hvnlyangel

Well as my mother pointed out, they are only about 15 or so. They are teenagers, children. This is pretty much puppy love for them, first love. Their love is pure and innocent.

Episode 21 is sad though. I feel that CSS could’ve had a good life with LY. What they had is more puppy love as they are both young. It could’ve matured and bloomed and with her assistance LY would’ve continued to grow stronger in character.
I do like the ML and feel that his relationship with CSS would be more mature. But my heart still breaks for that young couple. This is CSS’s first heartbreak and with it I am sure she will mature.

That is horrible. It is ironic with China’s swiftness to covid cases response instead of responding fast to awful incidents such as this.

Also oftentimes those people without a higher education will be looked down on too. Not to mention in the marriage market in China, someone with a menial job has less chance of marrying well.

That is just awful. I haven’t been watching these episodes closely so I didn’t that Mrs. Wang was like that. I just thought that she was a types of person who didn’t want to cause a big fuss. Well unfortunately Mrs. Wang got what she wanted her daughter at home, and more money to boot. But she doesn’t even think of how this will affect her teacher. Yes their life isn’t miserable, they can at least feed themselves. But Mrs. Wang is leaving her daughter at the mercy of her future husband . She isn’t letting her daughter even have the chance of bettering herself. I am not saying being a farmer or a farmer’s wife won’t give someone a good life. But they basically sold their daughter’s prospects.
I am so grateful for living in the US and having parents who support me and treat me that way. I can’t imagine growing up in China.
I sometimes wonder what life would be like if one actually lived in China as opposed to how things are depicted in modern c dramas. I have visited China a couple of times but I have no connection to the place where my grandparents lived.

I do not understand if the Wan family has money and connections that they don’t just send Chuanmei overseas to the US. Let her attend college there. Why did her brother steal someone else’s identity?

Now any achievements that Chuanmei makes will be built on a lie. What will that do to her psyche and mental health? Doing underhanded things like this just pisses me off. Plus things like this always gets out. Like the lawyer said there are many complacent parties to this theft. What about someone comes one day asking for more money or something for this coverup?

The whole story line upset me when I watched it. I haven’t been following this drama as closely as I am skipping parts. I was unsure if Xingfu is indirectly telling Xiuyu to accept it all because Chuanmei committed suicide. Whatever the reason, it does not justify Chuanmei taking over somebody’s else’s identity. I actually shared this situation with my kids. If you do one wrong thing it is very easy to do another bad thing. Plus dishonest things have a way of getting out. So what does the Wan family have to do in the future to keep covering all of this up? Do they even know what harm it will do to Chuanmei also? Her identity is based on a like she stole someone’s whole life prospects.

I am also very upset with Xiuyu’s parents and siblings. First they pressured their daughter to accept the agreement and compensation. They basically sold their daughter, cause her whole future’s gone. Yes she can look at it all differently and go another different path as XIngfu suggested but the whole situation wasn’t even right in first place. And you pointed out that Xiuyu’s brother will get the money. That is blood money right there. I would’ve been happy if Xingfu said I will stand with you whatever’ you decide instead of having her sympathize with Chuanmei and guilt tripping her.

I don’t know what direction this drama is going but as of now I am disappointed. The Wang parents infuriate me. I kind of get it how they are small fry in the village and they don’t want to raise a fuss but some things you have to fight for. You can’t be doormats all of your lives. First they downplayed Xingfu’s sisters’s assault and now they are not standing up for their daughter. We can accept unfortunate things in life , things beyond our control such as illness, but other things you must fight for it. Even if you lose you cannot give up and sell your integrity and hard work. Than you will never get out of that kind of life.

I found the ebook and am reading the novel with google translate.

And her reply is oh I met/ interacted with them like 5 to 6 times.

I know right? The Emperor’s priorities about that was funny. It seems like he enjoys gossiping with his eunuch about Ling Buyi’s love life.

Niao Niao is a very strong willed child and the approach her mother uses in discipling her is clearly not working. Her mother sees Niao Niao as stubborn, heard headed, erc, which is ironically alot herself.
Niao Niao and her mother are alot alike and both do not know how to back down.

I understand why Niao Niao fights back so strongly, she wants to not be treated like a doormat anymore. But her mom can’t see that, all she sees is an undisciplined girl of marriageable age. Her mom wants to quickly teach her and mold her daughter.

But she doesn’t realize that her daughter’s temperament has already been formed and a soft, kind and nurturing approach will work much better.

