honeylemoncha

we got one! ep 17

yeah this screenwriter really lacks the skills to build a fuller world, esp with the female ensemble from the novel (a lot of the noble ladies built really good relationships with chu zhao after the literary gathering arc, which happened before she became empress. but they fucked up the timeline here 😬)

to this specifc point: "FL's cousin has had more interactions with women of the court than the FL has" → even noble ladies can't freely enter the palace at will, which is exactly why chu zhao depends on chu tang, who CAN be outside with an ear to the ground + visit chu zhao in the palace as her cousin, to maintain good relationships with them and keep her informed

- the emperor's concubines probably died with him or got sent off to be tomb guardians
- iirc in ep 2 xiao xun's men said there were no survivors in the 东宫府 so... no crown prince concubines left either

again... plot holes left unpatched by the screenwriter for his love-brained ideas hgwjfh

deng yi really won't let chu zhao have a day of peace at court LOL i can't wait to see how she counteracts him this time

are you genuinely asking or trolling because in the first episode alone she portrayed the whole range of grief at her and her father's death hhhhh

so satisfying to watch chu zhao reprimand both xie san and deng yi for harming xiao yu heh

haha yeah i really like novel xie yanfang and i'm glad he's the one who brought him to life!!

he's basically the only living remnant who can be proof of the xie clan's crimes sooo...

the tea toasting/drinking scene was such a fun exchange to watch lmao chu zhao barely let xie san have that second and third sip... of course she wasn't gonna actually apologise to him 🤭

it's so imposing i love it

wellll here's the actor's interpretation: https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2065456246690578694

i think xie yanfang doesn't really know what "love" is. but he definitely has a fondness for chu zhao... i'm waiting to see if they'll keep that in the drama lol

unfortunately i don't think youku ever subs their interviews 🥲 i only ever see fansubs

but roughly, the question was "what's xie yanfang truly afraid of losing?" and xiaotian answered that he's in control of everything and isn't afraid of losing anything, except perhaps losing a clever opponent like chu zhao who can challenge him. if she's gone, then his world wouldn't be as interesting

http://xhslink.com/o/52dcwxkDMjc
heehee tang xiaotian's recent interview reinforces xie yanfang's attitude towards chu zhao in today's ep... he can't bear to kill her because she makes his world more interesting

? what same things? we're steadily progressing through different conflicts with different characters

wow they picked a really nice location for the grand princess' military camp in ep 17... the colours of the scenery are beautiful

our perfect bai youwei 🥰

some of them are watching with their eyes closed fr... how can people complain about there only being 24 episodes but barely keep up with what's happened 😭

xie yanfang... in his own twisted sort of way heh. i don't think they'll make it overtly explicit (though i wouldn't complain if they did)
https://x.com/duduling1018/status/2065456246690578694

after the recent eps, i can't take any comments about chu zhao not being smart seriously when she 1) planned ahead to get her cousin's family to safety 2) personally came to "negotiate" (threaten) with prince xiaonan and 3) made sure to leverage her connections to capture xiao xun, ultimately force the xiao clan to retreat without the loss of lives, then use deng yi to keep xie san's ambitions in check. all these plans came from her own brain and not the ML's thank you very much!!!!!!!

all her efforts in the beginning means she now has powerful pieces in her hand in order to leverage others 🙂‍↕️

seriously... i wanted her to at least have a proper reunion and live a happier life with her mom 😔

yeah he's not so altruistic, but more concerned that his power would be rendered useless by the chaos of war haha