So he goes directly to proposing marriage. LOL! Normally I would be quite confused, but for some reason I think…
i love how refreshing his approach is - this drama really breaks out of all the normal drama troupes. normally the couple dives straight into heavy romance and then hems and haws for a dozen episodes. this couple is more restrained but also more straight forward?? i love it!!!
Aah thank you for this. I love how subtle the show showing their growing feeling. They didn't need grande act,…
right. their romance is cute and feels natural - like right now male lead is in first crush i-don’t-know-what-i’m-doing mode (which makes sense - he’s 18). but because they’re workaholics, his feelings are all (as of now) directed through work (not working out). the previews look like we’re set up for some really funny moments as he bumbles along and tries to be more direct. i’m really excited lol. it’s just cuter than a lot of other more ‘heavy’ romance-focused cdrama where i’m cringing half the time from the fakeness.
i think there are a lot of other unanswered questions that might pose even bigger surprises, which is probably…
i don't feel like this script is set up for that kind of torrid tragedy, so i hope not! one theory i've read that seems possible is that one of the boys is chen ying's son - i.e., the general who is framed for the rebellion but in reality saved xiao heng from being killed by eunuch qin. if his son were jinyu, it also sets up the main pair nicely, because if it were not for the "rebellion" they might have grew up together (her father being chen ying's right hand man) - cdramas adore their love from childhood plot lines.
looking back there are so many cute hidden cp moments (owing to a great script), i've made a list (some collected from weibo):
1. grapes from the west. the first time it was introduced was when the eunuch brought some to princess xiping, and got flogged and ran away. later on jinyu brings a plate of it to chuchu. i thought it was cute that he peeled it for her and left it at that, but did wonder why the script highlight it twice (given this drama literally doesn't have a stray extra detail). on second review, the eunuch specifically told princess xiping it was a precious item from abroad. so that jinyu gave chu chu a plate of it (warding off jingyi) and even peeled it for her, shows even early on he valued her highly.
2. chuchu's makeup. when she put on 'makeup' for jinyu and he mistaken it for funeral cosmetology practice, her hairstyle is very similar to lengyue's. we know she was feeling a bit jealous of lengyue and perhaps thought she was the type of girl jinyu liked, so it's cute she tried to model herself after her.
3. the spoon. in the witch doctor/xiao heng's house, right before chu he is found missing, jinyu is actually carrying chuchu's spoon mirror on his belt (you can see its handle poking out). other princes carry amulets or fine jewelry items as their love token and he has this big ass spoon. the spoon is currently resting in the middle of the lake but we know it's not over yet!!
4. the dive into the lake. the most precious moment from ep 18!! i really liked how they set up this moment with lengyue's earlier story of jinyu’s childhood trauma with water. i was wondering why the drama took time with that story, even using a cartoon. now we know that it highlights the depth of his concern for her - even though water presents a trauma he's been working through, he will without hesitation throw himself in if she is involved.
I am very disappointed they feel the need to show us who Duke Chang is - it is much more fun to figure out who…
i think there are a lot of other unanswered questions that might pose even bigger surprises, which is probably why this was given away, like which brother isn't princess xiping's kid and whose kid is he? why did the father kill himself? is duke chang even duke chang (because jinyu alludes to ppl making it seem he is alive so they can use a puppet for rebellion purposes; and historically there might be a bit of age issue)? is there more to chuchu's uncle because he's clearly being misled by qin luan in thinking chuchu's father was part of the rebellion, and the uncle also lied to chuchu (he said he didn't know about her mother's death until after but he clearly directed the kill). there's just so much potential to the script still that not leaving a potential big bad until the end actually seems refreshing - like here you go, now you know this big thing, but good luck trying to figure the rest out lol.
