noor1234

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!

Apart from avoiding nosy neighbors & gossip-mongers, the other reason is to show how close & mentally attuned Scholar & FL are. Knock on the wall is a very intimate way of corresponding with a guy or girl - it's like having a secret code/ love language.

We have seen a number of ML's interactions with women: 1) with that crazy 1st wife, who was openly disrespectful towards him & he wasn't abusive towards her. 2) His cousin-sister whose life he essentially has saved by finding a loophole in family rules on 'marriage'. 3) The maids - he never looks at them or desires women (a trope, I know, main lead always has to be puritan) 4) FL who was brought in to be his 'bed warmer / child producer' and even though he started liking her, he is never shown as crossing the limit / space with her physically in any way - even when she's drunk. 5) She got her freedom because he approved it. 6) He buried Shen family & does a memorial service for them & his 'dead fiancee' annually (something we & FL will see in future episodes).

He is bound by class, his position in military & the tradition & hierarchal rules that govern not just his life, but the family & the kingdom. He also has bigger pressures than FL's simpleton life where every step means life or death.

Getting married to FL - a low-status former maid with no connections or wealth & who is of no use to his family as a commodity, who they would never approve, cannot even gloat to their social circle about this union - is probably the FIRST SELFISH THING this guy has done in his ENTIRE LIFE. He has always done what his family wanted him to do - he did leave for army, but he has followed the elders. He's going against the current to ensure his own happiness.

I don't see it as a flaw. You have to understand the time period, where women are considered chattle & barter tools, especially in noble families. ML agreed to give his 16yo cousin-sister in marriage to 32-yo widower navy cmndr without consulting his family, so in his own case, I don't know what his original plan was, because the opportunity to save crown prince came by chance, but in the end, he did what he could do in the best way possible: he made sure FL got a grand wedding, king's command, & main wife status. FL would've said no because they have a past history together as Shen&Lin betrothed (which of course, she never would've disclosed to him as a reason) but also for free life with her parents & she probably would've married Scholar.

But you are right, ML wasn't protecting FL, he liked her, wanted her, knew his mom was arranging marriage with crazy lady no.3, & Scholar was arranging a proposal, so he made sure NO ONE including FL had a chance to say no.

I think ML is a good guy, is a v. good son / cousin-brother, is fair in his dealings with strangers instead of being cruel, extremely unlucky with women, but FL doesn't really know it all that much. And it doesn't get more forced marriage than the guy saying via imperial decree no less 'you will only be my wife in this lifetime' (!) I think we all understand why he HAD to go the imperial way (running out of time & her low status). But I think he knows her well enough to realize she will adapt & thrive. Also, I've seen a scene on twitter where he simply leaves with her for capital - which will give her space to know him without his mom's nagging & grandpa's rules.

It will be interesting to see whether she respects him or not, esp. in front of maids etc. (who are also her besties) & his family, because his 1st wife was openly rude.

Also, since this is a story of 80 years of FL's life, & I've seen too many 'grandmas' in C-dramas who are good-for-nothing bosses, it will be interesting to see what FL accomplishes as leader of the Lin household.

But I've come to suspect that ML was only included in this story as a trope to show FL's life & advancement in ancient china. He's not the main thing, just carrot being dangled to get people to watch a female-centric story.

No idea. He was suspicious about the nature of the search. And he may turn grey just because he was powerless to stop his 'beloved' being snatched by ML via an imperial decree.

This drama is apparently covering 80 years of FL's life. So anything is possible.

Seems so. I just unfortunately saw a scene on twitter - he dies at 44 or 50 - was never in good health after some battle, so they have 2 kids & he's in poor health for remainder of life sitting around & then just 'slips away'!!!!
https://x.com/Kamiamg/status/2101957689609687279

She lives on for another 30 years as the female matriarch - head of household. The drama is called Story of LX so it makes sense. But it does make ML technically a filler in her life, who is just there to further her prospects! And he was a very good guy, just unlucky in love / marriage.

It's good they are not following standard tropes - besides, FL doesn't know ML likes her, & if they HAD met, she would've brought his betrothal up, & then ML would've fessed up, etc. etc. This way we get to see ML getting dejected just like FL felt when she heard the fireworks & saw the pastry-gift given on his 1st wedding.

Watch the scene where ML leaves the venue again - crown prince is being escorted out, he's behind the guy who vomits on Zheng's son. I played it twice to confirm.