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She was the one who set him on this path though. The worst part is that he is not even in a position to back out now. When they were in the military, they kept to themselves, yet see how that asshole Yu Jingxiu won’t leave them alone till he indirectly caused YuCheng’s death.

Now that they are in the capital, it’s even worse. Even if he doesn’t do anything, there is no way the Yu family will leave them alone, especially now that madam Yu knows her son was responsible for ruining Tingyun’s reputation, and Tingyun is to be married to Zhao Ling. This sort of situation, even if ZL doesn’t strike, the Yu family will strike first out of self preservation, which they already did by putting ZL in the centre of the salt reform laws and making him an enemy of every official. They just have to fight to death till someone falls.

I have to really commend Ding Yuxi’s acting. It’s almost like he is a completely different person from the person we saw in the first episode. Initially, he was very carefree and kind of happy go lucky with his actions. Now, he is so cold, ruthless and dignified, yet his eyes really show the struggles and pain he went through to get to his position. He is only vulnerable when he is with Tingyun now.

I’m proud of how far he has come, but still sad and worried for him. I completely understand why Tingyun worries too, after all she pushed him on this path. I hope they can achieve what they want unscathed cos they have suffered enough.

Don’t tell me her useless father now wants to stand in the way of their marriage. So annoying.

This capital arc is somehow giving me more palpitations than the military arc. Everyone is just so conniving. I feel sorry for Zhao Ling. The death of Yucheng traumatized him so much so he wants to be more powerful so he can protect those close to him, but this game of power in the capital is too precarious. I hope Tingyun helps him overcome this cos he needs all the help he can get atp.

Nah it’s very good writing. I called it from the first time he plotted to ruin her reputation that he will later fall in love with her. He seemed to be smitten when he first saw her, but the main reason why he hated her so much is because his mum chose her to be his wife. Since he resents the fact that his mum controls everything about his life, he decided to lash out on Tingyun since he doesn’t have the balls to confront his mum directly. Typical privileged spoiled rich kid behaviour.

Fk…I can’t believe Yucheng of all people decided to falsely claim merits. He seemed like the most honest out of ZL’s followers. And ZL now has to bear the fallout from his mess up. Smh.

Still shook that ZL outrightly just killed Lu Dahu, and he actually tampered with that stable to fall on that idiot YJX, it would have saved us the trouble if he died there.

I appreciate how ruthless the Ml is in this show. Sometimes dramas go overboard trying to make ML a goody two shoes, and it works most times because those most cdrama MLs are rich and privileged so they can afford to be magnanimous.

In this drama however, the ML came from absolutely nothing. If he is not cunning or a bit crooked, willing to think outside the box and get his hands dirty to get ahead, there is no way he will really go far, at least as fast as he wants to. So far, it seems messing with Tingyun brings out the worst part of him, and I frankly love that.

YJX to his father: I have benefitted from my parents too long, I want to make a name for my self.

YJX when trying to woo a woman whose reputation he ruined: Uses his father’s influence to manipulate officials and cheat.

Previews can be misleading and clickbaity sometimes. Let’s just see how the story turns out.

I KNEW YJX would eventually fall for the FL. That good for nothing pathetic wimp! Ugh!.. and he has the nerve to confront ZL about her living like a farm woman, like bro whose fault is that?!!

This good for nothing fool was actually smitten with her the first time he was her at the Fu family poetry gathering. But simply because his mum liked her, he ruined her reputation not once but TWICE! The effontery he has to not even feel remorse but to start picking on ZL who saved her life is just hilarious.

I think the reason why his character is so annoying is because of how realistic it is. Some of these rich privileged kids living under their parent’s thumb, with no allowance to actually do what they want. Sometimes they end up being resentful, but instead of cutting ties with their rich parents and making something for themselves on their own, they remain under their parent’s influence because of the privilege they enjoy, but find someone else to transfer the aggression to.

YJX dislikes his overbearing mum, so he transferred that hate onto the innocent woman his mom wanted him to marry. Now that he has seen what she is like outside of his mum’s influence, suddenly he wants her again. And his privileged ass doesn’t even stop to think why she would even want anything to do with him after he ruined her life. I hope ZL deals with him ruthlessly.

After the whole adultery fiasco with Ms Zuo’s brother, the FL “died”. So, Ms Zuo was sent back to her home town by the grandmother. But Madam Yu brought her to Ganlin town probably to keep the FL in check, since she knows Ms Zou hates the FL.

