This is for @agdr03 and @GB. Is anybody else following this cdrama?
I like this episode for four reasons:
A. I like that Pei Wenxuan is still in love with Li Rong.
Despite everything that happened in the past, he still loves her.
LR: I’ll only ask you this. Why did you come here today?
PWX: Just to glance at the 18-year-old you.
LR: Just to take a look?
PWX: (boldly) What else do you think? I also want…to help you once more.
Two things:
1. To me, he doesn’t like Li Rong quizzing him about his motive because he doesn’t want it to be known that he still has feelings for her. So, he does a bit of reverse psychology on her. By challenging her to think of the reason(s) he could have had to appear at the Spring Banquet, he’s forcing her to see how preposterous and ridiculous it is to assume that he attended her party because of love.
2. I find it romantic that even though she had him assassinated in the Other Lifetime, he still wanted to help her out. Of course, it’s crazy that he has no sense of self-preservation (If I were PWX, I would have disregarded the invitation entirely), but this tells me that he’s willing to put his life on the line for her.
LR: (scoffing) Then you did a great job helping. You narrowed down all the choice the Imperial Father game me to none but yourself.
PWX: Yes, I shouldn’t have meddled in your affairs. But I sincerely hope that you can live a happy life in the future. The wish has remained unchanged, from the past to the future.
LR: Your way to help me live a happy life is…
She stands up, frustrated. She then asks him what their best course of action is. I like how logical PWX is. He points out that marriage to the other suitors can land her in unfamiliar situations and more troubles. At least, they were married before and they know what the requirements/limitations/expectations/duties are.
PWX: Every other option comes with an unknown outcome. But since we know each other well, I would boldly like to request to marry you, Your Highness.
I like how he formally requests to marry her. Unlike in the Other Lifetime where they were “pushed” wily-nilly to marry, this time around he proposes marriage to her of his own free will. Li Rong said in the previous episode that, in the Other Lifetime, she could tell that he was nervous, and looked out of his depth on their wedding day. In contrast, PWX looks confident, calm and collected now. He looks like he knows that he can handle the stress of being marriage to her.
PWX: (continuing) Perhaps one day, when you can break free, you might make another choice.
Unlike in the Other Lifetime when they both promised to stay married forever, he’s giving her an “out.” He’s implying that she doesn’t have to fear being permanently tied to him if she doesn’t want to. All they have to focus on for the time being is the marriage-of-convenience because they have greater goals to achieve. That is, they must allay her father’s fear of Shangguang-led plot to oust him, and assist her brother to ascend to the throne.
But Li Rong sees red at the thought of marrying him again.
I like her monologue because it shows how traumatized she was by their marriage, just like him. It brings home to PWX that she suffered during their previous 20 years together.
LR: Pei Wenxuan, given this second chance by fate, I don’t want to live as before to give my heart to the wrong person, to get caught in endless intrigues, and to end up alone. If I choose you again, what difference will there be from what happened before? If we tread the same path, we will only have one ally. Then are we going to use and set up each other again?
PWX: (not answering)
LR: We both know well in the court, the only thing that matters is the power we have rather than our spouses or kin. Yet, once we make it to the pinnacle, as we walk alone through this world, we’ll start to long for simple joys and bustling life. You and I both once stood at the pinnacle before. Tell me. What’s the difference between being a loner, and being a lone ghost?
My comments:
1. It’s interesting that she claims that she ended up “alone” in the Other Lifetime. But didn’t she have Su Rongqing (SR) by her side as a companion? This seems to indicate that she didn’t really consider SR an equal and partner.
2. She keenly feels their previous marriage was purely transactional. She didn’t want that again. She wanted more.
3. She sounds disillusioned about life in the palace. Based on her experience, she fears getting caught up again in the power struggle and the court intrigues. She wants a normal family life. In Episode 1, she had observed her father from afar, and wondered how their relationship would have been like if they were common folks. He wouldn’t have suspected her of trying to poison him with the snacks she prepared for him. Likewise, she wants a marriage where she knows that she matters to her husband more than power.
