I would love to see LXY in a mystery solving case or as a detective or spy in a drama with little to no romance.
Jagged Peaks. It hasn't been broadcast yet, it was filmed earlier this year.There is no romance. (If there is romance, it is implicit, as in "Unshakable Faith" where he was paired with actress Peng Xiaoran. https://kisskh.at/752065-ta-xue-xun-zong
Omg finally someone said this i really don't know what people are hyping fl for??All the time she had her eyes…
She is very cold-blooded, and yes, she uses her intelligence, although sometimes her impetuosity can put her in danger. But our Ml has already decided that he will protect her from these dangers, respecting her decision.😃💡🌸
I don't think we will see too much romance in the remaining episodes 😂😂
Yes, after suffering there needs to be a tight hug and a deep kiss. This was in his daydream, but may he enjoy the moment in some future episode.🫶💖😶🌫️😊
the romance has gone, maybe there is, but it isnt interesting. the story about mu wuxia is more interesting for…
Episode 24 showed romance. The suffering of love between the two. And I find this love between them very interesting and beautiful, and also the most beautiful songs being shown in these moments. A love that cannot be expressed, but is still shown. 💖💖💖💖I haven't watched episode 25 yet.
ML looks so hellish not in a good way. His smile honestly creeps me out
He starts out looking like a villain, to be a creep, dangerous, but then he shows other facets. (We can't judge a book just by its cover). And then, an "unlikely" romance happens. And many would like this first facet to continue, but it is not like that in the book and it is not like that in the drama. It is a contrast that is part of this narrative. Look at this smile. Here it's just a nuance. In the video the view is more complete. This is charming, not scary at all. https://i.mydramalist.com/ABWbrZ_3f.jpg This was in episode 18 or 19.
If I have to put three words about this drama, they are: dangerous, sensual, and suspensful.
From the first episode, the dangers, themes like corrupted power, sacrifice, and survival were so apparent. It is not an easy story; life and death are at stakes, and our princess, the FL (played by Meng Ziyi) is in a weak and helpless position. The natural questions follow this premise is: How will she defend herself and achieve her purpose? As she must use her wit and cunningness, we got the title "Princess's Gambit" for this drama. I am happy for this clarity. The title of the drama describes the story so well. We know what to expect and anticipate as time goes.
In the second episode, we got the first barier for the princess. The ML (played by Liu Xueyi), the "treacherous, ruthless, intelligent, powerful councellor." She used him as her vehicle to survive by joining his household as a concubine. A romance between a lovey-dovey young couple is unlikely to happen due to the ugliness of their circumstancess. And, for me, it is a great thing, because their relationship, thus, must evolve through different means: the push and pull between husband and wife. Being married means they are allowed to do physical-emotional things, which are taboo for unmarried ones by the norm of ancient society. The proximity, the touch, the gaze... have a certain tendency, which is somehow sensual. All of the conversations, words they use, pretentious interactions, moments they spent together, and teamwork are in that context. It is subtle, but there is.
Later, after FL and ML aligned their purpose, mainly to revenge, we are plunged into a series of mysteries to solve and actions. This is where the suspense happened a lot. This drama is so good at balancing the physical fights and the battle of wits and strategies. I am satisfied for this drama has villains with qualities comparable to ML in term of intelligent, resourcefulness, and power. It makes the clashes are interesting to watch. We don't easily know who will win this game. And, princess's gambit would play much roles here, I believe.
We still have many episodes to go. My first impression might be confirmed or denied by future events. But I believe, this drama has many things to offer. The philosophy of good and evil, for example. I love it so much when they highlight the greyness of human's actions, that being right is not always right, and being bad is not always bad. We must see better before judging about good and bad. That is a pretty realistic approach to life.
Also, the production quality is pretty enjoyable. How they use light to emphasize emotion and psychology of the characters, especially ML. The constumes are beautiful. The music, despite loud, it matchs the emotion of a scene. The effective uses of flashbacks. And for the places and settings, we don't see repeated Hengdian studio or any other places we usually see in Cdrama. Some tropes do exist, but they are just usual things in fictions. How the story told is what matters because that is the real craft and artistry.
