Erudite

Super busy this past 2 days and a meeting coming up in mins :p
Anyway, hope to catch the finale of the drama myself in about 6 or 7 hrs and share a few spoilers afterwards (^ _ ^)

Beginner solo translator just wants to say thank you @Ugly Ducking for this great article and @kura2ninja for pointing out the difference between translating books and videos.
In the same way, that's why many people underestimated the difficulty involved in drama adaptations of novels, especially for dialogues.

As we are both followers of Novoland Eagle Flag, let's just said that I read a prediction that the BR drama might followed it's novel ending which in a sense is similar to the Eagle Flag ending.

I wrote this in comments below a while ago, expanding the details a bit more here:

1. Years ago before EP1 when he was Guardian of the Realm, his eyesight is normal.
The real condition is has retained some light perception vision (can sense light).
This is known to people in power. For people of lower rank, few would dare to inquire a Duke the exact condition of his disability.
2. He went into seclusion at the Bamboo Mansion in Gui Hua City after his is blinded. Not everyone know the Gong Zi and Duke of Ning is the same person.
3. He eventually made known that his eyes are healed at a later episode.
4. Like @ALimaExRay said, some scenes are just probably plot holes.

@aysteryroses:
At that stage Wan Mei is better at expressing her feelings than Chang An (who murmured under his breath "I already promised [in my heart]" at one point)
Also at this time Wan Mei has little experience as a lover and is presented with negative examples that in Gui Hua her status allow her to be in control of her shadow. Hence at this stage she is bit more dominate in her love.
After later traumatic events, her love became more mature in final 30% of the drama.

@Camelotdaze: It is one of the oldest TV and film studio in China and is very noisy at many its locations . A few competing studios that have sprang up in recent years, such as Xiangshan where Nirvana in Fire and Eternal Love 2017 is made may offer better facilities.
A compelling reason of making dramas at Hengdian is because it's generally cheaper compare to other locations.

The production cost of Yanxi Palace is three times that of Bloody Romance. Granted that Yanxi has 70 episodes making it much cheaper against other period C-drama of that scale in 2018.

Hi Karin, I have watched 2 episodes of Phoenixes last week. I think it's a good show but I have decided that I should complete BR and another series I watching before getting back to it.

Interestingly, the end of shooting for Fuyao coincide with the beginning of shooting for BR at Hengdian.
Sometime ago, someone shown me a Location shooting schedule for Hengdian Studio in the month of September 2017.
It showed that Fuyao was occupying all of Zone 2 for its shooting.
Zone 5, the palace area was shared by Fuyao, BR and at least 2 other C-dramas the same month.

One of the reason why we have such a timed release is because CGI/digital FX for the first 18 episodes are fully completed when the first episode was screened on July 24th. I believe this is because the production company has little money and is unable to pay for the VFX companies to work faster/overtime.
From episodes 19 onward, some of the final digital effects and lighting composition are literally finished just days before that episode is screened.

@destiny909 - This may help:
https://kisskh.at/article/my-drama-list-a-users-guide-0818182722
The watch number might not update immediately even after you added to the list, this is normal. I think the statistics are updated every few hours or so.
As long as the list button shows 'currently watching, everything is in order.
Thanks for your support :)

As of Tuesday, official Youku VIP released ep28 to 30 only - those who got an extra episode 28 last week would have got it from a different source. Also, anyone who saw a version of BR where actors lips don't match what they're saying, the video is probably from a question source since the official version has no lip sync issues.

In celebration of the fact that we about to reach 1000 or more watchers for BR here in kisskh I have put up a 4 minutes English sub of the ending for Episode 30. This include the lyrics of the new OST for BR which made a first appearance here and is woven to the story as Chang An's character theme song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95G5Na0gIbQ (1080p, full Eng-Sub, 4 mins EP30 ending)

The video sequence unfortunately also contain MAJOR SPOILERS for those who have not watched up to EP30. So this is mainly meant for those who have watched up to EP30 raw but don't fully understand what is happening and those who wanted a recap of the final part of EP30.
For other viewers, please use this at your own discretion but I do recommend viewers not to skip ahead or any part of this fine drama before you have watch everything in sequence on normal speed ;)

1. Nine lives is a gelatinous creature somewhat similar to a sea cucumber which one of the richest food in protein and is edible raw if caught live.
2. She is an apprentice Chinese herbalist and intuitively grasp that this is a valuable medicine. That's why she took it instead of leaving it with the dead body.
3. This GU is designated to have a benign affinity to human hosts and probably communicate to Wan Mei through some form of inhuman telepathy.
4. All of the above and she was dying and her survival's instinct kicks in to the fact that she has nothing to lose by swallowing it.

@liuliu87: little walnut did a great recap. One thing missing is the account of Ruan Niang threatening to get herself killed in front of Chang An by intruding on Gui Hua within a few days after her meeting with Wan Mei, if Chang An won't leave. Wan Mei told Chang An of the threat.
However, Wan Mei obviously is of two minds about Chang An's decision to leave. She channeled her frustration through her sword and intuitively executed 'Daylight's End' the 13th sword stance she was previously incapable of.

If you like it up to 19 episodes so far there shouldn't be any issues for you - the slowest episode for most people is probably EP22. There are quite a number of action sequences in EP24 and 25 and there are some really moving moments and twists in EP27 to EP30 which bring a closure to events in EP1 and even the slow EP22. In addition, we get a nice new song in EP30 ;)

Not specifically, several sources has quoted that at least 600 million yuan were invested for the production, but it is not clear whether this is for the entire 3 seasons (60 episodes) or more money will be needed for later episodes. Many scenes in the drama used real burning fire and explosions.
BTW, I have added a few photos to the album here.

@Lilly: I am afraid it wouldn't be ready anything soon. As late as May 2018, Pan Yue Ming revealed that the screenplay was not yet completed. Filming was scheduled to begin in last half of 2018.

If you're not watching raw and required English subs, I suggested watching ep1 using the version subbed by me listed in comments below ;)

+100 for being such a great English introduction and the sheer scope and hard work involved