Lil Kong

Do you think Qingshuang had a connection with Prince Ding's family? The way she (her spirit) paid respects outside his manor seems significant.

My (super dark) theory is that after the assassins killed all the teachers and students at the academy she was the sole survivor on the mountain. Being unable to bury so many dead the monkeys came and started eating the corpses. Hope I'm wrong...

Yeah he's clearly not a good father, though it is somewhat understandable since the political tension is not yet over. After all the mountain is still blockaded. I do wonder why the FL's mother felt she owed to the ML's brother... That may be her biggest sin or regret.

She's also doing things like chopping down the tree that look very much like someone's dying wish. I have the feeling that the tragic reveal is going to hit us like a ton of bricks...

Seems likely that the Ye family cut ties with Ye Li's mom to avoid being collaterals in the power struggle.

I totally agree. Ye Ying changed her order to a kidnapping rather than a kill, so clearly she's still redeemable. I liked her interactions with the assassin, so hopefully she will have a nice growth and conversion arc.

Wow great eye! I went back to look and there he was, though we couldn't see his face. Would explain his reaction to Ye Li being the contract target.

My suspicion is that everyone on the mountain is dead. In ep 1 she seems to be biting her own arm, so maybe the monkeys are more like a symbol of their angry, vengeful spirits? Either way she is clearly not well.

Both Tian Ben Chang and his father were taken to the capital and beheaded, no? Only the mother and younger brother were pardoned after 3 years of exile. They did forget about the dead guard, but the Wu family had fallen so likely no one cared.

I think he came back for real. She wasn't the type to delude herself, and the Ming dynasty did endure beyond those conflicts.

Maybe the paragraph was poorly translated? It gave a happy and satisfying closure for the whole story.

It's a happy ending, don't worry. Maybe people were watching with bad subtitles or something.

Yes, the blood was both a literal ingredient and a metaphor for personal sacrifice. Presumably they would have found an animal substitute for production, so only the first piece would contain human blood. I believe that was the piece that Li Zhen cut up and distributed to all the contributing families.

Blatantly framing his own brother is a bold move. I have the feeling TBC is going to be taken down by his own family. Also suspect Wu Wei Shi was never going to hook him up with a real official post, so in a way TBC's fate is already sealed. Let's hope he doesn't take too many good people down with him.

Tian Ben Chang in ep 32 ...

Li Zhen offered her a bookkeeping job at Little Li Ink Shop, her own side hustle. Probably insulated enough from the main business?

It's so baffling to expect women in female empowerment dramas to be one-dimensional angels or witches. Maybe that's baggage from bad tropes, or a sign that people can no longer afford to give attention to stories that evoke layered emotions.

I think he wants to keep her safe. If his identity ever gets out she could be guilty of harbouring a fugitive, which is a crime that could ruin her and her family. Not to mention the hurt and trauma of having her lover executed. He is a convict living on borrowed time and she is a brilliant craftsman with a bright future.

Same, I think she avoided Li Zhen because she hasn't reckoned with the possibility of hurting her friend in order to survive. I hoped that she would break completely from her terrible family but that's probably my modern bias. The social pressure would have made it impossible.

Good question... I guess it runs itself? She offered the 3 merchants the profit from her shop as collateral, so looks like it is still making and selling medicinal ink.