Ep.19: Can anyone clarify what the relationship status is of FL & ML? Are they actual lovers at this point or just compatriots in love - him with a secret identity as her 'favorite' but actually her adviser, & they spend time together, kiss every now & then, & that's it. Which is it?
Ep.24: I think we the viewers DESERVED a proper resolution of FL & ML's relationship status than this half-baked lame-duck will-she-won't-she & constant humiliation & exploitation of ML at the hands of FL that has continued since Ep.18 (divorce) with ML only an after-thought of FL's to 'save' him from spring-snowfall!
In the beginning of this series, FL was an amazing woman of willpower, intelligence, courage & never-give-up kind of personality. Her problem was that she had been used & exploited by everyone close to her (her so-called parents & siblings), she learnt about different vocations & tricks by doing odd jobs on the streets, including that as a pot-chamber cleaner.
She was also on death-row & god knows what the jail guards did to her before she was 'saved' & swapped for on-death-bed-duke. Later on she found out she had been the OG noble baby all along but she doesn't fit anywhere, neither in low-brow or noble class because of her background & sudden riches. She also suffers from severe abandonment issues, because even now she's second-best for her mom, & everyone else - except for guys, of course. She also does not know who can love her as her independent self with the kind of jobs & life she had & wants to build.
That's the crux of FL.
ML is the ONLY ONE who has stood by her since he survived death-bed - yes, he was suspicious of her - but that was because of Jundai/same-face thing, he always admired her personality, her humane treatment of people & his family, & her ability to survive any situation by working around people. Her goal regarding the estate also impressed him. He is the ONLY ONE who has saved her before divorce & told her again and again that he liked her - the former pot-cleaning woman- than the scholar's daughter or Jundai or anyone else.
This guy is top military officer, can beat anyone in military sports, is a general, a titled guy, with no concubine or maid issues. He's a catch now just like he was one day one, when he was dead fish on death bed! And he has only had eyes for this woman. He is the ONLY ONE who knows how she operates, why she does & think the way she does & knows how to handle her & take her rejection again & again.
Even after divorce, ML has approached her to help her or save her or work with her in her plans for estate/Han/ empress/CP. He has been reduced to being exploited, humiliated & forever- doormat status by FL.
Their dialogues are stunted, their conversations are shallow, they have been circling around the same issues - marry again - for last 8 episodes - instead of having meaningful convo that takes plot forward. They don't laugh together, they are never happy together. And they are the leads!
FL has been reduced to a woman who has empathy for everyone except THIS GUY!!!! She's straight-forward & blunt with everyone except him! She is protective & loving to everyone but him! It's so infuriating to see so much imbalance.In Ep.23, FL actually took him on a tour of her old work life, I don't know why ML said 'you are different, be different.' & 'Would you have looked at me if I wasn't duke?' because what he should've said is 'I've loved, admired & supported you for a year, with & without marriage, if that doesn't convince you of my true heart or feelings, I don't know what will - because problem doesn't lie with me, it lies with you, you are insecure & have abandonment issues, if you have an empty heart, no one can fill it for you.'
Because that's the crux of it & we have been robbed of a proper romance arc & given a now-b**chy irritating FL who is almost god-like in her omniscience & power, who is still acting like she doesn't know what ML is after or talking about. Playing dumb to extend the plot when there is none.
The drama just didn't know how to create an actual relationship of equals between FL & ML, or cozy comfy chemistry. Hence the wooden FL & ML & wooden love story.
The fourth prince will marry Wei Rao's adopt sister (Hongxian), who will later become Empress, and forth princ…
Great! The only thing worse than showing that a 'noble/ blue-blooded' woman has the intellect & guts to move up in society & beat everyone at their own game - rather than any of the 'poverty-stricken/low class' people she grew up with, all of whom are freeloaders (parents & siblings), now the drama will end on showing the freeloading poverty-stricken semi-literate girl becoming empress (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Why would any prince marry 'noble lady' so-called illiterate, cart-wheel attendant poor, not-noble-no-connections-no-money-no-land-no-title sister?????????????????? Why would Lady Li accept that 'sister' as principal wife for her son?!!!!!!
