The Double 墨雨云间 [Current]

[abs-oluteM]

It tells the story of Xue Fang Fei, the daughter of a well-off county magistrate who lost everything after a major upheaval. Saved by Jiang Li, the daughter of the Secretariat Director, she took on the identity of Jiang Li and returned to the capital. With the help of Duke Xiao Heng and others, she overcame numerous hardships, tirelessly fought against injustice, rescued her father, who had been wrongly imprisoned, assisted Xiao Heng in upholding justice, and protected the common people.
(Synopsis by  Youku)

 

~~ Adapted from the web novel "Marriage of the Di Daughter" (嫡嫁千金) by Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客).

 

 

Episodes: 40

Airs: Jun 2, 2024 - ?

Airs On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Original Network: Youku

Duration: 45 min.

 

[abs-oluteM]

Cast and Crew

Director:  Lu Hao Ji , Bai Yun Mo , Ma Shi Ge
Original Creator: Qian Shan Cha Ke 
Producer: Yu Zheng 
Screenwriter: Ren Ya Nan 

Main Role:

Wu Jin Yan- Xue Li / Xue Fang Fei 

Wang Xing Yue - Xiao Heng 

 

Chen Xin Hai - Ye Shi Jie
  

 

Liang Yong Qi - Shen Yu Rong

Spoiler

 

Meng Li - Princess Wan Ning

Spoiler

 

Support Roles (credit MDL)

Spoiler

• Chen Chiao En - Ji Shu Ran
  Su Ke - Jiang Yuan Bai
  Liu Xie Ning - Jiang Ruo Yao
• Zhang Yu Qi - Wu Lan
   
•  Yang Chao Yue - Jiang L
•  
• He Hong Shan - Ye Jia Er
•  
• Li Xin Ze - Li Lian
•  
• Gala Zhang - Xue Zhao
   
• Dong Xuan - Ye Zhen Zhen
•  Snow Kong - Zhi Yan
   
• Ai Mi- Tong Er
   
• Chen Yu Xian - Jiang Yu'e
• Jiang Yi Yi- Si Tu Jiu Yue
   
• Kent Tong - Xue Huai Yuan
• Zhao Jia Min - Liu Xu
   
• Yu Rong Guang- Old General Xiao
• He Feng Tian- Jiang Jing Rui
• Liu Ya Peng- Zhang Wei
   
• Zhang Meng- Dai Yun
   
• Pan You Cheng- Wen Ji
   
• Wang Le Fu - Lu Ji
   
• Ji Ling Chen - Xiao Ming Han
• Hai Ling- Yu Hong Ye
   
• Ning Xiao Hua - Mr. Zhang
• Zhang Zheng Yang - Li Zhong Nan
• Zhang Bai Qiao- Feng Yu Tang
• Leanne Liu- Mrs. Jiang
   
• Wen Zheng Rong Support Role
• Yu Cheng En Support Role
• Roy Wang Support Role
   
• Zhou Da Wei Support Role
   
• Zhao Jiu Yi Support Role
   
• Qi Hang- Lai Biao
   
• Jin Xu Ze Guest Role
   
• Wu Jia Yi - Qiong Zhi

 

[abs-oluteM]

Trailers

This has subs and focused on the main CP

This has more of the other characters 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Film making

 Wu Jin Yan - did she just say it will be happy ending? Hahahah

 

Press Con video

Spoiler

 

The cast got together to talk about the show. In the 50th minute - WXY was so shy having to reenact a romantic moment with Wu Jing Yan. WXY is only 22 . Fortunately, he holds his own quite well against more senior actresses like WJYan

 

[rocher22]

1 hour ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

Wu Jin Yan - did she just say it will be happy ending? Hahahah

I hope it will be a happy ending. The trailer looks pretty angsty. 

