MadelineMaureen

Seriously I'm marking this as spoiler for a reason skip if you actually plan to watch and don't want to be spoiled.
EX:
FL's mother was treated poorly in the mansion because her husband liked his concubine more.

FL's mother is divorced from her husband and falls in love with another man who disappears leaving her pregnant with FL.

FL's mother is murdered by the wife of the First Master Luo because he was secretly in love with FL's mother.

FL is sent to a side yard at 6 and later on meets a man who is recovering from an eye injury that makes him temporarily blind. FL is "killed" by a woman from a noble family because she is jealous of FL's relationship to this man. (She comes back for a round two later on)

1st Master Luo's wife tries to kill a woman who looks like FL's mother because her husband took petty on her and brought her into the mansion for a short time.

Daughter of the first branch(1st master and his wife) likes the younger brother of 2nd master Luo's wife. The Princess Royal's son has a small crush on this daughter and she is almost forced to marry him because of her mother's scheming.

ML becomes a 3 time first place scholar and becomes every mother and daughter's marriage target. Even his own teacher's daughter tries to get close to FL so she can get info on ML.

The no longer blindman is the enemy of the ML and is constantly trying to trap the FL into being his wife now that he has confirmed her identity as the girl from the side yard. (She did actually have feelings for this other man when she was younger, but has since learned his true character and fears him.)

She has an....ex?...best way to put it, that is obsessed with her...like cuckoo for cocoa puffs levels of delulu. There are roughly like 5ish love triangles so far. Most are with the third person intruding not being an actual option for one of the pair.
The older generation...wellllll, they messy messy. Not as in your face love triangles but love triangles are honestly the driving force behind every major event in the FL's life. So yeah...

Drama not book explanation as the drama is VERY loosely adapted from the novel.

Before Yi Ning is born and when she is still very young Yi Ning's mother was the only truly kind person to Shen Yuan in the whole mansion. When her mother was sent to the side yard he just had his personal servant looking out for him. Yi Ning has very vague memories of him at the mansion prior to HER being sent to a side yard for like 10ish years. He sees her as the daughter of the only person who was kind to him so he would indulge her as a child and then took on the protector roll when she returned to the mansion as a teenager. He very soon finds out that they are not blood related and her birth origins puts her in very real danger. He becomes even more protective and his admiration and care turns to love and devotion.

I lot of people mention it daily after each episode.
Personally think the production did a much better job at making it seem somewhat plausible and not red flag city. He gives her space and worries for her. She being young and naive to the world, is being protected by someone and she beings to worry for him as well. So yes it's going to be creepy no matter which way you slice it, but at least he treats her well and with respect. So a win is a win. Would I have preferred him treat her like a daughter instead of a a wife...1000%.

What are you currently in the mood for?
As TaliaToo said, if by episode 4 you aren't vibing I would just move on. 'The Rise of Ning' is a bit lighter, but has more messy family drama. With birth secrets and hidden pasts etc.
Pull up a Sunday 'Marcus Here' video and see if any of the top 10 web or streaming shows spark an interest.

Mei Lin was between a rock and a hard place. She was being targeted by the CP and wasn't safe anymore. Jing He knew that he was either going to win the next battle or EVERY ONE of his people will be killed, including Mei Lin. To protect her from treason charges YQ makes her untouchable without causing a full out war with Xiyan.
They are now having to play out that plan until YQ is able to gain more power and/or his father finally kicks the bucket.

No. He uses rumors and misinformation to his advantage to work in the shadows. He wants people to think he is bad or morally loose so they don't take him too seriously and let their guards down. If they think he's only thinking about women and worldly pleasures they aren't paying attention to the 4D chess moves he's making right over their shoulder.