In a drama that didn't resolve the romance of the main leads on any level of satisfaction, we have these kind of fairytale nonsensical twists to look forward to!
I have been forwarding this drama episodes since Ep.17. Really useless second half.
Ep.17-23: I think the thing that this drama has done wrong is not resolving the romance / ML+FL arc in an adequate way after Jundai's death & their divorce, before jumping into the final showdown with imperial mumbo jumbo of empress+Han+maids+ revenge storyline.
It was good that they got divorced simply because both deserve a proper wedding - which both didn't get the first time around. But post-divorce, drama just didn't know how to handle ML & FL & how to get them in the same room together where she's not saying ''why are you after me? 'why aren't you leaving?' She used to do that even when they were married, post-divorce the only question was how will she be convinced that she deserves love of this upstanding loyal guy who has liked & loved & accepted the real her.
ML's first proper kiss with FL (which he initiated) is part of a deal where he offers his services & FL does the fake seduction thing (we don't know whether they ended up in bed). I thought we were past the point of faking-it-till-you-make-it part of the show.
The drama has not had a grand banquet or festival where ML could've seen & met FL in a non-hostile environment for a chat &/ skinship. The scholar's daughter should've been re-introduced as well & other ladies to show FL how this guy is in demand & he has eyes only for her. In fact they should have had ML+FL scenes in the forest by a bonfire alone, talking about stuff, kind of thing. Instead, the drama went straight to a meeting with her consort mother, SML & main shirtless villain surrounding FL while ML is jealous, the shootout created to find her a spouse (which her ex-husband won), then her maids are getting killed one by one & she's getting insulted by the empress no less & the revenge from Hans arc. Who cares?
I also find it extremely distasteful that ML's best friend - who is also his compatriot in war - Gen. Qi has been angling & proposing FL - in any other series how can ML trust Gen. Qi to not kill him in battlefield just to get to his wife/ ex-wife? So that entire setup went too far as well.
Ep.15-16: Well.....am I the only one who thinks Chanhua made the right decision in picking the lesser of all evils by accepting prince jin as husband? She didn't want to be beaten to death. That was choice 1. Choice 2 was eloping with Wenji to some new town (meaning Wenji would be told the entire truth, accept her, & never see his family or friends again nor work in capital again either) - they probably would've to live under new identities too. Chanhua was too guilt-ridden, grief-stricken & did not want Wenji to make this kind of sacrifice. PLUS, frankly, who knows what Wenji would've accepted, whether he would've accepted the kid later on & how soon he would've come to resent & feel trapped by the former maid, who knows how soon he'd think her to be the person who ruined his life, & be in some other brothel in some other town drinking his sorrows away..... In Prince Jin's household she at least won't be killed till the kid is born & after that she has to maintain some communication with the weak-minded narcissistic prince to get by & not get abused by his first wife, & as a registered person in his family tree, she'd be titled & have her own allowance & power. I think this was the best option for her out of these 3 options.
Plus, I don't have a high opinion of Wenji but I feel sorry for his DAD: yes, that father none of us have seen, I feel sorry for him: imagine spending all that money on your son, he is a star in the village, he fails the imperial exam but fine, he didn't have the right connections, he can get some employment as a clerk for some noble or as accountant for some businessman, but Wenji doesn't do that, instead he writes the dad a letter proclaiming his love for a maid of a princess, the maid who is now married to a prince, while your son is castrated in a brothel fight over a prostitute he was trying to save (as per trailer for Ep.17). And no filial piety either! Imagine that poor dad!
Can anyone explain why is it soooooo easy for someone to castrate another in a quarrel, isn't it inhumane punishment that probably only law officers can do in an official setting? Didn't such people (who castrated others over petty quarrels) get punished by death? I thought Wenji would willingly get himself castrated to get inducted / power under Lord Lu but this turn of events is too bad / horrifying.
This drama most definitely isn't getting the kind of rabid fandom / commenters that other dramas this year did on MDL. But it is well-made & well-directed.
