The Bloom at Ruyi Pavilion 如意芳霏 [2020]

[SnT]

1 minute ago, UnniSara said:

So true @SnT their chemistry is off the chart. When characters don't need to say a thing and just look at each other is all about talent.

Actually zzh carry majority of the show for me. All his expressions (that last scene of him watching her smile in her sleep was amazing. So much tenderness n it was like he cant take his eyes of her because he cannot believe she is alive well n r right there w him) , fight moves, body language are top notch. Only complain is some of the costume did not show off his lean body well but instead makes him look a little round n bulky around the waist. To say I got ruyi poison is as good as saying i got zzh poison, then fr xj poison n then the wbq fx poison. Hahaha... 

 

And @40somethingahjumma u really hit the my nail when u say harrowing 36 to 40. All the heart wrenching in return for a 20 min joy. N no kiss no kid no guange x xj too how sad. N worst is the 5 min wasted on lanxiang n mr wen.. Do we really want to see their interaction. Their interaction was only at jushui. Why need to close their loop right. 

 Ps love wbq x guange... That voice.. Bai Qi gege haha... Was beautiful. 

[abs-oluteM]

I agree that ZZH was so good in this  @SnT. He really up his acting a notch further sincYunXi.  I didn't mind his costume too much . He does look good. hhaahha I purposely screen shot his  army look. He looks perfect for historical dramas . I do like all the fight choreography as well. Agreed though that they didn't need that moment between Ahn's aid and FR's maid. Don't think anyone would care . lol!

 

@UnniSara @gween97 would you guys prefer a historical or modern one if they were to reunite again?

 

@40somethingahjumma didn't know that JJY was afraid of kiss scenes! Yes, this is the one thing I have to complain about. The kisses here were meh! And no kiss at the end was just stingy!

[SnT]

4 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

I agree that ZZH was so good in this  @SnT. He really up his acting a notch further then from YunXi.  I didn't mind his costume too much . He does look good. hhaahha I purposely screen shot this army look. He looks perfect for historical dramas . I do like all the fight choreography as well. Agreed though that they didn't need that moment between Ahn's aid and FR's maid. Don't think anyone would care . lol!

 

@UnniSara @gween97 would you guys prefer a historical or modern one if they were to reunite again?

 

@40somethingahjumma didn't know that JJY was afraid of kiss scenes! Yes, this is the one thing I have to complain about. The kisses here were meh! And no kiss at the end was just stingy!

Agree... Those kisses was just feather touch. Ppl complain about the winner is love cp kiss too light. I think this is just put his lip on hers n hold (take a good pic n stop). Haha... 

 

His white grey look for jail break n the one brown cream that he wore when he brought her down from that tree were not too good. He looks bulky. Rest are all good. Luckily we saw him half nude n he looks super lean. Otherwise I may hv thought he bulk around stomach/waist haha... 

[gween97]

17 minutes ago, SnT said:

@UnniSara @gween97 would you guys prefer a historical or modern one if they were to reunite again?

Can we have a modern drama next project? Want to see they play like love is sweet😂

27 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

@40somethingahjumma didn't know that JJY was afraid of kiss scenes! Yes, this is the one thing I have to complain about. The kisses here were meh! And no kiss at the end was just stingy!

She is to shy everytime has a kiss scene, at least just like LOY at the end they has a kiss scene on bed before doing that🤭

Edited November 15, 2020 by gween97

[SnT]

9 minutes ago, gween97 said:

Can we have a modern drama next project? Want to see they play like love is sweet😂

I still want them as wangye wangfei haha.... Actually a full general role maybe. In yunxi n ruyi he was always more royal than general. 

 

Zzh modern look 🤔🤔🤔😜😜😜. I think his modern look is youngish. Whereas his costume look makes him more mature. 