This is based off of the drama's depiction NOT the novel. As so much has been changed the novel isn't AS important as what is told and shown on screen.
He was mischievous as a little boy but grew into an honorable young man, proud to lead an army that protected the people. When he and his army were framed for a tragedy that killed 100,000 civilians the army did not fight back when the grieving masses came for them...killing all but a few in the aftermath. Jing He then hid himself and his true nature from the world to avenge the people of the city and his men. He hardened himself not wanting to have to burry another person he cares for.
Because of how he meet the FL he decides that if she is willing to throw her life away to kill him he might as well make it work in his favor...Hence the first part of the title "Kill Me". His plan is put into motion before he has even had time to fully process everything.
He was morally white up until ten years prior to current day where he now lives in the morally grey slipping into black when necessary. We don't really get to see the true him until episode 17-18 when he doesn't have to have his guard up. About episode 13-15(can't remember exact one...but around the mid point # wise is when we entire the "Love Me" side of the drama. As he sees more of his true nature mirrored back at him through his interactions with the FL.
He lets rumors spread about him and will even start some himself. In the show it's implied that he isn't actually doing anything but pretending. He sometimes doesn't think his actions all the way through to the end point for the pawns on the board as he is so focused on vengeance for his men and the 100,000 civilians. FL knocks some more sense into him.

Episode 24 feels like a proper transition episode. This is the mid-pause before the ending arch gets into the thick of it(aka beginning of the 3rd act). Very nicely paced and touching base with everyone still on the board. Looking forward to JingHe and Mei Lin running into their "little" brother now they are back in her hometown. It was the city he overheard them talking about so I'm assuming that he is there somewhere.

It wont be finished on Netflix until the 15th of November...So just as a heads up to those who like to power through a whole drama in 2 days wait until the 14th if Netflix is your preferred platform. Happy watching.

So is Ting actually her father's bio son or is he a nephew/adopted? I think i missed the relationship breakdown. And the show keeps saying how he never married or had concubines, so I'm like dad had a one night stand and took the kid after the mother died? I need some help clearing this up in my brain.

The actor who plays the Marquis looks a lot like NCT's Jeno(Korean singer, dancer, model, child actor). They have similar nose and lip shapes and similar eyebrows.
When Ci Sha is relaxed and just observing/smiling he reminds me of how Jeno looks during lives.

Japanese movie Wandering.
Both lead characters depict asexuality and touch/sex aversion. This one is on the heavier side....like...heavy heavy and this will be extremely polarizing for people both in an out of the ace community. Read the pages trigger warnings before watching. ML is not the bad guy but the FL goes through it...from CA/SA, IPV/SA...it's...how do I put this...very Japanese in it's storytelling. Spoiler tag because even though i've abbreviated the words don't need people just scrolling by to get upset.

So the running scene could be 3 months later or it could be 15 months later it didn't really say. But 3 months is a long time to work things out. She's also more secure in herself now as a human. That prefrontal cortex really comes in clutch in your late 20s early 30s.

He's a writer now and doesn't have fifty billion part-time jobs. She could easily transition into the liaison between their Japanese authors and her families' publishing house living in Japan. Also now that their financial situation is more settled they can easily travel back and forth between the two countries.

And sometimes a second chance is better to dive into and either sink or swim.

Desperately wanting to yap about this show to my mom, but she just started it so I don't want to accidentally spoil anything. Saw her icon lurking in the recently watched by. I'd been trying to get her to watch one of Zhang Wan Yi's shows because I thought she would like his overall vibes.

Most are uniforms of some kind, others are just similar in color with slight variation to design.

Or a Henry Tilney. Doesn't give Edmund or Edward vibes. oh....Captain Wentworth....I can see it.

No one in the this show that has romantic interest in someone else is in anyway blood related. It is either through marriage(aka in-law of an in-law) or no relation.

ML's father was once married to FL's mother. FL's mother was the only person in the household who treated ML well. ML and FL did not live together for 10plus years. FL vaguely remembers him from her childhood, but not really in depth. He remembers her fondly as the daughter of the woman who actually loved him, and protects her(FL) because of his relationship to her mother. When he realizes they are not blood related and that if it is found out she could be in danger, THAT is when his feelings for her evolve. Neither were really treated like children of the Luo family.

(this is going to be a doozy to write out but here we go)
The wife of the second master of the Luo family's youngest brother is in love with the first master of the Luo family's daughter. So in-law of in-law.

Ci Sha looks like Jeno when he smiles like that.

I honestly think most people forget that you can rate each episode so sometimes the number is lower than it would be if people utilized the ratings throughout the shows run until the final rating at the end. I also noticed through my interactions with people in the comments that a large chunk don't even keep track of the shows they watch...I am confused and baffled.