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Haha, ML's other tragic backstory (his clan) has been kept and that is already tragic enough, he is already too pitiful in the novel, so I am glad they removed this aspect.

No, it is not really a matter of sex/gender to the king, he just beds everyone he thinks is beautiful regardless of age and gender. He is basically a predator. He did this to many.

And no, there has been historical gay/bisexual kings in China before.

Alsooo spoiler for Wei Zhao's relationship with the king in the novel (they had to change this in the drama because no way it did pass to air):

Besides working in the court/fighting in battles, Wei Zhao was forced to be one of the king's bedmates since he was young because he is a beauty (the clan he came from were all known for their beauty). He was spotted by the king when he was climbing a tree. That's why he also later said to Jiang Ci to not climb trees (aka get into trouble that would change the course of one's life). So there is another layer of why he wanted revenge so badly and why he is so pitiful.

Yeah, the romance is nice later on as both let down their guards, but the political plot really is the main attraction IMO of the novel (and now drama).

If anyone is watching with English subs, I don't recommend iQiyi. 😔 The subs are terrible and skip sentences. I don't know if it is Ai generated but it is obvious there is no proofreading.

Yes, him and RJL are both dubbed by voice actors.

From ML's POV yes, but also from FL's POV, she has no idea if he would or won't kill her especially after being fed a poison pill right away and stabbed after the first convo (from her POV, this is just some random masked dude who showed up on the tree and got her pinned ASAP). From both of their POVs, they did what they thought would be the best. ML shutting her up/attempting to end her to not expose himself while FL trying to save herself because she knows no one else will come to her aid. I think this is what makes the first episode so great, tons of conflicts already set in motion.

Romance won't happen until later anyway lol, ML and 2nd ML busy plotting and using FL against each other while FL is just trying to survive.

Also for people who is not into the political aspect, just know that this drama does have that, and it majorly influence these characters and their worldviews. Them being soldiers, working in the court, etc. isn't just some once mentioned and never again plot point. It affects all of their decisions (and yes even questionable ones viewers might not be comfortable with if they just want pure romance where personal love is greater than the greater good).

Love for these characters is almost like a surprise that happened to them unexpectedly. Their goals and motives were established even before meeting each other especially for ML and 2nd ML.

Tbh, it just shows how far he is willing to go to accomplish his goal. He actually wasn't going to attempt to kill Jiang Ci at first because he saw the book she has on her (which is related to his background).

But because from Jiang Ci's POV, she needed to save herself so broke the vase which then allowed everyone to realize something is up and Wei Zhao has to create a distraction not to mention keeping her alive by then would put him and those who were part of the plan at risk (he realized she is a fighter basically and won't just stay quiet about things).

From his POV, Jiang Ci is already suspicious enough being able to be at this peace conference despite the tight security especially when she has no martial arts background (and we will find out later why she even got there).

Slow burn but it is there. They start off as enemies so as we learn more about the ML, we start to see why FL eventually falls for him too.

The political aspect is important in this story too because it shapes all the characters and explain why they do what they do.

Just finished episode 1! The plot is plotting. They really jumped right in with the peace conference and viewers will have to slowly piece everything together from their background to their motives.

The 5 episode previews really showing Jiang Ci going through it. 😭😂 Poor girl lmao.

Unless you are talking about SVIP then yes, some people can watch episode 6 earlier, but I am only talking about the normal schedule.

According to the official airing schedule, it is episode 1-5 today.

5 episodes airing today!!!

Another trailer!!! Angst at full force.

Li Landi actually has other better pre-drama filming looks for this drama but it seems like none of those make the cut. 😔 Her studio just released another short clip and the end shows her with the side braid style that I am pretty sure won't be in the drama sadly...

Have you seen her latest filmed Zhao Xue Lu? She looks absolutely amazing there. Her best historical hair styles + outfits are definitely in that drama. 🤩