QAS

The alternate title should be "Legend of Lanxiang".

Ji'er was the sleeper character. The writers put the bossy Third Maid's name on their casualty list, but she came back a dozen plus episodes later as the famous courtesan, and disappeared again. She later showed up in the Capital as Madam Dai (...Zhao)'s slave, but she was soon freed by Lanxiang. Ji'er represents the phoenix rising out of the ashes.

We see the "old" Jin Qi returning in ep 32. He let his imperial promotion get to his head in the last couple of episodes.

That line (..."where could my heart possibly go?) said so much, but it flew past Jin Qi's head.

I suddenly recognized Lu Jian (...Xin Peng), watching the preview at the end of Episode 31. He was the nervous Guo Chang Cheng in Guardian. The face looked familiar but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before.

Old Madam is all about keeping up appearances. The Lin family might be one of the oldest aristocrats in Jinling. She didn't know all the the sordid details of Miss Zhao and Miss Dai (...was that the name of the third woman?) She only knew about Du Cuique. I don't think she knew she has the worst taste in bride selection.

I think that Lanxiang had respected Lin Jin Qi when she was his personal maid, because he trusted her decision making skills, and even emancipated her and her parents. Now that she is his spouse, he is acting more like the Lord and Master, and treating her like an acquisition. LJQ lost some of his sheen in episode 30. I can't wait until she slaps him a third time with, "You rejected me when I was Shen Jia Lan, and you had the audacity to bring me to my ancestral home where my family was ruined. I watched my grandmother, mother, aunties, sisters, cousins take their lives in prison so they would not be prostituted.' He should be wailing and rolling on the ground at that point.

He was writing his romance novel in his head.

I watched him in two consecutive dramas this year: The First Jasmine and Unveil Jadewind. He was a master martial arts or swordsman in one of the dramas. He had one amazing fight scene.

I am confused. I thought the cross dresser was Jiugao, too. Does Jiugao like Yuchan, or was it, Nanke? Jiugao's mother is Old Madam's personal maid?

Both of the look alike, except one is taller than the other. 🤣🤣🤣

A major reason is also that the director, Huang Ying Xiang, is female. The writing also shows empathy for the female characters, even the villains.

Lin and Han acted in the typical dominant male role of the time period.

She might be angry that she was betrayed and rejected by the Lin family years ago. She sees Jin Qi as the young man who betrayed her once.

Jiugao looked so pretty. Did he do the hairstyling and makeup himself? He is very talented. I loved how the vendor kept looking at him, like he could not believe he was looking at Jiugao.

There is a character in Spring of the Blade called Second Madam who acts and even looks like this Second Madam. I thought it was the same actress for a moment. 🤣

When she was demoted to slave status, she formed a bond with the female indentured servants. Now, the Madam, she can empathize with their subservient roles.

It feels like the master and slave relationship of the times. He is the law, and the slave must obey. He is controlling her life, by getting the imperial decree and presenting it on his wedding day.

I am disappointed in his underhanded method to marry her. He never expressed any romantic interest in her. She feels that he is manipulating her. She saw the mutual trust between her foster parents, and might recall the trust between her birth parents. If he had not intervened, she might have married Scholar Han at the onset. He is doing the same thing that his grandfather did to him, coercing him into marrying the Zhao woman, except he knew about it before the wedding.

When Jin Qi married that evil Zhao, did they distribute the same pastry to the slaves? Was that when young Lan Xiang received the pastry?

Lin Jin Qi went from enigmatic commander to lovesick husband. I hope this is short term. Emperor might change his mind about Jin Qi's career potential if this continues. I think the ex-wife is in the Capital, so we might not have seen the last of her.

Grandpa Lin had low opinions of his two grandchildren, Jinlan and Xiuru. At least Xiuru left home. Now Jinlan will escape to the Capital, and shine. I can't wait for Lan Xiang to reveal her true identity to Grandpa and Mother Lin.