DramaAjumma

What you say here makes some sense and it's the best justification I've seen so far of why the narrative has taken the turn it has. But I still think the shift in direction feels abrupt.

Frankly to me that's a writing flaw to me as well. After trying so hard in all other ways, he's throwing in the towel without even trying to negotiate with her like he's always done. I believe he respects her freedom but this feels completely out of character for me.

I'm devastated for Liang Yi. He had so much reason to hope that he'd won her heart and it all came crashing down in those moments not long after Qiu Yan suddenly tells him she's off to find herself and her stories. It's a plot device that as a whole I don't have a lot of time for but at least in this case it's not some last minute inclusion half an hour before the end. There is some consolation in that. For me this desire on the part of Qiu Yan to up and leave on her own to become a fully-fledged writer comes out of nowhere. She already has a bank of experiences to draw on to write her book (as the published author has noted) so the rationale is unconvincing. Regardless of whether this is about stripping everything from Liang Yi before the end, it feels like it came out of left field especially after her involuntary confession earlier in the episode. No doubt that Qiu Yan becoming a writer has been on the cards for a while but it doesn't necessitate that they have to go their separate ways to achieve this. To me it's a likely flaw in the writing.

The fact that people are upset over this recent development demonstrates that the showrunners haven't done as good a job selling this turn of events as well as they could have. I accept that there have been some melodramatic elements to the show which I was onboard with for the most part but this feels more like bait and switch than consistently good development.

In all honesty the end of Episode 28 leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because narrative wise, it is so unnecessary and the result is that I'm less enthused about the remaining episodes. From the trailers, I'm sensing an extended revenge plot that's obviously devised to bring LIang Yi down very low.

I'm not concerned about the ending as such but how we get there. I'm sure the leads will be together in the end.

Oh well... at least we enjoyed the laughs while we had them.

The incident involving Consort Guo was hilarious. I laughed a lot and annoyed some members of my household. I think Jeremy Xu and Liang Yi got into the spirit of things rather too readily. :P

The thing that interested me most about Episodes 25 and 26 was how the leads were sounding out each other and testing one another with seemingly innocuous words or actions. They've obviously fallen each other but they're both unsure about the other. They aren't quite sure if these feelings they've developed are requited and they see enough to hope but not enough to be sure. This predicament is humorously played out with the inclusion of Qin Xuan and Min'er in particular interactions. Liang Yi shrewdly and wisely doesn't try to keep Qin Xuan away from Qiu Yan. He lets that play out because from there he can see if 1) he is winning by a significant margin or 2) how Yan'er sees Qin Xuan. Is she pretending disinterest or is she genuinely over the guy? There are moments when she's seems deeply concerned for his well-being -- but does that imply "love"? He can't be sure. They went on a shopping spree and it was for the mother-in-law. Does that mean she wants to stay being a permanent member of the Liang household? I observe Yan'er doing the same thing. She doesn't feel confident about coming outright saying how she feels so she's also testing the waters. She senses that he's going beyond the call of duty and guilt, reasoning that there's something else driving his actions.

There's some good acting there between the leads here.

I imagine it will like the vast majority of C dramas but the show's set-up isn't as good as it could be especially when it looks this expensive.

I was thinking that this would be a more serious drama. But the only thing that anyone takes seriously seems to be the food porn. An overweight Crown Prince who needs to go on a diet and the resources of the Jing Yi Wei aka Brocade Guards (who obviously have nothing better to do with their time) to keep an eye on the kitchen staff to make sure he follows the strict dietary regime. Maybe they need to be defunded or disbanded.

Still in it for the food.

It's a toss up as to who is more annoying. Yuan Lang or Min'er.

One guy buys up all the crime novels in the shop. The other guy brings her to meet an author. There's no competition.

Firewood Office.
He's partly suspicious of her as well. Not for no good reason either because she's scheming to get his friend which she doesn't deny.

