Urhian

Now after seing ep 11 preview and knowing the leads get married at the end (from the opening), I wonder how they went from Xiaofan and his trader' friend bankrupt Luqing (ep 11) to Luqing and Xiaafon happy ending in ep 12 ? And how Xiaofan's ex bully became his best friend and shappest blade against his "bro"?

You're spot on. Xiaofan has never been as defenseless and simple as he portraits to be. The show made it subtly obvious with Luqing always asking "You did it on purpose?" (he's asking and declaring it at the same time). For example, the first time they had s*x, Xiaofan seductively shows his body to Luqing - he had noticed Luqing's lust - then rubbed Luqing's thigh pretending not to know what he's doing. Luqing who was still trying not to cross the line, lost it. In that scene, as a viewer you feel sorry for Xiaofan : he was drugged, he doesn't really know what's happening, he can't give consent, he has teary eyes. Yet, did he have teary eyes because of what happened before Luqing's arrival or because he thought Luqing was refusing his advances ? The next day, we can clearly see Luqing anxiety, he did something wrong. Yet, Xiaofan woke up and excitedly looked for his "bro".
He used the same scheme the night of his master plan. (I'll try that move someday, looks hot).

On many comments section,
people just want to see Xiaofan as a dormat with no character development just because he didn't embody the stereotypical "timid lead to (very) bad guy". Although, the show mirrors so many scenes emphasing Xiaofan becoming.

Exactly. I can't wait for next Friday.

It's getting better and better. Juicer and juicer. Can't wait for next Friday.

Well, Luqing love for Xiaofan is obvious, especially in his actions. He is the single reason why Xiaofan can read, had a good education and job. He is the main reason for Xiaofan personality improvement from an introvert unable to speak without stuttering and always feeling out of place, to an introvert that can face head on his lover's Ex and scheme for a better life. Like Luqing told him "you choose you value" so did he.

Yes, Xiaofan face lots of ants so does Luqing : in relationships with large class gap, people always tend to only see the struggle from the least well-off partner as if the richest one doesn't feel peer pressure.

I like this show because of the portrayal of everyone misery and flaws. Luqing ex to Luqing "I can see all you did for him, can he face everything your mother but me trough with you ?" Luqing answer : took of his Ex ring.

On the contrary, for me : the intrigue is getting better and better. I can't wait for the last two episodes.

I wouldn't have said it better with less words. Excellent comment !

I concurred! And I'm worried about what is to come of scripts with depth and layers with an audience unable to read/understand subtilities. I said it before, I will say it again : in this drama, every characters (from Xiaofan's parents to Luqing's friends) have a very well written purpose. Be it to help the viewer really feel the wealth gap between the leads, helps the leads to process their emotions or create tension for character growth. Plus, between the leads, their intimacy is fuel by a submissive kink from BOTH of them. Xiaofan enjoys it as much as Luqing. Zhou Ning can express it more in his acting (as allows his characters education and background) while Guan Yue as to be very very subtle about it until his character grows more confident in his relationship and desire.

Ah la la, unfortunately, it seems there is a few of us taking the whole picture into account while assessing this drama. Personally, I enjoy it a lot : the acting and script is pretty solid and consistent with the time period, every characters (from the leads to the infamous ones) have purpose that serves and forward push the narrative.

I'm having a feast with the BL content airing since July.

Woow, I should have watched it on my tv with pringles near by. It's a mix of Nivarna in Fire, the Princess Weiyoung and my Heroic Husband with a transmigrator plot, a thrilling side quest and a ALL amazing cast and storylines from main leads to background characters. Please give all child actors in this drama the equivalent of an oscar but in Chinese entertainment TV. Just Woow!

Okay

Hello, I have a different point of view. SFL isn't an idiot, she is not as well versed in the f*ck boy dictionary as FL.

What's refreshing in this drama plot is the introduction of different profiles of "transmigrated" MCs : ML, FL and SML aren't from the same time period and SML seems to come from an alternative "modern worl", don't forget she doesn't know Beijing!

Yes she has read the book and in the book she and SML are the stars. They have a happy ending and a Being "the chosen one" in the book, she has plot armor against the tyrant who is just a side character, a puppet, the main villain being the dowager empress. So she acted according to her script with the few romantic knowledge she had.

What's amazing about this drama is how well every character acts according to the time period. Yet none of them is a total cliché.

Welcome to my party! It has been ages since I sat on a weekend binge watching a drama without skipping scenes or dropping it. The storytelling is so good!!!! What a wonderful depiction of characters : everyone has a complete story, everyone is "humanised" and nobody is a caricature of the ideas of "villain" and "hero". Yes, nobody, not even Prince Duan.

Couldn't agree more. What you wrote is what's I think about Prisonner of beauty FL. A smart, cunning and driven FL doesn't have to be this way to the detriment of the ML or because every others characters are dumb down so we can see how brilliant FL is.

And each arc compliments each other to serve the main plot. There is no "waste" of character here, even background characters are engaging! Love it.

Thanks for the reference. I enjoyed The Legend of Shen Li, I will check the others ones.

I'm with you with that stand. But knowing myself, I will drop the drama and comeback for the last episode. Maybe because I'm older, but I grew tired of the miscommunication plots: for me it's just lazy scripwriting to lengthen drama. It's very annoying especially after one of the lead (be the ML or FL) as proven to be trustworthy and ready to die to protect his/her love. When I was younger, I would suffer through dramas' plagued with misunderstandings from ep 1 to the last ("Boss and Me" almost made me insane because of that) but now I'm on to the next.

I'll watch the sweet romance and kisses but for plot/drama for me is dead.

Thanks, I did. I really love this one. It was refreshing for this genre.

Love this. Can't help but comparing this to prisoner of beauty (which was a total let down for me).

Here, you have :
- a very good rendition of enemies to lovers (leads are perfectly match in strengths and wits and learn to work together from the start) ;
- a very rare step-siblings bond (fraternal love is thicker than blood, only apply to Susha though) ;
- villains are true to their beliefs, some even have family members that care for each other and "legitimate" reasons in their own right to want to kill the leads ;
- a WONDERFUL dark romance, very well executed, so much that the title "fated hearts" also apply to the second lead couple ;
- at the end of the show, almost every characters have a closure being happy, bittersweet, sad or deserved.

There are so many thing I want to say about this drama... I strongly encourage you to watch it for yourself. I know that many viewers are or will be annoyed by the princess. Yet, her character was perfecto written from her naive-self (she was love and shelter by everyone, even by her step-mother) to the brazen girl she became. She learned that love is fickle, the one you wish gone may be the one you will forever missed, whereas the one you dream to marry may be the one you really want dead). The actress did a fabulous job playing that character.

Thanks you! Very well said.