PeachBlossomGoddess

😂😂😂😂😂

They had not yet met although they were engaged. But yes, I think Lanxiang just followed her birth mother's advice and moved forward to live her best life without looking back.

This arc unfolded and resolved very quickly. There was no proper build up and the villains did dumb things for plot convenience. I did like the long lost crown prince digression though it was completely unnecessary.

I agree but I would also point out that Jinqi both is and is not a 2025 man. The truth is we have to suspend disbelief to think this kind of character can exist. He is a 2025 man in the sense he goes to absurd lengths to make a maid his legitimate wife! That is just unheard of and unthinkable. But by overriding her agency and free will he is pure Neanderthal.

I am only casually watching this and will not be able to finish it but I left my thoughts on Tale of Pipa, the opera that opens this drama in the discussion section above.
https://mydramalist.com/696675-yi-ou-chun/discussions/155400-the-tale-of-pipa-and-plot-relevance

Yes, Zhu Di is trying to wipe out his nephew's entire line of succession.
Once the crown prince is named, he cannot enter the capital unless summoned by the emperor. This is to prevent him from usurping the throne.

All of the Shen family assets were confiscated and obviously some of it was sold. I am sure there are pieces scattered throughout the noble and wealthy.

I wouldn't worry too much about the airing schedule. This is alongside CCTV so it should be 2 per day until the Express.

Idk I wouldn't rely on it. It hasn't been updated for the latest schedule.

I hear you - it is why I rarely watch dramas that are purely romance focused.

2 as usual.

She doesn't strike me as the overly interfering type - she even handed over the management of Jinqi's household to Xingtang when they were married. And its hard to bully a bride the emperor bestowed without low key disrespecting the emperor.

Indeed she did - its hard to go up against very accomplished actors. I always thought Bai Yu was really good until I saw him in Sword and Plowshares against all the other heavyweights and then suddenly I saw all the flaws in his line delivery and expressions.

He's a good option... just... kind of boring. But who am I to judge? After all she has been through, boring and safe may be all the FL wants.

Sigh - let's hope for the best. They allegedly have "sufficient content" for 47 episodes...

Well Tong Hua should still be overall in charge but she is a writer with many projects. Usually the lead writer just gives overall direction, writes some parts themselves - opening and closing - and parcels all the other sub-plots out to other writers so that they can get worked on in parallel. That's why there is so little consistency in most c-dramas bc they are so long its hard for one writer to do it all. Wang Juan (JOL, SSS etc) does everything himself but he takes years to finish a script.

This is where I feel a bit scared. Usually there are a few supporting scriptwriters that write different arcs - I feel the one in charge of this Manyi arc is not really up to scratch.

Fragrant Orchid. Or Orchid Fragrance.

This Duke really has no insight. The ML and his family were in dire straits when he married Ms Zhao and yet he refused to be their puppet. He is not the malleable puppet type - this is about his innate nature and has nothing to do with whether the FL exists or not.

Oink oink!