Frost_edelweiss

I have serious doubts about the benevolence of the Dowager extending to urge her son to confer such a title to his cousin at any time. He was not very familiar with his cousin in the past, contrary to having been close to Mo Jingli on Lishan.
Duke Hua's commendation of his valour as warrior and his injury in battle helped MXY save his neck, but I seriously doubt the grace came with a restoration of more than his Prince of Ding title, which was only to keep him grounded in his mansion and not too much of a threat, as he could be resentful for still being considered as a traitor's kin, and part responsible for a disaster, even if he had been spared.

I don't really understand why the Dowager swapped Ye Li's marriage deal to MXY. But we know that Ye Li was in fact quite happy about the swap, unlike MJL who apparently was forced to marry Ye Ying despite appearing to the contrary.

Ye Li now has fears that the revelation that her mother was holding the edict and did not directly go save the brother of MXY will put in jeopardy her "happy marriage". But why? Wasn't it the schemes of Muyang who led to the edict being spirited away and by way of consequence to Ye Li's mother's divorce and murder before she could use the edict to clear the Mo house ?

Some things are not very clear in that plot. Some guys look tough to kill, lol , and pop up again when we thought they were finished !

But, if the Cangbei princess also resuscitates, it will be a little bit over the top without finding a very plausible explanation: Su Zuidie was not joking with her knife and did not look like she would play Cupid to Li Feibai just to please the princess. I think she is a casualty like all the ministers and investigator around the marquis who were offed with or without us witnessing the method. Although she was not a villain, unlike Muyang henchmen.

Watching on to 30 tomorrow, hopefully, for more thrills ? We haven't reached the tearjerking moment announced yet.

PS What's a gonzhu? Did you mean 公主 gōngzhǔ like the nickname of Zhu Yun in Lighter and Princess? or 公主 gōngzhǔ like in Goodbye My Princess to stay with dynastic ones ? ;)

Okay, thanks, so our Mo boasted himself up a rank ?
I'll be re watching soon ;)

On the other hand, the former emperor may have conferred the title to him before the disaster against Cangbei and before he passed away. Could it have been mentioned on the "famous edict" ?

I don't remember when in the drama Mo Xiuyao was referred to as qīnwáng ? In which episode (part of it), can you enlighten me ?

Sure, in ancient and imperial China, a qīnwáng 親王/simplified character 亲王 was a high-ranking aristocratic title translating to "First rank prince", "Imperial Prince" or "Relative Prince", "Prince of royal bloodline". It was reserved primarily for the blood-related SONS of the reigning Emperor. Research find occurrence of that since the Southern Dynasties period although it started to become more formal in the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. Prior to the Qin dynasty, wáng 王 referred to sovereign kings; after the establishment of the imperial title Huángdì 皇帝, 王 evolved into a noble rank below the emperor.

There were variations in usage, so yes roughly, translations of 王 have varied as "king", ""prince" or sometimes "duke".

That may also be because of the confusion with Li Shimin of Tang dynasty's title as 秦王 Qín Wáng (King of Qin vassal territory, title of vassal king conferred on him by his father Emperor Gaozu/Li Yuan in 618. Prior to this, during the rebellion against the Sui Dynasty in 617, Li Shimin held the successive titles of Duke of Dunhuang, Duke of Qin (Qin gong) and Duke of Zhao, before being made Prince of Qin in 618, while his elder brother Li Jiancheng was Crown Prince. Li Shimin held this 秦王 Qín Wáng title from 618 until he became Emperor Taizong in 626 after the Xuanwu Gate Incident (Emperor Gaozu's palace) where Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng, forcing his father to name him crown prince and two months later, yielding the throne to him as the now famous emperor Taizong of Tang.

Prior to Tang dynasty, the nobility system counted five ranks: the wǔjué,五爵 "five titles of nobility" were used throughout history but were subject to change depending on the general constitution of the state administration. They were :gōng 公 (translated as "duke") , hóu 侯 ("marquis") , bó 伯 ("earl" or "count"), zǐ 子 ("viscount"), nán 男 ("baron").

The title of wáng 王 was first reserved for the Son of Heaven (Tiānzǐ 天子), the single powerful ruler of a dynasty, but in Qin and Han dynasty, some deserving followers got the title of "king" (wáng 王), while the title of emperor (Huángdì 皇帝) was reserved for the emperor. The system added ranks of nobility over time, with many sub-levels.

In Tang dynasty, qīnwáng 亲王 was reserved for the emperor's sons or brothers; nephews (sons of the emperor's brothers) were usually granted the title of jùnwáng 郡王.
But the emperor could grant the qīnwáng 亲王 title to a nephew if he was particularly favored, had rendered great merit, or if political circumstances required elevating a specific branch of the family.

