Sharlotka

It is quite funny that everything that the Emperor did to mold Feng Suige into the kind of person that he wanted him to become, had actually had the exact opposite effect and turned him into the kind of person that his mother would want him to be. There is something very satisfying in that.

I still feel like it came so completely out of the left field. I could see a lot of things coming but I did not expect this obsession with power, and what it made him do to any relationship that he ever had with anyone. Though I also have to admit that I find it refreshing - I am relatively new to the drama world and this is the first time I’m watching one where the emperor is portrayed this way and I actually enjoy that it's not that he's perfect and good and just everyone else is just evil.

I still sympathise all the more with the villains, though lol

I'm with you on wanting Feng Suige to become an Emperor, greater than his father ever had a chance to be, proving that he was badly wrong and everything he perceived as weakness is actually a great strength.

Episode 24

Oooh, that punch in the face was so satisfying.

That ‘argument’ between Murong Yao and PM Zhuang… The hesitation when Zhuang spoke about killing Feng Suige… The way he was looking at Zhuang and seemed to be thinking about what the guy is saying, especially when he spoke about the consolation to his father as if the man was as certain as dead by that point… All of it only fuels my wish that Murong Yao ends up changing his mind and chooses to help Feng Suige in the end. Not that it will ever happen.

I’m sorry Emperor but… Can you hear what you’re saying? You’re basically angry at your son because he’s loyal to you and doesn’t want you dead? I felt almost bad for the guy after everything he said, I feel more sympathetic to those who oppose him. Feng Suige saying it’s his misfortune to be his son just hit a completely different way.

I guess I was right that what he was doing was all to prepare Feng Suige for being his successor, but I would never have expected him to be such a madman. Why do I want to bet that it’s him who sent the assassins after Feng Suige and Murong Yao when they were children because he perceived their friendship as another weakness for his son? And he eventually sent them away exactly to isolate the two?

It’s almost funny that all his efforts to mold his son into the person he wanted him to become actually turned him more into a person that his mother wanted him to be. And wow, I guess, the Princess really is her father’s daughter, probably the one that is not a disappointment, unafraid to oppose him but go for what she wants. A father and emperor of the year, really. Wow.

Episode 23

I don’t know, perhaps I’m just biased but every time I watch a scene between the Princess and Xia Jingshi, I feel overwhelmed with second-hand embarrassment. Just get the message. It’s the one character, whose suffering I actually genuinely enjoy. You made your bed, now lie in it.

If my heart broke in the previous ep with the confrontation between Feng Suige and Murong Yao, return home and the flashbacks of the moments the two of them shared together have reduced the pieces to dust. I refuse to believe that all of it was completely fake and will now go sob in a corner because I know it most likely was.

Looks like the cooperation between PM Zhuang and Murong Yao as far as their positions on the great plan is becoming a bit strained. Yes, please, become a lovely, enjoyable mess.

WTH, the Emperor, you gave me a jumpscare. That said, it’s incredibly how this one guy managed to turn almost everyone he had ever been close to in his life against him. That takes some skill. Though I’m sure there has to be more to this than just that and I’m curious to find out the whole story.

Yes, that's what I meant. Possibly something along the lines of “Your son’s life is in our hands, make a wise choice”.

As far as episode 24 preview... I'm not actually sure what to think about this scene, it doesn't seem to make any sense with the way it's completely cut out of context. I don't think he's faking the illness, though. From the very start of the drama, I feel like he knows much more than he is letting on as far as the dynamics in the court are concerned and his 'testing' of Feng Suige is basically him giving his son a chance to establish himself as the future ruler. It seems to be a theme with a lot of male characters whose fathers are hard on them that they don't understand their father's true intentions until after they are dead, at which point they realise that everything they did was actually for them, and I think it's very much the same with the Emperor and Feng Suige.

As far as the timing… It’s difficult to say but I’m inclined to say before for two reasons. 1 - PM Zhuang seems to want the Emperor to suffer similar pain to what he experienced with his son, and that won’t happen if the Emperor is dead by that point. 2 - As long as Feng Suige lives, he’s a threat to the 2nd Prince and his claim to the throne. If they get rid of him before the Emperor, 2nd Prince is the only one with the claim to the title and noone will challenge that. But, that's on the assumption that it is in line with Zhuang's wishes.

