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Once the emperor died the city was under martial law. Fu had everything in place to frame the Marquis with the Senji Battalion. He wanted Chen to protect the crown prince even with his life. Chen knows what his mentor is and that he has to protect himself as well as crown prince. Ye Xian was still under house arrest but still communicated via his guard. JinZhao told her aunt that the only way to save the Marquis household from Xiao traitor was to use YeXian’s palace token to warn the Marquis. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and the Shenji Battalion used firearms to decimate the Marquis and his guards when they came in to try to save the new emperor. Chen had a plan to save the Marquis but it involved YeXian being willing to sacrifice himself for the crown prince. He planted a decoy that had the rebel prince think the crown prince was an easy target. Ye Xian protected him and used his needles to kill the rebel prince. Fu was not happy that YeXian’s actions made the charges against the Marquis look ridiculous. Chen managed to keep everyone alive. Ye Xian killed his mentor and then confronted Chen. He had no clue how fed up Chen is with his mentor. He was reminded that he and his father were still alive and that was the most Chen could do for them. Chen strongly suggested he find a way to make himself useful and build up his own house. Fu’s gleeful reaction to the injuries the Marquis sustained and how long he would need to heal was rather heinous. What was even more disgusting he received a huge promotion and is right at the top to get the new emperor’s ear. He is annoyed that YeXian is now in charge of the penal colony and close to the new emperor because that is a power source the emperor can be in charge of exclusively. This job is quite suitable for YeXian’s skills. Fu has even more plans by not letting the Marquis be a station given by birth. He is wanting control of the military. Fu is getting more and more brazen with his plans. Chen is fortunately a good counter balance. He pretends to be his most faithful disciple to stay in good graces, but it takes every effort he has not to choke the man he once considered mentor. YeXian greets JinZhao and almost collapses. He tells her the story of the mentor that took such good care of him when growing up. When he learned the truth he again used his needle crossbow to kill his mentor. With his dying breath Xiao told him to his face he was only a pawn. He asked JinZhao to share a drink with him. She ended up drinking for him. He thanked her for her help and when she passed out he tenderly covered her and left. He is slowly changing into a young man instead of staying the petulant noble determined to always get his own way. He is already making adjustments in the penal colony and has already made his first enemy — the one formerly in charge. Fu is now pushing for Chen to get married and his mother is more than happy to get onboard with that. She has three she likes the best and the Gu girls are not going to be anywhere close to acceptable. Chen has other plans and invites JinZhao over. This episode focused on the next stage of Fu’s ambitious plans. He has set up reforms to get the most taxes possible from the people and now he has achieved even more power with a very young emperor to ‘mentor’. This is one area where Chen and YeXian can agree to work together. Planning the downfall of Fu.
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JinZhao runs into Lord Chen at the temple and she tells him about wanting her mom to divorce. He suggests they borrow a house in the area that has a calm atmosphere that will help her heal. JinZhao talked her mom into going and they make plans to leave in two days. As expected they are now making Lan the brains of the outfit. Nanny Zhou left her with one piece of news that would split up Lord and Lady Gu. It started when a marriage prospect was introduced for Lan. She was unhappy because she thinks he’s ugly and will make her a laughing stock. Not to mention who she truly has eyes for. Daddy Gu only laughs at her complaint with his features. He basically told her to not be so shallow and to accept the match. She then runs to Lady Gu begging for help in getting it thrown out. But she agreed with the match and made no effort to discourage it. Lan had a point later when she pointed out the degree of assist with JinZhao and Liu and Rong with abductees, but that no such effort was extended for her. They did make Lady Gu look uncaring which was out of character since they had always been close. Lan runs to her mother and they find a servant who had left the house a long time ago. Yu ping claimed that Lady Gu had swapped meds for another wife or concubine resulting in the deaths of mother and child. The maid had been dismissed after the tragedy. Since Nanny Zhou had just shown her deceit with meds it is clear she was making place for the mistress to claim a fake pregnancy and get her married into the household. It was interesting that when concubine and wife had a real conversation that Song was convinced Gu only truly loved the one that died. Ji was married for her money and she was married by faking a pregnancy…so who was the one he really cared for? This was a true tragedy and a deliberate crime, but it also has Nanny Zhou written all over it. Either she did this or learned from it to poison Lady Gu. Daddy Gu has a rant with his wife and he wants to point the blame at her. When this registers, she finally writes a divorce decree. He chooses not to accept and they have one last serious fight. Previews of next ep clearly show the results of that. I am still puzzled by this woman. Was she indirectly forced to marry him because of those sunken documents? Was that her role in the cause for reform? Was she really as weak as she appears or was it to keep Gu in line and out of political trouble. Why else would she allow him a harem with no real argument? Her whole story doesn’t really make sense in the scheme of things. Was she in this marriage to bring a wealthy merchant class into the same tier as nobles? Was this her real objective? What did she get out of it to be worth this much pain in a sham of a marriage? And why do these two women give a rat’s arse about such a little arrogant man? JinZhao will hopefully figure all this out. The one thing made clear was that there was now no blended family. Lan’s actions have made a distinctive line between the families now, but I don’t think it will have the results she’s expecting. She is going to see firsthand the consequences of her handiwork and this time, she won’t be able to delude herself no real harm was done. I am annoyed they are making her character unlikable now and her mother entirely too stupid. I don’t care who the brat gets married off to as long as it’s not Ye Xian or Lord Chen. Good luck with getting any Ji money for her dowry now.😝
