Reviews

Best thing about this episode is what DIDN'T happen: The Honey Trap

The high quality of the script of this drama is perhaps best demonstrated by what they DIDN'T include in this episode. This episode, with a banquet and all kinds of key guests, was the perfect setting for the classic stereotypical drama trope: The Honey Trap. But this show very gracefully avoided the usual way such a contrivance is implemented and instead used a more subtle mechanism - the Larkspur hairpin - for similar purpose. So much subtler and yet just as dangerous and in this story, very cleverly resolved. Everything was so much more 'adult' in the way both the trap was set by Du Chu Que and the way it was discovered and mitigated by Lan Xiang (with some assistance by others). No silly dramatics / drugs / couple locked in room/ etc., etc.. like the typical 'honey trap' scene usually entails.

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Look how smart and capable my wife is🥰😁

I owe the doc an apology. He shrewdly helped her with verifying what LanXiang said rather than officially checking it and having to disprove the break. I think he was well aware of what was required to win in court and glad to assist. His signature with the wounds and signature could not be denied. JinQi and Lanxiang had plans within plans on how to help XiuLai. First to encourage her to accept the penalty for bringing the case to court. That alone surprised her bastard of a husband.😝😡 The officials kept saying that without a breaking of bones there was nothing to bring forward and at this time official Dai was more than happy to pin that on JinQi.😝Official Lu was so proud of his wife beating instruction that he continues to bring it up to his son’s detriment.🤣😝 They are all telling him to shut up.🤣😂I loved that the second he stopped gloating over his distraught wife that LanXiang a;roaches the court with documents in hand. She listed off all the things on the bridal registry and that the Lu’s had stoked 3k worth of properties and possessions that were not part of the dowry but her holding them for the family. Hubby dearest couldn’t refute anything because his wife candidly told why her registry was ripped up three years ago. The family had two options they could settle and let mother and daughter leave, or go to court and give back what they stole. Pompous ass husband dropped to his knees and begged for charges to be dropped. JinQi volunteered to take his sister’s punishment so his strikes were doubled compared to the guilty one. How’s that for justice?😝😡🤬🙄Jinqi is so proud of LanXiang he has pure admiration on his face as she slams the Lus with charges they can’t get out of. Then when she fights Dai for her husband and poor old guy has to dole out 200 non life threatening blows. I am satisfied watching the women in the audience seeing a woman win in court. They saw that women rich or poor could be beaten legally but they also saw a woman bring charges they couldn’t deny. Haha the braggart Xie that wouldn’t marry XiuWan is not looking happy with wife or job. He has placed dead last in the exam and now all can see. Ms Dai is looking forward to seeing JinQi beaten. I kinda hate it that he’s on a stretcher from beating as 3rd rank scholar Han passes by. That definitely sucked. But I did like that LanXiang got a chance to congratulate him in person. And a thumbs up to JinQi who saved a bit of face grabbing LanXiang’s hand. He was definitely in pain but playing it up to get LanXiang’s nursing care. They should have had him ask her to tell the story of her play. That would have been a very special moment between them This episode gave a nice presentation of their combined skills as they both used tricks of the trade to win over the Lus. They definitely prevaricated, but considering the judges and the perpetrator, that just gave them a level playing field. Their conversation was quite sweet until she said something treasonous aloud and he hushed her up reminding her some things cannot be said. She is not repulsed by his hand holding but she’s not seeking it out either. I really hate that the victim has to pay twice as much as the guilty one. It’s hard seeing that as justice. It’s just the pound of flesh required to hopefully make you incapable of speaking for yourself because they kill you off even if given your day in court. Mother and daughter will finally be back with family and everybody else getting ready for wedding and leaving the capital ASAP.

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Dealing with a wife beater 🤬

JinQi was shocked at how matter of factly LanXiang told him her trade as a playwright had been decided before marriage and she had every expectation of writing plays. She would use the pseudonym Shen Rugu to not bring any taint to the Lin family, but no matter his thoughts on the matter, she would not be dissuaded from her choice. She calmly leaves the room while JinQi inquires about the play. Again JiuGao knows all about it. This play is about a woman that has a feather and can turn into a bird three times and return to human form, on the fourth change she will stay a bird forever. Each stage of the woman’s life was covered with using the feather. Even after changing a fourth time it seems she wanted to visit her daughter and was caught in a hunter’s net. The women provided soldout performances and even hired private performances. When we are introduced to Xiu Lai’s predicament, she is beaten as badly as servants with a husband specifically trained by his construction worker father how to beat her with no visible evidence. XiuWan has truly changed. She defies her mother who wants her niece to hide her domestic abuse and to bear with it til her husband got what he wanted. Xiu Wan tells Lanziang and the story of JinQi’s outrage after seeing abuse and taking it to the abusers and beating them.👏🏻 He was all of eight at the time. 😁So LanXiang arranged a group of men to beat up the husband yelling how he beat his wife to get the position. The miscreant Lu pretended leg broken and barely alive when they went to confront JinQi. JinQi had no clue why they were blaming him and why would he beat up his brother in law. The father was so helpful saying it was just wife discipline and his son had been trained to hit just enough and there was no reason to beat his son to such a degree. JinQi used two techniques to make it clear what would be required if Mr Lu joined the army and he was instantly cured and ran off. 😝🙄🤬The patriarch promised to bring him up on charges. JinQi knows who falsely accused him and why. He knows LanXiang has a plan and heads over to the Lu residence. Xiu Lai is in the process of ending her life with arsenic when her husband disrupts her and the Lin women carry her home. I am sure it was an acting prop that had her bleeding to scare off the Lu women blocking their path. The imperial doctor doesn’t want to assist and claims her wounds not life threatening and a mere 2-3years of treatments would have her cured.😝🙄🤬He was not going to bother to set her arm so quite fortunate LanXiang did. I really like JinQi saying no time like the present since she had a plan in place.👏🏻👏🏻 I also like how XiuWan tricked her own mother to recognize her hypocrisy in helping Xiu Lai. That woman….she gets too much screen time and always on my nerves.😝🙄 They take it to court, but beating your wife isn’t against the law apparently and hubby looks ever so pleased with the result as shown in preview.🙄🤬

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