noor1234

Yup, and I don't think nunnery teaches those!

He's the butt of jokes here....

👍

Of course he did. It was the best scene from Ep. 25.

Frankly, I'm more unhappy about the fact that ML is going to be dead after some war at 48 or 50yo when their kids are not even teenagers, & FL will live to be 80 & be the grandma matriarch for new generation.

I think she should've told him when he took her to the graves, but this is FL's story, as well as of all the women she met along the way, not the men's or ML's.

Ep. 26: I have a question: why didn't ML come & meet FL after the decree? Surely, it would have been polite & courteous to do so, after giving her the surprise of a lifetime. And considering he knows he snatched her from someone else, he should've come explain himself. The drama also didn't show the gifts from ML for her family & their reaction on receiving the gifts. Who brought the gifts? ML's sidekicks or Luchan. That was an important moment that drama missed.

Also, I've noticed that the slap is not just about not giving her choice. FL has been remembering & meeting all the people who lost family members because of former king. And she also was remembering what happened to her own family & how the original betrothal was broken off by Lins & the irony of it all. To end up with the same man, when she was rejected at her hour of need. So I feel all the PTSD, all the loss of last 6 years is in that slap - he probably will think she slapped because she always retaliates against unfairness against her, he'll let it slide because he knows he's got her & knows she'll adapt quickly, but there's a lot more going on in her mind than just some former employer getting her through imperial decree.

What I didn't like in this episode, is something I've continued to dislike in most episodes: unhinged men are shown as cowards, unhinged women are shown as fearless - as some kind of feminist retelling. Zheng was a military man, he & his sons were making ridiculous non-winnable arguments when even I knew the order was of execution, while the daughter bit the dust in grand style like some Jesse James. Same has been shown with unhinged woman no.1 (the 1st wife) - her lover was a coward, even though they did the same thing, she had more guts - her dad & bro are shown as cowards, while she will reappear to give new nasty lectures to FL soon. In Lin household, no man is worth the time, including grandpa. ML is the only stable, responsible person but he is shown as grey. Every woman is being mistreated by some man (except for ML who was mistreated by both genders). FL has tears in her eyes every 2 seconds over some misfortune that has befallen a woman. This is weird to me. There should be a balance in storytelling.

Trust me, no one expects to be slapped in front of everyone on their wedding day whether forced or not. Also, ML most def. knows she won't like to be 'ordered' to marry him, esp. since she was singing with Scholar every other day & they were getting betrothed in no time. He knows he has snatched her from another man. In fact he'll take that slap in his stride, because he knows FL pays what she gets, and she wouldn't like someone imposing their will on her. But of course, he didn't expect a slap. He probably thought she'll say a few words in chambers.

Yup, he is sincere.

Big difference is that FL & her parents knew that Scholar & his mom were coming with proposal & all arrangements had already been discussed. FL was not standing anywhere she didn't want to stand. She knew she was getting married to the Scholar. The coming-to-the-house-with-proposal ritual was merely a formality.

Done!

I disagree slightly. Zhaos & Zhengs use their daughters as cattle, to be milked dry, by having status-based marriages & are ruthless in their greed for power - just like ML's grandpa btw. ML & they are same in the sense that he took FL's choice to decide for herself away from her - but he hasn't threatened, beaten, abused her nor is likely to. In fact, he is literally going against the grain by showing everyone HOW much in love he is with a former maid (!) that a newly minted king (who must have better things to do than this) has okayed this marriage, giving her permanent wife status even after his death. ML went against everyone for her. That has to mean something. I'm not saying he should be thanked for his interest, I'm saying his motive is not callous or manipulative like fathers bartering their own daughters & sons. ML has saved his cousin-sisters twice (from his own grandpa), he saved the former king's son (who he could've easily killed) & he will also do good for his elder sister living in domestic violence - as per YT spoilers.

I think he's the best version of a man with a bit of power for that time period. Everyone else is nuts or greedy.

The story is not even on ML's life! He is just a filler & a vehicle to show what happened to FL in her 80 years. ML is just one of the many people she met in her long life. That's my take on ML. He's there so that female audience watch this female-centric long drama. He's there to show HER growth, her journey, how she managed him, his family, their kids, & capital life, & all the dangers along the way.

Yes.

Yup.

It doesn't matter whether he had the charisma of a leading man or not, or was passionate or vocal or not. He was in love with FL, they had good understanding, were well-suited & had a secret code / language, they looked very comfortable & synchronized together, & she knew she was about to get married to this guy. Hence, the gravity of ML's dialogue when he says (in Ep.27 trailer): 'in this lifetime you can only be my wife' (!) He knew she was never going to be his wife unless he had the imperial decree.

Of course, it also shows that ML was so in love with her that he gave her as much respect as a noble could give to a former maid (!) by getting a decree from a king in her name - she can never be removed as his wife - & declaring the marriage publicly to his family & hers & everyone in town! What he did not respect is her choice or her voice in making a decision for herself. Hence, the slap.

Yeah, I noticed that too - that she didn't even look at him after the decree debacle. BUT she WAS about to marry him so she knew he & his mom had come with proposal & her adoptive parents already knew too - things had been discussed already between moms.

So it's not about whether she was in love with Scholar or not. It's about the fact that she had chosen a different future, & it is literally snatched away from under her & her parents' feet by a random official carrying some king's decree declaring her marriage to her former employer who she hasn't even thought of or seen in FOUR episodes!

Oooh, you are angry at him! Ep.25's decree scene left me cold too, because it made everyone who FL loves unhappy. But ML isn't trying to be a hero. He's trying to be a man who does what he wants, instead of what society & family want him to do & expect him to preserve. He's going 'against the current.' This is a guy who has been betrothed / 'pimped' 3 times to rich influential families. He has had it. And he did arrange his cousin-sister's marriage with navy cmndr without asking /telling anyone in house, so it's not like we don't know who he is. I also think he's a very good guy, very unlucky with women, & does want to 'possess' FL because he's in love & has power. He's a human being, not a martyr!

The awkward thing is, FL didn't even know he was in love with her. She was kidnapped because of his interest too (which she thought was misunderstanding). So he never apologized or spoke to her. Probably because he knew she'd never agree. That's the awkward part. But he also knows that she will adapt & be fine (as she said so herself) with him, because as he said once 'she's like a weed, she thrives wherever she ends up.'

Ep. 25: Best scene was the after king's death scene where FL & adoptive parents are commemorating Shens secretly / quietly & drunk Lu comes & tells his own family's massacre & understands what is happening & who FL really is.

BUT it also became clear that FL DID want to marry Scholar & was about to before the decree came. However, I also noticed that she never once looked at Scholar during the entire fiasco of parental confusion & anger. Was she in love with him? I don't know, but she was ready to marry him.

So it's a forced marriage not just because ML arbitrarily imposed his will on FL through an unimpeachable decree, taking the choice away from her, it's also forced because she was about to marry someone else! And her parents are bloody hurt. Hence, the slap in front of EVERYONE! Should she have slapped him in front of everyone?

In Ep. 25, there's a scene after king's death when FL & her adoptive parents are secretly commemorating Shens, & Lu puts two & two together & says: my entire family got killed when 'the now-dead emperor' rebelled & became king. That's why he didn't pursue a career in scholarship either. Because he was heartbroken & gave up on life. That's why he says to Lanxiang 'your parents will worry if you don't live well' - he understood she was Shen offspring being raised by 2 former servants (this scholar has spent a LOT of time with FL too) & he sees through people immediately.

I think that sister is in a domestic abuse situation & FL / ML will get her out - I'm assuming on the basis of a spoiler YT video.

Damn!