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Thanks to Chen JinZhao’s brother (Rong) is finally located. There is a happy reunion with their mother tho both are concerned about her health. Here Ye Xian is actually helpful and gets an exceptional physician there to examine her. He agrees that the script from prior doctor was correct and much more progress should have been made. When the medicine pouches were inspected, it was discovered that rhubarb had been added tho not an ingredient in the script. JinZhao’s aide discovered the culprits and she teamed up with Ye Xian’s aide to capture them. After interrogation, Ye Xian had confessions in hand and was happily on his way to inform JinZhao. His father interrupts and Ye Xian is now basically under house arrest until further notice. He sends his aide to the Gu home while his father makes further plans with Xiao about trouble making Prince. Nanny Zhou is finally called to task for her crimes. After the lashes she will be sent to another estate til she passes. JinZhao is not happy because she blames the concubine and wants her out of the house as well. With this, while the concubine was aware, she was deceived at the severity of the added ingredient. I have not read the book, but in the drama Nanny Zhou was the brains of the outfit who had no bottom line in what she would do or have done to raise the status of her family in the Gu home. The concubine and daughter were not as evil or meanspirited as they are being now. Here it seems the drama is changing their characters to match the book more which is a damn shame. The story would have been much more interesting with the family to have the girls being friends like they were headed in the first few episodes. Once they changed the stepsister to the catty mean girl she is now she is much less interesting and far more predictable. She makes the mom stick to her ignorance story because it is very clear who is not the brains of the outfit.😝 Lan has one last chat with the nanny and promises to look after her mom. Lord Chen has just heard of YeXian’s assist to JinZhao. It never occurred to him that Ye Xian did have skills tho not of the soldier variety. As a spy or assassin he would totally kick ass if his father would acknowledge where his abilities were instead of the incessant berating and lamenting how he did not have a mini me.😝🙄 Ye Xian would love it that Chen is pacing and insecure on how to catch up in JinZhao’s eyes.😂🤣 I am kinda sad he didn’t get to be a bit smug with this because he really deserves a moment to shine in spite of public opinion and his rather reckless impulsive behavior. He is an amalgam of kindness and ruthlessness that he’s figuring out. Chen decides on a gift and has a secret meeting with JinZhao where he gives her a whistle. This is an emergency call for help. She tries it out and he stopped. Here I wish he would have returned to see where the moment led. But that didn’t happen. He did, however, let her know where he would be in a few days. Things are gonna be interesting in the Gu house. Nanny should have been executed for attempted murder, but it will have to suffice that she’s out of the house. What they will probably do is make step sis the new mastermind and that’s a damn shame. She could have been so much more as an ally. JinZhao did her best to get her mother to leave the house and divorce him. Lady Gu can’t deny her unhappiness, but she is determined to continue on her chosen path. Whether she is being a martyr for her children or there is some other story of their marriage we don’t know yet, she refuses to leave him for reasons only she understands. Now to see how stepsister and concubine act without nanny dearest. 😝
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Ye Xian challenged Chen about his job but Chen made it clear that a desperate man was not fit to be near the crown prince. Later his aide revealed Chen was keeping Ye Xian away from the clash of military and nobles. Ye Xian left some gifts for the crown prince and was rewarded with a token that would allow him access to the eastern part of the palace. XuanQing did not want to accept the marriage arrangement Lord Chen and mother arranged for him with Yu Wan Xue. He was brought to a memorial site where his father’s name was remembered. He was a criminal that had caused the deaths of many and his mother committed suicide shortly after. Chen adopted him and made him 5th son. He encouraged him to accept the marriage because he and WanXue’s father were the only two that knew of his father’s crime. If he became an official in the future, his family secret could be kept if his father in law was the only one that knew. JinZhao is so hopeful on the bridge with her kite. She is declaring her affection for XuanQing openly. He wants to accept, but lacks the courage to handle any investigation into his family. So he sends his aide with her notes and refuses her confession. She is very sad but knows she put herself out there and refuses to have regrets. The step sis has been made into the typical mean girl now trying to include the brother with her meanspirited intentions. Surprisingly he stands up for JinZhao, but he also understands that trashing JinZhao’s reputation doesn’t help their status so he gets the step sis to agree to keep her mouth shut about XuanQing. The mother’s cough has returned thanks to nanny😡 She is on my last nerve. I am not a fan of rhubarb, but I am not understanding how that works as a poison with her medicine. The mom shouldn’t be trusting them and have a third party physician. She has sent JinZhso out to enjoy the fireworks and is now coughing blood. This plot was to get the concubine back in charge of the house. That whole meal was almost a complete disaster, but the mother did remember to mention gma and the meatballs to give JinZhaoa small keepsake memory of her family home in Tongzhou. Chen worked to get the iron fireworks at the celebration with JinZhao in mind. JinZhao climbs for a good view of the fireworks and slips. Again Chen rescues her, and tho wearing a mask she now recalls he is the one that saved her in TongZhou. Her maid points out that he has saved her three times and she wonders how she can repay such a debt. YeXian recognizes Chen and knows he is not going to get the girl. XuanQing has a melancholy look as well. Chen’s painting is very like JinZhao and he is startled and pleased as he recognizes he is starting to have feelings for her. He sends his servant to invite her over. He started to add something to the invitation and changed mind so now I am not sure if that meant he also changed mind about invitation. The concubine and nanny were looking pleased. The nanny doesn’t refrain from physical harm to get her way. I really want to see her kicked out and jailed.😡 I am still enjoying JinZhao’s character, but I am absolutely hating that they have completely flipped the step sis’ actions at beginning of story and have made her the typical mean girl. They were so much better as a united pair. The three siblings should be getting along nicely and enjoying the fireworks together but they are all split up instead. This was missed opportunity to have more unique family ties.