 

But love is sweet is nice.. That 2 lou yunxi n bailu chemistry was through the roof. One of the best cp of the year. Another one that i totally love is sleepless princess. That zyc x hyx was top notch too. Love the way he did all rhe princess carry .. Omg.. Soooo cool. His back straight his stride stable when carrying FL. U gals watch that? I think TSP play the emotion bit like ruyi. Not a typical sugary romcom. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by SnT

[gween97]

2 minutes ago, SnT said:

I still want them as wangye wangfei haha.... Actually a full general role maybe. In yunxi n ruyi he was always more royal than general. 

 

Zzh modern look 🤔🤔🤔😜😜😜. I think his modern look is youngish. Whereas his costume look makes him more mature. 

 

But love is sweet is nice.. That 2 lou yunxi n bailu chemistry was through the roof. One of the best cp of the year. Another one that i totally love is sleepless princess. That zyc x hyx was top notch too. Love the way he did all rhe princess carry.. Omg.. So cool. U gals watch that. I think TSP play the emotion bit like ruyi. Not a typical sugary romcom. 

Sleepless princess i like too🤗 zyc and jjy will has costume drama, looking forward that..

just hope iqiyi will bring zzh and jjy couple project drama inthe future

[SnT]

7 minutes ago, gween97 said:

Sleepless princess i like too🤗 zyc and jjy will has costume drama, looking forward that..

just hope iqiyi will bring zzh and jjy couple project drama inthe future

I think zyc x jjy is modern drama. Some time travel genre. Actually ppl call jjy a historical costume gal. N ppl also praise zyc for all his historical drama look. So i do look forward for this cp combo in histrorical drama. 

7 minutes ago, gween97 said:

o🤗

 

 

Another one i hope to see more in histrorical drama is wallace chung. He really hv the historical drama look.. span widget

Edited November 15, 2020 by SnT

[SnT]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHmqFBKHJOo/?igshid=5c4vii662msz

 

Something funny to show u ladies.. 

The questiob is which brother in law does guange like better.

[gween97]

i found jjy interview with eng sub here

 

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by gween97

[Beautifulthing]

I haven't been here for couple of days, now our thread already at page 30, congrats everyone

 

Summary for last week episode

 

[SnT]

Thanks @gween97 i enjoy the interview better. Prev some parts was hard to catch wo the sub. 

[40somethingahjumma]

Overall I really enjoyed the show. I didn't mind all the late angst because it seemed right to me that Xu Ping's desperation would escalate and cause problems for the leads as he attempted to manipulate different ones left, right and centre for his grand revenge. He was pretty much unhinged at the end as his soul became completely corrupted by his own descent into darkness. While ultimately he failed in his goals, his attempts to destroy XJ did reveal inherent weaknesses at the macro and micro levels. He was a right royal scoundrel because he ended betraying everyone's trust in him. For the leads it was a time of testing not only of their mettle but of their love for each other. Their successes and failures in that regard are lessons they had to learn to see their way forward. In a real enough way, XP was irrelevant. 

 

Marriage is hard as everyone well knows. Often a couple takes two steps forward and then something crops up and they take three steps back. It takes years for marriages to come to their own. Fortunately for most they won't have to go through the kinds of experiences that Fu Rong and Xu Jin had to in terms of challenges to their relationship. Feelings aren't enough to subsist on. The fundamentals (communication, trust, a common approach etc) need to be in place for success to take place. For me it was deeply moving that after all their experiences FR was willing to allow herself to be buried with XJ. On some level it may appear to be a meaningless gesture but it shows some growth on her part. It's a complete reversal of her previous responses to the premonitions. Before she was trying so hard to avoid him, avoid marriage with him and then avoid dying. She was now so grief-stricken, so full of regrets and sorrow that she didn't feel like living without him. It's not beyond the pale because previously she was going to do a Yunxi on him but was stopped in time. On top of that she had told him after that debacle that living without him would be meaningless and empty. 

