PeachBlossomGoddess

The problem is there are no really good equivalent English titles. I personally prefer to just stick with the Chinese titles. But if I had to translate them I would rather use King for Wang instead of Prince even though both are technically correct.

Wuyi's wife He Yuanji is officially Shìzǐ Fēi/ 世子妃 or Hereditary Princess, his main wife. Jiayu is the wife of his heart but her officially her title is Cèfēi/侧妃 which is Consort or Side Consort. She does rank above Ruifeng who is only a concubine.

I don’t like her but the plot is so good I don’t want to skip anything.

But remember Le Jun did save Wuyi from the Eagle King’s poison arrows in Ep 10.

Yeah but maybe the ailing emperor can be cured miraculously. He’s not a bad emperor he is just too sick to be effective.

The Grand Tutor told her about Ah Mao’s lineage before she went to Cui Fort so there was noting to piece together there. Her orders were to do everything possible to intercept the token. She most likely went prepared with some drugs just in case. But the news of Wenxi Prince being alive shocked her into unthinkable action. I don’t think she fully expected to survive the fall - she thought if she could obtain the token and prevent Yunzhou from revealing the truth about Wenxi Prince it would be enough. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer and ultimately just another pawn of the GT. But petty villains can also do untold harm by their sheer stupidity. It seems to me if anyone miscalculated it is the GT. I think it’s mission critical to always use competent people or do it yourself.

I believe at this point this drama has gotten hot enough that they have pretty much sold out all their ad slots. So they don't need to delay the schedule anymore.

The horseman driving the carriage that went off a cliff.

Lejun is just not too bright - even before she knocked her head falling off a cliff.

Yeah tbh I am not a fan of the English title. Phoenix usually symbolises the empress but this is not about Wenxi empress nor is it exactly the story of a girl who is gunning to be empress even though that's where she may end up.

For sure, we have to have a much lower bar for palace politics in romance dramas so this has surprised me in the best of ways.

Thx for the suggestion - I haven't heard of 云雀叫天录 but it looks like it was shot awhile back. If you are interested in 云雀叫天录 and Republican era dramas, you can check out Winter Begonia. Its a fantastic drama even though I don't understand Chinese opera well. I want to watch The Lead as well but I don't have time and am too busy to be in the mood to have to decipher the operas.

Yes indeed and if the right girl chooses him back, we are all set.

The title 雀骨 is literally translated as Sparrow Bone. The token originates from Empress Wenxi. I don't know why they call it the Phoenix Token in the English subtitles. But the interpretation of the title makes sense. Something seemingly delicate/fragile that can soar and has a strong back bone/integrity.

You should actually post all this stuff in the Discussion section.

As for court politics they are almost all badly written - the kind of stuff that would just never have happened. No offense to the fans but Pursuit of Jade, Fated Hearts, Ashes to Crown, The First Jasmine etc etc all had absurd palace plot! Zhou Na is an especially terrible writer when it comes to court politics - the woman should be banned from writing those arcs. This is the first drama in a very long time where it is clear the writer knows what they are writing about. If you want recommendations, I keep annual ranking lists by year of what I have watched under my profile. But my list this year is very thin - I have very little time to watch stuff. I happen to be on vacation until Monday or I wouldn't have time to post all this stuff.

Heheh - its just a way for me to keep my own notes online.😅

She fell in love with the Grand Tutor and defied a royal decree to marry him. She was Wenxi emperor's younger sister - that got her demoted from a first rank princess (Gōngzhǔ) to a second rank princess (Junzhu). Too late she discovered he loved someone else and was obsessed with clearing her family. His scheme to put his illegitimate son on the throne was the final straw and she divorced his sorry ass. But when she realised the An-Lu families were wronged, she decided to help him clear them anyway even though they were never getting together again. He didn't deserve such a broad minded woman at all.

The Grand Tutor and Yunzhou Jūnzhǔ's story is quite well written:

The director certainly understands court political dynamics in a way many recent idol c-dramas don't.

Regardless of what he claims, I personally think it was the moment she shot him in the butt!!!