Okay a little miscasting here, Prince Jin’s actor is too old as is the eunuch who the fl shot- he is suppose…
The eunuch Zheng was shot by FL was a low level official working for Lord Lu. The god child is the boy who came to Lord Lu & Wei when they were discussing what to do with ML.
This was going really well until episodes 8-9.After today’s episodes, I’m not so sure anymore.The biggest…
So you actually expect someone to believe the maid? And someone to take her employer FL's side? Both are small fry.
You actually want them to say out loud that a prince raped a princess' maid in connivance with her own family, who essentially provided the girl to the prince for a consensual bedding to further their own careers in their own home while the land was in chaos, being evacuated by imperial guards for Lord Lu's hunting grounds, during which the prince was nearly killed (by princess) while Lord Lu's guy eunuch was killed by (princess but blame taken by) princess's male favorite.
OR would you believe that a prince was out hunting with his guards when he was lured in, drugged & then placed with a girl he didn't know anything about, by a conniving maid working for a princess, & her own greedy family who wanted to entrap the prince to further their own careers. Prince was injured & not responsible for anything that happened with the girl, because he is a victim too, & Lord Lu's man got killed by princess' male favorite. This is why Lord Lu said that maid should be 'beaten to death,' & this is why FL said to Chinhua that she had been turned into a femme fatale by the powers that be who caused prince's injury.
Which story would you think is more beneficial to you IF you were the prince of jin or his wife, Lord Lu & Wei. imperial judicial council, crown prince, king & their consorts? No one would agree to first set of facts because it will make the officials look bad, that there is no law & order, & that royal household is out of control while Lord Lu is displacing people of their rightful ownership. Surefire way to have a rebellion / civil war on hand, if people start thinking no one is looking out for their benefit & everyone in power is corrupt AND that the girls of common folk are being raped / exploited by royal men!
I think FL & Chinhua took the lesser of all evils when Chinhua accepted prince of jin as husband. And the marriage protects her life more strongly than other options.
Also, the only reason why there are scenes of a crying FL & a consoling ML is because she is a very tough woman who has lived through very tough circumstances (that we are only getting snippets of) BUT has never had time to grieve it & never had a male support system, a literal shoulder to cry on. It doesn't make her weak. And helps ML know her better beyond the crankiness. Plus, we are getting kissing scenes during these consoling sessions, whose complaining?!!!
Of course he did & that too, to a drugged & unconscious Chunhua - AND then ran away saying 'your family will explain everything' (!) So a rapist AND a cad & a coward.
Ep. 13-14: Well, Chunhua's family may get exiled but what an evil way to pimp out your kin -drugging & getting her raped! Chunhua should've listened to FL & put herself & her long-term happiness first. Too bad her trauma & shame is going to over-ride her thought-process - plus the fact that Wenji HAD looked down on her status as a maid, she must be wondering what he'd make of her new status. My guess is her romance with Wenji is headed the way of Lord Yu's devotion to Princess Luling, i.e. unrequited.
I loved the way in which FL consoled her. FL herself is a survivor of domestic abuse & rape (scars are obvious on her arms & s*xual violence is flash-backed in series' trailers). I hope the series gives substantial time to her years in North Jing. But I love the fact that FL is not wallowing in self-pity or apologetic. As per Ep. 15-16 trailer, the ease with which she speaks of her own bloody abortion with ML, I like that he is finding horrible stuff that happened to her in mundane conversations.
Love the trajectory of FL & ML's relationship. This couple is made for each other, they look that believable together. BGM is good too.
Scene stealer for Ep.13 & 14 was Prince Jin, comical relief one second & really atrocious abuser of power & wildflowers the next. Since I've read the last half of the webnovel, I cannot believe where he ends up.
Heavy episodes. Even though the drama is filmed in such an aesthetically pleasing manner, as if one is watching a gentle breeze, these episodes were quietly devastating.
Ep.9 & 10: Good episodes. Very calm, nothing is rushed, though full of intrigue, fun & some depth too. The drama is still gorgeous to look at & is moving forward.
