grapejuice

You are absolutely right. I was doing wishful thinking.

that could be fun !!! Liu Chang was a totally deranged, off the hook villain !

not sure that getting married would have made much difference for after the separation. It would still have been 5 whole years of living apart and each changing without the other one even being aware of it.

Is it true though, that people like ZL (and ZL in particular) don't know when to stop? People like Yu will look at a commoner on the rise as being an egotistical, ambitious, suck up who will do anything to get the Emperor to give him another promotion.

But is ZL actually any of those things? Does FTY actually need to keep him in check because he's off the rails with ego and ambition? I really don't think so.

The Emperor himself has engineered and propelled ZL's rise because he needs someone like ZL to do difficult things for him: someone brave and obedient, with no vested interest in the status quo and a desire to see the world become more fair.

ZL has been swept up in the Emperor's plan and ... well can he really just stop the merry go round to get off? No, he has to finish what he's been given to do. He knows he needs TY's help. He's has to try to keep his head on so they can both survive ... and then I expect he will be quite happy to go off into the sunset with his leading lady.

In the meantime, I think his only mistakes are from ignorance; not knowing what to do in a relationship and not knowing what to do amongst the vipers at court.

The Emperor was actually there with them not long after they are accused of eloping after an illicit affair. He can, if he wants, testify to their conduct and the fact that they pretended to be a married couple for his investigation when they were actually acting properly as just an engaged couple. He could share in court and spread positive rumors about their service to the crown and what a great couple they are. He could paint them as a legendary couple and order their marriage. I imagine he will judge the wind and public opinion and ML's performance before he does any of that, but I'm with you that it would certainly be a blessing for him to shut it all down quickly.

I think your poster is right about TY's emphasis for the future ... she wants to go back to their roots in Ganlin or some other small place that is relatively quiet and safe. She wants to do something similar to what the Grand Tutor has done ... get them away to safety.

But I think she or he is wrong about ZL. I don't actually think he's going to need much convincing. People assume he's ambitious because he's risen very quickly through hard work and determination but it's really the Emperor that has constantly made it happen and to a greater extent, ZL has just been carried up by the rising water. He wants to help the Emperor improve things for the government and for the common people, introduce greater fairness, and he wants to keep his family safe from the harm that their enemies might do to them.

But I don't think he wants power for power's sake. His schemes are about getting the job done well and surviving to tell the tale. He's not ambitious for himself and his own ego to be some kind of big man. He just wants to rise to be good enough for his lady and then, I think there will be no argument about getting out of town.

So, I really don't think he wants to fly so high. He won't forget his foundation. The responsibility and danger are weighing him down incredibly and he's just trying to do the Emperor's bidding to get the project done without personal cost.

We haven't met Shen Congsi yet so we don't know for sure whether he's good or bad. What we know is that he was a top scholar who wrote something that the Emperor didn't like so he didn't get a prime post in the capital. He is reportedly a moderate though, politically speaking and he has shown concern for the military that are stationed up north.

Grain and arms have been getting north because the merchants who took them there could be in the salt trade. The new reforms mean that they won't have to do that any more so there is a chance that the army will be starved and poorly equipped for war if the sudden change in policy doesn't also have a strong set up for new supply lines. The Emperor wants to control these supply lines and have a firmer hand on the military but he also has to make it all happen so that his forces don't die or rebel. So, it's really important that someone like Congsi gets into the position ... which his tutor just came out of retirement to remind him about. And if the tutor recommended him chances are that he's actually the right guy for the job.

ZL didn't back Congsi because the Emperor didn't want him. He backed a radical that the Emperor had already basically chosen for the job. So no surprise that ZL followed the Emperor's bidding. He also doesn't want to be associated with just one faction that he had been apart of as a northern military man ... so, again, he just followed what the Emperor decided because that's the safest thing for him to do.

I won't write a long answer... YES !!!

It is nepotism but back then everything was about nepotism, everyone was doing it for every position and I'm not sure that there were so many rules about it although it was probably best not to be seen doing it in too obvious a fashion.

I was surprised that she did that too. The ML had told her that the Emperor had already made up his mind and so he had put forward the Emperor's choice which is probably what he had to do since he was brought on board as a yes man and a henchman.

And it takes some serious skill to manipulate an Emperor and make him change his mind. Anyway, TY doesn't obviously know all the candidates and all the angles on them. She doesn't have information that the ZL is privy to so I was surprised that she would back one candidate after just one recommendation from one person that she trusts.

But she did take her case to the Emperor's former tutor who probably wouldn't just run to do her bidding unless he agreed with her choice. So that was a wise move that ZL couldn't have done. The tutor is one person who has enough clout with the Emperor to change his mind. So, if he chooses to talk to his former student, nobody's head is going to roll and it might actually work.

So, really, it was best for ZL to recommend who he was told to recommend and it was best for TY to seek out the tutor. And, if ZL is being level headed, he will throw out any ego that might rise up and accept that this was the best outcome. It's important that the tutor actually agreed.

But they should have planned it out together. ZL couldn't be seen interfering or directing TY to do it so maybe its good that he has deniability but still ... it was being pretty gutsy for her to overide him and act on her own even if it was the best thing to do and he would know that.

Ahhh. I think his mindset has had to change. And it can't really change back 100% to what it was until this chapter of their lives is over.

Imagine that the Emperor of the land chooses you to become his henchman. Sends you to war to become a hero for five years of blood and guts and then picks you out, cleans you up and throws you into court politics which are a lot cleaner but just as bloody, just as confusing and just as deadly ... only he low born and doesn't know too much about them.

