PeachBlossomGoddess

Haishi and the emperor do not fall in love, even in the novel. They just comfort each other.

I feel pity for any actor that tries to play YM's ML after TMOPB bc her chemistry with Mark Chao was really good. That said, both Mo Yuan and Ye Hua were not really complex characters and they were almost all powerful. Fang Jianming is a much more complex, tortured and constrained role, I am not sure even Mark Chao could pull off that easily. You need someone like a Chen Kun or a Hu Ge and the age gap with YM would also be more fitting. I really like Chen Weiting but as he himself admits, he is a rather straightforward person. I think this role is difficult for him and even though his sweet scenes with YM are well done, he is not really pulling off the rest of it that well.

I suspect Tilan loves General Tang. Whether she is a willing part of the conspiracy with 4th prince is not clear.

Tilan/Zizian's father is greedy and always trying to milk the emperor. Zizian's loyalty was always to the emperor but Tilan's is not. The emperor is smart, he actually knows Tilan was sent to him to try to retain Nunian's influence over him. I think Tilan was pressured into provoking him into sleeping with her. If she bears a prince to this emperor with no heir and secures the emperors affection the way her sister did, Nunian's position is secure. It looks like from the trailer that she gets pregnant but the child was not successfully aborted.

Its really too bad shifu's baixi power doesn't extend to the bedroom...

The novel is actually very short. How they got this many episodes out of it is amazing. That is probably why the plot doesn't seem to move.

Tilan set out deliberately to provoke and seduce the emperor. She is clearly doing it bc she is following instructions. Her motives and loyalties are not clear at this stage.

Yeah I don't like how Ji Chang's role is acted either - he is trying too hard to play the fool

It would be the only way for Haishi to raise the emperor's posthumous son as regent after he dies without sleeping with him - i.e, the crown prince is Tilan's son and not Haishi's. It probably means Tilan dies though or runs away with her lover.

Ji Chang, Tilan and Tang Ganzi are linked - they more or less grew up together in Nunian. They should all be watched carefully.

I think it is left up to reader interpretation and there are different reads on that just as there are different reads on the relationship between the two men. To me, I read it is more than fatherly but how much more idk given he is missing some parts.

One of FZ's last thoughts was of how HS will never know how much he cherished her.

This will help:
https://mydramalist.com/article/a-guide-to-novoland

Nah, several of my usual watch buddies dropped out or went to hold. I am quite enjoying it but I can see there are issues as well. Slim pickings out there.... this is nowhere near as brain cell destroying as Rebirth for You.

The plot appears to have several threads that unfold slowly and in not the most exciting way but the action scenes are really good. They weave in the character backstories in a rather melodramatic way and dribble out pieces for you to piece together. If you like that then its fine but if not, its gonna feel slow.

Go for it - the prose is sparse. You have to fill in the blanks.

Its only the two men together, Haishi isn't even there.

Well so far it seems the emperor has been celibate since his empress died… maybe it will stay that way…

I think the emperor is testing her for sure. I only skimmed the parts with the 3 mains in the novel -I didn’t see a Tilan mentioned until the final chapters after both men died but I didn’t bother to read I was already in tears.

My heart, he answers.