 

1 hour ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

WXY is only 22 . Fortunately, he holds his own quite well against more senior actresses like WJYan

 

What... this actor is only 22....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

@rocher22 If they follow the novel, it apparently has a happy ending. Anyway , they released this teaser on Weibo which I managed to cut & post. It covers the first 5 episodes - pacing is promising

In the original novel , it was supposed to be a soul swap or transmigration or something like that. But here she just took on the identity of this girl Jiang Li who had saved her when her husband buried her alive. Jiang Li's family is from the capital but looks like Jiang Li was raised away from them. She took on Jiang Li's identity and went to the capital. JiangLi's family is also evil and I think XueLi / Xue Fang will carry out the revenge plan for both Jiang Li and herself. 

[rocher22]

12 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

In the original novel , it was supposed to be a soul swap or transmigration or something like that. But here she just took on the identity of this girl Jiang Li who had saved her when her husband buried her alive. Jiang Li's family is from the capital but looks like Jiang Li was raised away from them. She took on Jiang Li's identity and went to the capital. JiangLi's family is also evil and I think XueLi / Xue Fang will carry out the revenge plan for both Jiang Li and herself. 

 

Im glad there is not a soul swap/face swap. The drama version is better. 

I like the actress ( Jiang Li ) but I think it is cameo role. 

The trailers are promising. 

 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

I caught the 1st episode and really like it.  Good cinematography and sets the plot up very nicely. 

 

The story telling is easy to follow and logical - glad they got rid of the entire body / soul swapping nonsense and did an identity swap. The way the identity swap took place also make sense so now Xue Li will not only carry her own revenge but that of the real Jiang Li. The real Jiang Li is the Prime Minister's daughter and had been banished to this cult like women's hall when she was a child by her step mum. She was raised there and no one had seen her since. So it's easy for XueLi to take on her identity later on. Jiang Li had saved Xue Li, and even prevented XL from trying to kill herself. But Jiang Li got caught trying to go out and bring provisions for XueLi, and was severely punished before dying. JL managed to see XL before the latter died and it was here that JL asked XueLi to look for her father.

 

Wang XingYue made a short but  impressive entrance. This man has that charisma to him. He and his men have a reputation, and were feared. He had come to look for the mastermind of those who smuggled salt. While on the streets he also saw Xue Li's funeral. The word on the street is that XL's husband is such a saint for still burying his wife when she had cheated on him. But we all know of course that XL was being framed by her MIL (and sis in law). The husband, who's lover was the psychotic first princess, had "killed" her by burying her alive . Clearly she escaped so he was just putting up a facade by burying her. WXY's Duke Xu is a smart man. He knew right off that there was more to this than a "devoted" husband. 

 

First 2 eps can be viewed on YouTube or on their app. They will release 5 episodes by end of today. This is the rest of the schedule

[abs-oluteM]

Recaps for Ep 2 

We begin to see that XueLi is a smart cookie. There are moments where you will see her grieve over the betrayal of her husband whom she had sacrificed for in the past but she kept her wits and was quick to find a way to escape the women's hall and also to take assume Jiang Li's identity.

 

XueLi managed to blackmail the hall mistress to let her take on JL's place. They buried JL & she stayed there for a short while but knew that she had to find a way out.  Through observation & quick thinking, she and JL's maid, Tong tried  to find a way to get the hall mistress into trouble. The opportunity presented itself when JiangLi's mother's friend , a minister's wife had come to visit. XueLi knew that the hall mistress secretly sends a signal to her lover to sneak into the place, XL set the trap.

 

It happens that the smuggler of salt that Xiao Heng was chasing ended up in this hall and took XueLi hostage. XueLi tried to use this opportunity to pretend like she was the man's accomplice so that XH would have a reason to arrest her ( giving her a chance to escape the hall). But in a flashback, XH knew XL was scholar's wife who had "died" . She too knows his reputation as ruthless cruel Duke. But they pretended not to know each other. Anyway they arrested the smuggler. At this point the plan the XL had set in motion to expose the hall mistress & her lover came into full swing. This meant that XL's plan to escape worked . At the same time she begged him to "arrest" her, he played along. Then she turned things around saying she's been wrongly arrested when she saw her mother's friend.  Interestingly he knew what was going on but is intrigued to play along & brought her back to the capital to "interrogate" her. My favourite line he said to her:  
"Yesterday, you mutilated urself. Today, you asked to be arrested. You are a bold one"

 

Back in the capital, we were presented with some palace politics. Jiang Li's father has his rivals but it looks like he will have the support of Xue Li's trash husband, Furong who has become an up and coming scholar / advisor to the palace. Anyway we get to see the JiangLi's cruel step mum and she has no choice now but to bring back Jiang Li given what happened in that hall. 

