Brennnndda

They lifted it completely? Or are there still some restrictions? I don't think we need to go back to the 60+ episodes.

In the midst of this entire trial with his sister and LJQ is just falling more and more in love with his wife.

Out of curiosity, (this is not meant to seem snarky but) how would you have preferred her act?

I thought she wasn't being mean enough to him. With the elders scene, I agree with "Wellimjusthere" that she dissociated...but I also didn't care that she didn't bend over backwards for people who don't welcome her. They don't want her there? Well she doesn't want to be there either.

Yeah...it still happens in 2026

I've seen spoilers say that he figures it out after she gives birth to their first child.

One thing that actually shocked me about this drama is that all the sibling/cousin sets in the current generation actually genuinely.....like each other. It's jarring that no one is scheming against each other and the way LJQ loves his younger siblings is really heartwarming.

If she did, that what just be bad writing on Tong Hua's part. She was forced into a brothel, sold and beaten, and her family even stole from her and abandoned her. If after ALL of that trauma, Ji'Er still hadn't put her "ducks in a row" then all of that suffering would've literally been for nothing.

It's been proven that the 2nd Aunt is foolish. Like LJQ's mother said: The 2nd aunt is kind but easy to trust rumors and isn't able to command a household.
Remember: this is the same woman who wanted to deceive the Marquis about Xie Wan's dalliance with Du Zheng. She's also the same person who was petty and jealous of Xiu Ru marrying the Marquis, even though Xiu Ru literally saved Xiu Wan's life by doing so.

Rather than evil, it's more like she's the "normal" kind of woman and people like XLX, the Shen women and even ZXT are the exceptions.

One thing I really appreciate about dramas in time periods like this, (ie: Against the Current, Blossom, and A Splendid Match), is that due to them being slow-burn romances in times where both the male and female leads are fighting everyday for survival, we can see the exact moment the male lead falls for the female lead and vise versa. (Let's also appreciate that while these are romance-dramas, romance is NOT the main focus).

A lot of it is definitely due to having a good/dependable cast who know how to act and a director who can bring out the needed expressions. I commend both Tan Song Yun and Liu Xie Yi for being so expressive. The moment LJQ fell was definitely when XLX saved LQJ from having to marry DCQ after the banquet because his entire demeanor towards her changed when he was questioning her about how she managed to save him.
In episode 32, you can tell that XLX's opinion of LJQ has finally started to change when he immediately turned to retrieve his sister from her abusive husband. I wouldn't say it's love yet, but it's the moment she sees him in a different light.

Knowing how different their personalities and upbringing were, I doubt they would've been friends. At most, I think they would've made great allies. No matter how great XLX is, there's nothing she would've been able to do about the Zhao family and the way they treated ZXT. If ZXT wasn't married to LJQ, it would've just been someone else.

ZXT is pretty much harmless. Her influence really only extends to the women "under" her. If her family had educated her, she would've been a great threat (like Du Cui Que).
I thought the scene between them was really nice. It showed that ZXT recognizes someone she could respect. I do wonder what their dynamic could've been had their younger selves met. I doubt they would've been friends, but at least allies in some form.
Also, even if she investigated, she wouldn't find anything. The only people who know are XLX and her parents.

Do you understand why she cannot tell him the truth? First of all, she owes him nothing; it's her secret, her family, her life. He's also done nothing to earn her trust. Second, she's technically a surviving member of a family that was convicted of treason. If her secret got out, she and her foster parents would be sentenced to death..or worse.

If anything, she's not being mean enough to him. Why should she smile? She's not happy. She's very civil with him considering he uprooted her life and stole her freedom. Patience is below the bare minimum of what he owes her.

Of course he now owns the former Shen home. Life can't help but slap XLX over and over again.

A lot of the "she was over-reacting" comments were probably due to his pretty privilege. If he were some ugly old man, people wouldn't be saying that.
I thought her reaction was warranted. Her slap may have felt out of place, but it was also the first time she's seen him again since before she was kidnapped and taken to the brothel. I could imagine her anger surging for days up until that point where she couldn't stop herself from hitting him even if she wanted to. She also had no idea he caught feelings and considering he blind-sided all of them with the imperial edict, he's lucky she didn't do worse...like to to stab him in his sleep.
And in her position, her entire existence in the Lin household previously was literally a daily battle for survival, now that she's finally free and able to make a good/calm life for herself, he drags her back into their mess. It's like being pushed into a blazing inferno again after finally getting a breath of fresh air.