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They are already giving the step sister attitude when she started off being the most sensible. I am disappointed that they are making her so shallow now. She starts off episode being jealous of JinZhao’s Coming of age/hair pinning ceremony. There was no reason as it was both hosted and paid for by the Ji family. The ones that actually raised JinZhao. It had nothing to do with her whatsoever since her parents made sure there was no contact between them. She then feels entitled to abscond with the lunch invitation from Ye Xian. Now there is attitude from both parties because JinZhao feels like he’s spying on her and he feels like he was being snubbed. He doesn’t know she didn’t receive the invitation and she has no clue one was offered. This results in the entire debacle at the school. I am really annoyed they are making the sis act more like the nanny than a sister.😝 she goes to the place to watch over Ye Xian not considering at all the fallout of her little stunt to deny JinZhao the invite. Now JinZhao’s mother is giving handcrafted items to the gent family members in JinZhao’s name. She is very unhappy but can’t rebut her mother’s reasoning in why it was in her best interest but annoyed that the reasoning was for being proper marriage material. 😝She uses this as excuse to go to the school and return the book. XuanQing and Yao agreed that the best way to deal with JinZhao’s temper was to send a third party to collect the book she could not vent on. She was disappointed that the one she wanted to see was unavailable and removed a letter she had inside so that no one else would see it. He unfortunately became a target of Ye Xian who made the very wrong assumption she had ditched his invitation to be set up with a scholar. So the young Lord mocked him and then offered him a job when JinZhao interfered with an investigation. Ye Xian then rescinded the job and mocked them both. Nobody could have anticipated the poor guy’s reaction to Ye Xian’s actions. He is rushed to the hospital and JinZhao lights into Ye Xian. He is so enraged he takes his whip and strikes her and then abhors his response and tosses the whip aside. Her letter was dropped in the scuffle. In her defense, JinZhao had every reason to think Ye Xian was a madman. He felt the sting extra hard because in his own way he had sent her a sweet simple invite as a thank you. This is just another blow to his character and person that was just but not really deserved if the full story was told. Here the young Lord’s satiric nature worked hard against him. I truly feel sorry for him in spite of what he did to that poor scholar. I think he sees now that this has cost him any chance with her. The step sis would be gleeful if she saw her success.😝 What this did accomplish was getting XuanQing the letter she had written to him. The brother is not a fan of heart gifts. 😂🤣 He would have been much happier if JinZhao had gotten her way. However, given his attitude and step sis being so much closer and in the know with him, I can only have a very good laugh at his reaction. 😂🤣 JinZhao was returning with his intended gift when she overheard him and step sis talking. She heard his real opinion and him asking her for money. She decides to keep the gift and wonders what he needs money for. XuanQing is reading her notes and is completely enchanted. She would be so happy if she knew he actually got them. She finally realizes they are gone when she checks the sleeves. The scene moves to YeXian’s discarded thank you treats to see him downing his third pitcher of wine. Lord Chen has requested he move and gets an unexpected earful meant for JinZhao. He now knows of her injury and has kept the young Lord from complete disaster by sending him away with his servant. He is then questioned about YeXian’s compatibility with the crown prince and he says they should not be together. Was he saying this for the prince who’s been stirring up trouble or because he truly believes it? If they get separated the crown prince and frost will be sad with his absence. The brother has approached JinZhao for money, but whether or no she gave him his intended gift isn’t known. He is disappointed that she doesn’t immediately give him the money but he can’t complain much while she’s considering it. She is getting a different invitation this time and the sis has not meddled. She is invited to a bday party on the 17th at the Chen residence. She is confirming the invite by meeting on a bridge. This goes to step sis and bro chatting about XuanQing. Step sis is all pleased with herself because she thinks her mischief got the right couple together. She has no clue how much damage her stunt did. It is such a sad change that the sisters went from cohorts in crime to the typical step sis cattiness and machinations. This leaves a very sour taste for me. Now I am wondering if Lord Chen is getting Ye Xian to a safer place because of all the overt chatter about the dad. Whatever the case, Ye Xian wakes up 14 hrs later to learn he is being shipped off to sister’s house in Daxin and he’s been fired from his palace job. At the end of episode a much more sober young lord is coming to confront lord Chen to his face about getting fired. Had he just used his sharp brain to ask about the invitation directly, things would have been very different. I am surprised he didn’t consider that an option besides JinZhao’s direct refusal without a word. She always has too much to say and would have responded with a quirky refusal rather than not show up at all or she would have shown up and told him to not expect to be saved a second time. This is much more in character for her. He should have noticed and now the grownups are changing things for him. I am curious about what Chen is up to with this change of employment. He knows the two got along quite well. Hopefully will be revealed next episode.
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At the beginning of episode JinZhao deliberately picks a fight with Lord Chen so he is distanced from the Nie family matters. They have been placed with a friend where she will have a job and living quarters for the mother and son. Yao is at the Gu home presenting gifts for the family from Gma. JinZhao acts like she always does but he distances himself because she is now officially a lady. It is nice to see that they still have the bickering sibling relationship. 😂 They return with all the land information documents and Lord Chen gives a reminder of promises made to Nie FengMing’s family. Already the old politician has excuses for why it must be delayed. Now that he has what he wants and plans made for the next location, he will conveniently forget the sacrifices already made.😝Yao and XuanQing make arrangements to get to the school and JinZhao gets herself invited. She moons over young Chen and it's obvious she’s smitten. Does she really like the rather dogmatic scholar because of who he is or because she thinks he’s the one that saved her? Lord Chen did make him take on the role as savior for her, but would he have pushed it if he knew that would result in a crush on his nephew? It is funny that Yao is put out by her doting on his benefactor rather than on him. Gma finally arrives but there was clearly conflict en route and bodies arrive before she is seen. Lord Chen arrives with the cargo brought and wondering how much he was involved protecting gma and information. Gma finally arrives and JinZhao is the devoted granddaughter running to meet her. It is nice seeing her have one person she truly loves and loves her back. I am glad the Ji house is where she was raised. Her sis is relieved to see XuanQing is the center of JinZhao’s admiration. She is all eyes on YeXian and wants no competition. At the palace Frost got into trouble and YeXian arrives just in time to see the Prince bullying the crown prince to punish the dog. Ye Xian shrewdly changes course of the conversation by bringing attention to the fact he was in a remote section of the palace out of his regular purview and without announcing himself or requesting an audience. The prince soon makes reason to leave. Ye Xian’s mother is in hover mode since his return and wants to cancel his job at the palace and make him housebound as the heir. While he originally was far from enthused with the palace relocation, I think he likes his new big brother role to the Crown Prince and the last thing he wants is a constant reminder of his heart condition with hovering medical staff at his family residence. His servant reminds him they never thanked JinZhao for her assist at the temple. He goes to the Gu house and finds the sis greeting him at the door. He immediately leaves after commenting how the school was the perfect ground to find a husband. These comments could inadvertently cause a rift between the sisters so I wish he would even just look at the sis when she speaks to him instead of always being on the hunt for JinZhao. Instead of tracking her down at the school, he decides to invite her for dinner. I am hoping if this actually happens that the younger sis can accompany and see that JinZhao has no interest in the guy she likes. When JinZhao sees how much her gma has aged since they parted and that the Ji’s are expected to help with phase two of the land equalization reform she goes and begs Lord Chen to take her gma’s place and let her gma rest and live her life peacefully. He reminds her rather sternly that the matter wasn’t child’s play and dismisses her. After she left his aide asked why teasing her? He had already decided for her to write her experiences down and share them for future ventures. He brings up that he was requested to make a marriage for him and did he have any opinion. Chen assigns him a task that will take him to his hometown and too busy to bother with other things.😂I keep going back to that greedy politician all happy they can tax every square inch of Tongzhou, all the while doing his best to deny Nie FengMing’s family recompense for being instrumental in making this happen. 😡He is even more disgusting than the family clan. They are disgusting but think he’s a criminal. It doesn’t make it ok, but it is a reasonable excuse justifying their actions. This politician knows the truth of the matter and still denies. I hope Chen wipes the floor with him when the time is right.😝😡JinZhao got herself invited to the Chen residence with her gma. As hoped, this allowed her to see XuanQing and get a book from him. Lord Chen is surprised to see JinZhao come to escort her gma. While they are traveling home, he has a letter delivered that recognizes her age and appreciation for the efforts she has given. It allows her to take a much earned rest and to write down an account of everything that occurred in Tongzhou as a model for future village reforms. He gets to look the hero to JinZhao for something he was going to do anyways. At the Gu house, JinZhao is studying the book she borrowed. I think she wants to present herself scholarly and make opportunity for another visit.
