tsuyoi_hikari

You are right. The first reaction when she learned that her shifu is a Ghost Leader is thinking someone frame her shifu. But thats just the icing on the top since the real truth is much more cruel. She literally has no one she could trust. Her whole life is a lie. Imagine if Xiao Huan telling her the complete truth how she's just a pawn since she's little. And now with the latest episode, it is more cruel that her Dad even gamble with her life.

Seriously, I'm too distraught with what happened in Episode 10 that I couldnt even cry lol. Tooooo cruel. T______T

It is a medicine to stop her from getting pregnant. They cant have a child since if Cang Cang got pregnant and produce an heir, Prime Minister will kill Xiao Huan and become the regent towards their young son. So, the cycle will go on again like when he governed when Xiao Huan is a little kid.

This drama is truly driving me crazy. I know I'm coming for angst, but I never thought it would be this cruel. 😭

I forgot the last time I actually feel THIS helpless watching a drama. Probably at the end of One & Only? But seriously, it only the 10th episode! 10th freaking episode! Why you have to be so cruel to your characters? Its not even the climax yet. 😑😖

I thought I already feel so helpless that Xiao Huan had to give up his only medicine to save Cang Cang. And I thought that the tears are for the fact that he has to let go of his only chance for survive but NOOOOOOOOO, the writer has something more cruel awaiting us. THE BIRTH CONTROL MEDICINE. No wonder why he look so sad before he said it -- like his heart is truly breaking...

But really, such a good writing. A conflict that truly deal with high stakes situation. No matter how much he wanted to be with her, they really cant afford a child since the whole country would be in peril because of that. I seriously have no idea what would I do if I'm in the same situation.. But seriously, I hate this but at the same time amazed with how solid is the conflict.

Now I need to watch Forever & Ever just to wash off his horrible feeling.... 💔

Appreciation of how complex and multi-layered Xiao Huan is as a character:

First, lets cover one of the first things that happened in Episode 1. What I love in scheming dramas is that you can traced back the scheme when it first started. Going back to the scene when Xiao Huan made Cang Cang begs to marry him -- all in my mind at that time is that really necessary for him to make her begs like that? And the answer is yes since now with the latest episodes, we knew that he actually prepared 2 moves by doing that. First goal is to tell the Prime Minister that Cang Cang meant nothing to him -- thus in the future, Xiao Huan can actually use her to make the Prime Minister agrees to his political proposals which he eventually did in the latest episode. Second goal is to protect Cang Cang so she will appear unfavored in the harem thus she will be free from Empress Dowager's schemes. Its like a domino effect of how one scheming resulted with the trail of effect that benefited the schemer at the end on different levels -- this is what chess game is like on how you can plan a move 2 or 3 steps ahead. And in this case, it seemed that Xiao Huan is ahead in this game of throne between him and all his political opponents.

Then further down the episodes, the Phoenix Seal incident truly seal the deal on how swift, quick and smart Xiao Huan is in seizing every opportunity that comes his way whether he predicted it or not. I bet he is the one as well who alerted the Queen Dowager to come and intervene so he can use that chance to ask for the Phoenix Seal for Cang Cang -- using the Empress Dowager's past crime for it until she cant say no while still showing he has no affection for Cang Cang or want to protect her on the ''surface'' since he is mad because Princess Ying tried to kill him and not because they are hurting Cang Cang (though this is actually the real reason on why he stormed to the Cold Palace). All of this is truly brilliant! Everytime I analyze Xiao Huan's action, I'm just more impressed with how brilliant, graceful and calculated he is. There are always layers in every of his moves -- like the times where he gifted Cang Cang the 2 gifts before.

I also like the fact that while Xiao Huan is the cleverest in the room, yet sometimes, he miscalculated and lost. Thus he has no plot armor to shield him making watching the drama quite nerve-wrecking aside from the angst. He has so many things on his plate. Either juggling his imperial duty, trying to reform his court, trying to protect his citizen, winning against his political enemies, staying alive from the poison that slowly killing him, protecting his wife, to fighting the emotion inside of himself how he is dying when he hurts her, dude is just so tragic and lonely.