Song dynasty had twelve ranks of nobility:
qīnwáng 親王 /亲王 "prince" (son, sometimes brother of king/emperor ; the title was also granted to other close imperial relatives as a gesture to honor someone close to the throne, or posthumously)
sìwáng 嗣王 "prince presumptive" (different from Tàizǐ 太子 "heir apparent" or "crown prince")
jùnwáng 郡王 "prince",
guógōng 國公 /国公, jùngōng 郡公, kāiguó gōng 開國公 /开国公, kāiguó jùn gōng 開國郡公 /开国郡公, kāiguó xiàn gōng 開國縣公 /开国县公 (all ranks of "dukes"),
kāiguó hóu 開國侯 /开国侯 ("marquis"),
kāiguó bó 開國伯 /开国伯 ("earl"),
kāiguó zǐ 開國子 /开国子 ("viscount"),
and kāiguó nán 開國男 /开国男 ("baron").

In systems like the Ming and Qing dynasties, qīnwáng 親王was distinguished from 郡王 (Jùn wáng, Commandery Prince) one rank below. Qīnwáng were typically the emperor's sons (rank 1A).
But in Qing dynasty, the full formal title was also referring to the Manchu banner system : 和碩親王 (Hé shuò qīnwáng translated as "prince of the first rank"). These princes used only one character name such as the name of the famous Prince Gong: 恭親王, Gōng qīnwáng. (The Qing hierarchy had a more complicated system of 14 ranks and 20 sub-ranks for members of the imperial house and the Manchu family of the Gioro/Juéluó 覺儸).

The drama (set in the imaginary Da Chu kingdom) seems to take much inspiration from the Tang or Song period (costumes, armament etc) .

Mo Xiuyao is a son of the late emperor's brother (a nephew), so I wonder if he qualifies to a qīnwáng title, although his father may have been, but before the Ming, this was not a hereditary title, so I saw him only as Prince of Ding, vassal of his cousin, the young emperor Mo Yanqi. I can't recall him being mentioned in the drama as qīnwáng.
+ since he is only pardoned but still carries the stigma of having been accused of having violated etiquette, he hardly could have been granted the title by the young emperor or his mother (who probably is not qualified to do so as she is only a dowager regent) ?

Same as Mo Jingli despite being direct line grandson of the late emperor is not referred to as a qīnwáng or a jùnwáng, to my memory of episodes (or did someone hear it mentioned in an episode?) despite he is called Prince of Li.

Anyway, sure these ancient titles were complicated and confusing, especially in translation. Thanks for having me got digging into it once more (I had done so for myself about other works like classic novels and old dramas, but had forgotten a lot) : it's interesting to learn more at every step ;)

Did you mean DING Wang ? Mo Xiuyao's title is Ding Wang, not Qing wang.
Prince Li Mo Jingli is LI wang.
Otherwise, I agree with yr comment

ok, thanks for answer. I briefly was wondering if you meant Medical Record Number (MRN) and that was some medical c-drama that eluded my radar, hehehe! The Heart S.2 aired on June 18, btw.

The book is no help since the script seems to have kept only some characters names.
Bai Lu was ill during the shooting so battle scenes for her were kept at minimum: the mysterious masked men when 'Han Mingxi' was struck down (but not killed, so he witnessed that 'Master Zhu' was not there to save 'Ye Li' again)... Given her fragile health during the filming, I don't expect too many battle scenes with Bai Lu.
Perhaps a few more with Cheng Lei and maybe Lin Muran, who has not yet been using all the skills he demonstrated in Pursuit of Jade (but he is very young, still a student at the Central Academy of Drama+ has not had extensive experience in costume dramas and ancient battles yet, before PoJ which wrapped filming a month before filming of Mo Li started).

MRN?

The lady, older than him, former mid level socialite and dabbling in contemporary art working with a Chinese gallery after studies in England, but struggling to get a foothold in media other than social as "influencer" based in Zhejiang, tried to revive the slander a few times, lastly through a suicide attempt, afterwards sheepishly admitting to a drugs overdose : Johnny Huang was nice enough not to sue her for manipulation, kindly wishing her well, chapter closed.
Digging into news stories and old pictures and court decision, it certainly looks like she he had taken him as her boy toy at the start of his career in "Addicted" but could not take it that he did not stay with her... Looks like she was more addicted to him than he was, or eyeing his earnings, when she later added a claim that she had paid a lot for him in his early days on screen. So? Did she think she'd own him forever because she contributed to their short lived relationship or marriage?
The abuse story was a murky one, never confirmed by medical or hospital or police documentation, only by a few tearjerker pics online that could easily have been make up, and circulated through a third party who posed as her secretary or something. Lady herself made conflicting declarations and insinuations that she had no part in the initial scandal, had been a target of haters herself while adding fuel to fire by her innuendo about "due" compensation claim.
But the juicy and gross story was enough to fan up a haters posse, avid of "Me Too" scandals, regardless of truth and court decisions... Not every woman is truthful when she attacks a former spouse, and to me, the events reports look like she was the vicious one, intent on beating down out of spite someone more successful than herself, even to spreading lies and manipulating former "crush" and opinion.
Johnny Huang was lenient, perhaps preferring to remember the good days of their youth and forgiving the mess that she caused, repeatedly, instead of suing a possibly mentally unstable person. Latest declaration was that she too wanted the story to be over for good. (Until she suddenly reappears if he has a successful drama or movie?)
It is sad that people here still follow the haters. But it is no wonder that Johnny is not considered as having great chemistry with actresses and that he is not looking forward to trust another woman for a marriage. Even if his fandom is, like for most male "idols" predominantly female "whale guards", and I don't think he is gay in any way, the story probably damaged his trust in women and he is now deeply distrustful of entanglements, putting his energy into sports, acting, and PR for his birth city fellow citizens, no-nonsense soldier or policeman in most of his roles.

