A noble lady's family falls from grace, and she becomes the servant of the very man she was once betrothed to.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Notable Actors/Actresses
Director
Screenwriter
Chinese Title
蘭香如故
The Orchid's Fragrance Remains
Network: Tencent Video
Recap Grade: D
First Impression: 3.25/5
First Impression: 3.25/5
Cast
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| Tan Song Yun: Xu Lan Xiang Shen Jia Lan |
Liu Xue Yi: Lin Jin Qi Feng Tai |
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| Li Meng: Zhao Xing Tang |
Zheng He Hui Zi: Du Cui Que |
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| Guo Ke Yu: Xue Gui Hua (FL's mother) |
Chen Huang: Xu Wan Quan (FL's father) |
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| Pan Hong Yi: Jiu Gao |
Wang Hong Xin: Nan Ke |
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| Li Jia Xin: Zhou Gan Tang |
Song Fang Yuan: Du Xiao Lian |
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| Liu Mei Han: Lv Ji Er |
Tang Meng Jia: Bao Gai |
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| Ye Qing: Yu Chan |
Kong Ling Mei: Qin Shun Hua (ML's mother) |
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| Hou Chang Rong: Lin Zhao Xiang (ML's grandfather) |
Wu Tian Tian: Lin Xiu Wan (Lin Sister #2) |
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| Ma Fan Ding: Lin Xiu Ru (Lin Sister #3) |
Liu Jia Xi: Lin Xiu Shu (Lin Sister #4) |
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| Pu Tao: Lin Xiu Cai (Lin Sister #1) |
Wang Jia Xuan: Lin Jin Feng (Lin Brother #3) |
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| Guo Jia Nan: Lin Jin Lan (Lin Brother #2) |
Wu Tian Qi: Tan Su Hua (Lin #2's wife) |
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| Wei Zi Xin: Lin Chang Min (ML's uncle) |
Zhao Qin: Wang Ling Xiao (ML's aunt) |
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| He Peng: Yuan Shao Hui |
Wu Jia Kai: Xie Zhao |
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| Niu Jun Feng: Han Liang |
Su Ke: Lu Xie |
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| Jia Ze: Zheng Man Yi |
Guan Chang: Fu Rong |
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| Kong Lian Shun: Crown Prince Emperor |
Li Hong Liang: Prince Han |
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| Ye Xiao Wei: Du Zheng |
Wu Xiao Dong: Fang Yu Fang Shou Yi |
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| Ke Lan: Cui Xue Mei (FL's mother) |
Ma Wen Yuan: Qian Shao Ze |
Mini Recaps
My goal is to pick ONE topic/highlight. It can be a major moment or the smallest little detail. You can share yours too ~
Content warning: This episode contains scenes involving suicide.
Everyone you see here:
Dies. Except FL. Even this little one acted by Li Zhi Mo (the cutie who is in everything). She takes the poison herself, reassuring everyone as she does it, and telling them how proud she is of their family values. T_T. All of them choose to die because serving in the 教坊司 Jiaofangsi, the palace's music bureau is essentially sexual servitude.
So Shen Jia Lan (Tan Song Yun) watches her family die, one by one, right in front of her. She was supposed to die too…
[Ep2] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
These parents are so kind to Shen Jia Lan Xu Lan Xiang. And she returns that kindness. They treat her like a daughter because they lost their own, and she treats them like her parents because she lost hers. They meet each other in the same grief, but what grows between them is more than just filling the space of what they lost. It's real love. They really become family to each other. :')
When one quiet, tender, hardworking soul (Tang Meng Jia as Bao Gai) recognizes another quiet, tender, hardworking soul. Aw.
Bao Gai is really just as careful as Lan Xiang. When Lan Xiang covers for Ji Er, saying their master (ML) urgently needs the tea, Bao Gai catches the oddity. Is their master really looking for tea, or is he looking for someone to spill the tea?
Sure enough, Ji Er comes back with a reward for spilling the tea on her madam. Lan Xiang is worried for Ji Er especially after Bao Gai warns her to be steadfast and honest in this household. Bao Gai seems to know exactly which way the wind is blowing, and has already taken this information to Madam's side.
Sure enough, Ji Er comes back with a reward for spilling the tea on her madam. Lan Xiang is worried for Ji Er especially after Bao Gai warns her to be steadfast and honest in this household. Bao Gai seems to know exactly which way the wind is blowing, and has already taken this information to Madam's side.
I was worried for Lan Xiang when she suggested searching her body to prove she hadn't stolen anything. Turns out she had been holding the candy in her hand and melting it. Smart girl. But that candy matters too, because it was given to her by Lv Ji Er (Liu Mei Han), who's now being accused of stealing a ring.
Then Lan Xiang deliberately creates a distraction, “accidentally” knocking over a vase before begging Madam not to "kill this lowly servant." That triggers Ji Er's memory of the story Lan Xiang once told her: a madam who killed a servant and was punished with a year of house arrest.
Looketh! Lan Xiang thinks fast on her feet.
I love how Lan Xiang just blends into the background, constantly observing and adapting. She hides the seal with the fur, and cleverly takes an imprint of it onto her own arm. She's already thinking several steps ahead. While serving Madam, she worries that exposing her could get all the servants under Madam executed, so she keeps what she knows to herself. Not just to protect Madam, but to protect the people around her and, ultimately, herself. For now.
Being a noble lady (once) herself, Lan Xiang also knows there's two halves of the seal and realizes the complete character is 錢 (qian) = money. Except the “money” is actually the surname of the woman – uh, man – she loves.
"Miss" Qian 錢
Lin Jin Qi: Be my ears, my eyes. […] If you do well, I guarantees your family will be safe and sound
ML. You cannot threaten her like this. She already lost her family once. And horrifically. T_T Meanwhile you and your Lin family ditched the Shen's and happily got married to another lady.
Right after, I don't even know what she's doing here, reaching her hands toward the sky, toward branches she can't reach, smiling, and then tearing up as she looks up. But whatever is going on in her head, I'm tearing up with her.
Divorced.
And in the worst way possible for Zhao Xing Tang. She gets divorced from our ML, but it's also the end of her seven-year relationship with Qian Shao Ze (Ma Wen Yuan). When Qian Shao Ze is whipped by Zhao Xing Tang's father (also his uncle, so yes they're cousins), he saves himself by blaming her for seducing him.
How dare this cousin girlfriend man. Oh wrong woman. That's ML's beautiful trusty servant, Jiu Gao.
Where was I. Oh yes: here: How dare this sorry excuse for a man. Seven years! They had been together for seven years, and the moment he's in trouble, he throws her under the carriage. She even suffered a miscarriage for him. Is that why she refused to sleep with ML on their wedding-night…She was pregnant?
Poor girl. At least you're single now \o/!!
That invitation is exactly what saves them. Word gets around their social circle that Fang Yu has personally invited this lowly maid, Zhao Father and Brother can no longer simply make Lan Xiang and Xiao Lian disappear without drawing attention. Meanwhile, Lin Jin Qi takes note of this... maid.
Yu Chan (Ye Qing; the first-rank maid) asks what everyone can do. Xiao Lian doesn't know what she's good at. Except "I know how to eat. I can eat. I want to eat.” LOL. The boys outside find her adorable.
(Nan Ke and Jiu Gao)
Reunions
– Ye Qing (Yu Chan) and Tan Song Yun were in Under the Power.
– Liu Xue Yi and Zheng He Hui Zi. Until they showed up together, I forgot they were a CP in In Blossom
– ZHHZ's brother is played by Ye Xiao Wei, that EVIL brother in Tong Hua's Lost You Forever. I think he's playing a sweet brother this time, but I don't know if his sister is a sweet one.
