PeachBlossomGoddess

I have mixed feelings about that kind of ending. I want to see the ML and FL ride off into the sunset as well but I don't think Li Mao has earned the throne. And he hasn't convinced me that he is fit, much less make an ok emperor - I am putting a low bar here. I don't see the ML as that goody-goody or selfless bc if he were really your Chinese ethics role model, he would step up and assume power bc there really is no one fitting. He is not gunning for the throne bc he doesn't want it and he is selfish enough to put boundaries on how much he is willing to sacrifice for the greater good vs his own desire to live his best life. After he gave Li Mao a chance, he made a concious decision to win the the girl and he was pretty ruthless and deliberate about it, hence Li Mao's resentment. The only area where he is too goody-goody is when it comes to Jiayu and in that department he is borderline doormat - hardly a flawless character IMO. I think this drama is very good but I don't know how they are going to end this all that satisfyingly. Even if the ML and FL get to go their own way, I won't think the ending is that good if it leaves Li Mao on the throne.

I am not a huge fan of Peter Ho's acting in general. He could be good if he would just resist the urge to ham it up so much. And I have seen him in 3 or 4 villain roles now and he just seems more or less the same in all of them. Among the older generation, I find Jin Sha's Princess Yunzhao to be the best, most naturally well-acted and interesting role.

He does indeed but I am sorry to say that for me, he is not really executing well. I just don't feel his hardened ambition or his pain over Lejun or his emotional conflict. The only thing I see is a wishy washy performance. I used to wonder why he didn't get leading roles. Not anymore. I really love this drama but he is the weak link.

That would only work if the emperor dies bc otherwise he would know the memorial exists. And yes, that would mean all the GT's schemes are exposed, including the obstruction of works if he did it. Its hard to say at this point bc if GT is behind the obstruction of works, so is Li Mao. And I think the writer means to leave Li Mao on the throne. Which suggests the faulty works may simply trace back to Wenxi emperor's mistakes.

Nope not at all - the memorial reads 谢罪表 or a memorial of indictment against Xie. My guess is the GT gasped - aren't you.... [dead?]. But he could also have tried to say - aren't you [someone else] but I think we are done with hidden identities in this storyline. Most likely the emperor (not Prince Qi) issued a memorial of indictment against the GT and Xiao Ju executed it.

I agree and I would add that the only thing Li Mao ever really wanted in his heart of hearts and beyond anything else is to be emperor. Sure his father nudged him in the right direction but if he genuinely didn't want it, like Xiao Wuyi, he wouldn't have given up his girl for it. And tbh its a pretty shitty job that is fitting for a pretty shitty person. So maybe its all gonna work out fine as long as he gets over losing Jiayu. Even emperors don't get to have it all - especially when their bloodline is highly questionable.

No, he seemed genuinely impressed and was just sharing his admiration.🤷🏻‍♀️

Tbh, I never expected to see an international site being so much more narrow minded than the Chinese ones.

Tyvm 😘

My dear - its just clickbait. They for sure WILL NOT kiss. But they will tease us plenty.

He has the ruthlessness it takes to be emperor. And he is on the right side in terms of the reforms he wants to make to balance the power of the aristocracy with that of the commoners. And that is all Wuyi cares about.

I will be in air tomorrow night and have to catch up later.😅

The director's comments are open to interpretation and international audiences have chosen the worst possible translation. I didn't watch the whole thing, I frankly have no time or interest in this kind of stuff. But from the short clip I saw, all the guy said is that their acting is so authentic one would think they were really in love. As a native speaker, I listened to it and don't get why everyone is getting their diapers tied up in knots. Please people who use google and other translate apps, just shut up and go back to your knitting or better yet, go out there and get a life. This is not worth getting worked up over. Go protest genocide or try to cure cancer instead if you need a cause - bc this ain't it!!!

The An Lu case details are still not known. But it is hinted that they were blamed for something like the dam failing when it wasn't really their fault.
As for scholar Pei, he fell in with the GT's plans bc he wants to avenge his family. But after using him to frame the Xiao family, the GT tried to murder him (dead men tell no tales) but Yuanji intercepted it. Now he knows he is being silenced but he can only testify, he can no longer prove that he forged the Xiao family's handwriting bc his writing hand has been damaged.

As I said long ago... Princess Weiyoung is a definite possibility.

🤡😂👍

Anytime!😘

Yeah I mean it’s a bit nonsensical bc the budget is spent and can’t change. They just mean it got S+ revenue. If I had to guess this cost the lower end of 150-200mm yuan to make and made 250-300mm yuan.

Yeah so if you logout and watch the free episodes you can see how many ad slots there are. I think this will make a good profit for Iqiyi.

Yups Word of Honor. It probably made more than even JOL bc it only cost 30mm rmb. JOL cost 300+mm.

There are only about 300-350 mm paying subscribers (between all platforms) in China. And most of them only subscribe to 1 platform at a time/switch between them. Most of the Chinese viewership is on the non VIPs schedule and their views are paid for by ads. There are a limited number of slots - usually 2-4 commercial breaks with 4 to 8 slots each. How many for each show depends on how big the budget of the drama/whether its high traffic. Obviously the bigger budget ones need to sell more slots to make money. Usually a drama will only drop after it breaks even - i.e., sells enough slots to recover the production costs. And as it gets "hot" it will sell the remaining slots at much higher prices. Unsold slot prices can double or triple if the show gets super hot - JOL 1 and 2, ADOS, LYF were all sold-out dramas. But the most profitable dramas are often the small budget dark horse hits like WOH. That drama went viral and cost almost nothing to make. It was one of Youku’s all time biggest moneymakers.