No, that slander was beaten down by a court judgment. It should not be perpetuated.

That's Bai Lu... and she did not even touch her partner, as she usually undaunted does. 😊 (She's a hands-on girl!) I also liked the cute ad for the show where they were filmed, in a car in matching couples T shirts (I wouldn't mind finding those, look so comfortable) ; finding the link again : https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zdMn2wl0pgg

Yes, that's what she appeared to aspire for, but that was not what she really wanted. or got in the novel...

The emperor was a paranoid who let himself be hoodwinked by some scheming characters who were not beyond selling out their country for perceived personal gains.

Ye Li and her husband had to be careful so as not to get murdered through attacks on mansion, ambush and abduction in court, all the while trying to save the country from external and internal threats north and south that the emperor unreasonably kept pinning on the once formidable country's hero, despite he had sworn to defend the empire, and not bring down the emperor.

The time travel trope came in handy in the novel to explain how she could be so proficient after her apparent having been raised without training in martial arts: she remembered having been a tough soldier, expert as a sniper (but for some reason, there was no way she could get back to modern day battles -did she die and soul transmigrate, can't remember precisely). So she trained a special hidden squad from elites chosen from the Mo army, and went south with those under a false identity, in search of a special herb to heal her husband's condition. While sending part of the squad to help her husband who had been sent north to further distance the "threat from the Mo army". Despite being fully aware of the dangers, Prince Ding managed to get to the real battle line and reunite with Ye Li.

There are some nice battles to show. Aside from the growing romance between the married pair, growing first from testing and next from respect, and she did become pregnant too, sometime after warning Ye Ying who was now next caught in tangled webs.

So that's how I remember the part I read....I am curious how that could have been simplified in the drama. The time travel trope could indeed be avoided as "unnecessary". But other things may have been changed. Anyway, I am not against a re-telling differently in a simplified way, that may veer away from the novel.

I agree, from what I remember reading (but not completing to read) the hefty online novel, they were only betrothed, not really acquainted as in "sweethearts", and I think there was a mistake in the synopsis, either from machine translation or other reason.

Synopsis : umm that's a machine translation of the Douban synopsis, I believe ? I can't remember any reference to an "Opera Prince" in the novel. Could that be a misinterpretation of 黎王 (Prince Li) ?

Mo Xiuyao‘s title was "Prince Ding" 定王 and before becoming disabled he was quite heroic. But he was held at arm's length and distrusted by the emperor, therefore his mansion had gone dilapidated in appearance, not to appear as a threat, and because Mo Xiuyao's condition at times was so severe that he needed to keep out of sight. Therefore, he was not a desirable match for any young princess, except Ye Li who had her own agenda in agreeing to join that mansion as ordered.

And yes, _Xianxia has it right about the villainy of Mo Jingli, Prince Li.

I am not sure I can, I try not to add to their heavy volunteer workload ;) But perhaps they will add the characters names in the option list for tagging later.

ok, perhaps we can tag his full character name later, then :)
and thanks for adding the visual documents, B !

He is the hero Mo, Mo Xiu Yao (MDL could not accommodate tagging the full name of character?)

He is the antagonist Mo, Mo Jing Li (MDL could not accommodate the full name of character?)

😂😂😂

The (I assume first two) songs already released are also on YouTube.
The duo Bai Lu & Cheng Lei : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY6FXOumtgA
The single from Zhou Shen : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOYSOLK_uE

Peachey Blossom already translated lyrics for 心世界 (Heart World) the Zhou Shen song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBHg3VkacFU
and for the Bai Lu & Cheng Lei duo 方寸之间 (Within A Square Inch) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV84_fp6B4M&

already did since way back when, so can't help except spreading good news wherever ;)

waiting !