 

Perhaps they are the blessed ones. But also perhaps because their hearts are in the right place. Their mistakes though serious are not looked upon as serious moral failures like those of XP, Zhu'er and even Ah Yuan. There would be no second chance for a happily-ever-after. Yeah, it's sad but acceptable. Frankly, I think XP got off rather easily and the show tried a little too hard to make a sympathetic figure even at the end. Suicide was the easy way out. He should have had to face up to what he did to XJ.  If there's a serious flaw in this drama, it's his trajectory. He made himself judge, jury and executioner of Xu Jin without having all the facts on hand. Even as @NiteWalker said in our podcast that his rationalization for vengeance against Xu Jin was ill considered... and poorly formulated. I'm not sure if this is meant to be a reflection of his character flaws or the fact that the writer didn't think through this well enough. The other thing that's also suggestive in what he said to FR about XJ "not being worth it" showed how blind he was. It was a slap on the face. He had very little to do with XJ in general. Except for the odd court appearances and run-in with regards to FR, they barely interacted. And even after the Qing Feng stockade incident and the rescue attempt from the Eastern mountain, he should have twigged that XJ at the very least was willing to go all the way and sacrifice himself for FR. To say that XJ isn't worth dying for... well... shows how completely deluded and prejudiced he was, projecting his own sins on someone else.

 

Xu Jin was undoubtedly a great character. He fits the heroic archetype to a T. His first encounter with FR signalled a call to a lifelong adventure with her. And while I some times didn't agree with how he kept things from her, I understood why. He wanted to be everything to her and to shield her from all the drawbacks from being his wife. He was in love with her and wanted to be with her for as long as he could, to cheat fate as he knew it. He understood from what she said about him dying young and his own dreams that they weren't destined to grow old together. And yet, he wanted that so desperately now that he was well and truly in love with her. Unfortunately for the both of them they had adversaries on every side... known and hidden that were doing their worst to separate them. Some of his "mistakes" were made because he prioritized her safety above their happiness because I think (and he's right) if they aren't safe in the long run, they can't be happy. He's a far more circumspect than he's given credit for. It might seem that he's slow to act but when there is real danger, he puts his life on the line for the people he cares about.

 

Fu Rong was one to plunge recklessly into things. She, on the other hand, was all heart. While she paid lip service to safety she was drawn to danger and dangerous situations. In part that was driven by the premonitions but character is also destiny. She would never hesitate to put her life on the line for others and not thinking through the ramifications. Sure there were others who were responsible for landing her in various predicaments and causing her to question her relationship with XJ at various times. But this was her journey to realise that the world is much much bigger than her impending nuptials. All she had in mind was to stop her own tragic fate but as she was drawn into Prince An's web she came to the realisation that there were larger things at play than who she ends up marrying. That's why Asian dramas often take the leads through the cauldron because happiness has to be earned by those who are finally deemed worthy.

 

Like I said in the podcast I get Jane Austen feels from this show even now. Two sisters of very different personalities bucking convention and finding true love in the course of adversity. If marriage is inevitable, at least marry someone you like and don't mind waking up to in the mornings.

 

The fact is that I actually finished it is testament to how I feel about the balance. As a whole it was a light drama with moderately high stakes with conflicts that weren't protracted to any great extent. While I became attached to LoYX, I think this is the better drama of the two. Sure, we still got the rushed ending but honestly in the history of C dramas it's really not the worst. Initially I thought we got another deux ex machina escape hatch (the magic Star Tower lightning effect) but it seemed that that was just a wakeup call. :P I don't know what made her put on a chain mail on the way to being buried with XJ. It could have just a precautionary measure from being under constant jeopardy but perhaps deep down she must have hoped he was still alive. Afterall, his body was never found and she didn't even believe he was dead to begin with, wondering around the manor reminiscing. 

 

I also think the ending felt a little rushed because the show wanted to have certain things in place for the finale. The two people at the centre of this demonstrably changed their minds about each other and changed their fate. The coffin swap, the return of Consort Wen and the leads near-death experiences are all part of how Fu Rong and Xu Jin show themselves overcoming those scenarios that they dreamt.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by 40somethingahjumma

[Yana]

13 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

That fake funeral scene really made me cry buckets.

 

ME TOOOOO...i know its a fake but i am crying like really cry... and till now i still cant let go this couple! and do we really get modern day ep?