From my point of view: Very good. See for example this discussion.
eliteles1 VIP 5 hours ago I think it's more realistic to need someone's help. No one is invincible. Weaknesses need to be shown. And romance/novel isn't perfect, it needs changes. And "Blossom", I haven't watched the whole drama yet, but as far as I've seen, even though she's pretentious, she needed help. She needed the male lead's complicity and heroism (even though she's strong), that doesn't demean the character (it makes it more real). I hope they show him (SZY) needing help too, because that's more real. I read chapter 131 of the book yesterday (and she needed help) at the time of the whipping (SZY found a way to protect her). SZY even said how "how will JTH's small body endure these whippings) and JTH also said at one point (I will die)due to the 50 lashes she would receive. . So...they are following the book. She is strong, conceited, but needs help. And she acknowledges that. The whipping was solved with something that was prepared beforehand by SZY (to soften the whipping) and in her mind she thanked SZY for the arrangement. (This is from the book.) She is not an invincible woman who does not need help. At some points she recognizes that she does need it. (This is the book, the source of the drama.) 🤔✨😶😶🌫️ PS: How do they say that She (Jiang Tao Hua character is totally different from the book. (They are following one source: the novel). And they did not erase the essence of the book. xxxxxxxxx I will continue reading the book (while watching the drama). xxxxxxx 📔📔📔📔📔📔🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📗📗📗📗📗📗📗🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📙📙📙📙📙🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📕📕📕📕📕🔎🔎🔎🔎💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔦🔦🔦🔦🔦🔦🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
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eliteles1 VIP 4 hours ago I think the drama version is a thousand times better. There was a double who slept with SZY's women. Every night, this Xue would go and talk to JTH in her room. And sometimes they (a man) saved this strong woman (JTH). They even hung from the ceiling together while waiting for an intruder to leave her room. (I liked that these moments of heroism were passed on to SZY). The one who saved JTH was SZY and not this double, Xue. Thank goodness in the drama he died in the first episode. And as I said above, the lashes were softened by SZY so that she wouldn't suffer from the 50 lashes. The part where he sews her body together (in the book there are still other times where he takes care of her). This is a strong woman in the book (she often needs men to take care of her). This doesn't detract from her, she remains strong and recognizes her limits. (And some very incongruent parts of SZY (I loved that they removed them), that would not be in keeping with a love story (although I'm still on chapter 131 of the book). And the drama is a thousand times better, much more coherent and respects the essence of the book, improving it.) _________________ Niney919 an hour ago @yogurt The novel opens with Taohua getting raped by Shen Zaiye. A recurring theme in the novel is a body double pleasing the women of Shen Zaiye’s harem so the Chancellor can avoid emotional entanglements. A huge part of the plot is rear house (women’s dwelling) politics including falling from grace / dismissal of daughters of influential ministers within the nine ministries (we only saw Meng Zhenzhen story arc which is not in the original novel). I don’t think all of this aligns with Confucian values of the time. I can’t speak as to why the screenwriter changed the story. I have shared a little bit of what has been changed. Vniverse 5 hours ago That cliff and arrow shooting scene was so intense. Devil Shen thought he lost her forever 5 Reply ShareShareReport • anitfa 4 hours ago And the faint small in JTH's face realizing that SZY didn't shot her... _____________________________ eliteles1 VIP 2 hours ago @Owl19987 The drama has a source, and throughout the book there is this ambiguity between love and distrust. They sleep together, they talk, they scheme (but still without confessing their love). And in the drama it is as she says (I am just a flower among the many flowers of Shen Zai Ye). That is until the episode 5, because we know he got rid of the other flowers. In the book, she begins to confess her love (to herself, recognizing the jealousy she begins to feel. And SZY begins to show his love for the lack he feels of having intimacy with her (this was when she lived in the prince's palace). So, I think the drama manages to show this ambiguity between love (and indifference, distrust). It is a double feeling that they feel (and the drama tries hard to show this). And I think it succeeds. We are always: They love each other. They don't love each other. But, in a certain way in the drama and in the book (the love is more evident on SZY's part). She only showed this feeling in the drama, it wasn't jealousy (but the memory of the intimacy she had with him, the flashes of memory). She feels the pain, because this feeling is revealed to herself now, but she herself has a closed heart more than SZY. To the point that he says, "You are crueler than me." He is speaking in the sense of love.