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JinZhao is glad she won back the paper weights and Ye Xian still hasn’t figured hers out. The prince is admiring a painting and JinZhao is pretty direct in her critique of it. Technically she thought it excellent but what it lacked was emotion. She changes her tune when she finds out Lord Chen painted it. The prince gets his painting and told YeXian must go back to the palace. It is then revealed he was the only one in the room that did not know the object was an abacus. He would not have found out had Chen not challenged the room. The nephew and mom are curious about why YanWen is barricaded in his room. He is told not to talk about it. When Chen goes back to his bamboo painting he plays back JinZhao’s words. He looks at the willow vase he won and considers how to put true feeling into painting. JinZhao and servant are at the double ninth festival. They run across a long bridge and climb a steep incline to get to the temple to pray from her gma. Ye Xian also heads for the temple, but his heart ailment acted up and he did not have meds. JinZhao and servant show up to use acupressure and he becomes conscious. He wants to know how she can be such a nag when so young.🤣😂 For once he is happy to see her. Servants show up with a chair to carry him down and he is advised to rest several days. The bridge is closed and JinZhao’s servant explores an alternate path. JinZhao went to find her and found herself in the middle of an ambush. There was an attempt to assassinate the crown prince. They suppressed the assassins and turns out the bait was a fake prince.She sees Chen in action and knows he was the assassin on the hill. She gets over her fear and lets him help her up. Her servant is home frantic that her alternate path was also barricaded and she could only keep going. She got a tally from the mom to gather people to find her. Daddy Gu always has to have something stupid to say that isn’t helpful. It goes back to Chen’s place and JinZhao begs that she saw and heard nothing. She is told to take the medicine but she fears poison and makes a good case for sparing her life. He leaves the room and asks how thing went with the prisoner. They figure out who it is and almost the why. Chen is asked why he tests JinZhao when she is one of them. His response same as always is he only knows for sure after testing them. He gives her the task to help settle Nie’s wife and daughter. She comes back and says her task is complete but that they need further help. He flat out says no and she angrily tells him she will handle things for them on her own. More of his infinite testing.🙄 I am grieved that such a brave man has such ingrate clan members. They know what he accomplished but keep him labeled a criminal so they can bully his wife and daughter and steal his estate. 😡 This was not a good place to have to stop.
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Of course the sister assumes JinZhao has changed her mind and interested in Ye Xian. If she could see these two interact she would know that they are frenemies not lovers. The foster charm and referral was an excellent notion. That got the father willing to withdraw any idea of marriage. This also resulted in a mass unveiling of who knew what when. The mom’s banishment punishment should have been executed. But at least she was again soundly beaten. The dad’s cowardice is eye rolling worthy. The big downside is the mom has completely collapsed. He is staying by her side but so what? It’s not like he is going to bring any real comfort. 😝 the sis visits the nanny and gives it to her straight. She is done with their ridiculous grudges and plotting.The mom tries to sow some discord about the zither. I think it was taken and put up because she did not play well. 😝 I love her character. She is the voice of reason for all of them. This time, she listens to what the nanny says. She tells her mom that it is in her best interest to humbly apologize and turn over the ledgers and tallies for running the house. It was difficult to let go with that iron grip she had.😂🤣 JinZhao is finally having a real chat with her mom and that has been long overdo. She asks her mom frankly why do they have to take the hit for the nanny? The mom feels it will break ties with her husband which I think would be the best thing for her.😝 I have no idea what planet she’s from to tell her daughter that reason is not part of marriage. Jinchao needs to go back to gma and get away from all these people except the sister. Those two should form the family alliance that will make the next generation of their family. The Chen household is not peaceful. The mom wanted a congratulatory banquet for her son and nephew. Lord Chen squashes those plans and nephew puts it in correct political view. Lord Chen gets dismissed and mom changes plans to a small gathering in their back courtyard. YanWen proceeds to want every scholar that failed the exam to be invited. He is an arrogant ass and Lord Chen had reason to hope he never became an official. XuanQing is too candid with a touch of preachy that sometimes does not work in his favor. He needs to get his head out of books for a bit and interact more with people. Jinchao and her mother have been invited, but I’m not sure by whom. The mom wants to ignore for both of them and JinZhao is not there to say anything. The concubine gets her daughter allowed to accompany JinZhao and then is a nonstop chatterbox of proper etiquette for the Chen visit. 🙄 Ye Xian gets the notion to have the crown prince show up at the Chen’s party. One sis will be happy. YanWen killed the servant for refusing to get all the students who failed. He tried to explain why but there was no voice of reason. Apparently barely passing exam bro thinks servants or lesser peer lives matter. When confronted about killing their brother he did not deny it but just said he was eight. He was given the option to remove himself from studies or be taken to prosecutor office. He went from quiet to indignant to loud and maniacal. There is no way this guy should have access to power. The indulgent mom raised a sadistic psychopath. I am still not getting how a child was XuanQing’s father but hopefully that will get explained. Lord Chen has a migraine from his encounter and Ye Xian and crown prince show up. The ‘cousins’ want to have some fun at the party. A game of riddles is started and Ye Xian and JinZhao want to beat each other. I want the sis to win.😂 the mom’s choice for hostess let Lord Chen know that XuanQing needed a prize for a game. Chen chose the pure and innocent carvings from JinChao’s gift as his nephew’s game prize. JinZhao is rather surprised. The plan Chen has is going to happen even with crown prince there. Curious how game is going to go. There is confusion how the dead brother is the ‘father’ of XuanQing when he was a young child when killed. This was best explained in comments where they said XuanQing was adopted into the family to carry on the bloodline of the child that was killed. He is not blood relation to Chen family and why YanWen treated him with such contempt. XuanQing is not his fan either because he sees him as the one that murdered his ‘father’.
