Alysha Johnson

I was thinking the exact same thing "kill them with kindness"... I think that's his weapon/angle, and why the soft-hearted YWS was chosen to target him and not the suspicious and cunning SGQ. We need water to play with water. The sincere soft hearted YWS to go against the seemingly ever trusting Ziyu. The two of them is playing the battle of the heart. The other pair is playing the battle of the mind.

I think episode 12-13 make me realize why the Elders prefer someone from the Yu lineage to be the next SW over Gong Shang Jue. It's very obvious he's very torment over his mother and brother's death, which mean that his desire for revenge toward Wufeng would be very strong. He also been quite cold, exact and ruthless in his dealings. Once he's a SW, who's stopping him from using Gong family to declare full on war against Wufeng? Gong family is Wufeng enemy but they have always been on a defense mode to survive. GSJ would definitely take them on an attack mode.

that's a good theory

Maybe I have missed the part about the women that were born into the family. I know if they married in they can't leave. But if they are like the Eldest sister and got marry I assume they would. Unless I missed that part.

It doesn't make me "feel" bad? It just doesn't make sense to question something that is already clearly explained in the story.

First in the setting of this drama, children always inherit their father last name, except for rare cases. Assuming this is one of those rare cases, then the husband have other concubine who give birth to his children. Children can only inherit their own parent's last name. So the children from other wives can only inherit the husband last name or their own mother's last name. So that mean that her and her brother would have different last name if they are from different mother. Taking a last name also mean getting record into the family's genealogical book and getting full right to inheritances and things like that. If the mother was a Gong, then it serve her no purpose to include her husband's mistress children into her own family book and legitimized them to fight her own kid's inheritance. And third, culturally it is quite embarrassing for a man to marry into his wife's family and have his kids take her last name. So husband like that most likely are not allow to have "other wives" because they have no power in that relationship. Even if they have other mistresses, they have no right to bring the child back. But most of all if they do, they want the kids to inherit their own last name, not their wife's.

So if Eldest sister mom's a Gong, but her dad is not, and her brother is from another mother, then she is the only person qualify to inherit the Shang lineage, not her brother. The only way the younger brother from another mother can inherit that position over her is if her dad is the Gong.

She said that they have same dad but different mom. So it can only mean that her father is a Gong. If Gong Zi Shang marry Jin Fan then their kid will follow Jin Fan's last name.

I didn't read that scene as intimidation, but more like a gotcha-funny moment.

people are speculating that he left when he's not supposed to, hence why he told Lady Lan not to mention of "today's event" aka seeing him.

To be fair GongshangJue is a harder nut to crack than GZY. GZY is like a puppy. He already have a kind heart toward women. Whereas GSJ is very suspicious.

tianfang mean to marry a widow, so i don't think "second" is the emphasis here. it could mean this is his third marriage/aka third wife, fourth wife, etc...

If Huanyu's mother was a concubine, then it make more sense that Ziyu would be pushed as the next successor since birth right? I know this is more of a Wuxia but it's hard for me to wrap my head around the possibility that Huanyu's mother would be a concubine since from the beginning he was already named as the next successor. Don't legal wife always have priority? Yes I understand Huanyu is capable and that played a role in him being chosen. But they do live in a very toxic place where it's harder for women to give birth and survive. So I think it's possible that ex SW already have a first wife. And besides he look a bit older when he marry Lady Lan (I know it's a bit bias but still.)

Based on @peachblossomgoddess explaination, I think the best way I understand it is like at work. When you have this excellent employee but don't want to promote them because you need that employee for exactly the job they're doing. So technically based on the rule, there is nothing stopping Gong Shang Jue from being the next SW. But because he is so useful in one way (making money as the rep of the Jue line), they want him to remain in that position. BUT you don't want that employee to know and dip so you give them false hope of promotion.

Secondly, since Yu lineage has always been the one responsible for the internal affair, they want someone from the Yu line to be the next SW. It could also be that Gong Shang Jue is so capable but uncontrollable that they prefer someone like Gong Zi Yu who they can control better.

I went back and watch it. I didn't hear Lady Wuji said Lady Lan is the first wife? She just said ex-SW select Lady Lan as his bride. Then after she died, he married Lady Wuji?

Or think of it this way. Older brother mom is 1st wife, Lady Lan is 2nd wife, and Lady Wuji is 3rd wife. The story does not mentioned the first wife because she serve no purpose in the story.

No. Older brother probably was from the first wife. We can deduce that she died, so that's why the ex SW elect a new wife, aka Lady Lan, who is the 2nd wife. If my hearing is not wrong, I believe Lady Wuji is not the 3rd wife, but more like a concubine or lady in waiting.

Mother of the brother was not mentioned probably because she's not important to the story. Older brother's mother must have been a legal wife, otherwise he would not have been in line to inherit the SW position over Gong Zi Yu. Legal wife children always have priority over concubine's children.

Idk why but I get the vibe since the beginning that Shangguang Qian have feeling for Gong Shang Jue even before her mission? I think their "meeting" where he dropped the penchant was orchestrated by her. BUT I think she knew of him before that and already like him. To me, the way she act toward Gong Shang Jue feel MORE than just because of the mission. Or maybe this actress/spy is so good that even viewer like me is fool into thinking she has genuine feeling.

Oh okay then I guess it's not just me. I am hoping we are shown at some point why Gong Zi Yu get all this special treatment and that he is worth it. Because at this point, although he is on a "growth" path, it feel very disingenuous to see that people are giving him too much leeway. I think it actually have a negative effect and cut down on the legitimacy of his character's growth.

Can someone explain why everyone seem to be a little biased toward Gong Zi Yu? Is it just because he's kind likable? For example, Elder Yue like him. But when the other elders were having meeting when he left the trial early, they also bend the rules and make exceptions for him. I understand Gong Shang Jue's rebuttal, because it DOES feel like everyone is biased toward Gong Zi Yu. Even when he went to the backhill for the trial, the other Xue lineage people seem to "like" him and seem biased toward him as well. I'm just wondering if I miss any clues. Or the clues haven't been told yet. Is it just because Gong Zi Yu is likeable or is there something else about his background. Am I thinking too far into this?

Haha I feel better knowing I'm not the only one. Not only that those part felt like it was going really slow, the scene, the dialogues etc.. I put it on 2x speed.

Yangzi analysis is quite spot on and quite ironic. Considering that for most of the novel, everyone thought XY was the prize because she has the most illustrious bloodline. But digging deeper, it's true that XY doesn't have much to give.

Let's look at CX - when he get with XinYue and other women, he can give them the "shell" (material, shallow stuff like prestige, wealth, power, looks), and they happily wanted that. They didn't care for his heart but he didn't care either. He can offer what he willing to give and get back in return. In contrast, XY wanted undying loyalty from her suitors (while already gave it away to CX). She wanted true love, sincerity and trust (while not willing to give it because she's already traumatized).

She's asking for what she can't even give herself. And given XY's position and choice, it really left her with no other choice. In a way it's not that XY have three choices, but rather she picked whoever that picked her. And only Jing picked her, while the other two didn't, given her "conditions".