I'm seeing some viewers are analyzing that Huai'an and Yan Fengshan didn't actually meet at the end of ep 13. Because by the time Yan Fengshan stepped out of the door, he saw a footprint mostly covered in water, which means that Huai'an had left a long time ago. Huai'an was talking to himself and said that he will come back to kill Yan Fengshan and left his umbrella. Yan Fengshan was talking to the umbrella Huai'an left behind, and not directly at Huai'an. The camera/director is showing the viewers as if they had met in the same space of time, but in fact they didn't meet at all.
This analysis makes so much sense, because why would Yan Fengshan let Huai'an go if he had seen him. The level of details in this drama is mind blowing 😱
Now I understand why the list of actors is soooo long. They come in they die and they're gone. Wow so many.
But the thing is each death is memorable, and each character has their own screentime and story/background or messages to the audience. I hate pointless death for no reason.
Obviously watching because of Cheng Yi. But oh my God, I am so impressed by everything in this drama so far. It feels like a movie. Ep 6 and not a single screen time felt wasted or filler-like. Only concern is that it’s a CY drama so I shouldn’t expect a happy ending? Lolll
Actually although Xie Huai An is hellbent on revenge, I realised that he really tries not to involve innocents. When he heard that Wang Xing died and after killing Di Lu, you can tell that he feels extremely sorry. Of course, feeling sorry is of no use as those people are already dead, but this show manages to bring out the feelings that those "enemies" he killed are real, living people and not merely cannon fodders (as portrayed in other media). The characters are so memorable despite having little screentime. I still remember Zhou Mo the funny magistrate, Zhang Mo the loyal pageboy, Di Lu who is friendly to newcomers, Wang Xing who just wants to protect his family, Pu Nichuan who actually participated in Huai An's father's death but is also a silly man crushing on the tavern lady, and of course, Han Ziling. Han Ziling is such a respectable man. He is a scholar but he yearns to serve and die for the country and people. I'm very sad that he died but I'm also relieved that he didn't die in an ugly way. His death can be considered one of the better deaths in this show 😭.
The interaction between Han Ziling and Huai An right before Han Ziling sacrificed himself was also very well done. Huai An dislikes involving innocents but he hates having his allies die for him. Even Gu Yu said that Huai An usually gives the survival path to others. In the early episodes, I actually thought that Huai An would sacrifice his allies when utmost necessary but I realised from how he felt about Zhang Mo (the pageboy) to Gu Yu (his conversation with Chancellor Xiang) to Han Ziling, that Huai An will not sacrifice his allies. He will instead sacrifice himself. However because both Han Ziling and his goal is to ultimately kill Yan Fengshan and both of them know that it can only be done if Huai An is alive, Huai An sort of "accepted" Han Ziling's sacrifice. But from what I saw, Huai An will probably blame himself, he will also never forget this and it will spur him on even more to kill Yan Fengshan.
I knew that death in this show is inevitable, that it was going to be a huge bloodbath. I'm glad that so far the deaths were portrayed well. Han Ziling can be said to die with honour. But I'm afraid that this is just the beginning of allies dying left and right 🥹.
I like that this drama has no dumb character! Some characters are definitely way more intelligent than the others but almost every single character can be considered smart (in their own way). Although frustrating, having intelligent enemies enhances the storytelling and plot.
My god does this drama just know how to TELL a story! It's a huge part of why I'm enjoying it so much. Also a part of the reason why we couldn't always tell what would happen next was because of the way bits and pieces of it are woven in the most.....creative way possible. It's unfolding as if it's a mystery drama dressed as a revenge drama.
The deaths and character arcs, more importantly, are presented in the most poetic ways possible. Pu Nichuan died trying to settle his score with Liu Ziyan. Liu Ziyan died in a moving carriage, stabbed repeatedly by the son of the man he had repeatedly stabbed all those years ago, Di Lu died in irony, as what he had previously said about his feelings having nothing to do with needing to kill someone eventually applied to him. And now Han Ziling decided to die in that same place where they had originally buried Di Lu at the Hidden Soldier Alley, bringing things full circle between them. Kudos to the writer!
The last moments of EP 12 where Han Ziling didn't give Xie Huai An a choice and moved forward with the plan to lure the Huben Army away, up to the moment where Xie Huai An escaped, was done so beautifully I was crying the whole time. That OST just did it for me. And Xie Huai An's expressions when Han Ziling was stabbed were heartbreaking, but it showed us that he felt emotions very, very deeply. He feels pain, anger, happiness, amusement and sadness all very deeply. That's probably also why he has also been feeling worn down. But at the same time, Han Ziling's arc told us a lesson that Xie Huai An had to learn: he has to move forward. If he is readily carrying the burden of killing people to take revenge, then he also has to readily carry the spirit of the people who sacrifice themselves for him, and let them push him ahead. General Gu Yu understood that. I'm glad that Xie Huai An did too in the end. And Cheng Yi did amazing portraying that. I could definitely see that brief moment where he broke down, but he had no choice but to steel himself and step over that fence and escape. So amazing!
I’ve really come to love this trio, I hope they can all stay together in the end and Zhang Mo has really grown on me and I think Huai An cares about him to enough to want to trust him and I feel like he always testing him by giving him task that’s could jeopardize them if he decided to betray them randomly one day. Zhang no also seem to really care about him. But they are so funnny together the happy moments literally come from the 3 of them together so I hope nothing happens to them pls 🥹
What I love about this drama is how it keeps you glued to the screen,keeps you on edge,you’ll miss tiny details if you’re distracted for just a second. Cheng Yi is flooring his character cos DAMN! I’m always holding my breath in every episode. I need this man to keep taking such roles(whether it being thriller,mystery,psychological or political ,heck even horror suspense too will do) from now on,cos he’s absolutely killing it. By the way ep 11 is already available on Netflix 😘.