[SnT]

I have been thinking about xu ping. I guess we agree that this villian is really trying to manipulate other ppl to fulfil his own agenda. He uses chenwan n gang, qizhu, emperor dislike of fr, etc etc...his technique was manipulation of other ppl deed for his own cause. He only encourage, push here n there, come in slow in the rescue. Nothing to pinpoint him. 

But now i look at it, that is why he is totally undetectable.

 

In fact his love for FR was really under the radar. I mean as a woman myself, i look at his interactions w fr. he talked n treated her like a bestie. When they r together his language both spoken or body really only shows he is helping as a friend to comfort her or make her feel better. Even in the forest w chenwan attack, he walk holding her hand scene was really like a friend that know u for so long and u both are just comfortable w one another.

 

In fact in ruyi, i was never specially irritated w fr for her relationship w anhwan. He actually straightout never really bad mouth xj, even on the surface helped him to marry fr n get back jinyiwei. Even though for the sifu death, he mislead her yes.. We see but from her perspective she arrive at that conclusion on her own. N whenever she is w him, she is always thinking about xj or mentioning him. To her, Xp is a childhood friend. N he was totally undetectable. There was no reason to be suspicious. N we must remember ahn never covet for the throne.. So he never really do amything that obviously put harm to the court. If he had been in power play, i m sure xj will be suspicious early.

 

Like @40somethingahjumma says most of his plot only serve to bring them closer. Even the qingfeng thingy, he took all the credit but because he was so into ruyi badge, xj had the final hero act, bringing her back to him again. N i hv to give it to fr in ruyi, she never argue with xj on his jealousy w anh. Most of the time she was like... We r friends, don worry ya... I owe u more, pau pau etc..there was never the word like u are so unreasonable except thw bit that she says u don trust me n i cant talk to my friends now that u want to marry xihe. It was really sweet to watch. They never really quarel over ahnwan like how yunxi did with lyf over gqs. Guess thats why wo yuan intervention, honestly i doubt these two will know untill ahnwan reveal his face after kicking him off waterfall. In fact that is quite a scary antagonist because he was not detectable. 

 

In yunxi i was very very annoyed with yunxi in few circumstances. It was like hello are u blind of GQS intention... He wears hid heart on his sleeve, he even hint n u are a married woman. Cant u just wake up. N she goes running n stay w him whenever lfy n her had some issue. Compare with ruyi, fr doesn't go looking for anhwan whenever we bicker with xj. Almost all i can call are ahnwan went to look for her n she so happen to hv issue w xj n just want to get way to cool down. She never went running to anhwan. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by SnT

[Yana]

11 hours ago, SnT said:

I still want them as wangye wangfei haha.... Actually a full general role maybe. In yunxi n ruyi he was always more royal than general. 

 

Zzh modern look 🤔🤔🤔😜😜😜. I think his modern look is youngish. Whereas his costume look makes him more mature. 

 

But love is sweet is nice.. That 2 lou yunxi n bailu chemistry was through the roof. One of the best cp of the year. Another one that i totally love is sleepless princess. That zyc x hyx was top notch too. Love the way he did all rhe princess carry .. Omg.. Soooo cool. His back straight his stride stable when carrying FL. U gals watch that? I think TSP play the emotion bit like ruyi. Not a typical sugary romcom. 

Love is sweet is thumbs up..Bailu really have good chemistry with any ML she paired. I ship her with Xu Kai..since the legends era and continue with arsenal military academy plus she's a good kisser too...

[SnT]

48 minutes ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

The fact is that I actually finished it is testament to how I feel about the balance. As a whole it was a light drama with moderately high stakes with conflicts that weren't protracted to any great extent. While I became attached to LoYX, I think this is the better drama of the two. Sure, we still got the rushed ending but honestly in the history of C dramas it's really not the worst. Initially I thought we got another deux ex machina escape hatch (the magic Star Tower lightning effect) but it seemed that that was just a wakeup call. :P I don't know what made her put on a chain mail on the way to being buried with XJ. It could have just a precautionary measure from being under constant jeopardy but perhaps deep down she must have hoped he was still alive. Afterall, his body was never found and she didn't even believe he was dead to begin with, wondering around the manor reminiscing. 