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The concubine is complaining she is drafted to make arrangements for JinZhao’s marriage contract. She thinks her daughter should be considered. The nanny fills her in that he is a letch and womanizer. Even the concubine thinks it’s mean to saddle JinZhao to him. But she’s not that smart and easily persuaded to go along with it. They are trying to persuade her mom to agree but fortunately she sends her own person to investigate. JinZhao demands her gma is informed and get a say. When daddy Gu puffs out his chest declaring it’s the parents that get the say not grandparents. She rebuts him nicely that gma did not approve of his marriage but they went through with it anyways so why didn’t he listen to his parents’ decision?😂🤣 She argues so well without sounding like a petulant child. She debates directly and throws their poor logic back at them. I am enjoying her character immensely. I am tired of daddy Gu blaming the mom for pampering her daughter when she’s had no actual contact with her at all. 😝 He is mirroring the cousin’s argument that if JinZhao was noticed by too many….who would let their son marry her.😂🙄 But I wonder if he even thinks for a second how his petty fights with JinZhao might effect his other daughter? JinZhao’s sister wants assurance she is not dismissing Liu because of YeXian. JinZhao’s face.😂 Like what are you talking about? There is definitely no interest there. I think she will get more assist knowing there is no interest in the guy she likes. But daddy Gu’s insistence of a marriage so soon in that family definitely has JinZhao wondering why. Nanny Zhou shows up with a witch squad forbidding her to leave the premises until arrangements are made. She acts well because I really want her booted out of the house. 😝 But she is the brains of the outfit of the concubine branch so I am most likely stuck with her antics for the duration.😝 while sis helps her sneak out nanny Zhou is paying off the matchmaker to give a fake report to JinZhao’s mom.😡Luo has the girls at a tea house where they can observe how the scholars act about examination results. He is going to check out the Liu family while they observe the son. He wants to tell her gma the news but wasn’t sure since she’s been ill. JinZhao revisits the conversation she heard about the dangers to her gma and decides to wait before sending news. Luo pours the girls tea and points out the groom candidate on the neighboring balcony. The scholar stakeout has begun. The Liu son is a young version of her dad. He is shamelessly ogling girls and thinks it’s his right to do so. The one that stands out to JinZhao is Chen XuanQing. He’s a bit preachy here but the bottom line is he thinks girls should be respected and that Liu should demonstrate more character. He even said he knew he did not pass but came at his mom’s insistence. What a loser.😝 When XuanQing headed to the scholar area JinZhao got up to share a sweet smile of luck. The last on the passing list was XuanQing’s uncle YanWen who apparently was responsible for killing XuanQing’s dad. First he pushes him off a bridge and then while he was trying to crawl out of the water, YanWen loosened his handgrip so he fell back in. Chen XuanQing was top scholar. 😁🥳 While he was processing his servant cheered for him and all eyes were now on him. He turns to give JinZhao a bow.😁🥰 Chen is concerned for both family members. He doesn’t think YanWen should have passed and worries how he will be as an official. For XuanQing he fears he has painted a target on his back. The axle breaks on his carriage and he runs into JinZhao. She is eating a pastry and had just selected the finest for to send to Chen home to congratulate the exam takers. Whe Lord Chen eyes her pastry and she offers him one, he said that was enough. She was disappointed that it was because if the axle and not her that he was there. So she changed her order to regular pastries and no rush to arrive, just quietly with the guests. Daddy Gu is a wretch of a person. He knows exactly what type of person the Liu son is and thinks the marriage will be easier to secure because he is most likely to be the one that never passes. He already has had a mistress for a year.😝 He is not even looking for advancement. Daddy Gu is simply hoping to pass by having a connection to Liu family. It is nauseating to hear.🙄 JinZhao gets a response and she is given a local contact if she needs help. Other than that, JinZhao will have to deal with this herself. She has no faith in her mom because she sees her as weak and powerless. She has no plans of marrying into the Liu family. It’s just figuring out a way to get out of it. She tells her servant that there are two that can help her. The scene goes to Ye Xian sparring where he is testing his poison needles. When the spar partner says lucky he had a protective vest, Ye Xian says Need to add more poison.😂🤣 when thinking about who to test them on, JinZhao comes to mind.😂 He is called to see his father and overhears his parents talking. He stops a servant from making his appearance known to them. His father is lamenting his slight build and lack of horsemanship. He has a very tunnel visioned view of what the perfect son should be and that is a replica of himself. Ye Xian fights more like an assassin rather than a soldier. He uses stealth and poisons to make up for his small size. He finally shuts the dad up by announcing his presence. His father sees his unique weapons as gadgets unworthy of a true martial artist. It is no wonder Ye Xian is cold and jaded. It is his protective shield from family. He is greeted with becoming the crown prince’s companion and heading for the palace. He is not particularly enthused with this new job. Jinchao sends to letters to find the spy that’s been tailing them as well as get help. Lord Chen gets the first and his colleague laughs that she thinks XuanQing can be of any help. What they further discuss is Huang’s cover being blown. They prove it by lack of seal on letter. Chen admires her cleverness and audacity. She does not hesitate to take an opportunity and use it for all it’s worth. His friend comments on how happy he is talking about her, which gives him a moment of reflection. The letter to Ye Xian can’t reach him in the palace. And even if it should since he is crown Prince’s companion his day off won’t be for thirty days. At the palace Ye Xian is bored watching the prince study endlessly. They are given a few minutes break and the Prince calls for his white Pekingese named frost. His antics are fun enough that even Ye Xian smiles.