This function was meant to set up the marriage of the Lin family's second daughter, Lin Xiu Wan, with Xie Zhao. (Except Lin Xiu Wan misunderstands Xie Zhao as Du Zheng, which seems to be a whole other story.)
But we almost lost our ML to another marriage instead!!
But we almost lost our ML to another marriage instead!!
Du Zheng's sister, Du Cui Que (Zheng He Hui Zi), nearly manages to turn the same function into a marriage setup for herself and Lin Jin Qi. Her name cui que 翠雀 refers to the delphinium flower, but really, she is a White Lotus 💮 = A woman who presents herself as pure and innocent while being deliberately manipulative underneath.
💮 White Lotus
Delphinium ↴
Had it not been for Lan Xiang – our book nerd. Even all those years of getting slingshots taken from a little brat came in handy. :') And I love that she did this for Yu Chan, to protect her..
Whether or not Lan Xiang has truly convinced herself that Du Cui Que isn't manipulative like that, she is really smart (it's almost tiring repeating this) about how she resolves everything inoffensively.
1) She reassures Grandfather Lin that Du Cui Que couldn't possibly have meant anything by the flower. Surely she made more than one, because why would an innocent girl make only one and give it to Lin Jin Qi?
2) And that's exactly where Cui Que's own plan backfires. She did make multiple delphiniums, precisely to make herself look innocent. Lan Xiang uses that very evidence to dismantle the setup without ever accusing her of anything. The innocent one just out-innocented the White Lotus.
3) Now Lin Jin Qi seems wary of Cui Que too. He refuses to play Go with her, yawns until she gets the hint, and once he got rid of her, he got rid of her Go piece too. Lol.
2) And that's exactly where Cui Que's own plan backfires. She did make multiple delphiniums, precisely to make herself look innocent. Lan Xiang uses that very evidence to dismantle the setup without ever accusing her of anything. The innocent one just out-innocented the White Lotus.
3) Now Lin Jin Qi seems wary of Cui Que too. He refuses to play Go with her, yawns until she gets the hint, and once he got rid of her, he got rid of her Go piece too. Lol.
Rewinding back, he's actually not happy she joined. He'd rather play alone.
1) I was going to skip this generic ML saves FL scene. Not because I don't love these scenes, but because... well, it's the most obvious highlight I could possibly pick. I figured I'd talk about something else, but the execution was so good that I couldn't leave it out. The intensity of their stares, the force with which he grabs her, her eyes screaming that she wants to live, and then the music swelling as he catches her and swings her behind him into safety. I felt so much here.
2) I cannot skip a cute guard-servant moment either! Jiu Gao reminds me of Bi Wen Jun, but with less cheekbone. Jiu Gao got all pouty when Yu Chan shared the candies with another maid, hahaha.
3) Gan Tang. I can't leave her out when I've included the rest. I had no idea what she was going through until now :(. Her life would have been over if Lan Xiang hadn't "強出頭 stepped forward". That's how she comforts Lan Xiang after her nightmare, when Lan Xiang is regretting volunteering herself for the mission. Because without that trait of Lan Xiang's, Gan Tang would have been sold by her own parents to marry someone for money so that her brother could have a better marriage.
We couldn't even properly see his face, but I felt the pout.
The love in her eyes.
P.S. I might as well cheat all the way. I belatedly caught this action sequence, which means I completely missed The hilarious part where Linda Ye flipped Wo-Wo right at the wee-wee, precisely where Lan Xiang had already stabbed him with her needle. And Wo-Wo landed right on it, probably sending the needle even deeper. LOL.
It's not that Marquis Yuan Shao Hui (He Peng) imprisoned Lan Xiang. She was simply too good at storytelling. The audience refused to let her leave. And because Marquis Yuan went to pick up Lin Jin Qi, he missed the climax. Tragic. He's not going to be a rival, is he? But Lin Jin Qi? He did not miss his climax. He's heading straight toward the peak of love.
Lin Jin Qi. SMITTEN. When Lan Xiang gathers up her tiny little steps to chase after him, Lin Jin Qi has the tiniest smile, completely exposing his smitten heart. Either he is shortening those long strides so she can get closer, or time itself slows down whenever she is trying to catch up to him. Either way, he's matching his pace to hers.
[Chinese] 心眼子 Xīn yǎn zi – Literally “heart eyes”. Figuratively "mind's eye". By saying someone has a lot of these eyes we mean this person is full of schemes, calculation, and little tricks. It is someone who is always thinking a few steps ahead.
When Lan Xiang reports to Lin Jin Qi the need for a doctor, he immediately understood she needed him to keep it a secret, which is why Lin Jin Qi describes Lan Xiang as having 心眼子, but not just a pair. From head-to-toe, she's filled with these "heart eyes." xD. Except I'd argue the one with heart eyes from head-to-toe is you, Lin Jin Qi. Like please, who's struggling to keep their eyes off? :D
And here (where he said the "心眼子/heart eyes"), he was staring so much because of her little schemes, Lan Xiang couldn't hold his eye contact.
Related 心眼子 idioms:
800 個心眼子 Bā bǎi gè xīn yǎn zi – 800 eyes/minds/schemes. Describes someone exceptionally manipulative, overly calculating, or constantly playing mind games.
缺心眼 Quē xīn yǎn – Missing a mind/heart's eye. Describes someone who is gullible, naive or foolishly straightforward. No mindful eye. They don't have a 心眼子 to see what's really going on. [Ep22]
Lin Jin Qi deploying a repertoire of romantic gestures in a dimly lit room with a steaming bath… While Lan Xiang is processing each move like workplace instructions. As she should! xD I really like TSY's wandering, but still watchful eyes.
The sister actually wanted to speak to him alone, but he lets Lan Xiang stay because she'll eventually know everything anyway. Since when was Lan Xiang promoted to “person who needs to know everything about me” status.
Nan Ke, stop scaring us! LOL. Maybe they might actually pair him with Gan Tang? It'll be cute with anyone xD.
"It's me. Nan Ke."
The problem isn't who you are. LOL
The Orchid's Fragrance
Lin Jin Qi: Which flower's fragrance is this?Lan Xiang: 蘭花 Lan Hua. Let me tell you mine and ML's thoughts: the fragrance that smells best has to be Lan Xiang. (It's literally her name. Xiang = fragrance).
She explains that some orchids smell best in the afternoon, while others release their fragrance at night. And then there is Lan Xiang, whose fragrance seems to linger all year round.
Lin Jin Qi: What are you sitting down for?Lan Xiang: I want to smell the fragrance! (Obviously!)Lin Jin Qi: Fragrance or money?Lan Xiang: Money. Our Lan Xiang is not drunk.
I like that she says this. There is room for both the practical and the ideal. She can want money, want to live, want security, and still want to smell the flowers. Those things don't cancel each other out.
Lan Xiang: Living (活 huo) is good. I can smell the fragrance.
There is something so simple and moving about her being grateful that she is alive enough to smell a flower. Her mother has to be smiling at her from wherever she is. :')
[Chinese] And then the camera settles on the 蘭花與奇石, the orchid with the rock.
[蘭花與奇石 Lan hua yu Qi shi] "Orchid With an Extraordinary Rock." This is a common artistic motif that when painting orchids, it's usually paired with rocks. There is a little bit of CP wordplay here as well. The Lan and the Qi. She is the Lan flower and he is the Qi rock. She is the fragrance and he is the solidity.
It is really so easy to look at this and say Lan Xiang is the flower and Jin Qi is the rock, with one person soft and the other hard.
But.
They're both both.
The entire visual of an orchid growing from the rock is Lan Xiang. And it is Lin Jin Qi.
[突岩深縫妙香稠] The imagery echoes a famous line from Qing painter and poet Zheng Ban Qiao's 題畫蘭 (Inscription on a Painting of Orchids)
突岩深縫妙香稠tu yan shen feng miao xiang chouIn the deep crevices of protruding rock, the orchid's exquisite fragrance is abundant.
