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Just sharing my thoughts with the group. This drama seems to be about how each woman in the Lin household survives, each in their own way. We are starting to get interesting backstories on these women, so the drama is drawing me in more with each episode. I want to know about each character and what happens to them, even the "bad" wife of the ML LOL.

No not rebirth. The adoptive parents who rescued her (you will see the connection from ep 1 to 2) were indentured servants of Lin family so she entered that household as well under the assumed name of their daughter. I won't give more to spoil it for you if you haven't watched the episodes yet but it is explained in the first few episodes.

Yes totally worth it. Episode 1 is quite sad because it tells the backstory of the FL's family.

Yes. From what I understood from my basic Mandarin plus English subtitles is that both the FL and ML families backed a deposed emperor and advised him to suppress the regional princes. Unfortunately now, one of those princes is now Emperor and he's seeking retribution. The Lin family was able to avoid the fate of the Shen family by aligning themselves with the Zhao family in marriage (the ML marries their daughter) plus get some other backing from one of the officials that was tight with the current Emperor. And...the selfish thing is they did not try to warn the Shen family but rather just saved their own hides.

That's part of the fun. MDLers trying to figure out the plot together.

I was watching to see as well as I thought the director would surely have had them meet but there was no hint of it. Maybe as we progress, they might put this into the plot where he secretly saw her? Who knows. Or maybe they really were strangers and came to know each other after she entered his household. Either plot line could work. He falls in love with her (I assume from the teasers) at the end anyway. Still its fun to try to guess now LOL.

Agreed. The producer/director wanted to drive home the gravity of the situation so it makes it easier to understand the actions and motivations of the FL - which is currently to survive at any cost.

It's quite realistic but nothing scary really. I feel episode 1 was the saddest. So far it seems to be showing what is happening to other people in the household who are not as smart or circumspect as her and the characters are written as conniving or greedy so its kinda like...well they don't really deserve it but then....

99 cents an episode. At least in US. No idea if they charge other rates. It will add up. I am sitting here wondering whether I want to pay another 99 cents today LOL.

Agreed. It's lack of creativity and imagination in their part. Revenge can come in so many forms. I would argue being the one to survive to the end and become the head (female) of the Lin household is the ultimate revenge. She was cast out of the role but she won it back on her own terms with smarts and perseverance.

Well given there is no love lost between him and his current wife now. She will indeed be his first love, no?

Not all strength is the loud, aggressive kind. One can bring down an enemy just as well without raising one's voice. I don't see her as meek. More as being hyper-aware of her situation and lack of power and making sure she keeps her family out of trouble. She is no dummy and is able to adapt to anything that comes her way.

I wonder if the actress portraying ML's wife knows she's being type-casted as the b^&&hy character in dramas. She is quite a good actress and charismatic as I remember her roles (even if they are heartless, self-serving "princess" types). Quite like her and must say her looks are not the typical sweet heroine ones hence the roles she gets. But I am looking forward to her performance in this drama in this duel of wits and guts against FL.

I wonder if ML was the one who had her family's remains properly buried. He never really seemed to agree with his father and grandfather not warning her family. And he was just a teenager then and his entire clan was also in jeopardy.

So the younger actors I think were portrayed to be 15 and 16 or 17? I am trying to recall if her age was mentioned in episode 1. I could be wrong. Then when Seven Tan and Liu Xie Yi comes on, its like 6 years later and he is battled hardened while she is now a slave trying to stay under the radar. Can't blame her given how she witnessed her whole family eliminated in one fell swoop for displeasing the king. I'd have major PTSD and def not call attention to the fact I am the sole survivor of that family. She also has her adopted parents lives to consider as they would be executed along with her.

Is it just me? But I love the styling of TSY in ordinary servant clothes. It really highlights her natural beauty.

Just finished episode 4 (yeah wetv got my money LOL) and it's going to be epic. I think it will truly deserve the 47 episodes, really happy to go on this journey with Xu Lan Xiang. I like the way she is portrayed. It seems so much more realistic of someone who finds themselves in such a situation. Her main motive is to survive. None of that revenge trope that is so beaten to death in C-drama. It's so refreshing to finally see something original in C-drama.

That is not how he is portrayed. Just watch a few more episodes and you will see the reason he married her (to save family from ruin) and also what the marriage ended up being. So he's not a womanizer like the novel portrays. They are a lot more PC here in the drama. I also think Seven Tan chooses her scripts very carefully. She would not be in a drama where her character is portrayed as anything less than a strong woman (not one subject to the whims of a man and who loves his no matter how he behaves.

That was the teenage version where they wanted to portray how he was innocent and became jaded over time. You will soon see in later episodes.

So good, I paid extra for VIP and Express LOL.