scarfie

It seems like the rest of the drama is following this tone with very minor changes to add more screen time for the ML.

It's the order of things ... they just change the order. They also changed the lantern meeting to make it more dramatic. So the meetings are in this order in the novel: 1) lantern 2) rescue 3) the horse after she became engaged. It seems that in the drama, the sequence is: 1) the hand 2) the lantern festival 3) the horse scene 4) the rescue.

I don't expect rating for this drama to be high because it's not fitting the mold of regular C-Drama. It's about taste so it may not match the popular taste. The rating is done by 1 person so I would not trust it.

I gave it a 10 for the 4 episodes ... I was told that you can rate each episode that you watch.

I put in a rating after the first 4 episodes but some how my rating doesn't count?

She is not the typical mother ... that is why she will regret later on when another motherly figures takes over the education of CSS.

There is a description of them in my translation of some excerpts in the Discussion ...

Unfortunately, yes, they could make it shorter. But I think this is the way Chinese Dramas are ... not like American movies. They hire these good side characters. They have to use them in the plot. Also, to make it worth their investment, there has to be a certain number of episodes.

They didn't

Yep, if she had acted like most mothers should, we would not have this story. A mother would not leave a baby at home. She will regret it when she sees how close her daughter is to another woman who is more nurturing.

He doesn't want revenge on the FL. His revenge for his family causes him to hide information from the FL and abandons her ... She didn't forgive him asap because that is the plot development of the 2nd part of the drama.

The ML was sent to the borders because he killed his enemy's family. He ignored the emperor's orders. He will not return until 5 years later, which gave her the time to grow up and develop her skills and self-esteem.

Revenge because the ML's family is killed by a traitor

Yes, I was afraid that they would change that! It takes away from the story (like in WRTW) when the FL is demoted. His side of the family will be shown later on.

It takes time to develop a relationship, especially she felt guilty for leaving her daughter ... also, she is used to military training. It's an adjustment to have a tricky daughter who doesn't follow the rule like a soldier.

Actually, there is a lot of subtle wordplay / plot and character development through acting. It's not meaningless trivia. It goes into explaining why the FL is the way she is.

Yes. It's a happy ending. You will not be disappointed with the character development either.

I read the Vietnamese version of this book. Vietnamese is almost exact translation because old Vietnamese is actually Chinese-based word for word. I do get frustrated when reading English translations because there are Chinese words (especially phrases - 2 words that are put together to form a word) that don't have exact translation in English. This is one of those books that reading it in original text is worth it because the author is very descriptive. I translated some excerpts in the Discussion section.

Episode 5-6 at the lantern festival ... he saw her but she only saw his shadow. Not sure if the drama changes this event.

I like the details! It's well-done, subtle, and artistic just like the book!