Of course, she doesn’t know that she’s mattered to him more than power.
4. There’s no difference between a loner and a lonely ghost. They’re both dead to the world, wandering unseen.
B. I like the scene when PWX received the parting gifts from Li Rong.
To be honest, I just it for the way he looked. A little bit smug. A little bit pleased. A little bit comforted that no matter the hard feelings between them, Li Rong had shown him thoughtfulness and kindness.
Of course, I didn’t like Li Rong when she forced him to eat the lemons because she wanted to get even with him. But she then feels guilty and ordered her servant to prepare:
— medicine for PWX’s allergic reaction,
— ginger soup to warm him and (I’m guessing here) to help him get rid of the acidic taste of lemons,
— a cloak because nighttime is coming and it’ll be cold on his ride home, and
— money since she remembered how poor he was when he was 20 years old.
Her actions reminded me of a Korean saying, “giving a disease and then offering the medicine.” First, she intentionally harms him. Then, she changes her tune and offers to help with the injury she caused him.
But I like his message for Li Rong. They had already agreed that it was going to be their last encounter and that they would go their separate ways from then on.
PWX: Just say, I bid farewell to her. Please take care.
Maid: (turning to leave)
PWX: (calling her back) Wait. Wait. Also, remind Her Highness to always be careful and to not be too bold.
He still can’t stop worrying about her.
C. I like that PWX gave her a piece of his mind.
Yes, they bickered like petty teenagers. But whenever they were in the palace, he usually backed off from arguing with her out of deference for her royal rank.
Sure, out in the field of reeds, he carried her on his back like he was her servant.
But when they began arguing, there was nothing subservient or deferential about him. They were equals.
LR: (accusatory) I think you’re really cunning. You feel trapped with no way out and desperately want to marry me. But you can’t put aside your pride. So you thought of a plan to play the hero and trick me into giving in. Right?
PWX: (thunderstruck)
LR: And you were saying you only came to the banquet to see the 18-year-old me. I think you just can’t stand seeing me marry Su Rongqing.
PWX: Why do I care if you marry him?
LR: You do care!
PWX: (annoyed) Go ahead and marry him. But if you… (suddenly wincing) My neck hurts from your grip.
LR: (ignoring)
PWX: Li Rong. I have nothing to do with you. Marry whomever you want. I don’t care. I…
LR: (interrupting) Then don’t make a scene at the Spring Banquet.
PWX: I made a scene?
LR: You made a scene. You can’t let go and can’t part with my status as a princess.
Well, she’s partly right. He can’t let go but it isn’t her royal status (and the privileges that go with it) that he’s having a hard time giving up. It’s her.
PWX: (scoffing) Your status as a princess? You just have princess syndrome.
He means that she’s difficult to live with it because of her diva ways. She demands “royal treatment” from him and sets unrealistic expectations for him.
LR: Huh? I am a princess. What’s wrong with having princess syndrome? I think you’re the most shameless and spineless pretty boy I’ve ever met.
PWX: (objecting) Who are you calling a pretty boy? Is your Su Rongqing not a pretty boy then?
True.
He stops her from stomping away.
PWX: Li Rong. Just think about it. When have I ever relied on you over these years?
LR: (snapping back) When have you not relied on me?
PWX: What we had was called “mutual dependence.” You helped me develop my career, and I helped your younger brother ascend the throne. Besides, who covered the expenses of the Princess Royal Mansion over these years?
Two things:
1. It’s great that he brings up his “services” for the royalty. He makes Li Rong look like an ingrate. She forgets that if he didn’t pave the way for Li Chuan’s ascension to the throne, she would always have been in danger of deposition because of the power struggle in the palace. It was to her benefit that he took charge of Li Chuan’s installation as Emperor.