My god what a nightmare that would be. And you know you'll lose your head if you mess up. My god , your fiance could lose her head if you mess up! So, I rather think that survival should become your overwhelming mindset in a situation like this one.

And TY can only use her imagination and her considerable wits to understand this. So, yep they'll be strangers for a bit while they both find the same page. Which means we should cut them both some slack. I'm sure that someone's character/personality could change under such pressure but it would still take a while for it to become permanent so there's still hope :-)

People are reacting to the detailed scenes we are shown but they're forgetting that the context has totally changed and the stakes have completely changed too. Which, if you try it in your own life, is something that is incredibly stressful and disorienting and requires a lot of empathy from your friends.

The last line is great. Actually the whole comment is kinda cool. It's just that I'm only waking up right now and made the mistake of refreshing this page when it lit up in front of me. So, this means that I"m addicted to this drama, right, if I'm doing that instead of eating breakfast. It must be serious that I need to see something about the new episodes before I can watch them and even before I can make a cup of coffee to open my eyes with :-(

I haven't seen the new episodes yet so I am hoping and trusting that there's a lot of exaggerated sarcasm in here. I mean a good person will still have to stoop low if trapped in a dirty fight that they must win. And if they survive that crisis , and return to a normal environment isn't there a good chance for them to become themselves again. After the ordeal is over. No? hmmm

Yes maam :-)

LoL. Sawrreeee. Embarrassed now :-)

Just to lighten this up a bit, I really must say that the x'd out bird app is an evil thing especially for drama watchers and especially since the evil man took it over. I closed all my accounts and ran away so I'm blissfully ignorant about what people are saying there but now I am worried about you spending too much time on the devil app. Take care of yourself my friend. And I will grapple with IG instead. And Reddit. And here. Hmmmm

(I do realize this isn't too funny but I thought I'd try it anyway :-)

Comparing novels and webtoons to dramas will only make you miserable and it's not really fair either. They're products of different mediums so they should be different.

But one will always suffer if you compare it to the one you encountered and loved first. And so you just lose out cuz you might have had two things to love. It's especially brutal if you contrast a drama to the source as it's unfolding and you don't know yet how the drama is going to play out. It might have a spectacular reason for the deviations ... one that just really works by the end. So, I really try not to do it.

Think about how they're supposed to use the different strengths of their different mediums ... after they're both finished. Think about whether the drama worked as a visual story and the book worked as a word triggering imagination story ... instead of setting them up and pitting them against one another.

It's like what I've read in a few of these comments over the last few days. Some people are making themselves unhappy because the story isn't going the way that they want and expect it to go ... while another person is saying that they're just going to sit back and let the story unfold.

Shall we bet on who is going to enjoy their experiences more?

A friend of mine recommended the kdrama Chicago Typewriter to me so I tried it but every moment was torture cuz I'd just finished something wonderful, was grieving the loss and CT just wasn't looking like it would be my kinda thing. So I dropped it after a few episodes before trying again (mainly cuz I value the friend). So I push my way to about the one third mark. Breezed right past some twists and turns and didn't love any of them. Yuck. Done. But I saw something great by one of the leads about a year later, tried CT again when I was all happy about life (and it was summer). Loved it !!!! I mean it moved into my top ten all time favorites and has stayed there. Only I had completely wasted those surprise twists and turns that I didn't appreciate the first time and kinda knew I would have loved it even more if I hadn't been pushing through the wrong mood and the wrong moment. And this isn't the only time I've done this silly push-drop-push-drop thing. Backfires every time. I've done it with three of my all time favorite dramas :-(

Yes they are now arriving in force ... and, having jumped, without empathy, to some dire conclusions, they're working to create the tipping point that always happens as soon as a main character is no longer perfect., It's kinda predictable isn't it?

People think that they can read other peoples' minds. So they expect other people to read theirs. Then they immediately jump to conclusions before all the evidence is in ... which they won't read well when they do get it ... because they've already formed their conclusions and will only see what they expect to see after that.

Humans are plenty stupid and quite hopeless.

It's not just women who expect men to read their minds. And it's not just men who don't communicate but maybe we do edge each other out by just a bit in these ways.

oh well.

The TY that he knows is confident and straightforward, capable , beautiful , from a wealthy family and is oh so very smart. Would such a woman feel jealous of another woman who can't even compare? Why? It's almost unfathomable. I mean, she sits high up on a pedestal for him so maybe it's a bit beyond his imagination that she could even feel that way. It's almost out of character for his TY to be jealous. He knows she has no need to be jealous and why would she doubt him? He knows he's a one woman kind of man and she is that woman.

Plus he hasn't seen her for a while. Plus he's up to his eyeballs in big problems that demand most of his focus. And he doesn't know enough about what the gossip rumor mill feels like for women . He knows the importance of reputation for women but he doesn't know the other ins and outs of a wealthy woman's world and wouldn't understand that she probably spends more time thinking about him and their relationship than he would when they are both actually pretty busy with other things too.

So, maybe we should all cut him some slack. Yes, he's been a bit thick in the head and hasn't detected some things that are obvious to us. He has that Y chromosome after all ... But in his mind, he has kinda already won the girl and doesn't doubt her ... so he's no longer trying to read every glance and intonation and he probably assumes, blockhead style, that she's just the same as him. He's assuming their love is made of something that will never change.