Meanwhile XH questions Li in his residence. He kept asking her for real identity but of course she still claims to be Jiang Li the minister's daughter. Anyway , he was amused to see how this "charade" will play out.  XueLi was smart in covering her bases with the nuns as well to make sure they don't rat on her. Later on XH told Minister Jiang he could take his daughter back.  He even sent her back with a full procession from his own residence. XH told his men to keep an eye on Li.

 

I find XH and Li equally crafty and  their interactions are a delight to  watch  

[abs-oluteM]

Ep 3 & 4 

These episodes focused very much on Xue Li returning to the Jiang family. As expected it wasn't a smooth ride. Tong, the maid fed a lot of information about Jiang family to Li so that Li's cover will not be blown. We met several members of the family including uncles, aunts and cousin. The stepmother isn't 100% convinced she is the real Jiang Li but for now seems to just go with the flow and sends two annoying maids to serve Li, and spy on her. But Li isn't dumb and had expected this. She was smart enough to bribe the maid to feed her information and help her get some things done. 

 

We are shown that JiangLi's father and grandmother  love her but the excuses they gave for never going to visit her when she sent to stay in the hall were weak. Anyway, the stepmum manipulates a lot and had framed JL for causing her to have a miscarriage then - so that makes it hard for everyone to overlook things. Poor JL was only a child then and did nothing . So unfair. 

 

Jiang Li is the 2nd Jiang daughter , and the 3rd Jiang daughter was going to have a coming of age celebration. Stepmum convinced father that Li is not fit to go given she had not learned the social graces and may embarrass the family. Father agreed but Li knew that she had to use this occasion to show her face and establish to the world she was JiangLi. Also she knew that by doing this her husband FR cannot do anything to her once he realises she was not dead. 

 

Li cleverly found a way to get her father to visit her at her residence and got him to realise how much she had suffered in the past. Father feeling guilty told the step mum they had to let Li come for the celebration. Also it should be noted that the 3rd sis is now engaged to a man who was initially engaged to Jiang Li when they were children. 

 

Finally toward the end of ep4 , the leads had interaction again!!! Li wanted to go out to redeem a jade pendant from the pawn shop . She used the excuse that she was going to get a gift for 3rd sister. XH who had his men keep track of her, got to the pendant first and arranged for her to come see him. He refused to give her the pendant back as he wanted to know who she really was. But Li isn't intimidated and kept her cool. Later she bargained with XH and told him that she knew where the smuggler had kept the salt (she was very observant when she was taken hostage) and if proven true,  he had to return the pendant. Well, he had to return the pendant.  

 

We find out too why this pendant was important - it was gift from her father ( belonging to her late mother). She had pawned it back when she desperately needed money to buy expensive medicine for husband Shen Yurong . (Yurong is really one ungrateful scum considering everything she had done for him. Her father never quite approved of him but gave in when they knelt for his blessings then) 

 

The important thing for me is that XH knows who she really is, but is playing along as he is interested to see why she is doing this.  We know from flashbacks it was love at first sight - he had already crushed on when he saw her from afar. She was Yurong's wife then. So if he knows what had happened to her, I am certain he would help her all the way to get her revenge. 

 

Also it should be noted that  Jiang Li's kindness and encouragement to XL then when XL wanted to kill herself has made XL determined that she would do anything to repay JL back. So XueLi's revenge here is not just for herself but also for JL. No wonder they need 40 episodes for this. Things will get quite complicated as there will be many villains in this show. 

[abs-oluteM]

Ep 5

There are a lot of nasty women in the Jiang household. There's the awful 3rd sister and a cousin sister who is just as bad. But anyhow, XueLi is not one to be bullied and held her own against their snarky remarks to her. Anyway as expected, stepmother wasn't pleased with the idea of having Li attend. Stepmother put up some traps (poisoning,  deep sleep incense , and even guards ) to prevent Li from attending. 

