Calla

i was already holding in tears, but that shift in perspective was what finally broke me. it really makes you wonder... is this what our loved ones see before they leave us?

seeing the 1st lin madam surrounded by all her children in her final moments - knowing she did her best for them and that they truly loved her - was so bittersweet.

completely agree with you! i'm so happy with the director and screenwriter's decision to let the silence of that moment speak for itself. it made the scene far more powerful than any verbal "i know who you are" or "yes, i am shen jialan" confession could have been. jinqi basically did for lanxiang what she did for him all those years ago: choosing to take her secret to his grave.

you're welcome lol. let's all meet back here when the drama comes out. it will be more fun. hopefully, just 12 more days!

aww you're welcome! i've enjoyed our conversations lol. glad to have made your day a little brighter. 🫂

thank you lol. i was only building on your already excellent answer. this drama is so rich, it gives us so many layers to talk about!

of course! you're very welcome.

adding on to @grapejuice's post:

xiuru and her family basically threatened marquis yuan with a formal separation, which would ruin the yuan family's reputation. to avoid a public scandal and have xiuru withdraw her request, the yuans agreed to two conditions:

- all the yuan family's wealth and properties are legally and exclusively reserved for xiuru's daughters and will be divided among them equally. if a concubine gives birth to a son, he only inherits the 'marquis' title - nothing else.

- the lin family gets to handpick the concubines for marquis yuan, ensuring they are women tied to xiuru's maiden household who will act as her allies rather than threats.

marquis yuan's mother wanted to sideline xiuru in favor of a woman who could give her a grandson, and the extended yuan relatives wanted to push one of their own people into the concubine position so that her future son would control the estate (leaving xiuru's daughters financially vulnerable), but thankfully xiuru is smarter than all of them and ruined their plans.

this is such a thought-provoking comment! i love your take on how marquis yuan is probably afraid of xiuru in that moment. he really did mistake her quiet and calm nature for weakness - forgetting that water can be as gentle as a flowing stream or as formidable as a hurricane. instead of distancing himself, i hope seeing his wife in a new light makes him want to get to know her better (and fall in love with her more... but that’s just my wishful thinking lol).

exactly this! notice how the 2nd lin madam always scolds xiuwan for listening in on conversations that aren't meant for unmarried women's ears vs. how xiuru purposely sends her daughters to listen in on the 1st lin madam's conversation with jinqi and lanxiang. xiuru wants her young daughters to hear the hard truths that women have to face so that they are prepared for the real world. with her guidance, the yuan daughters are going to be okay.

you aren't alone - i agree with so many of the things you said.

the marquis yuan that we know and love in the drama is a good person. it just sucks that he's stuck in a shitty situation that he feels too weak and helpless to escape from. if he didn't have all that pressure from his mother and his clan, i don't think he would have ever considered taking in concubines. just look at how long he went without remarrying after his first wife died; his entire focus was on his daughter and his country. but unlike jinqi, who has brothers and nephews to share the family burdens (even if they aren't as competent as him), marquis yuan is the sole heir everyone relies on. he feels like he can't let his ancestors or his clan down... which tragically results in him letting his wife and daughters down instead.

to be honest with you, because he's a man who deeply values filial piety, i don't think he would've gone along with the lin family's little play to fool his mother into agreeing to their terms and conditions. he would have felt too guilty for lying, and it wouldn't have worked out in xiuru's favor. as much as jinqi respects him, jinqi is xiuru's brother. the lin family will always protect their own first.

you are right about how he's an important ally. whether or not he will resent and turn his back on them for this? i'm not sure. i just want to trust that he won't, simply for the reason why we like him: he’s a good man at heart.

i don't hate marquis yuan. it’s just that when it comes to a man taking in concubines for the sake of "filial piety", i will always side with his primary wife, because she is the one who has been wronged. xiuru did what she needed to do in order to protect herself and her daughters. it might hurt marquis yuan's feelings, but it's nothing compared to the kind of pain xiuru has to endure and will continue to endure in this household all because his family only prioritizes having sons.

this is so true. you worded it perfectly. 👏

i've been thinking about xiuru and marquis yuan, and it reminded me of when marquis yuan first approached jinqi to ask for one of his sisters' hand in marriage. his reason for picking the lin family was because he admired jinqi's integrity. he saw that from the very top all the way to the very bottom, the people of the lin household held principles he wanted his own household to align with. it didn't matter which sister he married, as long as she was a person of great character.

and the thing is... xiuru does share jinqi's values. she is as fiercely protective, intelligent, and righteous as her brother. as a man with no brothers and few people he can rely on (because his own relatives suck and only look after their own interests), marquis yuan must have been lonely and wished for a family as close-knit as the lins. what he expected was for xiuru to use those strengths to serve his comfort and his interests. what he failed to realize is that a woman raised in a house of unwavering protectors isn't going to sit back and remain passive when her children's futures are threatened - she becomes a protector herself. she will fight for her daughters' survival, even if it means offending him.

seeing his shock when he realizes that she has schemed against him to secure what she wants is priceless and so satisfying lol.

tbh, the novel isn't great. both leads are pretty unlikable, and i don't think they have any chemistry either. it takes forever for them to make any real progress in their relationship because they simply refuse to talk to each other like mature adults. if you already hate it at chapter 20, just know it's going to be like that for a very long time.

like @mydeluluworld_ said, the screenwriter has made a lot of changes to the original story. the trailers actually make me excited for the drama since it looks like a massive improvement from the novel.

you won't be missing out on much if you stop reading now lol.

trigger warning: SA

because of the decrease in daily episodes, i ended up skimming the novel.

in the original story, he s3xually assaulted her quite a few times. for example, there was a time early in their "relationship" when he threatened her parents' lives to force her to sleep with him. and during another time, he forced her to have s3x with him outside in broad daylight even though she said no (in the cave where xiuwan and du zheng got caught) and they ended up being spied on. for the longest time, he only saw her as a s3xual object rather than a human being with feelings.

the drama is so different from the novel, and just like @mstique, i am really grateful to the screenwriters for making those changes.

i'm so glad about the changes, because the ml from the novel is truly what nightmares are made of.

i see. at least they are more likely to be xiuru's allies than enemies then.

thank you for the response!

meh, i'm not a fan of hers. she has a superiority complex and can be really condescending toward anyone who doesn't share her views or enjoys things she doesn't. her opinions hold no weight when it comes to what i choose to watch - no need for that kind of negativity.

right? it's been so long, all the characters have grown up... and there are so many of them! it's going to take a while for us to relearn everyone's names and put faces to them. 😅

i've always wondered why streaming sites decrease the number of daily episodes. it usually kills a drama's momentum... just like these stats are showing. the current heat index score is still impressive, but it definitely could've been even higher.

yeah, as someone who tried to watch spring of the blade, it was hard not to compare it to against the current. the difference in depth and quality between those two is like night and day.

i would've recommended flourished peony and blossoms of adversity to you, but it seems you've already watched those. 😅