I was wondering the same haha... Why she wear the sheild thingy. But my thoughts is she took everything related to xj n their time together with her. So she make him one n he 'died' with it. So she died wearing it too. A bit forced haha... 

 

But that lightning was funny yet make sense. She wasnt really dead. Need some shocked to bring her hesrtbeat back. For a while i was thinking time travel oh noooo..... Turn back that clock n rewind. Please no... 

 

 

Quote

 

I also think the ending felt a little rushed because the show wanted to have certain things in place for the finale. The two people at the centre of this demonstrably changed their minds about each other and changed their fate. The coffin swap, the return of Consort Wen and the leads near-death experiences are all part of how Fu Rong and Xu Jin show themselves overcoming those scenarios that they dreamt.

 

 

I actually agree w u about ruyi n yunxi. Yunxi has a much better plot. Things make sense all the way. In fact the logic of yunxi killing herself make sense totally. She was in love unfortunately with a man that has tonnes of ppl lives on his shoulders. If he died first, she lived, she says as much that she will follow him because she will not stay behind missing him. In this eqn, she must died so that he lived to save the country n the ppl n in the end he has lost his right to follow her in death because she gave him his life. Totally tragic but it makes sense. The logic was perfect to me. 

 

In ruyi, i find many parts rather illogical. Mainly the news of his death. Like i say his body where is it. Even if anhwan fake it w a fake body, it will not woke. Ppl who knows xj, like mr ge n fr knows all his scars. N no logic fr doesn't request to see his body. No logic also that, news of fr arrive home reaches xj but news of him alive in xianhan court did not arrive back to their court. It is more like the need to fulfil the dreams. Like it has to come true for them overcome even death n work towards their own new destiny. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by SnT

[SnT]

Having to say so much, i still say enjoy ruyi much more loyx, despite the plot holes. Ultimately it is a moving love story of two persons who love each other so much that they are willing to be together even if it is being spelt out for them in the beginning that this rekationship will end up in deaths of both, impending death looming. In the case of fr xj, they cant help but fall in love with each other.. They tried in their own ways to overcome that impending disaster from avoiding, to accepting n trying to mitigate to finally trying to protect each other. They worked hard to change their destiny but the drama did spell out one important point to me.. They never once reveal to each other about their premonitions and hence, in many circumstances it is hard to understand the other person action or inaction. The drama deals with trust the most. 

 

Thier first misunderstanding was about trust. It was their first big thing but looking back it was peanut. Whilst he trust her wholeheartedly, she crumbled in the face of evidence. Through that process, fr learn to communicate.. Further episodes have her requesting him again m again to tell her things n communicate.. Which he slowly learn. But unfortunately, before they had time to learn that well, their enemies throw them another big learning curve for both.

 

2nd big issue that crops out was the divorce.  At that point, If she can die for him, she can divorce him  just to make sure he is safe n well. She did it. In her gusto she also think that she can handle the case by herself. Going all alone to the city. But seeing xj wounds n how he dig her out from the coffin incident, she finally learn something. N she explained that in episode 34 with her sister. Many times we are willing to scarifice ourselves to make sure that the person we love is safe, well n living good. But did we asked them if that is what they want. Maybe all they really ever want is stay by your side. She is saying i did my noble idiocracy act but it hurts xj so badly, it did not make him happy or well because he still did not leave her alone or stop putting himself in danger way for her. N she went on to say that silly man is using the same trick on me now.

 

N of course as expected due to the dangerous situation of him keeping his sifu family n feeling his own impending death is looming, he chased her away. She knows it is a ruse. So she goes home n leave him alone to handle his stuffs wo him worrying about her. She learn to give him what he wants.

