La Gata

Zhao Ling to Ting Yun : "I was annoyed that you treated such a momentous occassion as a mere transaction".
Also ZL to TY: " I don't want to take that concubine because the salt traders could manipulate me in future".
Me: "Anybody in China, would you kindly slap the writer! Many thanks".

I winced at that scene even though I had seen the 'no animals were harmed in the making of this drama' caveat. I just can't help it, I can't see animals being hurt even if they are props. I wish they didn't include animal cruelty in dramas, so unnecessary.

LOL. That too. In the end he's going to have to thank ZL for breaking his toy, now he'll have a useful tool instead of a good for nothing weapon with which he would have ended up shooting himself in the foot ( he has shot himself in the foot anyway, he just can't help it). 🤣

LOL And their barrel was made of bamboo. No wonder ZL sliced it like a sandwich.😂

The Fu father can now tie a few reeds to it and use it to sweep his forecourt, since his daughter-in-law has already dismissed most of the servants.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Yesterday I was watching PS after TRTS and I suddenly went, 'hang on, that's the Fu horrible father!!'. I had watched several eps without realising it was him, great characterisation too.

Given the release dates, he may have even worked on both characters simultaneously. I find that amazing, given how entirely different and well defined they are.

I've had a look at his bio and he has a pile of future dramas lined up, so I imagine he works on more than one a a time.

The Road to Splendor and Pull Strings are both airing now and he's in both of them. It's interesting to see him in two completely different characters at the same time. He's got a great comedy vein too.

You just answered your own question. It's not about concubine or no concubine, it's about FTY.

The idiot was shooting just gunpowder with no ammunition. No wonder ZL lost his patience and sliced his shotgun in half. 😂🤣

Yu Yi, the actor who plays her POS father, is also in Pull Strings as the ML's master, and he's also doing a brilliant job. 😁

I know, that's why I commented on how other dramas had got around the 40 eps limit by dividing the drama into 2 seasons and filming them both at once. Since the makers of this drama didn't even use the 40 eps limit, I assume it's going to be fine with 36.

Up to today's ep 25 I'm finding the pace perfect, a lot happening in each ep but perfectly packed and delivered. I don't have the patience for dramas that get lost in irrelevant subplots or keep you waiting for a week for someone to blink.

Some dramas are getting around it by filming 2 seasons together.

'I know the difference between the airing dates and start of filming dates'
If you know the difference, why did you make a false comparison? You actually make it sound like you intended to create confusion.

'I am saying how will the scenes that have not been aired and not shown or seen yet effect [sic] a drama that finished filming before it aired???'
Goodness gracious, are you really that naive?Then how are scenes leaked DURING filming? How are chunks of original scripts leaked BEFORE filming? Don't you know industrial espionage is common in the film industry? Even without any need for spies, the actual production companies release shorts during filming in order to create expectation.

'Also, the scenes you mentioned are literally common tropes not just in cdrama but other media as well'

Name them. Name the dramas with those same scenes. Name also dramas with the same POJ scene in the bath with the yin and yang figure made by the spiralling of their robes and the same masterful camerawork. Name dramas with the kiss by the window, their hands tearing the paper screen and the servants peacefully watching from inside.

On top of it, you are confusing 'trope' with how a scene is put together from beginning to end. The cinematography, the atmosphere, the camera work, the colour palette, its pace, how it is acted. You come across as someone who thinks all sunflowers paintings are Van Goghs because they are all sunflowers.

Without going into what her punishment is/should be, she's done more than almost getting TY killed by slandering her. That in itself is a serious enough crime to deserve a long 'holiday in the shade', but she keeps plotting against TY. The only reason why she hasn't done any more damage is not because she hasn't tried, but because she's got the IQ of a crayon.

'But it's absolutely not okay to put down other dramas unfairly just because you liked another drama'.
First, you are making that up. At no point did I put down this drama; in fact, I started my post by saying this is a splendid drama. Secondly, you are also making up that I would put down a drama because I liked another one; not only you don't know me at all, but that's one of the most idiotic reasonings I've come across in a while.

Talking about weirdness, I'll tell you what is weird. Picking on me and not on the poster who actually made the original comparison between the two dramas, that is weird. If you look again at my previous post, you'll see I was actually replying to someone else who did make a comparison between these two dramas and said, quote, 'this drama would easily surpass POJ", something with which I disagree hence my reply. Still, neither the other poster nor myself were dismissive towards others, something for you to learn about forum etiquette.

'And, POJ aired in March this year. Whereas road to splendor drama started filming June last year...'
It's always telling when someone makes a false comparison between non corresponding factors, i.e. the date of release of one drama and the date when another drama started filming. Disingenuous much?

So, let's get the actual dates lined up:

The Road To Splendor started filming June 2025.
Pursuit Of Jade started filming December 2024.
TRTS aired August 2026.
POJ aired March 2026.


I'll say it again, while TRTS is so far (ep 24) a superb drama, POJ produced scenes that have become classics and have already been replicated in new releases including this one. For example, the scene with their shadows reflected on the canvas cloth has been lifted almost in its entirety from POJ, the only difference being that in POJ she's inside a military tent and he's outside it, while in this drama it is a canvas screen that has been spread between them. Aside from that is the identical scene including their hands reaching towards each other.

The shocking scene where Zhao Ling ruthlessly shoots an arrow at point-blank range into the guy who tried to abuse Ting Yun is virtually the same scene in POJ where Yan Zheng turns around and savagely drives a dagger all the way to the hilt into the guy who drugged and kidnapped Chang Yu; same deadly stare, same coldness, same determination, same lack of compassion, same scene. And no, it's not the same scene as in hundreds of other dramas, it is THAT scene. And that's not to mention the camerawork.

I will now stop replying as I don't really see the point in taking this issue any further. Again, I am loving TRTS and will see it to the end. Have a good day.

That's one of the funniest comments I've read on this site. 😂😂😂

Not from where I'm standing.

Not if I can help it. I want his balls turned into pin cushions on the double.

Hey, easy with the sweeping statements. I for one do not belong in the 'fan' category and, going by most comments on this forum, I have no reason to believe this is a fan site.

Not for me. This drama is splendid, but POJ is in a league of its own. It actually innovated cdramas with many scenes and details that are now being replicated by current releases including this one. I think all leads and main support characters in both dramas deliver outstanding performances, but I am not in the 'fan camp' for any actor/actress, I evaluate each drama on its own merits.

🎯😂