whoissilmoy

So did Cui ever really confessed or not, or he did confess, but since there was no evidence to execute him without creating chaos in his court, the emperor could only suspend him.

I haven't watched the last four episodes but reading spoilers, it seems I couldn't' figure anything out. The drama had no foreshadowing and what I thought was foreshadowing was not. The ending seems to take a bit of detour.

Perhaps literal translation ?

To be fair the drama is not about emperor. He’s just there.

The mysterious crown Prince I thought was the emperor 15 yrs ago finally appeared ?

This kind of format keeps each story tight within 5 to 6 episodes, so that there are no fillers for each story. It's different and interesting, like a series of short dramas, so the stories are tight, don't need filler stories for the main story, yet it allows ample time for the main story to unfold slowly throughout the drama. This kind of format also allows the FL to dominate throughout the drama.

I wonder if this is the environment of short form dramas that are challenging long form, or is it just detective storytelling format.

Prince Duane once commanded a great military. I guess Uncle Luo was the remaining loyal solider of his personal army to avenge for him. After Cui confessed, and FL did not kill him, I thought maybe someone else loyal to Prince Duane would attempt to kil Cui. Of course, not.

ok, I'll wait to watch because I don't understand why he would invade the palace when the sister is so loved by the emperor, which is how he became prime minister and able to survive corruption, and the emperor even spared him because of his love for the consort. He is suspended but he has enough men of his own to invade a palace.

ML told her he didn't think she can kill someone and still sleep at night didn't make sense though, likely a poor translation. I think she would have no problems sleeping if she killed Cui.

I'd say 25% is romance.

The way they showed it in back-to-back scenes, I felt he was deeply heartbroken that triggered his illness. The drama portrays him as a delicate man, both physically and mentally, which is why his mental state led to physical illness (coughing blood is a sign it affected his health). That's why it took ML a whole month to come out of it. It took the FL only 2 weeks, so she's made out to be not only physically but also mentally tougher than him. This drama reverses gender roles. The FL has the temperament of a man while the ML has the temperament of a woman. I think the contrast was intended to elevate the FL character. She fought so many bad guys all bloody and almost to death and didn't get sick, while the ML is sick. Everything she does is what you expect from the male lead in a story, and everything he does is what you expect from a female lead in a story. The theme is to highlight women. However, the FL never dominates men, she's just superior to them in every way.

You didn't explain why this time the emperor decided to execute him, and not last time, when he had already confessed, or did he not confess before, because no one really heard his confession

I thought she already cleared his name when the right prime minister confessed.

This drama is following kids/young people in a very specific, privileged segment of society for that era. Two young people having their own house is really incredible even if it's very small, when you consider that there were people who lives in coffin units, your entire space is the size of a bunk bed. Imagine that, and you once were wealthy landowner with treasures of gold and jade, reduced to that kind of conditions.

you never have to be sorry. You do so much posting links for us.

I was asking someone who is Chinese what a Chinese poem means and he said, it's hard to explain it, there ae no words I can use.

emperor to ML: "You look withered and emotionless too."
a man weakened by a month in bed, unable even to open a jar of wine
He captured the melancholy beautifully.

Fun fact: During the Tang dynasty, both socialite women and royal women sometimes wore low, wide‑necked outfits that revealed the shoulders, upper chest, and even a hint of cleavage — a look very similar to certain French fashions. It’s a style you won’t see in modern C‑dramas because of censorship and today’s modesty rules.

She calls herself the cursed lone star and doesn't want him to be cursed too. I think that's why she pushes him away, to protect him from herself, but is shown to care a great deal about him.

When nobles and elites recite classical Chinese poetry, the English translations we receive can never fully capture its meaning, because the language carries nuances that simply don’t exist in English.