And last, regarding his decision for not telling Cang Cang the real truth. To be honest, I find Xiao Huan's overprotectiveness dumb 🤪 but there are layers to that decision. I think its all started when he listen to her story about her Shifu and how they met. With that small information, he knew that Cang Cang is a pawn since early age and she has been used by the people that she love and trusted the most which is her Dad & Shifu. Remember when he asked her whether she is close to her Dad and Shifu? -- that is not just lip service but served to tell us on his decision later. He thought that being betrayed by everyone she ever trusted could kill her world -- imagine that your whole life is all lies and you just a chess piece since forever. So he thought if she needed to hate someone, better be him that she just met 1 year ago -- which he also underestimate her love towards him at the same time. He wanted to preserve her innocent as long as he can. All his overprotectiveness made sense and supported with valid reasons.. We might not agree, but at the same time, we understand it. This is certainly a character flaw that making him human and interesting as he is not perfect, made mistakes and hopefully learn form it in the future.

Thank you. I try to post a comment on daily basis if I have the time. :D

His position makes it difficult for him to show his love. That what makes this drama interesting as its complex with so many high stakes situations. Everything has reasons and would be revealed later. We just have to read between the lines to read the real motives of all these characters.

Its not horribly edited. You just need to read the caption. '2 months later' & 'One year ago'. Seemed lots of people missed the captions.

I'm actually very happy to read that the drama is much better than the book. I thought the reasons she has to marry him and willingly to do that is pretty awesome. And we blame him for forcing her to beg for this marriage but it is also revealed later that he only did this for show -- to tell the Prime Minister that Cang Cang meant nothing to him. Thus in the future, Xiao Huan can actually use her to make the Prime Minister agrees to his political proposals which he eventually did in the latest episodes. All this trail of events not only made sense but connected to each other and making all the 3 characters motives clear, rational and valid. Its like a domino effect of how one scheming resulted with the trail of effect that benefited the schemer at the end on different levels -- this is what chess game is like how you can predict someone moves 2 or 3 step ahead. By acting cold towards Cang Cang, Xiao Huan achieved 2 goals which is to protect her while also using her for his political moves towards the Prime Minister in the future.

Okay regarding their relationship, I actually really like that one as well. Most of the complication is due to external forces and high stakes situation -- not that something that can be solve with communication. Thats why I like how intelligent they made Cang Cang is. She is mad, but at the same time, she understand him. Thats why they can have the scenes on the roof top where they can actually talk instead of her giving him the cold treatment and treating him like he didnt exist. I think we will get a lot of this kind of scenes in the future. Its like he will use her, then she found out the painting and feel like he actually understand and love her then her reaction is soften towards him. I think this cycle will repeat itself. I also like she also used him for her advantage since she is unwilling to be just a pawn.

I thought for the first time, Love & Crown is the perfect name for the show. Its truly a battle of between their duty & responsibility (crown) and the love they felt for each other. While I find Xiao Huan's overprotectiveness is stupid, I also understand like you said, he wanted to protect her world since knowing she has been used since she is little as a pawn by the one she trusted the most (Dad, Brother & Shifu) could kill her world. So he thought if she needed to hate someone, better be him that she just met 1 year ago -- which also underestimate her love towards him at the same time (of course, he miscalculated this). All his overprotectiveness made sense and supported with valid reasons.. We might not agree, but at the same time, we understand it.

Hey! Its nice to see you here. 🤗

Yeah, he is simply putting a show since it is excessive and very showy -- on how cold he is in front of all the servants & guards. Remember when he asked her to beg to marry him? Did he really need to do that? 😂 All the episodes later shows that it only an act he put to make her life easier at the palace.

Okay, regarding whether Xiao Huan truly love Cang Cang or not, this is another aspect I like about the show. In many dramas, do you notice how there are always monologue at the back to tell the audiences how the characters feel? But with RJL superior acting, those monologue are not needed since we can know how he truly feel from his nuanced expressions everytime he sees Cang Cang. The great yearning he has towards her is portrayed excellently through his eyes and small gestures. Same with PXR, she will emit this hatred towards Xiao Huan but her expressions will soften sometimes to show how much she actually loves him despite his 'betrayal'. Under capable actors, monologue are not needed as we can judge how the characters are feeling from their acting alone. :D

See you around.

