SPOILERS BELOW
On a lot of the comments during viewing, many viewers have expressed their frustration at the slow-burn pacing of the romance. However, what puzzles me is that they keep saying things such as "you've been married for 2 years now" as to why it was ridiculous for Shiyi to continue to resist her feelings.
I could be wrong, but I thought that much less time had passed. I was under the impression that from her marriage to the first kiss at the festival, only around 4-5 months had passed.
- Yuanniang dies and LingYi observes a one-year mourning period. Shiyi and LingYi are engaged at this point but not married and do not interact with each other.
- LingYi and Shiyi are married. At this time, there is a scene showing Danyang complaining about being related to a concubine born daughter, and her husband tells her not to get upset because she is just recently pregnant. I pretty much use her pregnancy as a clock to see how much time has passed from here on out. When Shiyi is sent off to the village b/c of the zodiac issue, Danyang is experiencing morning sickness, which is usually in the first trimester, so I estimate she's about 2-3 months along when this happens.
- The kiss happens in episode 27
- There's maybe a month of separation (it takes a good bit of travel for him to get to his destination and then back to rescue her). It's mentioned that 10 days have passed when Lingyi is at the village he's inspecting because the maids are concerned that Shiyi has been working non-stop for that amount of time due to her guilt.
- After the reunion, some more time is needed Lingyi's wounds to heal
- Touchdown at episode 35
- Danyang doesn't give birth until episode 36. The labor is triggered by events so perhaps is even early, but we'll go with a 7 month period of time here after subtracting 2-3 months from an average pregnancy.
About a month for LingYi to fall in love - though it seems he's smitten within days. Boi fell hard! LOL
3-4 more months for Shiyi to realize she loves him back and give up on her plans to escape the marriage once her mother's killer is found (convo with her maid after the festival). Bear in mind all the subplots that had to be worked out between that time and LingYi's business trips. Also their first kiss.
1 month of separation
1-2 more months (mostly b/c Lingyi's wounded both physically and emotionally) before they consummate their relationship - though this could be sped up depending on how early Danyang's delivery was.
That's not a huge amount of time for someone to fall in love, give up their life's dream of independence, and commit to a relationship they were never planning on staying in.
So where is this "been married for years," "it's been two years already," etc... coming from? Or is it a calculation error on my end?