2. I also like that he bluntly points out that he paid their household expenses. This shows that he didn’t marry her for money and didn’t mooch off her. He generously kept paying the household expenses although he wasn’t in residence. It must have cost him a pretty penny to keep the royal mansion running to her satisfaction. Lastly, to add insult to injury, despite paying for the upkeep, he was treated like an unwanted guest in the mansion. On the night they died, he had to request permission from Su Rongqing to enter Li Rong’s rooms and visit her.
LR: (sarcastically) Thank you for that. How generous you are to support a big Princess Royal Mansion. But let me tell you, Pei Wenxuan, you must remember the source. The salary you made was ultimately because you’re tied to me, the Princess. If you weren’t my husband, would my brother trust you that much.
And we know that she couldn’t have been more wrong here. In the Other Lifetime, her brother didn’t trust her at all. In Episode 1, he blamed her meddling and ambition for the succession crisis. But note that PWX doesn’t correct her. He doesn’t tell her that it was the other way around actually. If she wasn’t his wife, her own brother would’ve disowned her already.
LR: (continuing) Don’t flatter yourself. You are not covering my expenses. You are buying resources from me.
She insists that he’s just paying back what he owes her for making him her consort.
PWX: I need to buy resources from you? Let me ask you. Didn’t you use my informants and my intelligence network often? Did you pay for that?
LR: How about when you pressured others with my name, and when you asked me to persuade my brother?
PWX: What? Has Li Chuan never questioned you over these years? When he suspected you of manipulating power and sent you back to your fief, who pleaded for you then?
LR: No matter what, Li Chuan is my brother. He won’t do anything to me. But you, when he punished you by flogging, who asked me to go to the Imperial Study to bef for mercy for you?
PWX: How can you even bring these things up? Over all the years…
He proceeds to give an accounting of his past good deeds, and she does as well.
I like the camera shot here. The camera circled around them, as if to reinforce the sensation of a never-ending argument. PWX and Li Rong were talking in circles. That is, the camera was going round and round because PWX and Li Rong were arguing in vain. The only way to stop their debate on who-owes-whom is to focus on their pressing concern: hunger.
PWX’s belly rumbles. Li Rong immediately calls a halt to their argument.
I must say that I like this about her. She doesn’t express her concern for him; she shows it with decisive action. Like when she ordered her servants to prepare medicine, coat, and small chest of coins.
LR: Never mind. I’m tired. Go find us something to eat.
See her princess syndrome? She expects him to obey.
LR: If we must argue, we’ll do it after we’re full.
PWX: What do you want to eat.
LR: A feast.
PWX: A feast?!
That’s her princess syndrome, too. She has unrealistic expectations. But PWX knows that she’s only pulling his leg.
I like this scene because it’s like a couple’s therapy. They’re able to air their grievances without killing each other. And I prefer dialogues like this than scenes with a couple just exchanging googly-eyes with each other.
D. I like that they sat down and cleared up the misunderstanding and misperceptions surrounding their deaths.
They aren’t just cooking the fish over an open fire, they’re also roasting each other.
LR: When did you get back?
PWX: Over ten days ago. And you?
LR: About the same. How can this be?
PWX: Is this a dream?
LR: I don’t know. I just remember as I was dying, I wondered if we could stand in the heavens to see the road we’ve traveled through from an all-knowing perspective, would we regret some things.
@agdr03, this theme of “regret” manifests itself again in Episode 11, in the rainy night confession of Pei Wenxuan.
LR: I didn’t expect that you actually didn’t hide it from me.
She thought that he would lie to her and pretend to know nothing about their Other Lifetime. That’s how devious and scheming she thought him to be.
PWX: Why would that be worth hiding? Didn’t you not hide anything from me either?
LR: I’m not like you. I tend to take responsibility for my actions, not like you, a despicable man.