 

I also note that this is the point he was reminded of that divorce paper he had w him. I could see the lightbulb going in his head. Chop n use it as the final shield for fr. Just in case. He got an insurance for her. If he is executed or banished from his master saga, fr will not be implicated. If he did die like in his dream she will be free to remarry or even save herself from being buried alive. It is so true that our hero had since the day he realised he loved her had put her safety first in everything he does. All his thinking ahead n strategic thoughtfulness are focused around keeping her safe (due to dreams) n his promise of not to be separated w her n her being his one n only

 

But this time xj need to learn the lesson. He want to keep her safe, but all she want is to be with him. In life n in death. His last shield for her she doesnt want it. All she want was to be with him. For her even to be buried alive is easier than living a life of emptiness and a lifetime of missing him. Even her family was not enough reason to give her the will to live. N her taking the last blow for him is additional proof of her love n of course he is definitely worth it. Even that thought makes me teary now. This arc is completed well in my opinion. 

3rd bomb was the accusation of burning of ruyi n fr father death. I calk this a mini arc cause again it lasted 2 episodes like the first bomb. I account this to FR lack of trust. Which under ahn manipulation was inevitable. If she had listened to xj n not get directly invloved, there will be no chance for this 3rd n final angst. Ruyi pavillion like xj says is beyond her. Beyond her ability to handle n he is right. If she will just trust him n pass to him all the info she had n leave it to him and put the entire ruyi pavillion undrr his control, i believe ahn has no crack to wedge that hole. In the end thst is what the emperor did anyway, let xj take over ruyi n make it onto something more worthy than an underground Intel organisation. Again it is about husband n wife joining hands. U can only be a iron bucket team if u are willing to give ur back to ur the other half. This arc to me was not fully achieved.. She only believe him after ah yuan explanation. They never did fully resolve that trust thingy for this drama. N they never did explain their dreams to one another. 

 

In real life, in a smaller scale, maybe many of us were also told that if we were to pursue certsin ppl or certain relationship, it will be bad of us. Some people like parents will tell us he or she is wronged for u. He or she will cause u more misery etc. Maybe u don die but still.. So.,

Are we brave enough to take a step out to change our destiny?  N have the grace like FR to accept in the end that if their ill destiny prevails, she will go peacefully. Because even if the end did not changed, her love, her time n experience with him is true and it is the real thing she treasured most. Have the courage to fight n the grace to accept the outcome. 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by SnT

[40somethingahjumma]

I have to say that I laughed so hard when Screechy discovered that the peace treaty marriage was all smokescreen for the King's brother's own ambitious machinations. Her indignance that it was all fake was cracked me up completely. She was so offended that the King didn't look upon her in awe as some kind of divine beauty. LOL. That was so funny. I wish the Xuan Huan King all the very best with her. I won't say "poor man" because he seems to like her the way she is. One man's meat is another man's poison.  

 

@SnT Well it all depends on what the audience is looking for. 

For me I liked the big Zombie Parasite plot quite a lot in the LoYX and I missed that to some degree. However, I accept that Ruyi Pavilion is an entirely different type of show. LoYX was a superhero story and that was its charm. For me, anyway. With a superhero story there's one big bad who wields a lot of power for evil purposes and that was the emperor. Of course there are minor villains too but they were all related to the emperor in some fashion. But there were problems with it too -- including quite a number unexplained details regarding Long Feiye's background and relationship with the present royal family. And of course the rather unsatisfying open ending.  Furthermore the LoYX is a tragic story with Romeo and Juliet resonances and a sense of foreboding pervades the entire drama. 

 

But if you're talking about the romance dynamics and how that plays out, then I think Ruyi Pavilion is the superior product because first and foremost because they allowed Zhang Zhehan to take more liberties with the Xu Jin character. He is more expressive and he actually has a delightful mischievous streak that he's not afraid to reveal. It's clear that he enjoys teasing her and that he's crazy about her. The progression from where they begin to where they end up is very much more obvious. They enjoy so many more sweeter moments together. In Ruyi Pavilion, it's all fundamentally about family. Being in one, having none, finding your own and creating your own.

