interesting.

Yeah, like the smart thing to do would be to suck it up and give some empty platitudes on the surface to placate the new emperor. wait until they get through this storm and then patiently plan their comeback. the crown prince of the deposed emperor was still alive. if grandpa shen really wanted to stick to his ideals then real loyalty to that deposed emperor would be staying alive and finding his royal bloodline that was suffering out there.

instead he chose to die and his death didn't even accomplish anything but making a bunch of innocents die with him. it's just futile imo. if i had the chance to save children's lives, I would have spit on the grave on the emperor if i had to know. if that deposed emperor was so good and compassionate, surely he would have understood and not blamed grandpa shen!

but the shen family was too rigid and inflexible. you can't survive like that much less get justice

yes that was a typo on my end. the drunk scholar was on the deposed emperor's faction, hence why he hates grandpa lin. he sees him as a traitor.

Yes, this is what cnetizens have been theorizing too and they see a lot of foreshadowing in his character with a historical figure who also died for his ideals so I'm guessing that is likely to be Han's ending. I do not need my girl to be a widow and endure the same tragedy a second time.

ah yes, edited

ML family didn't "let" FL's family get annihilated. Grandpa Shen chose to sacrifice his family for his ideals. He knew long before that the emperor was targeting them. I wrote more details about it here:

https://kisskh.at/754367-the-story-of-xiang-lan#comment-27583996

I agree Jinqi isn't some innocent green flag. He knows what he wants and he knows what he's doing. But I like it, or else we wouldn't even have this drama lol. He's already been watered down a ton from the novel apparantly, let's let him have at least some remaining flaws. Otherwise. he'd be a living angel and that would be boring

I responded in detail to your misconception here: https://kisskh.at/754367-the-story-of-xiang-lan#comment-27583996

You have some pretty big misunderstandings

Some people seem to have a misunderstanding that the Lin family had any fault in the Shen family dying. They did not. Rewatch the first few episodes. Both Grandpa Shen and Grandpa Lin were supporters of the deposed emperor and had proposed hindering the now emperor when he was still a prince. That's why the emperor hated them.

Both families were facing death and both families knew it. Grandma Shen said that she had poison prepared beforehand because she was anticipating the downfall and that she would die with her husband. She just miscalculated and didn't expect the emperor to not even spare the women and children. But Grandpa Shen and FL's father weren't surprised at all when the guards broke in and even had time to prepare a calligraphy writing saying that their honor was clear.

The Shen family was also given an option to live and be forgiven if they denounced the deposed emperor. Grandpa Shen refused to do so. The Shen family died for their ideals, and chose their end, but in doing so, they sacrificed their entire clan down to the children.

Grandpa Lin was in the exact same danger but he survived because he moved decisively. He denounced the deposed emperor, resigned from his position as minister, and retreated from the capital to Jinling. He broke off the engagement with the Shen family and sought a new engagement with a minister's family who was a close with the new emperor. In doing so, he tied his family to the new emperor's boat. Some people, like that drunk scholar that FL works for, hate Grandpa Lin (that's why the drunk scholar was rude to Lin Jinqi) for that because they believe he betrayed his principles. Grandpa Lin basically chose to sacrifice his reputation in officialdom and among the literati; he buried his ideals rather than bury his family, he chose to sacrifice his loyalty to a dead emperor rather than sacrifice his family.

Interestingly enough, Lin Jinqi is much like Grandpa Lin (he would burn the world down, screw reputation or honor, for his loved ones) while the Han scholar ( who studied under a Tanhua who was on the deposed emperor's side) is much more like Grandpa Shen. Had FL married him, she would have likely repeated the Shen's family's end. But I digress.

Both Shen and Lin grandfathers had their own reasons for the path they took but they were both fully aware of the pros and cons before they took them. It is also heavily implied that Jinqi is the one who buried the Shen family's remains, so if anything, the Lin family is the FL's benefactor.

they already knew actually. the grandmother said that she had poison prepared beforehand because she was anticipating the downfall and that she would die with her husband. the only surprise is that they didn't expect the emperor to not even spare the women and children.

grandfather shen and FL's father weren't surprised at all when the guards broke in too. they died for their ideals

but personally, I think it's selfish that because of their ideals they risked the lives of their children

that's exactly what a lot of chinese watchers who apparantly have read some script are saying, that he's too much like her grandfather

what happened in the novel? I know that the drama has many differences, I'm just curious about the scholar han part

is there anyone here who read the novel? rumored spoilers below:

who is scholar han in it and what was his ending like? I saw some rumors on rednote that he gets 1st place in the imperial examination, and becomes a minister over time but that he also becomes a second grandfather shen aka he dies to preserve his honor or something, but I can't tell if that's actually from the novel or from any trailer / scripts for the drama itself or if it's just people making up theories? can someone confirm?

singing and dancing in front of an army of men would have been seen as debasing them, and acting for the men's viewing pleasure. that seems more in line with what showgirls in brothels would do. that's not our FL's style. she chose to tell a story.

most professional and recorded storytellers in ancient and imperial China were men, and it was a skill that moved people's hearts through shared emotion, value, etc. so the FL using this skill in the camp makes sense.

ahh Gu Tingye really won my heart with all his scheming tactics to get Minglan lmao.

I'm not opposed to this ML using the nuclear option though, I enjoy seeing desperate men in my cdramas

the ending made me emotional too! I feel like the story she was telling had similar sentiments to her own life

I'm the opposite lmao I was smiling widely watching that scene. Idk I feel like the story itself that she was telling had some resemblance to her life. She talks of someone's act of benevolence, about a bloody parting with someone you care for...kindness and tragedy intertwined. isn't that lowkey the story of her life?

She's playing it up and being dramatic like a proper storyteller, but I feel like she was able to tap into some of her own emotions for it.

Also, I second that her doing this wasn't just because she suddenly wants to be in the spotlight or play quirky heroine, she's too stable for that. It's an army full of armed men where anything could happen, (the marquis can tell his men to do something, but he can't keep his eyes on the barracks at all times) this was a smart way to put her out in the open and prevent any shady behavior.

I'm watching this drama with my dad and his commentary along with the parents' acting has gotten me quite teary too.

I didn't like The Sword and the Brocade which made me sad considering it's by the same author of TSOML, but I did think the actress did a good job. I think she's doing even better here, showing so much emotion without overacting or cartoonish dramatics that some popular cdrama actors seem to suffer from. Really good acting here from everyone, but especially the FL and her adopted parents.