This was a veritable soap opera from start to finish but highly addictive with all the backstabbing and counterschemes. Even though this was called The Legend of Haolan, I really loved Yi-ren and wanted more of him. Maybe it's just Mao Zijun but I hope that there will a show focused on the father of Qin Shi Huang in the future.

The main trio were the obvious highlights but the acting overall was pretty decent.

No doubt she's grateful for Qin Xuan's attentions and kindness towards her. I certainly agree with all that. I tend to think that when she lamented that she'll never meet anyone who treats her that well again she really meant it. But I don't think it was a deep love connection as subsequent events bear out. I keep referring to Pride and Prejudice because it is the source of the tropes here. Elizabeth Bennet was attracted to Wickham initially and flattered by his attentions to her so that led to her being more inclined to believe what he said. It wasn't love but a kind of temporary infatuation.

That said, I certainly don't disagree that it's possible for a woman (as it is in this case) to have different types of love relationships with different men. In the Legend of Haolan that kind of narrative was also in operation. Haolan had many loves but the one who prioritized her, won her. In Miss Truth, the female lead fell in love with two men for quite different reasons.

I also think that Qiu Min is a better match for Qin Xuan in terms of personality types but she was in too much of a hurry and put the cart before the horse. I certainly never thought she was as virtuous as she liked to present herself as being. She was as conniving as the next woman in the Qiu household.

He is rather mean at the start but there are for the most part actually good reasons for him being so. But he does pay for it later. The really good part is that they both read each other like books.

I accept that we all interpret the story and the scenes differently but it seems to me incongruous to say that Episodes 23 and 24 are filler episodes when romance clearly dominates the landscape of this drama. The expectation I would have thought is that 23 and 24 are crucial scenes because the romance is finally kicking into gear. Even with all the so-called pretence, there's honesty and vulnerability between the leads which was previously more about one upmanship. Liang Yi is baring his soul and allowing himself to be vulnerable to the woman he loves is a huge development in the storyline. He also does exactly what he tells Qin Xuan he is going to do -- for Qiu Yan, he will do all kinds of unrighteous things. When she put on the opera show for him in trying to console him, she shows that she cares more about him than anyone outside of her late stepmother.

I can't muster too many tears for Qin Xuan in terms of him losing Qiu Yan because what woman if she really likes a guy would be so immersed in playing concubine with another man. Besides, she has already insisted that things are over between them. Moreover, it's so natural for her to have skinship with Liang Yi. Even when she takes off her outer garment for him to apply first aid to her self-inflicted burn, there's no shyness or discomfort at having him see so much skin. I'm also struck again by how unapologetic Qiu Yan seems to be about going on with this charade. It should send off alarm bells already to a man who isn't totally blinded by love but I suppose it's easier for Qin Xuan to blame Liang Yi for the situation than to accept the realisation that Qiu Yan either never loved him, has changed her mind, or might have deceived him.

I've always liked the way the show has built up the primary romance, not only because it follows the Pride and Prejudice template in an interesting way but they are two intelligent go-getters who are a genuine comfort to each other in these dark times. Their tendency for pragmatism suit each other because they don't have to coax the other to go along with this scheme or that. They both instinctively know what has to be done even if it breaks rules or crosses lines.

Because they are using the Emperor's superstitious proclivities and desire for longevity/immortality against him as he would never reverse the previous conviction based on newly acquired evidence as it would be tantamount to admitting he had made a mistake. He is a fatuous ruler who isn't particularly interested in ruling justly but in maintaining his hold on power for as long as possible.

By the way, this type of plot device is really nothing new in this type of court drama. To manipulate the emperor into doing something using his deeply held beliefs in the supernatural. This was done very well in Vigilantes in Masks at one point.

He did say that. He had interrogated the man who supplied wood to the Ministry of Works and had him give his statement. After showing it to Qiu Yan, he burnt the statement because he knew the emperor would never reverse the conviction because the emperor would never admit he made a misjudgement.

As he says himself, he was actively trying to separate them because he didn't like her in the beginning and didn't think she was good for his friend.