😂 He bribes the dog with a bit of honey and things calm down. He is the hero of the room sharing this secret.😂 JinZhao’s letter actually makes it to him and he is intrigued by her problem and amused she threatens him. JinZhao is his breath of fresh air. The prince makes a game of throwing gold leaves in a coaster. When Ye Xian does it the servants are rewarded silver bits. While everybody scrambling for the treasure Chen is in the house and they scramble to look like studious students. He notices right off the silver bit and the gig is up. When the prince is punished with three strikes Ye Xian offers to take the punishment for him. Then he is told what the prince is really being disciplined for deceiving himself and others. Ye Xian finds himself not qualified to take the punishment because he was guilty of not counseling the prince. His punishment was 30 strikes on the hand. The administrator performing the punishment felt badly and the Prince’s winces said he felt bad. Their hero was being punished for their actions because he was too new to think like Chen yet. Chen is discussing the punishments and he is checking the Prince early before he becomes unmanageable and Ye Xian’s punishment will let him leave the palace to help JinZhao. Maid and JinZhao are talking about ms Liu and their opinion is not good. They are interrupted by Ye Xian showing up. He wants served tea and JinZhao places it on the table beside him rather than in his hand.😂🤣 He questions her about her willingness to make scenes because it is making her lose face. He will hopefully help her figure things out and still be marriage material. I also hope this doesn’t drive a wedge between her and her sister. It is hard to tell how she will accept her crush working with JinZhao unless she is let into the loop. This will hopefully help Ye Xian not have time to focus on his hand.
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The hair pinning finally happens. The setting is beautiful. JinZhao and costume are absolutely stunning. The children’s choir and released doves add to ambiance. The looks of admiration from the 4 gents acquainted with her speaks volumes. I don’t think there was a person present that did not want to smack the smug face off the father as JinZhao bowed to respect her Gma’s wishes. She didn’t bother looking at the gift because it wasn’t from him anyways. The concubine presenting her mother’s gift was beyond tasteless. JinZhao finds a way to verbally put her in her place and amuse the noble who laughs and comments. The father is going to retaliate when JinZhao is more than happy to tell him who the noble is. Of course he turns into a simpering sycophant begging forgiveness. She reminds him that his superior Lord Chen is also present and could bring him up on charges. He knows he’s been an absentee father and those actions have now become a chargeable offense, thus his presence there. She is officially introduced to the noble who taunts her by making her call him uncle. JinZhao then decides to request a gift to get even. He hands her an encased dagger but with the point towards her. He then explains himself and hands her the handle. As she examines the blade he cautions her that the blade is poisoned. She assures him that’s not an issue and taunts him with it. Gma and Lord Chen note more bodies as assassinations continue. She is told to exercise her own judgment about whether to keep JinZhao there or send to the capital with her father. But no matter her choice, Tongzhou was going to be the first location for land equalization no matter what. Failure was not an option. Chen then reads a note with a name and location and he rides fast to the gate. While he is talking to a colleague he learns his friend Nie Fengming is with the protesters at the emperor’s court. Not only was he with them, but he directly antagonized the emperor causing him to decree that the entire nation would be land equalized within the year. The friend shrewdly flipped the court and paved the way for Chen’s tax land reform. The downside is he has sacrificed himself to make this happen. Gma lovingly bullied JinZhao into returning with her father to look after her ill mother. She is requesting this as a personal favor and JinZhao can’t refuse her tho desperately wants to. She resigns herself to the trip and comforts herself that since she has borne the blame of ruining his career, she may as well go home and actually do it. There is a touching farewell and she is off for the capital. She runs into the noble who uses a mini crossbow to scare the horse. She is forced to use her poisoned dagger to stop it. When her guard reaches the scene she is ready to toss all the blame at the noble but her cousin discovers needles put in the horse so that it would be crazed and bolt in agony to throw them over a cliff. It was suspected that this tactic was used to pressure Ji family for their stance on the land equalization reform. Even the noble was surprised at this degree of cruelty to assassinate an enemy. There is a fun scene at her father’s gate where he bows to her😂🤣 The noble is amused and plays her game for a bit but warns her to not make every Gu an enemy and that it was not so easy to win his favor. Here I think he chose to recompense her for the horse and let her ride back with him. The concubine’s daughter likes him and whether or not true, she believes he is kind to her. JinZhao is sorry her fun ended so soon and she is officially ‘home’ at the Gu house. The daughter wants to know how she knows the noble and JinZhao’s mother enters. JinZhao addressed her as ma’am and would not make physical contact. I can’t blame her. The dad has poisoned an easy reunion for them. I am not sure if she will be able to understand or forgive her mother, that remains to be seen. The dad is capitalizing on a bday celebration to prove to his colleagues he is not guilty of child abandonment. JinZhao’s attitude says quite bluntly—good luck with that.😂 The maid makes it look like the concubine injured herself decocting the wife’s meds personally. The maid stirs up by mentioning the ride home in the noble’s carriage and the dad berates her mom for her miscreant daughter. JinZhao overhears the maid saying how she should be put in her place and to know who’s in charge. JinZhao’s maid thrusts the doors open and JinZhao gives the servant a direct challenge when the episode ends. The story continues to be well paced and the cast meshes smoothly. I was unfamiliar with the hair pinning ceremony and the entire thing was so beautifully done. The segue from family to politics is smoothly done and the characters are introduced and interact well. 👏🏻