Just curious, did Li Yunrui lose weight for his scholar role? Because he did it before for Love Like the Galaxy…
I personally think if Chinese idol drama actors & actresses lost any more weight they'd be invisible. Their bodies usually look extremely unhealthy, light weight, from face down.
okay this drama used the similar formula like 'Legend of Zanghai' ... Both dramas has Eunuch as the main antagonist,…
There's another very big difference: Zhang Hai had to endure trials of cruelty where he saw fellow people / workers die just to get to each person who was part of the conspiracy & used his words to create circumstances for their removal. He never killed anyone by his own hands (as far as I remember) & only once did he even use a slingshot against enemy from a place of hiding, but that's about it. In fact, that general even mocked him by saying why do you hide behind words & not fight me in person.
Also, Legend of Zhang Hai was darker in tone & filming & had a bit of a rich subtext with the songs that the head eunuch was always singing etc. TigersSniffTRose has a brighter/sunlit tight framed visuals. Plus neither Zhang Hai nor the drama really need a romance arc, but was given one (with the actress from Lighter & Princess) who I thought was a bit too peppy for Zhang Hai but here I think ML is well-suited & looks great with the FL (whose face & eyes move MORE when he's the lead IMO).
I actually suspect Yan Shang told her about that place intentionally, perhaps hoping she'd remember and come there…
No. He had said his goodbye to her the night before. During the festival, he had been waiting to find a way to get away from her all afternoon, & then that cousin Yang gave him an opportunity to 'slide away' without her noticing. When he sat down on that well, he knew he'd be found & arrested & then executed. For him that was it. That had been his plan.
Ep.7-8: Were intense. In a well-shot drama, that killing stood out. I don't know where the characters are going from here but they have my attention. It's also interesting that there is no sudden 'romance' track between the leads & when it really mattered, FL was more sensible & less nihilistic than ML. There's also a calm in this landscape / drama-world missing from other C-dramas.
Btw, was that courtesan freed by ML, the actress playing Bitao from Where the Mask Ends? I think so.
Ep. 5-6: This is going well. Is shot in a very bright / daylight kind of way, with a clean tight-frame aesthetic. Nobody is going out of their way to humiliate or antagonize another, nobody is loud, viewers are allowed to see these characters breathe & grow & plan. So drama is not OTT right now (I don't know the story, maybe it will go off the rails later on, with shouting matches).
I also like the pace. The backstories of main leads are def. interesting. FL clearly has her guard up - (I'm looking forward to revelations of what that ill-conceived North Jing marriage was like), She is fond of ML (because he IS kind, from a good family) BUT ML did delay notifying authorities as to her rescue to gain her favor or maybe she doesn't want him embroiled in her cutthroat life. I think she has bigger fish to fry right now. Plus, what good is a village bumpkin going to be for her in court politics? I'm surprised Lord Lu (that powerful eunuch) hasn't suggested a match for her yet....maybe he will in Ep.7-8.
Anyways, I want her maid to survive the upheaval that ML's friend from village is bound to create (the guy has the hots for a maid, but it's a lowly job for him, he knows his family will never approve of him being with a maid, so what's the point of leading that girl?!). This guy is bound to be trouble later on for ML too, by the looks of it.
I do think scene stealer in Ep. 5 & 6 is that hapless, scared, dejected kid sent by FL's uncle to be FL's 'favorite' (!)
ML is gentle but he is VERY aware of his surroundings so that helps him make the best of a situation & blend in - I don't know whether he has given up on studies to get revenge from that one-eye-soldier or not, but getting appointed in court requires connections (FL, CP, Aunt or Lord Lu since king is sick / as-good-as-dead) & none of them is his patron. Let's see.
I really liked that he didn't give FL the painting after her rudeness / mercurial behavior, but maybe he'll mail it?
Against the Current's ML's grandpa is here as former Chancellor (in almost exact get-up too), maybe he walked from one set to another.
And it seems to be a war of the fakest nails in town - with Aunt / Princess Yuling (I actually remember her name because of the length of her nails) having the vampiest Addams Family kind of vibe & nails.