I really disliked Li Rong in these first episodes. She thinks that she’s the only injured party; she thinks that she’s morally superior to him; she thinks she can do no wrong. She must be so fun to live with!
PWX: Wait! How can you call me a despicable man? It was you who ordered someone to kill me.
LR: I asked someone to kill you because you were the one to break our alliance oath first. You could kill me, but I couldn’t retaliate?
PWX: When did I ever try to kill you?
LR: (coldly) Drop the act.
PWX: I did plant spies in the Princess Royal Mansion, but that was to guard against Su Rongqing. Besides, we’ve been together for so long. If I really wanted to kill you, I would have done it sooner.
He has a point there. She conveniently changes topic.
LR: When…when did you die?
PWX: I died on my way home after leaving the Princess Royal Mansion in Baiyi Alley. It was a gruesome death.
Note that he lives in a different manor. But he maintains the upkeep of her mansion. I like that he has never shown resentment that she killed him.
PWX: (continuing) Why do you think I killed you?
LR: You poisoned me.
PWX: When did I ever poison you?
The truth comes out. She thinks he killed her with the sachet he was wearing that night. He tells her that SR ordered him to wear it while inside her mansion on account of her illness. PWX theorizes that she’d been poisoned steadily for a long time, but that the sachet he was given, acted as a catalyst and triggered the release of the toxin into her body. PWX also points out that SR had the motive and the opportunity to poison her.
He can see that Li Rong is bothered (and hurt) by this new information because she trusted SR. PWX changes the topic.
PWX: Forget it. Whether it was Su Rongqing or not is still unknown. What’s important is, I didn’t do this. Don’t pin this on me.
My comments:
1. To me, what’s more important is Li Rong killed him because she didn’t trust him enough.
2. I like how PWX calmly reminded her of her brother’s involvement in the destruction of SR’s clan and castration of SR. But I wish he could have reminded her of all this in the Other Lifetime. They seriously lacked communication in the Other Lifetime.
3. I’m annoyed that Li Rong couldn’t forget that one night when she spotted PWX holding Qin Zhenzhen in his arms, but she could totally wipe out from her memory the murder and mayhem her brother perpetuated upon the Su clan. While she couldn’t wait to pin a crime on PWX, she gave SR the benefit of the doubt.
4. Usually, I wanted the male lead to grovel at the feet of the heroine. But in these three episodes, I’ve never wanted the female lead to grovel so hard. I want justice for Pei Wenxuan! Lol.
More to follow tomorrow.
Thanks @pkml3 for all the time and effort you made to transcribe their dialogues! I really wanted her to grovel too!!! I didn’t like her for some time. I’m still a bit iffy about her.
I watched up to Ep 12 and started skip watching because I didn’t care for the intrigues between noble families (who act most ignobly). I tried to watch the bits where the couple had conversations, but even that sort of tired me out because the woman lacked warmth so often, especially when it came to her own husband. Still no kiss?
@agdr03 how are you doing with this show? What episode are you at now?
The main thing I like about this couple (not the show) is that they get lots of opportunities to converse. All the communication that they did not manage to do in their first life, they seem to be making up for in spades now.
Agree, @GB.
I like their conversations but the female lead is so wishy-washy. There was an episode — spoiler alert — when PWX prepared an event for her but she mistook it for something else, and he got hurt. I expected her to cry (at least, in spirit) and apologize because she ruined it, but nope, she was like, Dude, can you wait for me a little bit more because I don’t know yet how I feel about this.
Arghhhhh! So frustrating. I wanted to throttle her.
If she’s still undecided after all he’s done for her then maybe there’s just no love there. How hard is it to know whether she loves him or not?
This is a case of the heroine overthinking everything to death.
But then, when I see some of her small gestures, she clearly exhibits signs of caring for him. Hmmm… is caring the same as loving, though? Personally, I think if there’s no desire, spark, intimacy, and passion (or kissing, as you pointed out), then it isn’t love between couples, but platonic love.