[深縫 shen feng] The orchid isn't growing in a soft, carefully tended garden. It grows in the deep cracks and crevices of the rock. It has taken root in a hard, unforgiving place, and yet it still blooms. It still gives off its fragrance.
Which makes Lan Xiang a beautiful fit. She's a woman, but she is a 君子. This is the orchid.
[蘭花 lan hua] After their conversation about Du Zheng, Lin Jin Qi absolutely fits 君子/蘭花 too. He's not just the rock standing beside the orchid. He's an orchid too.
They are both the flower growing from the rock. They have both had to grow in difficult ground. They have both had to become resilient. And neither has allowed that hardness to take away their goodness – their fragrance.
Not only did he smell the fragrance, he had a taste or two.
Lan Xiang gets her freedom from slavery, along with her parents. Madam Lin is surprised he's willing to let Lan Xiang go. But he has to! As much as he wants to see her every day, he can't marry her while she's still his maid.
Grateful, the Xus bow to Lin Jin Qi, but when they look up, he's gone?! Of course he can't let his future parents-in-law bow to him. He has materialized next to Father-in-law Xu so that he isn't directly receiving the bow. LOL. Lin Jin Qi has 心眼子 "heart eyes" from head to toe too xD
May Madam have a house full of children and grandchildren.May your descendants flourish for generations.May our Master be blessed with a destined good match.May he find a perfect match, a marriage made in heaven.
And this man smiles directly at her:
Exactly what Madam and I need.May everything be as (our) hearts desire.
She's literally blessing him with the future she's about to give him. And he knows it.
[Chinese (Ep22, Ep25, Ep39, Ep41] Not really. Just noting this living clock in this girl who sells produce that changes with the seasons.
[莧菜 xian cai] This episode, she's selling Amaranth. A summer marker.
[枇杷 pi pa] At the end of Ep2, this same girl was selling Loquat. A spring marker.
[菊花腦 ju hua nao] Beginning of Ep2, this girl was much younger, selling Chrysanthemum-greens. An early spring marker.
Ep20 – Amaranth
Ep2 end – Loquat
Ep2 start – Chrysanthemum
The guards have one job this episode and they're spectacularly failing their master xD.
First, Jiu Gao gives away a house at a 90% discount. Of course Lan Xiang drags her parents to run away from the scam. Jiu Gao gets his butt kicked.
Now Lan Xiang runs to another household and meets Han Liang (Niu Jun Feng), who immediately becomes the next problem. Lin Jin Qi can only mope at home. On one hand, he admires his orchid, blooming anywhere. On the other hand, there's now a nuisance of a butterfly buzzing around her. Our master is not enjoying the pollination xD
Nan Ke walks in and very seriously asks the master where the butterfly is because he'll drive it out. He's ignored. Jiu Gao starts updating him about Han Liang, aka the butterfly. Report's over. But Nan Ke is STILL standing there. Looking. Intently. He asks again where the butterfly is because he can't hear it.
Then Lin Jin Qi leans in.
Nan Ke leans in too.
Now Lan Xiang runs to another household and meets Han Liang (Niu Jun Feng), who immediately becomes the next problem. Lin Jin Qi can only mope at home. On one hand, he admires his orchid, blooming anywhere. On the other hand, there's now a nuisance of a butterfly buzzing around her. Our master is not enjoying the pollination xD
Then Lin Jin Qi leans in.
Nan Ke leans in too.
Listening.
“Shut up.”
“Shut up.”
HAHAHA.
[Chinese] Right at the end, Lin Jin Qi writes: 知止而後有定，定而後能靜. This is from The Great Learning (one of the Confucian classics). “Knowing where to stop, one can attain stability; with stability, one can then achieve tranquility.” Clearly, this is his self-help manual on how to grow an orchid without premature pollination. Essentially, you must know what your true target is: marrying Lan Xiang. Stopping the jealousy doesn't mean giving up; it means anchoring yourself to better achieve your goals so you aren't pulled in every direction by distraction or greed or butterflies.
Lin Jin Qi gives Lan Xiang a lan hua, an orchid. Says it from Gan Tang and Yu Chan. Sure. It's in a very simple little pot, which is perfect for her: unpretentious, beautiful, and still blooming despite everything.
There's a little message hidden in it. Lan Xiang might not remember, but she had told him that this particular orchid gives off its strongest fragrance at night. And it is this particular orchid he gifts her Translation: “When you smell this, think of me at night. As I will think of you."
Lan Xiang thanks Yu Chan and Gan Tang: "臉盆花都惦記著我 Even the flowers have me on their minds."
Lan Xiang thanks Yu Chan and Gan Tang: "臉盆花都惦記著我 Even the flowers have me on their minds."
But look at Lin Jin Qi's eyes. The love is practically oozing out of them. The one 惦記 (dianji)-ing you is him, Lan Xiang. She's standing right in front of him, and this man still looks like he misses her. Definition of 惦記: to keep someone/something in one's thoughts, to miss or worry about them, to have them on your mind. It is constant. It is lingering. It is involuntary. Actually. Definition of 惦記:
[菊花脑 ju hua nao / 櫻桃 ying tao] The street vendor is back to selling chrysanthemum greens, giving us our spring marker. And look at her now! She's a mother with a newborn. This added detail: with another mouth to feed, she's selling more produce and adding cherries to her basket. (A little clarification: 菊花 usually refers to the chrysanthemum flower, which is associated with autumn. 菊花脑 is different. These are the young leaves and shoots of the chrysanthemum plant, eaten as a vegetable and associated with spring.)
Remember that conversation where Lin Jin Qi asked Lan Xiang, flower or money? And even when drunk, she answered money. Well, Lan Xiang is a woman of her word.
We start with Lin Jin Qi having a matching pot of orchid to hers, and it's not looking right. Obviously, we need a flower doctor for the orchid. He's frustrated at Jiu Gao for asking the obvious. That's because Yu Chan knows he looks at that orchid every single day and wouldn't be happy if it was gone for a minute. How much does this man stare at this flower that he can't even stand having it out of sight for a moment?
Meanwhile, Lan Xiang sells hers for 100 taels. Not a single hesitation, except to confirm she's actually getting the full 100. Oh, you 缺心眼'er! LOL. We already talked about 心眼子 in Ep15: those little “heart's eyes” that make someone watchful, shrewd, and constantly calculating a few steps ahead. Lan Xiang is filled with them from head to toe.
We start with Lin Jin Qi having a matching pot of orchid to hers, and it's not looking right. Obviously, we need a flower doctor for the orchid. He's frustrated at Jiu Gao for asking the obvious. That's because Yu Chan knows he looks at that orchid every single day and wouldn't be happy if it was gone for a minute. How much does this man stare at this flower that he can't even stand having it out of sight for a moment?
Meanwhile, Lan Xiang sells hers for 100 taels. Not a single hesitation, except to confirm she's actually getting the full 100. Oh, you 缺心眼'er! LOL. We already talked about 心眼子 in Ep15: those little “heart's eyes” that make someone watchful, shrewd, and constantly calculating a few steps ahead. Lan Xiang is filled with them from head to toe.
Except for the pair of heart-eyes she's missing in her own heart. And that is being 缺心眼. No Heart-Eye.
Definition of 缺心眼:
The foreshadowing with the dying orchid is nicely done too. We get Lan Xiang's trouble with the orchid mirrored by Zheng Man Yi (Jia Ze), who kills the pot of orchid. And this love rival doesn't even call the orchid a flower (蘭花 lan hua), She calls it a grass (蘭草 lan cao).
OMFG 😭😭😭
"I'll wait for you to come save me."
