grapejuice

I'm not so crazy about him either but what worries me most is that they are business partners as well as 'friends' ... ZL provided all or at least most of the capital and the clout for a 20%ish (I think) cut of the profits so let's hope that merchant guy is happy with their deal and with ZL and he's been doing business in a clean, above board way that couldn't get ZL into trouble.

There's a drama called Flourished Peony where the FL (newly divorced and then newly dead) is unable to get work of any kind despite having amazing business skills. She needs to have her own household register or be on the register of a household that would allow her to work ... which is exactly the situation that Ms Wu would be in if she tried to escape her aunt/family and go out into the world on her own.

Even our own FL in this drama. The CP offers her a reward after she helped alongside our ML and all she wanted was a household register with her new name on it.

IKR? You could accidentally pull out a tooth trying to eat something like what they showed us there. Freshly made, fluffy and 'relaxed' is a different thing but I didn't think rich types like them would eat things like dry spiced flatbread. Don't they always eat pretty flower shaped pastries in these dramas?

kinda ... but I'll wager that yours will end up looking and tasting a lot better than what we saw onscreen :-)

She's using TY yes. But she's also handing over some valuable insider info from the Yu family which, if it becomes a habit, could be really important for our couple. They now kinda have a spy in the Yu family; someone who can pretend to be spying on them (ex. getting info and stories to feed junior's obsession with TY ) ... but who is actually working for our heroes instead.

I guess each dynasty is different in it's traditions but, generally, Emperor's have all kinds of consorts and there are many many rules about them. Some are noble, chosen to be empress, some are concubines but even a maid might become the mother of the next king. Their initial status, however, is what determines where they will be buried and what kinds of rites they will receive.

And it seems that this Emperor's grandmother isn't going to get the best treatment after her death. She desperately wants to be buried with grandpa but our now Emperor will have to change some longstanding rules to accomplish that. Which, for various reasons, he doesn't want to do so there's a uncomfortable grievance in their otherwise close relationship.

Mrs Yu put our couple in the middle of it when she called attention to the filial piety that TY had shown to her grandmother by moving her body to where she had wanted it to be buried. It became a topic during the dowager's birthday banquet and that embarrassed and ticked off the king because it made him look bad for not being as good to his grandma.

So, our couple learns about this and, in an attempt to get themselves and him out of hot water, they hatch a plan to make the Dowager change her mind and divert the mausoleum funds towards disaster relief ...

Basically then, ZL and TY pretend to make some bad decisions and are punished for their actions so that the Dowager and King end up looking good and getting along better. Their disagreement goes away and they look like a good ruling family by sacrificing something of their own for the greater good.

So, ZL particularly appears to have taken a huge hit which is making his enemies feel too pleased and confident only the emperor is giving him another chance with another potentially losing project ... disaster relief; another thing that looks like a curse ... only ZL will somehow pull it off and then get back on course with the Salt reform etc.

great !!!

Dominance. Always increasing wealth and power. Getting the next generation into line to continue the family's superiority while crushing anyone who might stop them or surpass them. That's the general answer though. I think they've made their money through graft, trade (mainly from salt) and stashing the silver into real estate all while manipulating their way through alliances that will keep it all going. On the surface they woo people and they intimidate people but under the surface, I think they won't stop at using any kind of tactic.

Woah. At this point in an excellent drama my mind begins to play games with me. If it's top tier quality, it might very well make my forever favorites list AND I've really become attached to the characters, I get scared. Actually, for real, kinda frightened. I can't wait for the next episode but then I'm afraid to watch it in case something horrible happens or the quality of the story suddenly dives off a cliff. And then I get a bit frozen. I suddenly want major spoilers for like insurance purposes but I also know that spoilers can actually spoil things in the bad way if they're wrong.

Anyone else have this? Is there a drama psych ward out there to help people who have this? This is why binging after the airing is better for your mental health.

TY for posting. Very helpful.

This rating is ridiculously low. I found this to be really entertaining. I totally fell in love with all of the characters but especially the two leads. The story was solid. The love story was epic. There was so much excitement; drama, suspense and light moments too. I love the closing credit OST with a passion and ... I was absolutely never bored. The pacing was excellent and the episodes flew by almost too quickly. Everything about it felt ... vibrant !!! Genuine emotion and so many really touching moments for the past generation and especially for the younger one. Congratulations to everyone involved. Beautiful work.

Hold on. The Emperor can only vent his anger on ZL and TY? Why would he be angry at them? Because his grandmother made a big deal of TY's filial piety towards her grandmother? By moving her to where she wanted to be laid to rest? Whereas the Dowager is saying he doesn't show enough piety towards her? But they aren't the ones that raised the subject or made him look bad.

I mean, But surely he knows that they and he were set up by Mrs Yu. He's had his eye on the Yu family for years as people that he really wants to get rid of.

So, I'm not sure why he would vent his anger on our couple or even make a show of it by not blessing their wedding.

What you've researched and shared here is absolutely fascinating history though. Like seriously. What an incredibly difficult world to live in. It kind of defies modern day imagination doesn't it?

There are two interrelated problems. He needs the money partly to feed, clothe and arm his army in the north. The new plan requires that he set up entirely new supply lines that he will fund and run himself. No more merchants hauling the supplies north to trade for salt permits. There is food grown near the border but it's not enough. So, if there is a drought and the supplies don't arrive fast, the Emperor's army will revolt and/or starve and it will be the fault of the new system not happening quickly enough. In other words, he's in deep shit if ZL doesn't get everything up and running fast.

I'm far far far away from being bored ...

I thought they had though ...

the ceremony is finished but the first night has yet to begin ...

I know your worries and your theory makes sense but, ultimately, I think she's just worried that he's placed himself on the chopping block (investing 100% in the Emperor) and he's moving too quickly so his chances of failing and failing big are much greater. So, it's her turn to bring things around and maybe, who knows, she has to step away from him for a second in order to execute her plan.

I don't get the feeling he's going to crash and burn exactly or she's going to disapprove of him in any major way. But if the Emperor starts to actually or apparently hedge his bets even more they will need to use a wider array of tactics.

So they're using different strategies and methods. He's kind of working inside out from the Emperor and she's working from the outside by targeting other influential people who might listen to her words more if they see her separating from him a bit.

I'm always a bit surprised by this drama though. It's hard to guess what will happen so ... want to bet that we're both wrong but will enjoy it even more because they confused us and then came through in a different way?

Me too. It was masterful. He used physical strength and powerful words with incredible impact in that one day. Impressive and moving.

And I love those particular words ... "his new mom".

Slicing through a shotgun, making all those sparks on the way through the barrel towards the point with the gunpowder loaded in it ...

Omg. Who thought of that?

It looked so impressive. It felt so incredibly dangerous.

I mran he did a lot of things to get their mother to the ceremony. All impressive ... but that visual image will stick with me for a long time.

Actually, opening the gate with a sword and a kick is burned into memory as well.

Wow :-) !!!

a perfect response ...