Meanwhile XH continued his interrogation of the salt smuggler Young Master Qin to find out who in the government is connected to this. XH decides to take a break from dealing with Qin and wanted to go for his favourite opera only to find out that they will be playing for Jiang's 3rd daughter's coming of age celebration. When he realised that Shen Yurong will be there , he decided to invite himself to the ceremony. XH is keen to see what will happen when Yurong and XueLi meet.

 

Since this is the Prime Minister's daughter, everyone who is anyone was there at the celebration. It started off well with the ceremonial proceedings taking place. But the fireworks didn't go off as plan , and this marked XL's entry into the courtyard. She had managed to get to the celebration with the help of cousin brother. She certainly made an entry and it ended with them giving an impromptu ceremony for XL ( or more like JiangLi's ) coming of age much to stepmother and 3rd sister fury and annoyance. 

 

But the real cherry on top was Shen Furong's shocked expression seeing XueLi. He couldn't believe his eyes. His mother and sister who also attended thought they saw a ghost. He tried to tell himself and his mother that she's just someone who looks like XueLi, but you can see their guilty expressions. Deep down he knows she is the wife he killed . XL made sure to speak to them when she they were bidding the guests goodbye. I love that she was making them scared. 

 

The ending of the episode was awesome. As the husband left, XL could not stop tears flowing. She had been able to hold it in before that. XH saw her from afar and approached her . She wiped off the tears quickly and they spoke. He asked her what her intentions were coming to Jiang family but she of course she still claim that it was her family. But he pressed on saying that he was surprised why she would return to a place where she wasn't treated so well. They continued to exchange more words but she didn't give anything away. Even teased her  about she plans to thank him for using him to return to this place. Then as she made her exit, he called out her real name - Xue Fang Fei! 

[rocher22]

The drama is a bit complicated for me and it is 40 eps drama.

I watched the first two episodes and then I read the recaps for all 5 eps. @abs-oluteM, thanks.

I liked the ML, XH, and his squad, the relationship between Li and the maid Tong and the mind game between XH and Li.

The short sentences between XH and XL work perfectly for them. Im curious how their relationship will develop.

He is already attached to her and his face-card softened for a moment when she leaned her head on his shoulder.( the hall scene, ep 2).

But I laughed when Tong passed out too.  

 

[rocher22]

 

The Jiang family is so annoying but I wonder if there is a possibility that Li will be married again to her ex-husband but this time as Jiang Li. 

 

The maid Tong looks beautiful in the lilac dress and I like the FL's simple dresses and the hair ornaments. 

 

The jade pendant scene...

 

Duke Su - '' Did you just call me brainless''

XL - '' Yes.''       

 

 

 

 

 

 

the two sisters from Cinderella... 

 

 

Im a little disappointed that XH didnt interrogate the main nun from the Hall.

I like the bgm during the scene when XH called the FL by her real name.  

Edited June 3 by rocher22

[abs-oluteM]

13 hours ago, rocher22 said:

Im a little disappointed that XH didnt interrogate the main nun from the Hall.

Is it because it is not within his jurisdiction? I think he's been assigned (by the King ) to uncover corruption within the government (related to the smuggling of salt).

 

I enjoyed ep 6 & 7 . Some highlights for me:

1. Li handling & outwitting every single scheme her step mum (and third sis ) throws at her. Stepmum tried to frame Li of causing Rouyan's allergy but Li already predicted this and convince Rouyan why framing her would do no good. Stepmum tried to set her up for marriage with a man who wasn't as good as he seems. Li also convinced him to reject him when she used her power of deduction that he already had a lover. This girl is truly intelligent. 

2. Princess wanted to have a more interesting exam structure for the scholars whereby both  men & women from the top schools would band in groups to win the exam / competition. ShenYuRong( trash husband)  who is in charge of the exams,  didn't like the idea - as someone who comes from a poor background he knows this is just an excuse for cliques to form but Princess by passes him and goes straight to her King brother for approval. SYR and Princess relationship is toxic - but interesting to watch. 