 

The other thing that makes this better than LoYX is the use of the ensemble. There's a broader mix of characters rather than a dualistic good vs evil camps. This is, I feel a deliberate differentiation from the LoYX. The emperor here is not a bad guy. His biggest mistake is trusting Prince An too much rather than paranoia and insecurity about his position. But he is a caring and reasonable father (for the most part). Consort Shu isn't the typical snobby chaebol mother-in-law and Fu Rong gets on with her from the start. To me, all this is a breath of fresh air. The family dynamics feel more real and less like tropes or caricatures.

 

I also personally didn't really need a wedding between Wu Baiqi and Fu Xuan either because this show is secondarily about them. Their romance is cute and goes a long way to developing their characters but their romance isn't predicated on the bigger story. While I enjoyed their scenes together and I revelled in Wang You Shou's performance, I didn't crave for their scenes as much as the leads. Their romance is simple, heartwarming but largely uncomplicated.

 

As I said in the podcast, I didn't come to this drama with high expectations. All I wanted was a reunion between JJY and ZZH and I got it... and more. Their chemistry is one of those rare commodities in C dramaland that should be exploited routinely. Sure, it's not Nirvana in Fire 1 or 2 but I never expected it to be. Few shows are. The most important thing for me is that the male lead keep his head together especially if he is a member of the royal family. As long as he can do that for the duration of the drama, I can forgive the female lead many of her sins especially if she's not been brought up to be political. Often FL are written to be the ying to the male lead's yang. 

[abs-oluteM]

I have to say that I enjoyed Ruyi a bit more compared to YunXi , possibly because the romance was better developed and that there were a lot more sweet moments  . And in spite of the prophetic dreams about their tragic fate it didn't worry me as much as YunXi. From the start  YunXi  already had this dark shadow cast on it , and was constantly played up through out the episodes. It felt like the writer had backed herself to a corner where a happy ending would not make sense. Here on Ruyi , I felt quite comforted that these dreams were somewhat not the full picture and that human actions & decisions can change one's fate.

 

The drama is still on my mind. There were a number of beautiful moments that I like. But this one was so pretty.

Spoiler

 

Were you guys laughing when he mentioned they have not consumated their marriage? I was like he surely had a lot of willpower being next to her all this while. So this is another role reversal from YunXi - here she had on several occasions wanted more and he pushed her away. Lol

 

 

 

1 hour ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

I have to say that I laughed so hard when Screechy discovered that the peace treaty marriage was all smokescreen for the King's brother's own ambitious machinations. Her indignance that it was all fake was cracked me up completely. She was so offended that the King didn't look upon her in awe as some kind of divine beauty. LOL. That was so funny. I wish the Xuan Huan King all the very best with her. I won't say "poor man" because he seems to like her the way she is. One man's meat is another man's poison.  

Screechy scenes towards the end actually gave me comic relief. I laughed so hard at her attempt to seduce FX in her final ditch to get him to marry her, and it completely backfired . I still cannot get over this:

 

 The writer was kind to her - she didn't just writer her off . She gave her some character redemption or perhaps personal awareness, and had some closure with XJ. And bonus= found her man who finds her cute ! 

[UnniSara]

17 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

@UnniSara @gween97 would you guys prefer a historical or modern one if they were to reunite again?

To be honest I  prefer  historical romance drama over modern romance drama. I have no idea why but that is what I mostly watch. For a modern I PREFER CRIME DRAMA. I love a good cop, mystery drama. 
 

TBH @abs-oluteM Screecy Princess wasn’t bad .  She was just spoiled , even Fu Rong figure out she is just a child.  The Emperor and Consort Shu overcompensate her because she lost her family. They did that out of guilt.  Prince Hua and Prince Su still held Screechy Princess as a sister. They knees she wasn’t vindictive. Remember all the schemes she tried to pull off was due to Zhu’er. The misguided woman girl out for revenge. Once she( Zhu’er)  found out the truth she returned back to where rightfully belong. She did love Prince Hua vice versa he loved her too. In the end.

Spoiler

HE ASKED ABOUT HER But No one knew where she was . I appreciate in this drama, the villain realized they were wrong.

 Truthfully , I felt this drama kept touching on this particular subject  “ Trust, Fealty and honesty”. This is something that was missing because of Prince Ahn. 
 

