PeachBlossomGoddess

I don't think that is the ultimate villain. Its too early to reveal that. I think he is only behind the illegal arms forging. I also think its kind of ridiculous and unnecessary for him to wear the black hoodie and speak in a fake voice.

Yeah please nobody tell Zhao kingdom all they have to do is send a few beautiful female spies...

Politics or not, it was the commonly accepted "moral" practice to officially adopt the legitimate wife and no longer recognise the birth mother.

No - I think it was a romance which is a genre I rarely watch - I think maybe A Love So Beautiful? Handsome Siblings is a wuxia, which is a genre I watch lots of. It is a good drama but he is very stoic in that and it was one of his earlier shows.

No the emperor resented Hua's silence which he (correctly) took to be a criticism and his writings that he shared with scholars were also implicitly critical. It took me a rewatch to figure it out bc it is not clearly conveyed in the drama.

I am not defending her treatment of course it is terrible but this was the common practice throughout China. Even emperors were not exempt. Emperor Renzong of Song was adopted by the barren empress and his mother was banished to a nunnery and never saw him again. He was not even allowed to attend his birth mother's funeral even though he was either already a young emperor or the crown prince when she died.

I dropped the show but the best acting I have seen from HYT is in My Roomate is a Detective. I have seen others praise some romance he was in that I didn't watch. He is dubbing himself here and he's doing a decent job - he is clear and easy to understand though the line delivery could be a bit better its not monotone like Ren Jialun. Lots of other actors struggle with the voice acting - even with good ones like Cheng Yi I have to take a look at the subs occasionally bc he cbites off some of his words.

Biologically he is the son of the third master and concubine Qin. It was probably done long ago so even Hua Zhi didn’t realize it at first.

In feudal China children of concubines are of lower illegitimate status, unless there is no legitimate son. Since the 3rd house already has a legitimate son Boyu, the 2nd house adopted Boli which changes him from the illegitimate son of the 3rd house to the legitimate son of the 2nd house. It has huge implications for his future, which is why his “mother” nags him to study all the time.

They may have been only joking around about that. He would have to change his surname which is not done lightly in feudal China. And given he comes from the imperial family, an edict would be needed for that. Usually its only done when the girl's family has no male heirs. Not the case with the Huas. So does he come before or after Hua Zhi's own brother who is the first grandson and the future head of the family in the Hua family hierarchy?

I think HYT is actually overall a pretty decent actor I just really detest his styling in this show. These cold, aloof roles are kind for hard for young actors to get right but he is doing an ok job at it. It wouldn't be normal for him to have an effusive personality - he lost his mom at a young age and both his father and uncle are sociopaths. His uncle already thinks he is too soft it will be a disaster if he turns into a mushy and cuddly head of the dreaded security bureau. I also think his line delivery and pronunciation is pretty good I barely have to glance at the subtitles to understand him.

The two pressing matters on the emperor's agenda is 1) the selection of an heir and 2) the private forging of weapons that the security bureau is investigating. The emperor suspects one of the princes is planning to revolt. He is mad that even before the outcome of 2) is known, the court is debating over who should be named heir. Only minister Hua has been silent. When asked why, he answered that the emperor considers 1) his private family business and 2) he only trusts the security bureau. He criticized the security bureau's cruel, lawless methods, terrorizing the court and people, creating chaos in the capital. He goes so far as to tell the emperor as monarch his private family matters are also affairs of state. The emperor is offended that Hua dared to chastise him. Later it becomes clear that Hua's wisdom and writings are greatly admired by scholars far and wide so the emperor is also jealous of him and is trying to erase his writings, which Hua Zhi saved. That is why the emperor reminded him the royal family's surname is Gu and not Hua.

No I don’t think he knows but I am afraid he is going to find out. If you recall someone is illegally forging weapons. It has to be one of the princes planning to revolt. That is what GYX is tasked by the emperor to be investigating in the security bureau. He is like the head of the secret police/spy agency. That’s why he goes around in a mask and pretends to be an idle princeling to his cousins. Prince Xian’s overture to him regarding needing his military aid is tantamount to treason.

He is dubbing himself. So is ZJY.

All of them are pulling their weight but WYB’s improvement in acting is the most noticeable.

Bao Xia is HZ’s maid but yes Aunty Wuis pretty awesome.

It’s not live recorded but leads are dubbing themselves.

I think Aunty 3 is a smart cookie and she already figured out there is more to Yanxi than meets the eye.

Must have been something terrible! 🫣I don't need Google Translate but the novel looks super long and I don't have time, I am ok to wait for it.

Yeah unfortunately he looks disturbingly healthy...