Omg finally someone said this i really don't know what people are hyping fl for??All the time she had her eyes…
So, I'm going to like this ending. I like these redemption stories to have happy endings. Imperfect, flawed people who redeem themselves until they get their deserved happy ending. I get so upset when that doesn't happen. 🫶🌸🎇🎈😊I keep asking myself: Why do you take away the happy ending that was there???
If anyone has read the novel, please share a spoiler how did the love affair between the Empress and the Prince…
These elements of the relationship between the empress and the third prince (until chapter 131 of the book, there are none. And the book has 246 chapters). This part about the poison in JTH and SZY's search for a cure, that is consistent with the book. But the king's pills, no.
Considering how little of the novel made it in the drama....
I think the romance is pretty intense right now. (I mean: in how they feel about each other). I just watched episode 24. They love each other without a doubt. He's more open about it. She's not. But...definitely...they love each other.
Well then you have to consider the ML's background too. At that point - when he first encounter her -- he was…
In the book the limits were really "crossing the line". But the drama improved a lot in this regard. Novel and drama (there is this unlikely love story). It really is: unlikely.
3 
It hasn't been broadcast yet, it was filmed earlier this year.There is no romance. (If there is romance, it is implicit, as in "Unshakable Faith" where he was paired with actress Peng Xiaoran.
https://kisskh.at/752065-ta-xue-xun-zong
💖💖💖💖I haven't watched episode 25 yet.
(We can't judge a book just by its cover). And then, an "unlikely" romance happens.
And many would like this first facet to continue, but it is not like that in the book and it is not like that in the drama. It is a contrast that is part of this narrative.
Look at this smile. Here it's just a nuance. In the video the view is more complete. This is charming, not scary at all.
https://i.mydramalist.com/ABWbrZ_3f.jpg This was in episode 18 or 19.
If I have to put three words about this drama, they are: dangerous, sensual, and suspensful.
From the first episode, the dangers, themes like corrupted power, sacrifice, and survival were so apparent. It is not an easy story; life and death are at stakes, and our princess, the FL (played by Meng Ziyi) is in a weak and helpless position. The natural questions follow this premise is: How will she defend herself and achieve her purpose? As she must use her wit and cunningness, we got the title "Princess's Gambit" for this drama. I am happy for this clarity. The title of the drama describes the story so well. We know what to expect and anticipate as time goes.
In the second episode, we got the first barier for the princess. The ML (played by Liu Xueyi), the "treacherous, ruthless, intelligent, powerful councellor." She used him as her vehicle to survive by joining his household as a concubine. A romance between a lovey-dovey young couple is unlikely to happen due to the ugliness of their circumstancess. And, for me, it is a great thing, because their relationship, thus, must evolve through different means: the push and pull between husband and wife. Being married means they are allowed to do physical-emotional things, which are taboo for unmarried ones by the norm of ancient society. The proximity, the touch, the gaze... have a certain tendency, which is somehow sensual. All of the conversations, words they use, pretentious interactions, moments they spent together, and teamwork are in that context. It is subtle, but there is.
Later, after FL and ML aligned their purpose, mainly to revenge, we are plunged into a series of mysteries to solve and actions. This is where the suspense happened a lot. This drama is so good at balancing the physical fights and the battle of wits and strategies. I am satisfied for this drama has villains with qualities comparable to ML in term of intelligent, resourcefulness, and power. It makes the clashes are interesting to watch. We don't easily know who will win this game. And, princess's gambit would play much roles here, I believe.
We still have many episodes to go. My first impression might be confirmed or denied by future events. But I believe, this drama has many things to offer. The philosophy of good and evil, for example. I love it so much when they highlight the greyness of human's actions, that being right is not always right, and being bad is not always bad. We must see better before judging about good and bad. That is a pretty realistic approach to life.
Also, the production quality is pretty enjoyable. How they use light to emphasize emotion and psychology of the characters, especially ML. The constumes are beautiful. The music, despite loud, it matchs the emotion of a scene. The effective uses of flashbacks. And for the places and settings, we don't see repeated Hengdian studio or any other places we usually see in Cdrama. Some tropes do exist, but they are just usual things in fictions. How the story told is what matters because that is the real craft and artistry.
eliteles1 VIP 5 hours ago
I think it's more realistic to need someone's help. No one is invincible. Weaknesses need to be shown. And romance/novel isn't perfect, it needs changes. And "Blossom", I haven't watched the whole drama yet, but as far as I've seen, even though she's pretentious, she needed help. She needed the male lead's complicity and heroism (even though she's strong), that doesn't demean the character (it makes it more real). I hope they show him (SZY) needing help too, because that's more real. I read chapter 131 of the book yesterday (and she needed help) at the time of the whipping (SZY found a way to protect her). SZY even said how "how will JTH's small body endure these whippings) and JTH also said at one point (I will die)due to the 50 lashes she would receive. . So...they are following the book. She is strong, conceited, but needs help. And she acknowledges that.