Ep.1-4: Am surprised at how large ML's role is from the beginning. Plus, FL & ML have been captured in tight frames - to capitalize on 'Blossom' magic or to show attraction between the simpleton commoner & larger-than-life princess. Either ways, I'm sold.
The leads DO look great together, this FL-actress does look the best with this actor, & I don't know what it is but it is easier to see why they'd dig each other. Her face & eyes also moves more (frankly speaking) / are more expressive, with him around.
I'm also curious about the horrible marriage she endured in North Jing for 6 months & her power moves back in capital & how ML will fit into all of it, because how can she marry a nobody who doesn't benefit her against the crown prince or the eunuch? Will she be allowed to? So am curious to see how this story / romance / alliance develops.
News 
1
In the beginning of this series, FL was an amazing woman of willpower, intelligence, courage & never-give-up kind of personality. Her problem was that she had been used & exploited by everyone close to her (her so-called parents & siblings), she learnt about different vocations & tricks by doing odd jobs on the streets, including that as a pot-chamber cleaner.
She was also on death-row & god knows what the jail guards did to her before she was 'saved' & swapped for on-death-bed-duke. Later on she found out she had been the OG noble baby all along but she doesn't fit anywhere, neither in low-brow or noble class because of her background & sudden riches. She also suffers from severe abandonment issues, because even now she's second-best for her mom, & everyone else - except for guys, of course. She also does not know who can love her as her independent self with the kind of jobs & life she had & wants to build.
That's the crux of FL.
ML is the ONLY ONE who has stood by her since he survived death-bed - yes, he was suspicious of her - but that was because of Jundai/same-face thing, he always admired her personality, her humane treatment of people & his family, & her ability to survive any situation by working around people. Her goal regarding the estate also impressed him. He is the ONLY ONE who has saved her before divorce & told her again and again that he liked her - the former pot-cleaning woman- than the scholar's daughter or Jundai or anyone else.
This guy is top military officer, can beat anyone in military sports, is a general, a titled guy, with no concubine or maid issues. He's a catch now just like he was one day one, when he was dead fish on death bed! And he has only had eyes for this woman. He is the ONLY ONE who knows how she operates, why she does & think the way she does & knows how to handle her & take her rejection again & again.
Even after divorce, ML has approached her to help her or save her or work with her in her plans for estate/Han/ empress/CP. He has been reduced to being exploited, humiliated & forever- doormat status by FL.
Their dialogues are stunted, their conversations are shallow, they have been circling around the same issues - marry again - for last 8 episodes - instead of having meaningful convo that takes plot forward. They don't laugh together, they are never happy together. And they are the leads!
FL has been reduced to a woman who has empathy for everyone except THIS GUY!!!! She's straight-forward & blunt with everyone except him! She is protective & loving to everyone but him! It's so infuriating to see so much imbalance.In Ep.23, FL actually took him on a tour of her old work life, I don't know why ML said 'you are different, be different.' & 'Would you have looked at me if I wasn't duke?' because what he should've said is 'I've loved, admired & supported you for a year, with & without marriage, if that doesn't convince you of my true heart or feelings, I don't know what will - because problem doesn't lie with me, it lies with you, you are insecure & have abandonment issues, if you have an empty heart, no one can fill it for you.'
Because that's the crux of it & we have been robbed of a proper romance arc & given a now-b**chy irritating FL who is almost god-like in her omniscience & power, who is still acting like she doesn't know what ML is after or talking about. Playing dumb to extend the plot when there is none.
The drama just didn't know how to create an actual relationship of equals between FL & ML, or cozy comfy chemistry. Hence the wooden FL & ML & wooden love story.
Why would any prince marry 'noble lady' so-called illiterate, cart-wheel attendant poor, not-noble-no-connections-no-money-no-land-no-title sister?????????????????? Why would Lady Li accept that 'sister' as principal wife for her son?!!!!!!
In a drama that didn't resolve the romance of the main leads on any level of satisfaction, we have these kind of fairytale nonsensical twists to look forward to!
