WindBlows

No, he didn't. He was saved.

Glad to help! As you said, Lou Ben could have also asked for help from He Zhaojun. She was his sister-in-law, had military resources at her disposal from her deceased father and still garnered sympathy in the imperial court since most of her family died defending the empire.

The drama context is somewhat odd. In the novel, HBY initiated the biting since he was very possessive of CSS. Again, a promise that there will be on one else for him in this life. For the drama, they toned it down and made CSS initiate the biting, which I think looks awkward for her to do.

And yes, it also reminded me of vampires and I would wonder why their facial expressions did not show pain. Realistically, a bite that deep is bound to hurt a lot.

In my opinion, it's like a promise written or in this case bitten in blood. It could also be seen as wedding vows - they will believe and support each other unconditionally.

Lou Ben orchestrated everything. He and Yan Zhong were good friends and communicated regularly, but their friendship was a secret since they belonged to different social classes. Perfect scapegoat. Cheng Shi was an additional and probably unexpected problem and Lou Ben had not yet decided how to deal with him.

The ultimate goal for Lou Ben was to have/fake such a great contribution to the empire that no one, particularly his uncle, could prevent him from becoming a high ranking official. His motives for resorting to such cruelty still do not make complete sense to me.

LBY offered more than once to help Lou Ben and bypass tutor Lou's influence. It would not have been difficult since LBY had the Emperor's full confidence, while tutor Lou only had influence over the Crown Prince.

I guess Lou Ben was desperate to achieve his goals, while also too proud to ask for help or rely on someone else.

Let's hope the year of the Rabbit will bring many blessings, including the extra LLTG episodes!🙏

Here is another interesting list: Best of the Best - Drama Edition. You can only have one choice. I have already added and voted for LLTG part 1. Please someone add part 2. And let's vote for our favourite! https://kisskh.at/list/LAlEwM51

I am not sure because it was not shown in the drama. And I don't remember this detail from the book either.

The drama did not properly connect all the dots, particularly the tiger seal and how HBY used it to mobilize the army without imperial authorization during the massacre. All to oust the CP and replace him with the 3rd Prince.

I had the same discussion with Kathleen, another friend here on MDL. My insight comes mostly from the book. And I agree with Bebelov that the real tiger seal probably never reached Marquis Yue's hands and was intercepted by HBY after it was stolen from Crown Princess' cousin.

HBY had several ulterior motives. He became close to the CP, tried to influence his decision-making away from nepotism and cronyism, but was not successful. So HBY pretended to be an ally of CP, while secretly supporting the 3rd Prince to become the new CP.

The tiger seal stolen by Marquis Yue from CP, and recovered by HBY for later use, was always meant to discredit the CP in a very public way and thus lead to his dethronement.

During the argument you mentioned, CSS had already figured out that she was a cover for many of HBY's schemes. He wanted the real tiger seal, so her misguided actions were the perfect opportunity for him to get involved. HBY replaced the fake with the Huo seal, which gained him time to steal the the real tiger seal from Marquis Yue and wait for the perfect moment to reveal CP's incompetence.

That is why CSS said she was curious how HBY would face his 'brotherhood' with the CP. HBY had a duplicitous attitude towards both the CP and Empress for a very long time.

Thank you for the information. In the end, a compelling script that both like and compatible schedules are essential for a potential future collaboration. Maybe it will happen after a couple of years.

You're welcome. Since you've already viewed spoilers, I can safely tell you that LBY has several agendas to pursue, apart from his revenge, and CSS inadvertently ruined his carefully laid plans. He wants to protect her, but many times that is secondary to other political schemes.

Therefore, their initial arguments were not only due to stubborness and lack of trust. LBY also tried to emotionally manipulate CSS so that she will not act for fear of potentially harming the Empress, the person she cared most about in the palace. LBY has a dark side that may not be so obvious in the presence of CSS, but it is still there.

And editing problems are the worst in the last episodes.

I understand your point of view, so let me address the concerns you mentioned. In part 2, the Chengs take a backseat for a while because CSS needed to expand her horizons. Her mother's approach was inflexible and unproductive and left no room for growth in the family environment. So CSS meets new people in the palace, gradually falls in love with LBY and creates another family and support system.

During that process, she makes many mistakes. Her relationship with LBY is complicated since not all is as it seems. I don't want to spoil things for you, just hang in there because the sweet moments are coming. And yes, the bts videos made us much more invested in their relationship. I often enjoyed the bts as much as if not more than their on-air interaction.

That being said, I believe LLTG is not primarily a love story. It devotes equal attention to many subplots, so the focus often shifts from the protagonists' relationship. I enjoyed all of it (apart from too much palace bullying), yet it is a matter of personal preference.

I agree that YS has been underutilized in part 2. But first, he needed to become an official, otherwise he could not meet CSS in the palace. Qiqi will also appear again when CSS needs her most.

I assume it's due to ZLS's busy schedule and WL apparently being very selective about his roles. But the stars can align once again!

Yes, a modern drama would be best to contrast with LLTG. Hopefully it will happen!🙏

Agreed. In those previous examples, filming of the dramas was probably scheduled one after the other, except for LYX where there is a time gap.

Glad to hear you were able to finish the drama! I was not impressed with WL in TLB, but in LLTG he has shown a very high caliber of acting.

I know what you mean. It's an unfortunate trend and such an odd choice for story telling, especially in a drama where creators should want the ending to be memorable in a positive way. I have also been disappointed by WRTW and even more so by TAB. Luckily, I was not very emotionally invested in either.

You're right. And both with Xu Kai and Ren Jia Lun, Bai Lu had 2 dramas released in the same year by one network, as if they were a package deal 🤔

A question for those knowledgeable about C-dramas. I noticed that Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi worked on Love Is Sweet in 2020 and now have another project together in 2022. So they were cast together again quite quickly in the second drama. Is that rare?

I am curious to see what are the chances for ZLS and WL to collaborate as leads in the future. Was Love Is Sweet (or the couple's chemistry) very popular, hence the decision for a second collaboration? Or is this all a coincidence?