whimsybee

I think the footprint belongs to either Sanbao’s maid or the sixth sister. Not sure if you seen the trailers for episodes 13-14, but the sixth sister seems to have gone into the room and saw the dead body the night of the murder. In Episode 12, right after LJL drew the footprint from memory and showed it to Sanbao, she had a conversation with her maid and showed the shoe print picture to the maid. The maid apologized for missing this detail and said that she had went into the room right after she heard about the murder to look for the bracelet.

So the shoe print is a red herring, I think someone else murdered YDC, then print was left by either the sixth sister or the maid after the fact when they both went into the room at potentially separate times.

Maybe He Xing Ming dressed up Bai to attack the little sister and blind sister is helping him to frame Bai. Her speech in Ep 14 preview and Bai's look of betrayal suggest that she's definitely involved somehow.

huh, that's weird. Maybe it's location locked? But I'm sure the trailers will pop up on YouTube or X, or xiaohongshu soon.

haha, too shrewd for his own good.

ha, who's the fisherman in this metaphor? I assume LJL is the bait and RSB is the fish. Actually, maybe LJL is the fisherman, and his hapless amnesiac self (LFS) is the bait.

Try this:
Ep 13: https://www.mgtv.com/b/705834/23985015.html
Ep 14: https://www.mgtv.com/b/705834/23985016.html

It wasn't blood on his collar, rather peach blossom petals. I thought the same when I first saw the trailer for Episode 12 and took a closer look when watching the actual episode. Definitely flower petals. That said I do think that Scholar Bai is being set up as the fall guy by fifth sister.

Based on the twin brother's monologue to YDC's body, he definitely had the motive to kill YDC. But I'm wondering if he had the means, I assume he's never been to Rong Manson before, and wouldn't be familiar enough with the area to murder his brother. That said, maybe they switched places during the suitor competition and some of the scenes with YDC was actually with the twin? That would be a great twist, although YDC seems too narcissistic to let someone else take the spotlight away from him.

I'm really curious as to what the bracelet means and the link the younger sister. I'm wondering if she was somehow involved in the old Yang wife murder/disappearance. I saw another commenter suggesting that the Sixth Sister's caretaker could be missing wife, and YDC recognized her and stole her away. I’m wondering if the missing Yang wife was connect to Rong family somehow, perhaps was abused by her husband and the Rong family stole her away and frame her husband as the murderer? That might be too simple though, based on what Shanbao said to YDC in the ancestry hall, that case implicates both Yang and Rong family, and even the local officials might be covering it up based on what happened to LJL.

My head is spinning from all the implications and potential murder suspects!! Oh, and it might be worth marking your response as a spoiler in case others haven't seen the latest episodes yet.

oh, can you post it to the airing date post in the discussions above?

please flag this as a spoiler

Yes, he caught on that the pageboy was sneaking around and had ill-intentions, suspected that the pageboy was in cahoots with Xu and other potentially corrupt officials, he was also being stonewalled by the Rong family in his investigation of the old Yang wife murder case. So he deliberately "fell" for the pageboy and Xu's trap, and was planning to use his injury to infiltrate the Rong family. So he knew somehow that Shanbao will the crossing that route that night and discover him. He did not, however, account for his head injury to cause him to lose all his memory and him falling head over heels for Shanbao.

Please flag this as a spoiler!

Ha, I was expecting this twist only because the cast list for the actor spoiled this twist. Based on the brother's monologue at the dead body, I do believe the original Yang candidate is actually dead. The brother definitely has enough motive (hate/jealousy) to be his killer though.

Out of frying pan and into the fire! I'm bracing myself for the incoming angst, but also so excited to see detective LJL in all his...GLORY!.

Agreed, I tried to watch Unclouded Soul but found the plot to be unfocused, bland and dragging. I also don't see any chemistry between the leads in that drama. Neo is also sadly under utilized in the Unclouded Soul, while he is chewing it up in Glory. To me, Glory is the must watch for the two series.

Yes!! Or the scheming empress who finally got her crown through nefarious means, but finds herself alone, bitter and worried about her tenuous position on her wedding night because the emperor clearly loves someone else.

Based on this little character profile on him, he's definitely got some hidden motive behind that scholarly mask.
https://www.mgtv.com/b/705834/23966778.html

Rough translation, if you don't speak Chinese, is that he is the most unlikely and unqualified candidate for the Rong groom. He wears rough clothes and only speaks of literature, you may think he's a newbie but he has hidden his ambition under the surface and is actually master player.. While LBJ is solving crime, YDC is wasting(?) money and HXM is scheming, he is carefully observing and making his way to the final round.

Haha, I agree and also pity him. He definitely did not plan (or fake) the amnesia as other commenters suggested. In his hubris, he came up with the plan to fake his own downfall and infiltrate the Rong family, but he could not account for the severity of his injuries that led to his loss of memory and his growing attraction/admiration/love for Shanbao. And now he's so tangled up in messy web of lies, murders, corruption and whatever buried secrets and in love with a potential killer. Although I don't believe that Shanbo is the wrongdoer, but I'm sure the drama will drum up this tension between them and I can't wait for the angst. I'm glad we got the sweet confession and flirting in episodes 11 and 12 though, will need to rewatch them over and over again when the angst starts.

This might be the best use of the amnesia trope I have seen thus far in drama land.

Blind fifth sister I think, based on episode 14 trailer.

OMG....I need all the episodes now. That reveal!! Time to rewatch all the previous episodes again for clues. Everyone's so suspicious and have their own hidden motives, so far I'm hooked and can only hope that rest of this drama keeps up the momentum and level of script so far. PLEASE don't take a nose dive like so many cdramas tend to do. If the quality continues, this will easily be my favorite cdrama to air in 2025.

What's everyone's theories so far? And what's happening with the little sister ( for those who seen episode 13-14 trailers).

Mangotv link above have trailers for both ep13 and 14, no Eng subtitles though.