themarchioness

In general I wasn't a fan of the VVIP system. It made for even more awkward drama discussions because, then, people were all over the place in their progress (it's already a pickle with some watching as a regular member and others watching as VIP members, VVIP just added another layer of complication). That said, for this drama, given where the story was at when the express package came, it was kind of a relief to have that certainty of knowledge that all would work itself out by the end. (Even though I was counting on happy ending, it was still nail-biting and just so hard watching ZPE and the other women suffer setback after setback.) As for the creation of this express package system, I don't think the VVIP system was ever banned per se. It was more to the extent the government cautioned against doing things that would cause harm, etc., all the platforms decided it would be better to get rid of their VVIP systems, as that had been a contributor to the frenetic fan frenzy that Qinlang was targeting. (At least that's what I recall and that was my understanding, but it's been several months, so maybe don't quote me on that. ) Haha. Good point. But also...

Haha, yeah... I know, when I saw that, I thought, "But I thought we got rid of that and for good reason?" That said, this is Tencent's first S+ drama that has done as well as it has in a while so it's not hard to see why they wouldn't try to find a way to capitalize on that, and at least in this instance they found a clever way of packaging it with a livestream so viewers in China could rewatch the last 8 eps with the drama's cast members. We'll give Tencent props for that, at least. The second half definitely wasn't a strong as the drama's first -- noble idiocy, forced separations, and more focus on the royal intrigue stuff. It was inevitable in some ways (the drama did begin with GQF investigating the rumors surrounding the Empress, after all), but still, somehow it just wasn't as zippy. It doesn't help that this drama is so much better when the leads are interacting, so when they're apart from each other (and this middle stretch had a few of those eps with non-OTP time), it lagged. Were there some disappointments, things I wanted to see that didn't happen? Sure. But I can't really complain either because this drama was so strong in the beginning and it really made me love the characters (GQF for the win!), and I'm happy with how things turned out. I've especially loved seeing how so many of them have grown over the course of 40 episodes - right down to silly Chi Ya Ne. And I'm super excited for Sanniang - she deserves every happiness. So yeah, it was a good ending. (I eventually caved and watched through 32 subbed and have skimmed the remaining eps, but look forward to going back and watching them in full with subs.)

Has anyone watched this week's new episodes? I admit, I'm scared to watch them. LOL. This drama is so much stronger when the OTP are on screen together, so I'm kind of..... swirling my legs in the paddling pool waiting for things to be better. Yes, I'm a wuss.

Just another example of how she doesn't see beyond herself. All the flashback moments that she experienced, when she saw the OTP hugging, only proved how the clues had been there all along, she just never picked up on it. I mean, look at Zhao Di. She's known the three woman for all of a hot second and it didn't take her any time to figure out what was going on between ZPE and GQF. I'm kind of over Yinzhang. It's one thing to be young and naive, but now it's just self-absorption. With all the life experiences she (and the others) have experienced thus far, you'd think she'd know better. But nope. She only listens to what she wants to hear. It's all gonna come crashing down on her again.... I'm guessing one horrible misunderstanding. Sounds like her family never quite approved of daddy and in that conversation where he was complaining about that, GQF shot back and asked, "What about that prostitute then?" (Or something like that; one of those musician singer type things, similar to what ZPE had been previously.) And dad got really upset and said he never betrayed his mother. But GQF wasn't having it. This was in episode 6.

She's a little self-absorbed, that one. Ugh. We've known Zhao Di for less than half the amount of time and I quite like her and sooo much more -- she's a much more helpful human being. Me either. And I bet we're looking in the same direction for the real baddie. ;)

For two people normally so perceptive in all other things...

One more day until new eps... who else is thirsting for this drama? Hee hee hee...

LOL!!! It's like having a drama dedicated to you. How lucky you are! Omg, just wait until 19 and 20... that is all.... hahahaha. Chen Xiao in love is so adorable. On a more plot-related point, I'm curious about so many things.

Hahaha, just you wait. He slays me dead every Ep with those looks. Sigh….

I can't believe there isn't more chatter for this drama! The cinematography is gorgeous. The story is engaging. The characters are interesting. And the romance so achingly beautiful. And @OsmanthusTea, totally agree with your observations re: LYF and CX's acting. He is phenomenal in this role. Those gazes.... hahaha. My fingers are also crossed things don't tank, but it hasn't so far... every day, every week, I'm living on the edge waiting for new eps.

Friends…. iQIyi has been creating all these highlight clips from MDG this past week and YouTube keeps recommending them to me to watch. Help! It’s sucking me back in. 🤣😅

Looking forward to this one as well. Looks cute with a lot of potential for humor!