[Callback to Ep19] Lin Jin Qi will never accept the kneeling of his future FIL :D
[Ep24] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Linda ye爺 (Lin da ye's nickname) walks right past Ji Er, and had me thinking, was he even supposed to remember her? Sorry, girl! I had honestly forgotten that was even the original reason she was punished. And I think the reason I forgot, and Linda did too, is that Ji Er's punishment was less about what she actually did (spying for Linda) and more about her getting caught in the crossfire between Ex-Madam Zhao and Linda.
Ji Er had fault, yes, but it is a cruel imbalance. To Ji Er, he was important enough to change the entire course of her life. To him, she was never important enough to even remember.
I just hope Ji Er doesn't take a dark turn from all this, especially when Lan Xiang and her sweet mother are doing everything they can to save her.
Lu Xie knows. Lan Xiang only tells him that she's mourning the Shen family now that the murderer (Emperor) died. But Lu Xie knows the real meaning behind her sharing this story. She's telling him she's a Shen survivor. Lu Xie also says he's the only survivor in his, but did Lan Xiang already know who he was this whole time?
[Ep26] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
[蓮子 lian zi] She's selling lotus seeds now, so it's summer – early autumn. Symbolically, lotus seed represents ovaries fertility because of the numerous seeds within its core. It's sprinkled or eaten during weddings. And isn't that appropriate for this episode with two men wanting Lan Xiang's hand in marriage.
I don't know what to say about you, Lin Jin Qi! Do you know your my orchid is crying because of you?!
Tan Song Yun pouting when she cried T_T
Zheng Man Yi isn't completely innocent. But this is still the same kind of collective punishment that destroyed the Shens. The difference is that the Zheng family is being punished because Zheng's father actually committed the crime that brought their downfall. His entire family is made to pay for it, including women who had no say in what he did.
Different circumstances, different degrees of guilt, but the same reality: the women / lower-class don't get to decide what happens to their own lives.
Zheng Man Yi in Ep25: "That's men for you."
Guan Chang's Fu Rong
Girl, you did your best with that wig.
Everyone's reaction to Linda ye's wedding.
HOLY. Lan Xiang SLAPS Lin Jin Qi in public on their wedding day. Lan Xiang did smile. But only for her parents. So they wouldn't worry. Meanwhile inside she was heartbroken T__T.
Big Madam Lin snickers that her son went out of his way to get Emperor's decree so he could be…slapped. Deserved!
Poor Jiu Gao is guilty by association.
Live. 活 (huo).
Then Linda ye comes in. Ruining the moment.
OMFG. GET OUT. LMAO.
And at the end of the day, after everyone has cried, slapped, been publicly humiliated, relived their trauma...
Lin Jin Qi is still smiling.
It's so miserable, that it's funny. LOL.
I can pity him now when I think about this way: this man has been groomed twice, married once for years, and is STILL A VIRGIN. Hahahaha.
(Yes this is one highlight)
My “one” highlight is Yu Chan × Jiu Gao. Even though they're in two separate scenes, they're practically one entity, right? Right!
Yu Chan knows exactly what Lan Xiang just did. She knows Lan Xiang is deliberately making sure neither of them feels pushed aside, and you can see her holding back tears. Lan Xiang really is balancing these relationships so carefully.
Then Jiu Gao. 😂. "She's" back! All to keep women 6ft away from this 6ft beauty.
Nan Ke has no eyes to see him.
Sweet Nan Ke is still so polite to Jiu Gao's furious mother after he was part of ruining the marriage prospect. He's the kinda guy who smiles at everyone eh??? Other than when he's on duty and Jiu Gao? Meanwhile, sweet Nan Ke is still so polite to Jiu Gao's furious mother after he helped ruin the marriage prospect. He's the kinda good boy who smiles at everyone, eh???
P.S. I did not know Linda Ye had this side:
How many bruises are on that right leg of his now? Stepped on by her and then walked into a pillar chasing her.
Lan Xiang mocks Lin Jin Qi for calling themselves 小夫妻 (xiao fu qi), “young newlyweds,” because which part of him is young? But Linda nainai, I see no adult in Linda ye!
[Ep30] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
LOL.
美男計嗎??? Homme fatale???
No. Homme is just famished.
Wait. My bad, no homme. Just famished.
Do do better, Linda ye.
Lan Xiang, you were not late 😭😭😭
[Ep31] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
"Not late at all."
"I just knew it that you would come save me."
True love.
😭
Screw this one:
Lin Jin Qi can have his blanket burrito by himself.
Zhao Xing Tang fell for Lan Xiang too LOL. Meanwhile Yu Chan and Lv Ji Er? They just fell harder.
Content warning: Scenes of intimate partner violence.
Eight-year-old Lin Jin Qi brutally beats his father after the meddling of his concubine (Lin Xiu Cai's birth mother) that led to his own mother's miscarriage that nearly cost her her own life. Had no idea Lin Jin Qi had this side. And this was in the ancestral room. Plus he didn't go after the concubine. He went after his father, the real source of the problem.
And now Lin Xiu Wan recalls it as "My brother just slipped with the wood," so Lan Xiang wouldn't judge. Linda ye, you actually have one supporter in the household! Your kid sister.
Lin Jin Qi is an amazing son and brother. He defended Lin Xiu Wan. He defended his mother. He would do it for Lin Xiu Cai too. Now he just has to work on being a husband...
Lin Jin Qi is sentenced to a hundred floggings for beating up his Lu BIL, plus taking another hundred for his sister for filing a lawsuit…
But Lan Xiang objects! She's got her husband's butt back.
Lan Xiang: Are you taking this chance to take my fujun's life?Lin Jin Qi's eyes: ✨✨
Oh wait. He's still getting beaten.
What Lan Xiang essentially stopped was Dai Rong's brother (aka Zhao Xing Tang's new/old husband), Dai Rui, from abusing his power, turning the punishment into something that could kill Lin Jin Qi. And in doing so, she also spares Lin Xiu Cai the heartache of watching her brother nearly die for her after everything she's already been through.
Lin Jin Qi isn't particularly embarrassed being escorted through the streets with his injured butt facing the sky for everyone to see. LOL. Just wincing n pain. Until he passes Han Liang.
Lin Jin Qi isn't particularly embarrassed being escorted through the streets with his injured butt facing the sky for everyone to see. LOL. Just wincing n pain. Until he passes Han Liang.
This really does make me think Lan Xiang could have had a beautiful life with Han Liang too. But would this proud academic have allowed Lan Xiang to become a theatre scriptwriter like Lin Jin Qi? Personally, I don't think so. Lin Jin Qi didn't really get a choice from her, haha, but hey, hypothetical point for the man! LOL.
Then Lin Jin Qi glares at Jiu Gao. He keeps forgetting to check the calendar LOL so we always bump into Han Liang at exactly the wrong moment. When he married Lan Xiang, Han Liang was the top scholar and Lin Jin Qi had to make way. Now he's being escorted through the street with his injured butt on display and has to make way again for Han Liang galloping in looking like a celebratory hero. HAHA.
But at least this time Lin Jin Qi may have actually moved his wife's heart a little. I think these little glimpses of him being fiercely protective of his family are doing something to Lan Xiang. Like when Lan Xiang learned from Lin Xiu Wan how he protected his mother at such a young age, and now with Liu Xiu Cai.
[Chinese] The cost of justice.
[未見官先打八十大板 wèi jiàn guān xiān dǎ bā shí dà bǎn] “Before you even see the magistrate, you've already been given eighty strokes” (corporal punishment).
The saying means being punished or made to suffer before your case has even properly been heard. The amount of strokes varies with regions, but Canto is generally 80. Clearly, this was a familiar enough idea to become a saying that got passed down all the way to today.
It's relevant in modern conversation too as a metaphor for facing a huge upfront cost, hardship, or bureaucratic hurdle before you even get a chance to start what you're actually trying to do.
