La Gata

That's very kind of you, I'll do my best. 😂

For me a happy ending would be introducing a brand new male character with a right moral compass who actually respects her and asks her permission to marry her before he asks anyone else, including her parents.

I couldn't agree more.

If the SML that shows up later (or is not as rich/powerful/hot) were actually the happier choice for the FL, that would automatically switch roles and make him the ML. That scenario is also feasible and has also been done in other dramas. I think anything is possible as long as the actor is reasonably good looking or the make up is good enough. It would take a seriously good quality plot and character development to succeed with an ugly actor. Most cdramas are for entertainment, physical beauty is an inherent part of them. This is just an observation, I'm neither condoning not condemning it. It's just the way it is and I suspect that, given the choice, most people would prefer looking at beauty.

Personally I don't find either the ML or the FL in this drama physically attractive. I'm watching it for the plot and, from where I'm standing, the way they are all behaving ranges between stupid and downright bad.

Personally I wouldn't be ok with any of that, neither am I with Han trying to bypass her consent knowing she didn't love him and going behind her back to force a marriage on her. Would you be ok with any other man doing this?

What I don't understand is some fans' determination to take sides with one of the two men when both of them did clearly wrong.

Your argument is defeated by scholar Han's own words, who wrote to Lan Xiang that the reason why he didn't ask her was because he knew she didn't have feelings for him . This implies he would have done so had he thought she was in love with him.

Scholar Han also knew Lan Xiang would obey her parents and marry whomever they chose for her [In my view this is a plot failure, against character for a very smart and resourceful woman], this is the reason why he arranged the marriage behind her back.

I have been watching cdramas for years, I have at least 2 of them going at any given time. I have never come across one in which asking a woman's permission to marry her means she's being treated as a loose woman.

This is not about what she could have done, but about what the men actually did. Both men tried to bypass her permission to marry her, one of them was successful. They are as bad as each other.

Well of course arranged marriages are wrong! In what parallel universe is right forcing marriage on two people who haven't even met or, even worse, who have met and don't like each other?

Xiuru volunteered to marry the marquis. As for Jinqi, of course he did wrong to arrange the marriage with Xiuwan and to get the emperor's decree without asking either of the two women.

What Han did was exactly the same, arrange the marriage without asking Lan Xiang, knowing her parents were already in agreement and she didn't love him but she would obey them. He even acknowledged the very reason why he arranged the marriage behind her back was because he knew she didn't love him, for crying out loud. He apologised for it because he knew he had done wrong.

Jinqi also did wrong and acknowledged it. Both men are as bad as each other, going behind Lan Xiang to force the marriage on her. Both of them acknowledged it. One of them was successful in his wrong doing, the other was stopped against his will in the middle of it, that's the only difference.

Forcing marriage on a woman by whichever method is intrinsically immoral. It's shocking some fans don't get that what both men did was wrong and insist on taking sides with one of them

No. It left the choice only in her parents hands, whom he already knew to be in agreement. She would just obey her parents and marry someone she didn't love. He knew this.

As for it being the norm of that period, anyone who had been able to get an emperor's decree would have lapped it up.

Scholar Han knew she would go along with the marriage decided by her parents because she didn't want to upset them. He also knew she had no feelings for him. He still went behind her back and arranged the marriage with her parents. He even acknowledged all of this in the note he gave her, he said the reason why he didn't ask her was because he knew she didn't love him. Different method, same result: Forced marriage. The two men are as bad as each other.

Scholar Han is no better. He knew Lan Xiang had no feelings for him, so he went behind her back and arranged their marriage with her parents without asking her permission, knowing she would go along with it to avoid upsetting her parents. He's a POS.

Caffeine. It's a great stimulator. It's also just as well I only had three double coffees yesterday, otherwise I would have added a flour and beer batter and made that granddad tempura.

You really think it was just social status that made him capable to do all those things and anybody of the same status could also do the same feat? Nothing to do with intelligence, ability to strategically deploy, ingenuity and courage, not to mention risking his own life? Would the emperor agree with you that anybody of his status would have done the same deed? Would the scholar have the mental acumen, acuity and fearless determination to devise and carry out successfully such plot, just by being given the same social status?

These are rhetorical questions, of course.

You want imagery? Fine. Make that an inflatable swimming duck.

That doesn't wash for me. The fact the the ML had saved the emperor's life would have been enough to make the nasty granddad refrain from any idea of physical punishment. The reason for the beating being the emperor's decree would have been the final deterrent for such a coward. The whole thing is absurd.

That's not all. He would have to tie a cushion to his back in preparation for the battle, in case he gets thrown down during fighting. Last thing he'd want would be landing on his arse with no buffer. At this point I expect the emperor to deem execution too kind for granddad and instead throw him in a cauldron of boiling oil for 20 minutes or until golden. This would also be fine with me. That's right, I really don't like the granddad.

I know, I saw that. Why do they do this? It's so frustrating!😖

'What happens if a military emergency breaks out while the commander is stuck in bed bruised to a pulp'

He would be riding his horse with an inflatable swimming ring attached to the saddle. Except it hadn't been invented yet. So that would be granddad up for execution again. Which is fine with me because I don't like the granddad either.

I didn't think much of the first few eps of this drama, but decided to persevere even though neither of the leaders are a favourite of mine. Then it got a lot better and I very much enjoyed it up to ep 20, after which it turned into just another run off the mill cdrama with predictive tropes, (kidnapping, traitor's rebellion etc). By ep 26 it looks like the writer is making the plot up as it goes along, what could have been a good quality drama has turned into absurdity.

The grandfather having his adult grandson, who happens to be his majesty's commander of the army, beaten black and blue. Really? How is this not a grave offence against the emperor, not to mention an act of rebellion? What happens if there is a military emergency and the army commander cannot get out of bed, let alone ride a horse, because his granddad has broken his arse with a rod for being a naughty child? The reason for the punishment being the granddad's displeasure with the emperor's decree only makes the act even less defendible, in a better written drama the granddad would have just put himself up for summary execution.

And that's not to mention the fact that almost every ep after 20 has been a filler.

I'll watch up to ep 30 before I decide whether to drop it, but for now this is going to be a 7.5 rating from me.

The ML laid out the strategy to successfully suppress a rogue duke's rebellion in the city, saved the crown prince's life, smuggled him out of the city and made it possible for him to become the new emperor.

The SML wrote a poem and passed it to the FL over the wall before leaving for the capital to take his exam.

Equal footing?

Thank you🙏!

Only one episode today😟.