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In those days, hard to live long so I imagine if you live to 80, a lot of your friends and family would be gone. Living to 80 in those times probably equal to living to 100 in current time. (thanks to AI for that math)

Yes same here. I am very sad today that is has come to an end. I will definitely rewatch it once I've had some space to get over the bittersweet endings. I am so sad to see Marquis Yuan, Scholar Han and JQ die before their time. Goes to show good men don't necessarily win especially in turbulent times.

Yes, I wanted more of Xiuwan's story as well. Her beau looked super interesting too.

There is so much reference to chinese historical figures so it's great to get insights on which figures IRL inspired the characters. Was Scholar Han inspired by a real figure? Feels very iconic, his death.

They got the title but Xiuru and her daughters got the property and assets.

You got a point there. Better to live than to die honorable. Although I feel so sad for Scholar Han.

Most sad that this amazing drama is coming to an end soon and I am not sure what else I can watch. It's set the bar high for other C-dramas for sure. Anyone else watching any good other C-dramas currently airing or waiting for ones worth checking out - to be airing soon besides this one?

Well said. I totally agree. This drama treats the audience intelligently and trusts we will think beyond the surface. But it helps when fellow MDLers share insights too.

It's interesting that this drama is showing us a more realistic view of love. There are different kinds of love, even between a couple. Not just the I-can't-live-a-day-without-you love but also mutual respect and affection and deep caring can be love too. IRL we are like that no? Not every married couple is passionately in love.

Yeah I noticed that as well. It was a long list too LOL. I kept waiting for her to mention him but nope. I am sure it was a deliberate act on the part of the director and script writer. So now I just have to keep watching to see where they (director and writer) take the relationship from here. Like you, I hope she will come around and show her love for him more overtly but hey, ok too because there's so much else they're giving us in this drama besides just romantic love.

Oh yeah - I never connected the two. You are so right. They both kept each other's secret symbolically by burning the secrets. Nice catch and thanks for sharing!

I think there will be a scene but they sure make us wait for it LOL. She now has to deal with family members who want to wreak havoc and then there looks to be another big confrontation and battle with pirates led by the Du woman. I am kinda sad we are getting down to the last few episodes. I could watch 100 episodes of this drama and visit more with each member of the family.

I too am rewatching this, skipped episodes on first go when it came out but now, slowly making my way through it while waiting for episodes of Against the Current to air. This is a pretty good modern drama about corporate business and how competitive.cut throat it can be. I do like Xu Kai and Seven Tan's chemistry - they did a great job here as a couple and made it believable. Definitely more skinship here to make up for lack in ATC LOL. One thing I could not help comparing is the 2FL or female antagonists are quite different, which goes to show talent will always shine through. Li Meng as the ex-wife really made an impression on me and even though she was the "villain", I wanted to see more of her. The actress here, perhaps its the script, just comes through whiny and clingy and annoying as heck. C-dramas needs better villains LOL. I think Chinese directors are afraid to make them too memorable to take away from FL and ML but I think if the FL and ML are strong enough actors, there is room for even the bad guys to shine. If you look at western moview/dramas, some of the most memorable characters are the villains (Joker in Batman, Voldermot in Harry Potter, etc).

Yeah agreed. I think this drama is a bit too sophisticated and nuanced for a lot of viewers who want the standard idol romance and rebirth/revenge trope. Or maybe they read the novel and expected the same plotline and lots of spicy bits (cause there was some pretty explicit scenes in the novel) But I for one am glad we have something not run of mill and unique to talk about. Otherwise same old boring plots. Now every time I read a synopsis that starts with...and they killed her and/or her family and she was reborn and now is out for revenge...I do a hard pass. The Double was amazing and unique when it came out - and now all the copy cats follow.

OMG her expression so adorable! Whoever created it is super talented - they got her baby face cheeks and big eyes LOL. Thanks for sharing!

Yeah. I think a lot of viewers are about the destination (romance! more PDA!) and not the journey LOL. This drama is about the journey (of discovery and growth) and refuses to cave in to tropes which I find refreshing. It is not boring at all for me as the characters are so interesting and I have become invested in all of them so I want to know more about them. How often does that happen in C-drama beyond the FL and ML? OK - never for me but then I have not watched every single C-drama out there.

Wow that is interesting. I noticed she does the same for Zhao Lusi's dramas. I happen to like ZLS a lot and now am a huge fan of LXY - whom I just "discovered" LOL. I also happen to really like Seven Tan. She may not be the most beautiful actress in some viewers eyes, but I appreciate she hasn't caved to pressure and gone the plastic surgery route but let's her work speak for itself. I respect that in an industry and culture where looks seem to be everything. I actually think she is super cute and her smile is so radiant.

I have been rewatching another Xu Kai drama - As Beautiful As You with Seven Tan as well. He is good there. And don't need to say, Seven always brings her A-game.

I actually appreciated it because I was thinking in earlier episodes, now this is the smart one, I'd like to see more of her but then she got married off quickly. She and ex-wife (Le Ming you are the bomb) need their own spin offs LOL (ok only happens in western drama series) So happy to have more screen-time for her.

Can't come soon enough - hope they give us the rest of the packages in Express instead of dribbling it out 1 episode at a time. Although this forced wait is also allowing me to spend more time with the characters so I am conflicted LOL.