Kokuto:
Oh, THANK YOU, liddi! Was waiting the subbed version!
You're welcome!
Finally caught up with all the episodes last night. Poor Yuan Mo is now branded a scoundrel by everyone, and he has no idea why! Having a great deal of fun with the drama thus far as they go from one hurdle to the next. The camaraderie is such a joy to watch, and I love too how the older ministers/officials mentor the younger ones, paving the way for them to grow and come into their own. One of my favourites is seeing how all of them worked together to set up the talks between all the envoys; as well as how the Mobei envoy is being checked by Prince Duomi. Still, the previews already show that all might not end well with Prince Duomi, though I half suspect that it might be just another ploy to finally unmask the Mobei envoy's deal with Yanle. Can't imagine Xu Haiqiao showing up for just a brief cameo.
A familiar face, LYF's Lirong Chang shows up as the seemingly harmless Qing'er, and is now working in Sifang Pavilion. From his facial features and based on what we see in Ep20 preview, he is very likely the White-robed Stranger, leader of the Faceless. However, I don't believe he is the original White-robed Stranger who killed Yuan Mo's parents - he would have been a child of roughly Yuan Mo's age at the time. My take is that the White-robed Stranger is a leadership position passed down from generation to generation, and he just happens to be the latest leader. I am also very suspicious of Susu, who very conveniently killed Chen Xinliang just as he was about to be caught and risk exposing information regarding the Faceless. My take is that she is a Faceless spy sent to infiltrate Sifang Pavilion, and has been leaking information about their plans, which resulted in them being so easily exposed (and not because Yuan Mo and co were terrible in disguising themselves). It is possible too that she deliberately ensured An Xiuyi and her were lost, so that the plan to trap the Red Lotus Society would be foiled. I wonder whether she too has some tragic backstory like Xiao Er, or a change of heart seeing she appears to love An Xiuyi. We shall see.
Looking forward to tonight's episode, especially the scene when Yuan Mo returns after being thrashed by Duke Yuchi, since this is the scene TJC and Du Chun cites where they could not stop laughing as they filmed. Can't wait!