Brennnndda

I think it's also because her antagonism towards Xiao Qi came from thinking it was Xiao Qi who made her father and aunt marry her to him. Once she finds out the truth that he was just a means to an end for her dad, she really had no reason to dislike him anymore.

Zhou Yi Wei is like fine wine: he only gets better with age. People probably don't find him handsome because he isn't "pretty boy" handsome like Xiao Zhan, Cheng Yi, or Wang Yi Bo. I personally think that's a blessing. Plus, Zhou Yi Wei is a spectacular actor and has a super sexy/sultry voice. His commanding screen presence and charisma make him super attractive to me.

Thank you for clarifying! I was curious as to how much time passed.

Watching her play a 15-year-old isn't ideal but I'm grateful they chose to have her do it rather than cast someone younger to do it. With ZZY's acting talent, it would be hard to find a younger actress who would have her same screen presence. It could've gone the other way and caused a disconnect in A'Wu's character once it was time to transition from the younger actress to ZZY.

At this point I feel like she's had more screen time with Huai En than Xiao Qi lol

Despite watching ZZY playing a 15-year-old being a bit cringey, I am grateful they didn't cast a younger actress to play the role until she became older. It could've created a disconnect or lost credibility in the character development due to the changes in acting skills.

One of the advantages to having an older, more experienced cast is the aura they exude and the overall tone of the drama. Zhang Zi Yi and Zhou Yi Wei are killing their roles as A'Wu and Xiao Qi. At any given time, it is obvious what they are feeling and thinking from their minute expressions and how they carry themselves. For these reasons, I'm loving the relationship between A'Wu and Xiao Qi. There was the youthful "first love" here as well but the relationship between A'Wu and Xiao Qi is very different from her relationship between A'Wu and Zi Dan.

Their love is not the innocent cutesy romance that's usually seen between a younger cast, instead it's a love built from trust, patience, and honesty. It did seem to happen very quickly but I feel like I can see why her heart changed and why she was more willing to turn to him. Her affections for Xiao Qi stems from her need for consolation, comfort and a companion while we saw that she'd been lingering in his mind ever since he first met her.

The respect A'Wu received as Shan Yang Princess and as Princess Consort of Yu Zhang Wang is entirely different and I love that she's noticing and appreciating the differences as well.

It's all about that last name since most cultures a patriarchal societies. The Wang's even lamented that it was too bad she was a Wang otherwise they would've married her back into their family.

Question: As of episode 14 how much time has passed since she turned 15?

I don't know if I should admire or be grossed out at the Wang's family's ability to install 12 previous empresses. On one hand: kudos to them for maintaining power for so long! On the other hand: EWW! Their bloodline is a continuous addition of incestuous relations. Awu and the crown prince are first cousins from both their mothers and fathers.. .. .. and if they had married?? **insert shivers**

I feel like Zhai Xing is getting whip lash from the emotional rollercoaster he has her on. If this took place in modern times then she'd probably think he had split personality disorder or something.

My first dislike of this drama is how chummy his 3 subordinates are with Ma Zhai Xing. They literally went behind his back and slaughtered her family yet they don't seem to feel guilty about it. It just feels disconnected because it would probably make more sense if they were hostile towards her instead of treating her like a friend. Like, as soon as they find out Bo Wang likes her, they try to set them up together. .huh?? why?? You just know everything is going to explode in their faces.
When Bo Wang treats her badly. . . it's really bad. He downright humiliates her when he's trying to push her away. I get the noble idiocy/sacrifice trope, but there's still certain lines that shouldn't be crossed.
I also don't like how she's so stuck in the past. As soon as she figures out he's Lang Zai, she acts like everything could just be happy-go-lucky again. Um. . .8 YEARS have passed not a couple months. I don't think she respects that he's changed instead she loves the him of the past. It's like what Ma Jing said "you seem to like Wolf boy more than Bo Wang"

Li Qin is the female counterpart of Luo Yun Xi lol

I had to rewatch the ending a couple times to determine if I was satisfied with it. At first I was angry because I wanted to see Dijun bleed. . .but I resolved that it ended the best way it could.

I love your username lol

The comment boards are just too awesome!!

Let's be honest:

Even though Ma Zhai Xing loved Lang Zai/Bo Wang. . .she and Ji Chong would've had a very happy and successful marriage. She never would've fallen in love with him, but she did love him in a different way and they would've lasted as a couple. It wouldn't have been a marriage of passionate love and longing but would've been one of friendship, absolute trust, and mutual respect.

hmmm. . .but wouldn't past Young Sook still have all the memories? And the murders she committed already happened so wouldn't the original "call" be moot then? I suppose only that "original" call truly made a difference.
This movie didn't do a parallel time of "what if's" because it made the flow of time too linear. . .I mean, technically the moment Young Sook saved Seo Yeon's dad, time should've diverged and it didn't. . .

I looked at it as:

Present Young Sook called past Young Sook and warned her about the cop and mom checking in at the house. This call between the 2 Young Sooks must've preceeded Seo Yeon sneaking into the house and calling her mom. . .as a result, Young Sook did end up surviving the fall, killing the mom and holding Seo Yeon hostage all those years and that's why we saw her strapped to the chair at the end.

My biggest frustration with Seo Yeon was this:

Why didn't she realize that Young Sook's life was in her hands the same way her life was in Young Sook's? At least Young Sook was smart enough to lie about murdering her stepmother right after doing it. Yes, Young Sook threatened Seo Yeon with her family's life. . .but Seo Yeon could've said the same thing such as "If you touch my family then you will still end up spending your life in prison because I'll never tell you how they caught you." Instead, she cooks up this half-assed plot to get Young Sook killed, only for it to backfire tremendously.