I have been forwarding this drama episodes since Ep.17. Really useless second half.
It was good that they got divorced simply because both deserve a proper wedding - which both didn't get the first time around. But post-divorce, drama just didn't know how to handle ML & FL & how to get them in the same room together where she's not saying ''why are you after me? 'why aren't you leaving?' She used to do that even when they were married, post-divorce the only question was how will she be convinced that she deserves love of this upstanding loyal guy who has liked & loved & accepted the real her.
ML's first proper kiss with FL (which he initiated) is part of a deal where he offers his services & FL does the fake seduction thing (we don't know whether they ended up in bed). I thought we were past the point of faking-it-till-you-make-it part of the show.
The drama has not had a grand banquet or festival where ML could've seen & met FL in a non-hostile environment for a chat &/ skinship. The scholar's daughter should've been re-introduced as well & other ladies to show FL how this guy is in demand & he has eyes only for her. In fact they should have had ML+FL scenes in the forest by a bonfire alone, talking about stuff, kind of thing. Instead, the drama went straight to a meeting with her consort mother, SML & main shirtless villain surrounding FL while ML is jealous, the shootout created to find her a spouse (which her ex-husband won), then her maids are getting killed one by one & she's getting insulted by the empress no less & the revenge from Hans arc. Who cares?
I also find it extremely distasteful that ML's best friend - who is also his compatriot in war - Gen. Qi has been angling & proposing FL - in any other series how can ML trust Gen. Qi to not kill him in battlefield just to get to his wife/ ex-wife? So that entire setup went too far as well.
Plus, I don't have a high opinion of Wenji but I feel sorry for his DAD: yes, that father none of us have seen, I feel sorry for him: imagine spending all that money on your son, he is a star in the village, he fails the imperial exam but fine, he didn't have the right connections, he can get some employment as a clerk for some noble or as accountant for some businessman, but Wenji doesn't do that, instead he writes the dad a letter proclaiming his love for a maid of a princess, the maid who is now married to a prince, while your son is castrated in a brothel fight over a prostitute he was trying to save (as per trailer for Ep.17). And no filial piety either! Imagine that poor dad!
Can anyone explain why is it soooooo easy for someone to castrate another in a quarrel, isn't it inhumane punishment that probably only law officers can do in an official setting? Didn't such people (who castrated others over petty quarrels) get punished by death? I thought Wenji would willingly get himself castrated to get inducted / power under Lord Lu but this turn of events is too bad / horrifying.
This drama most definitely isn't getting the kind of rabid fandom / commenters that other dramas this year did on MDL. But it is well-made & well-directed.
You actually want them to say out loud that a prince raped a princess' maid in connivance with her own family, who essentially provided the girl to the prince for a consensual bedding to further their own careers in their own home while the land was in chaos, being evacuated by imperial guards for Lord Lu's hunting grounds, during which the prince was nearly killed (by princess) while Lord Lu's guy eunuch was killed by (princess but blame taken by) princess's male favorite.
OR would you believe that a prince was out hunting with his guards when he was lured in, drugged & then placed with a girl he didn't know anything about, by a conniving maid working for a princess, & her own greedy family who wanted to entrap the prince to further their own careers. Prince was injured & not responsible for anything that happened with the girl, because he is a victim too, & Lord Lu's man got killed by princess' male favorite. This is why Lord Lu said that maid should be 'beaten to death,' & this is why FL said to Chinhua that she had been turned into a femme fatale by the powers that be who caused prince's injury.
Which story would you think is more beneficial to you IF you were the prince of jin or his wife, Lord Lu & Wei. imperial judicial council, crown prince, king & their consorts? No one would agree to first set of facts because it will make the officials look bad, that there is no law & order, & that royal household is out of control while Lord Lu is displacing people of their rightful ownership. Surefire way to have a rebellion / civil war on hand, if people start thinking no one is looking out for their benefit & everyone in power is corrupt AND that the girls of common folk are being raped / exploited by royal men!
I think FL & Chinhua took the lesser of all evils when Chinhua accepted prince of jin as husband. And the marriage protects her life more strongly than other options.
