whoissilmoy

if the story borrows fromTang history, I'd say the emperor at least knows how his brother and family died so he's treating her well, out of guilt, I think

because all the cases are connected inside the palace, so you have to go deeper, the real culprit has to be the ones behind her own family tragedy

there are 7 cases (actually 8 if you include FL family murder) in 34 episodes so that's like 4 to 5 episodes per case

The politics in this drama is consistent with what you’d expect from historical dramas and the political structure reflect real imperial Chinese systems, but dramatized.

In Epstein’s case, protection comes from money, elite networks, and the legal system. It lasts a long time and doesn’t depend on any one person.
In UJ, protection comes only from the emperor’s favor — as long as you’re useful and loyal to him.
But Epstein relied on manipulation, grooming, social pressure, and financial dependency, not physical imprisonment and beatings.

The cases aren't random and all involve people high up in palace politics close to the emperor. They're interconnected and will unravel the truth of her family's tragic deaths allowing her to clear her father's name and confront those who did it and those who covered it up. The ML's role is supportive and romantic as they work close together. The ML is also linked to her family's death through his family connections.

I think it's politics and the emperor knows about it, which is why he treats her so well, but it's politics so he has to hide it.

It's very common to have a name for each case even if its's not called a case, especially in children's detective stories or mysteries.

For me, there is a romance story brewing because they show a little bit of attraction with every episode. But it's the not the main story. The plight of women and female empowerment is the central theme wrapped in a detective style story.

LPY was around 9 when she fell into the water so that makes her 24 in the current timeline and XHJ in his late 20's or closer to 30, since he is few years older than her in the story.

However, some sources say ten yr old murder, but most say 15 yr old murder so depending on 10 or 15, FL is either 19 or 24 and ML is either mid 20's or late 20's.

You can learn meaningful things about someone through their body language.

Xu Kai has to go underwater for a scene. He did underwater scene for WOL too.

actually, he told the fL exactly why he wants to continue on with her after the first case was closed. I just don't recall what he said, somehow whatever he said didn't really struck me. But he may be lying to keep an eye on her. If I come back across the scene, I'll edit my reply here.

Of course you're not going to feel the same way, these are two completely different characters with different personalities, and different dynamics. But there is some romance sprinkled with each episode building up to something later on.

she has royal blood because her father the prince is the emperor's blood brother, so she doesn't have to do full bow to edicts, she just stands and maybe a slight nod

He brought her pink cakes, and I don’t think they were from her master. The way he looked at her said a lot. I know this drama isn’t supposed to be a romance, but he’s definitely giving off “I like her” vibes. When he held her hand to draw the symbol, the moment felt awkward in a cute way, and the second female lead even questioned why he needed to draw it on her hand specifically.

And when he was a little boy, he used to wander into the palace and just happened to be nearby when she fell into the water—could he have had a secret crush on her even back then?

I like that they’re starting to banter a bit. It brings out their personalities more.

I see romance brewing. In fact, I think the ML liked her since he was a kid. But it's very subtle and you can tell from the ML body language that he has hidden feelings for her, but at the same time, I think he knows things about her.

👍

definitely is at the core of the mystery

Was Wanshun pregnant. I think not.