3. Grandma got rid off the two maids @rocher22 ( I will miss their nutty antics!) and gave a good one to Li. This maid is from the same home town as XueLi's own maid back when she was the wife of SYR. So Li asked the maid to look for her previous maid.

4. Li finds out about the exam & competition, and realises she needs to do this to have a chance to meet SYR who will be the chief examiner. She manages to convince grandma who convinced father. Stepmum tried to manipulate when they brought in SYR to check & see if she would qualify. But I must thank her because that lead to this thrilling confrontation between them. The guilt he felt with every line she said - every word with a double meaning meant to make him go crazy. I love it!

Spoiler

 

5. Li finally gets admitted to the school - her sisters are there too. The school shares the same common ground with the one for men. But the ride here will not be easy. Her sister especially will be very jealous as we can see that the fiance is paying  Li some attention. Competiton will be fierce to as the best scholars have already ganged up and no one would seemingly want to have Li with her bad reputation in their team. 

6. But not all is lost - second ML makes his entrance in the school. He's book smart and introverted, plus a relative on her real mother's side. There's her silly cousin brother - he's over the top at times but comes to her aid alot. Then there's tomboy Liu Xu who comes to her defence. They will form a team for the competition. 

7. We do get to see what XH has been up to -  mainly dealing with the salt trafficking issues. But XH finds out too about this competition and as always is intrigued knowing that both SRY and XueLi will cross paths. Of interest also is that XH will have some issues with two of the top scholars from the male school - two brothers who are top of their class but terribly arrogant since their father is a powerful minister. The brothers and their fathers Minister Li, are involve in the salt trafficking. 

 

Can't wait for the coming episodes as XH takes an interest in helping Li with her archery skills in preparation for the competition. 

[abs-oluteM]

In ep 8 what continues to impress me is the way that  Li uses her wit and savviness to defend herself and to convince whoever necessary to get things going. She quickly took the opportunity to defend cousin Ye ( whom I am guessing will come to like her too) when the Meng girl tried to scam him with that fake painting. She somehow managed to get out of trouble at home when it was known about her conflict with that girl. (thanks to cousin JingRui and ironically Xiao Heng ). I loved the way she convinced Ye She Jie to be join her team. And of course the highlight of the episode was the bet they made at the end - the stakes got so high that there really is no room for Li to lose this. 

 

Goes without saying that I loved the interaction between our leads. This scene was just superb. Yes, he is everywhere she is , isn't he? On the pretext of watching a good play it seems, but I love his excuse to his men:  To watch a good play, one must support the actors. Hahahah...he surely has a way with words. But I do appreciate his indirect advice to her to be careful with what she has planned - be careful of the tiger in front of you and the cliff behind you. It tells me he is well aware she's up to something beyond reclaiming her position as the 2nd daughter of Jiang.

.

 

 

I read this producer and the screen writer who adapted this novel did Scent of Time ...and let's say I wasn't pleased with WangXingYue's lack of screen time despite being the assigned ML. Don't even get me started on the ending. For now , I am okay that we do get to see him do his own thing and that the leads cross paths quite often. 

[abs-oluteM]

Finally a very XueHeng centric episode in episode 9. We got to see his backstory which I had been hoping for. Comes from a military family . Grandfather raised him when his parents passed away. Can understand why he seems a little distant given the trauma he's been through.  Father is a general who died in battle ( and  seems that the circumstances of his death is suspicious) . His mother , who is also part of the army died later on of illness or perhaps a broken heart. 

 

As Li prepares for the competition her wrist injury acts up making it hard for her to practice the quzheng. She also accompanies her teammate to the field ( a hunting ground) for her to practise her archery. Of course, lo and behold, XH appears. I cracked up when she asked if he had been following her. So we have some excuse for skinship where he teaches her how to use the bow & arrow. While this could be a good set up for some romance, I can't help but wonder if later on she'd need this skill to defend herself. It was here he realised she had an injured wrist and says that he has a way where it could heal quickly. 