The Mdl comment section for “a road to splendor” is actually very nice compared to this one.

I think the harsher critiques for this drama is because many viewers didn’t particularly like the Fl, and they also didn’t feel the couple had any chemistry. The criticism got much worse since the drama didn’t have a clear cut happy ending.

Watching a drama is a very subjective experience. There are lots of Cdramas viewers don’t like, but I enjoyed so much because the plot or characters resonated more with me. It’s just that it doesn’t feel good when people criticize something you obviously enjoyed so much.

I find YJX character arc quite interesting. I haven’t read the novel yet, but in the drama, I think it will make sense for him to later regret not marrying the FL, when he had the chance. I actually think he was captivated by her beauty when he saw her at that poetry gathering in the Fu family, but the way my girl just ignored him and went straight to his mum must have felt like a huge slap on his face. So, his feelings of inadequacy and resentment at his mum caused him to hate her too, cos he sees her exactly as his mum.

His reasons for not wanting to marry the FL is actually realistic. People who grow up under very controlling parents usually run far way from that archetype when selecting a spouse. Although his decision to ruin the FL’s reputation continually is just evil and unforgivable.
So I think later on, when he discovers that although the FL is ambitious and smart, she is also warm and very kind (unlike his mum), he will come to bitterly regret his decision to go for Fan Yake instead.

Come to think of it, his mother wasn’t wrong at all that Tingyun was the best bride for him. YJX is in a dicey position, where his father occupies a high position in court, and there is a rule saying father and son can’t be in office together. So if care is not taken, even though he is clearly very smart, he may not hold an official position while his father is in office. What he needs is an ambitious spouse to help him gain an official position (like Tingyun is doing for Zhao Ling , and his mum is helping his dad rise in office). Instead his stupid ass is now stuck with Fan Yake who is so shortsighted that she exchanged her father’s priceless books for stupid trinkets. He will come to regret the day he chose her over the FL.

I agree with all you have said. We have really been starved of mutual affection and love from on the onset with a couple in Cdramas. Usually it’s one party with one sided feelings of love, while the other remains oblivious or aloof. This is much more refreshing in comparison.

I don’t think he was shy. Although they didn’t reveal the reason, I think he was hesitant to present the CP’s letter and take up a high position without earning it.

The tricky part about situations like that is that, if his superior feels that he is cozying up to the higher ups to get ahead, he may make things harder for him, especially since he doesn’t have a solid family background to shield him. I guess we will see more about his army life in the next episodes.

The FL’s personality reminds me of Manman in Prisoner of beauty. They both have that “make the best out of a bad situation” personality , and they are also quite forward with their man, and not emotionally constipated. Very refreshing.

General Mo’s concubine just ruined things for the FL. Currying favour with those military wives would have made things easier for them, but now General Mo’s wife is going to make things really hard for the ML and FL. So annoying.

There is no universe where betraying your best friend because of a man will ever be forgivable. Even if she was jealous that Tingyun was born into nobility and wealth, that doesn’t make it okay. Besides Tingyun always treated her with all sincerity.

It’s even much worse because she knows what it means for her best friend’s reputation to be ruined, especially considering the type of psycho family she comes from that’s obsessed with female virtue. Literally the equivalent of families obsessed with honour killing today.

I find most recent Cdramas find it hard to portray a genuine balanced love story between ML and FL. They usually make the Ml become unreasonably obsessed and a doormat, while the FL remains aloof till the later part of the drama, making the romance seem very one sided. If it’s a few dramas, it’s fine, but when it’s multiple dramas, it just gets boring, and the MLs start blending into each other.

The irony is that they adapt novels with genuinely interesting plot lines, then force this trope into the drama, turning the story into a generic slop. A FL can be powerful and career-driven while still going after her man, like see the kdrama “it’s okay to not be okay”, among others.

The king marrying the FL’s mother to protect her actually saved her life initially, but the empress dowager drove her out of the palace. So, the FL’s grandmother used that opportunity to poison her to death. Which is why the fl initially thought the empress dowager was the one behind her mother’s death, not knowing it was actually her grandmother.

With time, I’m just convinced that there is never going to be another modern Cdrama like Lighter and Princess. Li Xun is probably the most unique modern Cdrama male lead I’ve ever seen…he was traumatized, continually betrayed but he was still selfless with his self respect completely intact, very much unlike the doormat simp excuse of male leads we are inundated with nowadays. This drama is truly one of a kind.