Thank you! ❤️ I will definitely will write each day if there is actually nuance in the show that I can analyze. I hope there is more to come since layered script like this is what hold my attention. :D

I'm so happy to read that the drama is better and much more complex than the novel. Now, I feel bad for questioning the writer's abilities since I didnt enjoy her previous works. Her previous works also didnt have this kind of nuance writing so I thought the original IP must be good since the script is actually well written so far. I really hope the writing didnt falter at the end.

And yes, the acting are marvelous! RJL is doing his usual magic and he is an angst king so he definitely suited this type of roles. He is majestic and so charismatic as the Emperor with his aura and presence. PXR did so so well as well. Her bubbly personality then the empty shell she has become later is such a contrast. And the tension between the leads are amazing.

And I love the supporting casts so far. The 9th Prince is my favorite! I love when he said a tame peacock is like a fowl 😂 since he is so right -- since whether they are so showing or secretive, people who meant harm will find them eventually. He is petty, yet he is generous at the same time. Look like he didnt care about anything, yet we know he has his own goals and ambition. Looks like a fool but he is actually brilliant. In simple words, he is fabulous.

I'm very surprised on how much I actually enjoy this drama. NGL that I've been nervous about this drama for 2 years since they announced it since the track record of the writer and director is pretty questionable. 😅 And it was a drama that RJL forced to film before he leave Huanrui so it wasnt the usual kind of quality scripts that he chose on his own. But so far, I really like how it is written and shock that the quality of the writing wasn't bad as I expected it to be.

First, the writer used lots of show instead of tell. The fact that she didn't over spoon-feed the information to the audiences is definitely a plus as it meant, the writer trust the audiences' judgement and intelligent. For an example, when Xiao Huan gifted Cang Cang the golden bird gift from general Ling Jueding. And once she got it, while she reluctant for him to go back home with her, she instantly agreed as she perfectly understood what he meant. We have no idea who is this General Ling Jueding -- but he has the same surname as Cang Cang and table work at the capital would kill him as he is a soldier. That little clue is for us to connect how he & Cang Cang are family and Xiao Huan just used this to threaten her and let her do things 'willingly' according to what he wants.

Also, the part where he gifted her the 'finger' of her brother. The first time we saw that scene, all we could feel is how twisted he is in the head. But later, that scene actually show his grace instead of how ruthless he is. By right, Cang Cang's brother crime is punishable by death, but having his index finger chopped is a way for Xiao Huan to cripple his martial arts and also served as a warning that next, it would be death if he keeps doing evil things.

I also enjoy how layered and multi dimensional are the schemes. Its not just between Xiao Huan and the Prime Miniser but it was everyone against each other -- 5 layers of multi-dimensional schemes between various party at court. Due to this, Xiao Huan hiring his brother to accompanied his Scholar is truly a brilliant move that use his brother -- that he knew is very capable but at the same time put threat towards the Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager which is his arch enemies. He didnt have to dirty his hands since he just play around with their own political ambitions with each other to achieve his goals.

The drama also touched that while Xiao Huan did love Cang Cang genuinely, it also deal with a fact that he needs to use her due to her Empress position. The position that she has can helped him doing good thing for the nation but at the same time, it also meant he needs to use his wife for his political ambition. Is it wrong? Or is it allowed? Thus making this whole dilemma very interesting and thought provoking. Also, they add another layer while he also used her for his political ambition, he also need to protect her as well. Like the cold attitude -- I wondered since the beginning on why he has to be so cold towards her in front of the servants then we got our answer in this episode that it is to protect her so Empress Dowager wouldn't give her a hard time in the harem since she is an 'unfavored' Queen. But of course, someone fool like the Empress Dowager will believe this kind of shallow scheming but for high level schemer like the Prime Minister or the female preceptor, they could read Xiao Huan like a book and this love he has towards Cang Cang would soon will be used as against him as his fatal weakness.

Also, while Cang Cang knew and broken hearted that Xiao Huan used her for the reform idea, she also think clearly that she also did something wrong when she attempt to use him to get the Phoenix stamp and also when she spikes his drink. While its no doubt he did many wrong things towards her, she still have a clear head that think wisely and that make her rational and not emotional.

Okay, so there goes a wall of text and congrats for anyone who read it till the end. 😂 TDLR version: I enjoy the scheming and mind games in this drama and thought it is cleverly written. The end.