Niao Niao needs to be disciplined at times but her mom is too hot headed. She wants her daughter to come to her or another adult instead of fighting with those girls.

Niao Niao’s mother loves her but her approach to caring and educating her daughter is all wrong. It seems like in the future they will have a better relationship, from the show’s trailer.

It is hard to make up for not being there in a child’s life and expecting the perfect daughter. That is not realistic. After watching the later episodes one can see that her mother does love her. But she probably has immense guilt for leaving her and is trying to make up for all the lost time.

She is older, but she is a very good actress. Plus the time when the main leads are supposed to be young is very short, just a few episodes long.

It’s a thing in Chinese historical dramas for husbands to draw their wife’s eyebrows. It shows the love a husband has for his spouse I guess.

I really like the dynamic of BFX and HFX. Both are strong, smart, capable people that can stand on their own but when they are together they are even better.

Usually the dynamic in Hollywood movies or shows are that either the ML is super strong etc and always saving the fL or vice versa whereas the FL is the strong one always saving the day.

This drama has a great balance whereas they both help each other at and take turns “saving” and protecting each other.

Love how in episode 28 BFX says to HFX that it’s not his marital art’s ability that defines him but his intelligence and that she will protect him.

Well said and great analysis.

I don’t know if Zhu Zhanji knows that You Yi Fan likes Zhi Jin. My take is that he goes to the training grounds is to avoid going to Zhi Jin’s roons that night.
Zhu Zhanji loves Zhi Jin and wants her to be with hi willingly. At that points his mother maneuvered her to be his concubine after she rejected him. So Zhu Zhanji doesn’t want to force her so he’s waiting for her consent. Therefore, he went to the training grounds and used having his wounds reopened as an excuse.
Also, if zhanji knew that yi fan liked Zhi Jin his attitude towards him might gr different. ZZJ gets jealous when it cones to YZJ.

@ Israt WJY was asked during a program for the show, why she rejected Zhu Zhanji so many times. She answered that Zhi Jin wanted her career first.

I agree with Draco too. Zhi Jin lived most of her life groomed to be Zhu Zhanji's wife. She had to learn what he likes and learn it well, or she got hit. She even learned to ride a horse and to shot a bow and arrow, and to hunt. Her existence for most of her life was to be molded into the perfect companion to this person. Zhi Jin finally got a chance as a chef to pursue her dreams, or to do something that she liked. She finally got to be herself and was good at something that she liked to do. Zhi Jin received recognition, confidence and friendships. Being someone’s concubine is back to being what she was before and she likes who she is now, she can’t change anymore.

Zhi Jin also has a talk with Zhu Zhanji after she was married to him that she can’t go back to who she was. She likes who she is now. As his wife/concubine she can’t cry, complain about this stuff etc cause it will be disrespectful. So they both agreed that in his study she will be his wife and be able communicate more freely with him.

Zhi Jin even said to the dowager empress later when she was being tested about being the empress burnt all the stuff down, that she was so close to being selected to be the top food official by the former emperor.

Zhi Jin loves Zhu Zhanji but at the time she loved herself more and she wanted her career and sense of self worth to be something that she accomplished not because of her husband. Plus during the Ming dynasty consorts of the royal family are not picked from the uppper official’s daughters but from good common people. So the empress’ family would not be too powerful. All the favors that empresses and concubines receive is because they have the love of the emperor.

It’s a pretty interesting and lively program but it’s all in Mandarin. The five main leads are present and they are all eating hot pot together and they have to answer questions regarding the show.

https://youtu.be/Yd6hco6pFdk

@ meolchi89 I am glad that you enjoyed this drama too, and my comments helped you to understand this drama better.

1. I had to rewatch that scene and listen to their interaction again. I caught that too the first time I watched it that Zhanji has a surprised look on his face after she says that he owes her. After rewatching it, I was thinking that they haven't consummated their marriage yet. He did look surprised. And brides during the Ming and Qing dynasties, at least what I have seen from dramas set during those times, wear a red veil over their heads as they get off of the marriage sedan, and during the marriage ceremony. Only the groom can lift the veil, usually with a special rod or by hand . So with that scene it looks like Zhi Jin is acting like a bride waiting for her husband to lift her veil and then consummate their marriage. I think that she has at this point shown her true feelings to him. So if they haven't consummated their marriage yet it could be because he was waiting for her consent and he wanted to make sure that she felt the same way that he did.

a. Another interpretation could mean that she is now the empress, since empress Hu left. So they are now officially husband and wife since she will be the official wife. And as a wife she is waiting for him?