For your fourth question, I personally don't think that grape is essential or an hidden plot for the story. (only…
i found the reason for the grapes lol. in the scene where the eunuch delivers them to the princess, he notes that they’re precious. so it sets up the scene later for when jinyu gives them to chuchu, to show how much he values her by giving her such precious food with her (and of course peeling them for her) ;;
i didn’t translate word for word, but hopefully you’ll be able to get an idea. let me know if you have any…
seems to be around the same time? i checked tencent an hour-ish after the raws today for 17 & 18 came online and they were subbed. this is the only time i checked for eng subs tho so idk if this is usual (cuz i was having trouble translating the various court positions lol)
Leng Yue and Jin Yu are also second cousins (since Leng Peishan is Princess Xiping's uncle)
yeah i was thinking of putting it in but didn't want too many arrows lol, hoping people would get it from the line connecting leng peishan and the princess. and also there's a question of whether jinyu or jinli is really xiao heng and the princess's son. ahhhhhh so much happening haha
Throwing the spoon mirror was like he was throwing her heart to the floor in disgust! But hey, she got a good…
right! you can see how much she values the spoon, it’s just a bit funny from an outsider/viewer perspective. the show is really good at this kind of unexpected humor haha.
the recent hug by the river omg. i rewatched so many times
i didn’t translate word for word, but hopefully you’ll be able to get an idea. let me know if you have any questions!
episode 19: princess’s servant thinks mr. jing came to push along leng yue and jinli’s marriage. princess thinks the more he pushes, the more they shouldn’t get married.
chu chu’s father asks chu chu if he knows who that person is. chu chu says she knows, he’s her uncle.
jing yi asks tan gui why his letter to his father hasn’t gotten a response. tan gui says that his father doesn’t want to involve jing yi in the situation.
leng yue asks jinyu if tan gui is his person, for example his spy.
chu he threatens jinyu and says if he’ll fight him if jinyu harms chu chu.
tan gui tries to assassinate chu chu, and is stopped by jinli. chu chu turns out to be leng yue in disguise. jing yi says that his family ordered the kill. jinli threatens jing yi. tan gui says that his failed attempt has nothing to do with jing yi, that chu chu is daughter of the person who is involved in the death of jinli and jinyu’s father.
episode 20: qin luan (head eunuch) tells his underling that an ambitious person is going to appear in the southwest (tn: where jinyu and the troops are). he tells his underling to pay close attention to the antique store. he wants to know who’s trying to reach into the imperial court.
zhou han (shengce army head) asks someone if they’re all there. that person answers that they’re all there - one wife, one concubine, one daughter, two sons. (tn: my guess is these are xu rugui’s family that are qin luan’s captives)
jinyu tells jinli that before he left, his mother told him to beware of eunuches (and that his father would say the same). his father’s disaster in the southwest likely has other hidden details that aren’t in the records.
leng yue tries to look into jing yi’s clothing. jing yi’s startled.
chu chu asks jinli if jinyu would be angry to see someone who has a blood feud with him. jinli says of course.
chu chu says to jinyu that she knows he doesn’t want to see her anymore but she still want to ask a favor of him. she wants to find the witch doctor with him and then will leave after.
jinyu vents to leng yue about chu chu - if he says things too heavily, he’s afraid to hurt chu chu, but if he says things too lightly he’s afraid she won’t take notice. he just said a few things to her and now she says he doesn’t want to see her anymore.
jinli carries jinyu up the stairs and into jinyu’s bed. jinyu pleads he’ll be ok in a moment.
episode 21: chu chu and the troop finds mounds of stones, the same material used to make xiao heng’s chess pieces. they find a body in the lake.
in a flashback, xiao heng tells chu chu how the handsome judge wants to see daylight again no matter how long he is buried. jinyu says he committed suicide (tn: i believe it is in reference to his father, xiao heng).
episode 22: jinli and jinyu shows xiao heng’s dead body to mr. xue. jinyu shows the statement his father wrote before his death.
mr. xue asks jinyu about feng jie’s (former minister of war) death. jinyu asks if he already has some guesses about the content of the missing scroll (tn: i believe this is the scroll that is missing from feng jie’s reports back to the imperial court about the military situation in the southwest). mr. xue thinks it has to do with leng peishan. jinyu says that his brother doesn’t think there’s anything wrong, and asks whether mr. xue is also second guessing jinli.
li zhang (prefect of qianzhou) orders troops into chu chu’s home and fights with leng yue, jinli and jing yi. li zhang goes for chu chu, seeming to want to capture her.
episode 23: princess’s servant tells her that leng yue and jinli were found suitable according to their birth calculations, and that likely they’ll be commanded by the emperor to marry after jinli comes back.