Seconding this. I can handle death, even if it makes me sad, if it serves a point to the plot. For example, at one point I was convinced the story would have the oldest Prince dying in the struggle for power between his mother and FLX. The prospect of such didn’t make me happy (and I’m very glad he lived), but I was prepared for it and accepted it because I could see how such a death would be utilized within the plot. Han Pu’s death, on the other hand… what point did that serve except for putting viewers’ emotions through a wringer? I hate when dramas do that! And Han Pu was so lovable. As the sole survivor of his family, he really should’ve been allowed to live to carry on his family trade; hrmph. Also seconding this. My momentum for this drama really ground to a halt in these last episodes because zomg… all the war scenes. Rather than just getting on with the action and moving the plot along, they decided to dissect all the battle tactics and battle grounds with the viewers. There were so many names of battle places and generals thrown around, information that didn’t really serve a useful purpose, that my attention kept straying and I had a hard time focusing. At a certain point I just wanted them to do something. Unfortunately my dissatisfaction of how the end was rolled out is kind of affecting my thoughts about the drama at the moment, but overall, I’d say I enjoyed it.

I love how the episode highlighted various treats from that region. Like Dingsheng cake, rice cake with osmanthus flower, and sweet rice wine. And of course the mooncakes! I've never had it so I can't really say how it tastes, but given how it's made with the meatball inside, I'm assuming it tastes similar to a baozi, except with a flaky pastry outer layer that's baked versus a steamed breaded outer layer. I think it'd be delicious! The flaky layer is made by wrapping an outer dough that's mixed/made with water around an inner dough that's mixed/made with oil. You then have to fold the dough and roll it out in a specific way to produce the inner layers. (I've done a lot of YouTube video studying, haha!) There are other desserts that have a similar flaky outer layer, like suncake, and even though when people think of mooncakes they mostly think of the kinds that look like these, mooncakes come in a lot of different varieties - for example, mung bean mooncakes can come with a flaky outer layer and can also be made with pork floss wrapped in mung bean paste before being wrapped in a pastry layer - and so, based on all those things, I can imagine what this Suzhou style mooncake would taste like. Like I mentioned above, it's something I've been interested in learning how to make and after this episode, I'm even more committed to that.

Was there more than one slap? I only noticed the one at the dinner table, but I also skimmed the video quickly because I'm at work. :P If there are others, let me know the time stamp and I'll look into it. For the one at the dinner table, he's just teasing and being mischevious (per the written captions). He leans over to check out her bowl and asks why she has a stone in it. She slaps him and someone else tells him it's a ball (either a meatball or fish ball/shrimp ball/etc., you get the point, they don't specify what kind of flavor).

Allow me to share one of my favorite quotes. It pops up a few times in the book, but first appears in the prologue. The main story won’t start until about 10-11 years after they parted ways, but in between, about 8-9 years after their parting, they do cross paths once. She asks if he remembers her and he answers, “Yes, I remember you. Even if I were to turn into ashes, I would still remember you.” Since I’m sharing quotes from the book. I’ll share another as I find it meaningful and true. This was said in the context of friends discussing the ML’s character. “How high a person can reach depends on chance and luck, but how far he goes depends on his character.” Words to live by!

Correct. He never has any intentions of marrying the other girl. The arrangements were all made behind his back and once he learns of it, he deals with it rather tidily. Who knows if they’ll draw it out for the drama, but in the book… Actually there’s not a lot of conflict between the leads once they reunite in the present. The story mostly moves back and forth between the present and past to explain how they fell in love, why they broke up, the adults they became in the meantime, and how their undying love for one another brings them together again for the future. It’s romantic.

True! He is on the heels of separating from service when their paths cross again and there's a lot of tension from unresolved history... young loves torn apart from life's circumstances, only having ever loved each other, now tip-toeing around each other once reunited... it's pretty delicious stuff. Has the link to the translated novel been shared yet? I searched but didn't see it, so for anyone who'd like to read the book (highly recommend): https://hui3r.wordpress.com/mo-bao-fei-bao/the-road-home/ (Hoju always puts her heart and soul into translations, so you know it will be a good one!)

Since everyone's mentioning savory mooncakes, thought I'd share this here -- yes, it is a Suzhou thing! It's been on my list of "things to learn how to make" for a while. When I next have some spare time... ;) ETA: I assume that's the kind of mooncake y'all are referring to (there are so many kinds!). Whatever ep that has mooncakes in it won't be available until later today, here, so I've not yet watched it.

Ep. 27 "Thank you all for being so accommodating over the years".... gahhh... those subs leave a lot to be desired. What LJM really said was, "Thank you all for putting up with my bad temperament all these years." Sooo much more meaningful!!!

Bittermelon flower for the bittermelon face

The vid looks so great. Can’t wait!

Thats what you get with a character like LJM. 😝 But please don’t let the artist give his house a makeover. We might get yellow walls with polka dots!

Ep. 20. Jealousy makes for a powerful motivator. Also, that makeover... those socks.... Best work meeting ever!