Thank you, I'm happy to hear someone enjoys the read. I was pretty sure I have to be seen as a lunatic haha :D And yes, I agree that it's misplaced, but the reasoning is still understandable for me :)

I actually just now thought of one more theory for the stabbing. Could really fall on both sides as far as which side either the Murongs is on, but something that could provide a bit of an explanation especially for why Murong Sr. is involved - what if PM Zhuang forces/blackmails him somehow? Either support me and get the 2nd Prince on the throne (and get Feng Suige out of the way), or you will be punished yourselves.

Though... PM Zhuang admitted to wanting to kill Feng Suige himself, so why are the Murongs doing the killing while he is nowhere to be seen? Which would make me think they may not be doing that with PM's blessing.

I admit I haven't thought of it but you make a very good point with the north, and how it is a strategic place, and how you'd send your most trusted person to defend it. So sending Murong Sr. there, in the eyes of the Emperor and the man himself, is actually showing the man that he trusts him. Murong Yao just misunderstood as a child and never really thought to question it any further, while Murong Sr. probably never explained his perspective. But when they finally do talk, he understands his father, and that could make him realise that he had been wrong all along.

Oh trust me, I know. I really don't have hopes that my other theories are correct, even if I would like to see something like this :)

Warning in advance, this is a bit long because I have tendency to overthink and overanalyse. But here we go, the options I could see to explain it:

1. I’ll start with my thoughts about the obvious option - things are what they look like and Murong Yao and Murong Sr. just bluntly want to kill Feng Suige. Somehow, Murong Yao convinced his father to his view or, the more likely option, Murong Sr. realises that his son is too far gone with the plan for there to be a way out for him. But he cares about him, maybe even feels that he failed him which is why he ended up the way he did, and at the end of the day chooses his son over everything else. That’s on the assumption that Murong Sr.’s loyalty to the Emperor of Susha is genuine, but there’s no reason to believe it’s not or he would have had no reason to argue with PM Zhuang. This is also the option that does not allow for me to hold onto my delusional hope that the brotherly relationship between Feng Suige and Murong Yao wasn’t completely fake.

2. Murong Senior is genuinely loyal and actually gets through to his son and convinces him to his side. So, the stabbing scene, what if they do it all for appearance’s sake? Wanting to convince everyone that Feng Suige is now out of the way, not a danger anymore, to make them all show their true colours, while they take him out of the capital. The fact that they bury him in what looks like very out of the way spot could also support that. I may be wrong, obviously, but between strangling someone and stabbing someone, it shouldn’t be that hard to kill a man if you really want to. I realise there’s the device called plot armour but still, just stab him properly? Plus, wouldn’t it send a louder message if people actually got to see Feng Suige’s body, it being displayed to leave no doubts that he’s dead? Especially for those who may still hold loyalty to him.

3. Somewhat similar to the above but going a bit deeper because I can’t help thinking that there’s more to the emotions that Murong Yao is showing in the very final seconds of the episode, when they freeze on him. I may be seeing too much into it because I would really like to see something like this, but he almost looks conflicted, maybe a little bit sad. So what if all of what he is doing is, in a way, to help Feng Suige. Based on what we learnt in the episode, being a great general, fighting wars, etc. is not something he can offer. We don’t know much about any of his other skills really. What he can offer is an opportunity for Feng Suige to uncover the whole intrigue and get a chance to get rid of his enemies once and for all, to establish his position in Susha, etc. But he won’t be trusted by Feng Suige’s enemies if he is too supportive of the Prince - yes, there’s the excuse of fooling him, keeping his guard lowered and all, but it can only go so far. And he can’t drop the act yet - it’s way too early for that. Though, to be fair, in this case, the reason behind the stabbing scene would be similar to the point above.

4. Not a full theory but a thought connected to points 2 and 3… How crazy it would be if Feng Suige actually understood what they were doing and why they were doing. Or if Murong Senior is the one trying to protect him, while Murong Yao genuinely tries to kill him but after his father is killed/whatever, he ends up realising that he had chosen the wrong side and while he can't go back to being Feng Suige's brother, it's not too late to help him.

And yes, I do realise that point 1 is the most likely but I just enjoy speculating and coming up with theories, especially for characters I enjoy.