He doesn't really know himself. But I'd say somewhere between 11-13 from the gestures and the looks that he gives her. When he takes her shopping, it's obvious that he's fallen hard.

The highlight for me from these last 2 episodes as got to be the confrontation between Liang Yi and Qin Xuan out in the practice yard. While I understand why Qin Xuan might be heartbroken because he feels like he's received the rough end of the deal -- first thinking that Qiu Yan had left the land of the living, then finding out she's alive living in Liang Yi's mansion playing the role of his concubine with such relish. That said, I don't find his charge against Liang Yi to be justified -- that his friend has stolen or is attempting to steal his lady love from under this nose. No one can steal someone else's beloved if it isn't consensual. I don't think he gives Yan'er enough credit for having a mind of her own for one but from my perspective, what he really fears is not that his friend has stolen his woman from him but that the woman he loved wasn't as committed to their romance as he was. He comes to some conclusions on his own but he doesn't go far enough -- as Liang Yi says. He should take the next logical step which he can't and realise that Yan'er doesn't see Qin Xuan as someone that she can rely on to get her out of this present predicament. Someone who has the resources to give her and her entire family adequate protection from their common enemy. As a potential exit strategy out of a loveless family environment, he was great but as a shield against a war against her family... not so much.

If there's anything Liang Yi can be accused of, it is opportunism. This is his opportunity to win the girl and the heart of the family with his sincerity for their welfare. This is what Mr Darcy does for the Bennets because he is the only one who can. It isn't just pragmatism on Liang Yi's part either. He is the man. Literally. There is no else who can or is willing. He is so willing that he is doing deals with his father's murderer's family to expedite matters.

Liang Yi also understands that if Qiu Yan really still had feelings for Qin Xuan, she'd be talking about him more and having more consideration for his feelings. But no... She's not interested in engaging on that front.

What that entire confrontation (and the lead up to it) revealed to me is that Qin Xuan still doesn't understand what's really at stake. He can't be the man to Yan'er that she needs at this point. It may seem like dirty tricks but she's completely outgrown him. She doesn't need his adoration and he can't give her real protection from real imminent danger. He may be kind, and intelligent but he's not cunning and shrewd. Someone who isn't afraid to cross certain lines, scheme ruthlessly and set things into motion. That's Liang Yi's point. This is a dirty fight, not a situation to play by the Marquis of Queensbury rules. This is why Liang Yi is the ideal guy for her.

Liang Yi was also trying to tell Qin Xuan that instead of obsessing over the sister that's out of reach he should be taking better care of the sister that's already there at his side. The sister that he already had intimate relations with. I don't think the subs really conveyed that well what Liang Yi was saying. He wasn't asking Qin Xuan to accept wrongdoing so much but asking him to take responsibility for his actions as a man. The deed was done and there's no going back. Instead of trying to get Yan'er back, he should be caring for Min'er properly.

These last 2 episodes are really some of the best in the series. We've got to give the leads their due throughout crisis after crisis, they live up to the old idiom "Fortune favours the brave". That's why they are winners because they are willing to lay it all on the line and take big risks. It's also why they're just perfect for each other because at the end of the day their courage is beyond the ordinary.

Because there is a very important principle of life at play here and it's that adversity makes or breaks people. When tough times come, people either rise to the occasion or they fall to circumstances. While Yan'er was not the "good" girl, she was always a fighter. She is used to fighting for what she wanted and so she is someone who through circumstances has had to fight for her survival. It's obvious that when family fortunes fell on hard times, she would be far more in her element and take up the challenge to lead the family when there's a void left behind by the grandmother.

Having said that, I never thought that Min'er was a particularly virtuous a girl. She was obedient and compliant, yes but that's not necessarily out of virtue. People comply for all kinds of reasons -- because it's just easier to go along with the status quo, because it makes them more likeable, because they fear the fallout from rocking the boat.

Everyone inherently acts on self-interest on one level or another so it's a matter of how honest they are about it.

I tend to think that the writing of the show is better than some give it credit for.

He needs a good woman to keep him distracted... or set him straight. :P