Ohh thats great to know. :D

Pretty good. I actually dont believe how much I actually enjoy it. They show the angst first and later tell us the story on how the 2 leads met and fall in love. I think its a pretty solid start. The chess game is pretty apparent and easy to read now but I think there must be more layers to it.

Watched all the 4 episodes and my goodness I need to get used to this fast paced -- mini drama editing. I really not used to it but kinda liking it as well since everything just moved so damn fast. By episode 4, we are back to present time and I think the rest of the leads' relationship and how it blossomed to love will be revealed later bits by bits like how he gifted her the hairpin, the scene where she hugs him tightly or the fireworks scene and etc..

I like how they set up everything in the first episode. We know he is a puppet king, we know who is the chess master and we know how our FL is the pawn for everyone in the drama. I enjoy the scheming but I wish there are more mysteries in the drama. I mean, everytime any character made an appearance, I knew exactly who they are, I think keeping a bit mystery in the drama would make it more compelling. But alas, there are probably more layers in the overall schemes thats why they are more generous to us now with the information. But I think everything that moves right now is totally in line with the move planned by Cang Cang's Dad. I think Xiao Huan, despite being clever is 2 or 3 step below the mastermind as per now. He should have known that killing Cang Cang's Shifu is all part of the bigger plan of Cang Cang's Dad. He probably aware of it but go ahead and kill him anyway. And we are being presented with one secret which is what did the Shifu meant by 'Emperor's Promise'.

But I really like the addition of the 9th Prince since we know he is not the typical bad guy. I dont think he is a bad guy at all. He probably will join Xiao Huan later but I like the fact that he knew his brother just by looking at his back lol. And he also not listening to his mother or willing to be anyone's pawn or inside anyone's game but he did have an objective -- we just need to know what it is since I dont think throne is his goal.

Ohh just want to add that I like how they are making Xiao Huan kind of twisted a bit in the head. I mean, the way he just manipulated Cang Cang to do all the things willingly including begging to marry him is pretty interesting. And he just show the gift of the 2 birds from the general and she willingly invite him to her house when she initially reluctant, since she understood what he meant perfectly. I think he needs to tone down with the mind games -- like the finger gift is pretty uncalled for or else she will keep misunderstand him. 😬

And I dont remember the last time I see RJL in an idol drama focused glorified lens. Made me giggle a bit everytime such scenes happened lol.

Thank you! Thats really sweet of you. 🤗

I have no idea actually. I think I download it from Dramacool last time.

Yeah, I felt the same. ❤️ I need my dramas to be well written and his dramas does it for me. Thats why I especially struggling to find something I like this year and ended up rewatching Demon Hunter's Romance (lol) instead and watch other serious dramas (like The Narcotic Operation) since lots of idol dramas are just weak scriptwise and it glares like sore thumb for me. I hope this draught will end soon. Now I'm watching Kdramas to change air.

Amazing! Thats definitely one way to look at it. And I think you are right. They always have hairstyles opposite of one another which kind of imply they are on opposite sites. Nice for you to realize that. :D

Ohh thats so sweet of you to say that! ❤️ I hope RJL keeps choosing amazing dramas such as this so I can write more reviews discussing the details in his scripts. Its always one of the most thing I look forward to when I watch his dramas -- it always full of depth and nuances and not to mention that sometimes very thought provoking as well.

Hi! Its nice to see you here as well. 😀

Yeah, I did notice the hairstyles as well but I think they just separate it between official and non-official duties. Like Wei Zhou wore both hairstyles in the Capital -- hair down during his non-court days while his hair up at court. While Pai Yan only let his hair down at Nanling which is his hometown. I personally think it didnt mean anything but if you see it as something different, I'm interested to know your thoughts.

Thank you. 🤗 Yes, I hope you notice all the small details in the scripts since its all clues to the whole story. Even the jersey's number or cars' plate numbers are all served as hints to us.

And yes, Ren Jialun indeed always picked great projects so his dramas are usually full of layers and nuances in the scripts. I always feel complete satisfaction every time I finished his dramas since they are usually very well written like this drama. ❤️

Yes, Li Chun is in Joy of Life as Si Lili. She is awesome in that role -- a spy with a mission. She has one scene with Zhang Ruoyun in a prison where it was really nerve-wrecking. I highly recommend the drama if you havent watch it yet. Easily my most favorite drama in any language. One of rare dramas that I rated 10/10. The script is simply brilliant.