I love sayings like this because the old image still makes the modern meaning instantly understandable.
And this drama gives us a pretty brutal visual example.
Liu Xiu Wan is the one who was wronged. She's trying to find a way out through the legal system, and she – the innocent – gets the same hundred floggings as her guilty husband. This cost of justice is heinous.
Liu Xiu Wan is the one who was wronged. She's trying to find a way out through the legal system, and she – the innocent – gets the same hundred floggings as her guilty husband. This cost of justice is heinous.
She said: “Da ye! Take care!”
Okay, but that is the closest thing to a confession she's ever given him. LMAO. And this man is feeling the love because his bar is that low. LOL. Immediately, he gallops back at full speed and kisses her! On the cheek.
Lan Xiang: LIN JIN QI!Lin Jin Qi: Furen, if you're going to slap me, wait until I'm back. Then slap me.
This pitiful virgin husband has been starved of affection for so long that I can't blame him for stealing a little peck on the cheek. LOL. But this is also him assuring the love of his life that he's coming back. Rascal.
And now he's off to a critical battle against Lord Han's coup. Will he survive? Dun dun dun.
[Chinese] LOL. 煮豆燃豆萁 (zhǔ dòu rán dòu qí). This is the opening line of the famous “Seven-Step Poem” (七步詩) traditionally attributed to Cao Zhi during the Three Kingdoms period. The metaphor is about members from the same family harming each other. The beans and the stalks come from the same plant, yet one is used to burn the other. (According to the story, Cao Pi forced his brother Cao Zhi to compose a poem in seven steps or face execution. Cao Zhi came up with this poem, using the beans and stalks to suggest that brothers born from the same root shouldn't persecute each other.) The full poem:
煮豆燃豆萁Boiling beans, using bean stalks as the firewood.豆在釜中泣The beans cry inside the pot.本是同根生We were originally born from the same root.相煎何太急Why must you burn me so fiercely?
煮豆燒豆稈Boiling beans using bean stalks.豆在鍋裡喊The beans are AHHH-ing in the pot.同是一個爹We’ve got the same dad!為啥先殺俺Whyshayou gotta kill me first?!
P.S. I love the consistency of Yu Chan being the messenger who never gets the message she's actually delivering. The one with Maquis Yuan in Ep14 and here:
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| Get with the plot already, Yu Chan XD. (Btw, her "hidden message" was "豆稈燒的豆飯 beanstalks to cook bean-rice") |
LAN XIANG FED THE HORSE BEFORE SHE FED HER DYING HUSBAND.
Did she even wipe her hands.
Content warning: This episode contains scenes involving sexual assault and requires lots of tissue.
My one highlight: the complicated, emotionally loaded smiles. All from the people who love the same woman (aka me shamelessly cheating to squeeze multiple scenes into one highlight).
My one highlight: the complicated, emotionally loaded smiles. All from the people who love the same woman (aka me shamelessly cheating to squeeze multiple scenes into one highlight).
Lan Xiang has already made it clear that Han Liang isn't the man she loves. In fact, she tells Lin Jin Qi that the person he stole her from wasn't Han Liang at all. He took her away from herself and shackled her to a married life with the Lin family.
So you would think that would be the part he'd be dwelling on.
No.
And that is what gets him smiling. Because whatever else Lan Xiang is saying, she just told him that if he falls, she falls with him. She is tying her fate to his. The thought of their heads falling off together is probably enough to feed this man for at least another six months. LOL.
2. Zhao Xing Tang. The first person who ever saved her is Lan Xiang? :(
That's the same fur coat Lan Xiang sewed for her. UGH.
3. A bullet and a biscuit that saved the entire Lin family.
Lan Xiang feeds her a biscuit, and so Zhao Xing Tang gives her something valuable back. Because what Lan Xiang gave her was invaluable: the testimony the pigs in her family had against Lin Jin Qi for freeing the deposed Crown Prince. It was originally something Zhao Xing Tang wanted to use against the Lins herself. But now she gives it to Lan Xiang because Lan Xiang saved her, kept her warm and now fed her. T__T
Lan Xiang feeds her a biscuit, and so Zhao Xing Tang gives her something valuable back. Because what Lan Xiang gave her was invaluable: the testimony the pigs in her family had against Lin Jin Qi for freeing the deposed Crown Prince. It was originally something Zhao Xing Tang wanted to use against the Lins herself. But now she gives it to Lan Xiang because Lan Xiang saved her, kept her warm and now fed her. T__T
And she makes a mental note: the next time she's fleeing again, she can't just carry money. She needs food. You can't always buy food when everything is chaotic after a war.
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| "That's acceptable." |
There is no next time.
Zhao Xing Tang already knows she's dying. She knew back there. She had already chosen suicide back there T_T. But ultimately, she didn't want to die with the men who raped her. So if she has to die, dying alongside Lan Xiang is 還行 (hai xing). “Still okay.” “That's acceptable.” But there is so more underneath that 還行. She's almost refusing to admit how much better this ending feels because Lan Xiang is beside her. Because this is Zhao Xing Tang. That's as close as she can get to saying, I'm glad it's you. T_T
And then look at what she does with the little time she has left.
→ She knows Lan Xiang has medicine for Lin Jin Qi. Her stomach is haemorrhaging. And yet she asks Lan Xiang for food.
→ When Lan Xiang throws her the biscuit, she makes an effort to catch it so it doesn't fall on the ground. Then she brushes off the dirt. She's dying, and she's still thinking about keeping her food clean.
→ And then she combs her hair.
If she's going to leave, she's going to leave with dignity. Beautiful. Full. She will leave as Zhao Xing Tang. T____T
5. Zhao Xing Tang. Seen.
And then, as Zhao Xing Tang dies, she flashes Lan Xiang this huge, beautiful, beautiful!! T_T grin. Because Lan Xiang asks if she can call her Xing Tang. And Zhao Xing Tang just stares at her in amazement, almost amused by how completely this woman has seen through her. How does Lan Xiang know her better than Qing Xiang? Who was also killed by her family, so she really has no attachment to this world anymore.
T____________T
And now all those little things Lan Xiang gave her in these final moments feel much bigger.
Food.
Warmth.
Safety.
Someone beside her.
Someone who cares whether she is cold.
And finally, her name. T_T
Because I think that's the tragedy of Zhao Xing Tang. She spent her whole life believing she needed money, and even found a lover with Qian/Money in his name, but money was never really the thing she was hungry for. It was the tool she learned to use to fill every gap in her life.
So when Lan Xiang gives her a biscuit, Zhao Xing Tang immediately gives something valuable back. You gave me something, so I'll give you something too. That's the language she understands. (Even her relationship with Qing Xiang is entangled with money and transactions.)
And then, as Zhao Xing Tang dies, she flashes Lan Xiang this huge, beautiful, beautiful!! T_T grin. Because Lan Xiang asks if she can call her Xing Tang. And Zhao Xing Tang just stares at her in amazement, almost amused by how completely this woman has seen through her. How does Lan Xiang know her better than Qing Xiang? Who was also killed by her family, so she really has no attachment to this world anymore.
T____________T
And now all those little things Lan Xiang gave her in these final moments feel much bigger.
Food.
Warmth.
Safety.
Someone beside her.
Someone who cares whether she is cold.
And finally, her name. T_T
Because I think that's the tragedy of Zhao Xing Tang. She spent her whole life believing she needed money, and even found a lover with Qian/Money in his name, but money was never really the thing she was hungry for. It was the tool she learned to use to fill every gap in her life.
So when Lan Xiang gives her a biscuit, Zhao Xing Tang immediately gives something valuable back. You gave me something, so I'll give you something too. That's the language she understands. (Even her relationship with Qing Xiang is entangled with money and transactions.)