jinyu asks leng yue if she has any information on leng peishan. jinli asks if he thinks leng peishan has anything to do with the marriage issue. jinyu thinks it has to do with the military situation there. jinli hasn’t seen anything abnormal. leng yue would rather die than agree to the marriage.
the emperor is angry after reading a report.
mr. xue tells jinyu that he doesn’t understand why jinyu likes a coroner when there are so many more suitable choices. there’s also an issue of her parents’ past linked with the rebellion.
jinyu lifts chu chu’s chin up and asks if she wants to return to his side and stay by him forever. (tn: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH)
episode 24: li zhang (prefect of qianzhou) tells mr. xue that he has the perfect plan and jinyu will definitely be hooked. the evidence for the fake money will disappear forever. li zhang leads our group of friends into the forest, indicating he might try to kill jinyu.
chu chu throws flowers into a slop bucket and asks if jinyu has any other words. jing yi wonders why chu chu threw jinyu’s flowers into the bucket and if jinyu followed what jing yi told him to say to her word for word. (tn: in another preview, i don’t know where, leng yue said that the flowers he gave is used to fed pigs lol). jing yi asks jinyu if he really said to chu chu that he thinks of her when he sees the flowers, and laughs. jinyu grimaces.
jinli asks jinyu if chu chu has ever shown interest in jing yi. jinyu shakes his head. jinli tells him that it means chu chu has never liked jing yi’s flirting methods. if jinyu wants to get chu chu he needs to use his own methods.
jing yi asks if leng yue is praying, and if she is going to agree to the marriage. leng yue teases him, and says that jinli is a pretty good person. jing yi tries to dissuade her - jinli is not good, he has a lot of vices and wouldn’t be good match for her.
1. grapes from the west. the first time it was introduced was when the eunuch brought some to princess xiping, and got flogged and ran away. later on jinyu brings a plate of it to chuchu. i thought it was cute that he peeled it for her and left it at that, but did wonder why the script highlight it twice (given this drama literally doesn't have a stray extra detail). on second review, the eunuch specifically told princess xiping it was a precious item from abroad. so that jinyu gave chu chu a plate of it (warding off jingyi) and even peeled it for her, shows even early on he valued her highly.
2. chuchu's makeup. when she put on 'makeup' for jinyu and he mistaken it for funeral cosmetology practice, her hairstyle is very similar to lengyue's. we know she was feeling a bit jealous of lengyue and perhaps thought she was the type of girl jinyu liked, so it's cute she tried to model herself after her.
https://ibb.co/YhDxW5k
3. the spoon. in the witch doctor/xiao heng's house, right before chu he is found missing, jinyu is actually carrying chuchu's spoon mirror on his belt (you can see its handle poking out). other princes carry amulets or fine jewelry items as their love token and he has this big ass spoon. the spoon is currently resting in the middle of the lake but we know it's not over yet!!
https://ibb.co/Kry06Tf
4. the dive into the lake. the most precious moment from ep 18!! i really liked how they set up this moment with lengyue's earlier story of jinyu’s childhood trauma with water. i was wondering why the drama took time with that story, even using a cartoon. now we know that it highlights the depth of his concern for her - even though water presents a trauma he's been working through, he will without hesitation throw himself in if she is involved.
https://i.ibb.co/SVn703S/Slide1.png
the recent hug by the river omg. i rewatched so many times
episode 19:
princess’s servant thinks mr. jing came to push along leng yue and jinli’s marriage. princess thinks the more he pushes, the more they shouldn’t get married.
chu chu’s father asks chu chu if he knows who that person is. chu chu says she knows, he’s her uncle.
jing yi asks tan gui why his letter to his father hasn’t gotten a response. tan gui says that his father doesn’t want to involve jing yi in the situation.
leng yue asks jinyu if tan gui is his person, for example his spy.
chu he threatens jinyu and says if he’ll fight him if jinyu harms chu chu.
tan gui tries to assassinate chu chu, and is stopped by jinli. chu chu turns out to be leng yue in disguise. jing yi says that his family ordered the kill. jinli threatens jing yi. tan gui says that his failed attempt has nothing to do with jing yi, that chu chu is daughter of the person who is involved in the death of jinli and jinyu’s father.