2. Zhanji said to her I kept you here, do you blame me. It's not quite leave, it's more like kept. He isn't meaning keeping her in his study, but here in the palace. Because they were talking about Ziping and how she left to explore the world and make her mark in it. Zhanji probably thought that he kept Zi Jin here in the palace by his side, as his wife she cannot travel the world with Ziping.
If you notice in this scene Zhi Jin is finally wearing the necklace that he gave her. She also playfully asks him that if she had resentment in her heart then won't she do something? And he answers that he better watch it than. Ha. Their flirting is cute.

3. I thought that the paintings that Zhi Jin received before she was married to Zhanji painted by You Yi fan's /Yunzheng's because some of the coloring of the blouse she was wearing was different than the paintings that she found in Zhanji's study. But I am not 100% sure.
I think that the kite probably was made and painted by You Yi fan because at the time Zhi Jin had just rejected Zhanji and he seemed too angry to send her something.
Zhanji was so jealous of the scholar/official that Ziping knew that, I don't see him completely accepting her keeping another admirer's paintings of her. But I could be wrong and since she is his wife now and he knew than he might not mind as much since he is secure in their love now.
I really wish that we could've seen all of the scenes in the 10 episodes that they had to trim. It would've explained so much.

a. I always thought though that Zhi Jin's and You yi fan's relationship was weird when they interact in person. She always speaks respectfully to him but she keeps him at arms length. Like he said in episode 39, they never had a proper talk. And he comments under his breath after their interactions that she is foolish, always smiling, doesn't listen, etc. Yet he keeps staring at the painting of the window blinds on his wall in his room. You yi fan's character is so complicated in that way that he admires her goodness, kindness and upright character but he scoffs at her actions too, but he gravitates towards it. He longs to be do the right thing so that is probably why he lets himself be killed at the end, because he knows that Zhanji is a good ruler.

Personally I really enjoyed this drama. I understand that Royal feast might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I am sad to see it end. I looked forward to Friday for the past couple of weeks so new episodes of this drama will air.
Royal feast has also made me more interested in the history of the Ming dynasty. The Ming dynasty is the last imperial dynasty in China were women can be officials in the palace. During the Qing dynasty there were no longer any female officials in the palace. I always thought that the plight of women in imperial China can be pretty bleak and restricting at times, but at least women can make something of themselves , a career if you will, during Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties in the imperial palace.

I would like to watch more dramas set in those dynasties and hope to see more air.

I also really enjoyed discussing and debating parts of Royal Feast with people on this forum. Thanks all of you for your insights and opinions.

I am going to elaborate and clarify some things that weren’t answered below for you.

You Yi Fan betrayed his father and wanted to get back at him for killing his mother. He also doesn’t believe that either his father nor uncle are fit to sit on the throne. So he betrayed both of them so that he would be the next emperor if it all worked out and he defeated the ML.

Ye Hua was crying because the book contained her mom’s work, the book showed her that her mother was not the evil, ambitious person Ye Hua thought she was. I think that book contained how to use wild vegetation to cure and get rid or poison. At the end Ye Hua was able to still works for the palace because her mother traded her reinstated position as the head official for her daughter’s release. However , you can see that Ye hua is working as a laborer, Hopefully she can find her redemption and let go of her resentment.

ZiPing didn’t like a soldier but she kind of liked that official who the ML was jealous of.

Oh it will be interesting if those two actors get a drama together. If the actress
Who played Ye hua is part of Yu zheng’s production company than it could be a possibility. I think that Wang Yi Zhe, the actor who played You Yi fan to be a pretty good actor. He was naive, carefree and was slightly goofy in Song of Youth, and cold, serious, in Royal Feast. He embodies the characters he plays well.
The eunuch that tried to poison the ML , Yuan Qi , would be punished I believe. I am still uncertain by exactly what the emperor said but I believe that he would be severely punished like killed perhaps. Yuan Qi did so many bad things, all listed by the other eunuch, Che Wu, that according to Ming dynasty law he would be severely punished. No going around that one. Plus the ML was crying by the door looking at the person who was his friend since childhood. I don’t believe that Yuan Qi didn’t believe that the emperor shouldn’t be the emperor. Plus he was kneeling down slapping his own, he knew that he was wrong at least.