Lan Xiang cannot save her life. But in these final moments, she gives Zhao Xing Tang something money never could.
She lets her be warm, fed, protected, accompanied, loved, and seen.And when Lan Xiang calls her by her own name, Zhao Xing Tang gets to leave this world as Zhao Xing Tang.
She lets her be warm, fed, protected, accompanied, loved, and seen.And when Lan Xiang calls her by her own name, Zhao Xing Tang gets to leave this world as Zhao Xing Tang.
It starts with the shock on his face when he realizes Lan Xiang burned the evidence that could have put his entire family in danger. Then the relief. Then the tears. Lan Xiang thinks he's crying from the pain of his injuries, even in his sleep.
No, girl. This man is 高興傻了 “so happy he's become silly.” It's that feeling of being so delighted you're practically beside yourself, too happy to behave normally or think straight. He's practically giddy because Lan Xiang protected him. Through and through.
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| "Lin Jin Qi." |
And I think what makes this sequence romantic from Lan Xiang's side is the moment She reads the evidence, sees what Lin Jin Qi did, and then repeats his name with that almost quizzical look.
It's like she's discovering something about him that she hadn't really seen before. So no, it's not an overt smile, but a smile I swear I'm not imagining!
She's seeing the man who secretly did something that could have cost him everything, simply because he believed it was the right thing to do. Is this reminding her of her father? Her grandfather? The Shens she's proud of. The Shen in her blood.
It's like she's discovering something about him that she hadn't really seen before. So no, it's not an overt smile, but a smile I swear I'm not imagining!
She's seeing the man who secretly did something that could have cost him everything, simply because he believed it was the right thing to do. Is this reminding her of her father? Her grandfather? The Shens she's proud of. The Shen in her blood.
I truly think something in her understanding of him shifts here. The door to her heart isn't flung open, but it's not quite so firmly shut anymore.
8. Last but not least, something to make US (or me) smile
On Weibo, Zhao Xing Tang (Li Meng), Lin Jin Qi (Liu Xue Yi), and Lan Xiang (Tan Song Yun) are replying to each other after this episode, and it's so lighthearted, I love it
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| Li Meng | Tan Song Yun | Liu Xue Yi |
Zhao Xing Tang: I don't know ah! The moment she called me Xing Tang, I wore it. 不知道啊,她一叫我「星棠」我就穿上了. See the cute wedding dress.
Lan Xiang: Calm down. 冷靜. (✋ with a similarly cute rodent xD)
Zhao Xing Tang: This [wedding] isn't urgent. But it needs to be fast. 這件事不急,但一定要快.
Then the husband.
Then the husband.
Lin Jin Qi: Do you want to open those pair of eyes and see see? I'm still lying flat on the side, LOL. 你要不睜開眼看看呢?我還在旁邊躺著呢.
Zhao Xing Tang: What'd you say? "I don't know how to read" 你說啥?我不識字? (She does, and so does her character, but they all think they don't)
All the secondary romances ~ when our main romance is still struggling to crack open the door.
Jiu Gao almost jumped Yu Chan XD. He did "高興傻了 so happy he's become silly" even more obviously than his master. But these two have a hurdle to jump: his mother whom Yu Chan feels indebted to.
Its origin comes from a story involving King Xiang of Chu during the Warring States period. Zhuang Xin warned the king that his poor governance would bring disaster to Chu. King Xiang dismissed him as an old fool. Then Qin invaded Chu. Realizing his mistake, the king sought Zhuang Xin out and asked whether there was still any hope. Zhuang Xin replied, 亡羊補牢，未為晚也: the sheep have been lost, but it is not too late to mend the pen.
[Ep38] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
Nan Ke's romance – is with Xiao Lian ~ He's quietly attached to this girl and Lan Xiang picked on it.
Lan Xiang noticed.
Ep10 was the first time he saw/heard her
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| "I know how to eat. I can eat. I want to eat.” |
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| The boys laughing at Xiao Lian |
☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙
Our other maids. Gan Tang's romance…is with Lan Xiang <3 ^^. Bao Gai is (not here, but) somewhere content with water xD.
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| Ep13. Lan Xiang saved Gan Tang from being forced into marriage. |
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| Ep9. Bao Gai was grateful that Lan Xiang never held a grudge against her for snitching on Lv Ji Er when she was simply doing her duty. Okay, maybe she's into Lan Xiang too. |
☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙
Lin Xiu Wan. Not her pitying Zhao liuniang for having such poor eyesight that she can't see the good in her own (ex-)husband Xie Zhao. LOL.
☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙
[Chinese] The theme of this episode is tucked into one line Lan Xiang says: it's never too late.
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| 亡羊補牢 |
[亡羊補牢 wáng yáng bǔ láo] Mending the sheepfold after losing a sheep is not too late. The idea is that even after you've made a mistake or suffered a loss, it isn't too late to repair the damage and prevent things from getting worse. "Baa"sically, it's never too late. 🐑
Its origin comes from a story involving King Xiang of Chu during the Warring States period. Zhuang Xin warned the king that his poor governance would bring disaster to Chu. King Xiang dismissed him as an old fool. Then Qin invaded Chu. Realizing his mistake, the king sought Zhuang Xin out and asked whether there was still any hope. Zhuang Xin replied, 亡羊補牢，未為晚也: the sheep have been lost, but it is not too late to mend the pen.
And that is basically this entire episode.
Lan Xiang is talking about her own poor governance and the badly behaved servants. She can't undo the mistake, but she can correct it. And the same idea keeps appearing in everyone's relationships this episode.
Lin Jin Qi truly apologizes to Lan Xiang and finally puts himself in her shoes. He realizes that what he did to her was, in its own way, what the Zhao family did to him when they forced him to marry Zhao Xing Tang. He can't undo what happened, but he can recognize the harm he caused and try to repair it.
Xiao Lian can still be saved.
Jiu Gao feels the urgency to confess to Yu Chan before it really is too late.
Lin Xiu Wan and Xie Zhao is a beautiful example where they are better late.
Han Liang can find someone else. YESSSSS. Thank you, Miss Dong Qing, Tan Song Yun's friend from their With You days, for saving us from Han Liang fluttering around our main romance.
Lin Xiu Cai. Her life isn't over just because her first marriage failed. There is still somewhere for her to go and something for her to build.
☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙
[Ep38] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
I had tears the whole time, and then I was already sobbing when Lan Xiang forgot her own birthday, but Lin Jin Qi remembered. And “celebrated” it. T_T But then I lost it for the bows!! Lan Xiang asked him to bow to her parents after hearing his confession, which he didn't know was happening in front of his real in-laws.
(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)
Lin Jin Qi's confession
我想你知道妳家的夫婿究竟是一個怎麼樣的人，無論好的壞的，我都想讓你知道。
我今生最愧對的人葬在這裡，最不能對外人說的事也在這裡。
我非君子，會膽怯，會衝動，甚至會做一些大逆不道的事，但此生此世，絕不負你。
I want you to know exactly what kind of husband you married. Whatever is good or bad, I want you to know it all.
You once said that you and I walk different paths. I want to know exactly where my path differs from yours.
The people I have the deepest guilt toward in this life are buried here. And the things I can least speak of to anyone else are here too.
I am no gentleman. I can be cowardly. I can be impulsive. I may even do things that are utterly against the proper order. But from this point on, I will never fail you.
Lan Xiang, crying, asks her parents if they heard him. This is Lin Jin Qi finally asking her parents for their approval of him as Lan Xiang's husband. This guy doesn't do it when he's supposed to, but then when he accidentally stumbles into it, he does it so right and then goes above and beyond.
(੭ ;´ ⌂ `;)੭♡
And this man immediately says he can bow 300 times. NO. Just 3.
