JJJ

I also don't know how she can ever trust anyone again. Majority of her main relationships in this drama have been filled with lies, omissions, or just outright not saying anything even when she asked. Her feelings have been constantly casted aside for the "greater good". If they were just going to keep treating her like this, none of them should have developed feelings for her. Because now with the feelings mixed in, Jiang Ci is being expected to put her personhood aside to trust in feelings that have been laced with lies throughout her journey.

Poor Jiang Ci. The people who are claiming to protect her are all making plans/decisions FOR her without keeping her in the loop (saying just "stay still" or "I will protect you" is NOT enough communication), then there are people outright trying to end her, then there are the people (like Cui Liang and Dong Second Lady) with no agenda but doesn't have enough power.

I did lose it already.

Need them to figure it out soon and unite against their common enemy. 🙏

Jiang Ci hasn't really smiled a lot for the past few episodes, Wei Zhao's eyebrows are in constant downward mode from all the stress/problems he got to deal with, and here we have Pei Yan smiling away thinking he is about to eat noodles with Jiang Ci. Pei Yan is a menace. 😂

Lowkey funny that despite whatever Jiang Ci is feeling, she will always acknowledge Wei Zhao is beautiful. 😂

Haha they will have some. But this is a historical setting after all, and they are all too deeply involved with politics. It would never be a typical fluff romance where there won't be external factors affecting them. They all carry too many burdens.

This is based on the script leaks. They also need the remaining episodes to get through other things so they did have to wrap it up. 😂

Lmaooo, they have no choice anyway but to wrap it up since they got a whole other thing coming that requires all of them to be reunited.

Yeah, they will resolve it. Probably by like episode 34.

Yup, she pretty much has a knee/leg injury at this point. I think it started back in Yue Luo (she was rubbing medicine on her legs after she was climbing those mountains for the Lingjiu flowers).

And plus, in the palace, she has to kneel a lot for ceremonies and whatnot so I am sure that doesn't make it better. Let's see if this gets expanded. I feel like her knees being like this is also a symbolism of a bird's wings being taken away. She uses her legs to run, her legs are hurt/in pain right now, which makes it harder for her to escape (like a bird without their wings).

I think the emperor is planning to use Pei Yan to keep Jiang Ci in check. His words to him were "make sure she doesn't show any distress". He doesn't really care for Jiang Ci nor Pei Yan enough to even be concerned it did be a potential incestual relationship especially since no one else knows (he did only care if he actually cared for them). In a way, it might actually be better for him because he could always claim he didn't know and drag Madam Rong into it.

Pei Yan (unlike Wei Zhao) is not questioning the emperor's and Prince Qi's relationship. Because the emperor has always spoken Prince Qi in a positive light so I don't think most people would know of their potential bad relationship. Even Wei Zhao didn't know the emperor supposedly placed Prince Qi under house arrest 20 years ago until JC's master mentioned it.

-Madam Rong: Hates the Xie family (imperial family) and wants to kill Jiang Ci
-Wei Zhao: Hates whoever destroyed his family/implicated his father/Yue Luo... pending
-Jiang Ci's master: Hates the Xiao family + imperial family
-Pei Yan: Funny enough, doesn't actually hate anyone, he is just in opposition with Wei Zhao and currently forced to align with his mother, but cracks are forming
-Emperor: ?

Current update of who hates who edition:

For sure, he caught that WZ is interested in JC too. The emperor seems "passive" right now, but he has really good observation skills.

He probably thought he had the capability to protect JC + thought his mother would be okay with him ascending the throne via marriage to her. But PY underestimated how much Madam Rong hates the Xie family and doesn't want anything to do with them.

In the novel, Dong Second Lady ended up marrying Pei Yan for political reasons. Though Cui Liand and Dong Second Lady were in love with each other, they could not be together.

Let's say a prayer for those clay kittens, gone but never forgotten 🙏

-First born clay kitten (rosy cheeks): Birthed by Prince Qi, raised by Jiang Ci, cracked by Wei Zhao, and killed by Lu Yu
-Second born clay kitten (ugly one): Birthed by Jiang Ci, given to Wei Zhao, and killed by Wei Zhao.
-Third born clay kitten (masked one): Birthed by Wei Zhao, given to Jiang Ci via that vendor and still alive
-More to come?

Madam Rong did kill Lu Yu's son after all (to frame it on the emperor), she is ready to risk it all.

Do you want spoilers for those two?

If they have the same surname (Xie) + on father's side, it would be a no. But in this case, Pei Yan's surname to others is Pei so it won't really matter unless it gets out that Pei Yan is the emperor's son and should carry the surname Xie (even if it is not true).