 

She had hesitated to go ...he waited the entire day for her ( this guy is in love isn't it). She turns up a day late, and though she punished herself by waiting for him. Of course he let her come in and introduced her to a female healer or as she calls herself a poison expert. The healer would only help fix her wrist if she was willing to place a bet using her life. I loved this when she bet using his hand , and the thought that she'd be willing to follow him in death made him a willing participant . LOL!

Spoiler

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

I am out of town - so didn’t have a chance to recap or watch the latest  . But the scene of the Qin competition was something else 😂. For a moment i thought I was watching a fantasy show 😄

Am looking forward to this scene 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Am on holiday for the next week plus so really haven’t had the time to recap.  I’m currently up to eps 15. Winning that competition was important for Li to be able to meet the King.  But what shocked her was that she found out the Princess  could be the power behind Shen YuRong & it dawns on her that this revenge she’s after is gonna be even more complicated. On the home front the Jiang family girls continue to try & get Li in trouble but Li does have the backing of grandma. Anyway Li creates the opportunity to visit the Ye family ( JiangLi’s maternal grandmother’s home ) . Li wants to find her real brother’s girlfriend who now due to hard times has become a courtesan in the town of  Louyang . It was really sad to see the flashback of the brother’s love story & for Li to have to tell the girl the brother has died 

 

What was interesting for me was that XH stepped in to prevent her from almost killing Shen RY. Doing this actually endangers XH himself as Princess is very powerful. So much so her brother the King is afraid of upsetting her & he tells XH to be careful.
 

XH as always is quick to read the room. He saves her from some sticky situations but at the same time warns her of the danger she’s putting herself in.  It won’t be long before he will piece together what happened to her. It’s clear that their paths continue to cross because somehow the case he’s investigating is linked to the disappearance of her father.  ( I believe her father is still alive ) . She of course thinks he’s stalking her but when she was jealous of him supposedly being with a courtesan , it’s clear that she’s also starting to develop feelings for him . 
 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Omg @rocher22 did you see this yet ? So hot 🔥🔥🔥

Drama is doing so well! ❤️❤️

 

[40somethingahjumma]

You know you're onto something pretty special when you don't have to fast forward, the minutes fly by and before you know it, they're playing the outro. Most C dramas are hard work to get through but in this drama the 45 plus minutes just melt away.

 

This is a really entertaining show. It's very very addictive and to be frank it doesn't do anything particularly original. The set-up shouts Princess Weiyoung. But whatever it does, it does extremely well. Even when they do something wacky like A'Li's turn during the qin competition, it's still gripping. The dialogue for the most part is gold. Generally it's a well-made soap opera with great production values. The director seems to be very confident and there's even some creative use of the camera to show space and relationships. 

 

In a way, I do feel rather sorry for Shen Yurong, the husband... well at least in the screen adaptation because he is now tethered to a power hungry unhinged woman until his or her death. Or both. It isn't as if she really respects him either. He's sort of a plaything that she fancies. She pushes his buttons and humiliates him when it suits. It wouldn't surprise me if he ends up stabbing her in the back one of these days. It is interesting that the only person who seems able to handle her is Xiao Heng. But he's not just the emperor's enforcer... he's much much more than that.

 

Like I've said on my blog, it's the tight storytelling that's key. And it moves. 

 

Wang Xingyue is quite wonderful here. There's some phenomenal eye acting going on here. The camera loves him and there's no debate about the fact that he looks amazing in close-ups. 

 

I'm currently up to Episode 14 but I'm also doing rewatches of earlier episodes.

 

 

Edited June 10 by 40somethingahjumma

[abs-oluteM]

@40somethingahjumma am somehow up to speed despite being on holiday 😂😂. I was able to download on my Youku app . The show is so good & addictive that I can’t  help myself but watch. I love this pairing - equally intelligent, strategic . I love how they seem to speak in riddles to each other but yet they get each other perfectly. And oh my goodness the tension- and they are not even together yet . I love it when they call each other’s first name !  And up to mid point of the show and I still don’t abuse the FF button. 

