tsutsuloo

"Why are poor girls always coming from a bordello?" I've been asking the same question and we need to start a new thread about this. I've noticed a mini-trend with (virginal) Ancient Chinese Cool Girls raised in brothels.

I agree that there's much to initially admire about Du Xiao Xian, the SFL. Lady Du and our little ruffian, Long Ao Yi, are both passionate women who push against the boundaries of society. Their friendship across class lines would've been very interesting. But unrequited love is Lady Du's fate and it's painful to watch—IRL or dramaland! Lady Du's filial obligations make her a tragic figure who, despite her brilliant business sense, is finding her dreams of love and financial independence crumbling before her eyes.

I give the show credit for structuring the story within a class framework. But it's tiresome to watch an otherwise intelligent woman's slow motion meltdown from sexual jealousy. Rather than have the ML's love—impossible since Li Qing Liu regards her asexually as a sister—my greatest hope for Du Xiao Xian would be complete independence her father and full ownership of the business she co-founded with the ML. Could something like that even happen in dramaland?

I finished Ep. 18. [rubs hands together]

I'm enjoying the slow-burn romance too. Though I will say I was relieved that things started heating up this week. (Did you see what I did there? Eh, eh?) I'm a sucker for oddly complementary couples who grow stronger together, whatever life throws at them. Li Qing Liu's exasperated observation at the end of Ep. 14 says it all: "Since I met you, everything was out of my control."

For me, earned love is more satisfying than love-at-first-sight. Although Long Ao Yi is a generally warmer person, it's funny how she and Li Qing Liu view the opposite gender exactly the same way—through a non-romantic lens. "We're bros!" And it's fun watching them get shaken as they spend more time together.

Thank you—fingers crossed. This "synopsis" reads like the worst movie trailers that give away the entire plot.

Yikes, you're absolutely right. Would you like to edit it?

One of my favorite moments was a blink-and-you-miss-it English-language typo from an earlier episode. I don't remember the exact episode (Ep. 4?), but there's a scene where they pass a toast truck on the beach. The first time you see it, it says "TOST." Later, when they walk past it again, the sign's been fixed to spell "TOAST" (with the "A" not quite matching the other hand-painted letters.)

That series is so much fun, with antagonists you love to hate! It's a very refreshing, adult romance too. (Seo Yea Ji is so, so lovely. Ah, her mellifluous voice!)

The central romance is *profound*—it's a relationship spanning 14 years. Nothing was really predictable and it's utterly delicious watching this incredible duo protect and wound, deceive and reveal, push and pull each other—all the while trying to protect what they have.

Flashbacks reveal she pursued him in the early days of their relationship and it took a couple years for them to go from neighborhood acquaintances to lovers. And once they're together, they do not follow the script of her being the pursuer. They appear to be equally besotted. And part of the fun is figuring out the true nature of his feelings.

*Jacques Cousteau/SpongeBob SquarePants accent* Sree yearz laterrrrrr ...

Say what you will about the ending, but can we agree how funny it is to use facial hair to mark the passage of time?

Yes, the "hero" is the FL but the ML is central to her journey. His strengths are many:
-high emotional intelligence
-temperate (a quality he helps the FL gain)
-strategic (militarily, palace shenanigans, etc.)
-excellent fighter (almost as good as the FL
-loyal to those he trusts
-kind
-excellent lover (very much a 'til death do us part kind of guy)
-good looking; gets cuter the more you look at him

Bwah! LMAO.

I'll pour some rice wine on the ground for Lu Yuan. ;)

I've wondered how closely this drama hews to the historical Liu Yikang (Prince Peng Cheng) and Liu Yixuan (Prince Jing Ling—or Prince Nam, IRL). With so much of the royal family's structure being simplified or ignored in this drama, maybe our Yikang can enjoys the long life his real counterpart never had.

Wouldn't it be lovely to see Li Ge and Yikang grow old together? They're #powercouple goals.

If it's a sad ending, I hope to see them reincarnated in fan fiction—either as modern reincarnations or in "repairs" to the canon. For example, archiveofourown.org has a few *superb* retellings of RISE OF THE PHOENIXES.

Lu Yuan is a yummy villain—his slow clap is *chef's kiss.* (Ep. 36, 35:52)

Ah—you cast a wide and deep drama net. *@tsutsuloo genuflects to @Tkcjt*

I started watching CHEF HUA last night. "Just one episode" I told myself. Four hours later, I had panda eyes and had to call it a night.

Another fluffy c-drama recommendation: CHEF HUA (2020), on YouTube. Food porn costume romance. Girl wants to be a chef and the cooking shots *breathtaking.* Zero palace politics, no love geometry, sweet romance. Show makes me want to sharpen all my kitchen knives.

Have you checked the URL? For me, I just saw the shorturl page.

There is some love geometry but the actual romance/partnership between the main OTP is *never* threatened.

The FL's adoptive sister (SHEN LE QING) loves the ML but it's totally one-sided and he barely notices her existence. It's toxic in the sense that she's absolutely driven to destroy the FL but she's loath to hurt the Prince. What's more frustrating for many viewers is that she's an unstoppable, scheming, ruthless cockroach. That said, some are finding her more interesting as time goes on and her love for the ML has helped the FL protect her man.

The ML already has a Princess Consort (XIE YUN ZHI) but their marriage *completely* platonic. He’s polite to her but it seems like they've never consummated their marriage. (His bi-weekly conjugal visits consist of a brief "Hey, wuzzup" before heading off in another direction.) Despite her estrangement from Prince Peng Cheng/Yi Kang, she genuinely cares for the ML and is also warm towards the FL, who is supposed to be the ML's side consort. It remains to be seen if she succumbs to the cutthroat palace politics—especially after she grasps the depths of the OTP's love. Many folks here are predicting that she’ll turn to the dark side. Time will tell.

The ML’s younger brother (PRINCE JING LING/YI XUAN) quietly loves and supports the FL but he loves his older brother just as much. Time will tell if his mother’s manipulations (CONSORT SUN) succeed in turning him against his brother. For now, he is a stalwart supporter of the OTP and the political reforms they want to pass.

There’s also a low-key love triangle between this PRINCE JING LING, LU WAN (the main villain’s little sister) and CHEN SHAO XUN (the FL’s “brother”, who was raised with her as an assassin/doctor.) Who knows if any of that is going anywhere or what it might mean. The girl is basically sunshine but nobody seems to realize she’s the younger sister of the most evil man at the palace.