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Lanxiang is too lovely for people not to fall for her. 😂 Anyone with good taste would want her as a spouse.

Oh yes, I get what you mean. She isn't in love with Han Liang either. Lanxiang to me is someone who slowly falls in love instead. And like she said in the preview clip, she asked Jinqi if he would have done that if she was a high-ranking lady which is true. Would he had dare to do that to the lady of another prominent family with parents who hold power without even talking to them first? Most likely not. And like another user mentioned before, part of it might be him in some way still viewing her as "beneath" him.

Yup! And Gantang ends up with Xiaolian's brother.

It is a very the journey matters or not matters if the ending is the same dilemma. 😔 She respects and likes him as a person now but that doesn't mean she would have married him if she truly had a choice then. But that is the complexity of these marriages before love kind of plot!

According to the drama script leaks, he is very sweet to her after marriage and tries a lot. She apparently slaps him a lot lol and she falls for him way later. She also has to deal with a lot of mess just with being in the Lin family. First Madam herself apparently didn't fully accept her until close to her own death.

Haha, I like "boring" characters. I think it is actually harder to be a person with good character and being able to stick to one's beliefs in the face of pressure.

She isn't in love with him at this point though and according to the spoilers, didn't fall for him until way later.

Jiugao got married with Yuchan. Nanke got married with Xiaolian. Gantang got married with Xiaolian's older brother.

Yes, the drama is so self-aware about the topics of servants/slaves, freedom, women's limited options that having a relationship like this aiming for a happy ending ends up almost in conflict with the journey we have been seeing.

Lanxiang does eventually fall for Jinqi, but it will take time (as it should and makes sense with her character).

Agree, but it is more so this incoming marriage was done by imperial decree. This was the ultimate no choice. Even with arranged marriages, it can fall out during the discussion process with the parents or people end up eloping. But imperial decree was straight up no discussion. It had to be done or else heads will roll.

Definitely. First Madam was shocked when Lanxiang asked for hers and her parents' freedom. People with their status probably never thought servants actually thought about freedom. They probably thought these servants are fine as long as they have a shelter over their head and food on their table. First Madam was also shocked when Du Cuique laughed at her for saying what else can women do besides getting married. Jinqi will just have to deal with the consequences of his actions. He likes that Lanxiang is "special/interesting", but he somehow underestimated her if he thought she did be happy about what he did.

Yes, as the main couple, it is obvious us viewers want to root for them but there is a power imbalance and it is something that will have to be addressed. Jinqi is able to do what he is about to do also because he is a man and privileged compared to Lanxiang. There is a preview clip of Lanxiang asking Jinqi if he would have done what he did if she was a high-ranking lady (not going through the formal process of speaking to her parents, not talking to her, etc.) and that really is the question that Jinqi needs to examine within himself.

I agree, the writing of the female villains are definitely starting to seem gimmicky. There were already some holes with Du Cuique's writing and this new one is even less interesting.

If you want, I have spoilers of who is getting paired up with Jiugao and Nanke.

Xiuwan being more mature about this than Second Madam. 💀 Though I understand she is just feeling really bad for her daughter. Happy about the development that both Xiuru and Xiuwan are getting and the kind of characters they will become in the future.

I think dramas like this that have servants/slavery as the main focus tend to come into heads when the genre is mixed in with romance with the "master/former master" (regardless of how well this master treated the former servant/slave). My mind will probably continue to change as time goes on but Lanxiang is a character whose choices have been continuously taken away but she endures/overcomes within the position she is put in and comes out of it safely due to her wits (with her kindness touching many). We can say it is fate she ends up with Jinqi since they were arranged for marriage when they were young, but it was also a choice not given to her even back then. The choice she does have is to make the relationship work and achieve happiness.

We know she will end up happy at the end as this is a drama and written with obstacles that ultimately won't end her life. But I do think about the many women who were forced into marriage in that time period (and it is really the luck of the draw if the man turns out decent enough to have a decent married life even without love). I am here for the ride, and I will always appreciate dramas like this that might not even have an "answer", but just to get viewers thinking.

Han Liang is such a good character. I can see why all the people who read about him in the drama script leaks praised him as a very likeable character.

I know the drama spoilers already from the script leaks lol. There was really no further explanation even then, she does come back later to cause more chaos out of pure hate for Lanxiang and the Lin family though as part of the Wo pirates. But the initial build up was all that the drama gave us. The actress herself spoke about the character not being fully build up and fleshed out. 😔

Zhao Xingtang comes back later but her initial set up was completed already and viewers get a full understanding of her.

They do have some very young-looking actors there!

He really has a baby face, I was shocked.

Right?? I thought he was some way younger actor until I realized he was ZYT.

I just made the connection that the actor playing young Lin Jinqi is Zhou Yitao... guess how old he is? He is 32 years old. 😲

Sure! I only read some snippets of the novel here and there. Who is the other character besides Du Huamei?

Honestly, it is because this is a drama with romance at the end of the day and written to be a good ending.

Humans in general are so complex too and it is true that love won't cover all of it. Lanxiang "proved" her worth to him beyond just a regular maid he can trust like Yuchan because she is smart, educated, caring, and decisive. He definitely admires her as a person, and she did open up his mind too about servants and their struggles. If Lanxiang was just kind/caring like Xiaolian without the wits, I don't think Jinqi would be interested in her.

I want to say love is unconditional, but I do think love is conditional, especially for a man with his status and having to uphold the Lin household. With the entitlement aspect, we won't know until the drama gets to the forced marriage part and see how the drama and characters deal with it. Would he had done what he did with the forced marriage if Lanxiang was still from a proper high ranked family and also not interested in him (even if he was in love with her)? Maybe not.