Because the voice-over over those three bows is:
一拜天地二拜高堂夫妻對拜One bow to Heaven and Earth.One bow to the parents/elders T___TThe bride and groom bow to each other.
The three marriage rites.
With her family's approval.
Their paths have converged.
What a birthday present! She gets to be with her family. She gets to hear her husband tell her exactly who he is, see all the good and bad in him, and realize that maybe the man she thought walked a completely different path is actually walking toward the same place she is.
Now let's have babies! Though technically, they already have. They made all of us. Crybabies. xD
Now let's have babies! Though technically, they already have. They made all of us. Crybabies. xD
[Ep39] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]
This dude has given everyone his lines for him, and he's still making me cry. His final moments are essentially four main looks, and everyone understands exactly what he's saying.
- First look: his wife. She begs him to save his breath. Keep fighting. Wait for the doctor. But it's too late. She also doesn't need him to speak to understand what he wants to say.
- Second look: his newborn, Rui ge. His little son.
- Third look: his brother, Lin Jin Qi. He's unable to speak, but Lin Jin Qi knows exactly what his brother is asking: take care of Rui ge.
- Fourth look: Lan Xiang. She thinks he wants to see the newborn more closely. But he's looking at her. Because he's asking her to take care of his wife. He puts his wife's hand into Lan Xiang's, because his son will depend on his brother, but his wife, in this household, will depend on Lan Xiang. And Lan Xiang promises that as long as she's here, his wife will not suffer. Her authority is so reassuring. T_T
[藕 ǒu] She's also selling lotus roots, and Lin Jin Qi buys a whole bunch for Lan Xiang.
[藕斷絲連 ǒu duàn sī lián] There's a very common saying involving lotus roots that describes lovers parting, but still long for one another. Why it involves lotus is, well, if you've ever eaten lotus roots, you know why. You bite into it, and those fine fibres are still hanging on between the pieces. Very appropriate for Lin Jin Qi. (And the un/funny part is that you could apply it to Han Liang too. Lin Jin Qi just has to hear about how successful Han Liang has become. Can't seem to get rid of this butterfly.)
But uh, it's moot to compare the two men anymore. Not just because our CP, you know, consummated. Because if Lin Jin Qi was already difficult for her to see as her path, Han Liang is even more clearly not it. Han Liang is, as he should be, patriotic and loyal to the Emperor and to the way this society works. And that makes him fundamentally incompatible with the path Lan Xiang has chosen for herself.
Which brings me to the path Lin Jin Qi just walked himself.
He went to war. He fought the battles. He saw the cruelty of it. He saw people die. And now, having actually lived through it, he doesn't want to belong here anymore.
He isn't walking the same path as her because she told him this was the right path. He's coming back because he has now arrived at the same conclusion himself. And this isn't some sudden personality change after Lan Xiang's influence. You can trace it back to the things he's done since he was an adolescent, and the choices he's made.
Lan Xiang may have enlightened him her thoughts on imperial power. But he walked it himself. Came to the conclusion himself. Their paths really did converge.
And sorry, I diverged.
Which brings me to the path Lin Jin Qi just walked himself.
He went to war. He fought the battles. He saw the cruelty of it. He saw people die. And now, having actually lived through it, he doesn't want to belong here anymore.
Lan Xiang may have enlightened him her thoughts on imperial power. But he walked it himself. Came to the conclusion himself. Their paths really did converge.
And sorry, I diverged.
Relationship Checklist: Kiss*, officially together + babies. Linda ye no longer a virgin!
When Lin Xiu Ru wanted a divorce, partly for love but also for the sake of her four daughters, she wasn't sure her brother, Lin Jin Qi, would stand with her against the Marquis.
Lan Xiang didn't hesitate.
“He's willing.”
[Ep41] [Jump to: Top | Cast | Comments]Lan Xiang didn't hesitate.
“He's willing.”
She hasn't.
Her husband has. LOL. Phantom labour? Secondhand labour??? Hahaha
Linda ye!
[Chinese (Ep22, Ep25, Ep39, Ep41] Veggie vendor has two kids now ~ (Lin Jin Qi, don't faint for your second kid).
[菊花腦 ju hua nao] With her children, she's selling Chrysanthemum-greens. An early spring marker.
Lin Jin Qi figures it out himself. Xu Lan Xiang is Shen Jia Lan.
Everything she's written and drawn. All the little things that prove her education goes far beyond what a maid could possibly have learned.
Everything she's written and drawn. All the little things that prove her education goes far beyond what a maid could possibly have learned.
It's beautifully done because This evidence exists because he loved her. And then he burns the evidence because of love. They've both burned evidence for each other's sake. So when he says, “You are Xu Lan Xiang,” what he's saying is: I know. And I'm choosing to protect you.
And that's when the flashbacks pour in.
These aren't new memories. But what's different is whose memories they are now. They're her versions of those ordinary moments and the flashback is showing us the process of her falling for him, before she herself knew she was falling for him.
It isn't one single moment. It's all the 點點滴滴, drop after drop, until there's an entire relationship.
We start with the little/big moments she felt.
The time he saved her from the Wo pirate.
The time he slowed down for her, and she actually peeked at him. That wasn't in the original scene!
I joked back in Ep15 that she was running away from the romance behind her (Yu Chan and Jiu Gao) while unknowingly running straight toward her own. And now, they're showing us this little peek! It's not that she loved him then. But rather that love happened without her noticing it.
Then that direct eye contact from him, the 800 heart-eyes-from-head-to-toe (if you've been keeping up with the Chinese in Ep15). She couldn't hold his direct heart-eyes gaze and looked away. Back then, you could read that as a slave knowing her place. But not anymore when you know it's in this memory of hers.
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“Our fate is something that cannot be severed.” (Voiceover by Xu Lan Xiang). |
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| “Didn't you say that it blooms at night and gives off a fragrance?” |
He lived up to everything he said.
And then comes her answer. Her hands.
And then we're back in the present. Where her two hands are clasped around his one.
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| Of course, he holds her back |
And how rare is it to see Xu Lan Xiang smile this brightly. At love? :')
These flashbacks are like her becoming conscious of a love that happened unconsciously.
Relationship Checklist: Officially, officially together + babies.
[Chinese] Madam Lin was wise. She taught Lin Jin Qi 獨木不成林, to treat his siblings with love, and they would treat him with love in return. No matter how estranged she was from their father, she never let that bitterness fall on the children, even if they weren't hers.
And there's a wordplay here.
[獨木難成林 dú mù bù chéng lín] A single tree (木) cannot make a forest (林). It's a common idiom about how one person can't accomplish much alone. And it's extra perfect for Lin Jin Qi because he is a Lin 林. One wood (木) really cannot make a 林.
Marquis Yuan takes two concubines because the family wants sons, and they still keep having girls. Old Madam Yuan gets so mad she dies. LOL. Ma'am, the women are not the ones supplying the Y chromosome. And no wonder Liu Xiu Wan's head upgraded to a whole peacock LOL. With Old Madam Yuan gone, she's liberated! And has the plumage to prove it, hahaha. ETA: The peacock actually protrudes...forward. Like, it overhangs her forehead, hahaha.
Meanwhile, Marquis Yuan is worried about leaving Lin Jin Qi behind because, for all his failures as a husband, Marquis Yuan is genuinely worried that his BIL won't be okay without him, haha.
Unfaithful foolish husband, but weirdly, a very committed brother-in-law! xD
I just had to laugh at Linda ye casually serving us romance in the middle of serious Du-Cui-Query
"Besides your sister-in-law, what other woman’s face could possibly make me remember her for over ten years? I can't even remember if her eyes were big or small." 
But Lan Xiang ah ~ Can't you tell us those feelings leaking through your eyes? ಥ﹏ಥ
Lan Xiang's hands are telling us something, though. When Cheng jier gives Lin Jin Qi the protective talisman, Lan Xiang clutches her little pouch. Inside was the talisman she, like her daughter, gave her parents. Except Lan Xiang couldn't give it to her parents…And it's the same talisman on which her mother wrote her last wish to her: Huo. 活. Live.