So true @pkml3. I was wondering how much she actually loves PWX, as a man. Or even Su Rong Qing. At least she loves her brother.
As for signs of caring, it has to go together with some greater commitment and risk taking in her case, for me to consider that she really loves the guy. She does show signs of caring for others who would be useful to her in any case.
To tell you the truth, I was about to drop this drama, but since you’re still looking into it for @agdr03 and myself, I’ve decided to watch it with a bit of attention.:-)
I’m here! Sorry I couldn’t reply earlier. I was at a Korean BBQ this afternoon with 3 of son’s friends for his birthday then another family birthday after that. 😃
Thank you for this thread. I have to agree with you and @GB because as much as LR Is a smart Princess Royal, she’s dense in seeing PWX’s love for her. 🙄
Yes she shows she cares for him by these little things but why can’t she just trust him especially after episode 21? What else does she want? He prepared so much and even broke his favourite instrument (guqin)? He poured his heart out and all she can say is she’s not sure what to feel? The poor guy was crying his heart out. For goodness sake. 🤣
Anyway, I like this episode too because they finally talked and got to air their grievances from the other lifetime. He always starts the opening up. He always prompts her to say what’s going on.
He was still doing things for her because she is royalty. He showed this throughout the drama. He respected her title except when she asked him to divorce her. 😂 He got over it quickly though.
I’m up to episode 33. I’m trying to finish it. Yes, the skinship is scarce but it’s not too bad. ☺️
Thanks for staying @GB. 🥰
@agdr03, my pleasure! Since you’re going to complete this, I’ll join you for the ride. OK, I’m at around Ep 19 now, so I’ll catch up soon enough and see about that sad response from her to his tears and declarations of love.
Perhaps besides being dense, she’s just too insecure. Too many men have shown that they are attracted to her, but perhaps she takes it as they are merely ‘on the surface’ guys or want her for her rank/royalty and don’t really love her. She might still have habitually lumped poor PWX together with them, and now finds herself caught in that habit that she can’t/won’t break. 😠
Thank you @pkml3 for your thoughtfulness!
I’ve finished this drama and surprisingly enjoyed it. It was frustrating to see LR not being able to realize that she loves PWX in the early episodes but it was a given since she grew up in the palace and love was scarce.
I loved the way they would remember their past and use it to fix their situation.
Thank you for picking up this drama and I would love to read more of your thoughts on this.
Oh not sure if you guys know but the leads in this show got casted for a modern drama and are currently filming. It’s called Our Generation/Cherry Amber another web novel. Childhood best friends to lovers trope again ahaha might air on the 2nd half of 2025? (But hoping for an earlier release)
Remind me, @Foreverinreverie, when their modern drama comes out. I’ll make an open thread for it.
Yes, I like the flashbacks so far. They haven’t bored me yet. (I’m at Ep 22? 23? Sometime after the buttercup field fiasco.)
I also notice something about the editing; I’ll mention it when I write about Ep 4.
I need to get back to my rewatch of this and refresh my memory! Yay!! so glad more of you are watching it and @pm3 is writing up on it! I love this drama because of the growth arc of the main characters and they followed the original story quite closely.
@agdr03 mentioned that ZLH’s voice is a bonus and I do quite like his original voice. I watched a video that said that in this drama, he was dubbed. ZLH has quite a high percentage of using his original voice in the dramas. Sometimes they do it to suit the character more.
Will hop on this soon, now that my house organisation is more or less done…the past few weeks has been a crazy whirl. It’s hard to pack, move house, organise and have life (house management, kids, school, work) go on at the same time.
I especially liked Ep3. Because of their bickering, they were able to say a lot of things they were not said in their first life.
I loved what @pm3 said about them “roasting” each other 😛
LR is really hypocritical here, she saw her side but not his and I’m glad these conversations gave her the opportunity to see the other side of the story. Sometimes we can be so blind to our situations that we fail to see the other person’s struggle. LR is so.