 

 

@rocher22 what eps are you at? 
 

WXY is so funny 😂

 

 

[rocher22]

51 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

@rocher22 what eps are you at? 

 

 

I've kinda putting this on hold. Still at ep 5. The thing is, its a long drama. 

Currently Im only watching some videos/clips. 

I started the drama because of WXY but he is not the main role. Anyway, the FL is very good in this and I love all the 

subtle scenes between her and XH. I especially like XH's tiny smiles. 

Now Im waiting for a happy ending. 

 

On 6/10/2024 at 2:19 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

In a way, I do feel rather sorry for Shen Yurong, the husband... well at least in the screen adaptation because he is now tethered to a power hungry unhinged woman until his or her death. Or both. It isn't as if she really respects him either. He's sort of a plaything that she fancies. She pushes his buttons and humiliates him when it suits. It wouldn't surprise me if he ends up stabbing her in the back one of these days. 

 

Agreed. 

He is a complex character. And the actor is quite suited to the role. 

[40somethingahjumma]

Third Uncle Ye seems to be the most unnecessary character in this show. He seems to be largely comic relief and a placeholder for Xiao Heng. During the drinking game with the former general Biao and his subordinates, I was wondering why A'Li didn't ask Xiao Heng for help instead. Of course he showed up eventually. Third Uncle doesn't seem very bright or that good in a fight either. Although he does know the city. It's almost as if he's there so that A'Li and Xiao Heng don't get together too soon. Since Jingrui and Shijie aren't around, she needs a chaperone that no one is going to feel scandalized about. 

 

Episode 17 was great as is any episode where there's a lot of Xiao Heng. Wu Jinyan is doing a good job as A'Li but I'm probably a lot more interested in what Xiao Heng is doing than all the stuff she's trying to do. Perhaps what he's doing feels more plausible with the authority he's been given and just being a man... having a lot more freedom to roam around makes a lot more sense. Whereas it seems to me that A'Li (no martial arts, no real political authority) is biting off more than she can chew. If it weren't for Xiao Heng, I don't think she'd get very far with her quest for justice. That said, the way the Ye family rallied around the Second Uncle and his imprisonment was quite heartwarming. They're definitely a different kettle of fish.

 

I finally saw the rain scene in context. There was plenty of UST in play. The chemistry is definitely off the charts there. He looked like he was going to lock lips with her at least twice and stopped himself.  I guess he's too gentlemanly about taking advantage of a drunk woman. Plus is she still officially married to Shen Yurong? 

[abs-oluteM]

6 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

Plus is she still officially married to Shen Yurong? 

I wonder how this works too in those days. She’s assumed a new identity after all.  
 

6 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

If it weren't for Xiao Heng, I don't think she'd get very far with her quest for justice. That said, the way the Ye family rallied around the Second Uncle and his imprisonment was quite heartwarming. They're definitely a different kettle of fish.

I think he has the advantage of being in a position of authority. I believe she will come to realise that hence she tells him she’s willing to be his pawn. I love his response to that which tells me he’s not willing to stake her life . 
 

I too love the Ye family scenes ! The real Jiang Li would have been so happy to know how good her mum’s side of the family is . 
 

Major spoilers for eps 30+ onwards

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[abs-oluteM]

Only up to eps 22 but I’m glad Li found her father alive but he’s got dementia. She’s risking it all by breaking him free from prison & getting the King to give her father a retrial. Of course Jiang Li’s father, the prime minister is mad about it since what she did is punishable by death & puts his position at risk. But the journey for her to bring her father back to the capital is filled with difficulties. Ofc Duke Su comes to her aid time & again - something she’s well aware of . I don’t think she takes that for granted - she tells him she’s grateful and knows he’s the only powerful ally she’s got. 

Am just wondering why Princess is so powerful. She’s got Chancellor Li, and his son to do her bidding. There’s Shen Yu Rong who’s in this toxic relationship with her.  She and the Li family are colluding and I suppose are the ones behind the Xue family tragedy. But why is the King giving her so much face ?

 

The romance here is slow burn but I always love their moments together 

 

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