"Live, Lin Jin Qi. Live."
It's a pouch that's carried all the people she loves, and you too Lin Jin Qi! Lan Xiang has you in her little pouch heart now. Don't make her lose you too D:
But that's not my "one" highlight It's how they won.
One weaponizes fire to win her battle,The other is extinguishing fire to win his.
Lan Xiang explodes Du Cui Que – first her mind and then her body. And Lin Jin Qi deals with the male concubine. With a wicked smile, Lin Jin Qi extinguishes the man's fire with his bare hands. The male concubine was powerful too! What's his name again? Whatever. R.I.P. But I'll remember your face!
Burn to hell with me
You can go with your male concubine…
(Full recaps for the ending episodes)
Third SIL's four front teeth got knocked out. Lan Xiang had ordered everyone to stay inside, but this one just had to run her mouth and run outside. And so Du Cui Que's explosion scared her off her feet, and she landed on all four... teeth. And now she can't talk. Previously, Lan Xiang told her nephew and niece not to stoop to their enemies' level and answer “tooth for tooth.” Because… Lan Xiang has a better system: four teeth for zero teeth. xD
Lin Zhang Cheng (Cheng jier, Lan Xiang's daughter) reads 燃燈記 The Tale of the Lighted Lamp to her grandmother. It's a story by Shen Ru Gu, Lan Xiang's pen name. Grandma praises the story, while Cheng Jie says her mother was strangely silent about it. Well, she can't exactly say, Yes, darling, this brilliant author you're praising is me. The pen name Shen Ru Gu 沈如故 comes from her Shen family name, 沈, and 如故, meaning “as before” or “still as it was.” Put together it becomes “The Shens remain.” So Cheng jier is unknowingly reading her mother's story, inspired by the Shen ancestors she doesn't even know are her own. And the message of The Tale of the Lighted Lamp is one woman becoming a light that allows other women to become lights themselves, passing that light forward. Lan Xiang…Shen Jia Lan survives the destruction of her family, carried their "light" forward, and became a light for other women who then carry it onward. And Cheng jier is literally the light from Lan Xiang. Women to women. Generation to generation. Mother to daughter… Mother to daughter.
Lan Xiang's mother (Xue Gui Hua) dies. But she assures Lan Xiang this is a good thing. She can be reunited with “Lan Xiang.” Then her father arrives, devastated too, but instead of letting Shen Jia Lan drown in the grief of losing another loved one, he reminds her that her mother 有福氣. She was fortunate. She went first, went peacefully, and went surrounded by people she loved. (It is hard to watch TSY cry for her mother like this. T_T)
And then Lin Xiu Wan proposes before I even realize she's proposing.
“My hero, tell me your name and where you live. Tomorrow I'll send my fourth brother over to thank you. Our families can become "related.“ From now on, we'll be family.”
I think she's proposing LOL. I don't know if she knows she's proposing, haha. Or she really meant to be long-distance penpal. It's definitely phrased ambiguously. 說親 shuoqing is used for proposing marriage, while she says 認個親 rengeqing to establish a (family) relationship. But Xie Zhao hears the bells. Why 認個親 when he can just 說親. He recognizes the kindred spirit in front of him: the woman who wants the same life he does, and the person he wants beside him for it. These two are better late :')
Grandpa Lin's smile is pure bliss. With relief. We know he still carries guilt over Shen family's fate, and he came close to making another morally devastating choice with his own granddaughter. So seeing her find someone she actually chose, someone who genuinely suits her, must feel like a weight lifting. He even butts in with his big sleeve lol to stop Aunt Lin from ruining this precious budding relationship.
Lin Xiu Ru is at Lin's ostensibly to cook for Lan Xiang while she's mourning her mother, but she's also working a very calculated plan against her Yuan relatives. The Yuan clan wants to use Marquis Yuan having no biological son as an excuse to adopt a male heir, take the Marquis title, and eventually swallow the estate. But Marquis Yuan, as promised, left a will, leaving the inheritance to Lin Xiu Ru and their four daughters. So Lin Xiu Ru's counterattack is this: she spreads the story that Marquis Yuan committed a serious military offence and is facing punishment, and that she's so frightened she's taking the children back to her Lin family. The Yuan relatives panic and want to cut ties with the disgraced Marquis Yuan's branch. Which is exactly what she wants. Bait them into severing their ties, and they close their claim to inheritance they're trying to steal. All is going according to plan. Then her sweet, hot-headed Third Brother sees the Yuan relatives attacking his sister and goes full brother mode. Aw, he's taken over the eldest-son role while Lin Jin Qi is stuck at the palace. So now Lin Xiu Ru has to speed up her plan. "Sigh." She wipes that smug little face away in seconds, puts on the tears and the pitiful-widow act, and excuses herself right in front of Lan Xiang and Bao Gai. Her White Lotus performance is not even remotely hidden from them. <3
Bao Gai recognizes fragments of herself in Lin Xiu Ru. Lan Xiang says Xiu Ru was the first person to see through Du Cui Que's White Lotus act, and Bao Gai gives this little look that makes me go... Was she, though? Could it be Bao Gai as well?? Hmm. She grew up as the unwanted extra, so her instinct was survival and self-interest. And we've seen it: she could switch allegiance when circumstances changed. She served Madam Zhao, snitched, then transferred that loyalty to Lan Xiang. She didn't really have principles of her own. She attached herself to whoever seemed like the safest or most meaningful anchor. Lan Xiang changed that. She taught Bao Gai to read, but more importantly, she taught her how to think. Her world opened up.
Except there's still a political problem. The ministers are asking the new Emperor (Dai Yun Fan) to allow the previous Emperor (Yang Kai Cheng) to return to the capital. Lin Jin Qi and Han Liang are the last two to kotow in that line because they both know exactly what kind of disaster that previous Emperor was. He's the Emperor who got himself kidnapped after ignoring the military commanders and listening to a eunuch who had been bribed by Du Cui Que and the Wo pirates. So, unfortunately for Lin Jin Qi, going home to Lan Xiang might not be that simple.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-4)]
Brutal start. T_T And here I go signing myself up for another long historical Cdrama.
What I'm liking most so far is Tan Song Yun's Xu Lan Xiang. She's reserved, quiet, but weathered. There's a heaviness to her from witnessing the tragedy in Ep1. But at her core is kindness. And Show isn't heavy-handed with the obstacles after Ep1, but rather letting her work her way up.
What's a little different about this one is that we are navigating servant-hood, and the fate of being born into a servant family: every generation is destined to serve this manor. Being a servant is essentially hereditary.
[Cast&Crew]
蘭香如故 (Lan Xiang Ru Gu) is directed by Huang Ying Xiang, who makes really pretty shows! Her previous works include Les Belles and We Go Fast on Trust.
Adapted by Tong Hua, the famous author behind Lost You Forever. But this is not Tong Hua's own novel. The original story, 蘭香緣 (Lan Xiang Yuan; The Fate of the Orchid's Fragrance) was written by He Yan Shan.
Filming wrapped on October 10, 2025.
Adapted by Tong Hua, the famous author behind Lost You Forever. But this is not Tong Hua's own novel. The original story, 蘭香緣 (Lan Xiang Yuan; The Fate of the Orchid's Fragrance) was written by He Yan Shan.
Filming wrapped on October 10, 2025.
[Ending]
[A Highlight]
[Review & Rating]
Rating: /5
Recommendations
Preliminary recs are random / a peek at the list. These may be updated if drama is completed
| Married CP | Happier Start | Tragic FL |
|---|---|---|
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→ Go to September 2026 post
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