episode 20:
qin luan (head eunuch) tells his underling that an ambitious person is going to appear in the southwest (tn: where jinyu and the troops are). he tells his underling to pay close attention to the antique store. he wants to know who’s trying to reach into the imperial court.
zhou han (shengce army head) asks someone if they’re all there. that person answers that they’re all there - one wife, one concubine, one daughter, two sons. (tn: my guess is these are xu rugui’s family that are qin luan’s captives)
jinyu tells jinli that before he left, his mother told him to beware of eunuches (and that his father would say the same). his father’s disaster in the southwest likely has other hidden details that aren’t in the records.
leng yue tries to look into jing yi’s clothing. jing yi’s startled.
chu chu asks jinli if jinyu would be angry to see someone who has a blood feud with him. jinli says of course.
chu chu says to jinyu that she knows he doesn’t want to see her anymore but she still want to ask a favor of him. she wants to find the witch doctor with him and then will leave after.
jinyu vents to leng yue about chu chu - if he says things too heavily, he’s afraid to hurt chu chu, but if he says things too lightly he’s afraid she won’t take notice. he just said a few things to her and now she says he doesn’t want to see her anymore.
jinli carries jinyu up the stairs and into jinyu’s bed. jinyu pleads he’ll be ok in a moment.
episode 21:
chu chu and the troop finds mounds of stones, the same material used to make xiao heng’s chess pieces. they find a body in the lake.
in a flashback, xiao heng tells chu chu how the handsome judge wants to see daylight again no matter how long he is buried. jinyu says he committed suicide (tn: i believe it is in reference to his father, xiao heng).
episode 22:
jinli and jinyu shows xiao heng’s dead body to mr. xue. jinyu shows the statement his father wrote before his death.
mr. xue asks jinyu about feng jie’s (former minister of war) death. jinyu asks if he already has some guesses about the content of the missing scroll (tn: i believe this is the scroll that is missing from feng jie’s reports back to the imperial court about the military situation in the southwest). mr. xue thinks it has to do with leng peishan. jinyu says that his brother doesn’t think there’s anything wrong, and asks whether mr. xue is also second guessing jinli.
li zhang (prefect of qianzhou) orders troops into chu chu’s home and fights with leng yue, jinli and jing yi. li zhang goes for chu chu, seeming to want to capture her.
episode 23:
princess’s servant tells her that leng yue and jinli were found suitable according to their birth calculations, and that likely they’ll be commanded by the emperor to marry after jinli comes back.
jinyu asks leng yue if she has any information on leng peishan. jinli asks if he thinks leng peishan has anything to do with the marriage issue. jinyu thinks it has to do with the military situation there. jinli hasn’t seen anything abnormal. leng yue would rather die than agree to the marriage.
the emperor is angry after reading a report.
mr. xue tells jinyu that he doesn’t understand why jinyu likes a coroner when there are so many more suitable choices. there’s also an issue of her parents’ past linked with the rebellion.
jinyu lifts chu chu’s chin up and asks if she wants to return to his side and stay by him forever. (tn: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH)
episode 24:
li zhang (prefect of qianzhou) tells mr. xue that he has the perfect plan and jinyu will definitely be hooked. the evidence for the fake money will disappear forever. li zhang leads our group of friends into the forest, indicating he might try to kill jinyu.
chu chu throws flowers into a slop bucket and asks if jinyu has any other words. jing yi wonders why chu chu threw jinyu’s flowers into the bucket and if jinyu followed what jing yi told him to say to her word for word. (tn: in another preview, i don’t know where, leng yue said that the flowers he gave is used to fed pigs lol). jing yi asks jinyu if he really said to chu chu that he thinks of her when he sees the flowers, and laughs. jinyu grimaces.
jinli asks jinyu if chu chu has ever shown interest in jing yi. jinyu shakes his head. jinli tells him that it means chu chu has never liked jing yi’s flirting methods. if jinyu wants to get chu chu he needs to use his own methods.
jing yi asks if leng yue is praying, and if she is going to agree to the marriage. leng yue teases him, and says that jinli is a pretty good person. jing yi tries to dissuade her - jinli is not good, he has a lot of vices and wouldn’t be good match for her.
*helps with claustrophobic situations
*love token
* [new use] cuts seaweed if you’re caught underwater