That scene has not yet happened in the episodes, yet, to be fair. I could find ways to explain it, I already have a few theories especially that I know some Mandarin, but with it being cut out of context of the episode and without the possibility to analyse the scene as a whole, circumstances under which it happens, etc. that'd be nothing more than blind guessing.

When did he stab him? Has it already happened in the drama, or is it in the trailers? I haven't watched much of these, I'm only basing my thoughts and theories on the episodes.

Episode 22

The way the Empress is speaking about Feng Suige’s mother, how the Emperor “every trace of her existence”, really makes me wonder if she isn’t in that place she founded and he did all of that to make sure nobody ever tries looking for her.

Feng Suige’s disbelief when she first tells him about Murong Yao… At the same time, I like how they show parallels between the two of them. She had also lost her brothers, the people she trusted the most in her life, which only strengthens the bond between them because they understand each other’s pain perfectly.

But… The number of pieces that my heart is in right now… I saw a lot of people’s comments saying that Murong Yao’s motives are lame, that his anger is misplaced, I can’t say I fully agree. Obviously, it wasn’t Feng Suige’s fault that they were attacked that day but from what we have learnt, I can see why he would end up resenting him for what happened.

His father, who was probably the most important person in his life at that point, possibly even someone he idolised, comes to the rescue and nearly loses his life but his first priority isn’t to save him - it’s to save the prince, as if he doesn’t matter. They - though mostly his father - went through hell, nearly died, singlehandedly defeated all of these attackers and saved the prince and rather than a thank you, the blame for what happened is put on their family and they receive a punishment. A cherry on top of the cake would be if sneaking out was Feng Suige’s idea.

I also find it easy to imagine how, from his perspective, Feng Suige didn’t care about what happened. Nobody came to help them and I bet that the next time they saw each other, he probably didn’t ask a single question about how he is, and so on and so forth, just acted as if nothing happened and everything was fine. Meanwhile, his father had been treated unfairly and he basically lost the future that he was supposed to have because of what might seem like a small, silly injury.

And I agree that in a way, it was their role - to serve the country, to save the Prince, etc. but I can’t imagine any good ruler expects everyone to just blindly serve. If he doesn’t treat his people well, obviously they’re going to start to resent him. We only know one side of that obviously, but I can actually get behind these motives, even if I disagree with the ways he goes about getting what he perceives as justice.

That said… There’s a small, delusional part of me that wants to believe that somehow, they can get over that rift. I even have an idea or two. Or that Murong Yao is deliberately creating this rift between them to protect Feng Suige. Do I actually believe it? No, not really, I don’t hold high hopes for that. Still, a part of me wishes.

Also, as Zuo Ye’s fangirl, I have to say I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Yet another time when he really impresses me with his acting.

Episode 21

As much as I dislike her character, I have to give it to the Princess that she showed some grace when Xia Jingshi told her he cannot fulfill that particular wish of hers.

So, Murong Yao’s father opposes the plan, eh? And that’s one way to learn what your son is up to. Now, I can’t wait for the confrontation between father and son. The flashback was so telling, the father suspecting that he's doing it for him, and I can't imagine it has to be easy for him.

I really hoped Murong Yao wasn’t working with the Zhuangs but of course he is. A part of me is still hoping that he’ll eventually turn on them but I don’t really expect a good outcome either way. *sad sigh*

Zuo Ye is the reason I began to watch this drama but in the first one I have watched with him, he just stole the show for me with how well he acted, making you feel the pain of the character. So far, I'm not disappointed here, either - I'm just impressed given how young this guy is and how relatively few roles he had so far. This confrontation is something I've been waiting for like 10 episodes now and your comment makes me all the more excited to finish work and watch the episodes <3

A part of me wants to think that because I enjoy their banter and interactions, but I don't really have high hopes for it being the case.

Episode 20

Looks like for the time being, I really am going to change into this insane person gushing over a villain in almost every comment of mine. Oh well. Not the first time, and probably not the last time lol

The backstory of the dancer makes me all the more curious to see more of Murong Yao’s backstory, to find out the reasoning behind what he’s doing. Was he just using her from the beginning and saving her was just jumping at an opportunity, or somewhere deep down, he’s not such a bad guy, just circumstances had their impact on him? And that short scene with the Prince. It’s so enjoyable to watch the two of them. A part of me wishes it isn’t all fake, not that I have very high hopes here.

