Erudite

Based on salary of BR's cast and crew and other sources of estimates which put its total production cost to be around the same as https://kisskh.at/25135-day-and-night - it cost less than US$400,000 to make one episode of BR on average.

You need to watch the drama properly without skipping - all should be clear in the end :p

1. Shadows usually come from groups of teenage boys sold as indentured servants to meet obligations such as debt bondage. It is not unusual in those days - noted Wan Mei herself was sold 3 times (EP1,14 and 20)
2. Assassins usually come from rescued young girls like Cha Luo (told in EP14), or took in by other high ranking assassins or managers (Yue Ying at age 6). Others were recruited as adults by assassins who saw their potential.
3. Gui Hua City is relatively well-known in the martial world (see EP1) but most common folks are unaware of it because they don't have mass media in those days ;)
4. Wan Xiang's case is explained in EP20.
5. The prologue of EP1 already establish to viewers that there are different accounts of Gui Hua city. In EP3, Chang An shared a very bleak account with Wan Mei. However when Wan Mei enters the Shrine of Shores Astride (which Chang An is forbidden to go) for the first time, we are shown a view of reverence which is contrary to Chang An's words.
6. Over many episodes viewers are told indirectly that Gui Hua City was perhaps corrupted by her last three Magnates, each of them playing an important role in BR.
7. Gui Hua City is an enclaved microstate. It had full sovereignty right which was granted by Empress Reagant Wu.

Hi Lullina, nice to see u over here :D
1. We were already told in no uncertain terms, that if Wan Mei failed, both of them would be put to death. A shadow's death will be a bit more gruesome than his mistress.
2. A shadow has the right to go to the Quartermaster and requisite equipment for his mistress or a mission. Viewers were told in Episode 2, that Liu Guang had approved a list of medicines requested by Chang An. (This is when he left to collect and left Wan Mei to go roaming on her own before he caught up with her again).
3. The poison is from Gui Hua and he is counting on success in the mission would have earned him the antidote.
4. There's a large group of expert martial artists in the Doctor's mansion.
5. He only used the poison as a last resort once he saw the other girl has the lead on completing - which would have condemned he and Wan Mei to death.
6. Chang An only started to fall for Wan Mei in Episode 5 after the event.

https://kisskh.at/27510-bloody-romance (BR) is actually closest in Wuxia sub-genre to Tingxue Tower.
In fact, BR displayed story-telling traits from Gu Long, Huang Ying and others Wuxia writers from the golden-age Wuxia novels of the 1930-70s making it one of the more unique Wuxia drama in recent years.

Insight: The vision of this guy who appeared in Episode 1.
7 years ago before EP1, his eyesight is normal. He 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.

It's when the organism became part of her body - her physical heart became very strong and she has a powerful adaptive immune system and enhancement in her blood.

@lenje: No - also check out liuliu87's spoiler question on EP28 at the top and my answer a few mins ago.

No, Wan Mei do not know the full details. He only explained in EP27 that he has an obligation to do what he did.
But to Wan Mei it is good enough - they fully reconciled. The interactions between her and the other characters in EP27 is apparently what tipped her - it is quite subtle because you needed to understand all the dialogue - one of the reason I decided I will fully sub EP27.

@Nayto: Thanks for the compliment. I don't think I will be doing a blog recap. Maybe something thru the Episode Guide here after all the episodes are out. We'll see how it goes...

@Joanne: Beside EP1, I planned to sub only two more episodes fully - EP27 and the final episode. I don't have time to do all the episodes.
I believe that good subs will be available from Viki once it get the license for releasing BR in October.

This drama is shot primarily using the Arri Alexa digital camera system.
The cinematographer is listed on one of my comments below.

The music is written by the husband and wife team who also did the music for Legend of Fuyao.
I believe the producer of Bloody Romance (BR) pay less than market rate for the music as he is an old friend of its creators and he had limited funds for making BR.

Jiu Ming (Nine Lives)
It is an endosymbiotic GU which takes 10 years to create at best case scenario.
Watch EP1 again, if you need subs, I recommend my version at:
https://openload.co/f/gXQlEUHhVks or
https://openload.co/f/LFLLY8L4oEU
If you don't have time for that you can just check the 1 min Episode 11 preview with my subs:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXr5H96aMllfAWbtCWiOixU80GtQbijWW
As for what is a GU:
I have written a bit about that in a comment below about 17 days ago.

Not yet. I think it's because the computer visual effects has not been completed yet. It is one of the most expensive C-drama ever produced.

1. Obviously Wan Mei didn't know initially she was the carrier.
2. The plague was meant to force the (acting) cult master to abdicate after showing he is powerless to heal the sick but someone else could.
3. The GU organisms causing the epidemic was obtained from the temple in Episode 10 together with the vaccine. The bottle with the vaccine was destroyed when Yue Ying was attacked.
4. Yue Ying engineered the delivery dose, timing the incubation of the GU in Wan Mei to end just as she entered the city as a slave.
5. Most of the slavers, slaves and the people in the auction would have potentially infected by Wan Mei that day.
6. The signs of infection began in that district after 24 hours. Because of Wan Mei's scar and other characteristics people would have remembered her, including all the other slaves which many would been bought by new owners into their households.
7. We were told in Episode 16 that many of those showing symptoms would died within 3 days and almost all infected with symptoms would died within 7 days.
8. Wan Mei is an anomaly because she has endosymbiosis with "Nine Lives".

@AznDramaLover
If you watched closely in episode 27, he was experiencing pain and was having difficulty in speaking at one point. Wan Mei couldn't see his face and being caught by her own intense emotions didn't notice anything unusual.
My own explanation for other scenes is that Chang An's heart GU is somewhat regulated by his heart beat. As long as he keep calm he can mitigated the pain even if he is within one foot of her.
According to decorum, he is not supposed to be physically too close to her in public anyway.

Yes, BR's director of photography Feng Xuan - mainly known for making short films (shot the Olympic music video 'Beijing Welcomes You' as a young man) said he was moved by Li Yi Tong's performance even while he was filming it live that day.

I have done a full English subbed Episode 1 including the words for the OST here:
https://openload.co/f/LFLLY8L4oEU

I have also translated a version below ;)