The whipping was solved with something that was prepared beforehand by SZY (to soften the whipping) and in her mind she thanked SZY for the arrangement. (This is from the book.) She is not an invincible woman who does not need help. At some points she recognizes that she does need it. (This is the book, the source of the drama.)
🤔✨😶😶🌫️
PS:
How do they say that She (Jiang Tao Hua character is totally different from the book. (They are following one source: the novel). And they did not erase the essence of the book.
xxxxxxxxx I will continue reading the book (while watching the drama). xxxxxxx
📔📔📔📔📔📔🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📗📗📗📗📗📗📗🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📙📙📙📙📙🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎📕📕📕📕📕🔎🔎🔎🔎💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🔦🔦🔦🔦🔦🔦🔎🔎🔎🔎🔎🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
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eliteles1 VIP 4 hours ago
I think the drama version is a thousand times better. There was a double who slept with SZY's women. Every night, this Xue would go and talk to JTH in her room. And sometimes they (a man) saved this strong woman (JTH). They even hung from the ceiling together while waiting for an intruder to leave her room. (I liked that these moments of heroism were passed on to SZY). The one who saved JTH was SZY and not this double, Xue. Thank goodness in the drama he died in the first episode.
And as I said above, the lashes were softened by SZY so that she wouldn't suffer from the 50 lashes. The part where he sews her body together (in the book there are still other times where he takes care of her).
This is a strong woman in the book (she often needs men to take care of her). This doesn't detract from her, she remains strong and recognizes her limits.
(And some very incongruent parts of SZY (I loved that they removed them), that would not be in keeping with a love story (although I'm still on chapter 131 of the book). And the drama is a thousand times better, much more coherent and respects the essence of the book, improving it.)
_________________
Niney919 an hour ago
@yogurt The novel opens with Taohua getting raped by Shen Zaiye. A recurring theme in the novel is a body double pleasing the women of Shen Zaiye’s harem so the Chancellor can avoid emotional entanglements. A huge part of the plot is rear house (women’s dwelling) politics including falling from grace / dismissal of daughters of influential ministers within the nine ministries (we only saw Meng Zhenzhen story arc which is not in the original novel). I don’t think all of this aligns with Confucian values of the time. I can’t speak as to why the screenwriter changed the story. I have shared a little bit of what has been changed.
Vniverse 5 hours ago
That cliff and arrow shooting scene was so intense. Devil Shen thought he lost her forever
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anitfa 4 hours ago
And the faint small in JTH's face realizing that SZY didn't shot her...
_____________________________
eliteles1 VIP 2 hours ago
@Owl19987
The drama has a source, and throughout the book there is this ambiguity between love and distrust. They sleep together, they talk, they scheme (but still without confessing their love).
And in the drama it is as she says (I am just a flower among the many flowers of Shen Zai Ye). That is until the episode 5, because we know he got rid of the other flowers.
In the book, she begins to confess her love (to herself, recognizing the jealousy she begins to feel. And SZY begins to show his love for the lack he feels of having intimacy with her (this was when she lived in the prince's palace).
So, I think the drama manages to show this ambiguity between love (and indifference, distrust). It is a double feeling that they feel (and the drama tries hard to show this). And I think it succeeds. We are always: They love each other. They don't love each other. But, in a certain way in the drama and in the book (the love is more evident on SZY's part). She only showed this feeling in the drama, it wasn't jealousy (but the memory of the intimacy she had with him, the flashes of memory). She feels the pain, because this feeling is revealed to herself now, but she herself has a closed heart more than SZY. To the point that he says, "You are crueler than me." He is speaking in the sense of love.
I get so upset when that doesn't happen. 🫶🌸🎇🎈😊I keep asking myself: Why do you take away the happy ending that was there???