I thought it was good for them to show how much a initial Lin betrothal rejection traumatized her. She had to deal with a lot in a small amount of time that the rejected betrothal was minuscule in comparison to everything else. And rather than the romantic ties, the Lin family represents a horrible past for her. In the same night, she lost her entire family and witnessed the suicides of all the women she held dearest to her while also suffering from survivor's guilt.
LJQ forcing her to be at his side is essentially forcing her to relieve the most painful moments in her life over and over again. Even if she had developed feelings for him at this point, she never would have willingly chose him. I wonder if she'll eventually figure out the reason for the rejection..at this point, it doesn't seem like she has yet. I also wonder how he'll react once he finds out her identity and realizes her resistance to giving him a chance is literally due to being part of the Shen family.

Filial piety and the constraints that come with it are sadly not exclusive to Chinese tradition/culture. Pretty much any group of people who follow a traditional patriarchy suffers from the mentality that the elder men get all the say while the women and children just need to do as they are told.

You notice the shift in him when she saves him from almost having to marry Du Cui Que. In ep 8/9, during the "expose Zhao Xing Ting" plot, she's still expendable to him. But when he's questioning her after the banquet debacle, you can see his entire demeanor towards her soften completely.

I initially thought the Lin family was quite stable..a little quirky with the parents' generation, but generally harmless. But, rather than LJQ's father, his second aunt is so annoying. Being jealous/petty about the Xiu Ru marrying the marquis is the dumbest thing. I thought they would've understood that she literally saved Xiu Wan's life by stepping in and that they would've been grateful. Instead, the aunt still takes verbal stabs at her all because she's a concubine's daughter.

It's not as if Xiu Ru stole him. Xiu Wan literally didn't want the marriage and sabotaged it herself and now her mom is whining all because of the prestige that comes with the marriage rather than the actual man she would've been married to. And honestly, it's kind of obvious the marquis and Xiu Wan wouldn't have been compatible anyways. While she's bold and outgoing, she also had an attitude problem which wouldn't have done well in such a high ranking family.

My heart does break for the cruel hand that's been dealt to Lan Xiang. In the beginning, it was the Lins that tossed her aside by breaking the engagement. Now, after all those years of suffering and loss, she finally got her freedom just for the Lins to come claim her life once again. Regardless of the fact that she never did and currently doesn't have romantic feelings for LJQ, to be unintentionally pulled back and forth by the same person would be upsetting to anyone.

This is just a tangent/rant, but this has been a repeated occurrence in the drama now. With how strict the laws of filial piety are, there should exist laws to protect the children should things go awry. In these times, children are held accountable for the sins of their elders?! Well then, there should have been laws to protect children from their elders' decisions.
Objectively, I can see the point in extinguishing an entire line: the general people are shown the dire consequences of rebelling and it eliminates the chances of descendants returning for revenge. BUT, we are people and cannot NOT look at these punishments subjectively.
If children have to obey their parents in all things, then the parents need to be required to deeply discuss with their offspring the consequences of their stances, ie: their entire male line being executed and their female line being forced into prostitution where they will be subjected to rape/humiliation from the very people their elders offended. At least the men get a quick death but the women, who literally have no say in anything, are the ones who have to suffer for a lifetime for things they weren't involved in.

I don't think it's fair to blame him for that since he is also a victim to his upbringing. He sees servants as less than because he was taught that was normal. He may care for his own people (Yu Chan, Jiu Ge, Nanke), but in the end, they are still below him and he wouldn't be able to protect them if things were to go wrong.
But, with Ji'Er and LJQ, they met literally once and he asked her a seemingly harmless question, which she could've chosen not to answer. It was not her fault she didn't understand the gravity of the situation because why would she? Despite being servants, the ladies are quite naive (even Xiao Lian). The difference between them is that Ji'Er's mother encouraged her to be a mistress/concubine while Xiao Lian's grandmother warned her not to be one.