Also, the only reason why there are scenes of a crying FL & a consoling ML is because she is a very tough woman who has lived through very tough circumstances (that we are only getting snippets of) BUT has never had time to grieve it & never had a male support system, a literal shoulder to cry on. It doesn't make her weak. And helps ML know her better beyond the crankiness. Plus, we are getting kissing scenes during these consoling sessions, whose complaining?!!!
I loved the way in which FL consoled her. FL herself is a survivor of domestic abuse & rape (scars are obvious on her arms & s*xual violence is flash-backed in series' trailers). I hope the series gives substantial time to her years in North Jing. But I love the fact that FL is not wallowing in self-pity or apologetic. As per Ep. 15-16 trailer, the ease with which she speaks of her own bloody abortion with ML, I like that he is finding horrible stuff that happened to her in mundane conversations.
Love the trajectory of FL & ML's relationship. This couple is made for each other, they look that believable together. BGM is good too.
Scene stealer for Ep.13 & 14 was Prince Jin, comical relief one second & really atrocious abuser of power & wildflowers the next. Since I've read the last half of the webnovel, I cannot believe where he ends up.
Heavy episodes. Even though the drama is filmed in such an aesthetically pleasing manner, as if one is watching a gentle breeze, these episodes were quietly devastating.
Also, Legend of Zhang Hai was darker in tone & filming & had a bit of a rich subtext with the songs that the head eunuch was always singing etc. TigersSniffTRose has a brighter/sunlit tight framed visuals. Plus neither Zhang Hai nor the drama really need a romance arc, but was given one (with the actress from Lighter & Princess) who I thought was a bit too peppy for Zhang Hai but here I think ML is well-suited & looks great with the FL (whose face & eyes move MORE when he's the lead IMO).
Btw, was that courtesan freed by ML, the actress playing Bitao from Where the Mask Ends? I think so.
I also like the pace. The backstories of main leads are def. interesting. FL clearly has her guard up - (I'm looking forward to revelations of what that ill-conceived North Jing marriage was like), She is fond of ML (because he IS kind, from a good family) BUT ML did delay notifying authorities as to her rescue to gain her favor or maybe she doesn't want him embroiled in her cutthroat life. I think she has bigger fish to fry right now. Plus, what good is a village bumpkin going to be for her in court politics? I'm surprised Lord Lu (that powerful eunuch) hasn't suggested a match for her yet....maybe he will in Ep.7-8.
Anyways, I want her maid to survive the upheaval that ML's friend from village is bound to create (the guy has the hots for a maid, but it's a lowly job for him, he knows his family will never approve of him being with a maid, so what's the point of leading that girl?!). This guy is bound to be trouble later on for ML too, by the looks of it.
I do think scene stealer in Ep. 5 & 6 is that hapless, scared, dejected kid sent by FL's uncle to be FL's 'favorite' (!)
ML is gentle but he is VERY aware of his surroundings so that helps him make the best of a situation & blend in - I don't know whether he has given up on studies to get revenge from that one-eye-soldier or not, but getting appointed in court requires connections (FL, CP, Aunt or Lord Lu since king is sick / as-good-as-dead) & none of them is his patron. Let's see.
I really liked that he didn't give FL the painting after her rudeness / mercurial behavior, but maybe he'll mail it?
Against the Current's ML's grandpa is here as former Chancellor (in almost exact get-up too), maybe he walked from one set to another.
And it seems to be a war of the fakest nails in town - with Aunt / Princess Yuling (I actually remember her name because of the length of her nails) having the vampiest Addams Family kind of vibe & nails.
The leads DO look great together, this FL-actress does look the best with this actor, & I don't know what it is but it is easier to see why they'd dig each other. Her face & eyes also moves more (frankly speaking) / are more expressive, with him around.
I'm also curious about the horrible marriage she endured in North Jing for 6 months & her power moves back in capital & how ML will fit into all of it, because how can she marry a nobody who doesn't benefit her against the crown prince or the eunuch? Will she be allowed to? So am curious to see how this story / romance / alliance develops.