ChineseDramaFan

If you watch this drama because of Deng Lun, then you may want to start from the beginning because his acting is first class. Even though Shao Peng Chen and Zhen Zhen didn't start their romance until Zhen Zhen broke off with Jing Ran, the time they spent together was very sweet. They bantered all the time, and yet, they care and respect each other. Deng Lun's character development was awesome. You can see Shao Peng Chen grew up and became a man from a spoiled brat.

I'm not an Angelababy fan either. Like you, I love "General & I" but not so much for her. But in this drama, her performance is not that bad, at least we can see she tries her best.

Actually I quite enjoy the pace, at least it's not draggy like many others.

No, they are not related. They were couple (ie lovers or husband and wife) before Qin Man (Rong Le's actual name) lost her memory. The real Rong Le died, so they replaced her with Qin Man. It's all a plot by the dowager empress and Rong Qi was forced into it because both he and Qin Man are poisoned by the dowager empress. She has the panacea for the poison hence holding them hostage.

I don't know if I'm confusing you further. If so, please let me know. I'll explain it in a different way.

OMG! I'll be so hurt if I were Wu You because my wife spends the best of her pregnancy and child birth with her EX. What the heck!

Yep! That's what I'm guessing too. So she was sent to Bei Ling as a spy (maybe to assassinate someone later) in the name of marriage. But they didn't expect her to fall in love; and they lost their "horse" (as in Chinese chess).

The only flaw(s) I feel Fu Chou has is, he is too trusting (ie. naive in a way). He trusts everything he's being told, everything he sees on the surface. He doesn't second guess, because whenever he does, he somehow gets it wrong! So in a way, he's not as smart as Wu You, and from young, he has accepted this as a fact - he always gets the lower hand in everything no matter how he schemes. He is fundamentally kind, so in order to maintain his hatred, he subjects himself to torture to remind himself to revenge. He doesn't kill in cold blood, he cares for his men. That's why he is so endearing to most viewers like me.

I haven't read the novel, this is also what I'm guessing. Rong Qi is the dowager empress actual son, instead she stole Fu Chou to be hers, and planted Rong Qi in Xi Qi to succeed the throne. Both Wu You and Fu Chou are innocent and shouldn't make to pay for the evil their father has done. The Emperor is now paying the price for being "living but dead".

That's what I'm guessing. You can tell from Rong Qi's eyes when he looks at her; it's not brotherly look but a look with passion and desire. When he hears Rong Le's falling in love with Wu You, his reaction is pain and anger, only to be suppressed later. Time and time again he says he wants to bring Rong Le back to Xi Qi. Poor Rong Qi!

Ha!

I'm re-watching this drama, this time, the uncut version. OMG! To my surprise, it is totally different from the version that we have watched. The starting of the story is totally different. The normal version starts off with Xiao Feng involving in a horse race. But the uncut version starts off from the story being told by General Pei, from his perspectives. It introduces all the important characters properly. We can see who they are and where each has come from. It even explains what the "River of Forget" is, and Xiao Feng's tenacity in searching it. The normal version cuts off about 30 precious minutes of the uncut version, rendering it hard to grasp all the characters properly.

So if you're re-watching this drama like me, or starting to watch it now, go for the uncut version. The only problem is, so far, it has NO SUBs, not even Chinese subs. But the quality is simply superb! Highly recommended.

Yes, it's definitely getting better.

Dang! The two dowager empresses look like the same person!

Let's put it this way - it's not the best drama of the year. Having said that, it's not a bad one either. It has a love story. Most viewers feel the chemistry between the lead couples is missing - they are like best buddies, not really like lovers as they are very cordial to each other. The first male lead is too perfect in everything, making him less interesting than the second male lead who is a grey character. Overall, it is a good drama to follow everyday (at least for me), and I'm enjoying it.

Yes, this is a good drama. The acting is super good. If you need a shoulder, we're here.

Poor Fu Chou, always played by Rong Le, Wu You, his own men, the dowager empress whom he had thought was his birth mother. He's been played left, right, and center, top to bottom. Any sane person would have turned villainous, except Fu Chou, who is good fundamentally. The writer is mean to him.

Hahaha! Share your view. If a drama is a waste of time, just watch the beautiful costumes and hot boys/men.

Rong Qi and Rong Le are definitely not of sibling relationship; they were lovers. After episode 52, it confirms it. Poor Leo Luo, always playing the role of losing his girl. Hope this doesn't become a stigma for him.

I have not read the novel, but I hope the 2 villainous dowager empresses have a final face off and battle each other to death. Everybody else, specially Fu Chou, lives happily ever after.

Hahaha! To tell you the truth, when I first started watching all these wuxia, xian xia, historical or even contemporary dramas, I just couldn't put my head around them. It's so hard to fathom the thoughts of the writers. As I watched more of these type of dramas, I realize they have very similar thinking and hence a lot of the scenes are very similar. With that, as time goes by, I began to accept how reality is being portrayed in Chinese dramas. I accept their logic of reasoning (which to me is really crazy most of the time). There's where enjoyment began to follow. After all, it's just entertainment. What's important is, you can put up your feet, watch the dramas, and laugh about them (or throw food on your screen). If they make you frustrated, MyDramaList, or many other platforms, are where you can come to to vent out your frustration. Most of the time, we talk trash here (speaking for myself).

Enjoy your drama watching!

That's how we survive some crazy stuff - good or bad. XD