Honestly, PWX is a saint here. He held no grudge at her giving the orders to kill him, he didn’t even struggle with trying to forgive her. He was mildly hurt for sure. Who wouldn’t, after being betrayed in such a way. Yet in the midst of all that, we can all tell that he loves her.
Her denseness is a product of her upbringing and I guess her background and habits of thinking handicapped her ability to trust and love freely. Add on to her very rational personality. She is lucky to have met PWX who can accept her and understand her and wait for her.
@Grace,
There’s a bit of role reversal here, too. We’re accustomed to men in dramas behaving like LR (overbearing, heavy-handed and autocratic) and women like PWX (patient, accepting, forgiving).
LR’s deep distrust showed when she instantly jumped to conclusion that PWX wanted her dead on the basis of limited evidence. At least, PWX asked his assassins who had sent them and confirmed that LR was behind it.
Yes, they were able to get a lot off their chest when they bickered. How long had it been? Twenty years? 19 years? of repressed hurt and resentment.
I couldn’t believe though that PWX botched his rescue attempt. 😂😂 I thought he was Mr Perfect.
I also liked that how they both accused each other of speaking roughly and brusquely when their actions showed that they actually cared. Like, PWX ordered her to sit on the straw that he had collected so the wind wouldn’t blow them away. It sounded like he was exasperated with her because she wasn’t helping out. But he was really just concerned that she was sitting on a damp log and would catch a cold.
Oh, you moved houses? Congratulations! Hope the kids like their new school.
@pm3, that’s true about the role reversal. I liked that while there is a kinda of authority (she is the princess royal and shalt not be disrespected), she holds PWX in esteem, in terms of his intelligence, skills and looks. He really did a lot to be, as he said, worthy of her.
lol on the botched rescue attempt so early on. He plans really well in general, I love smart drama characters.
Thank you! New house, new organisation in the house! I’m not gonna move house for many decades after this, it’s sooo tiring! School stays the same for them, just longer or shorter travelling to their schools, depending on which kid!
Favourite scenes here:
1. The part when PWX left and LR sent the 3 tiered box of soup, anti- histamine (it must be!)power, and the silver taels.
Despite her taking revenge on PWX for killing her (or that’s what she thought), she mini regrets it and sends the gifts to him. It is like she has this angel and devil in her. One wants to just be mean, one wants to be kind. Currently her devil LR is more dominant and we occasionally see the angel LR appear. This ‘gift’ is nostalgia for both of them, a farewell.
On an side note, I see this kinda lunch box so often in cdramas. Honestly they have to walk really smoothly to not spill that bowl of ginger soup. 😛 And I saw it on sale at Ikea and couldn’t resist buying it. So now what can I put inside??
2. Ironically, the fact that LR is just not getting the point. And it is satisfying to see PWX have his various comebacks for it. And in the midst of all their bickering, there were so many hints of their concern for each other. I would want to say that LR has trust issues but she trusted SRQ wholeheartedly. Or maybe her jealousy for the person she loved caused her to cut PWX off completely.
3. The truth about who killed who. That relief when we as viewers knew for sure, it wasn’t PWX who killed LR.
@grace I hope you and the family are all settled in the new house now. 😊
Thanks for the information that it wasn’t ZLH’s voice on the drama. I’m glad I liked it though. I think it’s the reason I’m not wanting to watch Are You The One because of the FL’s voice in it. 😬 Is it hers?
I like those scenes too but my favourite are those of their talk when they’re in the bed/bedroom. They have a lot of it. I like it the most especially when both of them open up to each other like when LR said she’d like to go away and raise their children after the whole problem is solved.
If anything after all of PWX’s hardships/heartbreak from the first life, I’d choose him as the best husband/boyfriend. He was just the most patient and most understanding especially as a Consort to LR’s Princess Royal. I think I did find her really annoying at times too.