ChineseDramaFan

they don't have a relationship yet, except each is trying to find out the truth and the culprit. ML is not a green nor red flag; he's a grey character -- meaning he's both good and bad.

Wait till she finds out her husband killed their oldest daughter .... just my theory.

sabar 😊

For me, I don't care much about the romance nor if they get married. I like the scheming part and both the lead characters are grey--they can be good and bad--that's so cool :)

Why? She is a grey character, not the usual kind and nice type. I like this type of character :)

So it seems, the death of Fu Yun Xi's wife was linked to Zhuang Shi Yang who might have wanted to poison Fu Yun Xi in the first place. Instead, he killed his own daughter.

What I meant was, Pei was a eunuch, not Zhuang Shi Yang :)

Viewers still don't know what had happened with the downfall of the Ruan family. It seems that Zhuang Shi Yang may have a hand in it, especially if he's also linked to the Pei guy. After the death of her father, Zhuang Shi Yang took his position. I believe when Ruan Xi Wen found out that he's linked to Pei, she wanted to take revenge by exposing him even if it means the whole family would be executed too by the laws.

Yeah, that's my thought also.

To me, it's not exactly a plothole, but I'd also like to see these top officials did some due diligence in checking out the document before arresting her, and yet no one questioned the validity of the document. On the other hand, I'm not surprised with such negligence because even in today's world, it happens all the time.

I absolutely agree with your analysis here. While some viewers think the change of Zhuang Han Yan's family lineage was done by the father, there's no indication that it was done by him. So, like you, I believe it was done by the mother Ruan Xi Wen, probably with the help of Yuwen Chang An. Whatever the truth is, I still find the father very suspicious; he's not a good guy even if he's not Pei's adoptive son.

Hahaha! I could see the invisible electricity ⚡he has for her 😊

For me, from episode 1, he was already showing interest in her-- apart from his investigation, which is just a cover, for getting to know her. I'm not surprised over the years married to her big sister, he wasn't curious whom he could have married in the first place.

Yes, exactly!

She thought he brought her stuff evey now and then. In actual fact, I believe he went there to conduct his own dirty business in the guise of caring for his daughter. This is going to be revealed and she's going to be devastated.

If Zhuang Shi Yang is the adoptive son of that Pei guy (I think he's an eunuch?), then pieces are falling into place. Pei could have orchestrated the downfall of the Ruan family. In desperation, Ruan Xi Wen married Zhuang Shi Yang who succeeded her father's position. Her daughter was schemed by her husband's concubine and sent away. Imagine Ruan Xi Wen has been surrounded by all these hostile forces all these years and couldn't do anything to save her daughter and herself until one day she discovered the unthinkable-- her husband was the corrupt Pei's adoptive son who is supposed to have all the wealth. When Zhuang Shi Yang visited his daughter in the south, in actual fact it was a guise so that he could conduct his own business. Imagine the hatred she harbors but she couldn't tell anyone. Dang! What a scheme! Can't wait for the next episodes 😉

I have not read the novel, but could it be that Ruan Xi Wen's family downfall was caused by her husband so that he could marry her? That's why the hatred she has for him?

Yes, that was so funny. She got to eat meat! 🍗🍗🍗

😂🤣😅

@Soocrafty is very correct on this about her motive. ML is not an exactly upright official. He knows she's the murderer yet he returns the only evidence, the hair pin, that linked to the killings to her. He uses what he knows about her to extort her to help him. It is precisely these flaws of the both characters that make the FL and ML so attractive to root for. In cases like this, fairness or not is not the question; it's pragmatism. Don't pass judgement on them yet.