CdramaMaven4762

This is why I find it telling that the ML only asked for that degree.
But this is also why the Lin patriarch is so furious. In his mind, Jinqi should have asked for some kind of imperial appointment, and if a marriage, at least to a princess or Duke's daughter ... and if not that, at least promote the former maid into the nobility somehow.

Yes, you are correct. Furong's family opposed the new emperor, was betrayed by the Zheng family and was destroyed. The Shens fell because even before that, the grandfather had worked with the deposed emperor to keep all the princes from gaining enough power to overthrow the emperor.

This is a family that has just exited slavery. Everything they've seen about the relationship between their class and rich people has been harmful to them. So they instinctively view their daughter returning to that world as threatening and potentially devastating. They want her to marry Scholar Han because then she remains close by, in a harmonious setting with people they like and feel comfortable with. Lin Jia, on the other hand, as their former slaveholders, is as far across the cultural divide as they could get - outside of the royal household. Aside from the shock itself - it's not every day an imperial decree is read in a commoner's household - breaking the cultural hierarchy puts their daughter into a dangerous position, where she can potentially be bullied or otherwise mistreated.

Literally. That duet singing was the last straw. Even if he'd intended to hold off, that literal and figurative harmony was becoming too established.

I'm not at all glazing over his actions. He knows what he did was wrong, as do all the rest of us. I'm quite excited to see all the fallout hit the fan ... but that doesn't mean I can't also appreciate the masterfulness of the move. That decree is checkmate to all the people who were standing in his way and keeping him from having the one thing in life that he wants more than anything else.
But there is a saying, "Take what you want, says God, and pay for it." I think he may be surprised by the fallout.

I am hooting over here ...

I don't think he's as "upright" a fellow as all the "shocked" people were expecting. They haven't watched the fight scenes carefully. They ignored the way he eliminated not one but TWO women he wasn't interested in, and that he never touched the maids in his own household. They didn't notice that he ditched the scholarly tradition of his household to run away to war. This is a man who isn't afraid to go after what he wants and to get it by whatever means necessary - with the bounds of his own morals. I was frankly gleeful that he did it this way; it's entirely in keeping with what we already know of him.

He hasn't reached the remorse stage yet. He's still seeing himself as the hero of the story.
Lanxiang will take fix that.

I was SO GLAD when I saw that decree ... lol ... I really really didn't want Lanxiang to be further entangled with that Han guy.

That whole duke thing was the tail off of the Wo pirates ... getting to the person in high places who was the mastermind behind everything.

I think he'll be FINE ... once the stank wears off ... kml ...
There's something about a genuinely contrite masterful man ... and you know what they say, sometimes it's better to apologize than ask permission... KML ...
I'm looking foward to the fallout, tho' ...

She's drunk.

I think this is more than concern for what the maids would think. I think he genuinely respects Yunchan's opinion. I also think he assumes the maids will be in Lanxiang's corner, given their previous experience with them.

You know there's not going to be any lovey-dovey anything about this wedding night.... kml...

Indeed... this guy is able to get the emperor to give him a marriage degree of his choice... who cares about the actual woman!!!
These are some "can't see the forest for the trees" people.

I've seen irrevocable decree marriages multiple times on Cdramas, to the point where it's practically a trope.

I agree with this. But I also understand the toxicity of the ML's actions from the audience's perspective. They've spent the last two - three episodes drowning in the apparent harmony of the FL's interactions with Scholar Han... even in the FLs [self-induced] moments of danger he's portrayed as her saviour. So the ML comes across as high handed.
I, unlike so many, find his highhandedness masterful and unlike Scholar Han's passivity, impressive. I am impressed by his resourcefulness, patience, and great timing. I can see how those would potentially make a very good husband. In Scholar Han's household, the FL would be doing all the heavy lifting. With Lin Daye, she's going to have lots of space to grow, but always also a support system that nourishes and sustains that growth.

C'mon ... we ALL know he did something wrong here ... we just are willing to give him a pass so we can see what happens next ... kml

No, I admit my humanity on this topic.
I feel Scholar Han has already leveraged his unusual amount of proximity to get his paws on a golden girl. If our ML had similar access to her, would she have chosen Scholar Han? I think Lin Jinqi is a better match on an intellectual level.
But that doesn't change the dynamics from a modern perspective, I know...

I hate to admit that I am totally on his side - in the drama.
In a modern setting, not so much.