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The story starts with an angry girl (Gu Jin Zhao) hearing her father make demands of her grandmother concerning gifts for her hair pinning ceremony. When she reached her limit of hearing his snideness, she stomps off, grabs a lantern from a passerby and torches the storeroom holding the gifts. There is a deal being made to bribe the dad, but all she remembers is being turned away and choked by a servant. She wants nothing to do with him and has no regrets of the destruction she’s caused. The one she took the lantern from stops to see who set the fire and what was set ablaze and then continues on his way. The next day she is told the ceremony will still take place and her father must be invited. She and her cousin (Ji Yao)have a bickering sibling like relationship and during their antics down the hallway they meet up with Lord Chen. She does not recognize him as the lantern bearer from previous night but he recognizes her. She boldly studies him and when Yao moves her along Lord Chen gives a glance back at her. Yao warns that politics are perilous with much intrigue, assassinations and discord. Lord Chen would be dangerous to know because most of the court wanted him dead. His tax land reform was far from being popular. She decides to bury her sorrows in wine on a boat when she becomes an accidental witness to a political revolt where the crown prince and guard were assassinated. She is shocked and falls into the water where she is rescued. She finds herself at home and is told Chen XuanQing rescued her. He departs shortly after the matriarchs come on the scene. The Gma and Yao know what happened on the hill and have taken care of it. Lord Chen is the rescuer but he is having XuanQing take the credit and sending warming wine as a recuperating gift. Jin Zhao is wanting nothing to do with anything that will recognize her father. When XuanQing arrives with the wine, she matches with an antique ink stone; the perfect gift for a scholar. He has a story memorized to tell her of why he was there, but it doesn’t ring true because he can’t even look at her while he is speaking. He is very glad to move along as quickly as possible. JinZhao runs into Lord Chen again and studies him. I am pretty sure she thinks he is actually her rescuer. He diverts her attention to the lantern rather than the rescue to misdirect her. He has a chat with the gma who pleads for JinZhao to be spared. He doesn’t directly respond to this request but says she is to be moved to the capital which was not wonderful news to the gma. He is then seen in a chamber guarded by mutes where 1500 documents are gathered with intel on all the court members. This is how they knew the crown prince was against their cause and corrupt. Chen learns he has been given a seneschal position and he is going to use JinZhao’s hair pinning ceremony to have it made public and initiate the tax land reform. A Gu cousin with the Marquis heir talks the bored noble into checking out the celebration and see what his cousin looks like and he agrees. While the guests are getting assembled to go in, the imperial edict arrives and Lord Chen gets his promotion. JinZhao is put out that he takes over her celebration and says so. The young noble is amused and will come back to see celebration with the cousin, while Lord Chen is most curious about why he is there. Not only has the father arrived but he has come with concubine in tow rather than her mother. JinZhao decides to return Lord Chen’s favor by having him be made witness to an altercation with her father. This lets her tell her dad off without repercussions. She bumps into the noble who wants to rebuke her for not acknowledging him. She told him if Lord Chen couldn’t make her flinch, there was no way she was bowing to him.😂🤣 He is both annoyed and intrigued. The actual hair pinning is finally getting started when the episode ends. The costumes are gorgeous and the filming beautifully done. The cast interactions are spot on and the pacing is good. This was a very nice intro to story.
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Rui gets info that helps provide evidence against Wei. He is still Mr Teflon so his wife was brought in. She saw the baby pictures and heard his family speech to ZhenZhen. When she tricked him about bug and getting paid he used a similar argument with her about going to Australia and being one big happy family. 😝 This man has no shame. Auntie was finally convinced when she saw and heard his actions with her own eyes and ears. But I have to give her blame for indulging him and covering for him. She is far from guiltless about what happened to Purong. Her laissez faire approach with his handling of Purong has no excuse. It is a wonder Ji and MiYu could rescue it. There was entirely too much time giving ZhenZhen’s backstory to gain sympathy for her bad choices. This wasn’t wanted or needed for story. We see the last two get hauled off in handcuffs but they didn’t say what happened to the baby which is the only part of ZhenZhen’s story I was curious about. MiYu gets in at EHL and is heading off to Switzerland to study abroad. Mr Tan is heading back to HongKong. Diva Duan will be vacationing in the Maldives and Rui is heading for places unknown. It is not specifically clear that chef is staying but I am pretty sure she and Ji will be the ones left in the new and improved Purong. Ji is waiting a year and half and if she doesn’t come back, he will fly to her. So why didn’t we get an epilogue with that instead of a young ZhenZhen deserted by her mother and standing in the rain? Even Nie more healthy and starting new would have had more relevance than her history. It was nice seeing MiYu’s mom running the kitchen and bossing the family around. MiYu did a good thing there. I really wasn’t needing the romance in the first place. But if we had to deal with the push and pull of that, why have EVERYBODY amicably go their own way with the if the fates allow speeches given at the end. We could have had more hotel adventures a visit to Switzerland included or less episodes of romance that may never be. I love her character and that she wants to see how far she can go, but as I sit here thinking about the episode I just watched I have to ask Why? They all agreed their story stopped there but it was open ended for everybody, which I would have been perfectly happy with had they not pushed romance and then left it for fate if their paths ever crossed again. Would I recommend? With a warning label😂 In spite of how they ended things I still love her character and cheer for her to go far and fly high.
