PeachBlossomGoddess

Yeah so I have all 3 names bc I have more than 40 first cousins on my father's side. We all have the same generation names by gender. I always know someone is from the mainland when they only have 2 names.

There is speculation that Jinqi or old Master Shen managed to save them.

Considering in another life she was engaged to him, I am sure she has looked at him and thought What If… And when she was one of his mothers designated baby machines she also must have considered What If… so I am going to say she isn’t entirely oblivious to him.

I don’t think it would have helped. I think Old Master Zhao meant to get rid of the Shens, oust the Lins from the capital and foist his disgraced granddaughter on the Lins.

What she wore is what a widow would wear when their husband dies, implying she was for all intents and purposes his wife. Of course her mom went ape shit.

He should be in the Old Master Zhao faction. I think he is the guy the ML was threatening for the coats and the new year pay.

She is a very modern beauty with very big teeth. 😅 I always find her and Zhang Jingyi out of place in ancient costume.

I think Grandpa Shen only expected the emperor to kill him and LX’s father but spare his other two sons who were not officials and the women. He didn’t expect the emperor to go as far as he did.

Definitely feel they were just scapegoats.

I am quite sure we never saw the other two Shen men.

It is required reading for mainland Chinese high school students. That is why it pops up so often in c-dramas - literally everyone knows the story. I will be honest, I appreciated many parts of it but I just never loved it. I didn't care that much about any of the characters and especially not the sickly weepy FL and the over sensitive ML. I just enjoyed the social commentary.

It was the genesis of Chinese family soap opera cum social commentary genre. All of these kinds of dramas - Story of Minglan, The Rise of Ning, Road to Splendor etc etc etc pay tribute to it. It is the story Fan Xian allegedly wrote/plagiarized in JOL.

Lol - enjoy - there's an eye opening amount of homosexual content in there too!!!

Yups rules that led to tragedy.

No worries - enjoy. I saved the link bc I always mean to watch it but I had to read the novel for my Chinese classes and I still have PTSD.

Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmUcy2AAj48

For sure and I have a soft spot for Minford as he has translated some of my favorite Jin Yong novels very well; a whole lot better than that atrocious air-headed English woman. But he over explains and meanders off and his language is wordy and not how the original is written. As you know, Chinese is very economical with words and to the point - it is a language that says a lot by saying very little. In recent years I find I much prefer the new generation of Chinese translators who are able to capture the beauty of the prose in its simplicity. But yes, of course to Western readers who don't know the culture all those old school Wiles Gades dudes are more helpful bc they over explain and over interpret everything.

100pct!!!

Yes he was the villain Hao Chen. It was his most delicious role.

I agree even though I think Cuique is the more interesting character. In many ways, she is more like Lanxiang - military class is by itself is barely a step above - it is indentured servitude in nicer clothes. So her grudge is more understandable. The problem is I don't like ZHHZ's acting in that role, she is not good at villain roles. She overacts and more critically she failed to make Cuique empathetic.
Xingtang is the complete opposite. She has enough money to have free will and agency. She could have made her marriage work and she still can just disappear if she so chooses but it seems she still chooses her status and power every time. The difference is Li Meng's acting is so good that somehow she makes Xingtang empathetic. I think these two roles were miscast. Li Meng should have played Cuique and ZHHZ Xingtang.