This drama feels like a grandmaster chess player going up against beginners 😌. Xie Huai An is a strategist and honestly, it’s hot 😆🔥❤️. I’m really enjoying this type of ML more than the usual physically strong fighter lol.
The entire cast is amazing too, with great character writing and directing.
Just a reminder again! This drama was cut down from 32 episodes to 28 episodes in order to pass censorship!! 4 full episodes worth of content being removed from such a political/strategical drama means that audiences will have to read between the lines more to understand the show.
This is NOBODY's fault but censorship. From the 8 episodes we have so far, we can easily tell that a lot of effort have been put into this drama! Please ask questions if there are any plot points or stuff that you don't understand. I'm sure many people will be eager to help :) Happy watching!
If you’re still doubting whether to start this drama or not, let this be your sign don’t miss it 🔥👏. I’ve never seen a revenge story executed like this before.
The ML did not come to play 🫡❤️. He doesn’t waste a single minute overthinking, he just acts. He already has his plans and strategies in place.
And the ML, Cheng Yi omg the acting here is some of the best I’ve ever seen. For me, it really clicked after episode 2. The story is going strong, and the budget and cinematography are absolutely top notch. So yeah, definitely give it a try 😁😁.
I think it’s better to watch this drama in peace without coming for comments.
The immature people who don’t understand genres and plot are wilding, even wanting to turn siblings into lovers. They wanna turn sibling “chemistry” into incest, agh!
2 
This analysis makes so much sense, because why would Yan Fengshan let Huai'an go if he had seen him. The level of details in this drama is mind blowing 😱
The interaction between Han Ziling and Huai An right before Han Ziling sacrificed himself was also very well done. Huai An dislikes involving innocents but he hates having his allies die for him. Even Gu Yu said that Huai An usually gives the survival path to others. In the early episodes, I actually thought that Huai An would sacrifice his allies when utmost necessary but I realised from how he felt about Zhang Mo (the pageboy) to Gu Yu (his conversation with Chancellor Xiang) to Han Ziling, that Huai An will not sacrifice his allies. He will instead sacrifice himself. However because both Han Ziling and his goal is to ultimately kill Yan Fengshan and both of them know that it can only be done if Huai An is alive, Huai An sort of "accepted" Han Ziling's sacrifice. But from what I saw, Huai An will probably blame himself, he will also never forget this and it will spur him on even more to kill Yan Fengshan.
I knew that death in this show is inevitable, that it was going to be a huge bloodbath. I'm glad that so far the deaths were portrayed well. Han Ziling can be said to die with honour. But I'm afraid that this is just the beginning of allies dying left and right 🥹.
The deaths and character arcs, more importantly, are presented in the most poetic ways possible. Pu Nichuan died trying to settle his score with Liu Ziyan. Liu Ziyan died in a moving carriage, stabbed repeatedly by the son of the man he had repeatedly stabbed all those years ago, Di Lu died in irony, as what he had previously said about his feelings having nothing to do with needing to kill someone eventually applied to him. And now Han Ziling decided to die in that same place where they had originally buried Di Lu at the Hidden Soldier Alley, bringing things full circle between them. Kudos to the writer!
The last moments of EP 12 where Han Ziling didn't give Xie Huai An a choice and moved forward with the plan to lure the Huben Army away, up to the moment where Xie Huai An escaped, was done so beautifully I was crying the whole time. That OST just did it for me. And Xie Huai An's expressions when Han Ziling was stabbed were heartbreaking, but it showed us that he felt emotions very, very deeply. He feels pain, anger, happiness, amusement and sadness all very deeply. That's probably also why he has also been feeling worn down. But at the same time, Han Ziling's arc told us a lesson that Xie Huai An had to learn: he has to move forward. If he is readily carrying the burden of killing people to take revenge, then he also has to readily carry the spirit of the people who sacrifice themselves for him, and let them push him ahead. General Gu Yu understood that. I'm glad that Xie Huai An did too in the end. And Cheng Yi did amazing portraying that. I could definitely see that brief moment where he broke down, but he had no choice but to steel himself and step over that fence and escape. So amazing!
Puppy #1 : 😟
Puppy #2 : 😣
*rushes toward him*😂
I’ve really come to love this trio, I hope they can all stay together in the end and Zhang Mo has really grown on me and I think Huai An cares about him to enough to want to trust him and I feel like he always testing him by giving him task that’s could jeopardize them if he decided to betray them randomly one day. Zhang no also seem to really care about him. But they are so funnny together the happy moments literally come from the 3 of them together so I hope nothing happens to them pls 🥹
Cheng Yi is flooring his character cos DAMN! I’m always holding my breath in every episode. I need this man to keep taking such roles(whether it being thriller,mystery,psychological or political ,heck even horror suspense too will do) from now on,cos he’s absolutely killing it.
By the way ep 11 is already available on Netflix 😘.
The entire cast is amazing too, with great character writing and directing.
This is NOBODY's fault but censorship. From the 8 episodes we have so far, we can easily tell that a lot of effort have been put into this drama! Please ask questions if there are any plot points or stuff that you don't understand. I'm sure many people will be eager to help :) Happy watching!
The ML did not come to play 🫡❤️.
He doesn’t waste a single minute overthinking, he just acts. He already has his plans and strategies in place.
And the ML, Cheng Yi omg the acting here is some of the best I’ve ever seen. For me, it really clicked after episode 2. The story is going strong, and the budget and cinematography are absolutely top notch.
So yeah, definitely give it a try 😁😁.
The immature people who don’t understand genres and plot are wilding, even wanting to turn siblings into lovers. They wanna turn sibling “chemistry” into incest, agh!