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Things are still distant between MiYu and Ji. She should have collected the documents personally because now there is a signed form for them to cause trouble. Wei and a rival company are planning to bid against Marcos by planting a listening device. Leave it to Wei to bargain with ZhenZhen and still come out 12 million ahead. She plants the device in the vase of silk flowers that MiYu took to Marcus’ room so MiYu has become the perfect fall guy for their actions. The sister isn’t stupid, is she looking to access MiYu’s bank or is she involved with ZhenZhen and helped link up the phone to device? Nie’s mom shows up pleading for her son. MiYu said no, but changed her mind and went to the hospital. She changed her mind again but accidentally bumped into Nie anyways. She tucked him in better but refused any personal contact. As she walks away from him he asks to eat and ends his food strike. There is no getting away from the loss of her, but her success and light inspired him to move forward rather than give up. She had far less than him so he had no excuse to not continue on. MiYu won her court case over divorce assets so it’s rather timely sis comes and gets ahold of Mi Yu’s phone. MiYu is boxed in nicely from all sides and the only thing that can save her is if ZhenZhen is caught on camera hiding the device in the vase. Mr Tan has opened a gallery in Shanghai and MiYu visited to congratulate him. She asks to see the painting he’s working on and it turns out to be a painting of her. She doesn’t quite know how to respond to that. She is his lovely muse and he is left looking at his inscription on the back. In the interrogation room, MiYu spoke frankly about what she did and did not do with the vase and Ji will have to find the evidence to clear her. She awaits interrogation and told to be honest with her answers. If the sis is involved they could do a clean sweep of getting rid of all of them. But if she has her own side caper going there will be another wasted episode on family shenanigans. These people have to go. 😝
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Tan and ex have a brief chat where she realizes the choice to be CFO kept her there rather than wife. She shares some regret that that is where they truly are now rather than it being their unique confession to each other. She sees that Tan is in love with MiYu and wishes him happiness. When he was dancing with MiYu she was waiting for Ji to interrupt and claim their relationship. He should have interrupted their dance and groveled. Instead he has a major pity party for himself. He should have left a note on her door that he’d been there instead of her thinking he never bothered to show and him thinking something happened with Tan. MiYu goes to New Zealand to get the last points for Ji. With this, even tho she is still unhappy with him, I think she wants to follow through for him the way he did for her at the exhibition. She was successful in persuading a meeting at Purong so things seems hopeful. Here I am disappointed in the Wei matriarch. If a severe scolding would have truly straightened out her nephew he would have been straightened out decades ago and never have remained the petty juvenile he still is. He has a point that he should have been told more directly far earlier and his petulant diatribe should have let her see the light that he has no aspirations whatsoever to change his ways. In the game Kingdom Hearts there are evil beings called heartless. They are devoid of any good intentions and their goal is to spread darkness. ZhenZhen is a perfect example of one of them. She leaves a dark wave fallout wherever she goes and she keeps looking forward for more. Her only failure in this regard is that MiYu grew brighter because of her interference and this annoys her no end. We have watched Nie’s decline physically. The actor has portrayed this so well. He has come to accept that there is nothing but a business arrangement between him and his wife and he is reaping all the benefits of letting the career woman enter his house. This misery he has earned and deserves, but I find myself pitying him that his health decline is concurrent. So his chosen heartless has the audacity to bring divorce papers to his hospital bed to sign. After that, she returns to her cluttered home and confronts the mother in law. She has the ace because she makes it clear that the child she holds isn’t Nie’s. Nie has learned the news and his bitterness is complete. With this, he deserved it. He gave up a devoted wife that loved him in spite of his ways and tossed her for the career woman that added spice in his life and the promise of a grandson. This all tastes like ash now as the truth is revealed. ZhenZhen has yet to complete her dark wave. She ends up showing Wei proof that her child is his and not Nie’s. No wonder she had no fear at the company and was willing to hold hands with Kuanli. Her price for silence is the director of sales. Ji had already assigned that to new hire Meng because I think he has a different job in mind for MiYu. And right when everything seems to be settled Wei comes in and gets ZhenZhen VP of sales. He has a son to look after now.😝 At least there will be some interference with their plans via Meng. ZhenZhen has achieved her new goal and she has leveled up considerably in her degree of coldness and ambition. Wei deserves whatever she throw at him. He has ousted his foils so he is the last stooge left and end game is approaching. This time, he won’t have anyone to push in front for the blame.
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I love Daniel’s band. They are such a nice smooth jazz ambiance. He and Tan have a chat about career choices. I liked that he encouraged his son to explore multiple paths to their fullest. He is a very good dad. MiYu is putting in the hours with a cot by her desk. The exhibit looked stunning until the end where the painting was missing. MiYu tries to save the day with a different painting but arrives late. Rui caught the thief in the act and knew the night before who took the painting and where it was hidden. I thoroughly enjoyed him looking over the thief’s shoulder and pointing out painting not there. He and Ji had worked out a plan prior to the teleconference, so they were delaying things til last minute to get everybody responsible at the same time. Well, it is now fact that ZhenZhen will sabotage her own projects if she can point the blame at MiYu. She let in a press crew that was not on invite list because of Wei’s stamp. They proceeded to snap a lot of pictures and demand to see the final painting. They even tried to say it wasn’t finished yet. Wei and cronies were all there expecting to placate the crowd and make Ji look bad. What they did not anticipate was for the painting to be brought out and for Ji to introduce it with some tongue in cheek shade at the saboteurs. This was followed up with Qian getting scapegoated for stupidity. There was circumstantial evidence that pointed strongly at Wei, but he is Mr teflon not letting things stick to him. He always has someone he can push into place to take the blame. This was disappointing for everybody. The three stooges lack finesse but they are deep rooted in networking trouble. I will be glad to see them ousted. What did not set well with MiYu was being left out of the loop. Tan had taken a 2 million hit to have the exhibit there and she did not appreciate them being pawns in the race for GM. With this, I think she had a right to be totally pissed off. Ji and MiYu have had words and at least she is suggesting a cool down period rather than continuing the argument when most heated. Ji apologizes to Tan and will update him when everyone responsible has been charged. Tan tries to insert some unsolicited advice that Ji doesn’t want to hear. At the celebratory dinner, Tan should have had his ex join him on stage not MiYu. Her commiserating toast with the aid spoke volumes. MiYu was rather stunned but with this, Tan was giving Ji a message more than MiYu. I want to see ZhenZhen get some repercussions for letting in the press group that caused so much bad publicity. I am glad that the exhibition was an overall success but Ji loses cool points for not letting the others in the loop. That was pure ego.
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