[SnT]

@UnniSara it cracked me abit when prince huai asked if they hv seen her and XJ reaction it was like huh??.. Why u asking about her. My dear big brother, isnt it obvious. 

 

It also close the relationship arc between the brothers when they trust each other enough to help that sifu general. Mum n xj tick. Dad vs fr xj tick. Dad really grieved losing his son. So all the royal arc closed well. It will be nice if zhu er sees everything earlier n focused on huai wan. I remembered a scene he was rejecting his dad proposal of which gal to married... Glad that emperor is going through his sons one by one. He give suwan headache then turn to huaiwan. Typical parent!!!! I like. Only in c drama i see parents playing super active role in their children relatiobship n in a lot of cases the children also listened n try to accommodate. That bit of family culture is well perserved in chinese society i think. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by SnT

[gween97]

They are so cute together 

 

[UnniSara]

8 minutes ago, SnT said:

@UnniSara it cracked me abit when prince huai asked if they hv seen her and XJ reaction it was like huh??.. Why u asking about her. My dear big brother, isnt it obvious. 

 

It also close the relationship arc between the brothers when they trust each other enough to help that sifu general. Mum n xj tick. Dad vs fr xj tick. Dad really grieved losing his son. So all the royal arc closed well. It will be nice if zhu er sees everything earlier n focused on huai wan. I remembered a scene he was rejecting his dad proposal of which gal to married... Glad that emperor is going through his sons one by one. He give suwan headache then turn to huaiwan. Typical parent!!!! I like. Only in c drama i see parents playing super active role in their children relatiobship n in a lot of cases the children also listened n try to accommodate. That bit of family culture is well perserved in chinese society i think. 

It cracked me up too.  Sadly XJ would never noticed that if he had considered Zhu’er a friend to FR. If you noticed he only cares about the people around the people he loves. If they are an enemy he won’t pay attention to them. 
Prince Si loved his brother and when his brother won the battle he praised him alone because it was his accomplishments.  
I had a hard time grasping Prince Huai. I can tell he was mad at his brother but it wasn’t hate.  When he offered to bring his brother back after breaking out FR out of prison, I think the Emperor doubted his son mighty help his older brother escape instead of bringing him back. Also he didn’t want to tarnish his son’s reputation. Every step he took was because of his mother. 
 

The Emperor in this drama was a man who always tried to appease the Court officials.  He had spies but these spies were ignorant but in fact they weren’t loyal. They were easily killed or bought. He was a man who cared for his people and his family. Being Emperor came first and a father/family man came second. He wasn’t stupid but cautious. 
He let his son ( Prince Cheng) live . I myself would have killed him. He deserved it, he tried to kill his own brother and also betrayed his country for money. He was hideous and I can’t seem to see why he came out like this?? 

[SnT]

3 minutes ago, UnniSara said:

It cracked me up too.  Sadly XJ would never noticed that if he had considered Zhu’er a friend to FR. If you noticed he only cares about the people around the people he loves. If they are an enemy he won’t pay attention to them. 
Prince Si loved his brother and when his brother won the battle he praised him alone because it was his accomplishments.  
I had a hard time grasping Prince Huai. I can tell he was mad at his brother but it wasn’t hate.  When he offered to bring his brother back after breaking out FR out of prison, I think the Emperor doubted his son mighty help his older brother escape instead of bringing him back. Also he didn’t want to tarnish his son’s reputation. Every step he took was because of his mother. 
 

The Emperor in this drama was a man who always tried to appease the Court officials.  He had spies but these spies were ignorant but in fact they weren’t loyal. They were easily killed or bought. He was a man who cared for his people and his family. Being Emperor came first and a father/family man came second. He wasn’t stupid but cautious. 
He let his son ( Prince Cheng) live . I myself would have killed him. He deserved it, he tried to kill his own brother and also betrayed his country for money. He was hideous and I can’t seem to see why he came out like this?? 

Brought up by different mother. Both chenwan nature n nurture wasnt too good. 

[Yana]