whoissilmoy

Li Meng might only be a guest role, which means her part will probably be short. But because viewers recognize her from The Double and respond to her, she’s become a genuine draw. The writer and director know this and will make sure her story hits hard and captivates people. I think the heat is just going to keep climbing, because this story is I think is stacked with brutality and people react to that.

The Hongwu Emperor, the Ming founder, had many sons. He enfeoffed them as princes, making them strong enough to defend the borders but too weak to rebel. The drama is likely drawing from Zhu Di, who was one of those princes whose power was restricted — and who later overturned the system when he became emperor.
Ep 1 old madam said, "when his Majesty was still a regional prince, old Master urged the deposed emperor to curb the prince's power."

If the old master won’t denounce the deposed emperor, it means he does not fully support the current emperor’s legitimacy — a legitimacy gained through rebellion — does not fear him, and refuses to rewrite history for him. This is politically dangerous and a direct challenge to a Yongle‑type ruler.

a lot of horrific things are mentioned in that drama about Ming period

The Ming dynasty had the most extensive and powerful navy of its era, and their ships traveled incredibly far — all the way from China through Southeast Asia and India across the Indian Ocean to Arabia and even East Africa. In Royal Feast, they mention a lot of real historical facts. In the drama, Zhu Zhanji gives Yao Zhiming an item brought back from those voyages, along with a book about sea travel and navigation. The Ming navy had hundreds of ships during that period, making it the largest fleet in the world.

This story connects directly to Royal Feast — they actually discuss this exact topic in the drama, and Royal Feast is grounded in real historical events. Ep 25: Yao Zijin to Hongxi emperor, "they said the treacherous officials and main perpetrators from emperor Jianwen's reign had been brought to justice. It's just pitiful that their innocent wives and daughters had to suffer. The were either all implicated, subjected to the Music Office, or become slaves to meritorious officials... "
Punishment: forcing corrupt officials’ wives, daughters, or female relatives into state-controlled brothels or sexual servitude.
Ming Emperors:
#1 Hongwu (founder of Ming dynasty ruled for 31 years, died at 69) — Started it. Created and used this punishment heavily.
#2 Jianwen (Hongwu's nephew, died 24 ruled 4 yrs) — Stopped it. Did not use this punishment at all.
Royal Feast features:
#3 Yongle (Zhu Di, son of Hongwu, rebelled against Jianwen and ruled for 22 years, died at 64) — Kept it. Allowed it in law, used it only occasionally.
#4 Hongxi (Zhu Gaochi, son of Yongle, on reigned for one year, died at 46, but he was a good emperor who cared about the people)— Ended it in practice. Did not enforce it.
#5 Xuande (Zhu Zhanji, son of Hongxi, reigned for ten years, died at 35) - he was a good emperor too.

Hongwu implemented such harsh punishments — including forcing corrupt officials’ wives and daughters into state brothels — because he grew up in extreme poverty, watched his family die, hated corrupt elites, and believed that only terror, collective responsibility, and public humiliation could stop officials from abusing power. His personal history made him see corruption as a moral rot that had to be crushed brutally, and he used the law to enforce that belief.

The Hongwu Emperor, founder of the Ming dynasty, created and institutionalized the punishment of forcing corrupt officials’ wives or daughters into state-controlled brothels, using it frequently as part of his harsh anti‑corruption campaigns and embedding it into state policy. The Jianwen Emperor, his successor, did not continue the practice; his gentle, scholarly governance focused on restraining princes rather than punishing officials’ families, and no records show him using brothel or enslavement penalties for women. The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) maintained Hongwu’s legal code but applied these extreme measures only selectively, mainly against political enemies, softening their frequency in practice. His successor, the Hongxi Emperor, effectively stopped the punishment altogether, reversing harsh policies and governing with humane Confucian principles, with no use of brothel or enslavement penalties for female relatives of corrupt officials.

Like all dynasties, the Ming eventually weakened over time and collapsed. Yao Zijin in Royal Feast is a fictional character, but she’s based on a real historical figure who truly became empress, even though the drama’s version of how she rises to that position is fictional. In the show she tries to abolish the practice of burying living people with emperors; she fails, and her grandson later succeeds. That part reflects real history — the Ming dynasty did abolish human burial, though the reform was carried out by actual emperors, not her. note: Hongwu did not start human burial — it existed long before him.

Now that I think about what you’re saying, it reminds me that Wu Jinyan — the actress from Story of Yanxi Palace and The Double — who plays Yao Zijin actually talked about that, or tried to help those women in Royal Feast, which is set in the Ming dynasty during Zhu Di’s era. Royal Feast also explores the lives of women in that period, along with other historical themes. Unlike this story, which isn’t based on historical accounts or maybe it is because of this connection because I believe that Royal Feast draws many of its elements directly from real history.

he was 18

I think the fantasy tag is wrong and misleading and should be removed. It can be tag for novel, but I think the adaption removed the fantasy elements otherwise it would not get approved for 47 episodes.

AI is a normal tool now. People use it in lots of everyday work. It’s just another part of the process, and CGI already uses AI all the time.

The story is historically grounded, even if dramatized. Art exaggerates to reveal truth.
Are you saying you're okay with being sold into a brothel for life and just keep doing it?

there's something about her performance as a villain that makes you feel bad for her

Then in episode 1, FL is 13 and ML is 18.
She is supposed to be well versed in arts, literature, music, etc. but she was only 13 when her family was wiped out.

I like her voice, sings like an angel.

The scene isn’t realistic because nobody was guarding the women — the two elders just opened the door. But I think that’s just this director’s style: show the big picture, skip the practical details.

When their legs were shaking from being hung, it matched my emotional state. After I saw how peaceful she was, I snapped out of it.

I don't' think she was ever abandoned by her fiancé. They never met in the first place. Arranged marriage, family arrange it first, then you meet later. I don't think you even have a choice.

I only see Xu Kai fans calling out posts that talk badly about him. Also, it's possible that there are users pretending to be Xu kai fans,

The act is horrific, but the image is peaceful. The grandmother looks almost like she’s sleeping. For me, it would have been better not to show their faces at all.
So many ways to die in the opening: poison, hanging, strangling, stabbing.

LI Meng is so good. Her performances are raw and honest.

you can have ep 4 you just have to paid for express