Feng Suige hearing about Fu Yixiao from the death camp leader, I like him learning about what things used to be for her in the past, even when she can’t really tell some of these things herself. Not that there was any doubt what she was doing, trying to anger him. Seen right through her too. Good.

Oh Princess, you are so dumb. You’ve only just arrived, are you regretting coming to Jinxiu already? And you, Minister Zhuang, you really are not wasting a second are you? You could have at least tried to pretend. And here you are, already trying to point a finger at the Prince.

And ooh, so the Emperor wasn’t poisoned recently, it’s just his illness timing being so ‘perfect’? And fine, the mysterious place is connected to Feng Suige’s mother but how is the doc connected to her? Why would he care so much to keep looking for the cure even after she’s gone? I’m currently wondering if she’s his sister or something.

And the previews, they do it every time. The confrontation is coming, can it be tomorrow afternoon already? T__T

Episode 19

This will be so much of just me gushing over Murong Yao but first, I have to get this off my chest. Goodness, doc, you’re so thick! Of course you’re not needed with just the two of them!

I’m not even surprised by the confirmation that Murong Yao is behind the mask but ooooh am I excited to watch Zuo Ye play a villain as I've only seen him in mostly positive roles so far. I just hope he will not turn out to be dumb as a villain, I have very high hopes.

Though, I’m also curious whether his words that his plan won’t harm Feng Suige was just a lie for Fu Yixiao, or if there really is more to it than that. It’s difficult to argue with his point that if he wanted to harm the Prince, he had plenty of opportunities though at the same time, I can’t imagine he could act anytime if it’s all part of a big scheme. Then again, only a few moments earlier he circles back to saying that he might not care anymore…

Eh, I enjoyed their interactions so much I wish, behind it all, he did actually care about the friendship but I’m just not sure anymore. Just please, Murong Yao, don’t disappoint me and be a proper, good, evil villain.

Episode 18

It’s amazing how, whenever it feels like the Emperor will finally be on the same page with his son, he goes on to say something to make sure that they are at odds with each other. When he said that he doesn’t want to lose his son after already losing a daughter, and then went on to speak how there’s luckily a rule that princes don’t get a say about their marriages, I felt like screaming if he can’t just shut up for once.

I don’t think he’s a bad guy and I believe that he does a lot of things, including keeping his distance and everything, for Feng Suige’s sake but he really has a skill for always saying exactly the worst thing in the moment, even if it’s true. It’s so clear that the guy is sad for what his family has become, even if he can’t outright show it just how much. He looked truly broken, realising that he can’t lose Feng Suige because that’s basically already happened long ago.

The conversation between the Empress and her father was so suspicious. I really want to see her being behind the illness, but a part of me wonders if she wouldn’t have had a better moment in the past if she wanted to do it. Then again, she could have been waiting for when the younger son is old enough, while Feng Suige is in the centre of criticism. And when he mentions that the hospital people are all theirs, I found it all the more suspicious that none of the doctors they brought can figure out what’s wrong. Then again, if that Ling doctor comes to the palace every year, it cannot be a new thing.

I’m sorry my dear Murong Yao, but you saying that the Princes can leave and everything will be fine because you are here is not convincing in the slightest. If anything, they should be all the more worried, shouldn’t they?

Damn, based on the previews, I already can’t wait for the next episodes.

Episode 17

I have to give kudos to the actress that plays the Princess. It takes a certain skill to play a character like this and make a lot of viewers hate them, and she’s certainly doing a great job with that. I obviously know little about acting but I can’t imagine it’s an easy task. That said, the character is so annoying that I actually feel sorry for Xia Jingshi, the poor guy now stuck with her.

I also couldn’t help feeling sad for Feng Suige, being betrayed by her like this. Yet another person on the list, even if her betrayal was of a different kind. When she called him out on still seeing her as his family, I was kind of hoping he would say that if those are the choices she is making, he doesn’t.

And I had a feeling Fu Yixiao had seen the words on the lantern! And I enjoy her boldness, just going for what she wants. I rarely enjoy main leads but these two are actually very enjoyable and I like watching the development of the relationship between them.

I can’t make up my mind what to think about that scene where the Emperor learns that the Princess has stolen the token, and the way Murong Yao glanced at Minister Zhuang. Did he seem surprised that the guy was kind of putting the blame for what happened on the Princess?

On to watch episode 18.