Right! Too bad many viewers interpret it wrongly hence they think it's a tragic ending. People tend to jump into conclusion without carefully understanding the scenes and all the little hints. I'm glad you see it differently now :D
Ling Xiao's nightmare is Chen Ting. If she doesn't get a redemption, it's hard for Ling Xiao to heal completely.…
For me, I've always believe in the Chinese philosophy - harmony. For all the actions our characters may take, they normally try to strive for harmony.
Even as Mingyue stands up against her mother, she's not severing ties with her. Likewise with Ling Xiao. He can't stand his mother, but his 'hole' is caused by her and he needs her to fix it. If she were just leave this world without fixing it for him, Ling Xiao will be forever broken.
From a western perspective, it is true that it's not the child's responsibility to carry the parents' burden, not quite so in a Confucius society. That's why many parents from that society tend to use death to threaten their children to obey to their wills. Any disobedience may deem as not being filial pious. It is a real fear for the children to be labelled as being not filial pious towards one's parents because they would be outcast.
Parental approval in most marriages is utmost important in the Chinese society. Without this, the union doesn't feel complete. There is always a shadow haunting the couple.
As in the writing of this story, I can feel the writer does strive for harmony too. So I believe there will be redemption for the Chen Ting's character.
Is it bad that I don't really want Chenting to has a redemption arc? Like, not everyone deserves a happy ending.
Ling Xiao's nightmare is Chen Ting. If she doesn't get a redemption, it's hard for Ling Xiao to heal completely. Afterall, bad mother or not, she's still his mother and he feels he has a responsibility for paying his filial piety. If Chen Ting has just dropped dead, Ling Xiao's hole will get even worse because he still hasn't made peace with her. Ultimately Ling Xiao needs to make peace with Chen Ting to have closure.
If you think it's a tragic ending, you may have misinterpreted the story :) Please read some of the comments below, especially from @PeachBlossomGoddess. She/he has written a wonderful conclusion that I fully support.
That's why the more Chen Ting needs to fix this and she will eventually. Like Jianjian has said, the black hole…
Right, Ling Xiao needs to open up more but it's hard to ask someone to open up if they have been bottling up things for their whole life. Indeed Ling Xiao's happiness doesn't depend on Chen Ting as he doesn't care less about her, but I know deep inside him, he feels drained by her. Many children run away from their parents for similar reason: they feel drained and suffocated. Even in adulthood, many of those people would still have holes in their hearts that cannot be healed until they make peace with their parents. Only Chen Ting can fix it by changing herself and her perspective, so that Ling Xiao can feel free and at peace.
wait, what was I just thinking ... ZQ-CZ?why did CZ seem to care about ZQ ??? hahahaha
That could be after 2 years later. I believe Zhuang Bei and Tan Can are about to start their romance now, so Zhuang Bei would be happy for his best friend and the girl he once fancies :)
wait, what was I just thinking ... ZQ-CZ?why did CZ seem to care about ZQ ??? hahahaha
Zique and Mingyue are a pair from the beginning. It may not happen right away because both characters still need to grow: Ziqiu needs to feel 'whole' again so that when he falls in love, it's not because he wants a family as with Li Ba and Jianjian, but a family of himself with his love. Mingyue needs to grow to prove that she's right for pursuing her own dream, not her mother's. She has started to take steps, and she's going to be a famous reporter soon when she comes back from Beijing. That's when their romance will rekindle :)
Would you let your lover smell your smelly hair, and your lover makes you smell her smelly shoes? That's the type of relationship they have - platonic.
i wonder why Shen's Mansion and San Jiu Tang are empty when Shen Lige go there in the last eps. Why?
Because Peng Cheng Wang hides them away. He is planning to run away with Shen Lige. Her family and anyone related to her would be executed had they been around.
From @PeachBlossomGoddess:Jingling urges Pengcheng not to despair. The vindictive bastard Wang Mian's confession…
I suggest you re-watch the last two episodes carefully. That's not the Emperor's throne and LYK is not the Emperor. That's the Peng Cheng Wang's manor and he has his own court and guards.
Why would SLG be dead after drinking the wine if it's not poisonous? She's not dead. She likes to drink wine as she's thinking through her options. She doesn't want Peng Cheng Wang to give up everything to run away with her (at that time, LYK still hasn't obtained the pardon from the Emperor yet). She goes earlier to her parents' house and finds it empty. Her injured shi xiong and shi di are also gone. Everyone just disappears. That's because LYK has arranged to hide them away before he runs away with her. He's planning that, otherwise all her family and anyone related to her would be executed if she disappears. But SLG doesn't want him to run away, abandoning the reforms he has fought so hard to get over the years.
So she decides to leave by herself so that LYK can stay in power and push through his reforms. After 3 years, the reforms are more or less in place, he passes everything over to his brother, and leaves for SLG. They meet up in their little hide-away. It's not his hallucinations; it's reality.
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Even as Mingyue stands up against her mother, she's not severing ties with her. Likewise with Ling Xiao. He can't stand his mother, but his 'hole' is caused by her and he needs her to fix it. If she were just leave this world without fixing it for him, Ling Xiao will be forever broken.
From a western perspective, it is true that it's not the child's responsibility to carry the parents' burden, not quite so in a Confucius society. That's why many parents from that society tend to use death to threaten their children to obey to their wills. Any disobedience may deem as not being filial pious. It is a real fear for the children to be labelled as being not filial pious towards one's parents because they would be outcast.
Parental approval in most marriages is utmost important in the Chinese society. Without this, the union doesn't feel complete. There is always a shadow haunting the couple.
As in the writing of this story, I can feel the writer does strive for harmony too. So I believe there will be redemption for the Chen Ting's character.
Why would SLG be dead after drinking the wine if it's not poisonous? She's not dead. She likes to drink wine as she's thinking through her options. She doesn't want Peng Cheng Wang to give up everything to run away with her (at that time, LYK still hasn't obtained the pardon from the Emperor yet). She goes earlier to her parents' house and finds it empty. Her injured shi xiong and shi di are also gone. Everyone just disappears. That's because LYK has arranged to hide them away before he runs away with her. He's planning that, otherwise all her family and anyone related to her would be executed if she disappears. But SLG doesn't want him to run away, abandoning the reforms he has fought so hard to get over the years.
So she decides to leave by herself so that LYK can stay in power and push through his reforms. After 3 years, the reforms are more or less in place, he passes everything over to his brother, and leaves for SLG. They meet up in their little hide-away. It's not his hallucinations; it's reality.